‘ You're clearly not from Sumeru, ʼ not that many people are, the Akademiya lures all sorts of individuals from multiple corners of Teyvat. Still, Kaveh notes that the way the traveler enunciates  each word with an odd spin he hasn't heard from anyone else. Interesting.

      His hand moves comfortably under his own chin as means to shift weight over the way it supports his head, eyes fixed on the foreign presence. In the carmine of Kaveh's, naive innocence glints.  ‘ How's it like... there? Wherever it is. ʼ

ㅤㅤcuriosity was as natural to the academics of sumeru as thirst and hunger were to most living beings, it appeared. yet the way that the famous architect directed the question to the traveller was refreshing on its own—genuinely caring, not looking for addendum knowledge or practical tools he could later on use, but rather connection. or at least that’s what the little sparkles in soft crimsons with long lashes seemed to imply. he could understand why kaveh was deemed the light of the kshahrewar. with that, lips curled delicately into a smile as aether took a shy spoonful from his padisarah pudding, not yet facing his companion from the other side of the not-so-large table. a few thousand years ago, he’d be unable to taste its sweetness; both from the desert and from the question. 

ㅤㅤhe took a few seconds too long to respond, humming pensively as he let the spoon rest against the plate. there would be no sense in lying saying he was from mondstadt or liyue, the other man had probably traversed through such countries as well. besides, he just didn’t feel like it. he thought of the stars, of the kaleidoscopic nebulae, of the white and black holes he journeyed through, of the ruins of planets he explored, of the messages from the heavens, of his sister. banzo. yes, that’s what he was feeling. how bittersweet. “it’s really beautiful, like nothing you’ve ever seen”, words came out as accent-heavy as they always were, only now carrying a mix of murky melancholy,   “i think you’d like how elaborate it is.”   he chuckled to himself, thinking about what kaveh would be able to draw out on his blueprints if he could take a close glimpse at the rings of a planet and its moons. the architecture of the universe ought to inspire anyone to create a grander project than that of palace of alcazarzaray, right?   “roofs made from shiny crystals, walls of colourful rocks, flooring as soft to the feet as clouds…”   he sighed longingly, closing his eyes for a moment.   “if you climbed up really high, you could watch the entire night sky from the ruins and hear the howling of the winds. It got… a little too cold or warm sometimes, though.”   it was space, after all. but even that was nice, he reminisced to himself.

ㅤㅤ“but i don’t think i can return there—to… home, that is.”   the word felt awfully wrong for him to use, almost fake and perhaps his throat didn’t recognise its sound, and maybe that’s why he instinctively crossed his arms against his chest, frowning. was it really ‘home’ if he was designed to forever be a wanderer, never to stay for too long, always serving the cosmos? the stars never answered his pleas either, denying him any solace. shaking golden locks, he put on the best smile he could forge, eating yet another spoonful as he looked at kaveh.   “are you looking for inspiration, perhaps?”