[ listen he's a strong independent fatui he don't need no man
but if Zhongli expected him to be drunk enough not to notice that little gesture he has another thing coming. The reaction that follows after is certainly troubling, the Harbinger's jaw tightening a little before he focuses his attention on what he's got in his hands. ]
I'm almost insulted you think me the sort of person that would stumble around the city drunk. [ Childe could care less about the bellyaching of the weak, but opening himself to attack with dulled sensibilities - nevermind the confidence he had that he would win every single street brawl he got into, because there was no one in Liyue sans the man standing nearby that could hold a candle to him - was not something he did often, if at all.
The comment gets a short little laugh from him and he shakes his head before turning to face Zhongli with a hand on his hip and a critical eye. ]
If you wanted to leave, you know I would have let you. You don't have to tell me where you were going. I doubt there'd be anyone here that could catch the great Rex Lapis off his guard. [ A quick glance down to the docks tells him he's still got a bit of time. The merchant in question hasn't yet started packing up his wares, too busy engaging in conversation with the pretty florist from the pier. ]
These aren't for me. [ Is all he offers, before looking back. ] The pharmacist? Did I rough you up that badly?
[ a strong independent fatui who gets stress drunk when his babysit-ee goes missing, certainly. but maybe that's unfair when hu tao basically dropped zhongli on him like a half-wild cat and he wanders off as such and gets lost and finally deigns to try to find his way back 'home' insomuch as childe's place counts as home. ]
I went to the pharmacist for you. One of us had an open wound and it wasn't me. [ purely because of his adepti constitution, because if he were any more closer to a human's level childe could definitely have fucked him up and he knows it. it's another reason why he wants to recover some amount of ability, if not necessarily a god's memory, he'd like to be somewhat on childe's level. his frown is thoughtful as he lifts a hand to his chin, the familiar pensive gesture. ] And you forget I still don't quite know what kind of person you are. Maybe you really are the type to meander about on a tipsy midnight city tour, I wouldn't know any better.
I'm staying with you for the moment, at least until Hu Tao returns. [ he'll assure him of this much. actually, he seems about to say something else, but something in his eyes flicker, returning to the plush toy. ] And, Childe...
... Do you have a child?
[ this seems to occur to him out of nowhere. childe is a young man of marriageable age right? is that the right word. if not, what is...? breedable? something like that?? anyway the point is, maybe the toy is for his daughter. ]
[ listen sometimes you just wanna have a little drinkie
or the whole bottle, it happens, and for someone who goes on about osmanthus wine Zhongli should know better than anyone about the whole "social drinking" thing (though he probably wouldn't now, not when he doesn't have any memories to back it up with)
At the mention of Zhongli's reason for going out, Childe's expression changes minutely. For a moment he both looks and acts speechless, and for all that Zhongli has been nothing but petty and irate towards him (which is charming in and of itself, in some twisted way) Childe has to admit that it's not as bad as it could have been.
Even if Zhongli had basically done the equivalent of shitting all over his floor and leaving Childe to pick up the mess.
It's perhaps telling when he busies himself with combing fingers through the mane of the corpse of Exuvia plush, deliberating over how to respond. He's thankfully saved when Zhongli makes his little observation and he chokes on a laugh, snickering behind a hand and finally looking over to Zhongli with disbelief written all over his face. ]
A child? Me? Goodness no, the poor thing probably wouldn't survive. [ Which is telling in a lot of ways; but Childe doesn't elaborate on it, and goes on with another glance down the merchant who's still conversing with the pretty florist. ]
No, this is for my sister Tonia back home. Just something to let my family know I'm still alive and well. [ He gestures to the other parcels, the smaller boxes wrapped in brown paper and the bags of medicine and herbs. ] Stones for my mother, and herbs for my father. I've been spoiling Teucer too much, so I figured I was overdue for a care package of sorts.
[ The last is said almost to himself; he wouldn't be surprised if the names don't strike any sort of familiar chord with Zhongli. He seldom, if ever, spoke of his family openly. ]
[ the word he might be looking for is 'family-having', if that even counts as an adjective that even makes sense, maybe it doesn't. and maybe it kind of brings up the question of whether zhongli himself had family (though he likely won't ask hu tao this) and if he were a god, maybe that meant he didn't.
but let's shelve that idea for now, because this hadn't actually occurred to him-- ] I didn't know you had family. [ but once the words leave his mouth they seem terribly... crude, or oblivious. childe is human regardless of his mercenery job. human like most everyone else here--presumably. he might have questionable morals or perhaps few at all, but this is kind of a paradigm shift in zhongli's head, that childe cares for his siblings and parents.
he seems about ready to say something further, then actually changes his mind and simply reaches to take the toy, or several of childe's packages. he seems to have his arms pretty full. ]
Did it occur to you just now that it would be a good idea to go shopping for them, after midnight? [ a wry question; he could speculate that perhaps drinking made childe lonely or nostalgic. come to think of it, he doesn't even think he's personally gotten drunk or tipsy since he's lost his memory, but at least he had the vague knowledge of how it should feel. maybe even gods could be susceptible to alcohol. ] Let's head back, if you don't have any last-minute items to pick up for them. And even if you do, I'm sure it could wait until morning.
What, did you just expect that I popped out of the ground with a sword in my hand? [ Childe can’t help but tease, but he shakes his head after that statement and lets out a thoughtful hum. The mental image was certainly amusing enough. Zhongli knew how babies worked, didn’t be? ]
Perhaps your memories weren’t all that you lost. [ And then, when he sees the consultant reaching for his items, he visibly hesitates. While it’s true that he doesn’t have anything else to pick up, the truth of the matter was it really wasn’t just a simple shopping trip he was out on. Missives to Snezhnaya could be sent out at any time with the right amount of mora.
If the Tsaritsa didn’t know what had happened to Morax after giving up his Gnosis, would she even want to? What if it was some kind of facet of their contract, the one that Zhongli had been so tight-lipped over?
Regardless, it fell to him as a Harbinger to report it on the off-chance it was a new development to her. So while he allows Zhongli to take his parcels, thinking he can mail them out in the morning, he remains where he is with a small smile. ]
You’re right. I need to go tell my comrade over there something, though. So give me just a moment.
[ if he had a dearth of common sense even as rex lapis incognito, would he have much to lose of it even after memory loss? a good question. ]
That's right, I suspected you either reproduced by fission or someone had concocted you in some obscure ritual. [ all right, he knows this much, it's silly not to have thought that childe would have family. but he'd thought of him as an enemy for the past day, it's only recently that childe has been a bit more... humanized to him, human as he may be.
still, he's much less sly and calculative than he previously was, so the machinations and workings of the fatui and snezhnaya operations would be completely lost to him--for now, perhaps. he arches an eyebrow in mild curiosity that childe would still have another chore to run. ]
I'll wait for you here, then. [ ... ] I'm not entirely sure where would be the way back. [ just don't take too long, or he might be in danger of wandering off again like a stray cat.
that, or more likely he'd watch childe from the corner of one golden eye, observing what he's up to. the walls of liyue have ears, it's just too bad childe knows that better than zhongli does. ]
[ Childe has to remind himself that this is but isn't Zhongli, and it's not always to his benefit to believe everything that comes out of the man's mouth. Sarcasm is something that doesn't sound terrible on the consultant (mayhap even charming for how petty it makes him look, but he's not going to think about that right now) and he has to quell every urge he has to continue this particular thread of conversation.
He almost wants to tell him to continue on without him, but then Zhongli continues with not knowing the way back and Childe resigns himself to his fate. With a reassuring smile he makes his way to the merchant and the pretty florist who, as luck would have it, is actually saying her farewells, and once the man catches sight of Childe his expression lights up and he greets him with a handshake and a broad smile.
At least he's pretty sure that the consultant doesn't understand Snezhnayan, so even if his hearing is inhuman he probably wouldn't understand the words Childe speaks in clipped tones to the man. The conversation lasts for maybe a few moments, the words rolling smoothly off his mother tongue, and the merchant shakes his hands again before accepting the plump pouch of mora Childe offers him.
As he's making his way back up the slope to where Zhongli waits for him, he lifts his gaze and catches the impressive figure the consultant makes against the backdrop of the city. While he doesn't stand tall and poised like he used to, he's still... something.
Childe's hand fits against Zhongli's elbow before he can think about it, the move so natural it feels like instinct. He doesn't expect Zhongli won't hit him for it, swatting at him like a particularly temperamental, feral cat, so he's quick to take his hand away once he's steered him into the right direction and they start walking back to Childe's place. ]
Maybe I should start charging you for all the damage you're doing to my apartment.
[ no, he doesn't understand a lick of snezhnayan. at this point he can't even quite read the traditional or archaic liyue characters, which should truly be a point of shame for one who used to be the god of the country. truly memory wipes are formidable. it's possible childe had taught him a few words and phrases in his mother tongue; it's actually likely that he'd had a rather passing or even decent familiarity with the language, at least enough to forge verbal contracts with foreign tradesmen. how far he's fallen.
the touch at his elbow is... a few hours prior it might prompt distrust and possibly even an attempted draw of a weapon, when he'd been so convinced childe was his enemy. now, it's a little... familiar almost, somehow, a little... ]
I could bring up the fact that you apparently tried to take my Gnosis, even if you failed. Would I be an aggrieved party, would an attempt at theft excuse me for that property damage? [ this being said, his tone isn't as harsh as it was, just one evening prior. he sounds a bit speculative. at this point still, whatever happenings in his past life still sounds a bit... removed from him, as if he's speaking about someone else entirely, he can't quite take it personally.
still, childe does have a point, he did cause quite a bit of damage. nobody can deny this. and zhongli has the sense of... balance, or debt, like wanting to equalize both sides of a contract. ]
I'm afraid I'm light of Mora. As in, I have none. I had the pharmacy bill Wangsheng Tang. I could do another IOU, or... is there any other way I could make it up to you?
[ In another time, with another Zhongli, that might have gotten a nervous laugh from him, his mind racing to thoughts involving the consultant that are far more intimate than their casual friendship would suggest. Childe would have argued that it was only because they'd got on so well and, with the nature of the public's general demeanor towards the Fatui as a whole, it was hard to get an outlet that wasn't trading blows with his recruits in the middle of a field somewhere.
And Zhongli had always been so warm, and so gracious, and - dare he say it? - funny, with a sense of humor honed over six thousand years.
There's still traces of him in there, he knows, even if the words he's speaking are harsher than his Zhongli would have any right to be. It's refreshing but also, it's mildly depressing. He remembered a time where he would have wanted Zhongli to be forthright and open and honest with him, laying out everything he was feeling for Childe to pick apart indulgently. Now... it's not quite the same.
Can this Zhongli even bring it up, when it seemed, for all extents and purposes, as though it happened to someone else entirely? It almost feels like he's taking credit for someone else's suffering.
But going back to that statement. If it were any other night, if he weren't currently running on half a bottle of Snezhnayan firewater, he probably would have rolled his eyes at him and joked about how he could work off his debt with the Fatui. They would surely get a kick out of seeing the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor consultant in their ranks, sorting through paperwork or else lecturing new recruits.
But it isn't, and he is, so what comes out of his mouth instead is: ]
[ he isn't rex lapis or at least he hasn't been for weeks now, weeks that would basically be a completely new life for him. but he'd still approach life and information with the same methodical, rather meticulous problem-solving methods that rex lapis would; probably not with the same subtlety and subterfuge, at least not yet. at the moment when childe is his strongest source of information and apparently his former self's associate, friend, somewhat-enemy at least in being a target of theft and contrivance--he strangely feels like that he could be candid with him. maybe paradoxically in contrast to how secretive he'd been with childe, one life ago.
and he has enough good will towards childe now to consider that he should actually try to make things up to him, now that they've reached a bit more of an understanding. oh, some things might not go forgiven, like that little touch of tentacle. but even if he doesn't preside over contracts, he has the sense of wanting things to be balanced and favors paid. childe has been a nuisance in quite a few respects but helpful in quite a lot of others, so maybe he could think of some way to compense him, never mind that he has absolutely no mora--
childe's suggestion pierces through his musing. he blinks, gives him a curious sidewards look, because his first thought is, ] On my knees?
Should I prostrate myself before you? Do you think I would? [ needless to say, from the look on his face, what a disagreeable idea that is... apparently he has some amount of pride. it might be long-lost pride from a god over an ancient massive nation even if that god is now apparently dead. a frown further as he studies childe's expression and rethinks his words more fully--
he might be an amnesiac but he might not be a complete ignorant, it dimly occurs to him childe might mean a different form of prostration. he considers this, then disregards it. ]
How drunk are you? [ it must be that childe has had too much of that firewater and might be a lonely drunk. and he really needs to sleep it off. ]
[ honestly, prostrate was the furthest thing from his mind, and it perhaps shows in the way confusion spreads across his features, his brows furrowing under the weight of it. but then he realizes what he said, what Zhongli's response was, and something like a cringe at the obvious lack of a filter crosses his face, the Harbinger immediately sifting through his bangs with gloved fingers.
it's probably just because today has been chaotic. that's all. he's seen more of Zhongli and his myriad of expressions than he ever has before, and it's starting to affect him. that's really all there is to it.
the sooner he can get back to Snezhnaya, the better. he only hopes that the Tsaritsa doesn't plan on sticking him in Liyue for the foreseeable future, especially with the revelation that Morax has effectively lost all his memories and now leaves Liyue open to conflict from outside forces. but if it were in their contract for to keep the Fatui under lock and key, well. maybe that meant he would be returning home sooner rather than later. ]
Never mind it. Forget I said anything.
[ there's still enough fire-water at home for him to imbibe with. he sets off for the familiar path that will lead him to his apartment, brushing past Zhongli on the way and moving with a slightly more accelerated pace than before. ]
[ he'd probably said the wrong thing just now, and the abrupt mood change... it doesn't quite unnerve him, but it might just come close when childe has been just about nothing but confident and cocky and in the know for this long. apart from that brief moment of vulnerability last night when he'd been drunk, but--
he can put this up to the alcohol, possibly. he deliberates over this as he follows childe, frowning; flexing his hand idly without quite realizing it, when he'd been trying to practice cultivating his power again, like exercising a long-forgotten muscle. an amnesiac but not a complete ignoramus; part of him is a bit wary still, part of him still meticulously collects, as if in fragments. all the information childe gives him and deliberates over each one: trusting that there's some or mostly truth to it, but wondering what might be hidden or unsaid. ]
Childe, I'll admit that I've been... probably, difficult to deal with since we met. [ to say the very least, when he'd literally attacked childe in his own home. still. ] Whatever had happened in the past, I do appreciate all the information and hospitality you've given me. To a point, anyway. [ because, fuck that octopus. for god's sake. ]
I'll do what I can to make it up to you, if a little. But I apologize if I won't get on my knees for it. I'll find some other way.
[ he does actually sound like he has some conviction in this. he'll make it a little mission for himself, maybe. he does have the sense of fairness, he wouldn't want to owe a debt or be caught lacking in an unequal transaction. ]
I'm not asking -- [ he snaps, pivoting on his heel with such force it's a wonder he doesn't give himself whiplash. a mixture of embarrassment and irritation simmers in his eyes, as though he can't quite decide which one he wants to be in this moment. it's not Zhongli. the only memories he has are the ones they're making right now, and while he knows he's not exactly making the best impression (hadn't, really, from the time they'd met until now) after everything that's happened between them he can't even begin to feel a shred of remorse over what his perception of him might be.
he doesn't know why Hu Tao decided to just dump him off on him. did she think they were friends? did she think that he might be able to fix him, somehow? maybe Zhongli didn't want to be fixed. he said he was going to live life as a mortal, so new shell, new him. it would make sense if he knew that this was going to happen.
gradually, he feels his shoulders slacken, his jaw unclench. he doesn't want to be here. Zhongli obviously does not want to be here. Childe does not want him here. ]
I can put you up somewhere else. There's an inn out between Dihua Marsh and Guili Plains. It's not too far of a walk, and maybe the fresh air will do you some good. As much as you loved this city if staying here hasn't done anything to jog your memory thus far, maybe walking the lands will.
[ he turns back around, that decided. ]
We can go when it's day time. For now... I need to get some sleep.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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but if Zhongli expected him to be drunk enough not to notice that little gesture he has another thing coming. The reaction that follows after is certainly troubling, the Harbinger's jaw tightening a little before he focuses his attention on what he's got in his hands. ]
I'm almost insulted you think me the sort of person that would stumble around the city drunk. [ Childe could care less about the bellyaching of the weak, but opening himself to attack with dulled sensibilities - nevermind the confidence he had that he would win every single street brawl he got into, because there was no one in Liyue sans the man standing nearby that could hold a candle to him - was not something he did often, if at all.
The comment gets a short little laugh from him and he shakes his head before turning to face Zhongli with a hand on his hip and a critical eye. ]
If you wanted to leave, you know I would have let you. You don't have to tell me where you were going. I doubt there'd be anyone here that could catch the great Rex Lapis off his guard. [ A quick glance down to the docks tells him he's still got a bit of time. The merchant in question hasn't yet started packing up his wares, too busy engaging in conversation with the pretty florist from the pier. ]
These aren't for me. [ Is all he offers, before looking back. ] The pharmacist? Did I rough you up that badly?
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I went to the pharmacist for you. One of us had an open wound and it wasn't me. [ purely because of his adepti constitution, because if he were any more closer to a human's level childe could definitely have fucked him up and he knows it. it's another reason why he wants to recover some amount of ability, if not necessarily a god's memory, he'd like to be somewhat on childe's level. his frown is thoughtful as he lifts a hand to his chin, the familiar pensive gesture. ] And you forget I still don't quite know what kind of person you are. Maybe you really are the type to meander about on a tipsy midnight city tour, I wouldn't know any better.
I'm staying with you for the moment, at least until Hu Tao returns. [ he'll assure him of this much. actually, he seems about to say something else, but something in his eyes flicker, returning to the plush toy. ] And, Childe...
... Do you have a child?
[ this seems to occur to him out of nowhere. childe is a young man of marriageable age right? is that the right word. if not, what is...? breedable? something like that?? anyway the point is, maybe the toy is for his daughter. ]
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or the whole bottle, it happens, and for someone who goes on about osmanthus wine Zhongli should know better than anyone about the whole "social drinking" thing (though he probably wouldn't now, not when he doesn't have any memories to back it up with)
At the mention of Zhongli's reason for going out, Childe's expression changes minutely. For a moment he both looks and acts speechless, and for all that Zhongli has been nothing but petty and irate towards him (which is charming in and of itself, in some twisted way) Childe has to admit that it's not as bad as it could have been.
Even if Zhongli had basically done the equivalent of shitting all over his floor and leaving Childe to pick up the mess.
It's perhaps telling when he busies himself with combing fingers through the mane of the corpse of Exuvia plush, deliberating over how to respond. He's thankfully saved when Zhongli makes his little observation and he chokes on a laugh, snickering behind a hand and finally looking over to Zhongli with disbelief written all over his face. ]
A child? Me? Goodness no, the poor thing probably wouldn't survive. [ Which is telling in a lot of ways; but Childe doesn't elaborate on it, and goes on with another glance down the merchant who's still conversing with the pretty florist. ]
No, this is for my sister Tonia back home. Just something to let my family know I'm still alive and well. [ He gestures to the other parcels, the smaller boxes wrapped in brown paper and the bags of medicine and herbs. ] Stones for my mother, and herbs for my father. I've been spoiling Teucer too much, so I figured I was overdue for a care package of sorts.
[ The last is said almost to himself; he wouldn't be surprised if the names don't strike any sort of familiar chord with Zhongli. He seldom, if ever, spoke of his family openly. ]
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but let's shelve that idea for now, because this hadn't actually occurred to him-- ] I didn't know you had family. [ but once the words leave his mouth they seem terribly... crude, or oblivious. childe is human regardless of his mercenery job. human like most everyone else here--presumably. he might have questionable morals or perhaps few at all, but this is kind of a paradigm shift in zhongli's head, that childe cares for his siblings and parents.
he seems about ready to say something further, then actually changes his mind and simply reaches to take the toy, or several of childe's packages. he seems to have his arms pretty full. ]
Did it occur to you just now that it would be a good idea to go shopping for them, after midnight? [ a wry question; he could speculate that perhaps drinking made childe lonely or nostalgic. come to think of it, he doesn't even think he's personally gotten drunk or tipsy since he's lost his memory, but at least he had the vague knowledge of how it should feel. maybe even gods could be susceptible to alcohol. ] Let's head back, if you don't have any last-minute items to pick up for them. And even if you do, I'm sure it could wait until morning.
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Perhaps your memories weren’t all that you lost. [ And then, when he sees the consultant reaching for his items, he visibly hesitates. While it’s true that he doesn’t have anything else to pick up, the truth of the matter was it really wasn’t just a simple shopping trip he was out on. Missives to Snezhnaya could be sent out at any time with the right amount of mora.
If the Tsaritsa didn’t know what had happened to Morax after giving up his Gnosis, would she even want to? What if it was some kind of facet of their contract, the one that Zhongli had been so tight-lipped over?
Regardless, it fell to him as a Harbinger to report it on the off-chance it was a new development to her. So while he allows Zhongli to take his parcels, thinking he can mail them out in the morning, he remains where he is with a small smile. ]
You’re right. I need to go tell my comrade over there something, though. So give me just a moment.
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That's right, I suspected you either reproduced by fission or someone had concocted you in some obscure ritual. [ all right, he knows this much, it's silly not to have thought that childe would have family. but he'd thought of him as an enemy for the past day, it's only recently that childe has been a bit more... humanized to him, human as he may be.
still, he's much less sly and calculative than he previously was, so the machinations and workings of the fatui and snezhnaya operations would be completely lost to him--for now, perhaps. he arches an eyebrow in mild curiosity that childe would still have another chore to run. ]
I'll wait for you here, then. [ ... ] I'm not entirely sure where would be the way back. [ just don't take too long, or he might be in danger of wandering off again like a stray cat.
that, or more likely he'd watch childe from the corner of one golden eye, observing what he's up to. the walls of liyue have ears, it's just too bad childe knows that better than zhongli does. ]
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He almost wants to tell him to continue on without him, but then Zhongli continues with not knowing the way back and Childe resigns himself to his fate. With a reassuring smile he makes his way to the merchant and the pretty florist who, as luck would have it, is actually saying her farewells, and once the man catches sight of Childe his expression lights up and he greets him with a handshake and a broad smile.
At least he's pretty sure that the consultant doesn't understand Snezhnayan, so even if his hearing is inhuman he probably wouldn't understand the words Childe speaks in clipped tones to the man. The conversation lasts for maybe a few moments, the words rolling smoothly off his mother tongue, and the merchant shakes his hands again before accepting the plump pouch of mora Childe offers him.
As he's making his way back up the slope to where Zhongli waits for him, he lifts his gaze and catches the impressive figure the consultant makes against the backdrop of the city. While he doesn't stand tall and poised like he used to, he's still... something.
Childe's hand fits against Zhongli's elbow before he can think about it, the move so natural it feels like instinct. He doesn't expect Zhongli won't hit him for it, swatting at him like a particularly temperamental, feral cat, so he's quick to take his hand away once he's steered him into the right direction and they start walking back to Childe's place. ]
Maybe I should start charging you for all the damage you're doing to my apartment.
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the touch at his elbow is... a few hours prior it might prompt distrust and possibly even an attempted draw of a weapon, when he'd been so convinced childe was his enemy. now, it's a little... familiar almost, somehow, a little... ]
I could bring up the fact that you apparently tried to take my Gnosis, even if you failed. Would I be an aggrieved party, would an attempt at theft excuse me for that property damage? [ this being said, his tone isn't as harsh as it was, just one evening prior. he sounds a bit speculative. at this point still, whatever happenings in his past life still sounds a bit... removed from him, as if he's speaking about someone else entirely, he can't quite take it personally.
still, childe does have a point, he did cause quite a bit of damage. nobody can deny this. and zhongli has the sense of... balance, or debt, like wanting to equalize both sides of a contract. ]
I'm afraid I'm light of Mora. As in, I have none. I had the pharmacy bill Wangsheng Tang. I could do another IOU, or... is there any other way I could make it up to you?
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And Zhongli had always been so warm, and so gracious, and - dare he say it? - funny, with a sense of humor honed over six thousand years.
There's still traces of him in there, he knows, even if the words he's speaking are harsher than his Zhongli would have any right to be. It's refreshing but also, it's mildly depressing. He remembered a time where he would have wanted Zhongli to be forthright and open and honest with him, laying out everything he was feeling for Childe to pick apart indulgently. Now... it's not quite the same.
Can this Zhongli even bring it up, when it seemed, for all extents and purposes, as though it happened to someone else entirely? It almost feels like he's taking credit for someone else's suffering.
But going back to that statement. If it were any other night, if he weren't currently running on half a bottle of Snezhnayan firewater, he probably would have rolled his eyes at him and joked about how he could work off his debt with the Fatui. They would surely get a kick out of seeing the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor consultant in their ranks, sorting through paperwork or else lecturing new recruits.
But it isn't, and he is, so what comes out of his mouth instead is: ]
You could always make it up to me on your knees.
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and he has enough good will towards childe now to consider that he should actually try to make things up to him, now that they've reached a bit more of an understanding. oh, some things might not go forgiven, like that little touch of tentacle. but even if he doesn't preside over contracts, he has the sense of wanting things to be balanced and favors paid. childe has been a nuisance in quite a few respects but helpful in quite a lot of others, so maybe he could think of some way to compense him, never mind that he has absolutely no mora--
childe's suggestion pierces through his musing. he blinks, gives him a curious sidewards look, because his first thought is, ] On my knees?
Should I prostrate myself before you? Do you think I would? [ needless to say, from the look on his face, what a disagreeable idea that is... apparently he has some amount of pride. it might be long-lost pride from a god over an ancient massive nation even if that god is now apparently dead. a frown further as he studies childe's expression and rethinks his words more fully--
he might be an amnesiac but he might not be a complete ignorant, it dimly occurs to him childe might mean a different form of prostration. he considers this, then disregards it. ]
How drunk are you? [ it must be that childe has had too much of that firewater and might be a lonely drunk. and he really needs to sleep it off. ]
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it's probably just because today has been chaotic. that's all. he's seen more of Zhongli and his myriad of expressions than he ever has before, and it's starting to affect him. that's really all there is to it.
the sooner he can get back to Snezhnaya, the better. he only hopes that the Tsaritsa doesn't plan on sticking him in Liyue for the foreseeable future, especially with the revelation that Morax has effectively lost all his memories and now leaves Liyue open to conflict from outside forces. but if it were in their contract for to keep the Fatui under lock and key, well. maybe that meant he would be returning home sooner rather than later. ]
Never mind it. Forget I said anything.
[ there's still enough fire-water at home for him to imbibe with. he sets off for the familiar path that will lead him to his apartment, brushing past Zhongli on the way and moving with a slightly more accelerated pace than before. ]
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he can put this up to the alcohol, possibly. he deliberates over this as he follows childe, frowning; flexing his hand idly without quite realizing it, when he'd been trying to practice cultivating his power again, like exercising a long-forgotten muscle. an amnesiac but not a complete ignoramus; part of him is a bit wary still, part of him still meticulously collects, as if in fragments. all the information childe gives him and deliberates over each one: trusting that there's some or mostly truth to it, but wondering what might be hidden or unsaid. ]
Childe, I'll admit that I've been... probably, difficult to deal with since we met. [ to say the very least, when he'd literally attacked childe in his own home. still. ] Whatever had happened in the past, I do appreciate all the information and hospitality you've given me. To a point, anyway. [ because, fuck that octopus. for god's sake. ]
I'll do what I can to make it up to you, if a little. But I apologize if I won't get on my knees for it. I'll find some other way.
[ he does actually sound like he has some conviction in this. he'll make it a little mission for himself, maybe. he does have the sense of fairness, he wouldn't want to owe a debt or be caught lacking in an unequal transaction. ]
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he doesn't know why Hu Tao decided to just dump him off on him. did she think they were friends? did she think that he might be able to fix him, somehow? maybe Zhongli didn't want to be fixed. he said he was going to live life as a mortal, so new shell, new him. it would make sense if he knew that this was going to happen.
gradually, he feels his shoulders slacken, his jaw unclench. he doesn't want to be here. Zhongli obviously does not want to be here. Childe does not want him here. ]
I can put you up somewhere else. There's an inn out between Dihua Marsh and Guili Plains. It's not too far of a walk, and maybe the fresh air will do you some good. As much as you loved this city if staying here hasn't done anything to jog your memory thus far, maybe walking the lands will.
[ he turns back around, that decided. ]
We can go when it's day time. For now... I need to get some sleep.