mischievously: (twenty-five.)
π“π€π‘π“π€π†π‹πˆπ€. ([personal profile] mischievously) wrote 2021-05-09 08:45 am (UTC)

( zhongli's blasΓ© slight pings off him like rain on glass, discarded with the backward roll of one stiff shoulder. he isn't wrong. three months in the abyss earned him a steady sword hand and a plethora of other skills that he dragged topside, but all of it came at a cost. soft boyhood exchanged for nightmares. mediocrity exchanged for unbridled power. quid pro quo: the abyss giveth and taketh away then giveth again, and now its roots have sprouted limbs inside him.

the bow came last, under the tutelage of a skilled but unsympathetic fatui archer who slapped his elbow and spine with the shaft of an arrow to correct his form. don't lift your chin, keep your head straight, the arrow needs to be parallel with the ground, ajax.
)

Practice. ( he yields to zhongli's request without argument, bow shattering into a fine mist as he summons two knives in its stead. ) I only learned the bow after my conscription into Her Majesty's ranks.

( zhongli's serpentine stare β€” sharp and golden, glinting brighter than the flickering lamplight in the golden house β€” is oppressive, even at a distance. childe doesn't want him to look away. he circles the platform in an arc, spinning his blades around his wrists, and follows his polearm's speeding bolt into his hand, enough force there to snap a bone in half.

better. warmer. hotter. closer to what he wants.
)

My father used to tell me stories about you, ( he says, idly. his father used to tell him stories about a lot of things. ) Your legendary prowess in battle. The many gods you felled. You were a main figurehead in at least one of my nightmares as a child. I always wondered what you'd be like in person.

( he stops mid-step and turns to face zhongli fully. his lashes dip low as his eyes leisurely track the length of zhongli's body, from feet to head, and linger on his throat, blistering and unhurried. he touches his tongue to his bottom lip, lifting his chin to meet his gaze. )

I thought you'd be taller. ( he extends his knife, beckoning him with forward with the slight tilt of his wrist. ) By all means, xiansheng. Your move.

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