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[childeishly]

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"Not here, sorry, but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I find the time."

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[childeishly]

[ he shifts to avoid further contact. ] ...if you can be selfish, then I can be selfish too.

1/2

[leaveofabsence]

[ Oh.

He takes a step back. ]

My apologies. I misunderstood.

[leaveofabsence]

What do you want then, Cheri?

[childeishly]

...just a little. [ he summons a snake of water to clean himself of the blood staining his person. ] Me or not, if he oversteps his boundaries, then I’m killing him.

[ if zhongli can consider giving him life, then he can consider ending his life. ]

[leaveofabsence]

Considering your nature, I would not expect anything less than for you to see him as a challenge. As violence to be one of the languages you communicate in.

But I will admit I am at a loss on what I have done to upset you.

And what you mean by overstepping his boundaries.

[childeishly]

[ they fought once already, so it’s bound to happen again. ]

[ who else could keep up with childe besides childe? ]

It’s not you specifically. It’s you in general, having decided to play god without my consent, I’m sure, because why in Teyvat would this ever be a topic of conversation? I may get into a number of dangerous fights and, sure, the threat of dying always looms overhead, but... [ he’s not weak. he knows his limits, which is why he’a always pushing to make them broader. he wouldn’t die, especially not to ‘himself’ of all things. ]

[ he sets a hand on his face and sighs. ] I really don’t know what to think or how to feel and I hate it.

[leaveofabsence]

Then until you are determine what you are comfortable with, I will not intervene on your behalf without your consent.

Would that put at least a little of your worries at ease?

[childeishly]

I don’t know. I really don’t know. [ part of him wants to apologize for how difficult this is and how he’s being, but the other part is still upset at zhongli and this other him, so he just keeps his mouth shut and tries sorting through his muddled thoughts and feelings. ]

I’m sure this will sort itself out... at some point.

[leaveofabsence]

Of course. Until then, I suppose we can only be patient.

[ He pauses for a moment, as if he is uncharacteristically struggling with what he should say next.

And then eventually opts to say nothing at all. ]

[childeishly]

[ he also seems to be having a difficult time with how to go on. he's reminded of how things were following the liyue incident and that has him frowning. ] Did you still want to go on that walk? [ maybe that'll help clear his head of some of these thoughts, because he's seriously at a loss for what to do. ]

[leaveofabsence]

Yes. Of course, I do.

We do not have to talk about this or anything else for that matter. Perhaps just the fresh air will help settle some of our unease.

[childeishly]

...let's take a walk then.

[ he simply nods at that and heads toward zhongli. he can take the lead, since it had been his idea in the first place. perhaps he had a path for them to traverse in mind already. ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ Zhongli for once follows, though he not so subtly is glancing over at Childe every now and then. ]

I do not believe I have seen you use your hydro powers for such a skill before.

[ Referring to the removal of blood.

How handy! ]

[childeishly]

I do more than fight with it. My Vision is an extension of me. Just like any weapon I pick up. If you’re going to excel at something you need to know how to use it effectively in circumstances of all kinds. [ so not just for fighting, though that’s obviously his favorite thing to do with it. he moves a hand to it, feeling his anger bubble as he thinks back to when kaeya took it. it was like losing a piece of himself... ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ He nods, glancing at Childe again. ]

Whose blood was it?

[childeishly]

...some of it was mine and some of it was *his*. [ referring to the other version of himself. ]

[leaveofabsence]

Are you still injured?

[childeishly]

Probably. I came right here after... [ but he just keeps walking, seemingly unbothered by whatever injuries he may have sustained. ] I’m fine though.

[leaveofabsence]

[ There is a slow blink as Zhongli visibly forces himself not to respond to that with an offer of aid. Childe says he is fine, so fine he probably is.

Instead he continues to keep pace beside him. ]

Where are we headed?

[childeishly]

[ if zhongli manages to fall behind at any point he'll catch sight of his back... and that's a bit of a mess. ]

No idea. Just wandering.

[leaveofabsence]

[ He's taking note of that.

Slowing down just a little to pluck a flower from the ground before he catches up to Childe. ]

[childeishly]

[ he had gotten stabbed a bunch of times. oops... ]

[ he doesn’t seem to notice that zhongli has fallen behind, or perhaps he doesn’t care, and instead he keeps walking... letting his thoughts swirl as he considers just heading back to cupcake to rest. ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ He stops to pick another flower.

And another.

All while keeping close to Childe and letting him wander to his heart's content. ]

[childeishly]

[ at some point he stops altogether and turns to face zhongli. ] What are you doing?

[leaveofabsence]

If you crush the petals of these flowers, it can be used as a salve to reduce inflammation and pain when applied to the skin.