(Summary): Seeing that your mood has been down in the dumps, Lumine and Childe decide to surprise you with a secret ice fishing trip, unbeknownst to the strom closing in
Part 1 Last Part Next Part
✧ Masterlist ✧
(Characters): Traveler!Lumine, Childe, Paimon, Abyss Prince!Aether , Al haitham, Jean, Ganyu, Sara, Ayato, and Ningguang
(Warnings): Cursing, suggestive language, use of Childe’s real name, Childe’s downbad in this part too, not proofread(let me know if I miss anything)
(A/n): Al haitham and Jean are friends cuz I said so >:(
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The snowstorms have gotten less frequent and harsh during your time in Snezhnaya, but that still didn’t calm your nerves. It has been 3 weeks, nearing a month since anymore Primogems have been found. You can tell things have gotten stressful from the jumpy nature of the low level fatui agents and them being much more apologetic lately. Things have gotten to the point where you rarely see the Harbingers or the Tsarita. Though you have Lumine and Paimon and Aether when he’s not in the Abyss to talk to, the tension still hanging over your head the feeling of uncertainty starts clutching at your back a lot more as of late
You try not to let your anxiety show, but it seems that no matter how hard you try your first vessel would be more privy of you and your emotions
And her and Paimon’s behavior today, you began to grow a bit suspicious of them. What could they be planning? It wasn’t until your favorite homicidal ginger ran up to you and shoved a fishing rod in your hand, saying that he and Lumine have something planned for you
“Ice fishing?”
“Yeah, we’ve noticed that you’ve been down recently and Childe suggested that we take you ice fishing, to clear your head.” Lumine explained
“It would be good to get some fresh air!” Paimon chimed
“That sounds nice, but we should let the others know about this so they don’t freak out when they can’t find me.”
“Don’t worry about that, I already told Capitano!” Childe exclaimed. “Come on, the good fish are waiting for us!” Childe grabbed your free hand and took you out the back
You should’ve known something was up when the taller man looked around each turn before leading you to another corner, but the prospect of being outside made you throw out any reason. When you were brought to the destination, a frozen lake with 3 stools around a hole cut into the ice
“This way, your-”
“Let me help you to your seat, (y/n).” Lumine cut the Harbinger off and took your hand to help you get through the ice and to your designated stool
Once all three of you settled into your respective stools, you turned towards Childe. “So what’s the point of ice fishing?”
“Well, it’s just a way to get out. I do this to clear my head after a long mission with no bloodshed.” The Ginger explained
“So we just talk and hope to catch a fish?”
“Yeah…”
“This sounds too boring, I’m going to take a nap.” Paimon said before disappearing in her little pocket dimension
“Wait, she can do that?!” You shrieked in bewilderment
“Yeah, I thought you could see it during all the times you used me as a vessel.” Lumine assumed
You were too dumbfounded to formulate any words. Thankfully you didn’t blurt out thinking her disappearing into a mass of sparkles and stars was only a game mechanic. You don’t know how you would explain to them what game was and that they were in one without causing some existential crisis
“Okay…”
It was all you manage to say and the two took it without saying anything more. You looked towards the horizon and admired the sun that just revealed itself in all of it’s shining glory. Oddly enough looking at the ball of fiery death didn’t blind you after starring at it, you could say it almost felt comforting. The same comfort you get when reminiscing on a snack you would have as a kid but not as much as you got older. The feeling of nostalgia got you thinking on some things, the same things that been crawling at your back. It didn’t help that the silence you were sitting in made the crawling worse the seconds pass
“Hey, Childe…?” The young man lifted his head towards you. “Do you mind if I call you by your real name, just while we’re here?”
“Of course, your Grace!” Ajax said with glee
“You can call me (y/n) since I’m using your real name.”
“Okay, (y/n).” The way your name rolled off his tongue made him super giddy, all the while Lumine and Paimon watched in mild discomfort. After the initial feeling of exhilaration has subsided, Ajax quickly composed himself. “Is there anything on your mind, (y/n)?” He asked gleefully towards the end at the privilege of getting to say your name
“Do any of you think my plan of taking my doppelganger off the throne would be possible?”
“Of course I do!” Lumine and Ajax said in unison
“Do you mean that as a devoted acolyte or as just you.” You turned towards Childe, a look of earness on your face. “ As Childe of the fatui harbingers or as Ajax?” You turned your attention towards Lumine. “And as the Traveler, the hero renowned all over Teyvat or as Lumine who traversed the stars with her brother?”
The two were left stunned, Ajax opened his mouth but no words came out while Lumine turned her gaze away from you
“I don’t know if I can really beat them. One day I’m just some ordinary person and the next, I’m in this world labeled as an imposter but I’m actually this divine Creator.” You looked towards the hole in the ice to avoid the gazes of your company. “I’ve never been too notable back home, but all of you call me ‘your Grace’ and hold me in high regard. I don’t feel that and sometimes….” Tears start to well up your eyes. “Sometimes I even wonder if you guys are just going along with my plan because you’re all afraid of hurting my feeli-”
“That’s not true!” You snap your head to face Ajax who got up from his seat. “Even though you’ve been reincarnated in a human body, everyone who knows of your presence believes you can achieve this goal. If her majesty had any doubt on then she wouldn’t hesitate to tell you!” Ajax sat back down on the stool. “I believe in you as Childe, the 11th Harbinger and as Ajax, the guy from that small village.”
“I agree with Ajax. Even though I’m claimed to have done massive feats, I wouldn’t have done them without you guidance. My battles against Stormterror, Osial, and the Shogun they all wouldn’t possible without you right by me.”
“Thanks guys,” You took your hook out of the water and set the fishing rod next to you. “Ice fishing is kinda boring, ya’ll wanna have a snowball fight?”
Lumine and Ajax share a look between themselves before turning their attention back towards you and nodding with smiles on their faces
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On the other side of the world, in the nation of contracts, Liyue. Here is where most if not all of the nations’ leaders are temporarily residing due to the order of their “Creator.”
The streets don’t hold the same sense of peace and liveliness it once held, now replaced by animosity and tension so thick one can nearly choke just by breathing. It isn’t any better at the Yujing Terrace, where the world leaders constantly discuss their next corse of action and the same place Al haitham dreads going
On one hand he is grateful that he’s not responsible for the work that comes with being the Acting Grand Sage, but this isn’t exactly what he was expecting
“Good morning, would like some coffee?” Jean asked as she held out a paper cup with its contents producing steam
“Thank you.” He said while taking the cup and drinking from it
“How are you liking your stay at Liyue?”
“It’s alright, I took the chance to pick up some books that typically don’t reach the Akademya.”
“You like to read, me too! Normally I don’t get to read because of my work schedule, but I digress. What genres do you read?”
“Mainly science, philosophy, and…” A noise takes Al haitham out of his line of thought
“Is something wrong?” Jean asked worriedly
It’s whistling
Al haitham walked towards the direction where the sound comes and sees the Natlan priestess with a bird perched upon her finger
“Chimalma, good morning!” Jean greeted
“Morning to you, Jean!” The priestess waved
So Chimalma was her name, Al haitham probably heard her name before but didn’t bother to remember it
“I didn’t expect for you to talk to birds.”
“Hummingbirds are said to be the souls of fallen soldiers, it would be absurd that the priestess of Natlan to not be able to speak to the late warriors, no?” Chimalma scoffed with a playful glint in her eyes
“No, I didn’t mean anything-” Jean tried to stammer out an apology
“I joking, you really need to lighten up.” Chimalma waved her hand dismissively
“I heard the language of birds is something their Grace and only people they chose are able to understand it.” A short woman with blue hair and horns commented as she walk up the stairs
“Spot on! As one would expect from one of Rex Lapis’ adepti~” Chimalma sang which made the qilin turn her head away from the feline hybrid
“If you can indeed talk to birds, then we can use that to our advantage in capturing the imposter.” The tengu general from Inazuma proclaimed as she entered with the Yashiro Commissioner sally of whom Al haitham couldn’t be bothered to learn their names
For a second Chimalma’s eye twitched and a slight hint of malevolence can be seen but soon returned to their usual easygoing gleam. All of which didn’t go unnoticed by the acting Grand Sage and apparently the Yashiro Commissioner caught the slip up
“It seems that everyone is here so we can start attending to matters,” The voice of the Tinaquan brought everyone’s attention towards her. “are there any concerns one would like to bring to our attention before we start with today’s proceedings?”
“I would like to bring up a question,” The young clan head raised his hand. “is Snezhnaya going to be joining us? I don’t recall seeing a representative in our meeting with their Grace.”
“Despite the numerous attempts to get their involvement, they refused each instance.”
“Would it be possible to think, they’re harboring this imposter.” Everyone’s attention quickly turned towards Al haitham, each face containing certain level of surprise. Wether it being what the former scribe said or the fact that he even spoke at all. “Not too long ago they tried to construct a god that would replace Lord Kusanali, so it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for them to be hiding the imposter in hopes of using them to their advantage.”
An unsettling silence hung over the envoys as the realization of the words fully took root in each of the leader’s minds
“That’s absurd! You don’t think they’re foolish enough to try that…? To try and use a world ending entity to replace their Grace, right?” The horned Adeptus worried
There was a moment of silence until the Tinaquan cleared her throat
“If your assertion is true, then we need to mobilize our forces as soon as possible.” She declared, her eyes showing a flame burning within them
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Completely unaware of the arrangements being made, you throw the snowball without a care in the world. The same carefreeness you once had before being labeled as an imposter and hunted like an animal
You watch the snowball fly through the air and break apart once it missed Childe and made contact with a tree trunk. That was the nth snowball you threw he dodged with no effort, but it looked like Lumine was having an easier time getting the snowballs to hit the ginger. You shouldn’t feel too bad, things could be worse. You could be doing just as bad as Paimon desperately flying out the way of snowballs but still getting hit by a good chunk of them
“Your Grace, there you are.” A familiar voice greets you
You look back to see a pair of golden orbs starring back at you
“Aether, how did you find me?”
“I followed your aura when I didn’t sense you in the palace.”
“The spell wears off? Damn that’s really inconvenient.”
“I can cast it on you, again. If it’s for you, I don’t mind being inconve-” A snowball hits Aether square in the face. “Lumine!” Aether yelled
“You didn’t specify you weren’t in the fight, so I didn’t know.”
“Bullshit!!!”
Aether held out his hand and a clump of snow appears in it. As he gets ready to throw the snow ball Lumine tries to run out of its potential line of sight
“Wait! That’s not fair! You can’t use elemental pow-” The blonde tried to shout but was hit in the face
Lumine wipes the snow off her face and starts to grab a large chunk of snow from the ground and packed it into a ball. Aether shield you from Lumine’s and Ajax’s line of sight
“My sister is scary when she’s angry, don’t worry I’ll protect you, your Grace.” The normally cold prince told with an uncharacteristic smile on his face
“No fair, I wanna be on (y/n)’s side-” Ajax whined but got hit in the face by a snowball
“How dare you utter their Grace’s name so casually!”
Lumine and Ajax looked at each other and seemed to have reached a sort of truce. The two grab snowballs in each hand, getting ready to throw them
“H-hol up. Go easy on me!” You pleaded
They did go easy on you, Aether not so much. A barrage of snowballs were thrown at him mercilessly, but he managed to dodge a good portion of them and got an equal amount of his snowballs hitting them
You tried to throw a couple of snowballs but they always ended up missing their target and so you just decided to sit back and watch them. They didn’t notice when you sat on the sidelines, but you didn’t mind you had just as much fun watching them. Time seemed to have gotten away from all of you because the next thing you knew you realized how dark it was
“Uhh timeout guys…” You yelled clear enough for the others to seize their attack. “it’s getting pretty dark out here, we should start heading back.”
The cheerful expression on Ajax’s face dropped into one of realization and horror
“Shit! We need to find shelter fast!”
“What, why?!” You asked fear quickly sinking in
“There’s a cave over there!” Lumine said as she pointed towards its opening
Ajax picked you up and ran into the cave, he stopped once he no longer felt the harsh winds from the outside
“Are you ok?” He asked, making you look at his face, which you were in close proximity. Did he always look this pretty? Or was it that because he’s in front of you and you can see details in face that couldn’t be captured in a series of polygons?!?!
“Ye-yeah, I’m fine,” You said with your gaze adverted. “can you put me down now?”
He immediately does and a smirk graces his pretty boy face
“What are you smirking at?” You asked dreading his response will make your face heat up even more
“You know my offer still stands. The one I gave when we bumped into each other in the forest of Sumeru, us having s-” The ends of the red scarf around his neck fly into Ajax’s face and the two of you turn to see the twins grimacing as anemo particles dissipate by Aether
“Can you not try to get your dick wet for two seconds?” Aether chastises
Ajax yanks the scarf out of his face. “You’re just jealous of the effect I have on (y/n), they can’t help that they find me attractive.”
“You nearly put their Grace in danger and now trying to make a move on them while saying their name so casually, don’t you have no shame!”
“Don’t blame me, you could’ve noticed the sun setting but didn’t so act like you’re any better then me!”
Aether retorts something back but you didn’t catch it due to your attention being brought to something else. It seemed that Lumine took notice on your spaced out look
“Is something the matter?” She asked
“I just feel something pulling me towards it…” Was all you responded with
The pull got more intense the longer you stayed, immediately turning your body you begin walking further into the cave. Lumine and Ajax followed you and tried to convince you to sit back in your seat near the fire, or that is what you think they’re saying to you. Your only focus is on finding out what is pulling you deeper into the cave
You stopped at the dead end and you stared at the wall in awe of what you see. A Primogem embedded into the wall
“(Y/n), we should really be heading back. You’ll get sick if you’re not near the fire.” Ajax tried to persuade you
You turned towards your companions. “Wait! You don’t see that?!”
“I don’t see anything.” Ajax admitted
“You don’t see anything?!”
Ajax shook his head leading you to turn towards the twins
“Lum, Ae, please tell me that you see what I’m talking about.”
They only shook her head, you could see a slight blush on their faces, most likely due to the nickname you gave them. You weren’t in the mood to fawn over how adorable they both looked, you groaned in frustration and went to where the rock was embedded. Seeing the glowing stone, hesitation stopped you from touching it but pushed it aside, you reached out for it and pulled it out. The gem began to glow brighter in your hand as if it had been brought to where it belongs
i keep a folder on my phone of my s/h pics and sometimes i wanna post them because i know in my heart theyd judge the hell out of me and call me an attention seeker
My psychologist said that I have to go to a therapist, the sessions will be expensive and the medications will surely be more expensive. If I kill myself, my family won't have to deal with it.
I want to cut myself on my arms, have them bloody while I search for my mom's hug. Cry in his ear asking for forgiveness, I want to be a better daughter but I can't improve
