yogen | ♛ This place is pretty dead ♛

Sounds like my dad.

[Zhongli Batman confirmed?

His grip on Childe tightens a bit for a second as the world spins, which is a feat in and of itself considering it was so damn dark he could barely see three inches in front of him.

It probably didn't help that his vision kept blurring whenever a wave of pain hit.]

Tell me about it.

[batman has money.

That does pull the ghost of a laugh out of him, and he gives Jason a sympathetic squeeze when he feels the twitchy tightening.]

Where to start... Some background will probably help. I've told you of the Archons in the past; this story involves two. The benevolent warrior Queen who reigns from within the frozen jewel of her Zapolyarny Palace, and the weak-willed god of stone. His name is... Was. Morax. Though, the adoring populace of the prosperous land of Geo had many other names for him. Rex Lapis the Groundbreaker, God of commerce and Prime of the Adepti. [There's a sort of... Edge that creeps into his voice as he speaks, one that is somewhere on the cusp of bitter anger and cool indifference. Perhaps forced indifference if Jason wants to study that angle a little more closely.]

He had something she needed to wage her war against the oppressive forces from beyond the stars, and so she offered him up a contract; his specialty as an Archon, you see, was forging agreements bound by stone. His word was his law, as solid and unbreakable as the mountains shaped by his very hands.

[Oh, there was history here. Deeper history than a simple story telling. Childe was close enough to him that he could make out his face, even just slightly, and from the expression he saw it was a story that Childe still felt deeply.

If his voice was any indication that he was right, then he failed as a BatKid.]

Sounds like a douche. Never been a fan of rigid ass people.

[The sudden speed with which Childe stops dead in his tracks is nothing short of impressive, immediately falling completely silent as he stares off into the dark hallway ahead of them. There's tension in his shoulders, jaw clenched up tight as his teeth silently grind together. Jason's casual remark very clearly crossed some sort of line that Childe himself hadn't realized was there, let alone one that he'd been leading the conversation towards.

It was a natural conclusion to draw, given the way Childe had been describing things.

A sharp exhale whistles loudly past his nostrils, and after what feels like an eternity he starts to walk once more, the hand on Jason's waist curling around the fabric of the guy's shirt in a fist so tight it shakes.]

Not necessarily.

[He's starting to get the feeling that this was more of a therapy session for Childe than a casual story he was telling to pass the time. He didn't even think Childe knew that it was.

Clearly there was something he hadn't worked out with this Rex Morax or whatever his name was. Clearly, whatever tension and issue Childe had with Lapis Man ran a lot deeper than even Childe gave credit to.

Which didn't really surprise him. Jason didn't think Childe processed anything correctly. He was the type to bottle things up-- not that Jason was one to talk.]

Alright. Tell me about it.

[He'll keep his commentary to himself. Childe wasn't looking for witty comments on his story, just someone to talk to clearly. He could provide that, and be his stress ball apparently.]

[There's a soft sigh of partial relief, and after another pause he's picking his way back into where he left off.] The deal itself put his godhood on the line, and somehow Her Majesty got him to accept. The exact terms were never made entirely public, but the contract roughly stated that he wished to be entirely certain that his people could survive without his interference before he agreed to hand over his Gnosis. Were he to have the need to step in and save them if they were unable to save themselves, he would come out the victor and continue to hold his power secure.

[Childe laughs before he can stop himself, a hollow sound that echoes strangely off the wide, empty halls.]

Then... Well. To shorten the length of the story, I summoned forth an old foe of his, the intent being to drown each and every last one of his precious subjects in a tidal wave of catastrophic proportions if he didn't come out of hiding to protect them.

[His brow furrows, and for a moment he actually looks annoyed.] Which he didn't do. [hey childe that makes it sound like you actually went through with killing all of Liyue]

[That sure does, Childe.

He raised a brow at the end of that story, turning his head to look at him.]

So what? He just let them die? I thought that went against the contract.

[So much for not making commentary. Jason was a smart idiot, though and he didn't need the whole story to put pieces together.]

Or, I'm assuming those subjects of his proved that they could protect themselves.

Oh, they probably wouldn't have. They had been too busy fighting at each other's throats to cooperate.

[A bit of warmth creeps into his tone as he continues, a faint but soft smile sliding onto his face.] Then an outlander from beyond the stars swept in like an earthquake, and put everyone in their places. Myself included.

[He lets out an almost wistful sigh.] I've been riding the waves of that particular battle ever since. Someday I hope to get a proper rematch, though I doubt the outcome will change. Somehow that makes it all the better.

[Freak ass.

Childe was such an interesting character. He's pretty sure that's the reason why he's been so drawn to him. That, and of course, Jason has a bad tendency of falling in with the wrong crowd. Considering his best friend shot him in the head, Childe summoning some old god from the depths of the ocean to drown a city felt pretty apt with his friend choice.]

You're a hell of a storyteller.

[that was all he could really say, because all the other comments he wanted to say involved something along the lines of "you got played by both sides" and "dude you seem whipped".

None which he thinks Childe would like to hear right now.]

[The chuckle that leaves him is lighter, clearly exiting whatever mental dip happened there in the middle of all that.]

Like I've told you before, I like being the center of attention. How you feeling?

Been better. Doing better too.

[It's easier to ignore when he was focused on other things. It was also easy to ignore pain after a bit just on principle. Pain was a familiar companion he's kept all his life, after all.]

You're like a guardian angel, Red. Reading me bed time stories and all.

That's a bit far with that analogy, I think. I don't particularly consider myself to be all that angelic.

[He's humming a bit, turning them so that they can start back down the hall the way they came.] I'm glad it's waning, though. When it happened to me it was... Yeah. Pretty bad too.

[There's a brief pause, and then he's letting out a soft sigh.] Zhongli being there helped. Dunno what I would have done otherwise. Lashed out, probably.

The company sure helps.

[Another wave of pain made him stumble, and Jason has never mentally kicked his ass more. He never liked feeling weak in front of others, or vulnerable for that matter.

Might explain why he usually ran away when he was hurt or lashed out. Half the time he just died by himself and didn't have to deal with someone talking to him.]

Thanks for paying it forward.

[He looked up at Childe for a second, then gave him a slight squeeze.]

♛ This place is pretty dead ♛

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