Whale and Dragonfly // OC x Childe Genshin Impact fanfiction

Chapter 42: Thrown Away

Ajax never really wondered what happens after a person dies.

Yet, now he got to find out.

Watching how his entire family stood in front of his grave felt like his ghostly, non-beating heart was getting ripped to shreds. His mother was crying the most, leaning to his father who tried his best to comfort his wife. Sadly, no sweet words worked. After all, a woman just lost her child...

His siblings have gathered in one cluster, standing close to each other. His big brothers Sergei and Aleksandr stood on each side of his big sister Tatyana. In front of them, snuggled close stood the youngsters – Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer. Elders had sad looks on their faces while the children were sniffling, trying their best not to cry. No matter the effort, all of them stood with their cheeks wet from tears.

Lastly, further from everyone, stood a figure all dressed in black. It wore a cloak and the hood over its head, so it was hard to tell who exactly was it.

Yet, Childe recognized her.

Slowly walking over to her, he leaned down to look under the hood. Stone-cold face and emotionless, sparkless eyes made his heart hurt. It was no longer the kind girl he knew. Now it was barely a body, wandering around this cruel, merciless world, waiting for the day when it will finally be allowed to lay for eternal rest.

The wind was starting to pick up. It seemed like soon enough, a huge blizzard will start. Despite not wanting to leave, his family had no other choice but to turn around and slowly walk out of the graveyard.

Only then did the dark figure get closer to the grave.

Ajax watched how she stood right in front of his grave staring at it for a while. Then, all of the sudden, she pulled her cloak aside, reaching her hand to its inner pockets looking for something.

His eyes widened when he saw his Fatui mask.

Girl held it in her hands, her eyes examining the crimson curves of the accessory. She then sighed, kneeling down on the ground, carefully placing the mask on top of the grave, close to a bunch of flowers, photos, and items that reminded Ajax's family of their lost relative.

Ajax watched how his friend spoke a silent prayer, wishing him to rest in peace he deserved. After that, she stood up and with one last, emotionless look at the grave, walked off. Having no idea what else to do, 11th Harbinger followed right after, walking close to her.

On foot, it took around 15 minutes to reach Childe's family mansion. Yet, in the 14th minute, the moment you overstepped the gates, you could tell that something was off.

Charlotte wasn't even able to reach the steps leading to the elevated front door when all of the sudden the door burst open, an angry man standing there. You could hear woman's and other, younger, males' voices saying something, trying to stop the aggressor.

"I don't need my son's killer in my house!" shouted Ajax's father.

Despite Ajax's mother's and elder siblings' attempts to stop him, he stepped outside, throwing the girl's open suitcase out. Clothes and other Charlotte's belongings were scattered on the snowy ground, right in front of her.

"You damned demon! Take your stuff and go back to the hell – right where you belong!"

Ajax ghostly eyes widened. He has never seen his father THIS mad. Looking at the girl, however, he found her standing still, her face displaying not a single emotion as the upcoming blizzard's wind blew her hair softly.

"Father, no. We can't just-"

"Charlotte, don't leave! Father didn't mean it-"

"Of course I mean it! Can't you see?! She took away Ajax's life already! Do you want to be next?!" father roared on Childe's elder sister.

Charlotte closed her eyes, sighing silently as she knelt down, collecting her possessions. For the next 5 minutes, nobody said a word – the family just watched how she picked up her stuff, packing them back in the suitcase.

Zipping up the suitcase, 12th Harbinger squeezed its handle slightly as she was looking at the ground.

"I'm leaving on my own will. Don't blame each other for my departure. It's my choice and my alone."

A shocked 'no' escaped Ajax's mouth as he reached out his hand to stop the girl from leaving. Cursing when his ghostly hand went right through her shoulder, he looked back at the door, just to see how his father slammed it shut, ignoring his siblings' cries to stop.

Catching up with his friend once again, he tried his best to stop her again. Yet, no matter how many attempts he performed, his ghostly body would ignore her figure existence, as if she was made out of the air. Losing all hope, his heart broken once more, he gave up, walking alongside her.

Naturally, Ajax thought Charlotte will head back to the city, to Zapolyarny Palace, even, to seek refuge. To his surprise – she was walking in the opposite direction from where the city was, right to the mountains.

As every minute passed, the blizzard was getting stronger and stronger. The wind was now accompanied by snowflakes, the horizon partly hiding in the fog. Not sure what his comrade was doing, Childe followed her all the way to the mountains, to where a small village was settled. The sun was slowly setting and it was getting dark when Charlotte approached one of the small houses.

After knocking, a young woman opened the door.

"Hello? How may I help you?"

"Who is it, sweetheart?" woman's husband came to check on the intruder as well.

"H-Hello... May I stay overnight? I will leave the moment blizzard stops or the sun rises, I promise I won't be too much trouble." Charlotte explained.

"Why, of course. Come right i-"

"Yulia, look." A man pointed at Charlotte's chest, right where her Fatui insignia was placed. "She's one of them."

"F-Fatui?!"

The woman immediately slammed the door shut, leaving 12th Harbinger outside.

"W-We don't owe anything! All the debts were paid last week and we don't want any more trouble! Please, leave!"

Girl stared at the closed door for a minute longer before turning around and walking off. Childe got even more confused as she started walking up the path that lead to the mountain's top. Is she out of her mind?! She will freeze to death up here!

Ajax's heart hurt more than ever when he knew he wasn't able to stop her. He could only be there and watch her turn into a popsicle all alone, her body never found. Not in a place like this.

After reaching nearly the very top, Charlotte discovered a pretty small cave. It was most likely a now-abandoned wolf lair. Wolves in Snezhnaya are smart – they know how to survive in such cold when even their thick fur doesn't shield them from freezing blizzards. Such cave was right inside the mountain, so it shielded from the wind very well.

Setting her things down, a girl went out to bring back the dead tree she saw on her way. As much as she hated ruining nature and landscape, this tree was already dead, its branches were frozen to rock-hardness and it would have never sprouted to greenery again. At least, she could use it to make a small bonfire.

The land of Cryo was merciless when it came to cold, sadly. Despite having the bonfire burning right next to her and wearing a super warm fur coat, Charlotte still felt cold.

Yet,it felt like it was better to freeze to death yourself than become a cause ofanother life passing away.