My Dear Friend | Chilumi

The Frost

The forest was calm, with the wind rustling through the bare tree branches and snow covering the ground like a soft blanket. He walked carefully towards the place that had changed him forever. The hole in the ground he once fell through was nothing more than a simple cavern nowadays. The abyss that had consumed his soul was long gone. He contemplated the ground, touched the slim trees, and breathed the fresh air. Ajax died years ago that day, and Childe was born when he came out.

Every time he visited his family in Snezhnaya, he found himself coming back here, his true birthplace. Nothing made him prouder than the man he was today. He was the most loyal soldier to the tsaritsa. He honestly couldn't care less about her fatui organization, he lived to serve her. That's how it's always been, and what will always be. He closed his eyes. He then wondered why was he always compelled to the woman who could be the demise of her Majesty? She haunted his thoughts, invaded his dreams, and made him lose his focus more than once. The other harbingers were focused solely on the tsaritsa's grand mission and so was Childe. But he found himself lacking more than once. That's when he would come here. A moment of peace in his personal perpetual chaos.

Nothing would break his will to fulfill her Majesty's grand plan. No one would make him weak. He was the 11th harbinger. A soldier forged in the abyss. A weapon of war. His only goal was to bring chaos to this world and bring order through the tsaritsa's will. His only happiness was found in combat.

He repeated to himself those lines whenever he felt the need to remind himself who he was. What he was created to be. He was repeating the words far too often these days. He knew who was picking at his rock-hard will, but he could never admit that to himself.
He thought about the Balladeer's new plan, how he had lied to the other harbingers. It was a necessary step in the grand scheme of things.

He walked back towards the village he grew up in. Everyone around him knew to behave in the presence of a harbinger, to disturb the soldiers of her Majesty was to disturb her will. The air was particularly frigid this evening and the icy snow shattered underneath him. He walked past merchants and stopped to buy ingredients for his family. He had planned to cook for them to celebrate his brief return home. Those visits were always too short for his liking, and his siblings never missed an opportunity to nag at him for being away constantly. One of the few things to have escaped the abyss untouched was his love for his family.

He continued to walk towards home and noticed a commotion at the Village Inn. He approached the building and a drunk man came flying through the door. Unfazed, Tartaglia stood to watch the scene unravel. Another man came running through the door, yelling and pointing at the inn to everyone that "he" was crazy. The person causing so much trouble came out the door of the Inn. Women could be heard screaming for help from inside the Inn.

"Who's next? " Shouted the young man. Obviously full of himself, he seemed to have wanted to assure his powerfulness in front of spectators. Unfortunately for him, Tartaglia despised people who boast about a power they did not have. The weak who disguised themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Childe sighed, his family could wait while he dealt with this weakling.

"Why don't you come fight me? " Tartaglia asked softly. An evil grin adorned his face.

"Come get what you deserve for challenging me." the man boasted.
Childe noticed the man had a Geo vision tied to his neck. But it did not matter, they would be no match.

"Oh don't worry about me, I'm going to wait right here."

The man, red as a tomato, came charging towards the harbinger and made a rock spear glide right next to Childe's head. He didn't move. He stood straight, right until the man was about to pierce him with his spear. He then swiftly dodged his attack, conjured up his bow, and shot an arrow through the back of his neck.

The dead man laid in the crimson snow of his blood and Childe continued his walk as if nothing happened. The sight of the foe's blood made him smile all the way home and the screams of the townspeople made him laugh.

At the family home, his parents and siblings were all waiting for him to start dinner. Childe made sure to hug them all before starting to cook. The family exchanged stories of what happened during his absence while the food was cooking. The house smelled of fish and herbs as dinner was served. Teucer demanding to know what happened during his business trip, and Childe lying about the same type of toy seller story to his little brother. He still didn't think he was ready to know the truth. When everyone was done eating, he tucked his brother to sleep and invented a story about toys to help him fall asleep.

"Big brother, you haven't written about your best friend in a long time. Are you still friends with her? "

" Oh, haha, don't worry little one, she is fine and healthy, the last time we talked I was selling some toys to some miners and she was coincidentally there. She said to tell me that she misses you."

"Why doesn't she send letters anymore? I thought we were really good friends. " Teucer was sad. He really did miss her.

"She's very busy on adventures and promised she would visit Snezhnaya soon little brother, please don't worry, everyone still loves you." He tried his best to sound unworried. His little brother didn't deserve to be affected by their quarrels.

"Okay, if you say so big brother." He laid his head on the pillow while Childe hummed a snezhnayan lullaby and stayed with him until he was sound asleep.

When Teucer started snoring, he went down to the rest of his family. They also inquired about his traveler friend and he only admitted to her being well and on her travels. He helped clean up the kitchen and went to his room to rest for the night.

As always, he fell asleep to the thought of her in his presence.