Cursed (Childe x fem! Reader)

Strangers

   
"Shit, shit, shit!" You muttered to yourself, rushing through the thick sea of people. You mentally kicked yourself for staying up so late last night. As the crowd thickened, You were met with more yelps of "hey!" or "watch it!" as you elbowed and pushed your way through the mass. You checked your bag, rummaging through the unorganized pouches. You mentally kicked youself again for being so disorganized. Not watching where you was going, you smacked right into someone. Looking up from your bag, you saw that the person you bumped into was a tall guy with messy ginger hair and blue eyes.
"Sorry, sorry," You apologized hurriedly, bending down to pick up the things that fell from your bag. He bent down as well, handing the scattered items back to you. "Here," he said before standing up again and moving on. You stood as well and continued rushing to the adventurers guild headquarters. You dashed up the steps, greeting Lan and Katherine.

"Good morning Katherine, good morning Lan," You said, placing your hands on your knees as you caught your breath. "Got any commissions left for me?"

"Yep, here they are," Lan replied, handing you a stack of fliers. You flipped through them. The good ones had already been taken, leaving only the difficult ones or the dry ones. "Lost cat, lost artifact, lost cargo, Archons, people lose things so often here," You muttered to yourself again, "oh! Hilichurl camp! I can do that one!"
After sifting through the pile, you had three commissions to go off and complete. Clear out a hilichurl camp in Cuijue slope, fight an abyss mage near Yaoguang Shoal, and take down a stone-hide lawachurl outside of the domain in Guyun Stone Forest.

"You're taking the lawachurl one? I thought the traveler would've taken that one by now,"Lan questioned as you passed the declined commissions back to her.

"Yeah, I'm up for the challenge," You announced confidently.

Taking out the teleportation crystal given by the adventurers guild, you zipped off to Cuijue Slope. Sprinting down the bridge, you found the camp. Hilichurls milled around the premises and a mitachurl paced the perimeter. You snuck toward them, trying to get the element of surprise. You got within ten meters of them, close enough to set some brush on fire. Noticing the brush on fire, the mitachurl charged at it. You noticed its dendro shield and smiled to yourself. This should be a piece of cake. You sliced at the monsters back, and dove out of the way when it swung its shield at you. From behind you, a pyro archer shot its fiery arrow. The arrow hit its mark, the middle of your back. Your back arched in surprise. You winced a little as you pulled the arrow out. You felt the wound close up on its own, your power before the curse. You set the shield on fire and the monster shook it around and smacked it, trying to put the fire out. The shield exploded in a burst of ash, disorienting the mitachurl for a few seconds. You plunged your sword through its core. You yanked your sword out of the mitachurls body and darted towards the hilichurls inside the camp. With your fire and your sword, you made quick work of them. Wiping the sweat off my brow, you teleported to Yaoguang Shoal next.

You heard the strange chants of an abyss mage below you. You peered down the rock wall, scouting for the abyss mage. You noticed that it was a hydro one and that there was one cryo hilichurl archer, one electro archer, and two pyro ones. You'll deal with the hilichurls first. You dove off the ledge and plunged into the center of the camp. The hilichurls flew backwards on impact. You lunged towards the cryo and electro archers and skewered them. They turned to ash like all monsters do, leaving behind their arrows and masks. The abyss mage reappeared behind your back, shooting a bubble from its staff. You sprinted around the camp, killing the pyro archers in two quick slashes. The bubble still managed to entrap you, sucking all the air from your lungs. Fire. erupted from your hands, freeing you from the watery prison. You swung your fist, still blazing with fire, at the abyss mages shield. With a few more strikes, the creature's shield shattered. It fell to the ground with a grunt. You raised your sword again, lighting it with fire before sending it into the monsters' gut. It disintegrated with a screech, leaving behind a couple of branches and leaves from the leylines. You grabbed the leaves, gazing at them with wonder. It marveled me how something so beautiful could come from something so terrible. Tucking them into your bag, you teleported to the domain in Guyun Stone Forest.

The stone-hide lawachurl rested in the center of the arena. You crept up on it, hoping to do some damage before it entered its infused form. You were able to stab it before it noticed you and blood poured out of the hole. With a roar, it entered its infused form, geo crystals stopping up the wound. I assaulted the monster with flames, creating little shielding crystals whenever some of the shield was chipped off by the flames. With a heavy swing of your weapon, its form shattered into millions of small shards. The lawachurl recoiled with the force of your strike. You poured a multitude of your power into your sword. It burst into flames, the heat searing the air. A crystalfly that happened to pass by you burned to ash. The lawachurl recovered from your first strike and lurched towards you. You leaped through the air and slashed it right down the middle. With a gurgling cry, it disintegrated. Panting, you lowered your sword and tucked it away, back to the space it resided in when you weren't using it. You teleported back to Liyue Harbor, walked back to the adventurers guild and grabbed the rewards left behind the counter for you.

        ~*Several hours later*~
       '-but because of the blood that stained their hands, the yaksha fell apart. Consumed by their rage and hatred, their karmic debt, they went mad, killing each other or going missing entirely. Now, only one yaksha remains, the vigilant yaksha, who still watches over Liyue to this day.' You closed the book with a sigh. This world definitely has its share of sob stories, that's for sure. You placed the book back into your bag amidst the mess. You sat up and stretch, your head smacking against the trunk of the tree you rested in. The breeze blew through the branches, ruffling your hair gently. You watched travelers pass by below, heading back to the harbor. You were about to leave the tree when you heard sounds of fighting from nearby.
You leapt from branch to branch in the direction of the noise, the source being a girl getting beaten up by fatui soldiers. You alighted from your perch and plunged in front of the girl to defend her. You rip through their ranks, killing some and injuring others. With the survivors retreating into the forest, you turn to check on the girl.

         "Hey! You okay?" You asked the girl. She was bleeding from small wounds all over her arms and legs. She shakily rose to her feet, using her sword as a crutch.

          "Y-yeah, I'm alright," she said dully, the longer strands of her blonde hair falling in front of her golden eyes. "Thanks for saving me and Paimon."

          "Here, I have some salve and bandages and clean water so you can dress your wounds. I'm Y/N by the way," You introduced yourself, handing her the bandages.

          "Thanks, I'm Lumine, and that's Paimon," she replied, pointing to the floating elf that idled by her. She cleaned and bandaged her cuts and stood unsteadily.

          "Well, I'd better get going," You said, grabbing your bag and rising to your feet.

          "Oh, where are you headed to?" Lumine asked, sheathing her sword.

          "Liyue harbor. I have an apartment there,"

          "Oh cool! I'm heading there too!"

          "Okay, I'll accompany you back,"

          "Sure! When we get there, I'll treat you to some food at Wanmin Restaurant!"

          "Great,"

          "By the way, have you seen my brother? He's around my height, with a blond braid and golden eyes,"

          "Um, no? I've only lived in Liyue Harbor for four months, so maybe I missed him?"

          You and Lumine returned to the harbor, fighting off the occasional hilichurl or treasure hoarder.

          "By the way, I've got to pick up a... friend of mine, before we go to Wanmin," Lumine said, grimacing when she said 'friend'. We walked to Yujing Terrace, where a figure waited.

          "Hey! I'm here!" She yelled, kind of rudely, at the guy standing on the edge of the terrace.

Word count: 1486 words