His Eyes Never Change (Gold like Cor Lapis, Blue as Noctilucous Jade)

Figure Stained in Blue

"Is this actually possible?"

Childe used a hand to shade his eyes and he squinted, trying to make out the target in the distance. Morax had shown him the size of the target before he set it up. It was almost as tall as he was, and yet it looked like a tiny speck out in the grassy field.

A bow made of geo appeared in the god's hands, "I suppose we'll find out, won't we?"

"You're just trying to show off!"

Morax gave him a rare grin, letting a tiny fang poke out between his lips. He leaned into Childe's space, a self satisfied look on his face.

"Is there something wrong with a god showing a mortal just how outclassed they really are?"

Childe raised his chin slightly to make sure that Morax would get a good look at the defiance in his eyes. Of course he knew that the god was his superior in the martial arts, but he was never one to back down from a challenge. That being said, being looked down upon by someone as ethereal as the Lord of Geo made his face burn.

Doing his best to ignore the strange feeling the god gave him, Childe retorted, "And here I thought the purpose of coming here was to do some training."

The amused laugh that followed his words did not make his heart stutter. Nope. Not at all.

"All in good time," Morax said as he stepped back. "Now, watch closely."

Childe stood just off from Morax's left and watched as the god pulled back the bowstring. Since this was a demonstration, Morax moved slowly through each step. His posture was upright and strong as he pulled back, his left hand briefly raising above his shoulder level as he drew before coming into perfect alignment. The draw weight had to have been an absurd amount, but Morax was unfazed. The geo arrow glimmered as energy collected on the arrowhead.

Morax held that pose for a moment, seeming to give Childe time to let it sink in. He noticed that the draw style the god used was different from his own, a thumb draw if he recalled correctly. Then the arrow flew.

Childe didn't bother trying to follow its trajectory, rather he looked immediately towards the target. Despite how far out it was, he could still see the moment that it was obliterated by the arrow's impact. He let out a low whistle.

Morax summoned another target, this time a much more reasonable ten meters out. He turned to Childe.

"Your turn."

Hydro gathered and formed a bow as Childe stepped up to shoot. He had once heard that Morax was a master of all forms of weaponry. However, he had only ever seen Zhongli use a spear. Something about the demonstration he'd just witnessed lit a competitive spark under him.

The god watched silently as Childe drew his bow, the arrow forming and gathering energy as he did so. Following Morax's example, he paused and let the energy build before releasing. Hydro whipped out and ripped the target to shreds. He grinned in satisfaction at the result and turned to Morax.

"I see," Morax said, and moved closer. "Draw your bow again."

Childe raised an eyebrow at the command as he did so. The god examined him more closely this time. As Morax leaned into his space, he caught the light scent of amber and sandalwood.

"So, you use a three-finger draw. Is this style common in the north?"

"I think so? Everyone I watched used it," he replied, trying to ignore the burning in his arm as he kept the bow drawn.

"Everyone you watched?" Morax questioned, "You didn't learn from a master?"

"Nope, self taught."

"Hmm, then this makes much more sense. You can relax."