Cold Blooded

Up a Mountain

Another day, wasted. Chongyun kicked a rock down the path as he walked with Xingqiu. They had just spent the last several hours trekking across the mountain in search of a rumored evil spirit. It had ended up being no more than a cat with a can tied to its tail. After catching and untangling the string from the cat's tail, the sun had begun to rise over the crest of the mountains announcing a new day.

"What should we name him, Yun?" Xingqiu looked over to Chongyun, the grey cat curled up in his arms. The cat curled his tail around Xingqiu's neck and batted at the ends of his earring. A smile danced in Xingqiu's golden eyes.

"You're the one that caught him, why don't you name him?" Chongyun replied with a small smile.

"You're right. Let's name him..." Xingqiu looked around for inspiration before his eyes landed on Chongyun. "Popsicle!"

"Popsicle?" Chongyun asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Popsicle."

"All of your reading and writing and studies of literature and you come up with Popsicle?" Chongyun chuckled and laced his fingers into Xingqiu's.

The one thing that always made his futile hunts better was Xingqiu. His best friend. No matter how many times he failed and chased after a false lead, Xingqiu was there to cheer him back up. They would go meet Xiangling at Wanmin restaurant and get some breakfast, and things would be a bit better, but that's not what happened today.

Xingqiu gave Chongyun's hand a tight squeeze and smiled at him. "I'm going to try to find Popsicle's owner at the adventurer's guild. Will I see you at the Wamin restaurant for breakfast?"

"Oh, oh yeah," Chongyun replied, slowly letting go of his friend's hand. "I'll meet you there."

"Then I shall take my leave," Xingqiu winked at the exorcist and began to strut down the mountainside. His sword swayed slightly behind him and his heels clacked against the stones. His vision shook with each step and his hair blew a bit in the breeze.

Chongyun reached a hand out towards him and opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it a moment later. He always closed it. What even was there to say?

The young exorcist sat down on a rock and gazed out over Liyue. In the morning, from the mountains. It seemed as if Chongyun sat alone on an island in a sea of mist. He felt lonely like that often and had more than once been tempted to jump into that great sea of fog, then he would no longer have to feel the loneliness.

Almost as if the Archons had heard his thoughts, something rustled behind Chongyun. He spun around, claymore in hand. His vision grew colder as he waited for whoever was in the bushes to show themselves.

"Come out and show yourself!" He called into the bushes.

A moment later a man with orange hair and a red mask perched on his head walked out. He tucked something into his pocket then raised both hands as a sign of peace. The man smiled but his eyes were empty. No light glimmered there.

"No need to worry, I won't hurt you," The man looked right into Chongyun and it sent a shiver down his spine. "Unless it's a fight you're looking for," the man continued. "If that's the case, I would be happy to oblige."

Chongyun had seen the man around Liyue harbor. He was a friend of Mr. Zhongli, right? Surely if Mr. Zhongli could trust him, so could Chongyun. He lowered his weapon. "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm just out for a stroll."

"Up a cliff?"

"I like a challenge," The man came and sat down beside Chongyun. "Now how about you? What are you doing up here when the sun is just coming up?'

"I-" Chongyun looked at his feet. He was so tired of pretending like he was okay and he was just so tired. "I'm an exorcist that has never even seen a single demon."

Chongyun braced for the man to laugh or make a weird face or start asking him questions, but he just sat there. Silent. Unsure what else to do, Chongyun looked up and met the man's gaze. The man smiled sadly and put his hand around Chongyun's shoulder.

"It's okay," The man gave him a small squeeze. "We all run into problems, especially when we pursue the things we love. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out someday. If you ever need any help, you can always come see me."

The man looked up at the stars and a bittersweet smile twisted his lips. "I have a sister about your age. I haven't seen my family in so long, but she's a bit like you. She had a bit of a hard time finding where she belonged, but now she is practically running our house."

He looked back down at Chongyun, a light that had before been missing in his eyes. "You'll find your way, and if you're really stuck on this exorcist thing, I have a... friend that might be able to help you."

"Really?" Chongyun looked up hopefully.

"Yeah," The man smiled, but it was that fake smile from before. Chongyun hadn't even realized it was fake until he had seen the man's real smile. "But before you jump into this without looking, my friend lives in my home nation. In Snezhnaya."

"Oh," Chongyun's gaze shifted back to the view. The sun had begun to burn away the mist and Liyue harbor was just becoming visible. He wanted to become a real exorcist, almost more than anything. Almost.

He thought of Xingqiu, Xiangling, Hu Tao, and Auntie Shenhe. He wasn't ready to leave them. Every time he had failed, they had been there for him. He wanted to go with the man to his friend, so he could finally prove all those people that called him a scam and a con wrong, but he couldn't leave his friends. Not when they were all he had.

"Thank you, sir." Chongyun looked back at the man and smiled. "I just don't think I'm ready for that."

"That's okay, buddy," The man smiled, and a look almost like relief crossed his face. If you ever need me, just go to the Northland Bank. Just ask for Mr. Childe, okay?"

And with that the man, Childe, was gone. 

author's note:

Hi there, thanks for reading chapter one! I'll try to update this pretty regularly. It's just a little project I do in my free time. I'm great at spelling stuff wrong, so let me know if I do. Thank you again, hope you enjoyed.

chapter art is by @VictoriAA_34 on Pinterest