~𝒜𝓃 𝒜𝒹𝑒𝓅𝓉𝓊𝓈' 𝐿𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝒲𝒾𝓈𝒽~ (𝒵𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑔𝒸𝒽𝒾)

Chapter 13: Realizations, Transformations, the Meaning of Home Pt 2

"You are too skinny, shidi! Have some more porridge. Here!" Guizhong insisted, bringing a new spoonful of rice porridge, for the 7th time that day.

Since he was out of commission, they were starting to dote on him, perhaps a bit, excessively. And well, he didn't really deem it necessary, especially since he was a full grown adult with the necessary capabilities to take care of himself. However, they really didn't seem to care whether he was a baby bird or a full grown adult; they still doted on him.

After getting sick so rapidly, Ajax had come to notice just how insistent everyone was on taking care of him. Whether that be Cloud Retainer shoving a mouthful of pain killer down his throat (which left him coughing afterwards as she was too rough), or Marchosius bringing a single Glaze Lily and placing it gently at his side. Even Moon Carver, who was usually nonchalant about Ajax's entire existence, sought out to bring fresh water to Ajax's kitchen.

Ajax was mostly bed-ridden, mostly out of the searing hot pain that coursed through his tendons and the large headache that came after ingesting so much of the pain medicine all at once. Even if he was becoming a full-fledged adepti, that did not mean he was still one.

And well, too much medicine that was strictly used for adepti, being used on a human....was not too good.

He had asked Cloud Retainer about the medicine, after noticing the god-awful headache that came afterwards, that nearly made him regret taking the medicine in the first place; it felt like a hangover for god's sake! It nearly reminded him of the early days in the military, where he and his colleagues would regularly drink firewater until their liver refused to take anymore. And Celestia above, the hangover that would ensue, made Ajax swear to never drink again....that of course was a lie, since he still did it even afterwards.

She was in the middle of folding his and Ganyu's clothes (he had insisted on doing it himself, but, as soon as he stood up he collapsed to the floor; Cloud Retainer reprimanded him and took over completely). It was just him, Ganyu, and Cloud Retainer at home.

That was because there had been a large outbreak of Rift Wolves on the southern border, which prompted all of the adepti to rush to defend them. Leaving only Cloud Retainer behind to watch over Ajax and Ganyu.

Ganyu was still a mere toddler, but she had grown to the age where she could finally understand basic language. She had stuck around Ajax and Cloud Retainer in his room, but she had waddled off like a penguin after a sharp gaze from Cloud Retainer, after she had fallen asleep inside of the laundry basket once again.

Since most of the adepti were staying at his house, they had set up a makeshift bed for Ganyu, which mostly consisted of a small mattress and a fluffy blanket made out of wool; which is where he had assumed she had wandered off too. And Ajax thanked the lord above that she was far too young to reach the door knobs still.

Cloud Retainer turned her gaze towards Ajax, pushing her red glasses up slightly, as her gaze pierced him, "That particular medicine was not made for human anatomy. It was brewed specifically by one's own hands, and one designed it to be as potent as possible during the early wars that broke out when one was barely a mere 30 years of age. During that time, we did not have time to whine about mere injuries, so one made it as a quick solution to the ache we all felt in our bodies; as it is instantaneous. And so, your puny human body is not constructed to take in the medicine as fast as our bodies absorb it, which is why you have that 'headache'....Now, one will carry on with one's ridiculous chores."

She ignored him once more, and focused her attention on folding a pair of shirts that Ajax had washed the day prior....after he had a moment alone. And well....that didn't go as well as he had hoped. Guizhong had found him nearly collapsed onto the garden outside, shaking and barely holding back the screams inside his throat.