New Memories

One: Distant Memories

Quiet..... Both a blessing and a curse, when quiet is shattered by the sharp spear of sound it tends to find its way into the pattern of life. Sounds of laughter and conversations fill the void, making the quiet cease to exist. Love fills the air like smoke and floods your heart like a bad storm, taking over your very soul, body and mind. You'll go to great lengths to keep that love and to protect it with every fiber of your soul. You grow numb to the feeling of warmth and comfort and turn a blind eye to the problems lurking in the near future.

Pain..... A horrid scar inflicted on the human heart, body or soul. I once felt this horrid scar many years ago, an unholy war was brought upon this world and shaped it's grueling future. Screams...... that scream still rings in my ear, infecting my mind like a plague. The whole thing is a blur, just flashes of red and blue. I saw every tear that hit the ground, and the terrible screams and cries that infected the silence. Hoping, praying it would stop unable to find the source, then it hit me.... Those tears... those screams.... They were coming from me.

Present day

"Mr-......." a faint voice.... Who is that?

"Zong-........" it... sounds so familiar....

"MR' ZHONGLI!?" The voice boomed louder snapping me out of my trance and back into reality, Mrs, Hu Tao was the source, the wangsheng funeral parlor director, 77th to be exact.

"Huh? Oh Mrs. Hu Tao." The tall, older man said, a small smile plastered across his face that shined with the old age and knowledge he held behind his brown eyes.

"Mr. Zhongli, you've been standing there for a while." Hu Tao stated as her head slightly tilted at the man, seeming to examine his features, like she was looking for something.

"Oh have I? My apologies Mrs. I was lost my thoughts" Zhongli responded his head turning back down to the papers that lie on his desk.

"Well be lost in your thoughts out of work hours please. I came to tell you someone is asking for you. I assumed it was your lunch buddy." Hu Tao said as she glanced back at the door before looking back at the older man.

"Oh yes, Childe. Thank you Mrs. I'll see myself out." Again the room went quiet. I hate the quiet, the faint sound of clicking and two sets of shoes walking across the polished wooden floor filled the silence as they made their way down the long hallway. The sound caught the attention of the red haired male waiting at the front.

"Mr. Zhongli? It took you long enough, usually you're waiting for me." The ginger said with an added chuckle and soft smile on his face.

"Sorry Childe I was busy. Shall we be on our way?" The retired archon said with no sign of emotion, his face unfazed by the others jokish remark.

"Oh yes, where should we go for lunch?" Childe asked as he looked up slightly at the brunette.

"Why not just Wanmin restaurant?" Zhongli's blinked softly as he took the first step down the stairs making his way down to the road. The trip was quiet, no words were shared between them. It wasn't a normal occurrence since most of the time they could talk each other's ears off.

"Hey..... Zhongli.... Your ummm... pretty quiet today, everything alright?" The ginger asked, breaking the silence between them. Being snapped back into reality the question caught him off guard, but was expected. How much he wanted to confide in someone so he didn't have to carry the burden alone, but sadly he could not.... Not to him.

"I'm alright, Childe. Just thinking that's all" He reassured the younger male with a small but soft smile.

Childe looked at him with an unconvinced look in his eyes scanning the others face with his eyes for any sign of breaking. 'He's good at hiding whatever it is, I can't quite put my finger on it, his demeanor is very complex but oh well.' "Alright if you say so..." the ginger said as he looked away from the brunette. He quickly shuffled ahead of the taller male and held the door open for him. "After you," he added with a small bow to the head. The brunette nodded in acknowledgment and as his thank you before making there way inside. Walking through the door the smell of food hit the men in their faces like a truck, filling their nose with the hypnotizing smell. "Mmm... it smells so good in here," Childe said as he walked over to their usual table they eat at. The restaurant was buzzing, the sound of dishes clinking and voices killed the silence. Slowly the brunette sat down at the table without a word spoken. His world started to slow down and go quiet as the voices were drowned out by that scream. "Are you going to have your normal?" the ginger asked, once again snapping him back into reality.

Zhongli nods "I'm not in the mood to change anything up." he folded his hand on the table looking up at Childe. "Did you get my letter before you came?"

The harbinger shook his head "I doubt I did, the last one I got was about the mountains, and you were last up there two months ago... Correct?"

Zhongli grinned, thinking about his last letter which had told Childe about his adventures fishing and his lack of success. "Yeah, I sent you another one two weeks ago about fishing, nothing of note though." He sighed, feeling a tension being released from his chest. The soft smile quickly returned to the Geo archon's face as he told the other of his adventures from the weeks past. Since retiring from his duties as Lord of Geo the brunette has traveled far and wild to see how much the world has changed since he last saw. There was no doubt it had changed since he'd last taken a moment to step back a look, it was truly wonderful how much the world could get over such a traumatic event. Even though the world had changed there were still many things that taunt me.... Reminded me of... that day. (AGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!.....)
"H-...." It happened again... didn't it...

"Hey...." He's talking to you snap out of It morax!

"Zhongli?!" The ginger shouted in a hushed tone, as to not disturb other guests.

"H-huh...?" Zhongli looked up his eyes slightly widened at the sudden spike in his tone, he looked at him while his mind tried to replay their conversation and wonder what he said. His mind flooded with unanswered questions and for once in his life... he couldn't remember.

"You went quiet..... Is something wrong?" Childe asked, leaning forward concerned for the others' wellbeing. He again scanned his face and saw something he never saw before, a tear. The brunette darted around in discomfort while trying to maintain his composure. Tears built up in the corner of his eyes and the train started, once one tear fell, the others followed suit. "I must leave, please... excuse me." the brunette said quick, as he stood up and left in a rush, without another word.