Chapter Text
Northlander Military Camp- 10:30 am, 5 days prior
“So…let me get this straight”. The Colonel folds his arms and looks at the 3 soldiers, 2 sergeants and 1 lieutenant among them, at the eyes. “The party yesterday ended up being a whole mess. The result, the death of one of the Captains, number 8, and the disappearance of the other, number 21. Not to mention that a Southlander, our engineer at that, also disappeared, seemingly unrelated to the two first events. Just how did it come to that? All of you are well aware that parties are not allowed across these confinements.” He talked with authority, his tone not defying not even once.
Sergeant 1 appears nervous, everything was so hazy that night, most of the soldiers were drunk, he included and it was even difficult to point everything out amongst the ruckus and the merged emotions of everyone, but he tried to push further, he promised his comrades that he would be part of the ones putting the face for the team, so he clears his throat “We were not expecting the celebration to end that way sir, we apolo-”
The Colonel hits the table of his office hard, making all 3 flinch “That is no excuse for your actions, and you know that well. We are at war, wake up. At any moment could the fuckers of the Southland come to make our own country a whole mess, and you expect to drink and pretend everything is right? For fucking god’s sake!!”
The sergeant 2 then tries to intervene. “But sir, it truly wasn’t our fault, things got heated and we had to…do something!! Because Captain 8 just…just…” He tries to explain but what Captain 8 did was simply unbelievable, it was even hard to put it into words “Everything got out of hand! We weren’t even notified of the Southlander's disappearance until a couple of minutes ago!!! We-”
“I know- we all know what Captain 8 did. As for the southlander…”The Colonel sighs, he found it all terrifying and unbelievable, even stupid to an extent. “You know, what’s done is done. Captain 8 is dead with three shots in the head. Even if I hate to admit it…and I am horribly disappointed and angered at you- All of you…” he looked at his soldiers, if his gaze could kill, they would be already dead “We can’t go crying over the spilled milk, I would prefer my soldiers…the best ones at that to die at war, but as they say…all has solution but death. Now, I want the updates of Captain 21 and the Southlander.”
Sergeant 2 then speaks, clearing his throat “We sent a team to look after Captain 21 after the ruckus died down (Because we didn’t know the southlander had disappeared too) and we found out he wasn’t around…” he sighs as he is now again going to deliver bad news “The environment was not at our side, a snow sled happened at the neighbor nmountain…none of the soldiers that went to carry out the expedition came back. You could…say that there couldn’t be much updates of Master Childe or the Southlander either…”
The Colonel pinches the bridge of his nose, a vein now showing at his forehead of how pissed he was now…
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now…”
Sergeant 1 fiddles his fingers, sergeant 2 sighs softly, his voice a tad broken and the lieutenant keeps his position straight, but the little droplet of sweat at the side of his cheek gives him away
“You 3 go find me the soldiers who shot. Dismissed”
With a yes sir, the two sergeants nervously get out of his office, but the lieutenant keeps unwavering
The Colonel gives that man a look, as if it is a silent warning for him to get out, the lieutenant is aware that his boss is like a tinkling bomb, so he doesn’t waste much time once he checks the other 2 are completely gone.
The lieutenant approaches calmly, as he has more experience and information than his fellow companions regarding the problem
The lieutenant puts a hand on the Colonel’s shoulder, and whispers to his ear “Sir, we didn’t have any option but to shot at Captain number 8. He was a traitor, you can ask any soldier, everyone was present as witnesses, not only us, it was clear that he was taking part on the Fatui.”
Captain 8 was the one in charge of the internal problems around the Northland, which meant that one of the biggest problems he had to go against were the Fatui, a terrorist group that had appeared out of the nowhere, but became an immediate threat to the whole country, the equipment they used and the things they’ve shown they are capable to do have left even the highest ranks of authority around the government speechless.
They are a true problem, but with the southland at their heels, the last thing they would like is for a group like them to come to light, they’ve been barely able to contain their forces, all the people involved there unyielding and stubborn to kill
The Colonel keeps his stern and serious look at the news, not flinching even once. He had heard of what number 8 did the night prior from other soldiers, new and old alike, and all pointed that what the Lieutenant was saying was true, even his team turned against him, ending up in his own murder.
Captain 8 was the one in charge of the pursue of the Fatui, he was a star soldier, the strongest among all, and yet he had to turn into a filthy traitor.
The Colonel clenches his fists
Worst part is that such news aren’t even what worries him the most.
“Is anyone else aware of his traison?” The Colonel asks, the impotency in his voice palpable
“No Sir. Only the team he managed and you, the rest are pretty much oblivious of the connection of this with the Fatui”
“Good.” It wouldn’t be pleasant that word spreaded of the one of the best soldiers in their camp being a traitor, it would only make tension amongst the soldiers worse, and if they have an enemy in common, they can’t go around fighting themselves.
Not to mention…
The happenings with Captain 8 only show how strong and the huge prowess the fatui have made with their inventions and weird technology (not even the most expert scientists have been able to locate what they base off to make such powerful weapons)
The problem this time, is that they were not talking of a weapon but an actual person. They would need to start investigating that somehow, if not–
In that moment, a woman opens the door without notice, making the Colonel get out of his rushing thoughts, the lieutenant immediately regaining a straight pose to greet her unnoticed arrival.
Her cold light blue gaze inspected the whole room, a smirk forming at her face.
“I heard a lot of gossip around here” La signora nonchalantly starts, no hello or any greeting, she surely had her pride over the skies, for anything she was called a witch. She was clearly looking for answers regarding the matter, the smirk keeping unreadable
“So…” She approaches and both men flinch “Care to explain?” La signora, even if not part of the camp directly, she at times came around to check that everything around the military was being done diligently and that the order of the vicinity was always kept. Not to mention, she was well acquainted with the higher ranks of the military, at actual political level. Which made her in a way, higher in hierarchy than them.
That is clearly not good, it was not the intention of anyone for the problem to escalate as much for her to actually come personally to know about it.
“Could you leave us alone for a moment?” The Colonel looked at the lieutenant, and this latter with a mere nod and a yes sir, gets out of the room without more exclamation.
La signora took a seat and put an elbow on the table, her attention on the other man, ready to listen to what he had to say
“It was a mishap. The soldiers decided it was actually a good idea to make a celebration at this times of the year and-”
La signora laughed “Wow, I didn’t believe you would be so incompetent to turn a blind eye to your own subordinates while they all decided to plan this, and now that you are facing the worst scenario possible, you decide to save face and pretend you truly saw their actions wrong since a start, how pathetic.”
He internally flinches at her words but keeps unmoving “What is done is done, and us as camp are willing to fix it. First of all, the ones who are responsible for the Captain 8's death will be immediately exiled, and all the victims' relatives will be notified of the incident. We will make sure that all have a well deserved departure. We are thinking of stopping the search for Captain 21, Childe, as well; as with the events of last night…is highly dangerous to make patrol and any signs of life from him are furtherly unlikeable. We won’t make the same mistakes twice”
La signora gives him a skeptical gaze not fully convinced “Is that so…” she taps the surface of the table lightly then “You are aware that those solutions are but the surface to solve the real problem. What I’m here to talk about are Captain number 8’s doings. I don’t have to be a genius to figure out that he could have close connections with the fatui themselves. What are you planning to do about it?”
A shiver went down the spine of the Colonel, it shouldn’t be surprising that La signora, even at the early hours of the morning, had already figured out the little secret they had going upon their small confinements, after all, the Colonel is well aware that she has her fair share of contacts, and even at high hours of the night, news seemed to fly by an enormous speed across the government.
“We are looking into the case Ma’am, the facts have shown recently and we are still looking into the details of the case. Don’t worry about it, we will call the government’s investigation forces if we find it necessary-”
“No” La signora cuts short “It is not about looking into it but looking at the facts, Colonel, Captain number 8 showed himself to be a menace, and not only that, but true proof of what the Fatui have managed to achieve with their obnoxious inventions, and I am well aware that you know about it.”
The Colonel merely keeps quiet, suppressing a helpless sigh.
“I’ll go to the point. To make this investigation actually progress, we must go further into the events and make a necropsy of the perpetrator’s body.”
At this the Colonel shots a expression of surprise, not really comfortable with the idea, and then stands up from his seat, seemingly offended but with the polite demeanor still up for mere etiquette “With all due respect Ma’am, I find that such won’t be necessary, I am sure the records that we have about Captain 8 will be more than enough to give us a hint about his connection with the fatui and so make progress on the investigation, a necropsy is…disgraceful for someone as him. Even if he could have his connections with the Fatui for whatever reason, it is also a fact that he helped us enormously as a camp for the last 15 years as a soldier and a leader for the lower ranks. Captain number 8 already received his punishment with execution, going further would be considered desecration. I won’t allow that in any of my soldiers.”
The law in the Northland is rather tight, and the subject of what should be done with the remains of a corpse has always been delicate, when it comes to death, the northland by culture and religion have always opted to respect its boundaries, in the eyes of the Colonel, a necropsy could be considered a sacrilege on the name of the deceased.
La Signora scoffs again, surprised by his sudden boldness and arguments, but that doesn’t stop her in the slightest “Are you not aware of the situation at hand Colonel? The fatui have just shown that they are more than a few steps ahead of us. Their experiments have actually succeeded and gone through new limits, if you were able to suppress that Captain the night prior it was merely because you were armed and in majority. Nothing else.” She then gives him a cold, calculative gaze “Sometimes we also have to get our hands dirty just as them to figure out their schemings, as simple as that. Whether you like it or not you know it’s the truth.”
The Colonel is nervous at the inside, but doesn’t waver “It is my responsibility that my soldiers are treated with honor, and so has to be Captain number 8 when his funeral is arranged. I won’t let all the efforts that he has done for us until now go down the drain in a mere night.” After all, the Colonel was talking about the strongest soldier in the whole camp himself. Making a decision like that was not so easy.
“For this last almost 4 years of war, you’ve seen countless of your soldiers perish in battle, you were aware that there are even situations when they don’t get the time for a proper burial, even if they were the most loyal and helpful of all, sins aside. So? Why does it matter anyway? His body is going to be used for a better cause. The faster we catch and get rid of those terrorists the better, don’t you think?”
The Colonel digs his nails on the table, his brows furrowing even more, his face one of disgust
“Besides…” La signora continues, seemingly noticing that the Colonel doesn’t have any more words to object with. “You know that there are certain enemies of ours outside that won’t hesitate to attack once they find our weak spot. You know how those Southlanders are, they are no easy foe to defeat, having the Fatui at our doorstep only doubles the work. Admit it, we are between the sword at the wall, you have to cooperate with the little we have.” She doesn’t waver not even once in her words, always with a calm composure on, despite the smirk on her face, she knows she is right, and she knows that the other man, sooner or later, will have to listen to her and obey those orders.
She crinkles her eyes
“I will give you time to think about it” She says, despite already knowing the answer the Colonel will give later “For now, I’ll be carrying with me the information of number 8. Tell one of your soldiers to come and give me his files from start to finish. Now.” Her voice becomes even more demanding, not minding to hide her impatience. Clearly she is not giving more room for talk
The Colonel merely looks at her, the disgust still visible in his gaze despite his best efforts to hide it, he, in defeat, gets his two way radio and calls one of his soldiers, this one in the matter of some awkward minutes, comes with all the records of Captain 8 regarding his service and life while he was in the camp. La signora without even looking back gets up and snatches the papers from the soldier, a merely mumbled ‘thank you’ coming from her
“Oh, another thing” La signora starts once again at the foot of the door “When I come back, I expect the body to be in excellent condition, conserve it somewhere so it doesn’t rot. It wouldn’t be pleasant” and with that, she gets out of the office.
A few paces away, is the ban that is waiting for her to get back, she smiles.
“I got the information, we will have to wait more for the Colonel to calm down a little and give us the corpse as well” She hands the information to the driver, and he tucks it carefully in the glove compartment of the car
“In any case” He says as Signora gets in the car, while waving goodbye at the soldiers at the entrance “I am sure that our Captain would be more than pleased with the update.”
“Let’s make a formal agreement, you and I” Zhongli offers his hand, making his intentions clear of wanting to make a deal with the Northlander soldier.
“So…a contract” Childe repeats, looking skeptically at the hand Zhongli was offering. “And what would that contract…demand precisely?”
Zhongli smiles, polite and gentle, but he doesn’t wait time on pleasantries and goes straight to the point. “I want you to give me the information you have regarding the military Camp.”
There, he threw it, no warning, no anything
Childe’s eyes widen at the proposal, Zhongli did not even flinch with those words, just as if he was talking about the weather or any other insignificant thing, but before Childe can say anything, Zhongli interjects
“It would be beneficial for you, you don’t want to go back to the military camp and you also regret the things you’ve done in the past…I’d suppose those two facts are related.” He gets out of his pocket pieces of shining gold, way too well carved to be even fake, they looked like carefully made gems. “Doubt you can reach any results if you stay here in your village, I would help you with that”
Zhongli’s bluntness in the Northlander man’s eyes was outstanding, and yet…he couldn’t think more but to actually admit he was…right, sooner or later, if he stayed for far too long, anyone in the village could tell his family about his whereabouts and no. He doesn’t want that, and even if it was not as bad as going back to the military camp, he didn’t see it as a suitable solution, questions from his mother and his little siblings he hasn’t been around in…ages, would start emerging, and he is not sure if he is mentally prepared to answer them…well, he is not sure if he is mentally prepared to see them in the first place, the disappointed gaze of not only his mother but Tonia and Anton at a extent…
With the gold Zhongli was showing him he was sure he could buy another house in another town, have food for more than half year straight and have more than enough time to find a plausible job and so start a new life, not having any other care in the world, much less about the past.
No no, he can’t think about that, he shakes his head, looking for any other plausible solutions.
Zhongli was a snake, a sly one at that attempting to do blackmail. And how he couldn’t expect it? Zhongli is way too gentleman even for Childe to stand, what he is asking from him is, as a matter of actual fact, to deceive his nation in the face. Besides, how is Zhongli so sure that would help Childe anyway? There is a lot of margin of error, what if traison only makes him feel worse about himself?
Childe is aware that Zhongli knows this, which for sure makes Childe’s suspicions only risen
In any event, even if it was his mother’s idea to send him to the military, Childe still had his pride, even after all his objecting at first to enter, he can say for sure that he is not that upset for being enlisted into the military for the mere fact that it is also seen as an honor to serve and protect his nation, protect his little siblings.
He spent a whole decade in those camps, giving his soul, dedication and enormous innate talent for the cause.
Yes, it is true that he is a hypocrite, is true that he doesn’t want to go back after what happened, but even if he is not willing to do his labor anymore, it doesn’t mean that he would intervene in the other soldiers' labor and make things furtherly difficult for them.
He is still with the Northland after all.
To Zhongli’s disappointment, Childe smacks his hand away with a furrow of brows, and the Southlander has to suppress the grimace at the rejection.
“I think you’ve grown way to comfortable” Childe finally lets out a scoff mixed with sarcasm and bewilderment “Yes, its true that I had to accept coming with you here, and it's also right that we’ve had to pretend being friends, but don’t let the situation get to your nerves, I’m not by your side and I wouldn’t for anything in the world pair up with the likes of you.” Childe’s words pierce like venom, well, they always have, it's just that the situation had appeased them. But now they are emerging to light again, clearly indicating that Zhongli had crossed beyond boundaries.
A little reminder that they’ve only met for a week, and despite surviving together in this spam of time, they are still from opposite nations
Well, that surely sends Zhongli two steps back from obtaining Childe’s trust and getting to know him better, seemingly the retrieval of information and the vision investigation might get delayed.
A shame
“My offer still stands” Despite the disappointment Zhongli is facing right now, his expression keeps stubbornly unwavering “As long as I have a foot set in this village, until the last minute, the last second…my offer will still be there, if you ever have a change of mind.”
Childe has to stop himself from laughing at that, as if he ever would. Zhongli has his expectations over the skies and the serious expression he is employing to say something as that only adds to how unbelievable it seems to be and Childe then can’t help but wonder if there is truly something furtherly beyond those words, something else Zhongli might aquire from him.
Zhongli…he is way too good, Childe has to admit, but even if they could coexist peacefully, even indulge in light chit chat to an extent…the buried line of tension between them was still there.
As expected from both, what follows is, for the first time since they personally met, an awkward silence, Zhongli can’t say anything else for the moment, and so, admitting he pushed too hard, he goes back to the desk and to his previous tasks.
Childe merely sighs and goes back downstairs, he didn’t want to think about his camp, nor his family, and now it seems Zhongli would be added into that group, so he simply heads to the living room, Feddey in the couch now asleep. He had left the newspaper Victoria gave him in the small table at the front.
Childe, with care to not wake the older man, takes the newspaper and eyes the news on the front again, he rereads the information about the supposed opportunity for “employment” and in the end of the paragraph, finds the date in which everything will be held out as well as a space for reunion, the main park of the village in 5 days, 6 am.
Whatever their reason or their plan is, Childe is seriously thinking of getting to the bottom of it, the notice…it just doesn’t feel right.
He might as well find a way to go after them that day without getting noticed, in cases like this, he prefers keeping his senses high.
4 days pass by, Childe can’t say he has been more at ease on those days though, it has been 10 days since he left the camp and he dreams more often than not. Amongst those 10 days he has had 5 nightmares across those days, that is pretty much for a man that hardly dreams with anything at all. The first 2, he wanted to call them results of the stress and anxiousness he was passing through, it had probably been so high that it even managed to itch through his dreams, the 3rd he wanted to call it just an excuse of his mind still not getting used to the place he was in…the ones afterwards…they must be coincidences, no need to delve on those.
The nightmares would go a similar path, he is in a strange place where everything is dark and the night seems endless, there are whispers around him, things or…monsters chasing him. He is always either running or on the verge of agony.
Even if most people would be rather terrified or shocked to dream with what he has, for Childe, those dreams only leave confusion and dizziness in his head for a few minutes after waking up.
Well, it shouldn’t be important. Reality has more important matters to be attended.
Childe wakes up, a little more used to the pace of being at Feddey’s house, helping with chores, organizing the man’s attic and trying to figure out what to do regarding that suspicious advertisement of the employment of the people around his village. When he is up, not surprisingly, Zhongli is already awake, he was not in the attic, but judging by the sounds downstairs, Zhongli must be in the first floor with Feddey.
Well, Childe can’t say it's not better that way, after what Zhongli had told him about that contract, things have been icy between them, even if Zhongli tries to indulge in some small talk or tries to act a little bit carefree around Childe, the latter keeps distant with him.
Zhongli doesn’t even mind it. Childe is not sure if that’s good or not, after all, he only kept on with his work, after some days and tries, he has been able to build something out with the radio he had with himself, his plan at last seemed to have been progressing with utmost proficiency, Childe is sure he will probably success in what he is pursuing
Well, in any case everything doesn’t seem to be bad. From his side, he has gotten an idea of what he can do to find out more about those “employment news”.
The transport, starting with that, shouldn’t be something difficult to handle. He has an acquaintance around the village that has a business with horses, he must still be operating, Childe is sure he could rent a horse to make his transport possible.
As for how he could actually rent a horse…
Childe stretches and goes to the temporary table that Zhongli and he had settled, the same one where Zhongli writes his stuff, a small drawer accompanying it; the strange object Childe had supposedly come with lays there untouched.
He gets the object, and the representant blue of it lights brightly, the waves at its center pulsing at his touch, the tip of the round object fading in a dark purple
Childe hadn’t given a shit about it…at all, until now. The only thing that Childe knew about it is what Zhongli had told him, that it supposedly was his because he was carrying it, and yes, that’s it.
But well, if Zhongli says it is his, who is Childe to get in the contrary of such logic?
The ginger man passes a finger through the round pearl, gazing carefully at its dark blue and the imprinted image of the sea waves at its center. The frame of the object was not bad either, it seemed carefully carved with some sturdy metal
Childe didn’t know much about gems, but surely that one would cost a hefty price wouldn’t it? He is sure he could rent the horse and even get more money from it, surely a lot.
Childe smiles at the object, yes, selling it seems like an excellent option.
The man’s eyes focus on something else as he gets the object back to the drawer, another main thing he could now be lacking was a weapon
A knife or something like that seemed unconventional, a gun would be the perfect one to go with taking in count the circumstances. Good he knew where to get one.
He looks to the corner where Zhongli had all his things stored, Childe is more than sure that he must be saving the two guns he came with there.
Childe then approaches the bag, now happy that there is no furniture in the middle of the room as before.
He kneels carefully, as the roof has an A frame shape, so he makes sure to not stumble as he makes his way to the farthest corner. He then starts rummaging through the bag contents, hiking materials, a military suit…hmm, it must be deeper then, just a peek of it, he just wants to make sure the weapons are there for tomorrow…
In that moment, he hears someone, (he knows which someone) coming upstairs, the wooden floor cracking slightly as Zhongli makes his way up.
Shit, excellent timing. Childe tries to put everything back in the bag as he retreats from his mission, in his haste, upon feeling Zhongli now upstairs, Childe stands up, hitting his head with the roof in the process.
“Agh!” He winces at the pain that comes immediately, stroking his head lightly
“Childe, are you okay?” Zhongli approaches to the corner where Childe is, a hint of worry and mostly confusion in his gaze.
Zhongli’s sudden approach serves as a bucket of cold water for Childe’s nerves, immediately not making him focus at the pain but rather at making something up.
“Oh yes I-I’m fine don’t worry about it” . With that, the ginger stands up properly and gives out a small smile that ends up being more awkward than what he intended it to be.
Of course, no more than 5 seconds pass until Zhongli’s gaze fixates on the bag, Childe didn’t had enough time to save the things properly, the bag was not well zipped and there were some gear sticking out, that’s certainly not how Zhongli had left his bag.
Zhongli’s eyes narrow a fraction for a second
“What were you doing with my things?” Zhongli then looks at the man in front of him, folding his arms, his demeanor was still calm, only letting perplexion show on his face.
Shit shit shit. Childe has to make something up and fast, he can’t say that he was about to get out his weapons, Zhongli wouldn’t be the slightest happy about that.
Think think think
“I was looking for my gem” he blurts out the first thing that comes out of his head, trying his best to sound carefree about it
Zhomgli’s eyes light up for a millisecond, his gaze then noticing the stiff pose of Childe.
Well, it seems that Zhongli was just imagining things…right, what were the chances that Childe was actually interested in his vision? He hadn’t even paid it a glance or he ever made sure he had the gem with him. Zhongli was now getting more positive that Childe didn’t even know what the thing was for.
Could Zhongli blame him for not knowing anyway? Of course not.
But one thing is for sure, and it is that Childe is lying.
Zhongli merely leaves a soft sigh and keeps on with the play, he gets to the drawer and gives the vision to its owner
“What do you need it for?” Zhongli folded his arms, his gaze stern, he wanted to know how much time could Childe keep up with the facade
The ginger looks to the dusty bookshelf, the ceiling, the ground, to anything but Zhongli, how was he supposed to answer that? Wait, why would Zhongli be interested in that in any case?
He winced “Why would it matter? I just wanted to be sure I had it with me, you save up most of the things–”
“But you’ve never paid any mind to that. You didn’t even checked if you had it with you when we arrived to this place”
Childe flinched
“Why would you check now? You were not looking for your…’gem’ were you?”
Zhongli kept his stern gaze and arms folded, waiting for Childe to answer.
“I was, but it's my gem, I do what I want with it” He turned around trying to hide his nervousness as he kept the object tight, somehow, Zhongli always had an authority aura all over him, that made Childe feel as if he was being eaten whole, and now it seemed stronger
In that, Zhongli loses his patience and asks outright “What do you need my weapons for?”
Childe then can’t help but freeze, he knows that he is not planning to do anything evil…or well, at least not anything bad against Zhongli. Despite that, he didn’t want to tell him about his problem. What is his village’s problem stays as his village's problem, a foreigner such as Zhongli shouldn’t be paying mind to that. Less if Childe knows that the military is involved in the deal.
Zhongli keeps in place, even if Childe hasn’t turned back, he could swear that Zhongli must be frowning at this point.
What else could he do anyway? If Childe only keeps quiet Zhongli might think something worse than the actual truth, and Childe would lose his trust in the process, as a soldier, he knows how valuable trust is, and it would only give him disadvantages if he lets the relationship he has with his companion go to the drain.
Childe sighs and goes to the shelf, where he had saved the newspaper of last week, he puts in on the table and Zhongli wastes no time to read the news at the main page.
“I don’t rely on that project, I plan to figure out what it is truly about” He then looks at Zhongli’s bag “I don’t plan to go unarmed either.”
Zhongli merely hums in understanding, his brows now calm, not much emotion displayed
“Look” Childe keeps going “We can make a deal, I’ll see what can I do for you or…” he trails down the idea, his tongue burning with his words “I just need to borrow your weapons, for security.” If Childe is honest with himself, even if Zhongli seems to trust him, Childe doesn’t trust him back, and he doesn’t like the fact that he is telling Zhongli about this, he is not even sure what Zhongli is truly able to do.
Zhongli doesn’t seem to flinch; he just diverts his gaze from the newspaper “You say that you need the weapons for ‘security’ and yet…you also seem to think that going alone is secure.”
Zhongli then gets closer and hands the paper to Childe “You more than anyone must know that the military and related don’t work alone. A team of soldiers must come to personally make the supposed ‘project’ come true.” He then looks at Childe's eyes with utmost attention “In the worst case scenario, they could be armed themselves, you are aware, are you not?”
Childe tries to open his mouth to say something but stops himself, Zhongli doesn’t wait for him to talk back anyway
“You could be strong, I can acknowledge that, but that is not enough, I’ll go with you.”
“What?” At that Childe does react and scoffs “Hey, this problem is mine and my people’s, not yours. Should I remind you you only came here for the energy power of here? What do you gain from this? You would–”
“What do I gain you comment?” Zhongli tilts his head innocently and slightly somehow still not breaking his polite demeanor “I would get the chance to earn your trust of course.”
Childe’s eyes widen, ‘more like the information i have’ He can’t help but think.
Zhongli was truly unbelievable, despite his polite and proper behavior, he was bold, he surely made Childe understand clearly what he wanted, he was way too transparent with his plans, with his thoughts. It even made Childe wonder if there could be something even crazier beneath the things he has already heard from the southlander.
Just as if he didn’t have anything to hide from a military captain from the opposite nation.
Childe sighs, unbelievable, completely unbelievable.
He finds himself walking across the streets of his hometown, some rags Feddey lended him around his attire to hide his features. Now, he was heading to make some shopping.
But no, the problem was not that he was going to make shopping around a public space, and that he could be risking that anyone of his family or acquaintances with falcon sight would recognize him, no that was no problem at all.
The problem was the person he was walking alongside with.
Unbelievable, he didn’t have more choice but to accept the southlander’s proposal, a needle pitching to his pride.
For more that he wants to neglect it, if he truly wants to get to the bottom of the mysterious news, he couldn’t just go around turning actual help down.
More so as Zhongli has actually realized that Childe was completely alone in this matter.
Now, they were walking around the village, looking for some clothes to buy, they needed more than some simple rags to hide well and endure the climate around the mountains if they truly meant to follow those soldiers and whatever their scheming would be the morning after.
Childe remembers how Zhongli had immediately flinched upon hearing his offer about selling his vision for both’s expenses, and how he didn't waste but a second to offer his snowsled as a way of transportation instead.
Way too eager…Childe must add.
But he didn’t want to comment, whichsoever Zhongli’s reasons were, to manipulate him or not, Childe was not planning to fall in any of his tricks.
Zhongli had gotten a tiny piece of gold out of his pocket, probably as small as half a coin, then again Childe doesn’t ask. Whatever Zhongli’s methods were, they were working marvelously.
They stopped in some random clothes shops Childe knew well, and even if he just went on picking on anything that seemed of his size and didn’t call much attention, Zhongli was quite the opposite, he carefully examined the fabric and its quality, putting utmost attention at the textures and even designs, as if they were on a normal shopping session and were not going to sail after what could be called possible criminals.
Zhongli at times would also approach Childe, showing him different attires and explaining to him his choice, and even inviting him to try some on.
Even if he could hardly understand a little more than half of Zhongli’s musings, his picks did feel comfortable and seemed practical somehow.
Not to mention there was something that felt nice in a way while they did their shopping, Childe could easily forget his worries on the investigation and his family, and Zhongli took the advantage to be a little more talkative, even if it was about clothes, he surely knew how to actually make the conversations interesting.
Childe remembers going out shopping with his mother in that same store when he was little, and how he could easily get bored as he waited for what seemed an eternity as her mother finally choosed a shirt to buy, but with Zhongli it didn’t happen. He would talk about the product and the quality of the materials, while Childe checked if it was truly practical taking in count the harsh climate outside town.
Even if it was a serious task that had a motive, Childe, maybe, even if it was deep down, found the activity entertaining. And maybe, deep down, he also felt guilty for it.
Best part of their shopping session were the results, even if Zhongli had only brought that single little shard with gold with him, it was enough to get them an excellent attire for tomorrow’s occasion
Not only that but they bought extra clothing items too, and even got paid back some money for the item.
Childe’s town was poor, a piece of gold would be far more valuable than what they could ever imagine.
If anything, their way back was quiet, but at least, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward as the last few days after Zhongli had made his proposal.
Childe supposes he stopped caring about it now, It’s not as if he hadn’t made his decision about it clear, so even if Zhongli took the shopping time to earn Childe’s trust (information), the Northlander had already made up his mind.
“So…let me see if i understood” Zhongli started conversation now already in Feddey’s place, in their now comfortable attic “You think that an organization working alongside the military is suspicious, as in your time in duty, you’ve never heard of an alliance from the military that involved any sort of enterprise, correct?”
Childe hadn’t had more option than to tell Zhongli the context behind his decision, even if he doesn’t like it, he already let Zhongli help him and so he bites down that feeling. In response, he merely muses a quick yes and nods
“I don’t think it should have been something to be kept in the dark either around the camp, if it was something that was supposed to be ‘good’ ” While saying this, Childe’s expression is…dull, Zhongli suspects that he is not liking how the situation is looking…at all
“I see, so you don’t know what the organization is about”
“Also no, that’s what I’m planning to check and figure out”
Zhongli nods “Alright then” He approaches to Childe with initiative “We should now talk about the plan, we shouldn’t take this hastily.”
Childe muses a small smile “I know the possible site they will be heading tomorrow, It’s the closest crop area of the town, though for the winter is not being taken use of, if whatsoever they are planning happens to be…true, somehow, they will be making the reformations of the place tomorrow i’d suppose. There are two routes to get into this area, the one going uphill and the one going by the brook, we will keep moving depending on the road they decide to take.”
Childe kept explaining the land details and what they should take care of, as well as an estimation of how much time they could take depending on the ups and downs of each rode, worse case scenario, Childe even has an idea of which kind of places they could use the snow sled and in which they couldn’t
It is clear for Zhongli that this is important for the northlander, and he for the first time can take a glimpse of how Childe is as a leader, not as a dictator in his point of view. No wonder he managed to be a Captain at such a young age, his way of taking initiative straight to the point with little detour.
Of course as many plans nothing was perfect, they had a lot of disadvantages if the worst were to happen, but Childe was determined to give it a shot, and Zhongli to follow, they will have to improvise a lot if they wanted to get to something; after all, their worst enemy is that they currently don’t know what they are facing, and how bad it could be.
After sorting their plan out and the possible outcomes, bad and good, they arrange everything for the next day and finally go to sleep.
When Zhongli made sure Childe was arranging the bed, he carefully got the man’s vision, and saved it at the bottom of his bag.
He knows that Childe probably doesn’t know what this vision represents, much less he could guess how to use a vision, and yet, the inviting glow of the object made Zhongli make a decision
Just…in case.
They will have to wake up early tomorrow, now that everything is ready, Zhongli should as well go and have some sleep.