Chapter Text
The weather in Liyue could be just as fickle as the ocean it bordered, and on this particular afternoon, there was a storm brewing in the overcast sky.
Ajax wanted to kill something. Or at least fight something.
It wasn’t an altogether unusual state of being for the Eleventh Harbinger of the Tsaritsa, Targalia, known to some as Childe. Especially after spending the morning doing paperwork. Battle lust was part and parcel of being the Tsaritsa’s Vanguard and ordinarily Ajax relished it. Although it was hard to relish anything when he was stuck at a desk with a stack of papers piled up almost as high as his head.
It probably didn’t help that he’d just come back from a most disappointing lunch, so he had no excuse to leave the office so soon. The food was fine, and the company was also nothing he could complain about, as he’d gone with a couple of his subordinates in an effort to promote morality in his ranks,and to get to know those under his employ a little better. Ajax prided himself on being one of the friendliest Harbingers, preferring to inspire loyalty with goodwill rather than fear; although he wasn’t afraid of using that as well if it was necessary.
All and all it had been a nice outing, but it had still left a bitter taste in his mouth for some reason. Maybe because lately he’d been free to go on a lot of such lunches, and probably would be free for the foreseeable future as well.
He stood up with a huff before those thoughts could stray farther into territory he’d rather not think about right now and wandered out to the main floor of the bank in an effort to distract himself.
“Hey Ekaterina,” he called as he walked down the stairs, stretching a smile across his lips as he caught sight of her sitting at her usual place by the desk. It looked like she was free from customers for the moment.
“Sir,” She glanced up at him but didn’t stand. He’d made it clear on his arrival to Liyue that he didn’t require the formalities of some of his more high - strung coworkers. “How can I help you?”
“You don’t by any chance have a little work in the field for me to do today, do you?” He asked a little pointedly.
She pursed her lips, and although he was half expecting her to refuse him, she sighed and started to flip through a nearby pile of papers on her desk. She’d been unusually solicitous toward him lately, which he appreciated, but he wasn’t entirely sure what prompted it.
“There’s a group who’s deferred their loan repayments, and we were going to send someone out to collect soon, but it’s only the second time.” She said as she picked up a piece of paper and read the details from it. “No priors, but there’s a note about unusual weapons from the agent who made the second warning. It’s probably not urgent, but it’s the only field work outstanding right now if you’re looking for something to do.”
“I can take it. I need some exercise anyway.” Ajax plucked the paper out of her hands before she could protest, already heading for the door. “I’ll be back later!”
The storm in the air seemed to be dissipating as he walked outside. Tartaglia took a deep breath as he thought that perhaps the day was looking up.
That feeling quickly faded hours later when it took him much longer than usual to even find his target. Misreading the address didn’t help. Whoever had written it must have smudged the name. At least he realized it early enough that he didn’t have to waste the entire day, but by the time he made it to where he was supposed to be, it was well into the afternoon. By the time he made it back, It would easily be dark.
Ajax didn’t notice anything amiss when he confronted the treasure hoarder’s camp. It was all the basic--‘oh no we’ll definitely pay, just give us more time,’--and to add just a touch of fear, he casually manifested one of his hydro weapons to watch them squirm. They seemed especially terrified of him, probably because he didn’t usually do second warning errands like this, but other than that it was pretty boring. They definitely wouldn’t put up much of a fight even if they decided to attack him.
“Wait!” The tallest one in the group shouted, obviously the leader, his voice trembling so much that Ajax felt a little embarrassed for him. He’d barely done anything yet, after all.
“We were meaning to get this appraised, since we only just found it, but this should more than cover the debt.” He gestured to one of his men and he stumbled forward, practically shoving some kind of weapon into Ajax’ s hands before quickly backing off. Ajax blinked down at it, a little surprised. Mora was standard, but it wasn’t unheard of for some of their clients to trade or barter with items as well.
And this particular item was quite interesting. Ajax could tell at only a glance it was very old and seemed to be in decent shape. It was a bow, elegant and in a style Ajax didn’t recognize, but there was something beautiful about the odd angles. The strange markings also suggested that it was potentially very unique. Although he wasn’t certain exactly what it was worth, he could at least tell it would more than cover their debt.
But if that was the case, he wouldn’t get to fight them. And no amount of money could compare to that.
Ajax held back a sigh, as he prepared to be professional.
However, before he could respond, a loud yell rang out from high above them, right before a blonde and white blur hit the ground in a shock wave that Ajax only barely managed to dodge. The other treasure hoarders weren’t so lucky.
Standing in the middle of the fallen treasure hoarders with her back to him was Ajax’s favorite rival, Lumine and her ever trusty, ever present companion, Paimon.
“Everyone here is disrupting the peace and needs to leave immediately.” Lumine said in her usual calm voice.
“Yeah! Or we’ll make you!” Paimon shouted, “You don’t want to mess with—Childe?”
Two pairs of eyes widened at the sight of him, and he grinned at their surprise. Maybe this day wouldn’t be a total waste after all.
“Well , if it isn’t my favorite traveler. What are you doing out here where I’m working?”
Paimon immediately frowned, “If Childe is here, that must mean the Fatui are up to something!”
Lumine raised an eyebrow as if she didn’t quite believe it, so Ajax figured he better seal the deal.
He tossed the bow gently to the side and relaxed his shoulders into a battle stance. “You got me, messing up all my plans. I’m afraid I won’t be able to take this lightly.”
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the treasure hoards struggling to their feet and attempting to make a break for it, as he charged at the traveler in the same motion that he summoned his hydro spear. It mattered little since their business was done anyway, and he had the real prize right in front of him.
Lumine was a flurry of motion, each strike of her sword more precise than the last. She’d gotten stronger since they’d last faced off, but so had Ajax. He swung his spear and matched her stroke for stroke.
It was a great battle, just what Ajax had been looking for to sooth the itch in his bones. He didn’t even mind when Lumine gained the upper hand near the end and pinned him on his back. If he used his delusion he probably could have turned the tide, but he was still feeling the effects of when he’d last used it for his brother, and he didn’t really feel like pushing his limits so soon. Besides, he got what he wanted.
“Tell us what you have planned!” Paimon shouted over Lumine’s shoulder, sword pointed directly at his neck. He raised up his hands in surrender.
“Wow, you guys are getting stronger too, huh? That was quite a fight. I yield.”
Lumine frowned, “But what were you up to, exactly?”
He shrugged, “Truthfully, the only thing I’m up to is debt collection for the bank.”
Ajax had the distinct impression Lumine was holding herself back from stabbing him anyway, while Paimon nearly fell backwards. “Then why did you fight us?!”
He grinned, “Well, it just so happens I was really in the mood for a fight. Thank you for obliging me.”
Lumine rolled her eyes and sheathed her sword while Paimon stomped her foot in mid air, “What the heck. Why are you so weird?”
He laughed as he got to his feet, “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a glance and when they looked back at him Ajax could practically see the Mora shining in their eyes.
“I forgive you, Childe.” Paimon said magnanimously with her mouth full of food later. Lumine nodded next to her as she tore into her third fried radish ball.
Ajax sighed and leaned back in his chair. “You two sure are easy to please.”
As the sun completely disappeared behind the horizon, they arrived in Liyue Harbor just in time for the dinner rush. They’d only barely managed to grab a small table in the corner of Third Round Knockout, where Lumine and Paimon proceeded to see how far they could stretch both their stomachs and Ajax’s mora.
“You can fight us anytime if you wanna feed us after.” Paimon continued on, completely demolishing an entire serving of crystal shrimp while Ajax was only on his second dish.
“So what’s up with that bow? It feels kind of weird.” Paimon frowned at the bow currently hanging off Ajax’s back.
“Collateral,” Ajax glanced back at it and shrugged. “I should probably get it appraised.”
“You could always take it to Mr. Zhongli.” Paimon said, “He’d probably tell you for free and then a bunch of other stuff you didn’t need to know while you were there.”
Ajax frowned down at his food and didn’t notice when Lumine made a shushing gesture at Paimon. He stabbed a chopstick through a shrimp that was being particularly elusive.
“I wouldn’t want to overextend my welcome with our dear consultant.” Ajax didn’t mean to sound petulant , but Lumine glanced at him like he didn’t succeed.
“Why not? We were just there the other day and Mr. Zhongli didn’t seem very busy.” Paimon continued on blissfully while Ajax stabbed another shrimp.
“You could also take it to Dongsheng.” Lumine offered diplomatically as she eyed Ajax’s mutilated shrimp. “He knows a lot about various items and could probably make an appraisal too.”
He looked up with a grin, there was a reason Lumine was his favorite rival. “That’s a good point and the shop is pretty close to here. I can get this over with tonight.”
After paying for the meal and bidding Lumine and Paimon a good night, he went off to Dongsheng to do just that. However, after examining the bow from every angle, taking notes, and even consulting with some books he had to go get from his house, leaving Ajax standing outside his stall for a little bit while he waited, the man finally shook his head.
“The design is unfamiliar to me.” He hummed with a furrow in his brow, still staring at the bow like it was a particularly difficult puzzle. “It seems to be loosely connected to some of the catalyst designs dating back to the Archon war, but the twists here seem to suggest it was made a lot earlier. You could try taking it to Mr. Zhongli at the Funeral Parlor. He might have some insight on this topic.”
Ajax refrained from throwing the bow straight into the ocean and instead smiled tightly.
“Thanks anyway. I’ll take that under advisement.”
It was disappointing but ultimately he realized he was wasting a lot of his time and energy on something that didn’t really matter. He could probably get one of his subordinates to figure out the value of the bow and then sell it for profit. There was no point in getting more involved in this then he already was. Resolving to hand over the task at a more reasonable hour, Ajax headed home to get some sleep.
The next morning found Ajax pacing back and forth in the lobby of the Northland Bank, bow in hand and scaring off the few customers who stayed loyal despite the general climate of distrust after the whole Osial incident. Although Tartaglia had been officially exonerated by the Qixing, it was obvious to many that the Fatui had been fighting with the giant sea god instead of against him during the disaster. Many of their clientele withdrew their support, but Liyue had always been a pragmatic nation and Northland Bank had a stellar reputation, despite its origins.
Nonetheless, the few who came by to do business that morning were side-eyeing him as he stalked toward the entrance.
This is ridiculous, he thought to himself as his feet slowed once again. Earlier when he tried to give the bow to a subordinate, he was struck with the memory of Zhongli calmly handing his gnosis over to Signora’s waiting hands, with barely a glance at Ajax. He wasn’t going to let that smug bastard influence him like this again. Why shouldn’t he go see him? What was he afraid of?
Then he approached the door and actually thought about meeting up with Zhongli again. It wasn’t like he could be mad at him personally when it was his mission to steal the god’s gnosis in the first place. He hardly had the moral high ground, and as a Harbinger of the Tsaritsa, he was used to doing what he was told and not questioning orders. If she felt it prudent not to inform him of the details of the contract with Morax then he had no right to question her.
But Zhongli wasn’t the Tsaritsa. And what kind of face would he be showing Zhongli, if he met up with him feeling like this about something he had no right to feel?
He walked away from the door and the cycle repeated.
“Sir.” Ekaterina said in the tone that meant she would be scolding him if he wasn’t so highly ranked. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
This was the perfect opening. He could just hand over the bow and forget the whole thing. There was work to do that he’d been putting off, and he had a fresh group of recruits to train this week. He had no time to waste on menial errands like this.
But he hadn’t seen Zhongli in over a month.
“It’s alright, I’ve got this.” He said, pasting on his most confident smile as he finally walked out the door. He had a former god to confront.