Chapter Text
Tartaglia felt sweat pour down his forehead, hands above his head as he stared straight towards the red-haired man in front of him. Diluc, Mondstadt’s Dark Knight Hero. His Claymore blade against his neck, red eyes practically piercing through the 11th Harbinger.
He dashed him a sheepish smile, only for Diluc’s glare to grow colder. It was the dead of night, only the two of them in the cold, shivering snow of Dragonspine. Diluc seemed almost unbothered by the cold, keeping his composer. Whilst Tartaglia on the other hand was chattering his teeth away, goosebumps forming all over his arms. A pink flush formed on his face from the lack of warmth. He really should’ve dressed more appropriately, maybe with some sort of jacket before he had gone out. A poor choice on his part. That of which he deeply regretted.
Clearing his throat, he decided to break the silence. “Seems like you got that blade of yours a bit too close to me, why don’t you be a dear and place it to the side for me?” He asked, a smirk forming on his face, only to have the flat side of the blade pressed harder onto his neck. Causing him to gasp softly.
“Don’t act cocky with me. You and I both know you are in the position to after all. Seeing that I seem to have the upper hand in this dual of sorts.” Diluc’s voice was smooth, though a sternness to it. As if it were a lemon smothered with honey. Certainly a voice to wake up to if one weren’t a wanted criminal.
Childe suppressed a laugh, gulping once more. His bow had been lost in all of the confusion, and there wasn’t a chance in hell that he’d be able to probably summon his hydro blades in the freezing cold, hands above his head and vision tossed to the side.
“What do you even want from me mhm? You act like I tried destroying an entire city with that attitude.” He stated, rolling his eyes. Once he’d looked back towards Diluc, he bit his tongue as he felt Diluc’s glare deepen. “Poor choice of words?” He asked with an unsteady chuckle. “You are in no position to act like such a fool. You’ve risked innocent civilians’ lives before running like a coward as soon as you get caught.” The red-haired man stated condescendingly. “And so what if I ran off? You act as if it were selfish of me for valuing my own life.”
Diluc clicked his tongue, disappointingly shaking his head. As if he were an aggravated mentor disciplining their student. “The issue is that you valued your life over the life of innocent people, while simultaneously revealing you’re a cowardly fool, who incidentally has no issue with sullying his pride.” It was as if he spat the last few words as he pierced through Childe. His red hair swayed against the cold debris. Childe rolled his eyes, “I did what I was told to do in the name of the Tsaritsa. Pride was not my intention to keep intact.”
The snow around them was thicker than a newly knitted blanket, though colder than one would anticipate. The cold itself wasn't an issue for Tartaglia, he was from Scheznaya of course. However, back home he was given the luxury of clothes more suited for the weather. Long-sleeved shirts, comforting pants, etc. All while being able to fight efficiently. However, when leaving his home to go to Liyue, he hadn't expected himself to end up needing such clothing. Liyue was known to be a warmer environment after all.
Oh, how wrong he was.
Diluc could only scoff, his stern expression piercing through the redhead. “Then I should expect you to come with me without a struggle.” The crimson man stated coldly. “Though what you've done seems to only affect Liyue Harbor, you risked the lives of everyone there. Including our Honorary Knight. And an enemy of our Honorary Knight is an enemy of Mondstat.”
Suddenly a flame shot from Dilucs hands, wrapping around Childe’s wrists. Childe couldn't help but instinctively wince, only to find that there was no anticipated burn or pain. “My my! Handcuffs made out of some fire? Pretty kinky of you! But on a serious note, couldn't I just go ahead and…” His voice trailed off as he placed his hand on the tree behind him, raising his brow as the wood stayed intact. “...Oh.” He muttered, looking back towards Diluc, who had a small hint of satisfaction on his face as he removed his claymore from his neck. He’d expected the wood behind him to burn to a crust. Though that seemed to not be the case. The flame seemed to somehow be as tough as iron, yet still keeping its warm temperature. It fascinated Childe to an extent, though now was not the best time to start asking questions.
“Attempting to run off will only result in both of your hands being burnt to a crisp. So I'd advise you to behave yourself and follow me.” Diluc stated as he walked over towards the fallen vision and now. He brought the bow to his knee, before snapping it straight in half, discarding the arrows and broken bow to the side, scooping his vision in his pocket.
Childe’s eyes stared in almost horror as his bow was snapped in half so mercilessly, moving his bound hands down in front of him. His vision and weapon being taken away were bad enough, but was there really a need to break it? Diluc glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Well? What are we waiting for? It's a rather long walk to Mondstat, you know.”
—
“Why aren't we going to Liyue instead..? It may be a longer walk, but this doesn't seem like a matter for Mondstat.” Childe inquired, finally breaking the silence between the two. He felt so powerless, seeing that both his bow and vision had been practically robbed from him. The most he could do was attempt to squeeze out as much information as he could.
“Spite.” Diluc stated calmly, adjusting his claymore on his shoulder. “Spite?” Childe asked, furrowing his brows in a frustrated manner. “Are all you Knights such a bother? Taking me to Liyue wo—”
Before he could continue his sentence, he was interrupted by Diluc, “I’m not a Knight. Frankly, I find it offensive that you even assume I am like any of those good for nothi-” Diluc stopped himself before he mentally shook his head of the thought. “Bringing you to Mondstat will allow us to have you under surveillance. Just until we are able to contact Lady Ningguang to issue your punishment. Having only me attempting to keep you in check will only prove to be a difficult task.” Allowing himself to show any weaknesses or anger around someone like Childe of all people. His hatred for the Knights could be dealt with at another time and date.
Childe raised an eyebrow at the response, deciding for the first time in his life to just shut his mouth. A very ill-tempered man who hides behind an emotionless mask, hm? He sure as hell looked the part, especially with all of the red hair that was messily tied in a low ponytail. Childe pondered whether or not the hair was dyed but soon thought otherwise. It wasn’t too uncommon for people in Tevayt to have rather bright colors, almost unnaturally bright. He wouldn’t lie that he was a huge fan of the color, a bright crimson red that practically shined.
A pleasant sight indeed.