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The reports were right, Childe mused, observing the newest descender from afar. He is pretty.
Blonde hair, bright eyes, and delicate features, he was exactly Childe’s type.
(Although the resemblance to a certain outlander did sting a little bit.
Lumine’s firm rejection was understandable, and Childe was lucky she still regarded him as a friend.)
There was a faintly glowing Vision on his hip, he noted in interest. Childe couldn’t make out the symbol from this distance, but judging from its color, it was either Anemo or Cryo.
If it was the latter, Childe’s respect for the other man would have gone through the roof. Only a few months in Teyvat and he’s already gained the favor of Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa.
If it was the former, well, that was still good. He’d read stories of Barbatos when he was younger, and he’s got the feeling that Mondstadt’s archon was holding back somehow. No god capable of terraforming a harsh and snowy terrain into peaceful and windy plains would be defeated by a human (she was enhanced, sure, but still human). He should ask Lumine (and Paimon) to introduce them the next time he sees her. He’d drain his wallet for the finest dinner and materials if he has to.
Either way, ha! His fellow Harbingers would hate this outlander’s guts. Anyone who pisses off his coworkers goes to Childe’s good side immediately.
Usually, Scaramouche was the one sent to investigate descenders. It was ironic, since the former Balladeer was the sourest and most antisocial person Childe had the displeasure of meeting.
Her Majesty could have a wicked sense of humour sometimes.
But since the traitor defected the Fatui, the job went to him. Childe won’t brag, but he liked to think that he was the friendliest out of all the Eleven (well– technically Nine now).
The youngest Harbinger blew a raspberry. He was in some ruins west of Liyue Harbor, alone, besides some measly treasure hoarders and the newest outlander. Nobody there was interesting enough for him to pick a fight with.
There was the outlander, who might prove to be a good challenger, but Childe was told to observe.
He sighed.
He was bored, thank you very much . This is the longest time he’d gone without aggravating someone. It was terribly dull.
His “battlesexual” tendencies, as Lumine fondly called it (while little Paimon used it more as an insult), would get him in a lot of trouble one day.
Buuuut that’s a problem for future him.
As much as he liked staring at pretty people, the thrill and adrenaline rush of an intense and heated battle was much more appealing to him.
Childe sighed again, and wished someone would direct him to some enemies so that he could stick them with something pointy.
The outlander was just slow-walking, admiring the surroundings. Childe felt a pang of envy. He wished he was that carefree.
Maybe one day, mused Ajax. One day, when all is well, he’ll bring his family here. And they could be as carefree as they want.
But of course, the peace didn’t last long. From the corner, came a group of a fairly many hilichurls.
Childe raised an eyebrow, his interesed piqued.
“Yaarr!” called one hilichurl as it spotted the outlander, and that was the only warning the blond received before it came barrelling towards him, its torch aflame.
The mitachurl roared, stomping its shield twice on the ground, before it too, came running.
The other hilichurls followed it, either barehanded or with a club.
Childe was about to whip out his Hydro blades to help, but stopped himself.
He was curious to see on what the outlander would do.
The pretty blond disappeared in a blur of green, weaving through the hilichurls, his blade expertly and easily slicing through them like one would with butter.
Childe watched, entranced, as the hilichurls fell one by one, disappearing in a cloud of ash, all by the hands of yet another enigmatic outlander.
In a burst of teal (an Anemo user, he thought faintly), the outlander disappeared from where the mitachurl was about to slam its shield on the ground. The mitachurl seemed to be furious as it hit nothing, and at the same time, the outlander reappeared behind it.
In one swift movement, the outlander impaled the mitachurl from its back. The mitachurl staggered, dropping to its knees before finally disintegrating to ash. The outlander stared at the mask it left behind, the blade he wielded disappearing in gold particles.
Besides during the strange teleporting thing, his Vision did not glow brighter like it usually would with most Vision holders, meaning he did all that with pure skill.
Swift, deadly, and beautiful?
Childe was in love.
He had to get his attention somehow.
Childe itched for a fight, but he knew that coming out of the shadows demanding a duel would just weird the other man out. He must be patient, as much as it pains him to be.
The outlander crouched down to inspect a hilichurl mask, frowning lightly. Deeming it important, the outlander swiped at the air in front of him, where a holographic screen appeared in front of him – perhaps an inventory? Childe wasn’t so sure – and the mask vanished from his hands.
Childe blinked. Is that why Lumine collects everything shiny she sees? Does she have the same ability?
He mentally filed that information away for his report. Damn paperwork.
The outlander picked up another mask, then another, and another. And another… another… another one.
Ah, Childe grimaced as he observed his next actions. He has a hoarding problem too.
He and Lumine would get along greatly – menaces to Teyvat’s economy, the two of them. And from the patterns Childe had observed, Lumine has met most of the Vision holders in every nation she visited. Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, then Sumeru. It was only a matter of time before she meets this one as well.
The outlander picked up all the Mora the hilichurls had dropped once he finished gathering their masks. He stopped to count the amount, lips moving as he did so. Satisfied, he deposited all the coins into his belt bag and continued eastwards.
Zhongli-xiansheng would like him, Childe thought idly. Then it clicked.
Zhongli! Of course. The former archon had this nasty habit of going out of his way into meeting each and every peculiar persons that crosses his radar, inviting them for food that he’s not even going to pay for and leave them baffled and/or in an existential crisis.
If his assumptions were correct, the outlander will arrive in Liyue sometime this afternoon or evening.
Besides, he’d been meaning to visit Zhongli as well. If he’s lucky enough, maybe Lumine would be there too.
Childe chuckled to himself.
Seems that he’ll meet the pretty outlander sooner than anticipated.