Chapter Text
In a clear spring with a whisper of a past self slipping from his mind, Leviathan awoke. A common misconception is that he was birthed. Brought into this world to be cradled in a mother’s arms and gazed upon with a father’s pride. No, to be birthed is to be conceived. To be a thought on somebody's mind, created in the devotion of two parents. Instead, he awoke slowly and quietly. The only eyes to bear witness to such a monumental event being the blind gaze of the moon, and the gentle caress of the cool spring he was settled in to rest.
He stayed that way as the moon lazily walzted along the dark sky. Not moving as he watched the first sunrise of his newest life, the way inky black spilled into vibrant blue. Above him, a face peers down at him curiosly. The stench of divinity clung to her, some part of the Leviathan thought to be disgusted.
“Are you alright?” She asks, clutching a staff to her chest. It was taller than her, looming over her head and blocking out the sun from shining into his eyes.
Leviathan blinks. “Yes.” He replies slowly, the words ill fitting on his tongue. Pushing himself to sit up, long white hair falls down his back and spills into the clear water around him. Only now does he look at his vessel, a mockery of who he supposedly is. He thinks to be ashamed, to be contained to such a hideous thing. The young goddess squeaks, hiding her eyes with her hands. Only to squeak in alarm again when her staff almost tumbles to the ground. He watches her, a strange feeling welling up in his chest and causing the edges of his mouth to curl. Amusement, his mind supplies.
“Are you alright?” He asks.
“Yeah!” She says, her voice cracking. “I just- didn’t realize you were uh… Nude.” She whispers the last word. The Leviathan only blinks in confusion. “Wait here, I’ll go get you some clothes!” She says before hastily turning around and making her way back from wherever she came, her staff the last thing to disappear in the distance.
With nothing else to do, the Leviathan waits for the goddess. Listening as the world continues to move on around him. Birds continue to sing, greeting him as much as they greet one another. Hopping along their branches as they peer at him with curiosity. Hello! Hello! Their songs say, lilting and being carried by the gentle breeze that ruffles the wild flowers.
Hello. He chitters back at them, finding a strange elation at their melodic enthusiasm. Their was contentment, to sit and watch them go about their lives. One of the birds, a small golden finch that was previously peering down at him, flutters down to him circling his head curiously as it chirps. “Hello there,” The Leviathan says quietly, holding out a hand for the finch to land on. The bird ruffles its feathers as it lands, puffing out its chest out proudly. The Leviathan can’t help the soft laugh that leaves him, “Yes, you do look quite lovely.” He says amusedly, scratching the golden finch’s chin delicately with a pointed claw as the bird preens at the praise.
The moment is interrupted by the ruffling of the underbrush. Looking over, Leviathan only watches with vague amusement as the goddess comes tumbling back to the spring, her staff almost falling out of her grasp again when she finally clears the underbrush.
“I’m back! And I’ve brought some clothes!” She announces, straightening up as if nothing happened. The finch, still perched on his hand, tilts its head at the goddess as she approaches. “Uh, I had to guess your size, so please forgive me if they don’t fit exactly right…” The goddess mumbles, hesitating at the edge of the spring.
Cradled in her other arm was a limp pile of clothes, the goddess holding them out. She squeaks again and looks away as Leviathan pushes himself to stand in the water slowly, the finch flying back to the tree again. He ignores her as he takes the first item, a loose off white blouse that seemed like it would tear with the slightest of tugs. The Leviathan holds the garment, noting the way he could see his hands through the fabric before pulling it on.
Calling the blouse big would be an understatement, as the ends of it reaches just above his knees. The collar exposed more of his shoulder and chest that it made very little difference from him not wearing it. The goddess glances at him, seeming to sigh in relief as he was finally somewhat dressed.
“I’ve helped blubberbeasts give birth before.” The goddess grumbles, “You’d think seeing a random stranger nude would be less nerve wracking.” Leviathan doesn’t respond to her, too busy trying to roll up the sleeves of his blouse so his hands would be free. “Do you need help?” The goddess asks, lips twitching in amusement as she watches him struggle to not tear the fabric with his claws.
Leviathan pauses to look at her, and then glances back at his sleeves. “That would be greatly appreciated.” He says resignedly, holding out his arm to her. She giggles then, deftly rolling up the sleeves so that his hands would be free.
A silence settles between the two. The only thing filling the space being the sounds of the forest around them. The finch from earlier flutters back down, settling on Leviathan’s shoulder as it pecks at his hair curiously. He paid little mind to the bird, instead taking his time to actually look at the goddess who was focused on rolling up his sleeves. She had a veil that obscured most of her deep blue hair, a hue so deep that it reminded Leviathan of the depths of the sea.
“I’m Egeria, by the way.” She says after a moment, glancing at him with a small smile. “Goddess of the rivers and seas. Well, minor goddess of rivers and seas.” Egeria amends herself with a small scrunch of her nose, “It doesn’t have the same ring if I had just said goddess, does it?”
Leviathan doesn’t respond, simply taking the trousers that Egeria offered after she finished rolling up his sleeves. The fabric of the trousers didn’t feel as flimsy as the blouse, a dark blue almost black color that has a small lace up section at the bottom of the cuff. He leaves it loose for now, grumbling slightly as he tucks the excess fabric of his blouse into the waistband of the trousers.
“Do you have a name?” Egeria asks, clutching at her staff as she peers at him curiously. “I mean, I’d imagine someone with the amount of power you have would have one.”
Leviathan looks back at her finally. There was a small part of him that balked at the thought of entertaining this goddess. The essence of his being hissing at him that he should end her pitiful existence. It would be easy, he knows, to urge the water which he awoke in to pierce her through the heart. No amount of power she held over the seas of Teyvat could ever surpass his.
“Leviathan.” He answers her question, watching the way she lights up. It seems her earlier bashfullness is forgotten as she practically bounces up to him with a wide grin.
“It’s nice to meet you!” Egeria says, a wide grin on her face, “C’mon, I can show you around!” Leviathan splutters indignantly as she reaching out to grasp onto his sleeve and tugging him forward. The water of the pond splashes around their ankles as he was unceremoniously led into the surrounding woods. The small finch perched on his shoulder chirping along in delight.
In hindsight, allowing the goddess to drag him around the forests of Fontaine may have set the wrong precedent. Once Egeria was done showing him every nook and cranny she could think of, ranging from breathtaking sights in valleys of blue wildflowers to the most mundane rodents. As the sun set after a day of wandering around, the two set off on their own ways. Leviathan was sure that would be where their brief companionship would end.
But to his surprise, he ran into the goddess again a little over a week later. It was an accident on his part, having been wandering around more aimlessly than he’d like to admit. He stumbled upon her in a clearing, grumbling to herself as she tried to handle a very fussy boarlet.
“Stop squirming you stubborn buggar.” Egeria says, almost loosing her grip on the boar before rearranging the animal in her lap. “How you even got a thorn stuck in your hoof is the real question.” She says idly, Leviathan found himself being slightly amused as the goddess continues to talk to herself. He watches as she makes a grab for the aforementioned hoof, yelping as the boarlet squealed and squirmed again.
Leviathan couldn’t help the way his lips curl in amusement, he steps closer quietly the grass soft under his feet. “Do you need help?” He calls out, pausing as the goddess startles and looks up at him.
“Oh, Leviathan! Hi!” Egeria says, her previous disgruntled expression morphing into a wide toothy smile. ‘‘It’s been awhile since I saw you! How are you?” She yelps as the boarlet squirms out of her grasp. The animal doesn’t get too far before Leviathan scoops the limping creature up, careful with it’s injured leg.
Egeria scrambles up from the ground, giving the boarlet an unimpressed look. “Silly creature,” she admonishes the boarlet fondly. With Leviathan holding it, Egeria is able to take hold of the boar’s paw and pull the thorn out gently.
When the thorn is removed from the animal’s paw, Leviathan crouches down to set the creature free. Impulsively, he sends a small tendril of his power through the small animal, healing the spot where the thorn once was. The small boar lets out a squeal, prancing around the two happily.
“Thanks for the help.” Egeria says, smiling as the boar goes to greet its bedraggled mother.
Leviathan hums softly, watching as the two animals disappear back into the forest. “It was no problem,” he says softly, “We should just be happy that the thorn was removed before it could get worse.”
“I would’ve been able to remove it myself if he wasn’t so wriggly.” Egeria grumbles puffing her cheeks. “Thanks for the help, again.” She says, smiling at him. “Uh, I don’t have much to repay you but- here!” She says stumbling over to a bountiful flower bush and picking off one of the blooms.
“Oh there’s no need for that.” Leviathan says, looking at the bloom held carefully in the goddess’s grasp. It was a beautiful flower, the delicate petals fully unfurled within the sunlight.
Egeria laughs, reaching forward to tuck the bloom behind his ears. Pursing her lips in concentration as she carefully moved his hair so it wouldn’t obstruct the flower. Leviathan held still, staring straight ahead as the goddess fiddled with the flower. When the goddess finally deems the flower to her liking, she steps back, her smile wide as she looks at him. “There!” She says, clapping in accomplishment.
Leviathan couldn’t find it in himself to remove the flower, instead he smiles back at the goddess slightly. As if realizing something, Egeria jolts and looks up at the sky. “Oh! I gotta go, I’ll talk to you later!” She says running off in the opposite direction. Leviathan watches, blinking as soon enough he was left alone.
“Huh,” he says, the only response to his confusion being the tittering of birds in the branches. He tips his head up to look at the animals perched on the branch, “Is she always like this?” Leviathan asks, shaking his head when the birds only sing back at him innocently.
At night, the blind gaze of the moon as his only companion, Leviathan found himself making his way through a creek.The water was cool around his ankles, whispering to him in a comforting sense of belonging. His pace was slow, unbothered as memories and feelings that weren’t his own trickled around him. The night air was filled with the songs of crickets and the cooing of owls.
In the absence of curious finches and squirming boarlets, Leviathan’s mind wandered to Egeria. His mind conjures up distant memories, ones that do not belong to him in particular, but were his to inherit. Flashes of agony shoot down his back, a blinding ache making him rub at his temples. There was a simmering rage within this agony, one that beckoned him to take revenge on beings who had no right to this world but sought to lay claim to it anyways. It was the same simmering rage that begged him to dispose of the goddess who offered him nothing but kindness.
Leviathan lets out a sigh, shaking the memories away as if they were particularly stubborn cobwebs. He has no basis for these feelings, no incentive to act on behalf of a time he never knew. He doubts these feelings will ever truly vanish, always being an insistent drip that never is able to be fixed.
“Oh!” The exclamation draw him out of his thoughts, Egeria stands a short distance away. “Sorry, I uh- didn’t realize you were here.” She says, her staff again looms over her. Its pearl core catching the light of the moon.
Leviathan tilts his head, and watches the goddess. The water around his ankles whispers at him to take this chance and fell her. How easy it would be too, knowing that the water around his ankles would be more than willing to follow his lead. “It’s alright.” He says, tipping his head to the side as a mouse scuttles to the edge of the creek.
Egeria stalls for a second before coming forward. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Egeria starts as she also steps into the creek. “You- you have the power of a god.” She says slowly, as if she was trying to figure out the words as she goes. Leviathan hums noncommittally, even as he scrunches his nose in disgust at the thought of being compared to a god. “But you aren’t. You aren’t a god.” Her gaze was more piercing in the night, Leviathan thinks. Her unblinking gaze pinned on him, studying.
“No, I am not.” Leviathan confirms. It’s then he feels the weight of another gaze on him. Egeria feels it too, if the way her shoulders stiffen and her eyes become wide was any indication. Fear, he thinks, does not suit her. Leviathan tips his gaze upwards, onto the eye sore of an island the infiltrators have deemed suitable. Now, with this gaze upon his shoulders, Leviathan thinks he understands the simmering rage that has made roots in his core, that has become one with his very blood. “Were you born here, Egeria?” Leviathan asks qiuetly, never taking his eyes off the island that seems like it wishes to replace the sun.
Egeria is quiet for a second, her next words whispered. “This has been all I’ve ever known.”
Leviathan hums, the water he stood in sings to him with the allurement of a siren. This, he thinks, this oppressive gaze is the one his ire will be turned towards. He doesn’t know how long it takes before the gaze slipped away from them, the tension thick enough to cut through with a knife. Egeria, seeming to have curled in on herself, gazes down at the water they stood in.
“Are you alright?” Leviathan asks, he reaches forward to comfort but pauses before he could make contact. Would it be welcomed? Would she want comfort from the very one who brought on this discomfort in the first place?
Egeria takes a deep breath in, straightening her shoulders as she peers up at him. There was a curiosity burning in her eyes, one as intense as the flames that sought to ravage lands. “I hope you know that just made you more interesting.” She says gravely. Leviathan blinks, and blinks again, before a wheezing laugh escapes him. Egeria breaks into giggles too, leaning onto her staff for support. “Don’t worry,” Egeria says, in that moment, Leviathan can see glimmers of the goddess she could be. Confident and as radiant as the moon, determination shining within her eyes, “I’ll figure you out one day. Despite what they might want.”
It was a declaration, one that made Leviathan tip his head to the side and offer her a smile, a feral thing that was all pointed teeth. “Yes, I’ll look forward to it.”