Chapter Text
A light grey sky, so bright and difficult to look at, even as the evening approaches.
Flakes falling silently, pilling up on the already white soil, getting caught on pine branches far too high into the clouds for the eye to see.
Crystallized breath stolen by the wind.
The comforting cracking of snow under leather boots.
“Ajax! Don’t go too far!”
The teenage boy jumped upon hearing his name being shouted from the entrance of the forest. He turned to the source, gloved hands forming a circle around his mouth.
“Yes, papa!”
Ajax wished for adventure. At this time of the year in Snezhnaya, he used to pretend to hear the spirits of winter, to see fantastical creatures flying in the air or hiding in the bushes, to exchange secrets with the trees. He used to imagine himself as a hero going on a quest to save the Tsaritsa, armed with his tiny wooden sword to fight monsters.
Well, at fourteen, he was already a bit too old to play pretend. Still, it wasn’t like anybody was watching him. Nothing prevented him from letting his imagination run free. Especially not today.
Ajax rearranged the bag on his back. The bread wasn’t heavy in and of itself, but it would eventually become a burden when he would grow tired of walking.
Yes, today was the day.
Ajax was running away from home.
His gripped tightened around the handle of his shortsword. Ajax had left a letter for his family at home, explaining his need to escape his monotonous life for one of adventures and wonders, just like his father had before settling down. They would understand.
Step after step, farther and farther from his father and older siblings, Ajax felt invisible wings guiding him toward his destiny. Deeper than ever before, no human sounds other than his could be heard. Absolute calm.
…
Why had he not reached the neighboring village yet? He had studied the map attentively and chosen this shortcut on purpose. Surely, he could not have lost his way, right?
Ajax stopped walking. Alright. He could not check the direction of the sun at the moment, and he didn’t have a compass on him.
A growl resonated behind him.
The redhead frowned, annoyed. “Can you tone it down? I’m trying to think.”
He turned around, coming face to face with a bear – a bear looking at least twice as annoyed as he had felt a few seconds prior.
Oh.
Ajax shrieked. In his panic, he completely forgot the sword in his hand and stepped back from the animal until his ankle caught on the root of a tree. Losing his balance, he fell backward into the snow, rolling… rolling… rolling down a slope he had failed to take into account.
His attempts at stopping his fall and getting back up by clinging onto roots proved inconclusive, and Ajax was only stopped at the end of the slope thanks to the mercy of a tree.
“Ouch… Oww…”
Ajax painfully got up, getting rid of as much snow as he could from his clothes and hair. His favorite beanie was lost to the forest, sadly. He sighed. Now, there wasn’t any more doubt he was well and truly lost. And cold. And his ankle hurt.
The young man scanned the zone he had landed at. A glade. Ajax was stunned. Somehow, he couldn’t get rid of a feeling of wrongness from this place. An insisting impression that something was missing, something that should have been present – something essential to the way his future should be shaped – had been deleted from existence. Instead, the air felt oddly still, plants and trees seemed to bend away from the center of the glade, and the ground itself was leveled in irregular patterns.
Before this feeling could morph into disagreeable emptiness, Ajax noticed a brown lizard curled up on itself on the other side of the tree the boy had fallen against. The poor thing was shivering. Ajax had never seen this type of lizard before. Were lizards supposed to have horns and some fur? Was it a new species born from migrations? He crouched next to the reptile and could not resist the urge to poke it lightly.
The lizard opened its golden eyes and blinked slowly, as if adjusting to the ambient air.
“Hi, little buddy,” he whispered so as to not scare it. “Are you alright?”
He got a sneeze in response. The animal’s tiny paws dug the snow in front of it. It moved a few steps toward Ajax and pushed its head against the gloved hand that had previously touched it. Was it attempting to find some warmth?
Ajax sighed to himself before taking hold of the strange lizard. He brought it against his chest and scratched below its chin carefully, earning a little yawn in return.
“Seems like my first adventure isn’t going as planned anyway, so might as well take you back home with me to feed you something warm… if I even find my way back eventually,” he added in a murmur. Next time, he’d borrow a map and a compass from his father’s office.
Taking one last look at the glade, Ajax turned on his heels and left in search of his home. Along the way, upon noticing how the lizard kept on trembling in his arms, Ajax briefly opened his coat to share his own warmth with the creature. He placed it against his torso so that only its head was left out of the safety of his coat. He felt its tail wagging for a moment, and forgot all about the pain in his ankle.
As time went by and the evening nearly came to pass, Ajax reasoned they would have to spend the night outside. He wasn’t afraid at the idea of sleeping outside nor of enduring the cold, but he would need to set up camp urgently to make sure they would not be attacked in the middle of the night. Ajax had learned a lot from his father’s stories of adventure, and he knew exactly how to proceed. Well, in theory.
Seeing as the sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky and the snow had piled up too high to find enough sticks to build anything or start a fire, Ajax settled for making a snow cave. The forest had not grown on a flat land, as his earlier fall had proved, and it would be easier to find a good enough place to dig and pile up more snow if needed.
The maneuver took him longer than he wished. By then, the night had well and truly fallen. Thankfully, the clouds had disappeared at some point since he had first left his family, and the moonlight still shone all around him. Ajax could perfectly see the condensation of his own breath in front of him.
Good, he thought as he removed his bag to take out some pieces of bread before sitting on it, I won’t eat in complete darkness if I stay near the entrance. I haven’t felt any gust of wind since I fell down either.
The lizard was strangely calm, and Ajax had had to check out a few times if it was still alive, gaining a few slow blinks, tail wagging, and occasional yawns in the process. The reptile accepted a piece of bread Ajax put in front of its mouth. Was it really alright to feed it something man-made like that? Not that he had anything else to propose.
Feeling a bit lonely at this time of night, the fourteen-year old boy, having retreated deeper into the cave, spoke to the lizard in a low voice. He narrated the life of his family, a father once an adventurer and a mother once a nurse from the big city that had left their old life to settle down in the small seaside village of Morepesok — far away from uncertainty and conflict. Ajax told him of his two older brothers, of his older and younger sister, of his younger brother, and of the last addition to the family yet to be born. The entire time, golden eyes still visible within the darkness of the cave would not leave him.
He spoke of his dream to become an adventurer, just like his father had been in the past.
He spoke of his boredom for days that seemed near identical.
He spoke of his desire to run away from home.
He spoke of feeling alienated.
He spoke of…
He spoke…
He…
He opened his eyes to a world of vaporous white clouds. Ajax blinked rapidly, groggy but still shocked and confused by his change of surroundings. Looking up, he noticed the sky had a comforting warm orange-beige color. More surprising though… was the giant foreign-looking dragon floating far above him. Brown scales and golden mane were reflecting light in an ethereal way.
“Holy shit.”
“Language,” the dragon scolded him – not without a touch of amusement in its masculine-sounding voice.
“I, hum– I’m sorry, sir. I’ll behave.”
“Good,” the dragon rumbled in a way that reminded Ajax of a chuckle. “I summoned you within my realm to reward you for your aid as I found myself in a weakened form. While the energy I had to dispense to erase the abyssal rift would not have been enough to cost me my life, the cold would have most certainly made me enter a state of regenerative sleep not unlike hibernation. Being this far away from Liyue for such an extended period of time would have caused no small amount of issues… I anticipate a diplomatic incident would have resulted from this as my companions would suspect ill intent from Snezhnaya.”
Ajax stared, mouth agape for a few yet very long seconds. What was this dragon-person even blabbing about? When had Ajax provided any help?
“Err, okay…”
“So. Tell me, young Snezhnayan, what amongst the sea of your wishes it is you most desire to see fulfilled. As long as it is in my power and does not breach another’s freedom and integrity, I shall make it come true.” The dragon paused before continuing in a less solemn, fonder ton of voice. “Though, regarding that second point, I doubt your wish would contain such malice in the first place.”
“Can I really…” Ajax murmured to himself.
Could he really wish for anything? Wish to become a renowned adventurer? Wish to become a great warrior his younger siblings would grow proud of? Wish to become one of the Tsaritsa’s closest confidants? Or…
Ajax gathered the courage to cross the creature’s gaze. It looked magnificent, so regal, so important. Important enough for an entire group of people to supposedly risk a diplomatic incident to get it back.
This dragon-person was fascinating.
“I’d like… well… It’s, uh… It’s a bit embarrassing. Can I really ask for anything?”
“Anything in my power, that does not breach another’s freedom and integrity,” the dragon repeated.
Ajax needed to know. He wanted to feel the sacred bond that seemed to share so many boys his age. The bond the magnificent dragon seemed to share with others as well.
Ajax swallowed. His throat dry from nervousness.
“Can we… You know…” He struggled to find the right phrasing. Ajax didn’t want to cause any misunderstanding. He had to be careful not to sound pitiful either.
Ajax locked eyes with the dragon.
“Can we be mates?”
…
“Excuse me, could you repeat that?” the dragon asked carefully after a moment of silence.
Oh crap, had Ajax made a mistake?
“I asked if we could become mates, if that’s alright with you…?”
“Mates…” the dragon pondered. “That’s certainly not a proposal I was expecting.”
The dragon lowered itself to Ajax’s level.
“Little human, you are way too young to become my mate. Sadly, it is not something I can accept, as it seems you have not properly considered the implications of becoming my mate.”
Ouch. Well, that was quite the rejection. Was Ajax just getting worse at making friends with each passing year? Was there even a point in trying anymore?
“Ok, sorry for asking something like that...” he let out, dejected.
The dragon closed its eyes for a moment.
“… But if you are still determined in this endeavor after reaching adulthood.” It opened them again, somehow brighter, burning liquid gold into his memory. While breathing an air of confidence, its words sounded careful, prudent. “Come find me in Liyue and we will discuss it.”
“Eh?” Ajax forced out a laugh. “There is no need for sympathy, I can stand—”
“We have close to no time left and I have yet to fulfill any wish from you. Would you give me your name? I shall not forget it.”
Ajax mouth moved on its own, right before a shout of his name pulled him out of his thoughts.
Out of this realm.
There were no lizard in sight when he woke up, but Ajax didn’t notice its absence until after his father was dragging him by the arm toward their home, where his mother was no doubt waiting to lecture him intensely.
Fast-forward ten years later.
An old dream, long since forgotten.
A young boy dreaming of adventures became a hardworking adult.
A tired, overworked, replaceable employee whose only adventure was having been relocated to Liyue for his job. Turned out working as an accountant for the Fatui in Lord Harbinger Pantalone’s division had one advantage at least.
Not that Liyue was giving him many opportunities to enjoy the novelty, seeing as he spent all of his time working at the bank, resting at home, or cowering from the judgmental glares of the locals. Seriously, wasn’t it a bit unfair to scorn him for not knowing or understanding every custom and faux pas? For being unable to use chopsticks properly? Sheesh…
Things had gotten worse after an ancient god (???) was awakened not long ago. The harbor almost got flooded. Crazy. And somehow the people of Liyue blamed the Fatui for that. Crazier. All of this drama was completely disconnected from Ajax's day-to-day life. The redhead wondered if this branch of Northland Bank would have to close its doors eventually. While Lord Harbinger La Signora’s recently settled troops had already departed from the harbor, there were still no announcement made by Lord Harbinger Pantalone on this matter.
“… and may Rex Lapis rest in peace,” a little girl said next to him, hands joined in a tight grip around a familiar dragon-shaped statuette. This brought Ajax back to the present moment.
Such a scene wasn’t unusual. Even before his death, the people of Liyue already seemed to enjoy collecting various effigies of their Archon. Now that the Rite of Parting was over, most shopkeepers had taken upon themselves to sell goods representing Rex Lapis. Back in Snezhnaya, nobody would have ever thought of doing something similar with the Tsaritsa’s image. A part of Ajax couldn’t help but view this phenomenon as a way for merchants to use their god to make some easy money. Likewise, back when Ajax heard of the Rite of Descension, he regretted the event was mostly used as a way to boost the economy rather than as a celebration.
Then again, Ajax was not from Liyue, and the people here seemed genuinely attached to their Archon regardless.
…
Stopping alongside a family in front of a shop offering various wooden statues of Rex Lapis, Ajax joined his hands in the manner he had witnessed so many times.
May Rex Lapis rest in peace.
“Ouch!” he half-yelled when static electricity ran through his body suddenly. A passerby raised an eyebrow at him before continuing on his way. Ajax lowered his head in embarrassment. How this had happened when he had not even grazed anything was beyond him…
Ajax promptly left the market after that. He had bought enough food for dinner tonight, and he really didn’t like this feeling of being observed that just wouldn’t leave him since his earlier embarrassment.
Back to his apartment, Ajax immediately got to work. This recipe of bamboo shoot soup seemed tricky and quite time-consuming, so there was no time to wait around. Once he was well into cooking, nothing else mattered.
Good… Just a few more minutes and everything would be cooked properly. Ajax wished his siblings could be there. Taking his meals alone had soured his mood with time.
As if answering his unconscious request, the – sadly close to unfamiliar – ring of the doorbell resonated through the air. Wary yet too curious to ignore this rare event, Ajax turned off the stove just enough to avoid an accident and made his way to the front door.
The doorbell rang once again as Ajax’s hand was already on the knob.
“Yes, what is it—?”
But his mouth stayed open at the sight before him. His hand froze on the doorknob.
Though it was still dark outside, though there were few streetlights where the Fatui’s apartments were located, and though the moon was barely visible that night, it didn’t matter as the creature on the other side of the door seemed to emit its own golden light. Yes… a majestic dragon was standing — lying down was more accurate given its size, way too large and tall for Ajax to see it if it were to be truly standing — right in front of him.
…
Ajax shut the door.
He made sure to turn the key twice before going back to the kitchen.
Curse those crazy shopkeepers and their morbid marketing strategy. Ajax had a dinner waiting for him.