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Childe watched as all the food laid on the table disappeared swiftly by Lumine’s and Paimon’s hands. The duo had come back to Fontaine after their adventures in Natlan and after their eyes met Childe’s own, Paimon had exclaimed excitedly.
He hadn’t expected to see his comrades so soon, for it had only been a month or so since their departure from Fontaine. Childe’s own departure was due soon; the Tsaritsa had summoned her agents to bring all the harbingers back in a week for a matter of utmost importance. Childe had no idea why, but it’s urgency was clear if she was cutting his vacation short.
The three of them had found a cafe, one that Childe had been to a few times now. The people here still looked at him oddly, similar to the glances he received in Liyue after the Fatui took the blame for bringing the ancient god back to life and whatnot. The glances were not entirely welcoming, but they showed the fight in their eyes. Maybe one of these days he’d get lucky and some passerby would actually challenge him instead of merely glowering with insidious intent.
Paimon, as usual, had begun ordering the entire menu and scarfed it all down like it was a snack instead of a feast to her. Usually, Lumine would partake with more grace, savouring each bite with care, but this time she was matching Paimon’s pace.
Childe watched as they mumbled answers to his questions between bites. He was still on his first slice of cake, charming the both of them with small talk because their mouths were far too busy. “Paimon, you’re going to get sick.”
“HEY! Paimon knows how much Paimon can eat!” The girl protested as she reached for maybe her millionth macaron. Childe could only laugh.
“Tell me more about your Natlan adventures! What kind of crazy creature did you go up against this time?”
Lumine finished chewing before she spoke, “I actually became a famous warrior. I am now known as Tumaini.”
Childe hummed, “A warrior, huh? Natlan is the nation of war after all, or at least it was. But you didn’t answer my question, who’d you battle Tumaini?”
“Only the Lord of Eroded Primal Fire.” Lumine answered with a nonchalant shrug.
“That’s an impressive name, wonder when I’ll get one like that.”
Paimon stuffed another macaron into her mouth before speaking, “Don’t you already have one? You know, as Tartaglia the Vanguard of the Tsaritsa?”
Childe supposed he did, Tartaglia would be pretty cool if it didn’t come with the burden of a harbinger. But alas, you can’t have it all. “The Lord of Eroded Primal Fire sounds cooler. He seems powerful, did you win?”
Lumine nodded, a smile creeping onto her face. “Yeah, I fought alongside the pyro archon, she’s incredible.” Childe’s eyes lit up, a battle with an archon? He could only dream. Maybe she’d agree to a duel instead? He was friends with Lumine, and she was friends with the archon, perhaps a duel could be arranged for him? “I can see what you’re thinking, Childe. I will not be setting up a duel for you.”
Childe leaned back and sighed. “Let a man dream, will you?”
Lumine shrugged before going back to their spread of desserts. It had covered their entire table, Childe could see their waitress stressing over how she was going to fit the mountain that was their plates all onto their small three-person table. Almost all the food was gone by now, credited to Paimon. Only a few macarons, their drinks, and Childe’s slice of cake remained.
“The first harbinger was in Natlan, wasn’t he?” Paimon and Lumine paused, waiting for Childe to continue. “You have quite the record in dueling Harbingers, did you face him in combat? He’s insanely powerful, on a whole other level than I am.”
Paimon finished chewing before speaking, a rare act of politeness on her part. “Yeah, he is really strong.”
Childe sensed the change in mood between the two of them, their happy-casual frollicy demeanor had turned grim, a dark cloth draping over the setting. Their smiles were heavier, and the forks they carried weren’t reaching to get more food from the table. Paimon’s tone was oddly solemn, the girl was sad at the mention of the Captain.
He sat up straight, “Did something happen between you and the Captain?”
Lumine and Paimon exchanged a quick and simple glance before Paimon spoke, “The Captain sacrificed himself. He transferred his lifeforce to the lord of the night in the pyro archon’s place. He used his curse of immortality to restore Natlan’s leylines.”
“So… he…” Childe pressed his nails into his palms as he processed the information. “He’s gone.”
The meeting that the Tsaritsa had called everyone for. It was a funeral service for the Captain.
“His body will forever remain on the throne of Ochkanatlan.” Lumine supplied. For closure, assurance, Childe didn’t know. He didn’t know Capitano personally, the harbingers weren’t exactly known for their camaraderie. And as a harbinger, one should always be prepared to face the loss of a comrade.
“Huh.” The rest of their meeting was a blur, the mention of the Captain had changed their mood and with nobody wanting to eat or speak anymore, they’d parted ways.
Childe packed all his things up quickly, there wasn’t much because he was on vacation and he’d only brought what he needed for vacation.
-
Snezhnaya was as cold as always, carrying a chill that seeped into people’s bones. Or maybe it was just that Childe had grown accustomed to the blistering heat in all the other nations in Tevyat.
The palace was the same as always, desolate and uninviting. Their scheduled meeting was tomorrow, he doubted he’d see any harbingers around before then. The last time they’d met like this was after Signora’s death and that time he’d run into the Captain the night before their meeting.
The harbingers were all odd people, Childe included. He was a child of the abyss, a trained individual with the instincts to kill and a persistent longing for battle. He awakened Ptakhur, a narwhal with the ability to devour whole worlds. He brought back an ancient god to Liyue, threatening to destroy an entire nation. He escaped from the Fortress of Meropide in Fontaine, the city of justice. Calling his coworkers odd wouldn’t not be hypocritical, they just weren’t as flashy as he was.
Capitano could at least hold a conversation, which is more than he could say for some of his other colleagues. The last time he’d spoken to Dottore the man had attempted to nip some of his blood.
However, the Captain wasn’t much of a converser himself, it was mainly Childe prattling on about whatever came to mind. Which obviously meant subtly hinting at a duel because the man was the embodiment of all that is powerful and strong. Childe could only dream of having a fraction of the strength as Capitano did. He wanted to get stronger, he wanted to be like the Captain.
The night before Signora’s funeral, Capitano had been alone in the palace dining hall. Childe encountered him there, and instantly began pestering him. People were easy to read, all their emotions were always on display in their eyes. Even mastered liars couldn’t stop the fractional reaction of their eyes widening, narrowing, or rising. Childe’s own eyes were different, they never showed any emotion. An effect of the months he spent in the abyss.
But the Captain’s eyes were always hidden behind the mask he donned. Childe had never seen him without it, he wasn’t going to complain however. The first time he saw Dottore without his mask his mind had instantly supplied him with the urge to tell the man to put it back on. Childe wondered if Capitano had similar thoughts about his appearance, maybe the Captain wanted all the harbingers to cover their faces in a similar manner, and this was his cryptic way of sending the message.
Childe mindlessly told the Captain about his little brother visiting him in Liyue, and how Lumine had helped take care of the boy. The Captain ate in silence but Childe could tell he was listening, even if his eyes were hidden. The silence that followed him was more serene than unkind.
He wasn’t asked to leave nor did the Captain make action to leave, so Childe had assumed that his ranting wasn’t a problem.
The Captain had attended the funeral with his usual stoicism. That was the last he’d heard of the Captain.
Since then, Childe had been through a series of adventures, he’d gone on vacation twice for example. Inazuma was nice, he met the traveller and an adorable Liyuen rockstar who surprisingly hadn’t heard of his heinous crimes in her homeland. He’d also been to Fontaine, and that was certainly interesting. He met The Knave there, but other than her, Childe hadn’t heard about if the other harbingers were up to anything interesting. But it wasn’t like they were friendly, chatty co-workers, so Childe didn’t expect much from the start.
Now he was eating his dinner alone, the empty presence of where the Captain had sat a while back. He wondered what he would talk about if Capitano were here, perchance his battle against the all-devouring Narwhal? He didn’t know what stories the other would be interested in, but the man had listened to the story of Teucer’s adventure.
“I trust that you’ve heard.” Childe looked up from his cold stew. Piercing black eyes with red crosses analysed him.
“…Of the Captain?” He clarified.
Arlecchino nodded as she settled into the seat opposite Childe, where the Captain had once sat. “Yes.”
Childe hummed, “Yes.”
He had never truly conversed with her, her presence and aura were both unnerving and unsettling. While she was definitely immensely powerful, she had no loyalty to the Tsaritsa, there was not a single sane bone in her body. Childe didn’t trust her; however, she wasn’t his least favourite of all the harbingers. At least she didn’t glare at him like The Marionette tended to do often.
Childe couldn’t get a solid read on the other, however. It was impossible for him to discern her opinion on him because she always looked disconnected while speaking to him. She was micro-analysing his actions and behavioral patterns with a level of detail that left Childe fleeing away from the thought of conversation with her. She seemed to recognise his ability in battle, even if she thought he-himself was unfit to be a harbinger.
Arlecchino was probably the only harbinger that Childe had seen strike a conversation with Capitano. He didn’t count because he would talk to anyone and the Captain probably didn’t recognise his prowess. He’d seen Capitano in battle once, and it left Childe breathless. Usually, he preferred to be the one fighting but he’d be willing to lose a couple limbs for the chance to see The Captain spar against Zhongli.
Childe watched as a servant brought out Arlecchino’s dinner, keeping their head down and scurrying away quickly after. He’d never seen a harbinger eat in the dining hall before Capitano, he figured they ate in their chambers or they just didn’t come to the palace the night before.
“What did you think of him?”
Childe paused. “The Captain? ..He was really powerful. An extremely talented fighter, he’s one of the best I’ve seen.”
She nodded in agreement. “He was powerful. He shouldered so much with that power, he’s a man who earned his share of respect.”
“Did you ever spar against him?” Childe found himself asking the question before thinking, instantly wanting to slap himself for it.
Arlecchino didn’t mind the question, a small smile tugging onto her face. This was the first time Childe had ever gotten a good read of her. “No. I fear I don’t share the same lust for battle as you.”
“The captain had spoken to me about you a few times before.” Childe’s eyes widened slightly. He’d always thought the Captain hadn’t awknowledged him because he ranked too lowly among the harbingers. He’d always thought that Capitano ignored his duel requests because Childe’s own weakness didn’t interest him. “The man was immortal, he was cursed by the Ruler of Death. He; however, managed to find the loophole within his curse and found a way to turn it against its creator. His prowess lied not only within his physical strength, but his compassion for all the people he’d fought in battle with.”
Childe finally recognised the look on Arlecchino’s face. It was one he hadn’t seen in years, since he first escaped the abyss as the look slowly morphed into something more similar to hatred.
Pity.
Arlecchino pitied him for Capitano’s death. He’d seen the same looks on Paimon’s and Lumine’s faces back in Fontaine. Maybe that was why she’d come to converse with him, to console him for matters that didn’t need consoling. Childe had told the traveller that he was a sort-of fan of Capitano but it wasn’t like he actually knew anything about the guy.
The Knave probably saw him as one of her children in Fontaine. He was young, the youngest harbinger in all of Fatui history, but he wasn’t a child. She wasn’t responsible for him, but the inescapable pitiful look she was giving him made it seem like she thought otherwise. Childe was still holding his empty spoon middair, and Arlecchino hadn’t even reached for hers, too busy trying to console him.
“You possess things that the Captain could never have. He was cursed to live forever, he carried the souls of so many comrades with him, yet he was always alone.” Arlecchino continued, “You’re young Tartaglia. You have a family, a clear vision of what you want to do in your mortal life. You have your nation that you can stand for and protect.”
Childe pressed his nails against his palm under the table as she continued speaking, “Capitano was cursed to never have the chance to live the way you are able to.”
-
Most of the harbingers all left the day of the meeting, right after it ended. Childe assumed that it wasn’t even Dottore’s real body at the meeting, the man didn’t seem to have a heart. Actually, Childe wouldn’t be surprised if Dottore somehow found a way to remove his heart and keep the blood in his body pumping.
Arlecchino lingered for longer, but she didn’t speak to Childe after the night before.
An empty casket was buried in the garden at the back of the palace for the service. The traveller had mentioned that his body would forever be in Natlan now. Childe thought about it, maybe he’d need to visit the grave soon, pay respects to the formidable warrior that is Capitano.
He bought a few Withering Purpurblooms from a Natlanese vendor. It was an ashy flower, with petals that looked slightly scorched. A symbol for what the people of Natlan had been through and Childe supposed it would only be fitting for the Captain after the man’s sacrifice for their nation.
Capitano wasn’t from Snezhnaya, Childe wasn’t sure if he were from Natlan either but Childe just guessed that if the Captain did have favourite flowers, these would be higher up on the list. Childe placed the flowers by the foot of the gravestone, bunched up together. He recognised a couple of the flowers to be from Fontaine, probably left by Arlecchino.
The winds were biting, cold, harsh, threatening to freeze the exposed skin of Tartaglia’s fingertips. He brought his hand back toward himself, pulling on a glove.
Ever since he managed to escape the abyss he’d been driven by his desire for power and the will to get stronger. His lust for battle, his resilient nature, the comfort the weight of the weapon provided him, Tartaglia, the eleventh of the harbingers, relied on adrenaline; he sought the thrill of battle.
The Captain was different. He was driven by something else-something far more tragic.