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Stones the color of the rising sun refract in waning light, mirroring her gemstone eyes (gifts for her to see with, gifts from a god hued in gold and amber). Stretching her arms, shoulders popping gently with the effort, she breathes deep in the morning air. A Liyue breeze, heralding gliding cranes and singing doves, rustles by, tousling her hair in front of her face. It sticks to her, her hair becoming matted by the sweat that has formed and she shivers a bit in the wind; the morning chill, she thinks, but her bones have been colder than usual for a while now. She coughs, clears her throat as best she can, and turns to gather up her basket full of fresh picked herbs.
The path of rock and soil winds down the mountainside, leading toward the harbor, glittering in the sun's light. It is golden and warm and it beckons her closer, beckons her home. The chill has not gone from her bones despite the sun's vibrant attempts, and with each step she takes, feet barely tapping against the ground, adeptus light, she thinks perhaps the chill gets worse. She is clutching her woven basket tighter and tighter as she struggles to catch her breath, hoping to keep its precious contents (to be used for harder-to-make medicines; the whole of Teyvat is peaking towards something again and she cannot bear for Liyue to face it unprepared, hopes to aid its healers in innovation before calamity can strike) from spilling out.
Laughter echoes from the streets as she passes by, vendors calling out this way and that to attract customers as children run and dance and play on the stones laid in the ground (a sturdy harbor, a safe harbor) that lead passerby through the city. She follows the stones upward, staircases stealing her breath further; the sun is not as bright as it was before, she notes, furrowing her brows and shadowing the fading gemstone glow of her eyes. Bubu Pharmacy stands before her, and she breathes a sigh of relief at having made it, delighted to drop off the herbs as a donation and go back to her mountains, back to her adeptus' abode. The gilded brightness of the sun sways in her vision.
. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-
Baizhu finds Qiqi laying on the sidewalk to the side of the pharmacy, just near the corner beyond where he can see. The mid-morning sun gilds her eyes in sparkling light as she gazes at nothing in particular. Heading towards her, feet light at the start of a new day (there have been no patients yet today, he is feeling better for now), he starts as if to call to her softly when she lifts a single small finger to her lips. Shushing him only heightens his curiosity, and he continues forward until he is standing practically above her.
The girl points to her side, around the corner, wordlessly, and he peeks beyond the wall's edge. The passed-out adeptus on the stone path behind his pharmacy does not move, still as the stone she is laid upon.
"Oh dear, Qiqi, do you know how long you two have been laying here?"
A shaking head is his only answer as he carefully takes the adeptus' pulse, still strong but clearly tired. Humming to himself as he debates the best way to move her, he makes his decision. She is light enough for him to move himself, Qiqi dutifully sent off ahead to carry the basket of herbs found nearby and to fetch a few medicines and incenses that may help. When the little girl returns, arranging the medication delicately as he had taught her, he has already gotten the adeptus into a cot, still out soundly but occasionally turning as if in the beginnings of rousing.
The incense wafts through the room as the harbor's breeze dances by through an open window. It smells like warm amber and golden sun-warm rays, like rich cor lapis carved in intricate reminiscence of poured honey tea. It is like the soil that tea leaves grow in and the deep stone of the pillars that hold Liyue's most regal buildings in stone-sturdy height. This adeptus has always favored the golds and geo-browns of Teyvat's earthy tones, Baizhu knows by the way she dresses, and the incense should soothe if nothing else.
He monitors her carefully as mid-morning turns to noon, checking in in-between patients and errands. The bright orange-yellow gold detailing her eyelids remains firmly closed, though she mumbles some every now and then whenever he changes out the cool cloths placed on her forehead (sun-warm, not in the way that cool stone becomes pleasant in the day, but rather in the same way as dying stars expelling their heat in an ethereal blast, it must be painful).
. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-
When she rouses truly for the first time, enough to open her gemstone eyes and follow the trailing incense swirled by Baizhu's entrance through the door, she hardly makes a sound. Blinking at him in a daze that befits her state, she makes to beckon him closer from where he had been keeping a respectful distance near the entry.
He tells her of her condition as succinctly as he can; she will recover just fine with rest. Over-exertion and something curious about a ley line did not mix well for her health. Regarding him, with her bright eyes of amber and gold, she wonders how many of the rumors about his search for a long-life are true; she wonders if she has inadvertently become a part of his endeavor.
"I assure you, I have done nothing outside of my duties as your doctor. If you don't believe me, you might ask your friend who's been looming in my window, hm?"
The distinct sound of Xiao moving again, near silent to human ears, meets her where she lays. She hums in response, caught, and acknowledging. Xiao will not go far, with her still out-of-it like this, but he will not risk being seen any more than he has to (some days she thinks he is just shy, really, but he is as much of a brother as she has ever had and will not call him out on it too much).
"He means well, and you'll forgive my curiosity."
"Quite so, I'll admit, I am curious myself."
They chat for a brief moment, a polite pretext where she fields his questions about her condition in a manner that will not give him too much information beyond mortal comprehension, and he, in turn, chooses his responses to her delicate prodding carefully. He has no intention of telling an adeptus outright about his plight, and she has no intention of giving him what he seeks. They end at an agreeable stalemate, neither surprised, and he lets her be for the afternoon to rest there in the cot, promising to check back later with a tea that should help.
Zhongli beats him to it, having successfully convinced Qiqi to let him through with freshly made tea (something potent, the intense aroma is Baizhu's first clue that someone else has visited, it must have been steeped for hours). The girl is kicking her legs back and forth where she sits on the edge of the cot; the adeptus next to her sips her own tea carefully. A chair has been brought up beside them to host Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's esteemed consultant, who moves to pour another cup.
"Ah, doctor Baizhu, care for a cup of tea?"
Baizhu raises a brow.
"Are you aware that visiting hours are restricted for a reason?"
The man blinks as if he is truly only considering this for the first time; the adeptus snickers from her cot.
"I apologize, doctor. Mr. Zhongli and I work together quite frequently, and I missed our appointment earlier today. He was only checking in on me."
There is a sincerity in her eyes that pleads with him to drop the subject, almost like a child hiding behind their parents, and truthfully, the tea does smell divine. He tables his incredulity for now, graciously accepting the offered cup.
Amicable silence follows the impromptu tea time as it unfolds. Zhongli waxes poetic about any topic that the adeptus can think to quiz him on, Qiqi piping in to ask about certain myths or plants (usually things to eat or drink, Baizhu makes a mental note to find her an assorted platter to try something new someday). Finishing his cup, it really was a delightful brew that he could not recognize (and that Mr. Zhongli only proclaimed as an old recipe), he stood. The only reason that doctor Baizhu ever took a rest, even a small break, was if he felt as though he could better serve his patients afterwards. Ready to face the rest of the day, he managed to usher Mr. Zhongli out of the clinic, letting the mending adeptus rest, and sent Qiqi off to her next errands as well.
. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-
By the time the sun was waning towards evening, amber glow heralding the coming dusk in gilded light, his limbs ached with exhaustion. The tea from earlier had given him a temporary boost, it seemed, and he was grateful for it even though he could feel a crash coming. Making his last rounds for the day before an early retirement, he walked through the back room doors. The adeptus was sleeping softly in the cot and he could not find the heart to wake her, something ethereal, something fond, stopping him.
She had been bringing herbs that he otherwise would have had great difficulty in getting his hands on for some time, allowing and encouraging him to experiment with medicines and techniques new to him. Suspicious at first, of why an adeptus would meddle in mortal affairs so, he gradually whittled away at her mystery until he was satisfied. Mannerisms befitting someone desperate to defend against a coming onslaught of tragedy, or perhaps more accurately, of someone who had already lived through tragedy and was reliving them in every odd little moment, every little brush of death a reminder, gave him his answer. He believed, whole-heartedly, that she only wanted to save as many as she could, just as he did.
Feeling drowsier by the second, he let himself sit in the chair, left where it was when Mr. Zhongli vacated the area, while he changed out the now warm cloths from her forehead one last time, intending to let her stay the night before sending her on her way in the morning (fitting to send precious gemstone eyes out into the world to meet the sun that reflected their light back to them, a taste of god-hood for the doctor to send his patient free into the golden light as Rex Lapis had done before him). His movements were practiced, not sluggish, but the room around him grew darker anyway. Blinking did little to stave off the vestiges of sleep taking hold, and Baizhu nodded off, still sat on the chair next to the adeptus, into a slumber so deep that he did not notice his patient awaken beside him.
. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-
Feeling much better, a lengthy nap and several cups of tea to thank, as well as a doctor she was sure, she arose to meet the evening. Like seeks like, and the gold of her eyes would seldom miss a dawning or waning sun, gold seeking gold. She stops herself from moving too abruptly when the figure beside her shifts in his sleep, the doctor finding his own sense of peace for the evening, tranquility seeking tranquility. Strained breaths break the silence, this time not her own, as his over-exertion catches up to him before her eyes.
Carefully, gently, she hovers a hand just above the center of his chest. If he were to breathe too deeply he would feel her palm; she is that close. A little adeptal magic flows, something simple, something that conjures the feel of golden sun-warm rays, rich cor lapis warmed to a liquid of amber honey tea, of tea leaves growing in a gentle breeze, flows forth. He breathes easier, sighing in his sleep.
The snake around his neck tightens as she makes eye contact, neither say a word.
. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-
Doves singing outside provide the symphony to which he wakes. What was perhaps the best sleep that he has had in ages (the best since he has undertaken his personal burden, the snake around his neck is silent for now, odd) comes to an end when he sits up on the cot he was laid on. Confusion mars his face, brows furrowed as his mind catches up. This was definitely the room reserved for patients, and the cot's pillow still smells amber-sweet, of honey and tea and like the warmth of sun-warmed stone. It is all that remains of the patient that once was in his place.
Shaking his head, adepti were so fickle to work with, he considers himself lucky that she left the room tidied and the herbs and medicines and incenses properly put away (he suspects Qiqi may have helped, and there are some tea leaves left behind, a simple note attached marks them as a gift). Leaving the room, he sets off to find Qiqi. Feeling well enough to participate in her usual daily stretches, yoga or tai-chi or a combination of many methods really, he heads towards the front of the pharmacy where the dawn's light shines the brightest.
Shining bright, like a precious memory, Qiqi and the adeptus stand stretching into practiced poses side-by-side, in sync. The adeptus was humming a little tune, something ancient, achingly familiar and unfamiliar that sounded like running water over precious stones and bright cor lapis, as they practiced. Qiqi swayed along (the snake around his neck huffed but began to unconsciously sway too).
The adeptus notices him first.
"Feeling better?" She grins, warm and bright like the light she stands in (like the light of her eyes).
The day will shine like gold in their memories.
. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-. '⊹₊ ⧫︎ ⟡ ❖︎ ⧫︎ ⊹₊' .-
Somewhere in the distance, Xiao huffs as Zhongli pours himself another cup of tea.
"You're lucky that the doctor did not question you further."
Rex Lapis only laughs, and tells the story of a potent tea he once used to get an old friend who had not slept in days to sleep, a golden memory. He waxes on about its origins, and smiles to himself when the scent of something delightful and divine, potent and intense, wafts by in the breeze passing by Bubu Pharmacy.