Chapter Text
One day, sitting under the shade of a big Mondstadt apple tree, the boy says to his bard uncle, "Uncle Venti, I have a question."
"Ask away, ask away!" Uncle Venti strums his lyre idly, sending a playful breeze to tickle the nearby windwheel asters.
"What is a 'dessen-der' ?"
Uncle Venti pauses his strumming. "Where did you hear that from, Philly-philly?"
"From Miss Paimon— Uncle, please don't call me Philly-philly." The boy scrunches his face. "It's weird."
"Ohoho, but I think Philly-philly is cute! Very fitting for my adorable nephew~"
"No," The boy declares and stands up. Determined, he picks up a nearby twig and writes his two names on the soil. "I am Baozhai—" Using the twig, he points at the Liyuen characters, then at the Snezhnayan letters, "— and I am Philaeus, not Philly-Philly…" He shakes his head.
Snickering, Uncle Venti blows air against his ear. "Little Philly can't stop me from calling him however Uncle Venti likes~"
The boy covers his ears and shakes his head even faster. "Philly sounds like fillet, and I am not a fish. I eat fish, I go ice fishing with Tato, I'm a hunter of fish!" Crossing his arms and puffing out his chest, he does his best imitation of Fuqin's cool pose.
"My names are cool and ele… ele-gant. Fuqin says Baozhai means 'pre-shus home', and Philaeus means…" The boy furrows his brow. "I don't know… but Tato says it's part of naming tra-di-shon. But it sounds cool. I have two cool names, but Uncle Venti wants to call me … Philly-philly?" The boy finishes with a pout.
"Okay okay, Philaeus, you win," Uncle Venti ruffles his hair fondly.
"Mhm," the boy nods sagely. "But Uncle Venti, you haven't answered my question. What is a 'dessen-der' ?"
"Eh, you still remember that?" His bard uncle whines.
"Miss Paimon was talking and mentioned I was "almost a dessen-der" but what does that mean? Why almost? I asked her but she didn't want to talk anymore. She only said it was about my 'o-ri-jin'."
"That Paimon…" His uncle mutters. The boy pretends not to hear it and continues to look expectantly at him.
Uncle Venti only heaves a big sigh and leans against the tree. "Sorry little Philaeus, but I can't answer that."
The boy frowns. "But Uncle is smart and knows a lot of things…"
"Hah!" Uncle Venti exclaims in triumph, crowing, "See, blockhead? Your son can at least admit it outloud, unlike you—"
"Why won't Uncle Venti tell me?" The boy interrupts, disappointed.
"Because your parents can explain it better than I," Uncle Venti says, looking at him. After a moment, he smiles and leaps to his feet. "Now, c'mon little Philaeus, I'm bored~ let's go to the Angel's Share~"
"I am tall for my age," The boy complains, but reaches for his bard uncle's hand anyway.
Origin:
ancestry, parentage… the rise, the beginning… from a source… the point at which something begins or rises… something that creates, causes, or gives rise to another… the intersection of coordinate axes…
The boy traces the words on the dictionary entry, trying to pin down their meanings with his finger. Origin's definition seemed to contain so many things; it excites him. While he couldn't find 'dessender' in the dictionary, he did find some similar words like 'descendant' and 'descent,' and it's given him a good idea of what Miss Paimon meant.
One thing is clear: origin is how babies happen, the boy concludes. Maybe someone must first be a 'descendant' to be a 'descender', spelled with an [s] and [c] instead of a double [s]. He is sure he's right, but...
If Fuqin was here, the boy would have gone straight to him to confirm his new information, because Fuqin knows everything. But right now, he and Tato have a Very Important meeting at the capital. The boy has never been to the capital, but he will probably go there with them someday. He's happy enough to stay with his aunt and uncles in the meantime, warming themselves near the fireplace.
Abandoning the dictionary, he dangles his legs over the cozy armchair he's nestled in and swings them excitedly. "Titka Tonia, do you know what a descender is?"
"Descender?" His aunt sets down her steaming mug and thinks for a moment. "Sorry Philya, I have no idea…"
"How about you, Diadko Anthon? Diadko Teucer? Do you know what a descender is?"
"Hmm… I don't think I've ever encountered it before," His older uncle says with a furrow to his brow.
His younger uncle just scratches his head. "Me neither."
The boy pouts. "But origin is how babies are made, right?"
All three adults' heads snap towards him. Diadko Anthon's eyes go all big behind his glasses, while Diadko Teucer's mouth drops open wide enough to swallow crystalflies. The boy watches their strange reactions in confusion. "Isn't it?"
"W-wha—"
"No… no! Philya is too young! Protect children's drea—"
"Quiet, boys!" Titka Tonia barks, and his uncles obediently fall silent. Sighing, she turns back to give the boy an exasperated smile. "Sorry Philya, we were just a little confused by your question."
"Why?"
"Origin isn't how babies are made, it's… uh…" Diadko Anthon makes circular gestures in the air. "It's like where you come from."
"It might be hard to understand, but origin is like this." His aunt picks up a piece of paper and shows it to the boy. "What do you see, Philya?"
The boy frowns. "Nothing?"
Titka Tonia takes out a pen and makes a tiny dot. "Now, do you see the little dot?"
The boy nods. Smiling, his aunt places her pen on the dot and draws a line, then a squiggly line, then another and another, until all lines formed into one big tree.
"Origin is like a point in time where something just—" she snaps her fingers, "— begins! It can be the start of something wonderful, just like how this tree started as a tiny dot."
She squishes the boy's cheeks affectionately. "In that way, it is related to how babies come to be. Philya, you weren't always here with us… but because big brother Ajax and Mr. Zhongli love you very much, you grew from a little baby to who you are today!"
That makes sense, the boy thinks, though he's still left with one more question.
But then Diadko Teucer looks out the window and exclaims that it's the perfect time for a snowball fight, so the boy puts on his mittens and scarf and follows his aunt and uncles outside. The question, though, is far from forgotten.
But if I used to be a baby dot, who was holding the pen?
"Yaah!" Diadko Teucer huffs as he throws a snowball at Diadko Anthon's face. The boy gasps as it barely misses his older uncle's glasses.
Diadko Anthon glares and starts scooping up snow aggressively. "You! Playing dirty as always!"
"C'mon Philya, duck!" Grinning, Diadko Teucer pulls the boy down behind a bush, before hollering, "I haven't had a real snowball fight in ages, so you all better watch out!"
"Har, har, har, we'll make you eat your words!" Titka Tonia shouts back.
As they huddle behind the bush, the boy tugs at his uncle's arm. "Should we split up, Diadko?"
"No need! Just stick to me, I'll protect you," Diadko Teucer smiles and pats his chest confidently. "We're not losing this, don't worry, Philya."
Frowning, the boy tugs at his uncle's arm again. Diadko Teucer always keeps his word, but the boy doesn't just want to be protected. He may be smaller and shorter, but he could fight too. He's played lots of hide and seek and booby trap with Fuqin and Tato many times before.
"Diadko, you should throw when it's for long dis-tan-ses. Leave it to me when they're getting close. I'll throw snowballs under their clothes!"
His uncle looks at him for a moment then beams. "Fantastic! You'll be our secret weapon!"
Soon, the backyard devolves into shrieking and laughter as snowballs are pelted between the two teams. While the boy's hands aren't big enough to make snowballs as big as Diadko Teucer's, he does his part as promised. Sure enough, his aunt and older uncle shriek as he tackles their knees and smushes snow inside their boots and under their coats.
"Gah! You dare corrupt Philya, Teucer?! I'll show you!" His aunt yells in playful outrage as the boy scampers away, triumphant.
"That was his idea!" Diadko Teucer laughs, only to get hit in the head by a snowball. "Ow!"
Giggling, the boy runs behind a tree and cups his hands, trying to form another snowball, only to come face-to-face with Diadko Anthon. It seems they had the same idea!
"Aha! There you are, you naughty klopchyk!" The boy screams in surprise and excitement as he takes off running, with Diadko Anthon hot on his heels. Darting between trees and dodging snowballs all the while, he purses his lips and tries to muffle his delight. He needs to be quiet so he can escape!
Panting, he glances to see Diadko Teucer exchanging snowballs with Titka Tonia. They don't seem to be stopping anytime soon, and he'd probably only get in the way if he goes back.
He can hear Diadko Anthon advancing behind him, tall and hulking like a big, bespectacled bear. One snowball manages to hit him on the shoulder, making him squeal. He runs as fast as his legs can carry him, past the gate of the garden fence, towards the forest, over fallen trees and piles of leaves—
"—ilya! Philya, no! Don't go there! There are bear traps!"
But the boy hears it too late. He's jumped over a log and below him, the rusting jaws of a bear trap open wide— It would crush him. His scream morphs into one of fear. In a panic, his arms and legs flail in the air— if only he could fly like Uncle Venti— Uncle Venti, Tato, Fuqin help— help me— !
A branch whistles past his ear, landing on the bear trap and causing it to snap shut. Looking back, he sees Diadko Teucer, face intense and arm outstretched— he must have been the one who threw the branch. Diadko Teucer saved me.
The relief comes in gasps. I'm okay… He feels almost light, his heart pounding in his ears. I'm okay!
His uncles and aunt slow down as they approach him. Something about their faces make him pause. He ducks his head, bracing himself for a scolding.
"Sorry Diadko, sorry Titka… I didn't mean to run too far, I was just having so much fun… I should have been more careful, 'm sorry…
"I-It's alright, Philya… " His aunt looks down for a moment, then slowly looks back at him, wide eyed. "You… you're floating…"
"Floating?" The boy looks down, and notices that the ground seems farther away than before. He wiggles his toes and feels nothing. His feet weren't touching the ground.
"Waaaah…" He stares down at himself. His coat was whipping about in the chilly Snezhnaya wind like a cape. He flaps his arms once, twice, and each time, he shoots a little higher in the air. I'm flying…
"I'm flying!" The boy squeals in disbelief.
"You jumped over the log and just… glided over the trap like a bird!" Diadko Anthon exclaims. He looks the boy up and down. "How… did Philya awaken a Vision?"
His younger uncle shakes his head, looking lost. "I… I don't see anything…"
"Flying! I'm flying!" All the talk passes through the boy's head from one ear to the next. He feels as light as a feather, his mind full of wonder and thoughts of soaring through the air. "I can fly just like Fuqin in his dragon form! I can follow Uncle Venti and Xianyun-gugu across the sky!"
With a flap of his coat-cape and an extra push of his legs, he twists upwards in the air, shrieking in delight. "This is so so coooool!"
"Philya! Philya, don't go too high! Come, let's move a little closer to the house, okay?" His aunt cajoles, a little panicked. "We're still too near the forest. What if you bump into some trees?"
The boy frowns, bobbing in the air. He flaps and glides around a frost-dusted tree, just to prove he can do it. "But I want to practice first before showing Fuqin…"
"Philya? What are you doing up there?" a familiar voice cuts in.
The boy gasps, nearly crashing into a tree branch in surprise. He looks down to see—
"Big brother, you're back! And Mister Zhongli too!"
"Yeah, we just needed to sort some stuff out… now, what do we have here?"
His parents are finally here! The boy waves his hands frantically in the air. "Tato! Fuqin! Do you see me? I'm— whaaaaaahh?!"
"Philya!"
"Sonechko!"
It takes a moment for the boy to realise he is falling. Whatever power was keeping him in the air seemed to rush out of him abruptly, leaving him plummeting towards the ground, screaming— only to be caught by a pair of strong, sturdy arms.
"Baba!" He cries, clinging to his father and his warm, grounding presence.
"Archons, that scared me… Xiansheng, is he—?"
Fuqin doesn't set him down, letting the boy cling even as he pulls back to assess. "He's fine, Ajax, don't worry." Then his voice turns a little stern. "Baozhai, what were you doing?"
"I-I was flying! I don't know how, but I was… I don't know why it stopped all of a sudden."
"He also almost ran into a bear trap," His aunt adds. Tato gasps, and Fuqin's arms tighten their grip around him.
"It was an ack-si-dent!" The boy insists. He turns his big, shining eyes at his aunt and uncles, then at his fathers. "I didn't mean to go into the forest, I swear… pinky promise…"
Tato releases a shaky breath and rubs his face. "… Alright, but let's do our best to avoid the forest in the future, okay, Philya?"
"Okay…"
Seeing him sulking, Tato smiles and kisses the top of the boy's head. "Good."
They all make their way back to the house with Fuqin still carrying him, gently rubbing the boy's back as he does so. It's nice and and calming. "Come, let's go inside, then maybe you can recount the full story by the fireplace."
"Mhm!"