deercountry | clashing tens and hundreds of times / a light from tens and hundreds of years ago

Entry tags:

clashing tens and hundreds of times / a light from tens and hundreds of years ago

Who: Childe and Lumine
What: Lumine chooses violence this month and Childe happily obliges while dealing with Moon Presence stuff
When: December!
Where: The Gate

Content Warnings: they're just fighting and yelling at each other so idk if something comes up we'll put it in the subject line

[Trudging through the snow, Childe makes his way over to The Gate, his favorite place in all of Trench. He's easily found there, frequenting it whenever he can when he's not doing his odd jobs. Today the seats are empty, as there's no grand show of Hunters that take on monsters today, leaving it open for people to train. He's hoping someone who's particularly strong is available for sparring today, having finally had a good night's rest from the monstrosities that occurred during the previous month.

As he arrives, he beelines to where he can usually meet an unsuspecting Hunter to try to spar with him. But to his surprise, he sees a familiar face waiting for him instead. He tilts his head, before approaching her.]

Well well, I certainly wasn't expecting to find you here. Were you waiting for me?

[It's...a bit strange, it's not like her to show up here and wait for him. She's never done that before.]

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[ if lumine were in her right mind, she'd ask the same thing: what's going on with her?

as it stands, she's not, and each strike he parries sends her hand and arm shaking. her lucid self would've reminded her of the disadvantages of her movements; her unhinged, impatient self wouldn't have cared and still doesn't care, shifting her sword from one hand to another. a mistake, really, as her non-dominant hand barely fends off his counter, festering desire disappearing in a flurry of gold before it can even hit the ground.

lumine skitters back, his polearm pointed at her side. normally, this is where she'd capitulate and admit her loss; it won't be the first, and it's not like she's one to hold it against anyone. but again, normal isn't exactly what one would describe these circumstances are, and childe should be well aware of it by now.

she grabs the blade, hydro cutting through her glove and palm, and directs a current of electro along the water. her sword manifests once more in her other hand, lunging at him, blade thrust towards his neck. ]

[As they say, a fight really isn't over until one of the combatants dies, if this was supposed to be one of those fights. Childe isn't fighting to the death here. So her next move surprises him, his eyes widening as she just grabs the blade and starts to electrocute him through his own weapon.

It's a bold move. One to be praised, really. But a completely, and utterly unnecessary one for the purpose of this battle. He can feel his muscles tightening up almost instantly, and only by sheer willpower is he able to dismiss the hydro weapon to release himself from the current that's paralyzed him to thst spot.

The blade nicks his neck as he barely dodges it, and instead of summoning his weapon once again, he chooses instead to go unarmed for the moment.]

Hey, [he says, a little miffed,] though that move you just pulled was pretty clever, I didn't think this was that kind of fight. What's going on? You've been acting strange ever since you got here.

[ lumine waits for him to retaliate, to counter, to move.

but childe does nothing except dismiss his vision, the hydro energy under her fingertips dissipating and leaving a wet patch of blood and water in her palm and tendrils of unease wrapping around her heart. it's done, but it wasn't enough to pacify her in any way. how anticlimactic, she thinks as she too dismisses her sword. ]

Nothing, [ she says with a shrug, examining the wound on her palm. she'll need to get that fixed before she goes home, or else aether will ask questions. ] You just didn't take this seriously as I thought you would.

[ what happened to giving everything he can for all the battles he'll get into? or is that all lip service, she wonders? does it even matter now that this fight is over? ]

I'm not here for a half-hearted fight.

That's not the kind of move you pull in a sparring match. That's one for when you are trying to kill your enemy. Not that I mind a fight to the death, but it's as I said before. The round was mine, and we could have easily started fresh for another opportunity. [He pauses for a moment.] Unless it's a fight to the death that you want.

[It's now that the gripping paranoia from the moon reacting with his blood brings that thought back to the surface. Was she trying to kill him? Maybe she did want him dead?

No, he thinks, shaking that off. That doesn't make any sense. If she wanted me dead, she's had plenty of opportunities to do so.]

[ she squeezes her hand tightly to stem the bleeding, seemingly ignoring childe's ranting at her and pressing her lips together when it stings. ]

Why are you whining, Childe? Is it because you lost?

[ claiming that the round was his, please. lumine rolls her eyes as she opens her hand to inspect the wound, clicking her tongue when the wound opens once more and fresh blood seeps through the cut. without another thought, she wipes it on her skirt, white and blue now streaked with dirt and blood.

nothing new with this world, clearly. ]

You were distracted halfway through the fight, [ she scoffs in disbelief, turning back to where she left her coat and gloves. ] You have no one else to blame but yourself.

[She's right about being distracted. He knows this, and now that's she brought it to his attention, he thinks on it. He's been so concerned and focused on her, he didn't think to look inwardly at himself. Wasn't...his behavior, and his line of thinking strange too? Why would he think things like if she wanted to kill him or if this sudden change in her behavior was somehow his fault?

He shakes his head, staring back at her. Things are falling into place, but he hasn't put them all together yet.]

Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm still standing, and I stopped our fight to clear a few things up, that's all. If we're measuring it by the standards you've set for this little session of ours, no one's won yet.

[He draws his weapons once more, ready to continue. He has a theory, and he's going to test it during their battle.]

Let's go. I want to try out a few new moves, after all.

[ what.

she looks at him over her shoulder, feeling that niggling sense of irritation bubbling inside of her again. it was momentarily soothed earlier by the rush of adrenaline, but it's back again and she only has so much self-control to keep herself from lashing out again. does she have to point it out again and again to him? ]

I'm not getting ahead of myself. I won when you clearly gave up.

[ was he always like this? she can't seem to recall, but she does remember him being pouty about it back in the golden house. that was then, though. ]

Or is accepting a loss that difficult a concept for you, Childe?

[Again, he's hit with paranoia. Her words bite, and he's thrown again into a sinking place of believing she really was angry at him and not understanding why or what he did.

No. He can't let that consume him, not until this has been tested. So, let's exacerbate the problem he's starting to believe exists, and expose it. Sounds like it won't be that hard.]

Talk all you want. If you want a serious fight, you'll get it.

[His outward appearance looks as if her words bounce off of him, and normally they very well might of if he wasn't so influenced by the moon. He begins approaching her, twirling his blades in his hands a few times before launching directly into a flurry of attacks. Aggressive, quick and precise, each slash is aimed with the intent to frustrate and push her to her limits.]

What's wrong? [He yells, laughing manically.] This is what you wanted, right?

[ annoying, annoying, annoying—who knew that he'd be an even bigger sore loser than she expected?

her sword reappears in her hand, gritting her teeth as lumine parries his incoming attacks left and right. it's sloppy, though, and she's clearly caught off-guard, sharpened water slicing a thin line on her cheek when one of his blades came too close for comfort and it's only battle-honed reflexes that pushes her to swerve right before it can disfigure her.

in retaliation, she summons a geo construct from the ground right beneath his feet and takes the momentary opportunity to leap on top of it. ]

You're the one who's still yapping, Fatui.

[ the wound in her hand throbs as she grips her sword tightly, launching herself at childe with as much fury as she can muster. she coats her blade with electro energy, sending a huge arc of purple lightning towards him with a slash. ]

[Small victories are what are won in this fight. There's a part of him that's glad Lumine is fighting him right now- had this been an instance where being on her game was vital, he's afraid she may not live through it, depending on the opponent. But fear not, he has no intention of killing her, even if his attacks don't suggest that. He pushes and pushes until he finally forces her to move and try something new, the geo construct nearly throwing him right in the air as it surges upward beneath his feet. He jumps off as it rises, landing on his feet a few yards back as she takes the higher ground on top of it.]

Sticks and stones, Traveler.

[He can't really fight her effectively using his hydro weapon, she'll just electrocute him again. But he also doesn't think that switching to his delusion in this fight is a good idea either, not for what he wants to achieve. So he decides to do something unexpected, moving as fast as he can, dodging past the arc of lightning she throws at him towards her. He can feel the air sizzle as he barely moves past it, and he swears that it burned off some of the hair on his neck.

He knows there's some kind of attack coming his way now, as he comes into melee distance. He has to get to her before that happens. If he doesn't, he's dead.

He has to.

The hydro blades snap out of existence just as fast as they had come into being, and he throws out a hand to try to grab the wrist of the hand she has her sword in, and with his other he puts as much strength as he can with an uppercut right to her gut.]

[ lumine can't say she didn't expect it; childe has always been her most unpredictable opponent thus far. but at the same time, her mind has been going on overdrive during this entire fight, and her focus hasn't entirely been the same since earlier this morning. had the circumstances been different, she would've caught it—would've caught him.

so the punch? totally her fault for not dodging it, but she's not about to admit that.

she would've fallen to her knees, the wind knocked right out of her and tears prickling her eyes, if it weren't for his grip around her wrist still holding her up. instead, she staggers on her feet and coughs harshly as the pain spreads across her body like wildfire. but if he thinks she's simply giving up, then that's where he's wrong.

yes, he may have had this brilliant idea of momentarily incapacitating her but like what he said earlier, she's still standing.

her fingers release her sword, its dark blade disappearing into gold flecks, but in its place, she gathers anemo energy in her palm and allows the vacuum to explode between the two of them to get him to release her. stick and stones, right? ]

[Is she...crying? The light catches those unreleased tears, and he misses the anemo energy gathering in her palm until it's too late. His instinct would have been to break her wrist to keep it from exploding like that, but even then in this fight, would he even of taken that step to begin with anyway? Not that it matters now- the release of compressed wind blows him back and he lets go, shielding his face to keep it from being sliced open by the wind. Cuts appear up and down his arms however, blood beginning to run down them and dropping into the white snow.

Another dangerous move. He was right on top of her, barely a breadth's width apart from her after knocking the wind out of her.]

That was a little reckless, don't you think? Perhaps you can't respond yet. Either way, enjoy your small victory there. Catch your breath and wipe the tears from your eyes. We're not through.

[Yeah. Silently he's worried about the damage she may have caused to herself with that little stunt, and he just can't see it yet. From now on, he'd have to proceed with caution. He can't quite shake this feeling that this is his fault, finding it difficult to battle that and Lumine at the same time.

But at least, he's realized there's something up. He just needs to look for something else to confirm his suspicions that it might be the moon messing with both of them.]

[ the recoil from her last elemental attack causes her to skid back just a little, her face stinging when the anemo energy draws more bloody lines on her skin. nothing debilitating, but certainly something that will rouse questions from her twin. still, it's done its part to force him to let go.

the distance between them gives her time to assess herself and catch her breath, laboured from the exertion. the discomfort from his punch hasn't subsided yet, and taking a deep breath causes her to clutch her side as pain lances through her and more tears well up in her eyes. a cracked rib, maybe? after all, he didn't exactly hold back with that one hit; she'll have to get it checked.

it's not the worst injuries she's received, but the rational part of her brain knows she's in no shape to continue this fight. the part that's clearly bent of out shape, however, still wants her to shut childe up for good. ]

You're such a sore loser, Childe, [ she grunts at him, taking short, shallow breaths, each one a puff of white cloud in front of her face.

lumine closes her eyes, blinking away the tears warping her vision, and grits her teeth as she straightens to her full height and summons her sword once more. her entire body throbs with unimaginable pain, but she hasn't gone down just yet.

adrenaline pushes her into full gear once more, and she sends anemo energy down her legs to increase her speed and propel her forward. electro runs across the length of her blade, lightning arcing from the steel, as she launches a flurry of slashes at him again. ]

Edited 2021-12-08 16:40 (UTC)

[Watching her recover already said to him that she probably shouldn't be continuing. He's a little banged up too, in all fairness- being electrocuted and slashed up like he is isn't anything to sneeze at. He'll admire the fact that she's pushing herself so hard, even if it is due to circumstances out of their control. If it were him, he'd do the same. It is what he loves, after all.]

Again with the name calling...it's really not becoming of you, Traveler. Are you sure you're alright? Did I do something to make you so angry?

[It's the first time he's outwardly acknowledged his own issues- the question is more sincere than his tone of voice lets on. Her flurry of slashes meet a hydro barrier that laid invisible until she connects with it, now flashing into existence at every blow until it finally breaks underneath the duress of her attacks, with him ready to counter the moment it does. Blades flash to push her backwards, before he leaps upwards into the air to start firing upon her with his bow, water cascading out in waves from it as he laughs.]

[ does it really matter if it's becoming of her or not? her mind is currently clouded with frustration and displeasure over all of this, her body wracked with pain and only numbed by adrenaline. and she's more focused on finishing this off as quickly as possible.

lumine quickly backs off when the shield collapses, already anticipating what's coming next; she's fought him enough to figure him out. instead of surging in for another attack, she draws out another geo construct right in front of her, blocking the first wave of hydro energy from his bow, before she zips around him to try and dodge the rest.

and it would've been a passable effort to try and counter him—after all, he'd land back on the ground and then, she'd be ready to leap on him, sword thrumming with electro energy—if snow and water were the type to mix well.

she loses her footing on a slippery patch, crying out when her ankle curves at an angle as she tries to catch herself and evade the incoming wave, landing on her bottom instead with a loud thud. still, unwilling to give up, lumine throws her electrified sword as hard as she could towards him before water forcefully slams into her. ]

[He's suddenly found himself in a bad situation, with only seconds to make a decision. The sword sails through the air, spinning at him. He begins to drop out of the air down toward the ground, but it's not fast enough- the sword sinks into his left shoulder, electro energy bursting forth from it through him as his body locks up and he falls the rest of the way to the ground. He lands hard, the ground sending shocks through his body to accompany the ones already coming from the electrified sword. Had he started to drop a moment later, the sword may of ended up somewhere more vital.

It takes a moment for the electricity to dissipate from the sword, and he grabs it and removes it from his shoulder. A shockwave of pain ripples through him as he does so, and his hand comes up in front of the wound, glowing red. Closing his eyes, he concentrates, and the blood flow slows to almost nothing. He hasn't fixed it, but it gives him more time to get to a doctor, if nothing else.

Walking forward, he finally throws Festering Desire onto the ground at her feet, returning the sword to its master. He's created an additional problem now. It's December, and Lumine is now sopping wet. All too aware of how being wet in winter works, continues to walk past her back to where their things were. He grabs both his coat and her own, and returns- his own jacket, if she'll allow, will go around her first to soak up the water. He doesn't have a towel, so that will have to do for now.]

I'm satisfied with this fight, [He says, feeling fulfilled with their bout, but knowing that if this goes any farther it surely won't be pretty.]

[ everything hurts.

the pain that's been momentarily dulled by adrenaline comes back in full force, slamming into her like childe's hydro energy. breathing becomes difficult once more, not just because of the water she's inhaled when she almost drowned above ground but also because of the lancing pain at her side from her injury prior to that. being completely drenched only exacerbates it all, the cold stinging every inch of her exposed skin like a thousand needles.

a part of her wonders, as she staggers back to her feet and picks up her sword, wincing when she accidentally puts her weight on her ankle, if she'll even be able to evade any inquiries from aether. probably not, especially when she looks like she's been dragged through hell and back. perhaps her only consolation is childe looking worse for wear just like her. ]

No one asked, [ lumine mutters before she tosses his jacket back at him, grabbing her coat instead and wrapping it around her. she doesn't need his pity, knowing that she came out of this fight more banged up than him.

fighting the urge to shiver, she tugs her coat closer to her body, closing her eyes and burying her face in its thick collar. ] Are we done here?

You know, the biting responses really aren't necessary anymore.

[He says, sighing as he catches his coat when she gives it back to him. Was he really that mean to her during the fight? It was a fight. No, remember, something is off still. Her fighting style reflected this very attitude she's got with him right now.]

We're done. I'll ask you this one more time though, and I want you to be honest with me. Are you sure that when you arrived here, nothing was amiss? You've made me quite concerned during our fight. You did a lot of things that normally would have gotten you killed. Or were you just that angry with me?

[Her looks at her, genuinely concerned. It might be so that she doesn't even realize what's happening, which is bad. He'd also try to suggest to her that maybe they should both go get themselves looked at after that bout, but he doesn't have any expectations that she'd even give him the time of day right now.]

The second and third rounds weren't necessary either, and yet, here we are.

[ is she stopping her tirade? no, of course not. her indignation refuses to back down, especially when she's in so much pain and a statue of the seven isn't around for her to use as a recovery point.

lumine closes her eyes once more, biting her lower lip when another wave of pain washes over her as a particularly chilly breeze blows past them. ]

I didn't think you'd be so concerned about my well-being in a fight.

[ no wonder he's distracted the entire time. in any case, she pulls her coat closer, limping towards the exit. she needs to leave, she needs to tend to her wounds, she needs to go home. she doesn't understand why childe is still interrogating her when he's already gotten the win that he wants. ]

Like I said earlier, there's nothing wrong. You were the one who wasn't taking it seriously until the end.

[He follows behind her, not making any moves to help her walk. He decides it would be best not to argue with her on any of those points, despite not agreeing with any of them. Frowning, he can only sigh and let her words roll off his back, as hard as that is right now. It's not worth it. He feels that any arguments he could make now anyway would fall upon deaf ears, no matter how good or bad they might be.]

I appreciate your honesty, [is all he says when he responds, not actually believing her.] I suppose I shall let you recover from our fight. I'll be headed to see a doctor myself. This hole won't patch itself up, after all. Do take care, Traveler.

[Childe walks away from her, confused, still grappling with himself on hers and his own behavior. Without a goal to focus on now, his paranoia floods his thoughts. Maybe she'll just never want to spar with him again. Or ever want to see him again. Perhaps she's just seen him as a villain this whole time and today was the day she was going to try to kill him.

Deep down he knows these are all false, but he can't help it. Instead, he needs to focus on getting to a doctor and going home to rest.]

[ will it help him cool off his head if it gets hit by a snowball? no? too bad.

since he'll get one tightly packed snowball hurtling towards the back of his head, courtesy of one (1) pissed-off traveler, anyway. not that she makes any sign of it, still limping away from him wordlessly as if nothing has transpired and no snowballs have been thrown.

(look, she never said she wasn't petty ...)

perhaps the only evidence of any misbehaving on her part is the patches of snow on the hem of her coat and the fact that she's clutching her side once more. it hurt throwing that as hard as she can in her current state, but it needed to be done. is she sorry? maybe, in a month's time when her own blood has cooled down. right now, no. ]

Gah!!!!

[He audibly yelps when the snowball connects directly with the back of his head, the pain and shock cutting through his thoughts like a knife. He whips around, looking back at her and spotting that snow on her coat. She'd thrown that right at him, what a dirty sneak attack, does she want to fight again right here, right now??? His right hand goes up and picks a large chunk of snow out of his hair, holding it in his hand and looking down at it and back at her.

The snow gives him a moment of clarity that he really needs right now, and he starts laughing quietly, despite the pain that comes from it from his shoulder. She's that hurt, holding her side again and limping away, acting as if nothing had happened at all...what a stubborn woman. Had to get the last word in. There's a brief warmth that spreads in his chest, dropping the snow and turning to head toward Lumenwood, the cold biting at his face as he focuses now on getting healed so he could function like normal person the next day.

Little does he know, that a certain someone would be waiting for him once again.]

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clashing tens and hundreds of times / a light from tens and hundreds of years ago

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