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

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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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[He'd spent maybe half an hour waiting for her the day previously, only for her not to show. He should have known, his mind diving into scenarios that had no basis in reality. He has to occupy his mind so he doesn't think on it too much. He trains there that day anyway, taking it easy on himself, before going home.

Does he text her? No, what if it just makes the situation worse. But what if she expects it of him? Will that make her mad? Was he going to catch it from her the next day? He texts her, on the 3rd day.]

9 A.M: hey lumine are you coming? i trained for a little bit waiting for you

9:30 A.M: i'm not staying, i'm heading home

12 P.M: is everything ok? i didn't mean to upset you yesterday

1 P.M: if you're mad, i apologize. i understand if you don't want to talk

5 P.M: i hope i can see you tomorrow. i'll be at the gate, same time.
i do hope you were able to rest

[He lets it go and forces himself to put his Omni away. He has a lot to think about, that night. The next day, he gets up as he said he would, hoping that she'd be there but unsure if maybe that was the end of it. The relief that washes over him is like a tidal wave when he sees her, and trots up to meet her.]

How are you feeling? I tried to get a hold of you yesterday...did you see any of my texts?

[ ????

his questions are very weird, especially when he practically comes up to her like an excited puppy. text messages? oh. ]

I haven't seen any of them.

[ to be fair, she hasn't touched her omni since yesterday. even today, all she's done is shove the thing in her pocket without even checking anything on it. the complete opposite of her the other day when she was constantly checking it, nagging at childe for being late. to humour him, however, she takes the device out and goes through her messages, her brows furrowing at the number of texts he's sent her.

... that's called spamming, childe. ]

I wasn't mad yesterday. The blood ministers just told me to rest, or else they'll stop treating me.

[ which was annoying in itself. how will she continue fighting if she's injured? ] I didn't think you'd be this anxious just because I was gone for a day.

Neither did I, [He admits, his own strange reaction being brought to his attention. His mind had been left to wander, to think, to be focused on the illogical. And once again he's left to wonder...what's wrong with me?]

It is a relief to hear that you took the day to rest up. Your injuries, and mine as well, haven't been faring well underneath all the stress we've subjected ourselves to. It's a little embarrassing, but I apologize for all the frantic messages I left.

[ she goes through the messages again, pressing her lips together. did she give him the impression that she'd be around yesterday? she supposes she has, seeing how she practically dragged him out of bed the other day and insisted that he humoured her. but to think that he was this worried when she didn't show up ...

in any case, lumine slips the omni back into her coat pocket and then drops it back onto the bench along with her scarf. ]

If you find the fighting stressful because of your injuries, you can always just tell me.

[ she won't hold it against him; if anything, she'd prefer if he didn't waste her time by dawdling and stalling, by pretending that he's capable of keeping up with her when he can't. she's finding that she has little to no tolerance for her time being wasted lately. ]

I'll find someone or something else to fight.

[He chuckles softly, that impatience rearing its head again. It sounds more like she just wants to satiate it rather than be all that concerned for his own state of well being, but that's fine. He more than used to that kind of attitude from other people, even his fellow Harbingers.]

I've fought through conflicts in the underbelly of the world itself- I think, even with my injuries, I can handle whatever you throw at me. Besides, [He says, tilting his head at her.]

You know me. I can never pass up on an opportunity to test my limits.

[ then why are you complaining about how sore you are!! ]

If you insist.

[ he seems to have well-rested, seeing that she wasn't beating him to a pulp yesterday. and the brief respite has also done wonders for her, allowing her to replenish her strength, even if her body still feels sore and there's a stiffness to her movements, especially when she tries to roll her shoulders.

but now, her impatience has finally started to seethe and simmer again after an entire day of being stuck at home, ready to boil over. she draws her sword, coating the blade once more with electro energy. ]

You're still talking too much, Childe. I thought yesterday would've shut you up.

[ without any warning, she lunges at him once more, taking a swipe of electro energy at him. ]

You need to come up with better taunts, Traveler. I've already heard that one plenty of times.

[His blades come out once more, but today they're different. The electro energy is deflected with his new weapons, meeting her blade with two of his own that are now a sickly looking green color. Mist seems to float off of them, and he grins devilishly back at her.]

I wanted to use these a few days ago, but I never had the opportunity. I do hope you remember that I told you that I had some new moves I wanted to try? Here it comes.

[With a heave, he parries upward and follows up with a backhand slash, several small darts releasing from his sword at her.]

[ the insults will change if he changes too. as it stands, he's still talkative as hell and it's honestly grating at this point.

lumine frowns at the sight of his hydro blades, looking very much lethal in a different sense, and takes a defensive stance. she remembers what he told her about his blood type, and she becomes all the more wary of that blade touching her. it's poison, no doubt about it.

but what kind ... she doesn't want to find out.

she jumps back when he takes a slash at her, but what catches her off guard are the tiny darts shooting towards her. her eyes widen, and she tries to parry them with a geo construct. the glowing stone wall manages to block a few but one flies past it, scratching her on the cheek. it barely stings, and a part of her momentarily thought it's nothing but a distraction until she finds herself staggering. ]

What is going on— [ her limbs suddenly feel heavy, her head suddenly swimming in syrup. ] Childe—

[ she barely even finishes her accusation, dropping her sword on the ground with a clatter before collapsing next to it on the snow. ]

Oh...

[He steps around the construct, finding her out like a light. With the user out of commission, the sword flicks away in the wind. He steps over her to scoop her up, carrying her out of the combat area, picking up his jacket on the way out. He finds a dry wall to set themselves up against, making sure he's brushed most of the snow off of her. It's still very cold, and he doesn't want her getting sick.]

I really thought she'd dodge all those. Guess not.

[He puts his back up against the wall, sitting down and then holding her in one of his arms as he sets her against his chest, letting her sleep. His arm stays around her to make sure she doesn't slide off, and the jacket is thrown over the both of them. Once that's done, he relaxes.

The peace is nice, amidst the chaos that was both of their minds. It's almost like night and day, how she sleeps so peacefully right now, feeling her deep breaths under his arm as she finally gets the power nap she deserves. He smiles softly down at her, before setting his own head up against the cold wall and closes his eyes for a moment.

It won't be so peaceful when she wakes up...]

[ lumine can only afford him ten minutes of peace. and if there's anyone he should blame for that, it's himself for (1)poisoning her and (2)lowering the potency of the poison.

she stirs once the effects of his poison fade, blinking the sleep from her eyes and feeling a little groggy and lightheaded from the nap. it takes her a few minutes to gather her wits and composure again, groaning slightly when she feels a dull ache on her side. but the moment she realises where she is, that she's not lying face-first on the snow, with an arm wrapped around her, lumine sits up, awake and alert.

—and turning onto the perpetrator of her current disorientation. her hand curls around the front of his shirt, shaking childe awake (if he's napping). ]

What did you do to me, Childe?

[ what the hell were those darts? what just happened to her? ]

[He's not quite asleep, but not awake either; he'd had just enough time to let his mind settle, when she starts shaking him awake. His eyes snap open, surprised for a split second when history suddenly comes back to him. Childe can only manage a guilty grin, because he knows he's in trouble with her.]

Hehehe...well, I put you to sleep, that's all. Maybe you still needed the rest, you slept so soundly for the past ten minutes or so. If I'm being honest, I didn't think I'd manage to catch you so easily and right away with that attack.

[ she didn't think that would happen either, and yet here she is, sitting in his arms and gritting her teeth that she was caught off-guard by something so ... stupid. it's her fault, but she's not about to admit that. at least, not in front of childe; she's not about to give him that satisfaction.

lumine shoves him off of her before she gets up on her feet, her temper rising again despite the cold surrounding her. she still feels dazed and unsteady and her brain still feels like it's swimming in thick syrup, but she staggers towards her coat and scarf anyway. ]

I'm going home.

[ actually, she's not. she's going elsewhere, find another place to soothe her irritation and cool her head before she goes back home. ]

[At this point, paranoia or not, he figured she'd be kind of mad. What part of it that would anger her is up for debate, because he's not a mind reader and anything, from simply getting caught by his poison to being held in his arms when she woke, could have done it. Or all of it.

He pops up off the ground himself, a little shocked to hear that she's just...leaving. Without actually fighting? They'd just crossed blades, and he thought she'd want to kick his ass after that. But instead she's just leaving???]

Going home? Wait a second, don't you want to spar some more? We barely even got started!

[Is he pouting? Maybe a little bit.]

[ why is he even pouting? this is his fault.

like yes sure, she'd want to kick his ass after that. there's nothing else that would make her happy that very moment and nothing else that would settle her restlessness. but not when he's cheating like this, she thinks irritably as she wraps the scarf around her neck.

(truth be told, she's just pissed that she got caught off-guard and didn't dodge all of those darts ...) ]

We barely got started, and you quickly decide to cheat, you mean.

[ she dismisses any logical and rational reasoning that he's not exactly cheating if it's part of his abilities. hasn't she been using all of her elements simultaneously as well? but lumine's too hot-headed to even consider that. ]

Cheat?! You can't be serious, Lumine. [He is absolutely going to contest that accusation.] I've been cultivating this new power of mine since I arrived. In fact, I even warned you ahead of time that I had a new trick up my sleeve.

[It actually annoys him that she'd go this far to deflect blame onto him for her own failings. The way he views fighting, always as a learning experience, as a dangerously fun activity that he's so passionate about, and she's just...calling him a cheater.]

If you are unwilling to learn from your mistakes in battle, and seek to better yourself, then you've failed on the most fundamental level. [He sighs. It was harsh, but it's how he really feels. It's the same advice he'd give to a recruit, to anyone really.]

Perhaps it may be best that you do go home, for now.

[ her fingers briefly pause from fastening the clasps of her coat as she glares at him over her shoulder, eyes narrowing.

unwilling to learn? seek to better herself? he's making it sound like he's doing her a favour by giving her a lesson, conducting a session every day on how to get stronger, to the extent of sounding even exasperated at her, when that isn't even the point of her visits to the gate. his high horse on how battles are meant to be fought, for once, is tiresome and annoying to listen to.

heatedly: ] I don't need a lecture from you on fighting when I've been doing it way longer than you have.

[ what does his few years on the battlefield compare to the centuries that she and her brother have fought together across the stars? ]

Heh. You could have fooled me, [He retorts.] Where was that abundance of experience when you were fighting me a few days ago? I'd need at least a few more pairs of hands to count the number of times you left yourself wide open.

[He continues, voice light as he mocks her.]

But here you are, the traveler who'd defeated not one, but two Fatui Harbingers; complacent in your skills so much that you dare show up here fighting me as if I was some kind of amateur. [Suddenly, his tone of voice is more sharp, his next questions addressing the elephant in the room.]

What did you expect when you came here, looking for me? What was it that you were seeking by challenging me everyday, to even go so far as to drag me out of my own home? And why, Lumine, are you still here?

[He can feel his temper rising, but Childe fights to keep it in control. He needs to remember, that this really isn't like her- and most likely a result of this world having its effects on them both.]

[ on a normal day, lumine might have ignored those insults, let it roll over her like water off a duck's back. she knows better than to rise to those taunts and she'd rather put her time and energy to good use than to be baited by something so childish. ]

That mouth of yours really needs to learn its place.

[ but this is not any normal day. it hasn't been a normal day for her since this month has started. and it's obvious with the way her sword materialise in her hand, the blade covered in electro energy lashing out towards him a split second later as she lunges at him with no warning whatsoever. at the same time, her foot stamps heavily on the ground, summoning walls of geo construct surrounding him before he can evade her and escape.

her temper hasn't been the same since arriving in the trench and there's been something cold and dark growing and coiling inside of her ever since, only held back by the soothing presence of her twin brother. but without aether around, what's there to stop her? ]

[The rest he'd gotten the day before is the difference between him locking his blade up with hers in this moment or suffering a deep wound that would surely leave him in a precarious position between life and death. He uses his blood magic to try to dull the electricity that flows out of her weapon into his own, and right now the less water, the better. But he'll be damned if he uses his Delusion in this fight, because in his opinion, she hasn't earned it.

He pays the small geo arena she's created no mind. He didn't plan on running anyway, pressing his blade against her own, forcing her to stay locked up with him or suffer the effects of whatever poison he's put into his blade this time.]

You're in no condition to defeat me. The next mistake you make, Traveler, will be your last.

[He brings his foot up to kick her away from him, only to follow up with a series of spinning slashes at her. He will force a mistake out of her, and she'll pay for it this time.]

[ lumine manages to block his kick with her sword, digging her heel into the ground to steady herself. her other hand is already moving, however, gathering anemo in her palm and releasing a swirl of electro energy at him to push him back. she doesn't let their distance last for too long, leaping in the air to do a plunge attack on him.

she's honestly in no mood to respond to him anymore, her anger and frustration having boiled over thanks to his actions and words. the small rational part of her brain still reminds her to stay her hand, dull her blade—but the nagging noise from her thinning patience drowns it out. all she wants right now is to knock him out and be done with it, to go back home to aether.

and if she manages to mortally wound him, well—does childe have anyone else to blame but himself? ]

[The directed swirl of anemo and electro send him flying back, connecting hard and stunning him for a moment as electricity surges through him. He must of really made her mad- that plunging attack is met with crossed blades to protect himself as she practically comes down on top of his head.

He may be pretty irritated with her too at the moment, but it doesn't stop that adrenaline rush of engaging in real combat, and that feeling is nothing but absolutely refreshing. He has to push her back once more, swinging his blades down into his polearm as he lunges at her, excitement coming back into his eyes. He'd play with her until she messed up, he's decided.

Mist seeps off his weapon as he strikes, if only to serve as a reminder of the punishment if she faltered. He won't mind if she makes him work for it, in fact he'd prefer it.]

[ her displeasure only increases with each passing second, even more so when she sees a glint of excitement in his eyes. but all the better to beat him now while he's exhilarated by this fight; it'll certainly teach him his place.

she ducks when he takes a swipe at her with his polearm, sweeping a leg to try and unbalance him while sending geo energy rumbling across the ground. more constructs appear in its wake and she jumps away to avoid them, the glowing walls now forming into spikes for impaling and stabbing from underneath. but not before she launches another electro whirlwind with a slash of her blade at him, skidding back from the effort.

lumine doesn't wait for it to hit him, vaulting herself right after the tornado, blade ready to strike him. ]

[Her foot catches his own, and he's forced to to use the momentum she's created by unbalancing his foot to skid across the floor, looking as if he's hydroplaning across the floor to avoid all the constructs that pop up out of the ground. He looks up at the whirlwind and grins. Finally, she's putting out some good attacks for him to have to deal with. This will truly never get old for him.

He wonders what her next move will be, as the tornado blocks his view of her since she's following up right behind it. It's most likely a distraction, and given her consistent impatience, he doubts she'll wait for him to deal with the tornado to strike. But from where?]

Heheheheheh....

[His laugh is coated with bloodlust, and he chooses to eat the tornado, letting it slam into his hydro barrier that goes up to protect him from the gale that batters at it. It threatens to pick him up and toss him, and as the tornado ends and his barrier is shattered, he throws his hands out as a surge of hydro energy blasts out from his core to send anything coming at him flying away.]

[ his laughter irritates her, just as much as his inane prattle. and there's really nothing more that she wants than to silence him completely to restore her peace of mind.

lumine knows what's coming next when she glimpses the barrier through the tornado, raising another construct to block the blast he sends her way. but even before her wall crumbles from the force of the blast, she's sprinting towards him while avoiding the wet patches on the floor. instead, she runs her blade along the ground, sending electro energy running down her sword and along the watery path left by the blast towards him, while her hand gathers anemo energy to swirl the two elements around him.

honestly, using hydro on her when she can use electro is stupid. but he should know that already, having control over electro energy himself, and she would be surprised if that even catches him off-guard. still, unwilling to give him any kind of quarter, she pushes in closer, slashing at him with her sword. ]

[He starts moving too, aware that she would probably try to take advantage of the pools on the ground left by his defensive move. There's only one safe place from the electricity that now races along the floor, and it's up. He has to wait for the perfect opportunity, or she'll certainly catch on to what he's about to do. He charges forward, also avoiding the puddles as best he can.

The focused energy in her palm is difficult to deal with in this moment, another attack he's also forced to take the brunt of as anemo, hydro and electro slams into him. It hurts, the pain of it reminding him of how alive he is, threatening to shut down his body completely with the voltage. He can smell his own seared skin. No doubt there would be some internal damage that he'll need to have looked at, but for now the goal is clear.

Riding off of adrenaline and the rush of feeling death loom over him, he meets her but doesn't try to parry; in fact, he chooses to vault over her, to avoid more electric shocks that the floor provides. As he soars over, one of the spikes in the handle of his blade is thrust downwards to make a small puncture into the top of her shoulder, feeding the sleeping poison into her as he lands behind. The follow up is quick, spinning quickly and moving back into melee range expecting an attack to his back from her.]

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