insurmountable | you know i'm the type / type to risk my life, not afraid to die

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you know i'm the type / type to risk my life, not afraid to die

[Call it crazy, call it morbid curiosity, call it insane. A craving for battle, a craving to test his skills against the powerhouses of the Abyss, he follows a few Heralds into the portal they'd left behind as they whisked themselves away from the camp they'd set up for their next assault in Teyvat. He couldn't leave the Abyss without aid, of course, but if he could find his master once again, he'd be able to return to Teyvat. And maybe get a good sparring match out of her while he was at it. Either way, he's got his sights set on those Heralds who thought they were alone, announcing himself behind them as he brandishes his weapons with glee.

They look surprised. Good. That was the point.

The battle rages on for some time. They prove to be incredible foes, taking several on at once. One dies, cut down by the Harbinger- the others wounded badly. But what Childe hadn't counted on was that they'd get reinforcements so soon, and with more numbers, they manage to overpower him. The Foul Legacy Transformation still proves to be a large burden on his body, and with waning strength, he finds himself captured and chained. The remaining Heralds drag him to an incredible hollowed out ruin, one that looks like the very architecture of the ancient dynasty from Khaenri'ah itself. Finally, he's thrown to the ground in a room that clearly was made for some sort of royalty, his knees hitting the concrete hard.

His head bowed, he coughs up blood, knowing he'd really messed up this time. This isn't good, and he has no way out of it. His body is wrecked. It's taking all his strength just to keep from passing out, as he looks up and sees the leader of the Abyss...]

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[ she knows a threat when she hears one, and this one isn't empty either. not when the rest of the order is preoccupied with the current state of affairs in the palace, and they're in an area where very few heralds or mages ever visit or go to. it would be simple, very simple for his threat to become a reality.

lumine pauses from her attempt to clean up her room and slowly turns around to face him, eyes following the line of his gaze. ]

Then take it, [ she calls him out, dropping her clothes back onto the floor. ] Or are you going to walk away again like before?

[He won't walk away this time- instead, he readies himself to fight here, right here, right now. It's her own fault she let him roam around, figure out how to create problems, and put herself in this position where she has almost no backup available to her.]

Ready yourself. I won't hold back.

[Knock her out, search her, get out. That's the plan.]

[ lumine doesn't need backup. she's more than capable of handling him, with or without a vision; if anything, her heralds will simply serve as a distraction if and when a fight breaks out. she'd rather handle it by herself to make the cleanup easier and less stressful, even if her hand's being forced. ]

And yet you've held back for the past four weeks. So come, try and find it on me.

[ even if he won't find it on her person—or on anyone in the palace. she's not an idiot to hide it in a place where she's allowed him to roam freely. ]

[He lunges at her, ready to take her on now that he's fully healed. His fist flies through the air, aimed at her face, to stun and go from there. If he misses, which he expects to- the already in motion follow up is an uppercut to her gut, to knock the wind out of her.

He's sick of this. He wants to leave, with his things, to return home. To his duties, and to his family.]

[ so he really is serious, though she's also not surprised. he's been itching for a fight with her for weeks and she's not once humoured any of his challenges—until now, that is. but at the same time, she's not about to hold back either, not when he's clearly intending to hurt or kill her.

lumine ducks to dodge his attack aimed at her face, his fist missing the top of her head by an inch, and deflects his other hand with a forearm. the blow stings, gritting her teeth as pain radiates up to her shoulder. but there's no point in checking it now, sweeping her leg across the floor to tip him over. ]

[Catching his foot, he tips, but it's an easy recovery for him. His hands are the springboard to flip himself back up on his feet, spinning back around and lunging again at her. Except he's favored a short flying sidekick instead, trying to hit her anywhere so he can continue his assault.]

[ she allows him to hit her arm to block a more lethal hit against her side, gasping when sharp pain lances through the bone. it's fractured, that's for sure, but it's nothing the mages can't heal for her later on when this mess is over and the dust has settled. she reminds herself to give the order a new set of instructions on how to deal with him.

in retaliation, however, she picks up a piece of cloth from the floor and throws it at his face to divert him, summoning the dark ropes from last time with a gesture of her hand to wrap around his ankle and toss him across the room. ]

[Grabbing the cloth and throwing it to the side, he still charges forward when the ropes grab him. Suddenly, he's being lifted up and yanked backward, flying across the room and slamming hard into the wall behind. He bounces off of it, hitting the ground with a thud, coughing a few times from the impact.

So that's how it's going to be, huh.

He picks himself up, feeling his heart beginning to race with excitement. This was the fight he wanted, even if he couldn't use his vision, Childe's expression turning from anger and irritation to a smirk that suggested he was beginning to have fun, despite how desperate he was to obtain that which is his.]

Now that's more like it.

[He immediately starts off in a sprint, to quickly close the distance between the two of them, going for a flying tackle- let's see how good she is with grappling.]

[ that grin on his face is unsettling, and she's starting to see where the reports about his thirst for battle are coming from.

lumine ignores the throbbing pain in her arm as she digs her heels on the floor. he's bigger than her, heavier even—but that's something she can exploit to her advantage, grabbing his shirt with her uninjured hand and using his forward momentum to knock him down to the ground. her sword appears in her grasp, its blade pointed against his chest. ]

Get up.

[He can feel her using his size and momentum against him, feeling himself get knocked to the floor with a sudden blade pointed right at him. He looks up at her, grinning with glee, and his hand comes up to run a finger along the blade. Sharp, surely if she stabbed him right now, he'd be done for.

But he's a tall guy. And her legs are right there.

First things first- his legs wrap around her own, using his foot to bend her knee in while he reaches up to grab the wrist with the sword, twisting her to the ground. That blade's gotta go, and the minute her grip loosens on it, he knocks it away. Once that's finished, he pins her to the ground, lifting himself up and onto her so she can't move, and begins his search.

Patting her stomach, looking for the bulge of a vision on her person, anywhere that's clothed. He'll sit on her and keep his feet on her wrists while he checks the bottom of her dress, to see if there's a secret pocket in it somewhere, feeling in the fabric as he bunches it up so he doesn't accidentally touch her somewhere inappropriate. He lifts her scarf up to see if she's wearing it as a necklace. When he doesn't find it there, he looks down her chest, trying to see if she's stuck it down there, but it's pretty dark.

Does she not have it???? he screams inwardly, irritation building.]

[ she should've stabbed him, incapacitated him completely to keep him from fighting back. but that's a regret she's stew in for a while when she realises that she's falling over, tables turned on her. she struggles to fight against him but it's in vain, his grip on her wrist stronger than she can break out of.

he's definitely heavier, more difficult to throw off now that he's practically straddling her. lumine's eyes narrow when she feels his hands roam over her dress in search of his vision. she does wonder if he ever thinks his plans through, if he ever considers that it's not very practical to keep such an item on her person.

she can see his expression twisting, turning more and more frustrated as he comes up empty-handed, even when he pointedly avoided certain areas.

what a strange boy. ]

You seemed to have missed a few key areas. Not used to touching a girl?

[His head snaps in her direction, not understanding where that came from. Wow...uncalled for.]

Are you really insulting me because I've chosen to give you the smallest amount of respect?

[You know what? Fine. If it's going to be like that, he's just going to reach right down her chest. His hand slips in, feeling around inside of her undershirt and corset, moving them aside looking for the familiar casing of his vision...

...As his face turns a bright red while he does so. They're really soft, and that's really distracting...

He finally pulls his hand out, angry that it wasn't there. His eyes burn at her once again, for making him think she'd hidden it in her chest. That probably means it's not anywhere else, either.]

Quit toying with me. Ugh.

[ since when did fatui harbingers offer or show anyone a shred of respect? he could've shown that to the citizens of liyue instead.

she keeps her gaze on his face, watching in impassive amusement as his cheeks turn brighter and brighter with each passing second. despite stuffing his hand down her chest, however, she finds that he's still somewhat attentive, his fingers careful not to press or squeeze or move around something that shouldn't be moved around.

which only makes her want to take advantage of it even more, feigning a quiet moan when she feels his fingers brush against the underside of her breasts.

when he pulls away, she can see displeasure written all over his face. as the saying goes, if looks could kill, she'd indeed be dead several times over from his glare. ]

You're welcome. Did you have fun?

[He can feel his ears burning after that quiet moan she let out when he'd run his hand under her breasts, and he has to take a minute to try to clear that sensation out of his head. It's like she didn't even care that he had practically violated her, probably because she's laughing at him about it...]

I wasn't thanking you. None of that was enjoyable, princess.

[Spat out with venom, of course, trying to focus on other matters. His vision isn't here, and she'd been messing with him from the start. No wonder when he'd trashed her room, she didn't seem to care.]

But now that I have you here, maybe your Heralds will let it slip if I threaten their princess's life. Your life for my vision, I think that's a pretty good deal.

[ now there's the harbinger she expects: cruel and mirthless with no desire for any compromises. where was that hiding all this time? ]

Would you like to ask them if my life is worth that much?

[ the moment she utters the last word, several portals open all around them, a herald stepping out from each one. and in one fell swoop, they all have their hydro blades pointed at his neck, primed to cut off his head if she gives them the order. ]

Go on, ask while you still can.

Heh.

[Another bad situation. He puts his hands on the sides of her head.]

Make one move and I snap her neck. Is that what you want?

[He's not sure how this is going to go but he's not sure what else to do.]

Or, one of you can retrieve my vision, and this can all be a thing of the past. What do you say?

[ that's very bold of him, to assume that her heralds will simply be cowed by a threat to her life. at the end of the day, the will of the abyss and her wrath towards the gods will linger with them, even if she dies. surely, he doesn't think that the order will simply crumble with her disappearance, right?

her gaze flicker at his eyes, burning with cold fire, before it moves to her heralds.

but then, it's not really her time just yet, and it shows in the way her lips curve upward just a tad bit just as she starts sinking into the floor. a portal has opened just beneath her, the blackness of the abyss swirling around her. ropes of dark energy also curls around his wrists, keeping his hands from moving. ]

Don't kill him. He's still of use to me.

[ and then she disappears beneath him, the portal closing right after. ]

[He stares on in disbelief as she sinks into the floor, restraints again wrapping around his wrists so he can't move. And just like that, she's gone, and he's in a room full of Heralds who would have murdered him right there and then if she hadn't ordered them not to do so. He's yanked upwards, back onto his feet, and promptly escorted back to the room he'd been staying in, now chained to it.

He paces the room for days, annoyed, looking out his small windows at anything that might entertain him. He tries to escape, but to no avail. He can't get the bonds off of his ankles and it's driving him insane. He tries to talk to the Herald that stands outside of his room, but it says nothing.

Frustrated, he lies on the bed, staring up into the ceiling. They'd been careful with how they brought him food and water too, so he couldn't even take advantage of that. A week goes by. Finally, after that time, he'd cooled down a little.

So once again, followed by his Herald, he seeks Lumine out, finding her wandering her palace. He joins her at her side, keeping pace.]

I was wondering if you had a moment, to talk.

[Look! He's calm for once.]

[ the order to keep him locked up in his room came from her and the order to allow him to leave his room once more came from her.

it's ignited a whole debate about allowing a harbinger to roam the halls of their ruined palace, one that's piled a lot of mistrust on her plate and one that she's easily dismissed with a single look. feral animals need to be locked up, yes, but they too need air, water, and space to get some exercise. if one wants to tame one, then adequate care needs to be provided.

it's a week after the incident when she receives a report that their guest has finally calmed down. an improvement, but she's gotten to know him in that short span of time that he created trouble for everyone. still, she allowed for his binds to be removed and for his door to be unlocked.

and of course, the first thing he does is look for her. she glances at him, not at all slowing down her pace to accommodate him. ]

Walk with me, then.

[He walks, thinking on what to say. How to maintain his own dignity, still get what he wants, and get back to Teyvat. It would be a careful dance he dances now, but asking her is something he hasn't tried yet.]

I want to know what I can or need to do in order to receive my vision back from you. I know I'm not going to be able to take it from you. But you know that I can't leave without it.

[He thinks he sounds desperate. Maybe he does.]

I'm still interested in what you said as well. About showing me a thing or two about the Foul Legacy Transformation. Surely that's something that requires effort on my part as well, yes?

[ and here she thought he'd never swallow his pride. it's a surprise, really, for him to actually ask for his vision rather than fight for it—or try to force her hand into surrendering it. she can't say if it's refreshing, but it's certainly ... different? curious seems to be more accurate.

at the very least, she's more than willing to indulge his questions at the moment. he could consider it as a whim of sorts, but in truth, it's only because he's asking properly for once. ]

Your transformation doesn't require you to use your Vision to acquire its fullest potential.

[ after all, he acquired it from the abyss even before his vision was granted to him. and if anything, it's irreverent that he uses them together. but then, she also understands why he finds it easier to wield together. ]

The gods ... [ she furrows her brows before she presses her lips together. ] You've no need for their blessing if all you want is power.

I never thought I would need it for the transformation. It's just, a nice accessory, you could say.

[She said a lot with so few words. He carefully considers what she's saying, choosing to address each point separately.]

I know that what happened five hundred years ago would leave you with more than just a bad taste in your mouth for the divine. But...I want you to understand, that I don't seek their blessing. They gave it freely, and I want to use it to its fullest potential. One day, I'll make them regret giving me such power to begin with when I crush them under my heel.

[That was always the plan anyway. Become strong enough to stand atop of the world, with all those who would dare face him broken under his might.]

Anything I can get my hands on brings me one step closer to my goal of conquering the world. I'm just not so willing to give it up once I have it.

[ a nice accessory. if only.

she finds her lips thinning reflexively at the implied remark about khaenri'ah, and she wonders if he's heard anything from the order. the mages tend to be loose-lipped despite her instructions, but she's rather certain they won't betray her trust and the objectives of the organisation in any way. but to make it sound so innocuous ... ]

Do you truly believe that the gods simply grant power for free?

[ they give in the guise of benevolence but they take when it no longer suits their needs, and they leave fire and destruction in their wake. she can't call that generosity. ]

If you do, then you're a fool.

Heh.

[That's no surprise. There is, always a catch to something. But the matters of Visions are kept close to their chests. Even he doesn't know a great deal about them, by design most likely.]

Well, I didn't ask them for it. But that doesn't make your statement any less curious. What do you mean by that?

[Because he really is interested. He doesn't mind learning.]

[ she says nothing for a long while, the sounds of their footsteps against the stone floor filling up the silence instead. it's only after they've stepped out of the palace and into the gardens that she starts speaking once more, shifting her gaze to the sky above them. the moon remains floating above them, casting its sickly white light over the entire abyss. ]

Have you heard of the word allogenes?

[ a word only privy to the gods, so lumine assumes that he doesn't. but then, the fatui has its ways of getting information that's not at all publicly announced or given. ]

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