i'm dragging a heart that weighs a ton / holding out for not just anyone

[monoceroscaeli]

[Fontaine: The technological hub of Teyvat.

For as long as anyone can remember, the country of Fontaine has always been the innovative center for the continent. High speed rail was originated here, and now spans across the entirety of Teyvat and beyond. High rises and skyscrapers pepper the skyline, modern Victorian buildings supporting a gear-like aesthetic from an era gone by. A thousand years ago, it was a much different place, but now it thrives with the bright lights and bustle of its people. One can hear the occasional street performer playing for cash, as businessmen and tourists alike walk down narrow cobblestone streets. People are buried in their phones, some take pictures as they gawk at the sights of the city, but one young man in particular walks languidly down the street, enjoying the life around him. He's in no hurry to get where he's going, as he has plenty of time to get there, noting a deli across the street from where he is now that he'll have to try.

Unfortunately, he is on business, so that'll have to wait.

Never being one to be dressed completely formal, he wears a comfortable pair of slacks and dress shoes, with a collared shirt that isn't buttoned up all the way under a grey vest. Various pieces of metal are woven into the vest, notably a crest on his right shoulder with a chain attached to it that hangs under his arm to the back. On his belt lies a Vision, glowing blue with hydro. The young man always seems friendly and easy going, but what lies underneath is something that not many are allowed to know- the heir to the family business of a company who develops tech for various products is also the right hand man of the mafia that runs the city.

And, their true business behind the scenes; creating Delusions to sell on the black market.

Today is a day where some investigating has to be done, and he's headed to see an old friend of his, from university. One that he's sure can help him with this problem he has. Entering the building, he swings in quietly to give a polite wave and a smile to the only person there.

Someone who looked exactly like their brother, whom he can only assume is the twin sister he'd yet to meet that he'd heard about.]

Hello, I was wondering if Aether was in today? I had a...business proposal for him, and I'm sure that he'd love to hear it. Unless of course, you might be of assistance instead.

Comments

[monoceroscaeli]

[His eyebrows raise as the blue line appears on his skin, raising his head to look at her. She'd gone to the statue in Fontaine already and gained the power of hydro, and the surprise is delightful to him. Grinning as his wrists get pulled together, he tilts his head to the side as she freezes the lines, ice chilling his skin instantly as she tugs him forward.]

Oh? Am I your prisoner now?

[He shifts his wrists as best he can, but it's pretty tight. He laughs, joking with her with this new power she's gotten.]

You should have told me if you were an undercover cop, Lumine.

[traversal]

[ she didn't think it would work, but it seems like it did. she couldn't exactly test it out on aether, uncertain how her brother would react if he learns that she can also use hydro on top of her cryo vision. so this is just fine. ajax seems to be a willing test subject, anyway.

lumine studies the tensile strength of the string, wondering if it's more fragile now that it's frozen. but she supposes she could always adjust the energy she uses for each. strong enough to hold a person down but not fragile enough that it would break easily. ]

Mm, yes. Breaking and entering into private property is normally a criminal offence, [ she murmurs absently, still tugging the string every now and then. ] And who knows if you have a bounty on your head, too? I might get rich ...

[monoceroscaeli]

[He too, studies her handiwork. Huh, he thinks, it might prove very useful in the future given that they were dealing with a god or gods that also happen to use mortals to do their dirty work.]

I didn't take you as a bounty hunter, but these frozen bonds you've created could be better used as a sort of motivational device to get people to talk. It won't be too much longer until my skin will start to develop an ice burn from it. Not bad. But I think if you want to truly bind someone, sticking to hydro is the better option.

After all, it's the wind and rain that erodes even the strongest of kingdoms, not ice.

[Closing his eyes, he concentrates before power surges through him to shatter the icy bonds around his wrists, shards of ice falling to the floor. He rubs them, warming the skin with his palms.]

You'll have to work on it a little more if you want to turn me in. And, just so you know, hydro isn't a good element to use against me.

[traversal]

[ her lips purse and twist when the bonds break, a quiet hum leaving her in response to his comment, watching her ice fall to the floor. she supposes it's not too effective on someone like him; it would've been a good leash to keep him in check, too. she'll have to figure something out instead. ]

Mm, I guess not.

[ her voice is quiet, gaze flickering to the ice that fell to the floor. it's slowly melting back into water, seeping underneath the soles of their shoes. her hand snatches to take his hand once more, sending a burst of cryo energy across him, before she glances down.

would that have frozen the water underneath him, she wonders? ]

[monoceroscaeli]

[Ajax doesn't pull his hand away, even when the cryo energy races through him and chills him down to his bones. It's not an unfamiliar feeling, having lived in Snezhnaya most of his life. It's akin to a time when he'd wandered out in the cold for a bit too long as a child, coming back shivering and unable to keep his jaw from chattering as he sat in front of the fire trying to warm up.

His father had scolded him, but they were glad that he was safe- just cold.

His body shudders, right through his hand too, but the water doesn't freeze.]

A-Ahhhh...L-Lumine...

[He says through involuntary shakes, his teeth rattling together.]

You c-could have j-j-just aimed downw-ward...

[traversal]

[ lumine blinks at his instruction, looking down at their feet. that's a good point. without letting go of his hand, letting their fingers tangle to ensure he doesn't pull away, she sends another blast of cryo energy through him, using his body to conduct the cold to the water beneath him.

this might be more effective with electro, she thinks, since the body is made up of at least 50+% water. but this is fun anyway, especially when she's finally able to dole out some punishment for everything he's made her go through so far.

she glances back up at him again, feigning a look of confusion. ]

Did it work?

[monoceroscaeli]

[It's almost as if he can feel the blood in his veins start to freeze, and he shakes terribly from that second blast. He doesn't buy that look of confusion for a second, taking advantage of the fact that she's decided to tangle her fingers with his. He gives her an exasperated look.]

N-nnn-no.

[The water indeed, has not frozen, because that's not how this works at all. She's just blasting him with cryo energy to be a jerk now, so he yanks her into him and wraps his arms around her tightly so he can use her as a heater, and so she'll have to suffer though having to feel the biting cold of his body.]

B-but now tha-at you've f-f-frozen mmmmm-e down t-to the bone, you'll b-b-be the o-one warming me up.

[Ajax is positively shivering now, his skin ice.]

[traversal]

[ well, she's not going to lie that she feels bad seeing him like this. but then, it's also amusing to see him shivering when he's supposedly grown up in snezhnaya. looks like he has his limits too.

but whatever charity she feels for him disappears when he grabs and pulls her against him, a yelp leaving her lips. lumine lets out another shriek and struggles against his grasp when she feels his cold skin against hers, the sensation prickling and stinging. the cold emanates from his body like a refrigerator, the complete opposite of someone overheating. ]

Ajax!

[ she squirms in his grasp, hands grabbing his shirt and trying to push him away from her. it's probably pointless with how tightly he's holding onto her, but let it be said that she didn't fight back. ]

You're cold! Let me go—

[monoceroscaeli]

O-Oh???? W-Who's f-f-fault is tha-t?????

[He even bends down a little to smush his cheek right up against hers, rubbing it to steal some of that body heat of hers. He's still shaking like a leaf, but her warmth is helping...only slightly. He'll probably shake for a while yet.]

W-We've got a s-s-saying, p-pay your d-d-dues...

[Ajax wishes he could get his teeth to stop chattering so much, but he can't say that he isn't enjoying himself. What a rascal she is.]

S-so I'm making y-you pay them for w-what you've done...

[But he lets go after a few more moments, because it won't matter anyway. He'll have to wait until his body finally warms up.]

[traversal]

[ the fact that he's still enjoying himself despite the torture she's just inflicted on him shows the kind of masochist he is. again, she feels bad for him and when he lets go of her, she takes a step back, peering at his face. his lips almost start to turn blue, his skin deathly pale. was it really that cold for him? ]

Weren't you so gung-ho about being used as a test-drive dummy?

[ lumine takes a step closer to him after a moment, letting her hands press against his cheeks. the only difference this time around is she doesn't use any of her powers, simply cupping his face to warm him up. her fingers brush against the curve of his cheeks, sweeping away the frost that formed on his skin. ]

So much for being a kid from Snezhnaya.

[monoceroscaeli]

[Ajax sets his jaw, concentrating on keeping his teeth from rattling while she holds his cheeks in her hands. Sometimes despite this, they clatter together a little before he sets his jaw again, it's already progressively getting better now that she's ceased injecting cyro energy into his body.]

We're n-not superhuman, [he retorts, the warmth of her hands welcome on his skin, so much so that he even presses his cheek a little further into one of her hands.] We're just used to the cold, that's all. It's t-totally different when someone's freezing you from the ins-side.

[But needless to say, he's still impressed with her. It was by no means effortless, but she'd managed to use three elements in tandem with each other.]

I think you might be a natural at this. E-even I wasn't expecting you to bring such surprises to your first day of training.

[traversal]

[ snorting: ] Could've fooled me.

[ considering the number of snezhnayans still walking out in the cold that evening in morepesok. one would think it's midsummer, people braving the cold as if it doesn't exist at all. like sure, she likes nice, cool places, but there's a limit to the cold that she can deal with.

one of her hands lower from his face to take his, lifting his hand to press it against her cheek. it's chilled, stinging her skin. but she keeps it pressed there anyway, her fingers shifting against his to stimulate blood flow into his hand once more. ]

Don't you find it weird that I can use it effortlessly? [ because she does, despite the exhilarating feeling it brings. ] And I'm not even using anything to channel it ... Not a Vision, not a catalyst ...

[monoceroscaeli]

[His thumb brushes against her cheek as she helps to warm his hand, appreciating that she's enduring the cold to help him warm up. Haze dances at the edge of his vision, but he pushes it back- not now, go away, let him have this moment. His eyes meet hers, to ponder on what's she's said. Like if he looks at her long and hard enough, maybe an answer will come to him.

But of course it doesn't, and after a long moment he breaks his gaze to close his eyes.]

It is, [he concedes,] and the history records don't tell us much, if we're to assume that you've inherited her abilities. All we know is that Lumine was a traveler, an outlander from where no one seems to know. The only clue we have...were some her dying words to Childe before he passed.

[At those words, the hand on her cheek seems to press more inward, to cradle it, when he thinks back.]

"Stupid ... you can't come like this with me across the universe ..." is what she said. There's far more to her than meets the eye. Maybe, one day, we'll remember something. I'm sure Childe knew too, what that meant.

[traversal]

[ her gaze lowers too, avoids his entirely when he starts talking about lumine's last words to childe before he died. once again, she finds herself unable to speak, to affirm ajax's thoughts and insights about the traveler. after all, it isn't that simple for her, for someone who seems to be carrying the memories of said traveler. she knows more than what he seems to know, a one-sided recollection from the perspective of childe.

what would he say if she mentions it to him? how would he react if she were to say something about what lumine was, what she and her brother were planning? would he resent her and the other lumine? ]

Mm, one day ...

[ someday, though she wonders how soon that would be. surely, she can't be expected to leave teyvat, to go somewhere else when she and her brother have always been a child of this world. they were born here, grew up here.

lumine shakes her head, trying to dismiss those thoughts. ]

Feeling better?

[monoceroscaeli]

Much, [he affirms, letting his hand fall from her cheek now.] My teeth have finally stopped chattering together, though I do still feel a little cold.

[Ajax, at least, is ready to continue on. Getting some more exercise in will help him warm up too, and now that he knows that she's begun to get a good handle on her powers without hardly trying, he feels like the harder part can begin.]

Let's get our minds off of that for now, though. I didn't mean to let such painful memories resurface. I want to show you how you can get out of grips and chokeholds and such, since it seems this has been a favorite of your assailants that one time. Knowing what technique to use when is essential, since your elemental powers might not be the best choice in the heat of the moment.

[traversal]

[ lumine too lets her hand drop from his face, closing her fingers into her palm and then opening it again to encourage blood to flow back. it also allows her to distract herself from whatever she wants to tell ajax. another time, maybe, since she's not entirely sure if it's even considered important or not. ]

It was a one-time thing. We have no idea if they've changed tactics.

[ since, you know, it didn't work and she managed to escape. she's pretty sure that if they got ahold of her next time, something as simple as a knife against her throat might not be their first choice.

... she doesn't want to think too much on what they'll try to do to capture her again. ]

Where do we start?

[monoceroscaeli]

How about I show you how to disarm someone, now that you mention it.

[She makes a good point, so maybe this is a better start than worrying about being grabbed. He creates a knife in his hand fashioned from hydro, but it noticeably doesn't really have an edge to it- an incredibly dull weapon that won't cut.]

Here. [He hands it to her, because he needs to demonstrate.] This can be used with anything someone's holding, but we'll just use a fake knife for now. Hold it out in front of you like you've tried to stab me, and I'll show you how to do this slowly.

[traversal]

[ lumine blinks when he hands her the blade, finding it a little strange that it's even solid. then again, so were her strings earlier, manipulating it so there's some kind of structure despite its real form. her fingers curl around the hilt, her nose wrinkling when it feels uncomfortable against her palm. to help, she draws cryo energy across it, freezing the blade.

there, much better and with fewer feelings of existential crisis, she thinks. ]

Like this? [ she holds her knife as if she's holding a key to turn in keyhole, the point directed towards his stomach. ] Or do I hold it the way psychos do in movies?

[monoceroscaeli]

Haha, that way is just fine. But if you wanted to hold it like they do in the movies, that's just as well too. I'll still be able to take it from you.

[He moves slowly, his hand grasping hers as he turns her wrist to the side, making her arm and elbow move in a direction it shouldn't go too far in.]

If you're able to grab their wrist or hand, just twist it to the side like this. You'll be able to pull them to the ground from here, too. Go ahead and try it on me now.

[traversal]

[ her instinct when he takes her wrist is to quickly pull away, the frozen knife shattering on the floor when it falls. it can't be helped when the last time he's done so, she was in so much pain that it needed some medical attention. he's clearly not doing that now, and if he is, there's no force involved. still, she's more than eager to pull her hand away and get it back.

when he prompts her to try it on him, lumine hesitates. it takes her a full minute to reach out to him and mimic the actions he's shown her earlier. ]

... You know, [ she starts slowly, pursing her lips as she turns his wrist, careful not to twist it too hard. ] I don't think they'll come towards me like this. Last time, they grabbed him from behind.

[monoceroscaeli]

Being able to do this is still a good skill, [he says, looking down at how she's placed her hands on his to begin to twist his arm.] I'll teach you how to deal with people who try to come from behind to attack you too.

You can twist it a bit more, I want you to see how you can control me and drag me around. Twist and pull me around, Lumine.

[He'll let her do so too, not resisting and letting her drag him wherever she pleases around the room.]

See? You can yank me to the floor too. There's not much I can do about it if you do it all quickly enough.

[traversal]

[ lumine gives him an exasperated look, quickly releasing his wrist and pulling away. ]

It's not that I can't, Ajax. It's that I don't want to.

[ using her powers on him is one thing; there's less emotion tied to it, less physical contact. any hurt that she's inflicted on him was caused by her powers, not her. but it feels different when she has her hands on him, twisting his wrist as he once did with her. she knows what it feels like.

she sighs under her breath, curling her fingers around the hem of her camisole. ]

... Maybe we should figure something out instead.

[monoceroscaeli]

[Having trained his entire life in martial arts and weaponry, he's not sure how she could throw a deadly whirlwind at him but yet can't twist his arm around a little bit. It's a little beyond his understanding, since he's able to detach his emotions from fighting outside of having fun with it. But he's not going to try to argue that point with her- if she doesn't want to do it, then he's not going to force her.]

I didn't realize how opposed you were to this. If you'd prefer, we can concentrate on your elemental powers instead. It seems you're more comfortable with that anyhow.

[He supposes there's nothing wrong with trying to master one thing at a time rather than having her dip her toes into multiple things.]

[traversal]

What, it wasn't obvious enough?

[ the fact that she's been skirting and deflecting this topic since he's raised it back in snezhnaya should've been telling already. her reluctance was just as palpable too when he had handed her a gun. so she can't believe he's saying this now.

did she really seem like someone who's into hurting people? lumine presses her lips to a thin line, rolling her eyes and glancing away from him. ]

Anyway, I don't think the gods would get into fist fights and scuffles. They didn't seem like the type ... last time.

[monoceroscaeli]

The gods, no. But the people they would send after us would.

[He's not sure why the gods haven't come after them themselves yet. Maybe they're not in a hurry. Or maybe they're not a problem yet.]

Anyway, anemo seems to be the element you struggle with the most. Want to work on that some more? Getting that to become second nature will be more than helpful. Though...when did you become so well versed in hydro, I wonder?

[He raises an eyebrow at her, wondering when she'd gone to one of the statues here in Fontaine. How long has she been hiding that from him?]