Chapter Text
Morax takes one card from the deck and smiles to himself.
"I've decided who will get rid of the Khaenri'ian roach," he announces to the other archons who currently sat in Euthimiya. All of them but the Tsaritsa sat there.
"I think I should be the one to make that decision and you guys agree, but who am I?" Barbatos scoffs as he shifts through his deck.
"It'll be that Ragnvindr boy, I fancy him a great deal," Morax continued as if he hadn't heard the other god. "He already does plenty of justice work in Tevat so surely he can also deal with that rodent too." He turns to his left to address Kusanali, the archon of dendro. "What are your thoughts? Share your wisdom."
Kusanali had been next to Morax sipping on some sort of drink in her cup and was writing something on a piece of paper instead of holding her cards. Morax tries to keep his patience. "Kusanali?" He tries again.
"I don't know," she sighs without looking away from the task in front of her. "This is all a real headache if you ask me, but I want to meet this kid before we assign him this burden." She was pretty sure the Shogun and Morax had been calling humans weak and incapable not too long ago when the secret archon meeting commenced, and their blatant hypocrisy irritated her a lot. If she had leadership of this whole ordeal, she would've just dealt with the matter discreetly to keep it undercover as much as possible. Humans really didn't need to be involved and she'd seen what this unfortunate human man had been through, he didn't seem like a quality candidate for this operation.
"Very well then," Morax agrees and Kusanali feels her eyes widen at that, "I agree that we should ensure that the Ragnvindr boy is what we're looking for. We can't afford any hiccups. Our future lies upon this human's shoulders just as much as the entirety of Tevat's."
Barbatos looks like he wants to protest Morax's declaration but he remains quiet, only crossing his arms and frowning at the floor.
Kusanali snorts to herself at the humorous situation and continues to write.
"Qiqi, this is Diluc, Diluc, meet Qiqi. Mr. Diluc here will be looking after you during the two days I'll be gone," Baizhu explains.
Qiqi is a zombie with a fickle memory. According to Baizhu, she's far older than she appeared, but still needed some adult supervision as she was able to give herself orders, unlike the typical zombie. She didn't display much expression, but remained very close to Baizhu as he introduced the duo. She hid behind his leg and would peek out at Diluc every now and then while they discussed further details of the exchange.
Every now and then, Diluc would glance at the girl to find her fingers twirling and brushing down the hair at the end of Baizhu's long green braid. However, whenever they made eye contact, she would bury her face into his pants and tighten her hold on him.
The reaction made Diluc worry though, how was he even supposed to take care of this kid when she couldn't even look at him? Kids were typically scared of Diluc, he understood that his chilly exterior, despite his pyro vision, and stony expression could be intimidating. Still, he didn't want to mess this up. Aside from wanting to repay Baizhu, the man's warning swam in the back of his head.
Baizhu kneels down to her height and kisses Qiqi on cheek as he bids her farewell. The girl still shows no expression, but she appeared reluctant to leave his side. "You'll come back for me?" The question made Diluc's heart hammer in his ribcage.
Baizhu smiles tenderly and pinches her cheek playfully. Qiqi cracks the tiniest smile at his display of affection. "Of course I'll be back for you, I always will. Until then, Diluc will take good care of you while I'm away, I'll be back before you even realize I was gone," he assures her.
Qiqi still doesn't look convinced and she looks up at Diluc. The lack of emotion in her eyes irked him a little, how could someone who inhabited a child-like body not display childish mannerism? It makes him forget she's thousands of years old.
Qiqi looks back at Baizhu then holds her palm to his mouth. He takes her little hand and kisses her palm, then curls her fingers in as if she held something small. The sight was endearing and the girl looked as if a spark of confidence was ignited within her.
Diluc leaves with Qiqi in tow and on her back she carries a backpack. He didn't know what she kept in there and he didn't think it was his place to ask, as long as there wasn't anything dangerous.
It feels weird having casual business in Mondstadt. Diluc was never one to just walk around for the sake of it. It felt so foreign, he couldn't remember the last time he walked around with no end goal. In a way, he did, but he still wasn't sure what to do during the duration he had to watch over Qiqi. He was surprised that despite being a complete stranger, Baizhu trusted him so much with his daughter.
Diluc politely clears his throat and addresses her kindly. "So, Miss Qiqi, do you have any hobbies?"
She stares blankly back at him. "No," was her flat response. "Or maybe…I do? I can't remember."
Diluc is a little taken aback but isn't discouraged. He had a job to do, so he tried again. "That's alright. Are you hungry?"
"Zombies…don't need…to eat," Qiqi replies slowly. Then she looks thoughtful. "Or maybe…we do?"
"I'm not sure either," Diluc admits, "I've never met a zombie. We don't need to eat much, just a snack to keep us full until lunch."
"A snack," Qiqi draws out. "Ok".
At least he was getting somewhere with her. Diluc hated feeling so unsure and he felt like every time he tried, he was met with a brick wall. Klee and Diona had been easier to entertain when they marched up to his doorstep, they told him their wants and needs. The more Diluc thinks about it, maybe it was that Qiqi is too shy to do so? Regardless, it wasn't right to compare any of the girls, considering they all came from very different households and had distinct personalities.
Diluc walks slowly through the streets to make sure Qiqi can keep up with him as he makes his way to Good Hunter. Qiqi has zero sense of urgency and to be honest, as different as it was, it was nice too. Diluc's life was so much hustle and bustle that he found it nice to take his time.
“Qiqi, could I ask you something?”
The girl doesn’t turn to look at Diluc but answers nonetheless. “Go ahead.”
Diluc clears his throat, trying to think of the best way he could word his question. “How did you become a zombie? I was thinking about how there aren’t many I’ve come across, especially ones such as yourself, so I was curious,” he tells her. Diluc wasn’t sure if this was an insensitive or even painful question to ask Qiqi, but at the same time, he was itching to know how she came to be.
He holds his breath as he watches Qiqi ponder over his question then nods to herself as if affirming her thoughts. “I don't know," she replies finally. Diluc masks his disappointment.
"It's not a problem-"
"But I remember those adepti were involved. Their energy courses through me…I don't need a notebook…to recall that," she follows up bitterly. Qiqi takes a moment, then realizes something she almost forgot to include. "But…I still forgive the past. Why hold such a meaningless grudge when…well…I have so long to live? Only…Hu Tao deserves that," she spits at the end.
Diluc wasn’t sure who this Hu Tao was, but the rest of Qiqi's words stuck with him, about holding a grudge for too long. It was enough to have Diluc reflect on the past few years of his life, how he practically closed himself off from the world out of grief and agony and had it in his head that he was unlikely amongst the citizens of Mondstadt. Was he really though?
When they finally do get to Good Hunter, Sara seems surprised to see Diluc, and even more shocked when she notices Qiqi trailing behind him. "It's only going to be us two," Diluc states. Then he remembers. "Hi there, Sara," he added a little too late.
"Hello, Mr. Diluc," Sara replies. "There should be an open table for the two of you."
"Sounds great, thank you," he says. While he's there, Diluc also places an order for some food then joins Qiqi who had pulled out a notebook and flipped through it.
"Mr. Diluc, it turns out…I was wrong," Qiqi begins and flips the notebook so that Diluc could see the contents within it. "I do have hobbies…I like…calisthenics," she tells him. "I…like to write when I…do my exercises so that…I can remember how I feel."
Diluc skims the text, but cannot read it, it's all in Liuyean. Still, he pretends to understand and nods his head as if he was soaking the information in. "That's interesting, I suppose that helps commit important things like that to memory," he muses.
"It really doesn't," the girl counters. "It just…helps to be able to look back, but I never…never seem to remember." She holds the book close to her person after closing it and shrinks in her chair, disheartened. Diluc thinks fast.
"If you can remember your routine, maybe you could teach me? I really need to move around and maintain my figure and mobility, old age and all," he admits somewhat sheepishly. It was hard to admit he was aging but it was worth it as he saw the zombie perk up with interest at his request.
"You would…want me as your instructor?"
Diluc nods. "Why not? I think it's beneficial for my health and you seem educated about the pratice," he replies.
"Diluc?" A familiar voice calls out to him causing the man to swivel in his chair, eyes widened at being discovered. Then again, it wasn't like he tried hard to stay undercover.
Approaching the table was none other than Eula Lawrence who wore a curious expression. Diluc was pretty confused too, seeing as Eula didn't care to associate herself with anyone of aristocratic status unless she had to. She was also within the city which was also very uncommon. "Good afternoon to you too, Ms. Lawrence, what brings you out here today?"
Eula stops in front of the table and eyes Qiqi then shifts her gaze to meet Diluc's. "Just on patrol today. Nothing special," she answered. "You want to tell me when you decided to adopt a kid?"
Diluc sputters. "No, no, no, Eula, that's hardly the case. I'm doing a favor for a…friend who had business here. He couldn't bring his daughter along so he asked me to look after her until he comes back," Diluc explains to her.
Eula, however, seems suspicious at hearing his story which irks Diluc. "Since when are you good with children?" She prompts and Dilucs rolls his eyes at the question. He could've sworn she was smarter than this, the only explanation was that Eula was attempting to provoke him.
"If I may be honest, it's really none of your business what I do, this matter doesn't involve you in the slightest, so why don't you go do your job?" Diluc shoots back at her.
Eula scoffs at him. Diluc had never exactly done anything to her on a personal level, he'd always been relatively fair and professional whenever they met, yet, Eula couldn't help how her agenda stopped her from being actually friendly with him. All aristocrats were snooty, money hungry tyrants that only abused their authority that affected those beneath it. Diluc was no different.
Eula steps closer, looming over the two as if to assert her dominance. "I am doing my job," she corrects, "all I was doing was checking in. Isn't that a part of patrolling around the city? You of all people should know."
Diluc bristled at the jeer and narrowed his eyes at her. "How could I? I was above such menial tasks during my time with the Knights,” he sneers.
Eula huffs and crosses her arms, leaning her weight onto one foot. “How dare you! You talk this talk, yet, you didn’t remain there for long, so something must’ve gone wrong,” she accuses.
“I’ll have you know I left on my own account, I have no reason to explain myself to you. You’re too intransigent, you couldn’t possibly comprehend my sentiments. I’d be wasting the oxygen provided by the oak at Windrise if I attempted."
"Why you little-" Eula is cut off when Sara approaches the table with plated food balancing on her arm.
"Is-is this a bad time?" She asks.
"Not at all," Diluc says, motioning her to come closer with his hand. "My appetite just increased. What will the total come to?"
As Sara places the plates of food down onto the table, she tells Diluc the price to which he doesn't bat an eye at. "Sounds far, I can pay now," he insisted.
Sara shakes her head. "Not at all, just come up when you finish," she says and exits the scene.
Eula huffs but is interrupted again, this time by Qiqi tugging on her cape. “Won’t you…have some with us?” She asks.
Both Diluc and Eula look at Qiqi absolutely astonished. Eula glances to Diluc who just shrugs. “Why not, Eula?”
“B-but we just fought?”
Diluc just grabs some utensils and starts to dig in. “You know, Ive found there’s better things to do than hold a grudge. Might as well make the best of things instead,” is all he says before spooning some food into his mouth. Qiqi watches with the faintest smile on her face.