[ shakes in having this open to reply to but all of That happens in the process. oh boy!!!!!!
meanwhile, hawke, notorious day drinker and problematic adventurer wades in like he's rolled out of bed sometimes in the pm and immediately headed for the bar. he flops on the seat right next to peepaw and flops a hand. it might be a hello.
it might be hello. he reaches and pours him a glass of osmanthus wine, despite his slight sideeye of his current state of being. it gets slid over before he resumes his writing. ]
Aside from the excitement of Claude being hunted down and killed on their very doorsteps? No. The morse code leads me to believe the source of our problems is an immature entity, though.
[ hey guess who's in the bed next to these clowns in the medical room, covering his eyes from a massive headache of overstrain. squints at my own english but leaves it that way ]
I would kill again for an elfroot potion right about now.
zhongli had been talked into coming here to reassure people, but once he was walking long enough the blood loss took him. my man usually has almost 40K HP and is now running on, like, 20. ]
Would that I could prepare some food that actually healed in this place.
[ howdy, hawke, you may find zhongli... in the chop & chill kitchen! his hair is tied back as always, but he's wearing a simple apron and has his sleeves rolled up to show off his arms as he works on... multiple projects, it seems like? his chao, kedou, is seated on the counter where it's flipping through one of the numerous cookbooks that have been stacked and collected for zhongli to reference. he's in the process of chopping a wide variety of vegetables at the moment, however, so he's not paying much mind to the cookbooks, putting each vegetable into its own large mixing bowl as he goes.
he's so absorbed in what he's doing that he hasn't noticed that hawke has joined him, thoughts sort of... faded out? like they're absent, background noise in his mind, but it seems he's running through different recipes that he needs the vegetables for. the various names of the recipes are a mix, things that sound similar to what's found in autumn alley, french dishes, western in general. it matches the books that are stacked up on the counter. ]
[ well, once hawke's been wrapped up like a mummy by everyone doing triage for all of his FUCKING HOLES, zhongli arrives again to the health center with his jacket shed and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. the odd colored skin of his arms is just as bloodstained as his shirt and vest, but he doesn't pay it much mind as he approaches the bed that he deposited hawke into.
and then he just drops to sit a chair next to it, staring at him with a severe expression. ]
I have a healing item. And you are going to take it.
he shakes his head, rueful but unamused - and yet, somehow, also reassured? at least hawke is able to make his jokes. ]
Not especially, no, although you and Neverah will be matching, now. [ why does his cr keep getting their eyes terribly fucked up! ] I am not exactly a fan of seeing my friends and companions injured, and I think it best you not try to use your healing abilities right now.
[ he flexes a hand, which, now that he's been mummified in bandages, revealed a rather gnarly 1st degree burn. ]
After all that excitement, I think it’s bedrest for me. The chances of me simply blowing myself or a wall rather spectacularly is unfortunately rather possible right now.
[ getting off the stop to see candy land sure isn't what he expected, after having watched from the other side for the past few weeks. zhongli takes one look at the destruction and waste, and summons his polearm from thin air to hold onto as he had before their powers were given back. especially with the sounds that he hears every now and then.
running into hawke, he inclines his head slightly in greeting before looking out at the streets. he immediately goes to fill in the space of hawke's blind spot, though.... ]
Certainly a change, here. Perhaps the most drastic, considering the other stops have, at least, still retained their general setting despite all of the destruction. Do you hear that, Hawke, or is it just me?
[ HIS TREE SNACKS................. everything is so depressing he's depressed looking at it. this does not stop him from eyeballing Zhongli in mild I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING but otherwise he says nothing on it ]
Whatever it is, I doubt it's friendly. I've a feeling our welcome was rather unwelcomed, hm?
[ hm? tilts head slightly to glance just that smidgeon down at him out of the corner of his eye, innocent. he's not doing anything at all. (yes he is) (he does this for neverah, too)
time to see what they can salvage from here, if there are any snacks and whatnot has been submerged in ruins. ]
Likely not. The Entity has shifted things in such a way that even the dogs on the train are hostile, albeit more a nuisance than anything else. Let's see if there's anything intact and head elsewhere.
[ champion of kirkwall and heavenly saint hawke. ]
Perhaps they knew of the wrath that Anders would strike down upon them, were harm to come to the cats. [ amused, but then a little more gentle: ] ... did the two of you have a proper talk, after the reunions?
................. I did. [ that little scribble of a raincloud emotionshare is going to manifest into reality if he pouts any harder ] We'll be going our separate ways.
Ah. [ immediate sympathy for him, and something supportive to bolster under his raincloud. ] Would you like to talk about it, or would you rather we go find whatever that sound is, so that you might hit something for a little while?
[ this is his asian cyoa as a white man problem all over again ]
I... don't know if there's much to say. He had already made his choice to go with Shadowheart by the time we spoke. [ laughs a little jaggedly ] I won't deny him that.
[ lets just go blow up shit before he lays down and just lets the entity claim him ]
The week is young, and we are just so recently reunited. [ not that he thinks that anders will abruptly change his mind, but maybe... it will hurt less? maybe hawke will go with them? they'll see. ] We shall see what comes about - for now, come along, my friend. I believe we may be able to find a replacement for the, ah, Spinny Rift in this place.
[ help me. peepaw you can't just grant a rando saint status!!! even, if I personally think xiao's entire reaction would fuel me for months ]
We.... agreed to go separately. To maybe one day meet again, but far after this is over. I had, after all, thought about going to see the stars. [ looks up at them, more weary than excited now. a beat later he shakes his head like a dog and unsheaths his staff. let's go kill some stuff!! ]
Is it really called that? Or another similar name like the Hanged Man and the Lasso'd Dude.
[ sometimes, you just like to shake things up for fun. sorry to his son though help me. ]
I see. [ considering, as he herds him gently towards the shambling and shuffling. ] Perhaps it would do the two of you some good, to be apart and away from Heaven for a time. You could visit Teyvat, if you would like - our stars are quite a thing to behold.
[ and not real! but he does not say or think that, right now. instead he huffs a light laugh, mild, letting some humor come into the conversation. ]
The Spiral Abyss is the proper name. It's an isle some ways off of Mondstadt, the nation that neighbors Liyue to the east - a remnant of a lost civilization, and a connection to the Abyss itself in many ways.
That's the thought. We'll keep in touch if we can and I'll visit the places I never thought possible. And then, maybe one day... He'll want to see them too.
[ BUT ENOUGH ABOUT HIS BREAKUP ]
The spiral abyss, hm? I don't know I think I prefer the spinny rift better. It certainly gives it a certain impression. Perhaps I'll come and attempt the real thing myself.
reaches and takes the wine one from him. is it already opened? ]
Mages do not exist in a traditional sense, in Teyvat, so we will likely have to fashion you a false Vision so that you can blend in with the commonfolk and they won't ask as many questions when you're throwing fireballs around. Not that they'll ostracize you, but they will ask questions.
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