Demons in Teyvat?!

🌸 𝕬𝖈𝖙 1: 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖈𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖂𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖆- ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙 🌊

Childe Tartaglia is many things. He is strong, and as a harbinger, he is always the victor of every battle he finds himself in. But Childe Tartaglia is not invincible. And sometimes, he is harshly reminded of the burden of the foul legacy and the danger it puts on him as its wielder.

He would like to say that he was not normally a reckless person. But in the heat of the battle, only one thought goes through his head. Win. Even if it meant losing a limb, or getting injured. So he guessed he had it coming when he ended up bleeding out in the mountains of Guyun forest, staring at the sky as he questioned his choices of the past day. His past self decided it was a good idea to take on 3 ruin hunters at once, and then activate foul legacy a bit too early so the transformation wore off before the ruin grader showed up. Needless to say, he didn't make the best choices those few hours ago, and now he was so exhausted he could feel the fatigue working its way into his bones.

Childe closed his eyes, the rays of the sun searing the back of his eyelids as he took slow steady breaths, trying to find the strength to get back on his feet. But he couldn't. It seemed like ages that he lay there, just breathing, and before he knew it, it was nightfall. He groaned. Had he really been laying there for half a day? Slowly, he spread his palms out beside him, bracing himself against the ground before throwing himself onto his heels. He balanced like that, for a few seconds, before keeling over face first. It took all his strength to throw his hands in front of him to avoid eating the dirt. He groaned. Was he really that out of shape? Wincing, he pressed a hand to the throbbing in his stomach and stood up. His vision spun. Looking down, he realised that his hand was sticky with blood and dirt.After prying his hand away from the fabric of his uniform, he realized that the wound in his stomach was a lot more severe than he thought. Infected, by the looks of it. Deep, and surrounded by electrical burns. Ah. Must have happened during the transformation, then. Stealing his resolve, and bracing for the pain up ahead, he slowly trudged up the mountain. Maybe he would find refuge there.

It took more than it should have to take the first steps towards the broken down cobblestone path, but he found the steps after were much easier, although still painful. He encountered a sunsettia tree on the way, and devoured three before continuing. Leaning on his makeshift walking stick of a tree branch, he heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. If he could find a teleportation point... he paused, straining his ears. Something was coming this way. He dropped the stick, forming his hydro blades as he stepped forward into a battle position.

And then he was on his back, staring up at the sky for the second time that day, blinking in confusion as the squeals of a boar slowly diminished in the distance. He coughed, spluttering as the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He had really fallen low. After so many battles, after defeating so many opponents- to be taken down- by a boar. The traveler was gonna die laughing when she told her. If he told her. If he could tell her. The blinking stars in the sky seemed to blur together, and he scrunched his eyes as he tried to focus. Great. He must have hit his head on the fall. Now not only was he injured, he was probably concussed too. His vision was dimming. Hopefully some fatui agent would stumble upon him on a trek through the woods and bring him to a camp or something. As his consciousness slowly left him, he noticed a person, a girl, it seemed like, and flashes of purple fabric. Well. At least it wasn't a hillichurl who found him.

~🌸🌊~

When he woke up, he was lying in a futon, and above him, a roof made from planks of dark sandbearer wood. He groaned and sat up, blinking rapidly as at the brightness of the room. He looked around. The house didn' t seem to be built like houses in Liyue, more so like the quaint housing in Inazuma, with shutters for doors leading out into the yard. It was also strange that there was a futon and not a normal bed with a frame. Fingering the yellow dog patterned quilt, he quickly surveyed the room, finding his uniform neatly folded beside him. Looking down, he noticed that he was now dressed in a loose yukata. Someone must have changed him. He reached forward, quickly sifting through the pockets, relieved to find all his belongings in place, including his vision and delusion safely tucked in the inner pocket.He decides to leave the uniform there for now, pocketing his vision before standing up.

The first thing he notices is that he feels much lighter. The fatigue is gone, and the throbbing pain is replaced by dull aches. Pulling away the fabric yukata reveals layers of skillfully wrapped bandages, applied only recently, as it had yet to be stained through by blood. He walks a bit, then jogs around the room, overjoyed that his legs are functioning properly. Childe grins, pumping his fists in the air. He froze. And realized just how childish the display must have looked. He lowered his hands. Suddenly, he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea, and he slowly sank to the ground on his knees as his vision spun. Ah. Yes. The concussion he had would not have healed as fast. That was a different matter. Great. Just what he needed.

"Oh, you're awake." His head snapped up so fast his neck cracked. He winced, rubbing it as he stared at the girl in front of him. (A/N hi. So I'm gonna give Y/N an appearance but leave her name up to you. Its just because when I write these things I imagine like- and OC- and insert them as Y/N... but ya. Change it if you want. UNDERLINEDyou can cut out if u want.) She had her long, midnight black hair swept behind her in an intricate braided bun, with fair skin and kind eyes. Purple, like onikabuto beetles, but a deeper shade than that. A threadbare haori was thrown over a wisteria patterned yukata, with a black obi tied with a silvery chord. The girl knelt in front of him, setting down a tray with a single cup of murky, green liquid. He took a whiff of the contents, wretching at the smell. She giggled, smiling at him sweetly . "Good morning. I hope feeling better if you're awake." Childe nodded slowly. "I feel fine. It's like I haven't been injured in the first place. Other than my head." The girl gave a closed eye smile, leaning her face on her palm. "Oh, you flatter me! But my medical skills aren't that extraordinary... you're still injured. It's the painkiller I gave you that must be taking its effect. That's good, I gave you a smaller dose than I usually do because I didn't know your exact prescription." He blinked in confusion, mouth slowly agape as his mind registered her words. "Wait... you... healed me?"

The girl cocked her head to the side. "... Sorry. I haven't healed you, exactly. I just tended to your wounds, disinfected them, and changed the bandages every few hours... I did everything I could to speed along your recovery process... but you still won't be able to do much of anything until they heal. Especially that head wound of yours. It was bleeding profusely when I found you."

"Oh." Was his only answer. So did that mean he was stuck not able to train for weeks? What would he tell the tsarita? How could he perform his duties as a harbinger in this state? "I should thank you for your service... how much do you want?" The girl's eyes widened. "Ah- It's ok! There's no need to pay me! I just treated you due to the kindness of my heart- you fell not too far from my home anyway, so it really wasn't any trouble..."

"Still," Childe insisted. "I need to thank you, somehow." She blinked, taken aback by his sudden outburst. Slowly, she smiled. "Well... if you really want to pay me... Do your best to heal quickly. In the meantime, stay here and help out as you recover. That way, you'll at least be useful- and you won't have to lay in bed all day." "...Is that it?" He couldn't believe it. Any person would accept gifts or favours without question, especially since it was money, and especially since it was from a harbinger- whose wealth held no bounds. "Yep!" She chirped. Actually, part of him was quite pleased with the arrangement. God knows he needed a break. And the traveler and her floating companion had managed to put a noticeable dent in his wallet- which wasn't a small feet. He didn't feel like dipping into his paycheck when it was really meant for his family back at home anyway.

"Then, I thank you again, and look forward to these weeks together... Miss...?" "Oh!" She laughed. "Y/N!" Y/N said. My name is "Y/N L/N. And you are...?" "Ajax." Hearing his real name spill from his mouth instead of his alias surprised even him. He never gave his birth name to anyone so easily like that. Besides his close family, only the traveler knew it. And now Y/N. But it had felt so natural, introducing himself to her- as himself. He was never loose lipped around strangers, anyway. "...Ajax." She said quietly to herself. "Alright! And there's no need to thank me yet," Y/N said. "You haven't taken your medicine yet," She said, gesturing to the steaming cup in front of her. "Two doses a day, until your full recovery." Childe's face contorted in horror. "Wait. I'm supposed to drink that?" She sat, staring silently at him with a smile. "...I bet it tastes horrid, doesn't it." "So I've been told." He stared at the polished wooden cup with newfound terror. He felt like he was behaving like a child. But at the moment, he didn't really care. "I... don't think-" "Drink." "... Yes m'aam."

A/N new book, new plot, more writers block! yay!