Dominator Stellae

18 | Conversation

This felt like a guilty pleasure — and not in a good way — to walk alongside Zhongli. A part of me figured that I should leave anyway, regardless of what he told me. We still had not touched upon the subject of Lei-li nor had we even discussed what our companionship was at this point. Was I grasping at straws here or could something as torn as this be mended and sewn together like a hole in a cotton quilt? We'd see, I suppose.

I hesitated outside of his rather nice home, all but frozen in the doorway. Zhongli had taken off his shoes and carefully set them out of the way before he noticed I had yet to step in. His eyebrows furrowed. "I understand that you're upset with me, but I am trying to help alleviate your pain," he said.

I took off my shoes and bent down as I stepped in. Setting my shoes to the side, I closed the door behind me. It almost felt like I'd caged myself in unfamiliar territory and I didn't like it.

"Would you like some tea?" he questioned, dishes clattering in the kitchen as he sifted through them.

"Yes," I said rather stiffly. It's silent between us aside from the noise he was making in the other room. It would be nice to sit down, but I'm too wound up to do so. He came out and sat down on the couch. We stared at each for a moment before I coughed and looked away. Zhongli's stare continued burning into the side of my head as if waiting for something.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "I cannot telepathically reach your elemental mark from there, Juno," he said. How sassy of him. Sounds just like teenage him. I sighed, tugging off my jacket and shirt. Striding over, I knelt down with my back to him. When in their godly/immortal forms, Archons usually had the insignia of their element somewhere on their bodies.

Mine was on my back between my shoulder blades. Since I'd unsealed my gnosis, it was visible again. I unbuttoned my corset and let it drop to reveal it. "And what of the tea?" I inquired, hyper aware of the sound of him taking off his glove. He'd aided me like this in the past on account of I'd never cared to learn to properly utilize my powers.

I'd never intended to use them for harm — which is why I had trouble with random spikes and surges in them.

"Steeping it longer brings out a more powerful taste," Zhongli said, absentmindedly, his fingers brushing the mark. I shivered at the feeling. His hands were quite cold despite the constant glove wearing.

"Hm. You know, this would be much easier if you had your gnosis," I said, throwing him a dirty look over my shoulder. "Then there'd be no...weird touching or anything." His face was expressionless as ever and did not betray anything about what my words could have arisen in him. It annoyed me right now more than it ever had in the past for some reason.

Zhongli's eyebrows furrowed slightly, the geo markings on his hand brightened. The sigh of relief that left me when he finally stopped sitting there and began exchanging energy with me was quite loud. I am once again aware of how silent he is. It only took a few moments before he declared he was done. I was quick to pull my discarded clothes back on, having had enough of feeling vulnerable.

I let myself finally relax on the couch opposite of the one he'd previously occupied. He was adept at stealth, I could say that much since I didn't even notice him leave the room. I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a steaming cup of tea, no doubt one of Zhongli's favorites. He sat down once again and gently blew on his own tea. I'm not very thirsty anymore.

"Now, what all do you wish to know?"

"Why?"

He sipped his tea. "Why what?"

My eyes narrowed on him. Of course he wasn't going to give me a straight answer. He was a man of contradictions, never outright stating anything on his mind. To be on the receiving end of such treatment...was...strange. "You're playing dumb with me."