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[leaveofabsence]

[ The default voicemail message greets you. ]

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[leaveofabsence]

[ Too bad he doesn't get the Pinocchio reference.

Within the hour: ]

Glaze Lily: I shall be at BARiTONES shortly.

[abovefate]

[ don't worry neither does he or he would have changed his name!! He will wait outside of Baritones and gesture at him to come inside once he's there ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ He arrives perhaps a bit disheveled, messy red eyeliner not able to cover up the fact that he probably did not sleep last night.

(Did anyone really?)

But he seems composed enough to follow Scaramouche into the BARiTONES common room, gaze lingering on the fact that oh---

It does look quite like what was in his dream world, even if Zhongli has seen it in person once before. ]

[abovefate]

We're not talking here where others can hear. My room.

[ so he'll lead him further in, to his room and then another room hidden in there - an upgrade childe bought for him. It's an inazuma-style courtyard, and he will sit on one of the benches ]

I heard you had a dream of your own. And you certainly look terrible.

[leaveofabsence]

[ He pauses at the Inazuma style room - it had been centuries since he'd been to Inazuma outside of ideal world Ei's throne room, so there is a bit of nostalgia as he sits down on one of the benches. ]

Considering I wandered through a realm where you were not at your best, it'd seemed only fair that I the only bar I held myself to would be to be functional and coherent.

I am more than capable of handling this conversation now.

[abovefate]

You saw something I had no control over - had it been up for me things would have been very different. "Not at my best" doesn't even begin to cover it.

What did you want to know?

[leaveofabsence]

Just one question then.

Would you want a chance to start over and live a life not as a pawn of some higher power?

[abovefate]

Mmm ... what a personal question to start with. But you've already seen enough that you shouldn't have, don't you think? It would be unfair for me to give you so much without getting anything in return, wouldn't you say, God of Contracts?

[leaveofabsence]

You do not seem the type to enjoy idle chatter.

But of course. Fairness should be the basis of all things, and I already have an unfair advantage.

What would you want in exchange for that answer to that question as well as what was already wrongfully taken from you?

[abovefate]

For what was taken from me, I'll have you tell me what happened in your dream world to Tartaglia.

For your question, I want you to tell me what are your plans in being here, and what you will do when you go back to your world. Retired or not, why would Morax let himself be used by this place?

[leaveofabsence]

For your first request - you will swear that you will not use that information to cause him intentional harm.

[abovefate]

Are you seriously so naive that you think me swearing it right now would mean I'd follow through? Either you'll trust it with me or you won't. But I am not forcing you to forget about what you saw in mine though I have the power to. So at least one of us is being gracious here.

[leaveofabsence]

If you will not agree to my terms, then there is no agreement. I am still the God of Contracts regardless of what this place deigns to do with me.

And if you have a way of leveling the field and choose not to use it, that is your choice and does not bear on my own decisions.

[abovefate]

Fine. I won't intentionally harm him with the information. I'm only asking because he was in a bad state.

[ surely nothing to do with what he did to him in his dream no sir ]

[leaveofabsence]

Then let the contract be formed. And let any who renege of the contract face the Wrath of the Rock.

[ Unfortunately for Scaramouche, you've got Zhongli in a bad mood.

A real bad mood. ]

[abovefate]

[ he has a talent for that ]

Out with it already.

[leaveofabsence]

If you have ever researched Liyue, you will know that is a burial ground for countless gods, friends and foe of Morax alike. As well as the resting place for many adepti and other companions long past.

My ideal world was one where I had not lost those companions.

To wake me from the dream, Tartaglia took to systematically removing each and every one at great personal cost to himself.

[abovefate]

… there were side effects for killing them? Murder wouldn’t bother him.

But he did die a few times in my dream as well, and each time he experienced my encounter with Lilith.

If he lost part of himself with each murder … that would explain it.

1/2

[leaveofabsence]

[ WHAT happened in Scara's dream world?

Ugh. His poker face is practically non-existent at this point, so he visibly tenses at "did die a few times" and "Lilith".




. . .

Well fuck. ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ Also how to explain this very human concept: ]

He did not lose a part of himself with each murder.

The people he was killing were important to me. And for myself caught in the dream, it was very distressing to see them killed. He was upset because he was hurting me.

[abovefate]

[ give him a few moments, he’s trying to figure it out ]

But he was fine when we left my dream together. Even after all that.

Does he think he failed you? He had a stuffed animal in your liking, and he was clutching it.

Well. You should handle it.

[leaveofabsence]

Handling it is a very poor turn of phrase. As if it was a task to be completed off of some checklist.

Yes, I will tend to Tartaglia - and that would be true regardless of your request. Because I want to understand what is bothering him and help him through it.

Do you not feel the same?

[abovefate]

I will not beg you to help him, so that’s how I’ll phrase it and if it bothers you, isn’t that too bad for you, mm?

But he wanted me to leave him alone after the dream. And I did. I want to understand what happened but I can’t help him. Even if I tried, we both know I’d make it worse. Isn’t that why you asked me to swear I won’t hurt him with this knowledge?

[leaveofabsence]

The contract specifies intentionally.

Learning how to navigate another person's emotional state will naturally result with both success and failure. It will take trial and error and practice and patience. That is how the relationship between the two of you will grow.

What I do not wish is for you to use that information as a result of anger or any other negative emotion just to get a rise out of him.

As for leaving him alone, Tartaglia has a certain amount of pride and does not like to appear vulnerable. A trait that I'm sure you can also relate to. Just because he wants space now does not mean that will always be the case. He just may need some time to recuperate.

[abovefate]

I wasn't looking for advice, Morax.

[ he's crossing his arms at his chest and looking at him, and then he shrugs ]

I just know he will benefit more from your presence than mine. I don't like you, but he does. When he's ready to see me I'll talk to him too.

I am grateful for what you did in my dream. And it's why I invited you here. I will not try to push Tartaglia away from you again.

As for your original question.

I was never a pawn to any higher being. My creator abandoned me and let me live my life as I saw fit. Everything I did was because I wanted to do it. I was not cursed or manipulated by any other higher being.

If I had the chance at another life perhaps I'd simply want to never know who I truly was, and why I came to being.