Act 1) The girl with burning eyes
Chapter two: Fire on water
Morax wasn’t entirely sure about this. They had brought Liyue home and she was running round the library looking at all the books and statues everywhere. It’s not that he was concerned about the damage a child might cause, but rather the child itself. How were they going to take care of her? None of them had ever had a child. The closest any of them had ever had to a child was Mountain Shaper playing with the nearby children and Morax knew that didn’t really count.
“Are you sure you’re up to this, Mountain Shaper?” the raven haired god asked his adeptus.
“My lord, you have no need to worry. I am fully up to the task"
Morax was glad there was that. Quizhong giggled "You seem to have already grown a soft spot for the little thing” she said, covering her smile with her fan. Morax never fully understood why she did that, he thought that she had nothing to hide when she smiled.
Mountain Shaper cleared his throat, eyeing the little girl who was curiously peering at the pool of water in the middle of the library, sticking a hand in to grab at a bright red koi fish. (Why they had a koi pond in a library Morax did not know)
“I am merely doing this out of responsibility. Not because I care for the child” he stated.
He never really understood why some people insisted they did not like something they clearly did. Was it to hide something? Were they afraid of the object of their affection would get hurt? Were they afraid of judgment? Weakness? Morax didn’t understand why openly expressing your love would be embarrassing or weak. On the contrary, the god thought of it as bold.
A splash was heard as Liyue fell into the shallow pool, Mountain shaper quickly fished the small girl out of the water and brought her to stand on the ledge of the pool. “Hey, don’t go around doing that” he scolded.
“I’m sorry” Liyue said sheepishly, pouting and starting to squeeze water out of her dress. Morax could see Mountain Shaper melt and relent, patting little Liyue’s head.
“It’s alright. Let’s get something for you to wear and fill your stomach up” he picked her up and walked out of the library. Quizhong tried to stifle her laugh as to spare the adeptus his pride.
“Little Liyue is so cute” she cooed “I’m sure it’ll be a delight to have her” the lady of dust said, putting away her fan and tucking it in her robes.
“Indeed” Morax said “I believe Mountain shaper will raise her well, perhaps she’ll soften him up"
Quizhong sighed "Xiao could use a little softening up to. I think having a child around will be beneficial to everybody. A shame we might have to see her go one day"
Morax nodded, putting his hands behind his back and looking at the wet spots of floor from Liyue "Yes, it will be. Perhaps she could stay with us for longer…”
Golden eyes not too different from his own looked at him, a small but refined frown sitting on her forehead “Morax, you’re not thinking of making her an adeptus, are you?"
"I will leave the choice up to her” Morax said, raising his hand “My dear friend, we are short in numbers and this war is going nowhere. We need help and I think Liyue is perfect for the role, especially with Mountain Shaper raising her” he reasoned.
“She’s a child” Guizhong reasoned.
“She will grow and learn to make her own decisions” Morax said back.
Morax knew what he was suggesting was a bit insane and even came off as evil or manipulative, but he was good intentions. Plus, he was sure he’d do Liyue a favor, mortals always seemed to crave immortality, if anything she’d be lucky.
“I won’t do it right away” he assured his friend “We’ll wait and if she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t want to"
Quizhong looked at him with furrowed brows, clearly feeling a bit protective of the small child. Morax sighed and strode out of the library, thinking about it. Maybe it was a bit early to assume Liyue would want to be an immortal adeptus, but he saw something in her. She’d be valuable to him. She certainly would….
”-And then Xiao-“
"Shut up old man!"
Morax didn’t quite know what he walked into when he visited the kitchen for a cup of tea. Xiao had thrown a cookbook at Mountain shaper who was now in his crane form, muffled squawks came out of his beak where a raw fish flopped with his movements, and Cloud Retainer was in her human form watching the spectacle, hand shooting out to protect Liyue from flying objects ever so often. The little girl was dressed in a blue and white dress with her hair groomed and was having what looked like tofu and stir fry, seemingly unbothered by the ruckus.
"What happened here?"
Xiao immediately dropped a cabbage he looked like he was a bout to throw at Mountain Shaper, who morphed back into a human and spat a raw fish out of his mouth.
"My lord” they three adepti said in unison, bowing respectfully to him. Liyue continued to enjoy her meal while Morax cast confused glances at his adepti while he prepared himself some tea.
“What exactly happened"
Mountain Shaper and Xiao opened their mouths to speak but Cloud retainer interrupted them. "Mountain shaper was trying to tell the story of the time Xiao went under cover as a woman and wore a qipao. It was quite entertaining"
Morax his a smile as he recounted the memory of Xiao is a much too short qipao wreaking havoc in a small tavern. It was quite the spectacle. They all shared a good laugh (safe for Xiao who was fuming) until Liyue spoke up.
"Can Liyue see Xiao-Xiao in a qipao?"
Morax couldn’t help but chuckle at the child’s request, Moutain Shaper and Cloud retainer also looked like they wanted to laugh as the young adeptus fumed at the child. "No you cannot!"
"Why not?”
“I’m not dressing up as a girl again!"
Liyue cocked her head "What’s wrong with dressing up as a girl? I dress up as a boy sometimes, mother and father say that gender is just an illusion and that it shouldn’t keep someone back from expressing themselves. If Xiao-Xiao wants to dress up as a girl Liyue won't judge” she stated, cool and poised.
The room when silent, as none of the immortals were able to make sense of Liyue’s maturity. Eventually, Xiao spoke up.
“I don’t want to dress up like a girl though. I had to for… work related purposes"
Morax wasn’t sure what to make of her maturity. She seemed to value equality, that was important. Her maturity was important as well, if she were to become an adeptus, her advanced understanding could definetly help her. Perhaps, Morax thought, that flame in her eyes burns for justice. Good, he'd need that flame to keep burning, he’d need her with him.
I know it’s a bit odd how I wrote the adepti’s relationships like a bunch of collage students, but that’s honestly how I see them lol. They all lived together during the war, I think they only split up when they established Liyue lol. I have only shared a room with other people like two times, but I’d honestly try to make the most of it lol, that involves embarrassing stories