Act 1) The girl with burning eyes
Chapter four: Starry Night
Liyue walked down the hall, over to the garden. She was in the adepti’s palace, she had never spent a lot of time here, she spent it mostly on a mansion sitting on a mountain with Mountain Shaper, but she’d be staying here for the time being as the area around the mansion was beginning to attract the attention of enemies. And while that was happening, Mountain Shaper decided to stay at the mansion.
“It’s better if it’s me, and not you. I’ll clear them out, but I need you to stay with the others alright Liyue?” he had said.
Why Mountain Shaper didn’t let anyone help him she didn’t know. Perhaps an adeptus really could handle entire armies. She doubted it though, the enemies were also said to have immortals among their ranks. Oh well, the other adepti had mentioned something about sending more troupes to patrol the area and set up a camp. Maybe that would help him.
“Liyue? What are you doing up so late?"
The young girl looked up to see Morax, towering over her with horns gleaming wickedly in the moonlight. Mountain Shaper had told her that he was sort of his boss, the boss of the other adepti as well. So the prime of the adepti. No wonder everyone seemed to pull themselves together in Morax’s presence, he was somewhat akin to their king, or at least some kind of leader to them.
Liyue didn’t Morax. He was… weird. She just didn’t feel safe around him, she didn’t like the way he scrutinized everything, every detail, as if etching it into his brain.
"I couldn’t sleep Mr. Morax” Liyue replied simply, hugging the pillow she had brought with her tighter. Mountain Shaper wasn’t here to read her stories, it was hard for her to sleep without them. And here, where she didn’t really know anyone, she felt lonely and vulnerable.
She heard him laugh. He…. he could laugh?
“Looks like me and you have something in common, little one"
Liyue peered at him with curious blue eyes. He was tall, very tall, he seemed way too tall and way too scary to be human. He had horns that seemed to add to his already intimidating height, he had black and brown scales lining his face on his cheeks and jaw, he had pointed black ears, and he had claws instead of regular fingers.
"You find it hard to sleep here too?"
Morax sighed "It’s not that, I just… don’t really need sleep"
Liyue cocked her head, confused. How did he grow to be this tall then? "Then how do you grow?"
Morax laughed again. Liyue had to say she didn’t expect his laugh to be so warm. He looked so threatening and yet he laughed and seemed to act like any young man, albeit a bit more mature. "I don’t need sleep to function like you do, Liyue. I am immortal, time has no effect on me and I do not work like a normal human” he explained. “Do you understand that?"
"So if time has no effect on you… does it mean you can’t die or grow old?"
Morax pondered for a moment "I can still die, I can fade, but I won’t be completely gone. I don’t grow old, however, I suppose I could, but I choose to stay in this form"
Liyue thought on that. Immortal? Never die? Didn’t he ever get bored? Things started to loose meaning after a long time. Like old toys that came and went through Liyue’s hands. But on the other hand, if you were immortal, you’d have al the time in the world to be with the people you love. You’d never become a ragdoll and be burried, you could just live with them.
Morax noticed her thinking "Would you like to be immortal, Liyue?"
The little girl shrugged "It seems scary. You live forever, and you don’t stop living. You stay alive while the world changes. It seems lonely"
"But there are other immortals. Mountain Shaper is also immortal"
Liyue looked down "So… will Mountain Shaper still be around, when I die? One day I’m going to look older than him?"
Morax seemed to hesitate, why, Liyue wouldn’t know "If you were immortal, you could stay with Mountain Shaper” he said.
“What about my parents?"
She didn’t see him clutch his fists "You… there might be a way to see them, but you can stay with us"
Liyue looked down, thinking and clutching the pillow closer to her chest "I don’t wanna stay here forever. I wanna go home"
Home? Which home? The one that was destroyed or the new one with the man who cared for her like a father? Home where mother made her dumplings or home where Mountain Shaper and Guizhong taught her how to read? Home where father used to carry her on his back, or home where Xiao would teach her how to use a spear?
"Mountain Shaper will clear the area out soon enough, and you will go home soon"
That relieved her quite a bit "Ok” she sad before bowing and heading back to her room, if she could find it that is…
“Liyue"
She turned back to face the dragon like man "I will ask you this question again when you are older. You will have until then to think of an answer. I hope you will choose wisely"
It took a moment, but Liyue realized he was talking about weather or not she wanted to be immortal. "I will think about it, Mr. Morax"
She didn’t say that she didn’t want any of it. She didn’t tell him that she didn’t want to end up like him, like Cloud Retainer and Xiao, mad and bitter, thinking so lowly of humans and taking life for granted. She’d be good, you didn’t need immortality to be good.
Liyue did go to her room, but instead of going to sleep, she lit a lantern and went over to the large window where she stared at the stars, muttering all the constellations she knew under her breath. Pavo Oceallus, Viator, Leo Minor, on starry nights like this, Liyue liked to lean into Mountain Shaper’s side as he read her a story on top of the mountain, staring up at the sky.
Starry nights, truly were beautiful ones.