Is that supposed to appease me? You vastly underestimate my awareness of what it is to protect the whole of a country. I may be aware of the price paid in war, but there are always ways to mitigate the heaviness of them. Even here.
[There is, for a moment, a little bit of a disconnect there - Zhongli speaks like he knows more of Snezhnaya than he should, with a certainty he assuredly should not. It's easy to dismiss with his personality, though.
He's otherwise quiet as Childe works, gaze distant and cool. From time to time, it's like he's not here at all, and perhaps that's true. Perhaps he's just imagining the salt-laden shores of Liyue, the warmth of the sun and scent of flowers in the harbor. In moments, his expression is briefly almost soft even. It frosts again when Childe tells him to close his eyes.
Unsurprising, really, and it isn't until the last moment as the harbinger tilts his head back that he acquiesces, muscles coiled tight. He doesn't have to worry about dying here, but there are worse things than death. Still... it's fine. It will be fine, somehow. When he speaks, eyes still closed, his voice reverberates against Childe's fingers.]
That trait is one shared by many of Liyue's protectors. I would not wish them in this position in my stead, but of course it isn't sensible. This is the act of someone intent on breaking something, with little positive intent behind them.
[It's unkind, he's aware. But... well, he was brutalised and kept weakened on a ship, taken to Snezhnaya under the express insistence that he was some kind of pet. It's only natural to be unkind in that situation.]
no subject
[There is, for a moment, a little bit of a disconnect there - Zhongli speaks like he knows more of Snezhnaya than he should, with a certainty he assuredly should not. It's easy to dismiss with his personality, though.
He's otherwise quiet as Childe works, gaze distant and cool. From time to time, it's like he's not here at all, and perhaps that's true. Perhaps he's just imagining the salt-laden shores of Liyue, the warmth of the sun and scent of flowers in the harbor. In moments, his expression is briefly almost soft even. It frosts again when Childe tells him to close his eyes.
Unsurprising, really, and it isn't until the last moment as the harbinger tilts his head back that he acquiesces, muscles coiled tight. He doesn't have to worry about dying here, but there are worse things than death. Still... it's fine. It will be fine, somehow. When he speaks, eyes still closed, his voice reverberates against Childe's fingers.]
That trait is one shared by many of Liyue's protectors. I would not wish them in this position in my stead, but of course it isn't sensible. This is the act of someone intent on breaking something, with little positive intent behind them.
[It's unkind, he's aware. But... well, he was brutalised and kept weakened on a ship, taken to Snezhnaya under the express insistence that he was some kind of pet. It's only natural to be unkind in that situation.]