>> 010 | oh, worm

[acutabove]

[ It's been a few days since he'd arrived in Liyue proper and the jet lag was only now just starting to wear off. A few days and he'd managed to become familiar enough with the terrain to be able to map out any viable escape routes, discover that he does not have much of a spice tolerance and that also, the man known as "Rex Lapis" was much more of a common face in the streets than he'd imagined him to be.

At first he'd thought he might have been mistaken, that the intel he'd received was wrong in some way. With nothing but a brief description (height, weight, hair color, eye color - and really, couldn't they have come up with a better term than "cor lapis gold"?) and a semi-blurry photograph taken from the side, Childe imagined he would have to scour Liyue for at least a good week or two before he found his target. The people of this fair city didn't seem to want to deviate from their traditional norms and they all seemed to dress the same way, too, making it hard to pick any one apart in a sea of browns and blacks and golds with the occasional vibrant but respectful color thrown into the mix.

Finding "Rex Lapis" would be a chore in itself, never mind going along with the Tsaritsa-sanctioned mission he had been assigned to kill the man. He wouldn't be surprised if he didn't see Snezhnayan shores for a month or two. The harbor city wasn't exactly small, after all, and from what he could see of the photograph the man looked like every other Liyuen walking about.

Imagine his surprise when said man was spotted immediately, perusing the market at his leisure and appraising each individual valuable when it was showcased to him by a hungry-looking merchant. Childe didn't have much of an eye for antiques so they all looked the same to him; nondescript and useless, no real worth in them aside from what they could be melted into. Rex Lapis seemed to have taken fault with literally every item shown to him for over an hour, and in the end had left the stall empty-handed with a fuming, exasperated worker glaring after him.

The man's schedule was easy enough to pick apart after that. Childe had spent the entirety of the first day tailing him and working out his walking path, following him at a leisurely distance and acting every bit like an enamored tourist so taken with Liyue's sights and sounds that lingering in any one place didn't seem too out of the ordinary. Rex would go from one building to another, hitting up all the merchant stalls in-between, always alone, never once breaking his poised, methodical stride. The fact that no one else seemed to be wary or suspicious of him - which, shouldn't they be, given he was effectively the ruling head of his "family"? - Childe was starting to wonder if maybe his intel had been incorrect.

By the third day he'd set up something of a base of operations in one of the buildings that he'd seen Rex meander in and out of. It was a modestly large hotel, boasting the sort of Liyuen-style decoration that a connoisseur of the East would lose themselves in. The architecture and paintings within were distinctly in the same style as the rest of the city, immortalizing Liyue's cultural arts with every brush stroke, ever swath of paint. The people at the lobby were certainly cordial enough and, despite the backwater-country vibes the interior gave off, it was clear they were relatively up to date and rather technologically savvy, the staff able to reserve him a room for a few weeks in a matter of moments after a few swipes on their touchpads.

It might have seemed foolish to book a room in the same building that he planned to trail and potentially murder Rex Lapis in, but Childe had confidence in spades. He knew the best ways to escape the country and, barring that, it wasn't as though there weren't Fatui already infiltrating the city. The element of danger was what made it most exciting, after all.

A few days turned into a little under a week, and then a little over a week, and eventually the time came for Childe to make his move. As much as he had no issues with killing an innocent man, if word that he did got to Rex Lapis himself it wouldn't make finding him any easier. He was pretty sure the man he'd been tailing had to have been him. He looked like the one in the photograph, after all... but then, also, he wasn't entirely sure. He certainly didn't look like the mean-mugging head of a mafia family.

So Childe decides that it would be best to give him a little test of sorts.

It's around seven at night, when the lights of the city have started to flicker to light. The people on the streets are making their way home after a long day's work, threading around each other and making idle chatter in the form of greetings and farewells. Nothing more than that, since everyone has somewhere they need to be.

Childe's target is among them, his height and distinct strides making him stick out like a sore thumb. The man navigates through the crowds easily, smoothly, and were Childe not as good as he was at general reconnaissance work - thanks to his training when he was a grunt in the Fatui - he probably would have lost him minutes ago. Admittedly, there is something about this man that just screams of a higher plane of existence, he thinks, but it's not something he can actually place his finger on.

His chance to strike comes when the man takes a sudden turn into a darkened alley - a usual for him, Childe had learned, but only on certain days. He waits a few moments outside the entrance before stepping in after him, and their footsteps echo hollowly on the high walls around them as the other continues to walk, purposefully, like he hadn't just heard Childe coming in after him.

Yeah, there was no way this was Rex Lapis. Childe reasons this to himself even as he's pulling his Tokarev out from its holster at his side. He fits the silencer into the weapon with a click that seems to ring throughout the area, and he's quick to lift it up and point it at the man in front of him once they've reached a far enough distance from the streets. ]

You're a brave man, you know.

[ He's taken care to dress casually, forgoing his usual suit and vest in favor of slim-fitting jeans and a hoodie. To anyone else he would probably look like a kid attempting a robbery; to Rex, he's not quite sure. Even Childe knows from his reputation among the lower recruits that he's something of a sight on the battlefield. There's particular rumors swirling about his eyes and their hue directly correlating to all the murders he's committed.

Childe's arm never wavers, and his gaze fixates on the man's back as he speaks again, a little louder. ]

Empty your pockets.

Comments

[fortify]

[ The toils of the neverending work required to run a criminal syndicate empire are ever wearing even on the most notorious of clan heads. For Rex Lapis, his greatest asset has been successfully keeping himself mostly a mystery to both his own clan and others, with the exception of a select few, of course. That is how he operates best, posing as an almost phantom while still managing to have them all never doubt his presence, his authority, his power—even if they would never be able to tell him from any other clan member.

Of course, many have their speculations (like this one behind him, he supposes.) It is rumored that Rex Lapis hides in the open rather than within guarded golden walls. That doesn't exactly help anyone, such as an assassin, in their endeavors, of course.

The way he turns around to face the other, a look of slight surprise in his golden eyes (and they seem to glow just the slightest bit in these shadows making the underbelly of this alleyway, don't they?), is not one of a person in fear of their life (the fact he turns around so easily at all without making sure he's allowed, perhaps, says all that's needed to know—he is very confident or very clueless.) To say he thinks it a joke, however... perhaps not so much as it becomes clear he notices the weapon.

Still, at best, he gives Childe a slight tilting of his head in a strangely innocent way—as if he doesn't fully comprehend what is happening. That's not possible, is it? ]

My pockets? Oh, my. I am afraid if that is what you are seeking you have sadly chosen a bad target. [ he pats his pockets down in display, and sure enough they are terribly flat... it doesn't seem as if he has anything on him in how slim his coat is and the form-fitted cut of the rest of his attire. (Is he even carrying a weapon?)

Strangely, he sounds almost apologetic that he can't provide this... mm, would-be thief with any type of gain from this stunt. ]

Are you quite positive that is why you are here in this alleyway with me this evening?

&ˡᵉᵗ'ˢ ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᵇᵉˡⁱᵉᵛᵉ ᵗʰⁱˢ ⁱˢ ᵒᵘʳ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉ

[fortify]

[ When Childe wakes the next morning, he is alone despite Zhongli having most certainly fallen asleep before him after their seemingly endless coupling. Without another around, Childe will only be able to sense how incredibly quiet this entire place he's in seems to be despite Liyue being an incredibly bustling city.

He'll find clothes in his size of various choices in the wardrobe of the room should he check it as well as his soaked clothing from last night already clean and neatly folded should he rather put it back on (although his gun is still missing.)

There's also breakfast of the cold variety waiting for him inside the room, perhaps Zhongli has left it for him? There isn't much else to do once that's eeaten, though, besides get dressed and lounge around in the room, so he will more than likely find it appropriate to take the time to explore (which he can since the door is unlocked.)

It seems that the entire place is empty, just like his room, save for himself as Childe wanders the rooms and halls. It would make sense, of course, as a captive if it didn't seem like he was somewhere that a captive wouldn't be too begin with. What makes even less sense (for one who attempted an assassination no less) is that he will find he is able to access the room where he met Rex Lapis without trouble — and there is someone at the desk Rex had been standing in front of. It isn't hard to see who it is as there are no tricks of the light and the sun is bright through the large windows that most certainly were covered last time, and the individual seems to have fallen asleep.

The Mafia boss looks uncannily vulnerable as he sits there with one fist supporting his head as his elbow rests on the desk, allowing him an awkward but not entirely uncomfortable position to doze. The only difference, perhaps, between Rex Lapis and Zhongli is that Rex Lapis seems more ethereal in appearance. Zhongli is unnaturally perfect, too perfect too be human, arguably, but somehow not incredibly difficult to accept. He acts like a human and feels like one, even if his appearance begs to differ. Nothing about Rex Lapis feels human despite them looking identical. In fact, there are no normal human signs on that face suggestive of his situation. There are no wrinkles from stress and worry, no dark circles or bags from overwork and exhaustion. Even his breathing is unnaturally low to the point its barely recognizable. He looks as if he's a statue or even a finely crafted doll.

That is, at least, until his eyes open rather unexpectedly to directly stare at the Harbinger. They glow far more than Zhongli's do, and the pattern reflected in his eyes is beautiful but also not very human (but, at least it isn't very beastlike, either). Did Zhongli have that pattern? He did, actually, albeit very faintly. This one is unmistakable.

Truly, everything about the Mafia boss is beauty and grace from another plane of existence. he hits all the pleasing senses of a human, leaves one to be in awe, but there's is something off-turning about him. He lacks Zhongli's adorable cluelessness (or so it seems), and while Zhongli is inviting and pleasing on the eyes, somehow Rex Lapis is the opposite. There's certainly temptation to avoid his gaze, to look away from him entirely as if looking at him so plainly is painful and downright overwhelming. They're identical, but ... Rex Lapis feels more unforgiving, as if looking at him is not a right anyone has.

In theory, that isn't far from the truth. The archons are not meant for human eyes. That isn't to say some don't find them incredibly alluring, regardless. And this uneasy feeling when looking at Rex as if it's not allowed? It most likely is a tempered ability rather than an initial condition. That or human nature in the form of pursuing the forbidden is in full force with all of his victims. Perhaps both.

...And yet, despite staring straight at Childe, those eyes eventually close once more, like an altered guard dog that has decided it is not necessary to act (of hasn't really seen anything despite seeming to be suddenly joked from its slumber). Once Rex Lapis has closed his eyes, that feeling of it being wrongful to be in his presence dissipates rather easily.

In fact, it might as well be Zhongli, especially when one notices that the plush whale is in his lap, his unoccupied arm resting on it. The man himself is in black this time with a white vest jacket. There is no suit jacket to be found. Although there are papers and documentation in the desk, Childe's gun lies on the top of them as if it has been the subject of the Mafia boss's attention before he has drifted to sleep. He could even try to take it if he really wanted to since if he approaches it doesn't seem like the other responds.

Of course, it could be a trap. It's probably a trap. ]