Chapter Text
Thrain remembers, in a bittersweet past, that children would flock to him.
“They have an eye for the heart,” Guthred had told him when he brought it up. “You are too awkward to be a father, but maybe you can be the agreeable uncle you ask for help with your literature homework.”
In retrospect, that was a strange comparison. Who says that kind of things with a straight face? Was awkward really such a bad trait to inherit? His father certainly didn’t think so, just look at his mother. “The agreeable uncle”, what did that even mean? He had been perfectly suited to be a father, mind you, with a stable job and many siblings of experience in dealing with people younger than him.
It’s ironic, really, the way things change. Children would flock to him back then, but now he looked more like the monsters from the stories they use to scare each other. But that was good, in a way. Being able to discern what is a monster (and thus, a “threat”), just means those kids will live longer because they know when they should run away.
(This is saddening, of course, for someone with a tender heart. Thrain avoided going out in Snezhnaya, as he was twice a “monster” for many children: he bore the sign of fools on his coat, and hidden under fearsome visage, the sign of humanity’s arrogance. Even the children of the hearth that would, perhaps, one day entrust their lives to his leadership, remained hidden in his infrequent visits.)
(“It means they are clever,” he repeats in his mind.)
All this is to say that there are, of course, exceptions.
Weather in Liyue is gentle at this time of the year, as humidity follows summer in its exit. Things remained well in the diplomatic deals between the Qixing and the Fatui, in fact, The Captain had just been supervising some affairs with the soldiers at The Chasm, while Lohefalter polished out some formal details.
As he was exiting, from the corner of his eye, Thrain spotted a small lilac creature climb towards some similarly colored flower. The creature, a child, extends a leg over the rocks. Then an arm. The child loses balance.
The child is falling from the rocky cliffside.
Qiqi blinked and she had stopped falling. How could that be?
Herald of Frost wasn’t dancing around her to make her fall slower.
Maybe Doctor Bai had made trees grow to help her.
Strange, no trees around.
Qiqi turns her head to the side. The sun shines on bright metal, but she doesn’t feel any heat.
Something frigid is wrapped around her, she leans into it.
From the darkness above, Qiqi spots two bright stars in the blue sky.
The lilac child curled herself onto Thrain. It’s hard to imagine how afraid she must have been. He wonders if she had parents. Pantalone had told him it’s not uncommon for orphans to try and sell herbs in hopes of making a living in the land of contracts. Had life been so hard on her that she would endanger her life for some coins?
It’s not ideal for children of any age, but the House of the Hearth could take her in. At least she would get a roof on her heads and some obviously needed three meals a day.
The lilac child stirs after a moment, and Thrain moves his arms to support her better. She sits straight, putting her two little hands on his shoulders, staring at him, tilting her head to one side. Thrain does the same, for some reason.
“Are you alright?” The Captain asks. This is the same way Thrain’s mother would hold him. “that was a… scary fall”
Thrain now realizes this girl blinks very slowly.
“What’s your name?” He tries again. When soldiers recover from traumatic experiences, they are often in a stupor for some time, but some remain able to answer basic questions. His long military history has taught him that he should move her to safety as soon as possible. If he recalls correclty, there was be a Ministry camp near the entrance, maybe there is a doctor there.
“I am Qiqi. I am a zombie. And I... forgot what comes next.“
Nowhere in his military training had he ever been prepared for this.
“I see.” The Captain nods, “Are your parents here or somewhere close by, Qiqi?”
More staring. Then a frown. Then a hand on his helmet.
“We have to got to Bubu Pharmacy,” Qiqi the zombie states with as much resolve as she can fit in that monotone voice. She squirms in his arms, she wants to be on her feet. The Captain sets her down.
“Are your parents in Bubu Pharmacy?”
“No. Doctor Baizhu is.”
“Is Doctor Baizhu your caretaker?”
“I don’t know… But I know patients must go to see Doctor Baizhu”
Qiqi tugs at his hand, leading him to this pharmacy and to this Doctor Baizhu. Thrain has to make very small steps to ensure he doesn’t surpass the girl’s small walk. They leave The Chasm in silence, one immersed in her task of escorting a patient, and the other wondering what to do next. The Captain isn’t in urgent need of medical attention —even if he were, he would just request one of his company’s physicians—, so he keeps wondering how to break this information to such a dedicated child.
Thrain makes a mental list of what to do after they reach the pharmacy: first an foremost, ask this Doctor Baizhu about Qiqi’s caretakers; if they are the one, he may scold them depending on how they react to Qiqi’s accident. It wouldn’t be fair to blame them outright, children often get in dangerous situations when they think they are helping. Perhaps, this doctor simply told Qiqi to pick up some herbs nearby and she misjudged what nearby herbs the doctor meant.
A pharmacy or medical post in the outskirts of The Chasm was a likely scenario, given how dangerous this place can be at times. Yes, this must have been the case. Qiqi and this doctor lived close by and she was simply walking him there.
Qiqi and this doctor did not live close by.
Qiqi and this doctor lived so not close by, that the moon had already started her journey into the sky by the time they made it to the city.
The Captain was going to kill Doctor Baizhu.
Liyue Harbor’s nights shone bright and gentle, the Milileth patrolled the area and people returned home. While they were still on the road, Qiqi would lose focus and take strange paths if she saw a particular flower, but as soon as Thrain tried to ask about how much was left of their journey or maybe even about the flowers, she would straighten her back, as if she had just remembered that she had to escort The Captain to see “Doctor Bai”; as soon as they crossed the gates, it was a bee-line to their destination.
A tall, long flight of stairs received them. Atop of them waited the still-lit pharmacy, even from below, he could see a young, dark haired man talking to an officer. Qiqi turns to look at Thrain.
“Please wait” she says, making her way up. The Captain, of course, does as he is asked. The young man turns his head towards the noise of the steps, he almost trips rushing to meet her. After some effusive arm movements, he crouches down to her eye level. Was this fellow Baizhu?
Qiqi, the young man and the officer talk for a while, the adults paying close attention to the child’s story and grand gestures. At one point in the story, Qiqi points at The Captain and they stare at him in silence. Thrain becomes suddenly aware of himself, and how he had no idea of what the girl had said; many images of Pantalone insisting he learnt some Liyuean dialect flashed in his mind. The officer is quick on his way down, while the young man lifts Qiqi in his arms.
“If after all the things you’ve done, this is how you finally get us arrested, I swear on Irmin’s empty grave-” Thrain can almost hear Guthred speak to him, but he was worried thinking about how he would report this back to HQ. Maybe a simple “Director Pierro: I paid my respects to the name of our organization and made an incredibly stupid mistake” or perhaps a “Director Pierro: please bail me out, Lohefalter won’t stop laughing at me”.
The Milileth officer appeared in his sight before The Captain could make a run for it. He could fight, of course, but making use of force felt like an overkill, especially after the officer scurried himself under one of his arms, like one would to give support to the wounded. Thrain worried he would crush the officer if he actually leaned on him.
“Such an honorable man!” the Milileth soldier commended, “To make sure a child makes it home safe while being sick! Truly, many of my men could learn from you”
What.
“Worry not, sir, Bubu Pharmacy is home to one of the best doctors this nation has to offer” the young man and Qiqi appeared soon after “. However Doctor Baizhu is currently indispossed, but rest assured, I’ll make sure he sees you first thing tomorrow morning”
“I believe there has been a misunderstanding—” What the hell did they feed the Milileth? If he kept resisting the officer, he might just end up carried like brides are. “Hmph.” The elusive Baizhu again, just who is this man?
So be it, he would allow these kind people to take him to the pharmacy and then he would have a word with Baizhu.
Doctor Baizhu looked closer to being a patient. He had “dragged himself out of his room, endangering his life more than usual”, allegedly, according to the snake, Changsheng. She scolded the doctor every time he coughed. Thrain thought could take good care of Baizhu, and then he asked himself why he was thinking that. The Millileth officer had left after he sat The Captain down, accompanied by the young man, Gui.
“Why was Qiqi at The Chasm though?” Changsheng asked.
“I went… to pick up Violetgrass for Baizhu. I think” A long silence followed. Thrain had been right: in hopes of helping Baizhu get better, she went the extra mile and snuck out to get him those flowers. It wasn’t her fault they grew in places like that. Seeing the state of this elusive doctor, the Captain had opened his mouth to apologize three times over the rash assumptions he had made, but no noise came out. Had this occured more than five hundred years ago, his face would he deep red by now.
“Oh, Qiqi…” Baizhu soothed, breathing slowly, “I’m very greatful, but remember what you wrote in your notebook: you have to tell others when and where you are going out”
Qiqi nodded.
“As for you mister…” Baizhu spoke again. His eyes were so gentle, Thrain could stare at them for the rest of the night.
“I’m Th- Ahem. Capitano is just fine. Sorry for troubling you this late” He swears he didn't intend to, but his eyes fell to Baizhu's exposed midrif.
“Troubling me? You brought Qiqi home”
“I think he means because he’s sick, Baizhu” Changsheng coughed.
“In that case, please, don’t worry about that. I know how I look, but I promise you I’ll do my best to treat you tomorrow, mister Capitano.” The room had very little light, and the Captain was thinking many things at once, but he could have sworn the kind doctor had blushed .
“Are you actually sick or something? This man has a very obvious, very rampant fever. End this conversation so he can rest” The voice of Guthred spoke in Thrain’s heart once more.
“I’ll say it again. I have no illness”
“Maybe not, but you sure are cursed” the snake chimed in. “What’s with that face? It’s so obvious!”
Baizhu got up from his chair and walked towards the Captain with Qiqi in tow. With a steady pace, he placed the hand with the white glove on one of his shoulder pads.
“Even if it can’t be removed, it could still be treated,” Baizhu smiled, “Stay at the pharmacy for the night, you had a long day”
“To Director Pierro:
All things are well, the soldiers are in high spirits too. Lohefalter should be able to give more details regarding the recent agreements on her reports.
From,
Il Capitano
P.S.: Who did you say I should write to if I’m intrested in using my vacation days?“