Chapter 2: If Wind in the Past has Weathered Stone, What Can Wind from the Future Do?
Rex Lapis heard Barbatos before he saw his old friend.
The wind carried a whisper sometimes, all the way from Mondstadt. It would be something funny, or something stupid, or something entirely random that Rex Lapis could make no sense of.
However, those were whispers.
This….
This was a roaring rendition of a sea shanty carried by a swift morning breeze that curled through the window.
"So, follow me lads
'cause this 'ain't no grog or ale
One pint down you'll be swingin' in the gale
Five pints bully,
You'll be shakin' in your shoes
We're half-seas over on the Joli Rouge"
Most likely, Barbatos was in the streets and had already drawn the mortals attention. Rex Lapis paused to listen and was proven right. He heard several new voices that had joined into the chorus, likely the sailors of the Crux.
Rex Lapis put a hand to his head and sighed. He placed his pen down and left the Wangsheng Parlor. He left a notice to Hu Tao that something had come up and he was done with work for today.
The human identity he was developing hadn't been revealed to any of the Adepti. He would prefer for the Anemo Archon to also be in the dark, or Barbatos would meddle in his matters.
He trusted that the mortals would slow Barbatos down—they always did.
When he reached the outskirts of Liyue Harbor, he went further into the foothills before transforming into his natural form. He drew far more attention as a dragon, but that was the point. He wanted to draw Barbatos' attention away and have whatever important conversation this was in privacy.
Rex Lapis crouched on the tallest cliff with a view of Liyue Harbor.
Barbatos soon arrived. He had flown up with the help of the wind rather than his wings. "Hello old blockhead!"
"Bard."
Barbatos smiled and shook the bottle in his hand. "There's still half left for you."
Rex Lapis considered it for a moment then took a more human form. It wasn't the fully human appearance he had when pretending to be a mortal; his arms were still scaled and clawed.
Barbatos sat down on the grass and looked out over the sea that futilely slammed itself against the base of the cliffs.
Rex Lapis opened up his mouth to say a proper greeting. He wondered when Barbatos had come out of slumber, and for how long, but he wasn't rude enough to pry into his friend's life. Although he wondered how the archon was able to trust that Mondstadt would not be dust each time he went to sleep—Rex Lapis would not have ever been able to do the same.
Barbatos looked back at Rex Lapis. His expression was complicated. "Are you thinking about retiring?"
Surprise was the first that Rex Lapis experienced. After, something desperate, something fierce, bled back into Rex Lapis, the thing that had given him the name God of War. It was what had led to his survival—the willingness to kill any threat. "How much do you know?"
There was a spear at Barbatos' throat. It was made of dirt and stone, but the edge on it existed nonetheless.
Barbatos made careful eye contact and patted the grass beside him. He had never cared for being threatened. "Let's talk then."
Zhongli let the polearm crumble into dust.
"Wow, really provoked a sleeping dragon, huh," Barbatos joked. "Haven't seen you that agitated in years."
The bottle was offered to Rex Lapis and he drank half of what remained. Barbatos slapped the older archon on the shoulder and took the quarter that was left. They talked, for a while, of Rex Lapis' plans and Barbatos' awakening. Old memories were shared again. Shadows started to stretch out from the cliffs as the sun stood in the West and moved forward.
"Have you made a contract with the Tsarita yet?" Barbatos questioned. There was some hope in his tone.
"We are still in negotiations."
Barbatos let out a long sigh in relief.
The breeze that had been stirring around settled down a bit.
Rex Lapis wasn't aware that Barbatos had a disagreement with the Cryo Archon. It had to be a big one if Barbatos was here to convince him not to make a contract with her.
Barbatos leaned back. "I get having a fighting test, but like, have you thought about how they'll make Mora with you gone?"
Rex Lapis would have found it uncharacteristic of his fellow archon to say something so gravely if not for the few times they had strategized together during the Archon Wars. He tucked away the thought that Barbatos was acting like he did during war times into the back of his mind to ponder over later. His brow furrowed. "I take your point."
"Blockhead." Barbatos shook his head. He looked at the sunset that barely peeked over the mountains in the West and decided, "I'm going to sleep here." There was a travel bag on his back.
"You don't look like you don't plan on going home," Rex Lapis pointed out. He wasn't that surprised as his friend had done this before a few times.
"I have at least one more person to talk some sense into, as soon as I can." Barbatos waved vaguely towards the sea, towards the South East of Liyue.
Rex Lapis hadn't expected that answer. He had been thinking more along the lines of adventure, or stretching one's legs, the types of reasons Barbatos gave before for traveling. "What happened to you?"
It wasn't just Barbatos' attitude, there was a sense of urgency in his movements and the winds that followed him.
Venti smiled for the first time in the conversation. "A lot of things. Well, a few of them were good." He fiddled with the empty bottle.
Rex Lapis stared and waited. When twilight fell, he gave up on getting any answers out of the slippery bard and instead, turned into his original form once again. He curled up beside the wind sprite.
With the sound of the wind in their ears and the hum of the earth in their chests, both of them fell asleep.
A/N
The lyrics are from the song Joli Rouge. It's a rather fun sea shanty.
Because it's Christmas and one of my long time readers is enjoying this story, this chapter is a present to them. So Merry Christmas, Eve (Can'tPickAName).
—Silver
