Chapter Text
Foul legacy stands in the middle of the abyss,
black blood-like substance drips from his claws and armor he stands amongst piles and piles of dead creatures, bodies ripped to shreds, blood splayed every which way.
The smell of ozone and iron whiffed around, calling on the abysmal insects that will feed on the rotting bodies not long after.
The tall ginger flexes his fingers, mind foggy... The lust for fight has been quenched long ago
no more pleasure nor adrenaline ran through his body.
Yet...his chest aches.
He remembers something...
something important.
So he scans around the area until his purple orb of an eye land on a puddle of red instead of black.
instinctually, the beast dashed over to the familiar body
navy blue hair stained with the red of its owner.
The only indication that the person was alive was the bare rise and descent of their chest.
Who...are they? ...
Why is he leaning down and picking them up with such care?
Like they are the most precious and fragile thing in the universe?
The beast feels a strong ache upon seeing the person in such a state. It doesn’t know why, but it wants to help them no matter the cost.
Slowly, he holds them closer to his chest, opening up his mask to dart out his long tendril-like tongue to lick off the blood from their forehead and soothe the ache.
He summons up hydro with his vision, shifting the body in one arm easily and cradling them with affection.
He moves the blob of water near the wound on the man’s abdomen and calls upon the healing properties of the element.
it comes like an instinct...although he hasn’t used this ability much on himself or anyone at that matter.
It's sloppy, but it did its job on closing the gash.
The blob of water disappears after he makes sure to remove the black substance from himself, his hand reaching up to gently brush the back of his fingers against the man’s cheek...
soft....and beautiful - he thinks...
so precious...must protect.
He doesn't remember himself…
He didn't know what he was doing.
He doesn't know who this person is, but instincts just yell at him to take him to a safer place, to heal him and nurture him back to health.
So that's what he did.
He made sure to wrap his strange cape around the body, keeping him warm and secure in one of his arm and started searching for the exit.
The outside world was too bright for the beast, but he didn't care.
He looked at the sleeping figure in his arm, making sure that he was alive before heading off...
He doesn't know where he's going, but he feels like he's going the right way
Not long after, he stumbles upon a building...a mansion in the field.
The smell of grapes was dominating the area.
The place felt familiar, but he didn't dwell on it. His instincts told him to go up to the door and let out a loud growl..
loud enough to alert something…or someone.
The door quickly opened with a startled man in the doorway, red curly head of hair and bright crimson eyes.
He feels like he could trust him...he feels like he doesn't need to attack him.
''c..childe? what are you-''
The man freezes up upon noticing the bundle in his arms
his face drains from color when he notices the state that his brother is in.
Diluc is not one to dawdle nor ask useless questions when he needs to act quickly. He can ask them whenever he makes sure that Kaeya is well and awake.
He takes kaeya from the beasts arms and shoots orders at his workers.
None of the words seemed to register in childe’s head
His hand twitches from the emptiness...but he knew it was okay to hand the precious person to this Redhead.
He could do nothing but watch now.
He hasn't moved from the spot...
He knows that the person is inside the manor...
few others come by later and he feels a twitch in his muscle to slice them in half...but the redhead doesn't seemed alarmed by them
are they here to help his treasure?...
his mind is so foggy...
He feels his chest twisting so he scratches it, trying to alleviate the pain
Unsurprisingly, it does not help. What else can he do though? so he waits and keeps scratching.
a while passes.
He doesn't know how long, but the sky is not so bright anymore.
He sees multiple floating lights surrounding the grapevines... The gentle teal glow feels soothing to his mind, but only a little.
distracted, he didn't notice the redhead come up to him in an apprehensive manner
''Childe?...''
As if his words reached his ears in a delayed manner...he turned his head after a few seconds passed.
He now stares at the man below.
Even when he's sitting down against the tree...the man in front of him is still smaller by comparison.
''why aren't you changing back?...''
silence
''...tartaglia?...'' Diluc waves his hand in front of the beast, but he doesn't even get a single movement.
The redhead frowns with confusion.
''are you stuck?...shit...what...what the hell happened?...i...''
He runs his fingers through his own hair and sighs in a frustrated manner.
''shit...what the fuck do i do about this?...kaeyas not awake yet so ughh,,''
Upon the mention of the name, the beasts head raises a tad bit in interest.
Diluc, noticing that- fully turns back to the beast.
''...would you...like to see him?...''
The beast could only let out unintelligible gurgles
''....right...'' Diluc glances up at the balcony and points
'Get up there. i don't think you can fit through the doors inside.''
His face trails to where diluc is pointing...sensing familiar smell and presence of his treasure.
Without a word, he got up and Teleported there without hesitation.
Diluc stared at the beast with a startled expression,looking at where he is standing now
''lord barbatos,, what the fuck was that,,''
Childe leans forward to fit through the balcony door frames after he sees the people in the room leave to let the man rest.
He sees him....kaeya. laying on the soft mattress, patched up and healed.
He looked exhausted.
Ah that twist in the heart came back again
He doesn't care about that, he ignores it in the favor of getting closer to his treasure...
he gets down on his knees in front of the bed and stares at the others chest rise....fall....rise...fall.
Steady breathing, unlike when he first found him
Good...good.
his instincts told him that he was safe now...his darling was safe.
He reaches his hand in, using the back of his finger again to not hurt the fragile creature with his nails...
he slides his blue bangs away from the forehead
leaning in to press his own against it.
The gentle breaths reached his face...mask.
it was soothing...the ache in his heart was slowly dulling.
He purrs,feeling the other relax in his sleep.
safe.
His treasure is safe.
He needs to stay with him and help him recover now.