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[ He likes to think his words will help, but Lumine can be so hard to read sometimes that he isn't sure whether he's done more harm than good until she responds. Maybe he's getting better at understanding her, at seeing what she doesn't show so easily.

And then she leans against him, just enough that her hair falls over his shoulder, his stomach fluttering in a way that both excites and unnerves him. ]

Don't mention it. I just couldn't stand to see you cry.

[ Exhaling, he leans his head down so his cheek rests just on top of her hair. He isn't thinking. It's just...nice to be close to her like this. ]

[ couldn't stand to see her cry - and yet it was his kindness that ultimately brought the tears. funny, how man meets destiny on his road to avoid it.

but she does not weep openly. with her eyes closed, she can better hold them back, and as his head comes to rest against her own, she feels.. comforted. secure. he smells nice, familiar for how often they have been in close quarters, and she finds, with surprise, that he feels something like home. a similar feeling she has when she's with aether.

and for now, lumine is silent, allowing the salty sea breeze to caress her flushed face, her body beside him relaxing. ]

[ Peaceful moments are few and far between in the life he leads, and most of them do involve the sea and a fishing pole. Most of them don't involve another person - at least, not like this. Not leaning into someone who can take him down in a fight, who foiled his plans at every turn, someone who continues to challenge him and draw him in. They should be bitter enemies, and yet -

He exhales a long, slow breath, his free hand lifting so he can wind his arm around her, hand resting on her shoulder.

What a strange path theirs has been, but this feels right. At least...it does to him. Maybe he shouldn't -

Before he can decide one way or another, his fishing line gives a little tug. ]

Oh! A bite!

[ He grabs his pole! Minigame time again. ]

[ his arm coils around her, and without thought lumine finds that she is sinking into him effortlessly, her body heavy, as if a great weight has been lifted. when was the last time she allowed herself physical comfort? not since before arriving in teyvat, surely. and with childe of all people -

but then the moment is broken by the tug of a fishing line, and lumine is quick to straighten up, her soft edges gone again. it was nice while it lasted. ]

Don't let it get away!

[ He won't, though he needs both hands for the pole, and he gets to his feet for better leverage. ]

It's a big one!

[ One of those really annoying ones to catch where the marker thingy is really small and keeps wiggling back and forth!!! Man, I hate fishing minigames.

A moment later, though, he emerges triumphant, hauling up this. ]

[ uwu childe it's so big

even though she doesn't have to, lumine gets to her feet also because it seems like the right thing to do in the moment, and also because it's easier to cheer him on that way. ]

Wow! It is big. And terrifying. Aren't there any.. non-horrific fish in these waters?

If our haul so far is anything to go off of...that'd be a no.

[ Out comes another water blade so he can slash the fish. It immediately stops wriggling. ]

These should be enough to feed us and then some. That is, assuming they're actually edible. Only one way to find out!

That sounds perfect. I've certainly worked up an appetite.

[ between the fishing, and the unexpected feelings jam.. she could use some food. carefully, she begins reeling in her line, before setting the pole over her shoulder and lifting her bucket. ]

[ He does the same, collecting his things and picking up his bucket to start back towards the beach. ]

What do you say we do this the good, old-fashioned way and cook them up over a campfire? It'd almost be like we're real adventuring partners.

[ with a pang, she is reminded of his confession, of what he admitted to her so nonchalantly in the pool hall. that night may have ended in a drunken haze, but she did not forget. though she does not bring it up, either. ]

Is there any better way to grill a fish?

Haha, that's what I like to hear!

[ There is now a montage of them building a fire on the beach and cutting open the fish. They sure smell weird and look weird inside, but this is apparently not enough to convince Childe not to roast them over the fire. So they have a nice line of fishies hanging over the flames, cooking up nice while the sun begins to set on the water.

It's a warm, comfortable scene, and Childe wears a smile that reaches his eyes as he crouches in front of the flames. ]

It didn't look like any of them had any kind of venom in them, so we should be safe to eat them. Probably.

[ love to see a montage!! lumine is clearly not afraid to get her hands dirty with the fish, and she knows her way around it as well, slicing and gutting like a pro. she's lost count of how many times she's grilled fish in the wilds.

she sits in the sand beside the fire, and the fish smell surprisingly good as they slowly roast. his smile is contagious. ]

Probably. Well, I've certainly eaten strange looking things before.

[ she's been to a lot of worlds.. ]

Once it's all carved up, it'll look like any other fish meat, anyway. Which one are you going to try first?

[ He reaches over the fire to poke the big one with the teeth. ]

I'm considering this one myself. He was a fighter.

[ HMM. she points to the blobfish. ]

That one. I'm really curious about the texture. Though I want to try them all.

He does look like he'll be rather...chewy, doesn't he?

[ They should be almost done by now! Childe begins the process of untying the fish so they can skewer the meat onto sticks they sharpened into kebabs. A little seasoning or some veggies would be nice, but it's not as though he came out here today expecting to be cooking on the beach. ]

At least if one of them is poisonous, as long as we both try all of them, we can die together.

[ ah.. he's such a romantic. ]

Wow.

[ if only she had access to her protag bag of holding, full of so many delicious ingredients and spices.. ]

Well, I'm told it isn't permanent here, anyway. I can't really understand that.

I heard something to that effect as well...apparently in the last game, there were several deaths among the inmates, but they all came back. Difficult to wrap your mind around, isn't it?

[ It's something he hasn't really attempted to grapple with yet himself. He had a way of pursuing death like its his prey, a thing to outwit. What does it mean if you can just...come back? ]

More than difficult. It hardly makes sense at all. Maybe death simply isn't real, here.

[ maybe they aren't true deaths, but what could she possibly know about that? ]

Death is the only guarantee in life. To take something like that away, our Warden would need to be even more powerful than the gods themselves.

[ she plucks up one of the skewers at last - the meat seems as done as it's going to get. ]

Maybe she is. But that shouldn't stop us.

[ lumine, after all, has fought a god before. ]

[ It APPEARS cooked, even if the meat of these fish is still kind of a weird color. Oh, well, salmonella, here they come! ]

Stop us from what?

[ HOW DID THAT GO FOR U LUMINE ]

[ I MEAN, IT TURNED OUT FINE... I'M TALKING ABOUT THE RAIDEN SHOGUN!! don't look at her about miss heavenly principles ]

Trying to leave. Trying to stop her. Unless you want to stay here, but I imagine you have plenty to return to.

Of course not. But that won't stop me from making the most of being here, either. Think of how much stronger we'll be, when we return to Teyvat.

If it sticks. I was told that time here is.. odd. Teyvat stands still while we linger here.

[ which is.. a consolation more than anything else. ]

But I hope you're right.

[ He'd heard that, too, and if it's true, that makes him even less in a hurry to get back. ]

When have I ever been wrong, comrade?

[ That's rhetorical question. ]

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