burn us to the ground | @delusionalist

[twinklings]

[ There's something truly special about Liyue's Lantern Rite. Not only the meaning of it, but the decorations, and the way the people of the city seem to have smiles on their faces no matter where they go, even when they're thinking of their departed loved ones. There's great food and drink, all sorts of games and activities to play, and overall an amazing time to be had. Which is mostly why she's here— inspiration for Inazuma's next festival is always a good thing, and with the Sakoku Decree over and the borders open, she couldn't help but want to see how the Liyue people plan a party.

(Although, in Yoimiya's humble opinion, the fireworks could serve to be a little more spectacular. They're beautiful, of course— fireworks always are— but an event like this deserves more pizzazz.)

Her mind is still full of fireworks when she spies a familiar face a short distance away; recognizing him instantly, the young woman's face breaks into a smile, and she waves, calling his name with no hesitation. Even on the crowded streets, her voice carries, but she stands on tiptoe and waves again for good measure before hurrying over to him, checking his shoulder with a friendly bump of her own. ]

Fancy seeing you here, O Anti-Mujina Specialist.

[ The words are said with a playful lilt in her voice, a broad smile up in his direction, another jostle against his shoulder. It's not that Yoimiya doesn't trust the Traveler when they tell her that Tartaglia is dangerous, that he's done bad things in the past. She knows the Traveler is someone she can trust— they're someone she does trust. It's just that her experience with the Harbinger has been so vastly different to what she's heard. He's friendly, he saved someone he didn't have to save, and he's good with the kids to boot. And the occasional letters they've exchanged since his return to Snezhnaya haven't given her any reason to change her mind on the topic.

So she smiles. ]

If I'd known you were gonna be here too, I would've brought some extra arrows. You still owe me that shoot-off, remember?

Comments

[delusionalist]

Sure am~, but sounds fair enough to me! It wouldn't be any fun if we did let our visions do the work anyway instead of playing for fun.

(Not a lie either. He finds it more interesting to work at these times without using his vision, that and really he can't say that he wanted to cheat knowing that he didn't just have his vision between it and the techniques he was taught down in the Abyss. Additionally, he did notice how she's looking at him in both cases. Between the gaze that finds his confidence attractive with how he had a certain pep to his walk, a swagger that oozes he's not going to back down easily once he gets ready for this little 'game'.

He won't go with his plan of missing the targets then but he'll for now play it easy. Let her think she's got him on the ropes before he goes for the kill, just as he's always done with these moments since wouldn't it be more entertaining for there to be thoughts of the underdog winning over the big bad Harbinger?

Childe thinks so anyway once he laughs, that grin so wide but hiding every part of his darker thoughts again. All of them tucked away to prevent some manner of interruptions from ruining what is suppose to be entertainment for themselves, him especially, knowing that he didn't always get these chances.)

Hope you're ready to see how good I am even with my little handicap~! I'm more than willing to keep going as long as it takes win or lose.

(Oh, she is in for it now with how this flares his own competitive spirit, that side that will relish how this plays out thoroughly since he rarely takes a slow approach.)

[twinklings]

[ Her eyes are, of course, bright with excitement. For as much as she talks, she isn't really expecting to win— she is honestly just happy about getting the chance to test her skills against someone who is an adult. She loves playing with the children, but they can't give her an accurate measure of her skill— plus, she's the type who'll lose to them on purpose to make them feel more confident in themselves.

Which isn't to say that she minds losing. To her, every time she doesn't win, it's an opportunity to learn more about how she can improve— and coming in second place to a Fatui Harbinger doesn't seem so bad anyway.

What's surprising, then, is the fact that two rounds in, she's pulled ahead of him in points. His aim is good, but not quite as accurate as hers, it seems— or at least, that's the impression he's given her through his playing the long game. The effect is clearly visible on the young woman, an extra liveliness to her as she finishes counting up the points, hands on her hips. ]

Ah... hmmm~ Seems like you're a little bit behind, Tartaglia... Maybe we should up the stakes a little, huh?

[ Not that she has any idea right now what she might suggest; she's just getting swept up in the competitive spirit, the excitement of the fact that her score is ahead of his— yet not far enough to give her reason to believe he's holding back. ]

It just seems like if I lose from this position, you oughta get something real special, you know?

[ Anyone else might read into her words, especially with that grin on her lips. But they come from a genuine place, something playful and fun and just that little bit over-confident. ]

[delusionalist]

Hmm? What are you thinking about then?

(The long game was worth it seems like. Every inch of it since he did do it just to see what might go on for a change; normally Childe would play with those who he might be interested in with some manner of game in mind. The long con even if it comes down to that once he idly looks over the targets again briefly.

Since she seems to be enjoying herself he can take this to mean something special could happen like she's saying; he has to wonder what it was she could have in mind to begin with. Maybe something boring, but who knows? She did seem interest and he didn't seem to dislike her either; she has his attention fully which can get bad.

Bad enough that most sane people would practically turn tail and run but she's innocent and unassuming anyway. Unassuming to the point he almost feels bad for her learning about how he really is as their friendship goes on.)

Who knows, maybe I can make a strong comeback~!

(He just won't mention what he's thinking either, Childe is more interested in seeing what could happen were she to go ahead and raise these stakes.

Anything is possible sure, but, whenever it comes to his entertainment and enjoyment he has to see if it's something worth his time. Something fun or something that he'd play for keeps with.)

[twinklings]

[ For the second time in just this afternoon alone, Yoimiya thinks to herself that there's something attractive about the man standing nearby her. Too often she's seen people overcome with a stubborn kind of determination in this situation, an "I can't possibly lose!!" sort of mentality that only lets them down in the next round when they do exactly that. She's been guilty of the same in the past, and it somehow makes the missed-out-on victory even worse. In her mind, it's better to just do your best the whole way, whether you win or not. At least that way you have fun.

But Tartaglia seems to have neither of those attitudes. Rather, there's an easy sort of confidence to him, a conviction in the way he holds himself that says he will win, not that he needs to in order to prove himself. And somehow, she thinks that if he were to lose from here, he'd maintain that same posture, even if it wouldn't make sense for him to do so in the moment. He'd learn from it the way she does, and he'd come into it next time with even more confidence...

Yeah. It's incredibly attractive.

It's with all that in mind that she offers him a playfully lusty wink, a bright laugh following it as she stretches, as if to limber up for their final round. ]

Mm~ If you beat me from here, as well as buying you dinner... How about a kiss from the Queen of the Summer Festival?

[foulentrophy]

A kiss, huh~? Why not make it a date or maybe a step further?

(Oh no. She has his interest, she definitely caught his interest in this and he's already primed and ready to go for it; all it takes is figuring out just what else it is that she might want to do. Confidence, that's a nice thing but he's definitely not going to let himself go down without a fight if she makes this worth his while given that a kiss is interesting enough. It draws out his competitive streak easily. All it'd take is him having to step it up knowing he held back to see not only what she could do but find out if it could make things more interesting.

So far the answer is pointing toward a yes, it is making it interesting. He won't overdo it were he to win on the dinner and he's definitely going to sneak her money back to her as a small parting gift for the evening since he can easily figure out where she's staying at. He does have his ways but he won't use it for anything necessarily nefarious~, or that's just what people are going to think depending.

He can use it to his advantage some other time.

Although maybe he can also come up with something or other to see what he can do, too, considering he doubts she'd just want to return back to Inazuma without some manner of chance to take in more sights.)