deernet | 3rd Battle | UN: Childe / Video

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3rd Battle | UN: Childe / Video

[The video opens to a bright and smiling Childe, bandaged up across his head. The rest of the bandages are hidden beneath his clothing, because he's bundled up pretty well. You couldn't tell he was injured otherwise. He seems to be sitting on a small folding stool on a frozen lake, somewhere in the woods outside of the city. His fox Omen is holding up his Omni for him in its mouth, because this really isn't something so dire that he needs to be broadcasting it directly through other's Omens. A small fishing rod, probably the third of the size of a normal rod sits on the ice beside him, along with a few buckets, a very large backpack and some other equipment]

Hey there! As you can see, the frost and snow has really settled in now. Ah, it's breathtaking, isn't it? The way that the desolate landscape allows the snow to shine against that bright sky...but anyhow. It took a while to find the time, but I finally was able to find a few lakes out here that aren't completely dead. So, I thought it would be nice to share my favorite hobby with all of you.

[There's a hole that's clearly been drilled into the ice in front of him, a little smaller than he's used to, but it works.]

You see, where I come from, ponds and lakes are frozen over so greatly that you can tread on it as hard as you please, and the ice will never shatter. The fish in these lakes dwarf that of the ones that reside in your normal ponds. And in Snezhnaya, it's always been a great past time to go out ice fishing. It requires a little more patience, but I assure you it's always enjoyable. I'd be more than happy to go into detail about it. And if you want to come, well, I'm here now. Might as well take the few precious moments we have to relax, yes?

[He says that, though he still uses ice fishing to train. He pauses for a moment.]

Oh, and...I've already taken the time to remove some of those pesky traps left over from last month that were laid in the woods. Just the ones that are on the way to these lakes. They were of no consequence to me of course, and you should be able to travel to at least a few of the lakes around here without much issue. No guarantees though.

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Oh. That...I wonder why.

[But not too hard because she's already moving on.]

What kind of fish are you hoping to catch?

Anything! I don't know what fish are even in this lake. This is the first time I've been on it.

[He got a few small ones before he started broadcasting though.]

The size of the fish are a little disappointing, but beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes. In Snezhnaya, the fish are sometimes the size of small fishing boats. You really don't want to get one of those on your line without proper help.

Interesting.

[She's moving around some, audible through the feed.]

Where are you? I want to see how this works. If it gets this cold, it would be good to know how to fish in the ice.

This particular lake is just southwest of Gaze in Sanguine Forest. It shouldn't be too far to walk.

[Excellent, more fishing buddies.]

I'll be waiting, make sure you've bundled up well. The cold is unforgiving, after all.

I will be alright.

[It's no colder than parts of Atlantis had been, at least.

It doesn't take her terribly long to appear, either, wearing a heavy cloak and thick, fur-lined clothing. She's even adopted the local style of boots over her kóthornos-style sandals for the chill. This was so utterly unlike Greece, and she had been forced to adapt.

Ikaros cries out as he streaks by overhead, fluttering down on the ice ahead of Kassandra, and she trots the rest of the way over to Childe.]

I was in Gaze already, fortunately. Hello, Childe.

[It's obvious she's near when the familiar eagle passes overhead, and his head turns to see Kassandra approaching. Waving, she'll see that he's already gotten another folding stool out for her to sit on, another fishing rod set up, and bait prepared for her to use. He figured he'd wait to show her the rest.]

Long time no see! You're looking well.

[Time flies when you're fighting everyday, doesn't it.]

I've already got things ready for you. How have you been? It's been quite a bit of time since we last saw each other.

Well enough. I've been...mostly just honing my craft, I suppose.

[By that she means murdering the fuck out of monsters. The brace of beast-teeth dangling from her hip is as good an indication as any of what she's been up to.]

What about you?

[Don't mind if she does take a seat. Setting her weapon down, she grips the rod, during it over in her fingers curiously.]

Other than fishing, obviously.

Edited 2022-01-05 06:46 (UTC)

I've been facing off in my own battles, to be sure.

[All last month. God, that's all he did.]

So you've never been ice fishing, eh? I think you'll enjoy it. It can hone your mind as well, at least that's what I like to use it for.

[He leans over to pick up his hand cranked ice auger.]

I suppose we should start by making a hole for you, shall we?

Hopefully you aren't the worse for wear then.

[Not that she doubts he can handle himself.

Though, yes, okay. She nods and moves a little away.]

Do I just use the auger? Or is there a trick to it?

[He shoves the auger down, the pointy end of it lodging into the ice.]

Here, I'll show you, and then you can drill your own hole. It's quite simple, actually.

[And he begins to turn it from the handle on the top, the blades rotating into the ice for several minutes before his arms push down suddenly and water flows up onto the ice around the hole. Lifting it back up, he hands it to her.]

You just need a little bit of elbow grease. This is a wonderful invention- in Snezhnaya, we didn't have such a thing. We had ice picks that took us most of the morning to use just to create a hole to fish. Now, I can do it in five minutes.

Oh, no trick then.

[She accepts it, slides a bit away, and stabs it down, turning the crank.]

It is nice, yes. We've got augers where I'm from, though they're mostly for carpenters and shipwrights. The Greek Islands are much warmer than here.

I suppose that is not true for you.

Not at all, [he confirms.] The cold of my home barely lets up all year, and winter is especially hazardous. It easily puts the wintry weather of Trench to shame. If we didn't keep moving, we'd freeze to death. Literally.

[He watches her work, as he knows it takes a bit of muscle to bore through the thick ice. But Kass is strong, she can handle it easily.]

The technology I've been able to acquaint myself with over the last year has impressed me. Even a commodity such as an auger is wonderful, and yet you've already had them in your world. Sometimes, I really do wonder what I miss out on.

[Turn, turn, turn the crank!]

I suppose a great deal. If it is that cold, I cannot imagine you have many trees, or much call for ships, and barrels. Those are really the only things I can think this is used for in Greece.

[Well, a few other things, but mostly that.]

Do you want to go back, ever?

[He's about to tell her how his hometown is actually a seaside village, but her last question stops him.]

I...

[He'd accepted that he'd probably never go back. But he can't express how badly he wants to go back, even if he'd made the choice to be here.]

...I do. I miss the cold of my home so much some days that it's hard not to think of anything else. The same goes of my family. I always find myself wondering how they've been faring, and how much my siblings have grown in my absence.

Then...is there something stopping you?

[She gives him a not-unsympathetic look.]

I know we can leave, go back into the sea at any point...

By dying, you mean?

[He was unaware of that option ~~because he doesn't know anyone who's dropped yet~~ but...as badly as he wants to go home...]

Even so....no matter how badly I want to see my family, I have no real need to rush it. I did come here for a reason.

Can we not just return? I know a couple of people have spoken of those voluntarily going back.

[There were some announcements on the network!]

But, if you have no rush, then...tell me why are you here? What are you seeking?

[He falls silent, eyes returning to the hole in the ice for a moment. It was personal, and it's not that he minds sharing, it's just how much of it he wants to share.]

I'm simply seeking answers.

[He supposes that's the easiest way to put it.]

Answers that I'm not sure if I'll find, but it's important to me to try.

I suppose you could say we're similar, in that.

[Though, her answers are more 'what is life like without the meddling of the Isu' than anything particularly personal.]

Do you have siblings? A wife? Children?

Hahaha, I haven't started a family, no. I do have several siblings, whom I care for greatly. Though I mostly look after the three youngest, Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer.

[His eyes brighten at the mention of his brothers and sisters. They mean everything to him.]

And what of you? [It would be a bit rude not to ask!]

It's...complicated for me.

[She keeps drilling as she thinks how best to answer.]

I am unmarried, and I will probably remain so. And I have no patience for children of my own.

But I have a brother, Alexios, but...we've only just been reunited...and I have a step-brother named Stentor. And my parents, Nikolaos and Myrinne. Though, we've also only just been reunited too.

Just reunited? That sounds like it might have been difficult on you.

[He sits patiently, waiting for her to finish drilling.]

I am happy to hear you've been reunited with them, though. Where I come from, family is incredibly important, so it's hard to imagine not being able to have them in my life in some capacity. I take it you've all been able to catch up with each other?

[She does, and her boot smacks down hard into the hole to knock out any remaining ice. Just to be sure.]

In Greece, it is the same. But, our situation was not...normal.

[Now here's the rub. She doesn't have as hard a time talking about this now, because she's murdered all of the perpetrators...but not so very long ago this was an important secret.]

A Cult thought that my brother and I were a part of some prophecy, and tried to have us killed. I was to be killed by being tossed off of a cliff, and Alexios, who was a baby, was abducted instead. So, my parents thought were were both dead and went into hiding.

I discovered this. The Cult is dead, now. Entirely so. [Save for 1, but Aspasia was a vexing figure.] And we were just getting back to being a family again when I woke up here.

That's quite the tale.

[And she didn't even get into details!]

I'm glad to hear all of you survived. Though I hope you dispatched them yourself. I know if it were me, I'd of marched right up to all of them and made them pay for that transgression.

[And then ripped away from them so soon after being reunited...he feels for her, really. That's terrible.]

Every last true believer died by my hands, and mine alone. I allowed one to live, because she and I have...a complicated history. And I do not believe she was one of the truly faithful.

[So she'd killed literally hundreds of people, really.]

It was not about revenge though. That helped motivate me, but the Cult was dangerous, and meddling in every aspect of Greek life.

[And that? That was unacceptable.]

Something we need to be vigilant about here, too, I should think. Trench feels as though it could easily breed dangerous cults.

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