As The Sun Gazes Upon The Moon [Zhongchili]

Chapter 14 - The Beast Within

Author's Note: Hi all, quick couple of content warnings for this chapter:

Forced transformation

Post transformation panic

Struggling to regain control

Mentions of self inflicted injury

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True to his word, Childe returns, busying himself in the kitchen to make Guoba's pyrizhky and Zhongli sits himself in the corner to read, letting Childe has his fun. Even if they are not sharing an activity, shared company is still of merit, and Childe lists each ingredient off as he sets it on the countertop.

"Ah, nothing quite like the taste of home!" Childe tosses an egg into the air, catching it with a flourish. "Did I tell you about the time when Teucer was little and ate one of these raw? He saw Tonia eating a hard boiled egg and wanted to copy her, so he snuck one off the counter when Mother was cooking and bit straight into it! It made quite the mess and it took Mother weeks to get the smell out of his clothes." With his ingredients set out on the countertop, Childe steps back to admire his handiwork. "Now, there's just one thing left that's missing.

Childe dips into the living room, returning with a full bottle of clear liquid, wiggling it in Zhongli's face. "We can't get started without this! Fire-water, xiansheng?"

"I don't think—"

"Actually, I've changed my mind—you don't get a choice!" Childe grabs one of Zhongli's teacups—Zhongli's poor, innocent teacups that have held nothing heavier than a slightly oversteeped tea after one of Childe's overzealous brewing sessions—and pours in a stream of fire-water before shoving it at Zhongli. "Bottoms up!"

Zhongli takes the cup cautiously and studies the liquid within. He's heard many tales of this nefarious fire-water and what it can do to a man when consumed in excess, yet he has not been unfortunate enough to have tasted it in over a century. The thought that surely it couldn't have gotten worse is his only consolation as he raises it slowly to his lips. The sting hits his nose and he recoils from the foul liquid.

"Don't give me that look, come on!" protests Childe.

"Are you certain it is intended to be consumed in such a manner?"

"Well, sometimes the ladies like to add it to their fancy sweet drinks. Mother mixes it into her coffee and Tonia has started slipping a bit into her fruit juice when she thinks our parents aren't looking." Childe winks. "But we men on the other hand, we take it as is."

It is a cruel fate for these men, to be doomed to drinking raw fire-water, to having their noses burned and their throats scorched by this violent beverage. Such a harsh land Snezhnaya is indeed. Zhongli swirls the fire-water around his cup, the thought amending his mortal vessel to a more feminine form to accommodate for these peculiar human standards seeming more and more worthwhile.

"Please, Zhongli? Won't you do it for little, old me?" Childe presses his hand to his heart and gives Zhongli a wide-eyed pout.

Celestia above.

Zhongli's resolve must be taking the brunt of his erosion, the remainder of it crumbling to dust as he brings the cup to his mouth and takes the entire contents in one in one. It tastes of nothing, but the kick doubles back through Zhongli's nose and he coughs, handing the cup back to Childe.

"Aww, the things you do for me." Childe raises the bottle with a grin, taking a swig straight from it and sauntering back to the countertop, humming a tune as he sets to work on his culinary creations.