Chapter Text
Childe had not checked the weather forecast, as he so often forgets to do. You’d think he’d learn, growing up in a place with unpredictable snow storms. But no. And thus, he didn’t bring his umbrella. Glumly, he stares out at the pouring rain and steels himself for the walk home. Being a foreign exchange student, he doesn’t have a license to drive in Liyue, which usually isn’t a problem because he doesn’t live very far from campus. But on days like today, he kind of wished he had bothered to apply for one before leaving Snezhnaya. Well, not that he had a car anyway. And he doesn’t particularly want to shell out for a taxi; his part-time job doesn’t pay that well, and he kind of needs to eat. And all of his classmates have already left because he stayed behind to talk to the professor, so he can’t bum a ride off anyone this time...
With a heavy sigh, he makes sure his backpack is firmly zipped up. At least it’s waterproof, so his books should be fine. He checks his cell phone one last time before storing it securely in an inner pocket, so even if water did somehow manage to get inside, it shouldn’t reach his valuable electronics.
And then he steps out into the rain, regretting his life choices. In an instant he’s soaked head to toe, and there’s nothing to do but trudge through the downpour back to his apartment. At least it’s not very far, but the storm makes it seem twice as long as usual. He decides to take a rather unwise shortcut through a rather seedy alleyway, hoping that the downpour would keep any ne'er-do-wells away from their usual hangouts. Childe keeps his head low, trying to prevent the rain from blinding him, shielding his eyes with his hands.
And it’s because of this downturned gaze that he spots it: a sad, soaked stuffed animal, lost in the alleyway by some child. He almost walks right past it, but something tugs in his mind. Something not quite right. Something about the way the rain rolls off its back. It doesn’t look like fabric.
Curious, Childe crouches next to the plushie to inspect it further. No, it’s definitely not made of fabric. Well, the mane and the ridge down its back are clearly fur, but its hide is definitely made out of something hard and smooth, much like scales. A lizard of some sort? Tentatively, Childe reaches out to touch it, and nearly falls backwards as it moves.
It’s alive.
It can’t be. It doesn't look like any animal Childe knows. Four legs, scales, fur, a long snout, claws, and horns - he's seen depictions of creatures that look like this: dragons. But dragons aren’t real - they’re the stuff of myths and legends. And they’re giant, not the size of a house cat. It must be some sort of lizard he isn't aware of. But this thing, whatever it is, is clearly alive. And now that Childe looks closer, he can see that it’s shivering. Poor thing - how long has it been out here? Did someone abandon it? Did it get lost? Regardless of how it got into this predicament or what it really is, it clearly needs help. So Childe scoops it up, surprised at how heavy it is compared to its size (it’s a good thing he works out), and holds it close to his chest as he jogs the last few blocks back to his apartment. The animal feebly nuzzles into his chest, tugging on Childe’s heartstrings.
Childe slams the apartment door shut behind him, barely remembering to lock it before dropping his bag on the floor, all concern for the contents inside gone. His only concern now is helping this poor, shivering thing in his arms. He kicks off his shoes and rushes to the bathroom, not even caring that he’s dripping water everywhere. First things first: they both need to warm up, and fast. He can feel himself shivering as well, his wet clothes wicking all heat from his body.
Gently, he sets the animal onto the bath mat while he turns the tub faucet on to as hot as it will go. While the water warms up he strips down to his underwear, not even bothering to admire his exquisite form in the mirror as he so often does. He kneels next to the tub and tests the temperature of the water: searing. Good. He plugs the drain and picks up the lost animal, who has stopped shivering by now. From what he knows about hypothermia, which is a lot, considering he’s from a perpetually snowy region, not shivering is bad. It’s still cold to the touch, so stopping shivering at this point means that it’s too weak to try and warm itself up any more. And, now that he has the chance to look at it more closely in better lighting, it’s clearly some type of lizard, but not like any he’s ever seen. About the size of a house cat, its scales are a rich chocolatey brown. Golden hair forms the mane around its neck and the ridge down the center of its back, culminating in a poof at the end of its tail. Two similarly golden curved horns sprout from its head, only about as long as Childe’s middle finger. But strange as it is, aren’t lizards cold blooded? That’s even worse. He needs to warm this creature up as fast as possible.
Not waiting for the tub to fill any more, he holds the lizard-thing close to his chest and sinks into the tub, sighing in content at the pleasantly hot water. Briefly he wonders if getting into the tub almost naked with a possibly wild animal is wise, but he’s already doing it, so who cares. He can already feel a strange connection to the creature, an inexplicable draw to protect it and learn more.
Childe can feel his own shivers subsiding as the water fills the tub, submerging his legs and the lizard’s tail. It stirs and begins to shiver once again, which elicits a sigh of relief from Childe. He turns off the tap with a foot before the water can overflow the tub and sinks down into it, submerging most of himself and the creature in the water. He carefully pours water over the lizard’s exposed scales with his free hand, the other still holding it firmly, but gently, to his chest. He marvels at the thing’s rich, chocolatey scales that feel much like a snake’s and its golden mane. Again, he wonders what it could be. Dragons aren’t real, and yet... this thing looks so much like the illustrations in books he’s read. Perhaps someone was experimenting with crossbreeding lizards to produce such a creature? He’ll have to look into it later.
And then it opens its eyes, and Childe forgets to breathe. The lizard’s deep, golden eyes shine with an internal light, glowing softly above its short muzzle; they're captivating. Childe can't look away, immediately lost in their depth. They focus on Childe and widen, almost in shock, if such a creature can experience that emotion. Then they’re shut just as soon as they opened, breaking the spell on Childe, as the little creature nuzzles into his chest, making a soft sort of whimpering sound. Childe shivers, though not from cold, and hugs the... probably not a lizard, already feeling an odd deep connection to it. He sinks lower into the water so that only their heads are exposed. The little one weakly crawls up to nestle into the crook of his neck.
“It’s okay,” he murmurs, gently stroking the creature’s back. “You’re safe with me. I’ll take care of you.” Somehow. He thinks about his bank balance, and how he only has a few mora left. But here’s this incredible creature who needs his help, and he knows he has to. He’ll figure it out, despite now needing pet supplies, and pet food, and vet bills... but he’ll deal with that as it comes. For now, they are safe and warm, and that’s enough.