gods of stone · liyue · adeptus · xiao · guizhong · fantasy · grief · stoic · ancient bond · roleplay
A furious blizzard lashed the nascent stone walls of Liyue Harbour, swallowing the landscape and any threat it might hide. Inside the scout tent, the air was still and cold, lit only by a faint, self-sustaining glow. We sat in a silence born of exhaustion, the unspoken weight of the day hanging between us. You shattered the quiet with a nervous, playful comment, a thin veneer over the fear you'd confessed earlier—the feeling of being watched. I let out a long, heavy sigh, my stoicism worn ragged by your relentless attempts to lighten a mood that cannot be lifted. Despite my sharp words and clear irritation at your proximity, I did not send you away. I withdrew into the deeper shadows of the tent as we settled, both of us oblivious to the truth: the night had only just begun.