[Zhongli is out on a walk despite the foreboding weather. He feels more restless than usual. He's also looking for Venti, who wasn't at his house when he went to visit him. There had been no cheerful text message this morning (the kind he liked to ignore), even though he planned on responding to it. Venti has made it a point to text him almost every single day since they reunited for... some reason, so it's unusual to have silence.
As the rain starts, Zhongli retrieves an umbrella from inside his long coat and flicks it open in one graceful motion. That wouldn't be such a big deal, except the wind is making it more like a fucking monsoon. He notices crystals forming on his coat like he's in a cold winter storm, except they are clearly crystals. That's not normal.
He stops across the street from a café and considers crossing the street so that he can get out of this annoying rain, which is trying to freeze him in place. He makes a noise of displeasure and abuses his Jade Shield to form a nice barrier around him that keeps the crystals at bay for a minute. That's much better.
The microburst seems to be tapering off, at least, and dialing back to a steady rain. He's about to resume his walk when he sees a familiar teal flash go darting into the road. What the—]
Venti!
[He hurries closer only to see a car narrowly avoid the selfless bard. It's such a near thing that Zhongli can see the driver panic and lay on the horn before speeding off with a squeal of their tires. At last he stops just behind the bard, and holds the umbrella slightly forward to shield Venti from the rain, too. Hopefully that will make the situation less dire.]
There you are, [he says with the same tired consternation in his voice as a thousand years ago.] Did you even bother looking before you ran into the road? You need to be more... cautious.
[He notices Venti is poring over something and drops to a crouch, still holding the umbrella to shield them both. Maybe it's a wound?]
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As the rain starts, Zhongli retrieves an umbrella from inside his long coat and flicks it open in one graceful motion. That wouldn't be such a big deal, except the wind is making it more like a fucking monsoon. He notices crystals forming on his coat like he's in a cold winter storm, except they are clearly crystals. That's not normal.
He stops across the street from a café and considers crossing the street so that he can get out of this annoying rain, which is trying to freeze him in place. He makes a noise of displeasure and abuses his Jade Shield to form a nice barrier around him that keeps the crystals at bay for a minute. That's much better.
The microburst seems to be tapering off, at least, and dialing back to a steady rain. He's about to resume his walk when he sees a familiar teal flash go darting into the road. What the—]
Venti!
[He hurries closer only to see a car narrowly avoid the selfless bard. It's such a near thing that Zhongli can see the driver panic and lay on the horn before speeding off with a squeal of their tires. At last he stops just behind the bard, and holds the umbrella slightly forward to shield Venti from the rain, too. Hopefully that will make the situation less dire.]
There you are, [he says with the same tired consternation in his voice as a thousand years ago.] Did you even bother looking before you ran into the road? You need to be more... cautious.
[He notices Venti is poring over something and drops to a crouch, still holding the umbrella to shield them both. Maybe it's a wound?]
What is it?