IC INBOX (austice)

[fortunepreserved]

Qiqi can be found just about anywhere. She walks around town and the nearby environs at all hours of the day and night, quietly picking her way through whatever plants she can find. In the winter, she spends a lot of time brushing snow aside to see what lays beneath.

Sometimes you can find her doing her daily exercises.

Qiqi does not have a permanent residence, but will spend time in the communal areas of the residence halls. She tends to forget where she's left her belongings.

Qiqi has a phone, so you can also call her or text her or facetime her anytime.

Comments

12/19

[moraxlapis]

(Zhongli will find Qiqi while she's wandering around town, picking at plants.

He remembers the little zombie girl and her.. mentor? handler? The doctor, Baizhu.)

Ah, hello. Little Qiqi, isn't it? You're far from home tonight, hm?

(There's a few different ways Qiqi's fuzzy little brain could remember Zhongli. He's the man who looked for cocogoat milk with the Traveler before telling her that there are no such thing as cocogoats. He's also the man who wanders the markets spending money he doesn't have. And he's also the man who works at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor-- the place that awful Hu Tao runs.)

[fortunepreserved]

_{[ The Cocogoat Incident has been lost to a hole in Qiqi's gem, but there's so many other places she's run into Zhongli! She's sitting on her knees with a small gardening fork, stubbornly attacking the frozen-hard soil to get at... some kind of tuber, when she hears him. She looks up... and up. ]}

Wangsheng... uniform...

_{[ she's frowning at him. ]}

No thank you. Qiqi still does not want to be buried.

[moraxlapis]

(Oh dear. Hu Tao must have given the poor thing quite a fright, if that's the first thing Qiqi remembers.)

It's alright, Director Hu Tao isn't here to try and bury you.

I know you're alive now, Qiqi. So don't worry.

[fortunepreserved]

_{[ no Hu Tao... maybe being in Helltown is fine actually <3 ]}

Good. I already told the exorcist no thank you, too. Qiqi is fine.

You are... um... <sub>[ time for the notebook again. rather than starting near the end for her recent entries, qiqi starts at the first pages. to do lists.... medicine recipe... drawing of dr. baizhu and changsheng without faces... a page with three dossiers!

'traveler, blonde. quiet. small flying thing.' 'zhongli, dark hair with ombre, golden eyes, rambles.' the word 'wangsheng' is crammed in as a later addition. finally there's 'childe, fatui, orange hair, red mask. lots of money. coconut milk.'

huh. dunno what coconut milk is. ]</sub>

Zhongli. You were friends with the Traveler, too.

[moraxlapis]

That's right. The Traveler is a good friend of mine-- they were an invaluable ally in saving Liyue.

You're all alone here, aren't you? No Dr. Baizhu?

(Baizhu is a very intelligent man, and Zhongli respects him. However, something about the man's treatment of Qiqi puzzled him. Not quite a daughter figure or student... he wonders what a little zombie girl is doing working there in the first place.)

[fortunepreserved]

No Dr. Baizhu on the island. No Dr. Baizhu in Mr. Lark's registry. No Dr. Baizhu.

<sub>[ which is a bit of a pain, considering she still has a delivery to make. right now she's in the process of gathering the list again after none of it crossed over with her from the island.

...well, as much as she can get anything on the list. she's been having to use her 'acceptable substitutes' list a lot, too, and even that's been... ]</sub>

Qiqi wishes he was here.

[moraxlapis]

(So she misses Baizhu.. That makes sense, considering he's the only person she sees most of the time.)

It's alright, Qiqi. I understand it must be difficult without him.

Well.. while you're here, you could consider it a kind of vacation from your usual work at the pharmacy.

[fortunepreserved]

No. Still have to make my last delivery. Can't go on vacation until my last orders are done.

_{[ diggy, diggy, dig. ]}

[moraxlapis]

Eh? You have deliveries to make even here?

Well, let me help you. What are you looking for?

(What's even growing in the dead of winter right now, anyway?)

[fortunepreserved]

_{[ After finally prizing free a Mysterious Lumpy Tuber, she tucks it in her basket. Qiqi stands up, brushes her hands off, and digs out the ol' notebook. ]}

Qiqi still needs...

Pine needles.
Tree ear.
Basil.
Chamomile.

Qiqi might not be able to finish until spring.

[moraxlapis]

That's... an interesting mix. But there's plenty of pine needles around in the winter; those should be easy to find.

Chamomile.. well, you could go back in town for that, perhaps. I could go for a nice chamomile tea myself... and basil is a common ingredient for cooking. Little Vivi is a cook, perhaps he has some to spare.

[fortunepreserved]

Vivi... Um...um... Could you talk to him? I haven't met him.

Saw lots of pine. Can't reach.

[moraxlapis]

(Qiqi must be a shy girl. That's ok.)

"Ah, I'll be sure to ask when I next see the boy, then. And.. oh, I see. Here, let me help you then."

(He gestures for Qiqi to follow him to the nearest pine tree. He summons a pillar just tall enough to reach.)

"Would you prefer I get them, or do you want to climb?"

[fortunepreserved]

Wow~...

_{[ the Geo energy in the pillar is comfortingly familiar... Qiqi rests her little hand on it a moment before she tries to climb. ]}

It's nice. The rock is cold. It feels like Liyue.

Qiqi is glad Mr. Zhongli is here, even if you work for that awful person. It was lonely not being in Liyue anymore. Qiqi doesn't like to leave for too long.

<sub>[ she might forget the way back. Qiqi said all that stuff, emotional though the word choice was, in her usual airy monotone.

Without waiting for a response, she starts clambering up the pillar. ]</sub>

[moraxlapis]

"I miss home too, Qiqi. I'm glad you are here too."

(he chuckles a little at her comment on Hu Tao.)

"Careful up there. Try not to fall."