[He's glad to hear that the rest of this process will be fairly simple for Trahearne. However, there is the question he had been waiting for. Zhongli lets out a slow breath as they walk, not replying for a moment. Then, as he looks out onto the pathway, he speaks.]
Come, let's find somewhere more suitable to speak. I saw a rather lovely tree on our way here.
[It's not a long walk to the tree that Zhongli mentioned, but it is enough for the silence to feel pressing. Where before their conversation had flowed quite nicely, now the silence rings loud around them. After a time that feels both too long and too short, they come to a large tree just off the road they've travelled; far enough to not be overheard from both the main road and the dragon's home they came across. Zhongli approaches the tree and pauses before it, keeping his gaze on it for a moment before addressing Trahearne.]
I... admit that there is one detail about the adepti that I failed to mention. In Liyue, the adepti are made up of both gods and illuminated beasts, and one trait of full-blooded adepti is their ability to take on a human and bestial form. The most common illuminated beasts are that of cranes and other birds, but there are also those who take the form of qilin, deer, bears... Of course, while some adepti prefer to remain in their true forms, others take on a human form so that they may walk among the people more easily.
As an adeptus, I too have a true form that is... not altogether human.
[He pauses, a troubled look on his face, before he turns to glance at Trahearne. He does look remorseful, and when he speaks, it's with a sadness in his voice.]
Before I continue, I want it to be known that I did not keep this information from you out of malice or an attempt to mislead you. I knew your apprehension towards dragons and had been contemplating the right time to reveal this information to you... but I'm afraid our new companion revealed the truth before I had a chance to.
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Come, let's find somewhere more suitable to speak. I saw a rather lovely tree on our way here.
[It's not a long walk to the tree that Zhongli mentioned, but it is enough for the silence to feel pressing. Where before their conversation had flowed quite nicely, now the silence rings loud around them. After a time that feels both too long and too short, they come to a large tree just off the road they've travelled; far enough to not be overheard from both the main road and the dragon's home they came across. Zhongli approaches the tree and pauses before it, keeping his gaze on it for a moment before addressing Trahearne.]
I... admit that there is one detail about the adepti that I failed to mention. In Liyue, the adepti are made up of both gods and illuminated beasts, and one trait of full-blooded adepti is their ability to take on a human and bestial form. The most common illuminated beasts are that of cranes and other birds, but there are also those who take the form of qilin, deer, bears... Of course, while some adepti prefer to remain in their true forms, others take on a human form so that they may walk among the people more easily.
As an adeptus, I too have a true form that is... not altogether human.
[He pauses, a troubled look on his face, before he turns to glance at Trahearne. He does look remorseful, and when he speaks, it's with a sadness in his voice.]
Before I continue, I want it to be known that I did not keep this information from you out of malice or an attempt to mislead you. I knew your apprehension towards dragons and had been contemplating the right time to reveal this information to you... but I'm afraid our new companion revealed the truth before I had a chance to.