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[outofoffice]

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[leaveofabsence]

[ BUT IT'S GOOD FOR YOU. ]

I see you took quite seriously the last part of my request.

[outofoffice]

[ He'll nurse it . . . very slowly. For Morax. ]

Which one was the last part?

[leaveofabsence]

Lift your own spirits or that of another.

. . .





You did not come to this state by yourself, did you?

[outofoffice]

Nnnnooo . . . definitely not . . .

This isn't gonna be a "don't drink alone" lecture, is it?

[leaveofabsence]

Of course not.

Because you did not drink alone. Am I correct?

[outofoffice]

Correct! So there's nothing to worry about!

[ No promiscuity lectures either, today is a win ]

[leaveofabsence]

Good then.

[ And he points to one of the unoccupied tables in the dining area. ]

Shall we talk?

[outofoffice]

If this setting is okay with you, yes.

[leaveofabsence]

[ A bit of a shrug ]

The cameras have already seen everything.

[outofoffice]

Mmm . . . fair enough.

[ Wandering over to drop heavily into one of the chairs ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ Before Zhongli sits down, he leans down to properly redo Venti's braids.

It's been bugging him since Venti showed up. ]

[outofoffice]

[ Oh right, that . . .

He holds very still, eyelids fluttering now and then like the gentle, rhythmic tugging could put him right back to sleep. ]

[leaveofabsence]

[ He pats them flat when they are done to his satisfaction. ]

Did you fall asleep on me?

[outofoffice]

Nope.

[ Running his fingers over the completed braids a few times ]

I'm wide awake.

[leaveofabsence]

[ He takes a seat, crossing one leg over another as he folds his arms across his chest ]

How many dreams did you wander through?

[outofoffice]

[ Not quite the question he expected . . . ]

Only two, including yours.

[leaveofabsence]

And how did you fare in the other one? You need not give specifics if you wish to protect the privacy of the dreamer involved.

[outofoffice]

Ah-- Well . . .





[ yeah. ]

[leaveofabsence]

. . .

[ He places his hand carefully over Venti's ]

[outofoffice]

Since you asked, I take it you were a traveler as well as a dreamer.

[leaveofabsence]

Yes, I traveled several. Five different dreams, in fact.

[outofoffice]

How cruel. Not that I'm surprised.

[leaveofabsence]

I suppose it is. But---

That is not why I asked.

I was just thinking how much difficult it was to wake the dreamer from the dream then to dream the dream itself.

[outofoffice]

. . . What?

Are you sure about that?

[ Not that Venti would have frame of reference to know himself ]

[leaveofabsence]

Yes. The dreamer does not decide whether or not to wake, after all.