Change

The night seemed to stretch into an everlasting wonder of talking and drinking wine. Mark liked the taste, making sure to drink his fill to the point that he felt a little tipsy. Lisa seemed to be holding well, despite her cheeks being faintly reddened the more time they spent together.

"Well, I sure didn't expect to spend too much time here, but I sure liked it. Now if you'll excuse me," said Mark, sitting up with a slight wobble, barely noticeable. Perhaps he had drunk a little more than he'd have liked.

Lisa regarded him with a pout, flashing a buzzing purple line of energy between her thumb and index.

"Come on, sweety, stay for one more glass," cried Lisa, trying to reach over for his arm. He chuckled, motioning for her to sit up.

"Come on, time to get moving. I'm tired, and I'm not going to leave you here alone, drunk as you are."

Resigned to her fate, she got up, holding herself steady with both palms placed firmly on the table. Mark took a deep breath before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, trying to help her stand.

She gave a heartfelt laugh before staring at him, her voice slightly sultry as she held on to him to the best of her abilities.

"My, Mark, to think you'd be so forward with a drunk lady such as myself."

A vein pumped on Mark's arm as he tried to keep his annoyance in check, forcing himself to calm down.

"She's just drunk; she doesn't realize what she's saying," thought Mark, repeating the words over and over like a chant he held close to his mind, infusing it with the sober wisdom that he still held.

Step by step, they made their way back to the Knights of Favonius building, where Mark tried to figure out a place to leave Lisa. He couldn't just dump her wherever, and trying his luck at asking for help was sure to end up biting him in the ass way more than he'd even dare think.

With a sigh, he took her upstairs, staring at the door that led to his room. His heart thumped loudly as he began walking along the hallway, his steps seeming longer and longer the more he walked. Somehow, it all felt wrong. Resigned, he grabbed the door knob, twisting it, revealing an empty room neatly arranged. It was one of the rooms that were empty, awaiting the day someone would live there.

For the night, Lisa would grant a room the pleasure of being its occupant. He laid her on the bed, at which point she was half asleep, squirming slightly with his every move. He made sure to cover her with a blanket before leaving, taking one last look at her as he left, noticing her green eyes follow him between half-open eyelids.

"Mark... come lay next to me..." 

He shook his head, speaking softly, as if to a child.

"Sorry, but I can't. I'll get going now."

"Come on, Mark, there's enough space for the both of us," pleaded Lisa, unaware that it was the wine that did the talking in her stead. Mark chuckled slightly, waving his arm dismissively.

"No means no, Lisa. Perhaps if you asked me that while sober, I might have considered the offer. Now rest, since tomorrow your head will hurt a little."

He walked off, closing the door behind him despite her pleading for him to stay. Stumbling, he made his way to his room. It wasn't the drunkenness that got to him—it was his fatigue. Spending too much time awake tended to have funny effects on him. Alcohol did wonders only in large doses, while fatigue did worse in smaller quantities.

Tired, Mark still said his prayers before heading to sleep, falling like a corpse on his bed. His eyes lingered for a moment before shutting tightly, opening only after a few hours—a moment in which the sun's rays played along his face, teasing him awake.

He got up, a light dizziness pressing against his mind—nothing he couldn't handle. Sometimes he recalled the days when a sudden feeling of vertigo crushed against him, rendering him useless for a good while.

"Ugh, I'm hungry... and I think I need to rush to the bathroom." 

Half an hour later, and he was done with everything for the beginning of his day. He had gotten used to moving around the place, feeling like it became his home more than the place he had grown up in.

"I'll miss this place, that's for sure. Still, I need to keep going; otherwise..." muttered Mark, staring down the stairs.

"Otherwise what?" 

Intruding upon his little monologue was Lisa, smiling weakly at him as she moved closer.

"Otherwise, that's business,"." said Mark, cutting the conversation short with a firm answer.

"Secretive as always, it seems. I hoped that some wine would make you open up, yet even that failed. Perhaps I could lure you in with the same offer as yesterday."

Her eyes glistered with playfulness, feeling that shone brightly before Mark, drowning him in. Luckily for him, swimming in the metaphorical way came easy, while swimming for real was still a foreign concept.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass it up. I hate it when people pretend to like me only to get something they desire. It's the ugliest thing in my eyes—beside other things, that is."

She chuckled, walking before Mark, her eyes glued to his.

"My, I'm inclined to think that you are, perhaps, affected by a disease or sorts, one that makes you less..."

Mark sighed, bringing his palm to his forehead, running his hand through his hair.

"No, I'm quite healthy in any regard; I'm just a man of faith, and I'm trying to resist temptation whenever possible."

He walked down the stairs, going for the main door.

"Where are you heading now?" asked Lisa, standing before the door to the library—her duties were still hers to take care of.

"I'm going to tie some loose ends here and there before Ras, Aether, Paimon, and I take our leave for Liyue. I have a feeling that these few days will be rather uneventful, so I only hope to get some more training here and there."

She nodded, understanding his words, yet a hint of regret did show on her face.

"Truthfully, I'm sorry that you have to leave. I was getting used to having you around. Still, make sure to visit, ok?"

A soft smile appeared on Mark's face as he nodded, thinking to himself that one wrong step could easily result in him not visiting any place, no matter where. Still, a hint of uncertainty was thrilling in its own right. Despite knowing the world fairly well, Mark still needed to figure out more and more about it.

The thought of his very words—those spoken in a fit of frenzy—combined with the room they found in the ruins told a story different from what he had gotten used to. Part of him knew why it happened as such, yet those feelings were something he didn't need.

Lisa nearly went out of sight as Mark spoke.

"We'll leave, but don't worry. I might forget names, but I never forget faces. No matter when or where, I'll still recognize all of you."

With that, he closed the door behind him, striding through town, walking with a charaded confidence that only he knew.