Chapter Text
It wasn’t exactly uncommon knowledge that Paimon was bad at reading faces.
Body language, facial expressions, confusing puzzles, she usually left that all to the Traveler. Not intentionally, at least, not at first. She had just learned quickly that he was much better and much faster, and so she stayed behind, watching. Learning. She’d improved over the years.
But her proficiency was still far from perfect.
That was especially true in the Akademiya.
Students of all darshans swarmed the library in the House of Daena, crowding the shelves, conversing at tables, or sweating over papers. The librarians were adamant that the crowd remained nearly silent, but after the hundredth group project turned into an argument among colleagues and the thousandth book dropped to the floor with a loud thud they gave up, anarchy reigning inside the towering white walls.
Paimon navigated between the crowds with ease, floating around slow walkers and making her way to a shelf. The Akademiya had almost doubled its workload after the incident, and crowds like this, while unusual a week ago, were becoming increasingly more common.
A small group near the shelf noticed her and started whispering.
“Woah, isn’t that the student who never attends any lectures?”
Another voice snickered. “I heard that Alhaitham himself recommended her, and ignored any complaint letters sent to him by the teachers because she skips so often. Sheer favoritism, if you ask me. That girl needs to learn that being buddy buddy with the higher ups isn’t going to get her anywhere. Who does she think she is?”
“Seriously. I bet she doesn’t have to do any homework either. Just show up occasionally and get the credit, no work needed.”
“Ugh, that’s so annoying. We do so much and she does so little and gets better grades.”
“Does she think she’s better than us or something?”
Paimon nearly dropped the book she was actively grabbing from off the top shelf.
She tried to contain her rage to not much avail as they continued to murmur. How could they say things like that?! She’d been excused from a majority of lectures because of her travels, but in return she had to read extra notes and textbooks and do more homework then should have been demanded of anyone ever. If anything she was doing more work, and on top of saving the world as well.
Still, she didn’t say anything.
Didn’t whip around and yell something about how they didn’t have the full picture, how they were making rash assumptions, etc.
Instead, she descended from up high and floated off, ignoring the comments in favor of work.
“She’s so ignorant. Bet she couldn’t hear us if we yelled her name.”
Paimon scoffed, but the group either didn’t hear or didn’t care.
On any other day Paimon would have yelled. Caused a scene. It had happened before, once or twice. Someone had said something, she had yelled back, and they had just laughed. That was the part Paimon had never understood about the Akademiya. It was impossible to understand who was joking, who was upset, who was just spreading rumors for the thrill, and who was just trying to get a rise out of her.
Gosh, if only the Traveler were here.
.
He’d been gone for a day now.
She was starting to get anxious, but she’d give him the time he asked for in a letter left on her bedside table. With no explanation. With no goodbye. With shaky handwriting. With vague apologies and shallow promises to come back.
Okay, Paimon’ll admit it, she’d been anxious for a while. It’d started to affect her mood.
But that didn’t stop the Akademiya work from piling on her.
And now she had to work on a group project with some kid she’d never even heard of before.
Paimon wasn’t complaining, oh she’d never complain. That’d only make the taunts worse. ‘Oh poor little Paimon who gets to skip classes had her best friend go missing and suddenly her life is the worst. Woe is her. And now she has to do a group project, oh the horror.’
Instead, she’d try diligently to keep up with her work to distract herself from the fear that he wasn’t okay. Because he’d be okay. He always ended up being okay.
Right?
She wound through crowds of people, searching for the table her partner had said to meet. She’d been notified by a single paper slipping onto her desk with a note scribbled over unfinished homework. They didn’t even leave their name, just a place and time.
Some people stared at her as she passed. More pretended not to. Most of the tables were already full of papers and students arguing over chemical symbols and language barriers. Was Paimon sure her partner had managed to score a spot? Was she sure that hadn’t been left there for someone else? Or as a joke?
She circled the large room once or twice, observing every table, every student, every bookshelf, looking for someone who matched the description of ‘looking anxiously for my group partner’.
.
“Over here, dingus.”
The voice came from a table she had already passed by three times. A single girl sat on one half, while two scholars argued at the other. She was accompanied by a large stack of papers that had the appearance of having tried to be organized before giving up halfway through.
Paimon took the empty chair in front of the girl, placing the book she grabbed neatly between them.
She had messy white hair, short in the front and weaved into a long braid that cascaded over the floor in the back. Her uniform jacket drooped lazily around her forearms, as if it had fallen and she couldn’t be bothered to put it back. The undershirt had been altered so much Paimon swore it was illegal; patches, embroidered designs, and extra scarves completely rejecting the original aesthetic. She leaned back casually, eyeing Paimon with tired red eyes as her uniform hat fell off, landing on the ground with a soft thud.
“Paimon’s pretty sure you can’t wear your uniform like that,” She stated plainly.
“No one asked.”
Paimon was taken aback. Wow, rude. “Well, Paimon’s Paimon.”
“I figured,” the girl muttered. A beat, then she continued begrudgingly, “I’m Ruue.”
Paimon tried her best to smile. “Nice to meet you, Ruue!”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Have you read the material we need to go over yet?” Ruue asked, gesturing to the depressing stack of papers beside her. Paimon was absolutely going to lecture this girl on her attitude later.
“Yep! Though she was a little confused by some of the content in the third chapter. Did you understand that part?”
“That was the easiest part, idiot.”
“Well,” Paimon started, at a loss for words. “Paimon just has… a unique way of understanding things! Everything else was super duper easy!”
Ruue rolled her eyes, grabbing a few papers from the middle of the stack and sending the rest flying across the floor. Paimon went to pick them up, hardly bothering to organize them before placing them back on the table. The girl didn’t thank her, just continued to flip through pages until she found what she was looking for.
“Here,” she began, sliding a sheet forward and pointing at a paragraph under a section titled An Elaboration on the History of Kinematics. “Is this the part you were struggling with?”
Paimon skimmed the paragraph. “Yeah, that and the next few. Paimon didn’t understand what that segment meant.”
“It didn’t mean anything. The professor told us to skip over that part because it was ‘irrelevant and offensive to his eyes.’”
“Oh.” Paimon paused. “That chapter was really easy then.”
“Yep.”
They sat there for a second, staring at each other in silence.
“You ready to begin then?”
“Oh! Yeah, Paimon’s ready.”
“Then hurry up.” Ruue grabbed an empty sheet from the top of the stack and passed it towards Paimon, grabbing another for herself.
This girl was getting on Paimon’s nerves already. She might not have the best reputation because of baseless rumors, but even that didn’t warrent this…blatent disrespect! Paimon can’t have done something to deserve this already, so what was up?
Hmm…Oh! Paimon gets it! Ruue must be dealing with something super hard right now, and so she’s accidentally taking out on her! Maybe if Paimon just gave her a few days she’d be back to normal and they could work together properly. Yep! Then all will be forgiven and perfectly fine! Or maybe she could help Ruue through it, and they could become friends in the process.
“...What’s that look for?” Ruue accused Paimon, disdain clear in her tone as she glared at her.
“What look?” Paimon asked, distracted from her train of thought.
“The pitiful one.”
“Wha- Paimon’s not pitiful!”
“Your face says otherwise.”
Okay nevermind. Paimon doesn’t forgive her anymore. Later, she’d go back to the Traveler and tell him everything and get him to…
Get him to…
To…
.
oh.
He wasn’t here.
Right.
She ignored the deepening well of despair in her stomach and opened the book she got down from the shelf earlier, bending over it and beginning to read.
This was going to be a long day.
…
The House of Daena had begun to empty when Wanderer entered. Large white columns supported several floors of bookshelves containing information from the biology of grass to a random fanfiction scribbled in the margins of A Compelling History of the Archon War. A central elevator encased in support beams held up an elaborate chandelier that lit the whole room, encasing it in a yellow light bright enough to give someone a headache. Tables were laid along the floor, where people congregated for various Akademiya related reasons. He walked along the upper deck, looking down the bridge at the mess left by careless students rushing from place to place.
He really hoped he didn’t have to clean that up later.
Like the other scholars, he was here because his professor had decided he didn’t have enough on his plate already and assigned him and his classmates an extra 5 hours of homework a day. Unlike the other scholars, however, he didn’t plan to stay for long.
He never understood the appeal of studying in a library. It was loud, large, and anyone could look over your shoulder at any moment and copy your work. His plan was simple. Get in, get the book he needed, get out, work at home. He’d already completed step one.
The problem came with step two.
The book wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
He scowled, scanning the room for the perpetrator. It can’t have gotten far. He’d asked the librarian earlier and she said it was still in, so someone was reading it in this room. Or they misplaced it, and it was on the wrong shelf.
That was the easier option, so Wanderer went with it.
He skimmed the shelf, looking for the familiar title.
Then he skimmed the one next to it.
Then the one next to that.
.
Eventually he gave up searching with a sigh. It must be on one of the tables, being read by some brat with a smug expression, knowing they were an inconvenience to him. Either that or the student actually needed the book for their project, and he’d have to wait or find someone else with another copy.
He roamed through the giant building, casually looking at each student and table as if he wasn’t actively scanning for something he desperately needed.
The first was mostly clear of work, just a single blank piece of paper in the center of the large wooden table. Two men sat in chairs next to each other, chatting casually as if they came here just to skip working, somehow. The blonde on the left said something witty, leaning forward with a raised eyebrow as the brown-hair with glasses on the right laughed boisterously, putting on a fake accent and responding in sarcasm.
Nothing there.
The second table caught his eye, partially due to the large commotion occurring around it. A small crowd had gathered around two boys standing on the table–one with short blonde hair and one with shaggy brown, a green stripe through the front. The blonde yelled something and the other screamed back something profane in response, winding up his arm and readying a punch. Between them a man with fluffy hair and black eyes was physically pushing them away from each other, trying to get them to stop. Despite the tension of the scene, when a professor came by to yell at them they stopped immediately, laughing to each other as they all sat down and began to work as if nothing happened.
Odd, but not what he was looking for.
The third was much calmer than the other two. Two girls, both with long, flowing hair and bright eyes worked diligently on what seemed to be a group project. But on closer inspection the packet of papers they had filled out was not labeled for any specific subject, instead being titled “murder plans” with a small sketch of a camel being worked on by the brunette. The ginger was avidly searching through books on the history of Grand Sages, giving detailed descriptions of each and every one and what they all had in common. The other laughed softly at this as she finished her doodle, turning the paper to let the ginger see.
No useful information there. Though maybe he should report that, just in case they were serious.
He found the book at the fourth table, hidden under five others. There was only one girl there, with a long white braid and a clear hatred for the school uniform. She looked up at him, and Wanderer gestured towards the book casually.
“Are you using this?”
“Nope,” she replied simply, sorting through the mess of paper in front of her.
“...Can I borrow it?”
“I dunno, can you?”
He scoffed. He didn’t have time for this. She glared, challenging him, and for a while they stood there, conveying their mutual hatred for each other through eye contact. Finally, she gave in.
“Whatever. My partner grabbed it by mistake anyway.”
“...Thanks.”
.
Man, these students were weird.
But the second step in his grand plan was now complete, and so he turned to head out. Though the sheer amount of students had thinned by the time he came in, there were still far more than usual congregating among tables and around doors. Pushing through the crowds that thickened around the entrance, he made his way to the head librarian to check out.
“Just this book for today?” she asked, writing something down and putting the paper into a large pile as he passed it over. She was doing an admirable job keeping up with the crowd, but was still clearly overwhelmed with all these scholars pouring in at once.
“Yes.”
“Can I get your name?”
“Just call me Hat Guy.”
The librarian passed the book back before pausing, as if finding the name familiar. “Hat Guy…Hat Guy…Oh! Lesser Lord Kusanali asked to have you sent to the Sanctuary of Surasthana; she wanted a word with you.”
Well, there goes his plan.
He sighed. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She didn’t hear his response, already sucked up in her pile of papers.
.
It wasn’t like the Archon to call him in like this. Usually she came to him physically, finding him at the most inconvenient times and forcing him to talk to her. This…was different. Part of him wanted to ignore the summon, go home, maybe take a nap, then start on that book. But part of him also recognized that something unusual meant something important.
And so, with great effort, he turned to leave the House of Daena and meet the Archon. New plan. Meet the Archon, see what she wants, go home, go to bed, do work tomorrow. His professor would be upset he didn’t start earlier, but surely the Archon calling him in counted as a good excuse.
As if the universe had a personal vendetta against him, that plan was immediately in shambles.
He was suddenly forced backwards, stumbling as someone ran into him. Books scattered to the floor, a loose envelope spilling out of the margins. The person who ran into him flew backwards, landing on the ground with a thud. She was small, with short white hair and–oh. It’s Paimon.
“Gah! Paimon’s sorry, she wasn’t paying attention to– Hat Guy? What are you doing here?”
“Is it really that unusual for me to be inside the Akademiya?”
“Oh! Right, Paimon forgot you were a student here too.” She lifted herself upright, floating just above the ground as she rushed to pick up her things. Gathering her books in her arms she prepared to float off, ignorant to the small envelope that had slipped out earlier in her haste.
“What’s this?” He asked, going to pick it up for her. Confused, she turned and saw what he was referring to, sobering a little.
“Oh…Actually, Paimon wanted to show you that,” she mumbled, taking on an entirely new demeanor, awkwardly taking the envelope out of his hands. With delicate precision and masked pain in her eyes she slipped a single piece of paper out of the envelope and handed it to Wanderer, not elaborating on the contents as if acknowledging it would make the hurt more real.
That in itself told him this was serious.
She hardly ever acted like this, anxious and quiet and not elaborating on things. Not since the Traveler was kidnapped in Nod Krai.
Oh.
Oh please don’t be that.
He hastily unfolded the sheet and scanned the contents.
…
Dear Paimon,
Sorry for leaving you without saying anything, but I have something to take care of, something I have to do alone. I can’t say what, for fear of the letter getting into the wrong hands, but I trust you can get an idea. I’ll explain everything after, I promise. Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself, and I know you can too. Just give me a few days.
I’ll be back before you know it,
Traveler
…
What?
“Paimon noticed he was acting a bit weird these past few days, but then he left this on her bedside table during the night. He…he didn’t even wake Paimon up to say goodbye.”
.
..
Crap.
Wanderer studied the paper, hoping to make sense of what he was seeing. The handwriting was definitely the Traveler’s, but something was off with it that he couldn’t place. Pen smears made several words hard to read, combined with the subtle shake in the letters indicated he was in a rush to write. The page was weathered and wrinkled, likely torn hastily from the adventure handbook. Faint tear stains wrinkled the edges of the sheet, which he hoped came from Paimon and not…
“The Archon needs to know about this,” He announced before his brain fully caught up with what he was saying.
Paimon seemed shocked, as if she hadn’t expected him to take her seriously. As if she had convinced herself that if she showed the paper to anyone they would brush her off, telling her it would be fine. As if she believed that was what she wanted, so she would think everything was normal.
Wanderer hastily continued, crossing his arms and attempting to hide his panic. “I’ve also noticed how weird he’s been acting lately. Paired with this, I think we can conclude that something is going on. It wouldn’t hurt to investigate, and I was going to head over there anyway.”
Paimon was quiet for a while, thinking. Considering his opinion. Dealing with the shock that this was real and actually happening and she wasn’t overreacting. At least that was what Wanderer assumed, based on her complex expression and clouded eyes. Then, after an extended silence:
“Yeah, Paimon thinks you’re right. We should go tell Nahida.”
“Then let's go.”
.
They ran.
He nearly shoved people out the entrance of the Akademiya, pushing through the doors and racing down winding paths that weaved around the giant tree holding up the city. The sanctuary wasn’t far, and yet the pair arrived at the large, elaborate doors out of breath. They swung open as he approached, and inside he saw Nahida standing beneath the center structure, talking to Kaveh and Alhaitham.
No time to observe his surroundings. He approached the group.
“Wanderer!” She chimed when he was within talking distance. Despite the cheery greetings, there was seriousness laced beneath her tone. “I’m glad you got my message, I need your insight on-”
“The Traveler is missing.”
.
“What?”
…
The Dendro Archon reread the letter three times before passing it to Kaveh and Alhaitham, each adopting a grave expression in turn as they read the contents.
“He wrote this?” Alhaitham asked as he studied the paper with furrowed brows. He was always the type of person who had to confirm facts before concluding anything, thinking of every possible solution.
“Yes,” Wanderer answered after he had fully caught his breath.
Kaveh tore the letter out from Alhaitham’s hands. “He’s written to me before, and his handwriting is distinct. Not easy to replicate.” He didn’t do much to hide the fear in his tone as he analyzed it more closely. “What could possibly cause him to leave without a word like this? Where did you get this? Is there a secret code or something? Elemental tracings?”
“Paimon found it on her bedside table just last night,” she interjected, voice quiet and wavering, anxiously fidgeting with her hands. “Do you think he’s okay?”
Alhaitham gently took the note back from Kaveh. “We need to confirm he isn’t okay before we go overreacting over nothing,” he concluded, directing the comment more towards Kaveh than Paimon. Kaveh was suitably infuriated.
“Oh YOU ARE JUST-”
“Don’t get started. I don’t have time for this.”
This only agitated Kaveh further.
“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO STARTED! SAYING I’M OVERREACTING WHEN THAT'S CLEARLY NOT NECESS-”
“Relax,” Nahida interrupted, speaking for the first time since seeing the letter. “We can’t go arguing with each other over this.”
Surprisingly Kaveh stopped, breathing heavily. He definitely glared at the large man, making sure his point got through telepathically, but his breathing slowed and he seemed to somewhat calm down.
“There’s something wrong with the note,” came Wanderer suddenly, gaining Alhaitham’s attention.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t quite know how to explain it. It’s definitely him who wrote it, but it’s…off.”
Nahida and Alhaitham paused, doubtful. Kaveh took the opportunity and took back the paper, reading it over again.
“He’s…he’s right.”
The Archon looked up.
“What?”
“Somethings off with it. The handwriting is way more messy than usual.”
Paimon floated forwards, having stuck mostly behind Wanderer during the conversation.
“I…Paimon noticed it too,” the fairy almost whispered, voice cracking. Her eyes shone with moisture, lip trembling although she put much effort to keep it steady. It seems they had forgotten her in their haste to figure out the mystery. “She knows his handwriting better than anyone. It almost looks like…” She paused, having to force the next words out. “He was in pain.”
“Oh, Paimon.” Nahida stepped forwards carefully, the gentle love of a god shining in her eyes. “You must be taking this so hard.”
Paimon’s breath hitched.
.
They hugged.
The motion was quick. Pure. Nahida grabbed Paimon around the shoulders and pulled her in, encasing her within her arms.
Paimon hugged back, hands curled into fists around Nahida’s gown, already sobbing as the goddess held her gently, a faint loving smile on her face as she shut her eyes. Now that Paimon had let the tears start they didn’t want to stop, flowing down her face and dampening Nahida’s clothing. She didn’t seem to mind.
“I just…” Paimon hiccuped, voice breaking. “I don’t know what to do without him.”
Nahida didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.
She softly rubbed Paimon’s back, giving the girl a safe space to let out all her emotion.
.
Paimon wailed. She’d been keeping it in all day, the stress of being alone. The anxiety of the Traveler, her travel companion, her best friend not being okay. She had gone about her normal life, forcing herself to believe nothing was wrong because the world didn’t stop when she wanted it to.
But the world was stopping now, just for her.
.
Nahida began to hum softly, an old tune often sung by Aranara.
.
..
Paimon’s hiccups slowed.
.
Her breathing steadied.
.
Slowly, the constant flowing of tears lessened.
Then stopped.
.
She hiccupped once, pulling away from the embrace.
“...Okay, Paimon’s better now.”
The goddess smiled. “Take all the time you need, we’re not in a rush.”
Paimon nearly broke again, overwhelmed by the kindness she wasn’t usually given by anyone other than the Traveler.
.
They spent a long time in silence before Nahida spoke, giving everyone time to calm down.
“I think…” She began softly, carefully bringing everyone’s attention back to the situation. “I think we can’t ignore the possibility of him not being in danger. I agree that something is wrong here, but we should give him a few days before we start looking for him.”
Alhaitham nodded. “That seems to be the best course of action.”
The rest of the room agreed, one by one.
If nothing changed they would meet at the sanctuary in five days and discuss their next course of action. If he came back, they wouldn’t meet at all. But if something else happened that indicated he was in danger in any way, even barely, they would find a way to find him.
Kaveh and Alhaitham left first, walking home together as Kaveh mentioned something about drinking himself into oblivion. The other muttered something about it being unhealthy, but his complaint went unheard.
Nahida and Wanderer stayed behind, doing that infuriating thing again where she quizzed him on his life. But this time he felt bad, especially after not being able to do anything as Paimon sobbed, and so he was (mostly) honest with the Archon. Mostly.
They finished with their little routine, and Wanderer turned to walk across the room and through the ornate, green doors at the entrance to the sanctuary.
He didn’t notice Paimon was behind him until she spoke, too distracted in his own thoughts and anxieties.
“Uhh…” She started, getting his attention as the doors opened before him. “Can Paimon…stay with you tonight? She can’t sleep alone.”
She glanced at the floor, ashamed by her request, but Wanderer just sighed.
“Fine by me.”
…
Two days after
“And that’s why rooming with Alhaitham is the worst,” Kaveh shouted, taking another swig from his tankard. The alcohol did nothing to ease the architect’s troubles, only making them louder.
Across from him, Cyno and Tighnari glanced at each other, exhaustion visible in both their eyes. He had just finished a telling tale of the horrors of Alhaitham and his habit of stealing slippers, which he gave right after a lengthy complaint session on his most recent client. No one else in the bar seemed to pay any mind to his yelling, as they were already used to his regular tangents and just tuned them out. Cyno and Tighnari, however, were done.
“Don’t you have a client to meet soon?” Tighnari asked, shooting a look at Cyno for assistance.
Cyno nodded, taking the hint. “You shouldn’t drink so much before working. Get yourself a glass of water and try to sober up.”
Kaveh paused mid tangent. “The guy from Mondstadt? He said he couldn’t meet today and rescheduled for tomorrow. Honestly he should’ve given me more warning, cancelling just a day before should be considered illegal.”
Tighnari sighed as yet another attempt at getting Kaveh to stop failed miserably. He swirled the juice in his cup, taking a sip as he half listened to Kaveh complain about some guy named Derek from Mondstadt who was apparently the worst client ever.
This was his fifth time going on this rant. Not that Tighnari was counting.
“He’s just so…insufferable! He has this stupid attitude where he thinks he knows what you’re going to say before you say it. And then he pinpoints every single minor mistake I make, and UGH! He’s such a KNOW IT ALL. This is my sixth draft for him, and he STILL complains. ‘The doors are too yellow’ ‘the roof shouldn’t be that curved’ ‘it shouldn’t go left here’ meh meh meh! He’s so particular for NO REASON.”
“I’m starting to think you just hate smart people,” Cyno muttered under his breath, and Tighnari choked on his juice, covering his mouth to hide his laughter.
Unfortunately, Cyno noticed.
His eyes lit up immediately. “Did you just-”
“Nope. No I didn’t. You didn’t see that.”
“No. You laughed. Admit it. I’m funny.”
“I wasn’t-”
“Yes, you were. I win.”
Tighnari sighed. “Okay, okay, you were funny this time.”
Cyno didn’t seem to hear the second half of that sentence. His whole demeanor changed, posture straightening and eyebrows raising, visibly lighting up. Tighnari just hoped it wouldn’t affect his ego.
The forest ranger turned his attention back to Kaveh, who hadn’t noticed they weren’t paying attention, still shouting about his horrible life. He was pretty sure the architect could talk to a wall and not notice.
…Hey. That’s not a bad idea.
Tighnari leaned towards Cyno.
“Do you think he’d notice if we just walked out?”
Something mischievous glinted in the Mahamatra’s eyes. “Do you want to find out?”
.
Tighnari slowly got off the bench, careful to not make a sound. Cyno wasn’t as cautious, accidentally pushing the table slightly with a large squeak.
They both paused, fear in their eyes.
Nothing happened.
They looked at each other in shock.
.
Tighnari took a tentative step backwards.
Then another.
As if shying away from a wolf’s den they gradually crossed the room, not turning their backs to the drunk who was now officially, actually talking to a wall.
.
Holy crap. It worked. The pair was now on the other side of the room, and Kaveh hadn’t noticed.
Tighnari let out a breath in awe. “Holy cow.”
Cyno made a similar noise. “I didn’t think that’d work.”
“Me neither.”
Cyno crossed to the bartender, who had watched the whole ordeal with barely contained interest.
“If he asks for another drink, give him juice. I don’t think he’d notice.”
“Water,” corrected Tighnari. “It’ll help with the hangover.”
Cyno tilted his head. “He might notice water.”
“He didn’t notice us leaving. He won’t notice if he drinks water.”
“Good point.”
The bartender just cackled. “Sure, I’ll get him some water.”
“And can you escort him home when he inevitably blacks out?” Tighnari asks, fiddling for his mora purse to pay for the meal.
The man sighed. “On it.”
The pair watched him go behind the counter, preparing a glass of water. As if on cue, Kaveh raised his hand and requested a drink, though he couldn’t really get the words out.
.
“Shall we go then?” Tighnari asked, still shook by the whole ordeal.
“...Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”
And so they pushed through the doors leading to a main road, not waiting to see Kaveh’s reaction to the drink. Tighnari let out a breathless laugh, grinning to himself as they walked down the bustling street.
“So, about you finding me funny,” Cyno started, turning to face him with an unusual light in his eyes.
“Oh, shut up.”
…
Four days after
Paimon was really bad at looking for people. Navigating cities, forests, and even deserts were pieces of cake for her, but as soon as it came to a person she was lost. Where did she go? Their house? Their place of work? Ask around? Send a letter?
Thankfully, she had accidentally run into Alhaitham, who was much better at this than she was.
After an awkward conversation (Paimon swears, this guy is impossible to talk to) he gave her directions to a stream just outside the city, where the person she was looking for was supposedly around.
Why there, of all places, Paimon had no clue.
.
The brook bubbled beneath her feet, winding between trees and out sight. She floated along, noting the dragonflies that grazed the water, some daring too close to its surface and being suddenly caught in the tongue of a frog.
The sun burned bright, shining high in the sky and warming the tips of Paimon’s fingers as she floated beneath its glare and across the stream. He should be somewhere around here, right? Unless he had conveniently decided to leave, which would make her life about 7 times worse.
If only the Traveler were here. He’d be able to-
No. She shouldn’t think about that right now.
Still, the thoughts persisted, sneaking into her mind.
It was awfully lonely without him, and Paimon wasn’t faring well. She was noticing him in more and more places. The windwheel asters he loved being sold by a merchant in the city, the golden rays of the sunset that mirrored the color of his eyes, the hilichurl camp they had cleared together just two weeks ago that was flourishing with monsters again.
And every time she was reminded of him tears gathered in her eyes against her will.
.
It didn’t get any easier with the passage of time.
Or with the nights she spent with Wanderer instead. She only stayed there a night or two before going back to her own hotel room, where most of the Traveler’s belongings were still untouched.
She couldn’t bring herself to move them.
She couldn’t bring herself to sleep much, either.
.
Paimon rounded a bend in the stream, and a blonde head of hair came into view.
For the briefest of moments Paimon let herself believe it was the Traveler.
The man sat with his back against a tree, sketching the landscape. The red hairclips that were usually keeping his hair back in something akin to a ponytail were scattered across the floor, and the feather quill kept tucked behind his ear was now in his hand, pressing ink onto paper. His red cape was folded neatly on the grass next to him, so that he only wore a plain white shirt and black pants. He didn’t look up as Paimon approached.
“Kaveh! There you are, Paimon was looking for you eve- Ruue? What are you doing here?” As she moved and Kaveh fully came into view another figure revealed herself, a long white braid sprawled out across the grass.
The girl blinked. “What do you think I’m doing?” She sat not far from Kaveh, leaning back as she glanced over at his drawing, Akademiya jacket now fully off and hung on a branch in a nearby tree.
“Ruue and I were talking about Kshahrewar,” Kaveh helpfully interjected, not taking his eyes off his sketchbook. “She’s been considering joining, so I gave her a layout of what goes on in there.”
“Wait, you mean you’re not in a Darshan yet?”
“Eh. I’ve never put much thought into it. Never thought I’d get it this far in the Akademiya.” She picked a blade of grass and twirled it lazily between her fingers, not bothering to look up at Paimon.
“Then how come you’re in my Vahumana class?” Paimon asked.
“Exploring my options.”
“That…shouldn’t be possible.”
“Don’t worry about it too much, Paimon. Might give yourself a headache.”
“HEY! Paimon’s not dumb!”
Ruue just laughed, mocking her. “This is what you get for abandoning me with the project a few days ago.”
“Paimon didn’t-oh. Paimon totally forgot about that.”
“I could tell.”
.
..
.
The trio sat in silence for a long while, neither Ruue or Kaveh looking up at Paimon. Infuriating. They could at least show basic respect towards her.
.
..
“Well, that got awkward,” Paimon mumbled, moving to sit down on the other side of Kaveh.
“You’re not helping,” Ruue snapped.
“Oh.”
.
.
“Kaveh, what are you drawing?” Paimon glanced over at his paper, filled with lines that hadn’t taken enough form for her to make out the full image.
He smiled, putting down his pen for a brief moment, grateful to have something to talk about. “I’ve hit something like an artblock, and so I came out here to draw the landscape and hopefully regain some inspiration for my current project.”
“Huh. Paimon didn’t know you had artblock.”
“Everyone has it at some point, I just happen to be good at dealing with it. I need to if I want to keep my job, you know.”
“He doesn’t have artblock right now, that’s just his excuse for not wanting to work,” sneered Ruue.
Kaveh’s eye twitched. “I don’t procrastinate on my work, my current client is just…infuriating…and I can’t deal with him right now,” he retorted calmly, though he put excess malice in his words while describing his client.
Ruue rolled her eyes.
“Anyways, Paimon, did you need me for something?” Kaveh asked, taking his eyes off the canvas for the first time.
“Eager to change the subject?” Asked Ruue as she leaned forwards, glaring at Kaveh.
“Yeah Paimon was going to ask-You know what? Nevermind. Paimon’s upset.”
Ruue laughed, egging her on. “upset at what?”
“YOU! Why are you such a jerk to everyone?” Paimon snapped, standing up and floating just above the grass. Ruue seemed taken aback.
“Wow, didn’t know you had it in you to insult me, Paimon.”
“Paimon’s had it. She thought if she gave you a few days you might stop being such a jerk, but you’ve just gotten WORSE! Paimon will talk to you later, Kaveh.”
And with that, she stormed off through the trees, disappearing out of sight.
.
Ruue clicked her tongue.
“Coward.”
…
There was something on Paimon’s bedside table when she got back to the hotel room, slamming the door shut behind her with enough force to rattle the room, fighting back tears.
She didn’t notice it at first, too busy yelling at walls and definitely NOT crying into her pillow. But as the minutes passed and she began to calm down (It had been a hard day, okay?), she properly looked around the room.
A single letter was placed on her bedside table, neatly folded and placed so that the dust around it had not been disturbed.
.
The door had been locked when she arrived.
The window showed no sign of a break in. Well, maybe it did, Paimon wasn’t the best at determining such things.
She carefully observed the room, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Maybe the hotel owner unlocked the door and placed it inside, though that seemed highly unlikely.
.
She opened the letter.
.
Oh, Archons.
It was from the Traveler.
…
Paimon,
I’m not going to be able to come back for a long while.
I know you’re worried, but I’m okay.
Yours,
Traveler
…
“Something’s definitely wrong with this,” came Alhaitham.
After Paimon got over the shock of receiving the note she had flown around until she found the Dendro Archon, who had gathered the group together once again in the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Kaveh stood next to Alhaitham who currently held the note, worry etched into his eyebrows. Wanderer stood slightly separate from them, crossing his arms and tapping his foot, which didn’t hide his anxiety very effectively.
“Agreed,” responded Nahida, whose expression was unreadable. “It’s completely unlike him to send something this short and unexplanatory. It almost looks like he’s asking us for help.”
“Where’d you get that from?” asked Paimon.
Nahida hesitated. “I don’t think he’s in a situation where he can speak freely. Wherever he is, I think his behavior is being monitored carefully.”
Hat Guy nodded. “Should we notify the nation and start a search?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Nahida retorted, immediately shutting down the idea with surprising force.
“Why not?” Hat Guy asked, frustrated. “We need to find him as soon as possible.”
“We don’t want to put him in any more danger as is. If this is a threat powerful enough to completely overwhelm him, we should be careful,” Alhaitham interjected, handing the paper back to Paimon, who pocketed it. “And besides, that would put the nation into panic.”
Wanderer scoffed, and opened his mouth to object.
“Alhaitham’s right,” came Kaveh, of all people. “We shouldn’t go announcing that we’re looking for him. It’ll make us targets for something we can’t handle right now.”
“I agree,” concluded Nahida. “We should use our available resources silently.”
.
Wanderer sighed. “What’s the plan, then?”
Nahida hummed. “Alhaitham, you have a lot of resources in the Akademiya. Can you search for clues there?”
He nodded.
“I’ll go too,” Kaveh added. “In case he misses something.”
“That’s incredibly unlikely.”
“Oh!” chimed Paimon before Kaveh could react. “We can use Nefer’s chessboard-thing to look into his head and get some clues on his location!”
Wanderer raised his eyebrows. “That’s…not a bad idea. I’ll go with you.”
“Good plan,” announced Nahida. “I’ll stay here and continue my duties as Archon to not raise suspicion.”
“What happens if any of us find something?” Asked Kaveh.
“Come back and report to me. I can notify everyone else and bring us all back if necessary.”
“Got it.”
.
Paimon put her hands on her hips, glad to be finally doing something.
“Alright, let’s do this.”