Chapter Text
She was astounded to find she could relate so strongly to the small child because where Klee had the Knights to clean up her messes, she always had her brother; however reluctant he might’ve been.
She was long familiar with the idea of family at her back, keeping her blindspots protected and wiping away any emotional pain they could. She was glad to hear that despite not being blood-related to her family, Klee too had those who would always support her; even if she could be a tad explosive.
Lumine was not surprised when Klee burst into her room, immediately jumping on her bed while excited chatter poured from her lips. Paimon grumbled angrily next to Lumine, but the blond traveler simply smiled, delighted to have been woken up by such a bright presence. Kaeya entered the room a moment later, looking somewhat out of breath and irritated.
“Klee, I asked you to wait until she woke up. We’ve been over this with Jean; People do not like getting woken up by you jumping on them,” Kaeya said while rubbing at his visible eye aggressively.
“But Miss Lumine is smiling, and very happy to see me! Right, Miss Lumine?” Klee questioned, offering Lumine her best puppy dog eyes. Lumine melted at the sight, finding it too adorable to bear. She glanced at Kaeya who rolled his eye and motioned for her to reply.
“Ah, well Klee. I don’t mind… but I’m sure Kaeya is right, you should listen to him.” Klee turned to pout at Kaeya.
“You’re supposed to be fun Kaeyaaaa!” She whined, sinking down until she was slumped against Lumine’s stomach, making pouty faces at her. Kaeya sighed and moved to pick Klee up.
“I am fun, more fun than Albedo, at least, so don’t harm me so Spark Knight,” he sighed out dramatically, bringing a hand up to clutch at his shirt dramatically. Lumine smiled as Klee’s peels of laughter filled the room; much to Paimon’s dismay.
“She’s all yours for the day. I trust you’ll take good care of her?” Kaeya questioned, his tone light but expression serious as he looked Lumine dead in the eyes. She gulped slightly and nodded her head, climbing out of bed to stand and give him a firmer nod.
It took her a moment to realize she was still in the pajamas Lisa had given her days ago, only realizing when Kaeya’s expression fell into a smirk, causing a blush to bloom on Lumine’s cheeks. She cleared her throat while shifting awkwardly on her feet.
“Klee and I will stay safe today, right Klee?” Lumine asked, bringing a hand up to her face to cover the blush as she looked purposefully away from Kaeya.
“Yea! And we’ll have fun! We definitely won’t go fishing!” Klee cheered, jumping out of Kaeya’s arms to rush Lumine’s side, tugging on the ends of her white nightgown. Lumine furrowed her brow at the fishing comment but figured it was better not to comment on it, lest Kaeya stay in her room longer to explain.
“Ok, I’ll leave you two to it then. Keep in mind that all of the Knights consider Klee family, so should you step out of line, then you’ll find you’ve made some powerful enemies. Not to mention Albedo.” With his last threat, Kaeya walked out of her room, closing the door behind him with a satisfying click. Lumine finally let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.
She was well aware that Kaeya wasn’t her biggest fan, nor did he trust her, but his threats seemed a bit much. She would never harm a hair on Klee’s head and was really looking forward to spending the day with the energetic girl.
“Why don’t you wake up Paimon while I get dressed for the day, hmm?” Lumine asked, moving behind a folding partition to pull her dress on. Paimons exhausted growls and whines filled the room, each followed shortly by Klee’s laughter. When Lumine came out, back in her normal attire, she pulled Paimon from the mess of blankets on the bed and motioned for Klee to follow her.
“Have you eaten breakfast already?” Lumine asked, holding back a laugh as Paimon began to perk up. Klee shook her head no in answer to Lumine’s question. Paimon fully woke up when Lumine announced they would eat at Good Hunter before continuing on with their day.
When Lumine had asked Klee what she wanted to spend the day doing, she hadn’t expected this. Her fingers were beginning to turn a purplish-blue color as she found scattered wolfhook, keeping an eye on Klee while trying to ignore the threatening feeling the arena in front of her gave off.
“Isn’t wolfhook dangerous for humans? Like we get super sick if we eat them?” Paimon questioned, observing one of the spiky berries as she floated around the path.
“Yep!” Klee shouted cheerfully, reaching for another couple. “But I have a friend who really likes them! He’s eaten them since he was as young as me, he said, and now they’re his favorite! And I haven’t seen him in a while so I gotta bring him his favorite snack!” Lumine sighed but kept dutifully collecting the dangerous fruit.
It wasn’t long before Lumine heard the echoing sound of a wolf howl, ringing through the layered mountains. In an instant she was in Klee’s space, hand tight around the hilt of her sword. Her eyes darted around the clearing, looking for the wolf that had sounded so near. She startled when a tuft of white-grey hair peeked over the pathway, fully unsheathing her sword when she noticed the handle of a claymore, resting on his back.
“Razor!” Klee cheered happily when she noticed the man approaching, but Lumine held her hand out to keep her from running towards the stranger. He perked up at the sound of his name, a shy smile slipping onto his face before his eyes landed on Lumine and he tensed hands
raising slightly towards his sword.
“Lumine! This is Razor! He’s the friend we’ve been collecting wolfhook for! Put your sword away!!” Klee cried, pushing Lumine’s hand aside to rush towards Razor. Lumine hesitated before putting her sword away, watching carefully as Razor loosened up and greeted Klee, his eyes occasionally flickering to Lumine.
She took a calming breath before approaching, her sword tucked back into her hilt as she greeted the stranger.
“Hi, sorry about that. I’m Lumine,” she introduced, holding out her hand. Razor gave it a confused look before sniffing the air slightly, eyes going wide from whatever he smelt. He took a sharp step back before glancing widely at Klee.
“Who is she?” he asked, his voice unreadable.
“This is Miss Lumine! She is the savior from all those tales! She helped save Mondstadt and even got hurt for me!” Klee explained happily, unaware of Lumine’s awkward shifting.
“She smells like Andrius and Venti, only stronger,” he said, a look of astonishment on his face.
“I took a shower yesterday…” Lumine mumbled, blushing under Razor’s awe-struck gaze combined with Klee’s thrilling look.
“It’s not that! Razor can smell these types of things! He is a wolf in a person's body so he’s got all sorts of power and stuff! He found out Venti was Barbatos so fast and then he’s friends with this big old wolf that's one of the protectors of Mondstadt! He knows these things, so I’m positive you’re the one from the stories!” Klee shouted, jumping up and down. Both Lumine and Razor had a light blush from Klee’s monologue.
“Ah, there’s no need for all that Klee. We have a present for Razor, don’t we?” Lumine reminded, holding her pouch of collected berries out. Klee gasped and took the pouch, combining it with hers and offering it to the apparent wolf boy. Both Lumine and Klee giggled at his excited expression.
Lumine understood the comparison to a wolf, as she could practically see the boy with ears and a tail, wagging excitedly at the offer of his favorite food.
Klee ended up insisting on a picnic with the two of them, allowing Razor to guide them through Wolvendom. They settled on a cliff nearby, allowing Lumine to unpack the lunch she’d purchased from Good Hunter, Fisherman's toast for Klee, and chicken mushroom skewers for herself. Klee giggled as Razor pulled out paw-shaped hash browns.
Klee did most of the talking, joined by Paimon who only came out when she realized it was lunchtime, while Razor and Lumine withheld beside making the occasional comment.
Lumine learned about Albedo, learned more about the knights, and a handful of random facts about Mondstadt. She wasn’t wrong in thinking that a day spent with Klee would be entertaining. When she wasn’t chatting away, she was being curious and… slightly explosive. All of which Lumine found absolutely adorable. She decided then that she would protect Klee at all cost, though she figured she’d already proven that, if only slightly.
After lunch Klee announced it was time to go and waved a cheerful goodbye to Razor, promising to come to visit him again soon. Afterward, they made their way to Springvale, at Klee’s request to see how all the Knights were doing with the repairs.
When they got there, Klee was unsurprised to see how hard the knights had been working, as most of the houses were repaired, and the things that had been strewn about were tidied up. The Knights were pleased to see Klee and even happy to greet Lumine, though some of them seemed to shy away when she offered them bright smiles.
At one point Klee declared that she and Lumine would make apple juice for all the Knights to enjoy for their hard work, so Lumine spent an hour lifting Klee up on her shoulders so she could pick the apples herself. Lumine split her attention between Klee and a nearby conversation between two unfamiliar knights.
“Y’know, I heard that Albedo is putting his current project on hold to come back to the city,” the other Knight let out a small gasp.
“But Klee’s ok? He never stops his projects unless Mondstadt is in true danger! Is Grandmaster Jean that worried? Does she suspect a particular enemy? I have my bets placed on those damn Fatui,” the Knight growled, quieting his voice when the other man shushed him.
“According to the Captain’s gossip, the Grandmaster asked him to come down to shed his light on a few, newer developments,” he said with a not so subtle glance towards Lumine. She straightened and shifted towards the next apple, at least attempting to look as if she wasn’t eavesdropping.
“What? Sure the traveler may be pretty, but she’s no reason for Albedo to come all the way down the mountain,” the other man scoffed, giving his friend an unimpressed look.
“Haven’t you heard what they’re calling her?” the other hissed, glancing at Lumine for a moment before looking towards his friend. “She’s the savior. The one that was foretold before the archon war, before the archons were even a thing. They’re trying to keep it quiet because if word got out to the Fatui agents stationed here, they would demand all sorts of things, but word has it she’s been blessed by Barbatos. And yet she doesn’t even have a vision.
“It’s kind of crazy to think something bigger than the archon war is coming. Something big enough that a savior who was spoken of before our gods, is here to help.” The Knight shook his head, completely unaware that his friend had paled significantly.
“B-but she doesn’t even have any memories! How could she save us when she’s a lost twenty year old?” the Knight asked, glancing towards Lumine, in fear she presumed.
“Looks can be deceiving. Who knows how old she is or where she came from. I don’t care if she crawled from the Abyss, as long as she helps us fight whatever is coming. You know those tales tell of unimaginable power, so maybe… maybe this is just the start. That’s a scary thought isn’t-”
Lumine’s eavesdropping was cut off by Klee leaning down until her face was eye level with Lumine’s.
“You shouldn’t listen to what they’re saying, Kaeya tells them lies sometimes. He says it's a ‘rational deception’ and then laughs maniacally. So they probably don’t know what they’re really talking ‘bout. Plus I believe in you, Miss Lumine! You’re like family already, so I’m sure when you meet big brother you’ll get along great!” Lumine smiled and pushed the knights’ words from her mind; instead focusing on Klee’s instructions for making apple juice.
After passing out the refreshing juice to all the knights, Lumine knew it was time to head back to Mondstadt. The sun had sunk far below the horizon and the cool glow of the moon had descended upon the land. Fireflies began to glow as they walked back towards the city and Lumine watched quietly as Klee caught them in her hands, explaining the various experiments her brother had done with them. Klee even said he’d tried to create a light source out of the small bugs.
By the time they reached the bridge to the city, Klee had grown so tired that Lumine had offered to carry her back to the headquarters. Klee had refused, if only for a moment, before climbing into Lumine’s outstretched arms and snuggling into her neck. The quiet that filled the air told Lumine she’d fallen asleep in the cool air of the night.
She moved soundlessly through the city, sending smiles to the few who were left awake. When she made it back to the building she was surprised to see Jean, Lisa, and Kaeya all outside, talking with someone she couldn’t quite see. Kaeya noticed her first, quietly clearing his throat to single the others, though Lumine still gave them warm smiles. Jean moved to face her, revealing the fourth person who gasped slightly as his eyes locked on Lumine.
“You have to be doing this on purpose,” Kaeya hissed, eye narrowing slightly at her. Lisa distractedly stuck out a hand to slap him, though, by the small jump he did in response, Lumine was inclined to believe Lisa had used her vision.
“Doing what? And I’m Lumine, it’s nice to meet you,” Lumine said, glancing from Kaeya to the new man.
“You are… practically glowing, my darling,” Lisa said in what could only be described as a purr. Lumine laughed softly but brushed the comment off, assuming the glowing moon rested behind her.
“Lumine, this is Albedo. He’s Klee’s closest family and Mondstadt’s Chief Alchemist. If you’ve met Sucrose, she’s one of his apprentices.” Jean introduced, smiling when Lumine lit up upon hearing the name.
“Ah, I’ve heard lots about you today. Klee really looks up to you,” Lumine said with a smile.
The others seemed shocked to see Albedo give a small smile back.