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He’s finally starting to be able to walk straight. The wounds on his back are still raw, angry, but they are starting to heal.
Slowly.
He carries the fishing rod, the gift from that boy, like a prized possession. And it’s useful, too. Out in the wild of this hilly land, he catches his dinners alone. Aether is glad that he and Lumine usually stayed out of the way of large cities, opting for the small towns instead. Now he at least knows how to survive.
Lumine.
Now that the shock of the injury, of losing his wings, has subsided, the reality of everything else is setting in.
Just the thought of Lumine tightens his chest to the point of choking. It makes his eyes sting with tears and a lump form in his throat.
Something plops down onto his pant leg. He looks down.
Water. But it’s not raining.
“Oh,” he whispers, raising a hand to his cheek. When had he started crying? How hadn’t he realized it?
This keeps happening. Just the thought of Lumine, of that goddess who took her—it makes him….unstable. He’s lost track of how many times he’s curled up on the ground and cried himself to sleep, only to be greeted by that scene—Lumine being encased in glowing cubes, him reaching out—
And unable to save her.
No matter how hard he tries, no matter how far he reaches. Nothing changes.
He sniffs, once, twice, and wipes his face on his sleeve. A shuddering breath escapes his chest. No matter how hard he tries not to think about it—about his sister, his sister who is gone, it comes back. Everything in this forsaken world is a reminder of her.
He doesn’t know what he’ll do without her. They were never without each other, they’re family. The only family they have. And now, he’s just….
Alone.
Aether sits with his legs tucked under him, still leaning forward. The imbalance of missing wings still catches him off guard sometimes. The sinker bobs in the murky pond as a cool breeze washes across the hills, pushing his braid up against his back.
His fingers tighten on the pole.
Behind him, a makeshift fire crackles under a stick that’s skewering two fish. It’s all he’s managed to catch today, but he still needs to eat.
Aether has encountered a few other people, other than that kind woman and her son. People traveling on the dusty roads, most likely merchants or peddlers. His vocabulary has expanded fast. Language always came naturally to him, no matter which world he’s in.
To Lumine, not so much. She never had the patience to just sit and listen to people, she was always moving, always on her way to the next place.
He tries to ignore the way his lip trembles.
The pole suddenly jolts, surprising him enough that he jumps in his seat. The sinker bobs for a single second—
Before being sucked down into the water with a loud, sucking pop.
The fishing pole almost follows. It slips a couple inches before he tightens his grip, grabbing the crank and pulling it back as hard as he can. This must be a big catch. At least he’ll have enough to eat today.
That is, if it doesn’t take him down with it.
He pulls his feet out from under him and digs his heels into the dirt. The end of the pole is bending as whatever he’s caught pulls more and more of the line down into the pond.
He gathers his strength, grits his teeth and steels himself, and yanks back with all his might.
With a splash, he sees something large and whitish fly out the water on the end of his line, soaring so high over head it might’ve been a bird—
A high pitched yell comes out of nowhere, and something heavy and wet plops down on the ground beside him.
It’s….
The thing sits up, shaking its head like a dog and sending water flying in every direction. A shiny gold ring, like a halo, pops into place above its down-white hair.
And it looks up at him with big, night-colored eyes—and a face that’s definitely human.
Did….did he just….fish a person out of a pond?
“Wow, thanks!” It exclaims. “Paimon really would’ve drowned if you hadn’t showed up! Paimon was just trying to get some dinner when Paimon fell into the pond, and Paimon can’t swim!”
He blinks. He only understood about a fourth of...whatever this tiny child just said. But she continues to babble excitedly, apparently unaware that she’s still sopping wet.
“Man, Paimon’s hungry!” She says, standing up. Water gushes onto the ground. Aether realizes, with a drop of horror, that it’s not just a really small person—she’s a child! And she only comes up to about his knee!
She suddenly jumps into the air. And instead of coming back down, as gravity would dictate, he watches in awe as the tiny child rises into the air at about the height of his shoulder, bobbing and bouncing like she’s floating in water. A cape that looks like it’s made of stars flares out behind her, and the gold ring above her head—which he realizes is actually a halo—bobs alongside her head.
“Hey, are you listening to Paimon?” She says, tipping her head. “You look kinda spaced out! Paimon was just asking if you had anything to eat, because trying not to drown took a lot of Paimon’s energy!”
“Uhh….” Aether stutters, “s-sorry, I am….not good….with….speak?” He winces internally at how awful he sounds.
The little floating child blinks. He braces himself for the slew of questions—in most worlds, there’s a common language that’s used everywhere. Not knowing that language has raised a lot of eyebrows in the past, especially when you end up speaking a language from an entirely different world.
“Oh, so you can’t talk very well?” The little floating child says. She looks confused. “O...kay. That’s kinda weird.”
He purses his lips. Well, she’s….honest with her opinion, he supposes.
“Well, Paimon’s really good at talking!” The fairy-child says. “Paimon could teach you how to talk better! But only if you share your fish with Paimon, okay?” She looks awfully proud of herself, eyeing the staked fish behind him. He kind of forgot about those.
Well, Aether supposes that it’s fair. And such a small….person…..probably won’t eat much, right? He nods. “Okay,” he says.
“Great!” The child says. With a pop, she suddenly disappears—with segmented lines and dots, like constellations, filling the air where she floated, before fading.
Another pop directly behind his head makes him jump, and he immediately regrets it as the holes in his back react painfully.
When Aether turns around, the tiny child is there, floating curiously over the fish on a spit, and she picks one off and begins eating.
He feels a lopsided smile cross his face. It’s kind of….funny. Watching a tiny, drenched fairy-child chow down on his fish. He can recall times when he and Lumine were in similar situations. Out in the wild, relying only on their survival and combat skills, and….each other.
Aether scoots up next to the fire and takes a stick of fish for himself. He eats slowly.
Suddenly, the little girl perks up, eyes wide like she’s forgotten something. She lowers her fish—which is almost completely stripped to the bone.
“Oh, Paimon forgot to ask!” She exclaims. “Where are Paimon’s manners? Paimon’s name is Paimon!” She beams. “What’s your name? And what’re you doing out here alone?”
Aether lowers his fish, swallowing a bite. Paimon, huh? He doesn’t know how he didn’t catch on, since she seems to refer to herself in the third person.
“Aether,” he says slowly. “Name….is Aether. I’m….” He trails off. What he’s doing out here? He’s….
He swallows hard. He doesn’t know how to answer that. “I’m looking for my sister”? “I’m lost”? He throws a glance at Paimon, who is still watching him with the mild interest of a bored child.
“What...you doing here? Er—what are you doing….out here alone?” He says. Paimon gulps down a huge mouthful of fish before answering, seemingly having forgotten that she asked him the same question.
“Paimon was hungry!” She says cheerfully. But then she throws a withering look at the pond he pulled her up from. “Paimon wanted to catch some fish to eat, ‘cause Paimon doesn’t have any Mora to buy food with.” She pouts, sticking her bottom lip out. She really does look like a toddler.
“All….alone? Here?” Aether asks. That’s odd. He wonders where her parents are. Surely the people of Teyvat wouldn’t leave a child alone in the wilderness. He’s fairly certain that she’s not quite human, judging by, well….everything. But still, he doubts that such a young girl would make it very far out here alone.
“Yup!” Paimon replies. “Why?”
He frowns. Holding his hand up low to the ground. “Because, um….small. You….tiny. And little….? Um, child. Little child.”
“What?!” Paimon shouts, suddenly rising about a foot in the air. She looks like she’s trying to look mad, but being so little, she’s not very threatening. “Paimon is not a little child, thank you very much! Paimon is responsible and Paimon can take care of herself! Hmph!” She crosses her arms, lowering back to her previous position about a foot and a half off the ground.
Aether can’t help but smile. It’s lopsided and awkward, but...he feels almost like he’s about to laugh. “S...sorry, sorry,” he says. “Of course. Paimon is….responsible.” He giggles a little, earning an incredulous look from Paimon.
As they eat, and the evening fades into dusk, Paimon continues to talk. She wasn’t kidding when she said she could help out with his speech. She corrects him smugly whenever he makes a mistake or mispronounces a word, to which he responds by pointing out how small and non threatening she looks.
For a while, he forgets that he’s alone in this world. Without his sister, without his power, withoit his wings, without anything, really. Paimon’s childish manner and her silliness is like a breath of fresh air.
He’s going to miss her, when she leaves.
They banter back and forth for what seems like forever, while Paimon helps herself to what little food she has. It’s incredible how much she can eat, for such a small child—er, person.
“Wow, Paimon’s stuffed!” Paimon says dreamily, slowly floating down until she’s laying on the ground with a sigh. She’s finally dried out, from her unexpected swim.
He chuckles, but a sad feeling lingers in the back of his mind. After Paimon leaves, he’ll be on his own again. And even though he can speak and understand the Teyvat language much better now….
He can’t help but feel that it’ll be a little bit lonely.
“So!” Paimon suddenly pipes up. He looks over at where she’s sitting cross-legged on the ground, gold halo reflecting the firelight. “You never answered Paimon’s question! What are you doing out here?”
He hesitates. “I’m…” he says slowly. “Looking for….someone.” It feels almost like a damning thing to say out loud. To admit that Lumine is…
“Looking for someone?” Paimon echoes. She looks almost confused. “Like, a cat or something? Or a friend?”
Aether stays silent for a long moment, just watching the fire flicker and sputter as it burns its last logs. Crickets hum in the distant hills, night birds make hoots and calls….it’s like any other world. Any other world where the person sitting across from him would have his eyes and his hair and three pairs of gold wings folded behind her back.
“My sister,” he says softly. So quietly that you could almost miss it. Paimon’s eyes widen.
“Your sister?” She says, and presses a hand to her mouth, a look of dawning horror on her face. “Oh no! Paimon’s so sorry! Is your sister missing?!”
He nods slowly. “I’m...traveling.” He says. “All around Teyvat. To look for her. I….I have to find her. She’s….the only family that I have.” It’s true enough. But Lumine isn’t missing. She didn’t run away. She was kidnapped, taken. But who would believe him if he claimed that a goddess had kidnapped his sister, and that he used to have wings and travel through different worlds? Paimon certainly wouldn’t.
No one else will. There’s no point in telling the truth, if no one will help him anyway.
Paimon stares at him for a moment, mouth agape and eye wide. She looks….sad. Sad for him.
It’s reassuring in the moment. That someone else is being sad with him. Maybe that’s not the right way to put it, but it sounds right. Feels right.
For a long moment, they’re both silent as the fire dies. If there are any tears falling from his face, Aether can’t tell.
And then Paimon shoots into the air, bright-white constellation lines trailing her. He looks up, startled. And instead of sad now, there’s a determined look in her eyes.
“Paimon’s been all around Teyvat!” She declares. “Paimon’s been to Sumeru, Liyue, Inazuma, Natlan—everywhere! Paimon will be your guide! We’ll find your sister together! So don’t cry, Aether! Paimon is gonna be the best guide in the whole wide world!”
“You don’t—“ he sputters. “You don’t have to—you don’t have to do that! I thought you were going to, um—weren’t you going to leave?”
“Paimon never said that Paimon was leaving!” She shouts, and jabs a tiny finger towards Aether. “Paimon doesn’t have anything else to do! You saved Paimon’s life, so now Paimon’s gonna help you find your sister! You can’t stop Paimon!”
He’s absolutely taken aback by the fire in her eyes, the serious tone in her voice. He opens his mouth to protest again, to tell her that she owes him nothing—
But no words come out. The only thing that comes out is the tears, hot and salty from his eyes, and a quiet sob from the bottom of his chest.
She wants to stay with him. He won’t be alone. He won’t be alone anymore, he won’t be alone.
“Wait! Wait!” Paimon yells, frantically floating over to him. “Wait, don’t cry! Paimon said Paimon would help you find your sister, Aether!”
Between sobs, he manages to choke at least something out. “Th-thank you-u,” he says. “Thanks. Paimon. You don’t have to—“
“No buts!” She scolds, thumping a tiny fist down on top of his head. “Paimon wants to help you! It’s the right thing to do, okay?”
Aether’s sobs die down with the fire, leaving them in complete darkness. But even with just the light of the stars, he can see Paimon’s bright, blue-black eyes, looking somewhere between concerned and determined.
When he's finally stopped crying, Paimon puts her hands on her hips, and teleports back down to the ground. “We should get some sleep,” she says authoritatively. Well, as authoritatively as she can, given that she looks like a five year old. “You can tell Paimon all about your sister and you tomorrow. And we can head to the nearest town to ask if they’ve seen her.”
“Alright,” he whispers. It’s not exactly comfortable to sleep on the ground, but
he’s gotten used to it. Sleeping on his back is best, now that his wounds have healed enough for that.
In just a few minutes, Paimon is fast asleep, and Aether lays on the ground, staring up at the swirling stars and galaxies, far, far away. Teyvat’s far space, where the moon hangs plump and full in the sky.
“I’m coming,” He whispers, inaudible to anyone but him in the night breeze. “I’m coming.”
And wordlessly, Aether lets himself sleep.
The morning brings light, and also hunger. He and Paimon have breakfast in the form of apples from a nearby tree. He’d never even noticed that Teyvat had apples.
He can see Paimon better in the early morning light. Her clothes are white and trimmed with gold, the same color as the incomplete halo that bounces above her hair. Her hair is downy white, and she’s pale as the moon. She’s also cheerful, chattering to him as they walk across the hills.
“Let’s go down to the beach!” She suddenly exclaims, pointing. Aether follows her gaze, down over a nearby cliff, and to the exact beach where he woke up.
The sight of the place makes his heart drop. He wonders of there’s still blood on the sand.
But he smiles to Paimon anyway, who is floating next to his shoulder. “Sure thing,” he says.
They go down the sandy path between cliffs, down to where soft, load dirt fades into white-gold sand and clear waters. Teyvat is beautiful, he has to admit.
It’s changed a lot since….whatever catastrophe was destroying it when he and Lumine were last there.
They sit down on the sand, near a pile of driftwood sticks that have been collected by the waves. The place is calm. Blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and calm waves crashing against the shore.
“So,” Paimon says, settling next to him, just above the sand. “About your sister and you. Where are you guys from, anyway?”
Aether smiles absently.
If Paimon is going to help him find Lumine, then she needs the whole story. And for whatever reason, he feels like he can trust her.
He picks up a stick from the pile of driftwood. With Paimon watching, he etches a pattern into the sand.
One of two shooting stars, side by side.
And Aether tells Paimon the whole story. From traveling worlds, to the unknown goddess, to where he is now. He tells her all of it.
When he’s done, he looks up at Paimon, who is gazing at the etchings in the sand in wonder.
And with her high, childlike voice, she asks him one thing.
“So, you’re saying….you fell here from another world?”