Chapter Text
Aether's day starts just when the sun rises. Usually, he didn't get much sleep the previous night. Yet this didn't bother his behavior when he's awake and travelling the grounds of Teyvat, a world he has come to know.
The first thing he does after eating a small breakfast is pick up the small campsite he creates every night. It was time to move on again. He didn't quite know where his destination was, only Aether's sister, Lumine, was in the back of his mind. Even now, there were no signs of her, and he's asked almost every person he's come across on his travels. It was part of his daily routine at this point, find no answers as to where his sister even was.
A field was before Aether as he walked a few yards past his original camping site. For some reason, he was moving quite slow today.
There was a small group of slimes a ways away. Their round forms allowed them to bounce around whatever gathered them there. Aether took careful steps towards them. Their beady, white eyes were still focused on what was in front of them. It was the bright orange slimes this time, they were the ones that would spit lava.
He got a closer look at what exactly was there. Although he couldn't see it since the slimes were in the way. They didn't seem to be attacking it, only observing with whatever emotion they displayed. It was hard to read them.
It was then that Aether was noticed. The slimes ignored what gathered them, and instead went after him. Aether grabbed his sword right away. He slashed through each and every slime as they tried to attack him. They all popped after just a few of them. Aether ended up getting a little wet from the water droplets that gave them their energy. It got in his face, causing him to spit away the residue. He didn't think he would ever get used to it.
Aether made his way to the dent made in the grass. He looked over what it was, or maybe who was a better would. The person in question was a girl in the middle of the grass. Her hair was sprawled against the grass as she slept on her side. The girl wasn't even aware of what was going on around her, what with Aether defending himself against the slimes.
Her clothes were strange. She had on a sweater that had a hood sewn on it and looked to be too big for her. It was black, and when Aether moved her sleeping form, he saw a small pouch sewn into it. The shorts she wore showcased the burns that riddled her legs, all the way up to her thighs. The ends of the shorts were all stringy, like they were ripped away from something longer.
Aether grabbed the girl's wrist, sighing after he found a pulse. He at least didn't fight the slimes for virtually nothing.
He picked the girl up, supporting her head as if she were just an infant. She was a bit heavy, but nothing that Aether couldn't handle.
Aether set up camp early that day. It was a shorter walk than he expected. Well, all he needed to do was head somewhere that wasn't too dangerous.
He laid her out on his own sleeping mat, inside the small tent that could fit only him. Aether wasn't sure if it would rain or not. He would hope it wouldn't, since he would probably be sleeping outside.
Then there was the topic of the girl's legs. They were clearly burnt to a degree. Aether could only deduce that she was escaping some sort of fire, and ended up being knocked out or something.
The first thing Aether had to do was check for other injuries. Thinking about it made his face heat up. He would be stripping a stranger's clothing, and a girl nonetheless. Lumine would probably tease him about being so embarrassed about treating wounds.
Aether ended up lifting the girl's clothes just enough to see her stomach. He sat her up, getting a view of her back as well. There were no burns on those parts of the girl's body. And if there were, they were already healed. Aether kept fanning his face, telling himself that he wasn't taking advantage of a sleeping person.
Aether grabbed a special paste given to him when he had his own burns. He was sure that it would work on the girl, and they would at least be less irritated. The patches of her skin were a little rough. Well, Aether expected that since certain parts of her legs were burnt to a crisp. His face was burning again when he was treating the burns on the girl's thighs. It calmed Aether a bit, knowing he didn't have to touch anything between her legs, as there were no burns there.
There were burns on the girl's arms as well, although there were fewer of them. Aether only needed to take the girl's sweater off, revealing a strange shirt. He got a better look at it after taking care of the burns on her arms. It was a white shirt, sleeves covering her shoulders. There was the intricate design of two lions with crowns, a huge bird above it. They were holding a mirror with a fire on top of it. Above the design, was the word 'Queen.' All the lines that made it were pitch black.
Aether put the sweater over the girl again, knowing that it would keep her warm when night falls.
That evening, Aether had a fire going. The entire time, he was watching the girl just in case she woke up. She never did. That didn't stop Aether from trying though. He shook her shoulder every few minute to try and get a reaction. There was nothing. Aether was worried that she died while in his care until checking her pulse once again. She didn't.
Aether dragged the girl's body towards the fire a bit, another way to keep her warm. However, the fire grew as she got close to it. The flames even drew just a bit too close to the girl. It was only when Aether quickly got her away from the fire, did it stop. He sighed, deciding to have her keep her distance. Six feet was a good amount.
By nighttime, Aether was sleeping under the tent with the girl. He kept a bit of space from her, almost a foot to be exact. She radiated a special kind of warmth. It reminded Aether of flames. It was strange, yet comforting. It led Aether to actually sleeping instead of waking up in random intervals.
Aether's routine changed after meeting this girl. He would be closer to the tent, not even moving it around once. This made his travelling come to a halt. He always left for a short time too, making sure he would be there if the girl were to wake up.
More of those lava-spitting slimes came around the tent as well. It was mostly why Aether kept close to it. Even though they didn't exactly hurt the girl, Aether was wary of the tent being destroyed by them.
At night, Aether would sometimes have a conversation with the girl. Well, it was more like he was talking at her while she lay there, motionless. He still kept his distance while laying next to her, not looking at her either. The physical warmth let him find some kind of peace.