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Lumine’s first memory is of her brother.
After all these years, all these worlds, and so many memories lost to the weathering of time, the one that never falters is of Aether.
She doesn’t remember if they have parents. Born from the gods or perhaps the stars themselves, the twins have only ever had each other.
And so, he is first. First in her heart, in her mind, and in their shared soul, Aether is always there.
Come on, he says, eyes bright and skin unscarred. One hand – not yet calloused from years of sword-wielding – is outstretched, right in front of her face. Aether’s wings unfurl from his back like rays of light, and his golden hair shimmers in the wind.
Come on, Lumine, he says, and she takes his hand.
They don’t age. They’d realized it, after a long time, that their hair and nails grew but their skin did not wither.
They change nonetheless. Lumine sees it in the way the light in her brother’s eyes dulls with every world; every enemy cut down and every love left behind. He stops cutting his hair and lets it grow out, long and flowing. Stops hiding his scars and lets them fade with the memories of each world they visit, searching for something unknown.
She sees it in herself, as well. She doesn’t know how old she is but she finds herself constantly thinking of her younger self – a much kinder, gentler woman. There used to be more remorse in her heart when her blade cut the throats of her enemies, and she used to love the people of the worlds they visited more freely.
You care too much, Aether had told her once, quietly, as they knelt beside the shallow grave of yet another person they couldn’t save.
He’s right, she knows. Now that she’s landed in Teyvat, waking up for the first time without him near, she knows she still cares too much. The people of Mondstat soon hold a special place in her heart, and it aches at the thought that she’ll have to leave them someday. Permanently.
“A song for your thoughts, dear traveler?”
Venti slides into the seat next to her, his smile wide and his cheeks flushed red.
Angel’s Share is crowded tonight, as always. Sometimes Lumine comes just to sit at the bar and watch people dance and sing, or to keep Diluc company on the occasions when he bartends. It’s a far better way to spend her nights rather than tossing and turning in the bed the Knights had provided for her at HQ, plagued by vague dreams that end with her waking up with tears on her face.
“I was just thinking of my brother.” She says quietly, swirling the drink Charles had placed in front of her half an hour earlier. Non-alcoholic, as usual, despite her insistence that she was, in fact, of age. Not like Charles would believe her if she said how old she really is.
“Ah, the infamous Aether!” Venti chirps. “It’s not often you speak of him, you know. If you’ve got something weighing on your mind, just say so!”
Lumine turns to her friend and smiles softly. His rhyming talents always get worse when he drinks.
“Just remembering something he told me a long time ago.”
Her finger circles the rim of her glass idly.
“He used to say I care too much.”
“Life wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t care.”
The bard speaks in a much more serious voice – this might be the most serious he’s ever been with her. Venti looks at her with his teal eyes shining bright in the light of the tavern; his smile suddenly a thousand years old.
“Caring is what makes you human, even if you’re not.” He murmurs. “I wouldn’t be a god if I didn’t care. It doesn’t matter how long you live – love is what makes it all worth staying for.”
“Besides – “ Venti continues, reaching out to touch her arm. “ – what’s worse? Humanity, or godhood? To be blessed with an eternity of love or to be cursed with an eternity of loneliness?”
Then his usual smile is back, and his lyre materializes in his small hands.
“Now, cheer up!”
His fingers strum the lyre, and though the noise of the tavern is loud, she can still hear his song clear as day. A slight breeze swirls around them as if its sole purpose is to carry the song itself, and maybe it is. Venti’s voice is soft, and for the first time in a long time, Lumine allows herself to relax.
(Another immortal sits on top of the statue of Barbatos, while the god himself is in the bar.
Aether narrows his eyes at the city below and sighs.
“One day, Lumi.” He murmurs, placing an open palm over his heart. “One day, we’ll be together again.”
He hopes that it’s a promise he can keep.)