Chapter Text
Lumine trudged through the thick snow while carrying an unconscious Paimon in her arms, further and further from the building that was once a research facility of the notorious Harbinger II, Dottore. The once ivory building was now black with soot as the fire engulfed it, smoke seeping into her lungs. Her shoulder was bleeding heavily, leaving patches of crimson on the snow white landscape. She eventually came across a deserted Fatuus camp. She gently laid down the pixie and took out the flint and steel from her travel bag, hissing in pain with every movement she made. The biting frost wasn't doing any good either. She struggled to light a fire but eventually, the flint and steel clicked and a crackling was heard. Lumine let out a sigh and fumbled through her inventory gingerly, so as not to get any blood on her bag. She fished out a thin roll of bandage, some antiseptic and a bottle of pain relieving medication from Bubu Pharmacy, supplied by the young zombie named Qiqi, always eager to help.
"Get a move along if you want you or Paimon to ever see her again", her mind unhelpfully supplied.
She limped to a nearby frozen pond and broke the thin layer of ice with her sword and scooped out ice cold water in her flask. She washed and dressed her wound and walked back to the camp. Paimon still lay there, curled up in Lumine's favourite shawl, by the campfire. Lumine looked through her bag once again and found some spare matsutake. She spotted two boars nearby and tiptoed towards them. She hid behind a bush and observed the boars through the gaps between the leaves. At the opportune moment, she lunged forward and struck them. The boars faded into blue ley line matter, leaving but their flesh. She picked them up and headed for the camp. She gathered some twigs on the way back to serve as skewers. Once at the camp, she skewered the seasoned steak and matsutake and grilled them over the fire, turning them every now and them. Paimon had stirred awake as the aroma wafted into her nose. She flitted closer to the fire to have a look at what smelled so good.
"Ooh that smells so good, Traveller", she chirped. Lumine grinned. "You think so? It's for me"
"HEY!! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?? PAIMON'S HUNGRY TOO. SO MEAN. You deserve an ugly nickname.", the little pixie sobbed.
"Just kidding. You don't think I'd eat without you, do you?", Lumine chuckled. Paimon peeked from the gap of fingers. "Really? Paimon can have some too?" Paimon giggled happily and floated into the air. "Aw, you! You know what? You're gonna get a good nickname! Starry Princess!". The pixie could be easily charmed by food, yet Lumine still felt something warm blossom in her heart. She pulled Paimon close and hugged her. She was lucky to have such a sweet travel companion. Paimon smelled like something sweet, though Lumine refrained from making a joke about Paimon being emergency food. For now. The skewers were ready by now so Lumine took it off the heat off and let it cool before eating.
"Hey Lumine, Paimon thinks we should camp for the night. The road ahead is filled with Fatuus and you're injured."
"I was thinking the same", Lumine replied. "How about you go to sleep? I'll keep watch.", she offered.
"B-but, you're injured. Paimon really doesn't think it's a good idea to stay up all night.", the pixie huffed.
"Ok ok, I'll sleep. Happy?"
"Very", Paimon giggled. "Lumine, can you tell Paimon stories about your adventures in the other worlds. Paimon's always wanted to hear about them."
"Hm, why not?", the blonde said. Paimon clapped excitedly and got under the shawl. Lumine began narrating about her adventures with Aether and Paimon listened eagerly.
Not long after, Lumine heard soft snores. Paimon had fallen asleep. She smiled to herself as she covered her exposed ear with the shawl so that the little pixie wouldn't catch a cold. Lumine wore her spare sweater and laid beside her and covered Paimon's hand with her own warm one. She fell asleep, unaware of the Cicin Mage who was lurking nearby, waiting for a chance to strike.