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Lumine fished out the strange creature out of water, fully intending to cook and eat it. The fairy introduced herself as Paimon and insisted she wasn’t food.
“What’s your name?” Paimon asked.
Lumine opened her mouth, stopped, and closed it again. She shrugged. “I don’t remember,” she lied through her teeth.
Paimon gasped in affront, as if the absence of name offended her personally. “That’s not right! A name is very important for someone. And what will Paimon call you?”
She tilted her head and smiled. “Well, what will you call me?”
Paimon blinked. “Are you asking Paimon to give you a name?”
“Sure.”
Paimon visibly brightened at the prospect and stroked her chin in thought. “Hmmm, let’s see, let’s see… it has to be a pretty name, because you’re a pretty person! Give Paimon a moment! Paimon is good with names, really!”
Idly, Lumine opened her palm and let constellations dance upon her fingers, waiting for Paimon to think. Paimon’s eyes lit up at the sight.
“Oh! Oh! What about this?” Paimon spoke a name.
Lumine smiled and nodded. “I like it. Thank you for giving me a name, Paimon.”
Once upon a time, Lumine had a world to call home, a family to go home to, a house to think of as a home.
Then the heavens shattered and she and Aether ran away to other worlds.
For the longest time, they only had each other. Lumine was the only thing she had for herself, a name she could claim as hers and no one else’s, just as Aether was something that belonged only to her brother. Everything else was shared between two pairs of desperate hands, two pairs of desperate lips, two pairs of desperate eyes. But in the end, they also had each other. In a sense, Lumine was as much Aether’s as Aether was Lumine’s.
So Lumine made it a game.
They fell into a world of childhood innocence and laughter. Someone came to her and asked what her name was. Lumine thought of her childhood home and friends she would never meet again and said, “You can call me Hotaru.”
Aether laughed. He was always so much more generous with his laughter, so much more generous to give away his name. This time, instead, he chose to join Lumine’s game and said, “And call me Sora! Nice to meet you.”
They spent their time in that world resting and getting supplies, and at some point, it became a new home. They built an abode under the stars and slept among the blooms and thought to themselves, maybe this could be a new beginning.
And then, for the second time in their long, long lives, the heavens shattered. They fled and left Hotaru and Sora behind.
It didn’t take Lumine a long time to realize that Paimon adored her.
It was like giving her a name meant she was taking Lumine under her wings, in Paimon’s eyes. She explained the world to her, which she accepted happily. She often spoke for her, which she didn’t mind. She also introduced her to everyone they met, using the name Paimon gave her and saying it like it was a precious pearl to covet.
Lumine liked it. It had been a while since someone called her so fondly, and she welcomed it readily. Though, she also noticed that in the grand scheme of things, the name… really didn’t matter much to everyone else other than Paimon herself.
Despite having heard her name, many often called her Traveler, still. Even someone like Amber, who easily used her given name as easily as she glided, still slipped to Traveler every now and then. Paimon looked miffed at first, but then decided that the name was her gift for Lumine, and if others didn’t want to use it then it would be her special nickname, and only she was allowed to call Lumine that.
It hit a pang in her chest, the way Paimon thought of it. She assured the fairy it was just a name, but knew that deep down she thought the same. After all, that was why she was the only one who called Aether by that name, and Aether was the only one to call her Lumine.
She pushed it away to the back of her mind. She dove headfirst into the tasks she got from the Adventurers’ Guild and ran about giving favors to random Mondstadt citizens.
Lumine melted into the background, and Traveler coalesced into being.
They hopped between worlds a lot, after that. After the third time, they learned to watch for the signs and bail before the world tore itself apart. Once again all they had they shared between two desperate hands, two desperate lips, and two desperate eyes. Lumine kept her names away from other people, giving only Aether to use it. Aether gave away his name as freely as it was air.
They landed in a world of masks and facades, though they didn’t yet understand it at first. A crone crossed their paths and she held out a hand.
“May I have your names?” she asked.
Lumine thought for a moment to tell her, but Aether beat her to the punch. “You may call me Kong,” he said, cold and calm.
He was always better at reading people than Lumine. Better at socializing, better at giving away warm smiles and reassuring words. Better at seeing through masks and lies.
Lumine followed his example. “And you may call me Ying.”
The crone smiled. “Not today, I suppose,” she said, and walked away.
Lumine exchanged looks with Aether. They both decided, without needing to discuss it, to leave the world immediately.
The Traveler found friends here.
It was surprising at first. She was always colder, more distant, and people naturally gravitated to Aether. With a vast, blue sky like him, it was easy to overlook a small light in the horizon like her.
Apparently it was easier to recognize and be drawn to a distant star when the sky was dark.
She found herself liking the attention and the new companions she had. She wondered if things would be like this with Aether by her side and hated herself a little for being grateful that his disappearance gave her friends. It wasn’t supposed to be a trade. He was supposed to be here, by her side, no matter what.
Amber dragged her to missions and commissions, helping her build up some emergency fund and a way to live. They shared rooms for a while in Favonious headquarters, until Jean noticed it and gave her a room of her own. Lisa came with them sometimes, to avoid actual work at the headquarters, but the Traveler didn’t mind, and neither did Paimon. Kaeya joined, too, after a while, easy laughter and easy smiles lowering her guard until she found herself giving small anecdotes of Aether, carefully omitting his name.
Even after all this time, she was still greedily holding onto it. Or maybe it was because of all this time.
Often, Kaeya would bring her to Angel’s Share and exchange meaningful looks with Diluc. They never spoke to each other, but the Traveler could tell there was something there, something big and important and once upon a time cherished, perhaps still cherished even after so long. After all, how else would Diluc know to fix Kaeya’s drinks even before he ordered, and Kaeya to stop budding fights before they started to keep Diluc’s ire from rising?
They knew each other well. Too well. Like Lumine knew Aether and Aether knew her. Except they no longer talked to each other about anything, and it forced the gap between them into an ever widening chasm.
“You should talk to him,” she said to Kaeya one evening, nursing a lightly alcoholic apple cider that Diluc finally let her drink after she pestered him and promised to stop before getting drunk. Paimon, meanwhile, sulked with her juice, wanting to try her cider but wasn’t allowed to.
Kaeya laughed as he lifted his Death After Noon. “There isn’t really anything to talk about, so it’s going to be really awkward. I think I’ll pass.”
“Don’t lie,” she said. “Talk to him. I think you both want to, but you’re scared.”
Kaeya’s eye widened for a fraction of a second, then he smiled wryly. “I didn’t know you’re a family therapist on top of being the best person someone could ask for help.”
She lifted her chin haughtily. “It’s exactly because I’m a family therapist that I’m the best person someone could ask for help. But don’t tell Jean, because I don’t have a license to practice.”
“You do realize Jean’s not the only one authorized to detain you, right?” Kaeya asked, lifting a brow, pointing at himself.
“Well, yes, but your character is a bit less trustworthy so I’m hoping I can bribe you with more drinks later.”
Kaeya laughed at that.
“I mean it, Kaeya,” she said, sobering. “Talk to him.”
Kaeya put down his drink and looked at her in the eyes. Then a small smile quirked up his lips. “I make no promises.”
Later that night, after another glass of apple cider, she wondered if she should take that advice and talk to Paimon, come clean to her that she knew her name after all.
She wondered if it made her a hypocrite, when she decided she wanted to keep her name for herself.
The new world they arrived in was nice. Peaceful. They didn’t meet anyone here, but they were sure there were others if they bothered to look, considering they could see a town far enough away from the mountain peak they stayed around.
They didn’t bother, simply deciding to make a home here. They had hopped over many worlds and gone through many names, and they were tired of it. They wanted to rest. They wanted to settle. Here, under the starlit sky and budding blooms, they thought they could do it.
“I think it’s nice here,” Lumine said to Aether after a few weeks there. “We could stay.”
Aether nodded in agreement. “We might want to see if we can get to town sometime. If we’re staying here, I want to see other people too, not just you.”
“Rude.”
“You just told me yesterday that you’re bored with my face,” Aether pointed out. “Meeting other people will do us good. And it will do me good in that you won’t try to draw on my face, like last time you said you were bored with it.”
Lumine laughed at that, eyes crinkling and head thrown back.
It was just in time to see the heavens shatter into pieces.
Liyue was different from Mondstadt in more ways than one. The towering mountains and dizzying cliffs was one thing, but the way the deities hung in the air and seeped into the blood and bones of its citizen was palpable the same way Barbatos’ presence was almost nonexistent in Mondstadt – both the presence of Adepti in Liyue and the lack of Barbatos’ in Mondstadt hit you in the face in the most blatant way possible.
But the people in Liyue were just as lovely as Mondstadt’s, and she found herself enjoying her time here, murder accusation notwithstanding.
She found Wanmin Restaurant and met Xiangling once more, and she perked up when their eyes met. Stars lit up in the dark of Xiangling’s gaze, like constellations in inky black sky. She pulled the Tralever in and threw food her way, happily accommodating Paimon’s ridiculously large capacity for eating, and dragged her off to get more ingredients, reminiscent of the way they foraged and cooked for the cooking competition way back when. When it was time to depart, Xiangling stuffed her bag full of food and bid her safe travels.
There were others, too. Xingqiu, who tore through books like Paimon tore through food, and Chongyun, with his popsicles and cool gaze, both welcoming her into their friendship as if it was as natural as the flowers that bloomed at the peak of Liyuean mountains. Childe was a lot more annoying, but after a while he too became a part of her journey, like a feral cat she indulged every now and then but kept at a distance for fear of disease, that one friend you roll your eyes at but kept around because he’s your friend, no matter how annoying he is. But at least his pockets were as deep as the Chasm’s seemingly bottomless depth, so she wasn’t complaining.
When they ran, they were stopped by a god who looked at them like they were insects, who stopped their advances and moves as easily as breathing.
Aether and Lumine knew they were strong. Much stronger than the people they had come across in their travels. To have this god stop them in their tracks so easily was unnerving.
The god tore Aether away from her. The last thing she heard of him was his voice, calling out her name in frantic desperation.
The last thing she remembered was calling out for him in the same frantic desperation, arm outstretched to reach him as the god, too, stopped her and sent her through darkness that swallowed her whole.
Paimon hovered by her side as always, and her eyes widened when she saw who walked out to the forefront of her vision.
“Hey! Could that be…?” Paimon exclaimed.
Her voice was laced with the desperation that had vined around her hands, lips, and eyes in the course of their otherworldly travels. She hadn’t thought she would find him here, of all places, but her thoughts halted at the sight of him and all she could do was call, “Aether!”
Aether… didn’t look pleased. “Lumine…”
Paimon tilted her head in confusion, letting out a puzzled, “Huh?”
The Traveler faded away as Lumine, sister and desperate seeker, finally found what she had been looking for but in what could possibly be the worst way possible. She put away the Traveler to let Lumine shine through. It had been so long since she heard that name that for a moment, she forgot Lumine was hers. But it was, just as much as it was Aether’s, and to hear him call her name was enough to make her want to crash into him and never let go.
But she couldn’t, not like this. It wasn’t that hard to realize that Aether was with the Abyss, and that the gap that formed when they were separated had turned into an ever widening chasm impossible to cross. Especially since he refused to go with her to build a new home, like they always did.
“Once you reach the end of your journey as I did, you will see for yourself the true nature of this world.”
Thoughts swirled loudly in her head, locking her voice in her throat. End of journey as Aether did? Just how long had they been separated? How long had Aether been alone, making his way through the broken, once peaceful world that held so much more darkness than it had any right to? How long had Aether been alone that his warmth, the morning sun to her rising moon, grew bitter and distant?
Aether stepped away. “There’s no need to rush, sister,” he said, and there was enough warmth there that Lumine could hope that her Aether was still there after all. “I have more than enough time to wait for you.”
She rushed ahead to reach him, trying to get him to stay, here, with her.
“We’ve always had enough time.”
He went through the fog. She barreled in, only to realize that he was no longer there, fog dissipating like smoke blown away by the wind.
She had spent what felt like eons looking for her brother, only for Aether to willfully slip away, wisping smoke around her fingers. It was all she could do to stop herself from crying.
When she woke up, it was on a shore, alone, without the grounding, comfortable presence of someone she had always known since birth that it was like a chunk of her soul was missing.
Perhaps that was when she decided to lock Lumine away, because without Aether, there was no Lumine. There were no twins. There was no family.
There was no home.
“So… your name is Lumine.”
She stared blankly at the calm water of the lake. Numbly, she nodded. Then, haltingly, she said, “I… lied to you the first time we met. I knew my name. I just didn’t want anyone to know it.” She hugged her knees closer. “Not until I found Aether.”
“And Aether is your brother?” Paimon asked.
“Yes.”
Paimon stared at her, brows furrowed. She bit her lip and said, “I’m sorry I lied.”
“So let Paimon get this straight,” Paimon said, not acknowledging her apology. “You told Paimon to give you a name because you don’t want anyone to use your real name but Aether. Is that it?”
“Yes.”
“Then, thank you for giving Paimon the honor of giving you a name.”
She stared, surprised and uncomprehending. “But… I lied to you.”
“Paimon understands! If you’ve been separated from your brother for so long, you probably want the first person to call you to be him,” the fairy said lightly, and she felt dizzy with how understanding Paimon was being. Was this really the same fairy she had always teased to be her emergency food, whose usual response was to stomp and insist she wasn’t?
“Besides, now everyone knows you by Paimon’s nickname for you!” Paimon added with a satisfied huff. “Paimon thinks that’s a good trade!”
Her eyes warmed with tears. She clenched her jaws, not wanting to cry here.
“But… do you want Paimon to keep calling you that? Paimon can switch to Lumine if you want,” Paimon offered, and that just about broke the dam to let the tears through. Paimon yelped in surprise and fretted over her, apologizing and begging her to stop crying. It transformed the sobs into ugly, hiccupping laugh.
“Which – “ she cut herself off with a hiccup “ – which name do you want to call me?”
Paimon’s eyes widened. “You mean Paimon gets to choose?”
She sniffed and nodded. “It’s your gift for me. I’m fine with whichever you choose.”
Paimon thought it over, then beamed. “Then, Paimon will keep calling you by the name Paimon gave you!” She kept her hands behind her back as she smiled wide, warm. “Paimon will start calling you Lumine once you reunite with Aether for real. That way, it’s official! How about that?”
Lumine didn’t know how name changing could make her reunion with Aether any more official than it already would be, but she wasn’t about to argue with Paimon and her sometimes loopy logic. Instead, she smiled through the tears and snot and nodded. “I think I’d like that. Thank you, Paimon.”
“Anytime!” Paimon sat by her side and put a small hand over her thigh. “Let’s get stronger and continue our journey. We’ll get your brother home with you soon enough, trust Paimon on this!”
Lumine thought of the home she made under the stars with Aether lifetimes ago. She thought of Amber, helping her to get enough resources to live, of Jean, giving her a room, of Lisa, spending time with her, of Kaeya, who brought her to the best taverns in Mondstadt, of Diluc, who gave her ciders and juices and finger foods and pretended to forget about the bills. Of Xingqiu, who ran to her every time she strayed close to the bookstore and had started many discussions and debates about various books they both had read, of Chongyun, offering her popsicles whenever they met. Of Xiangling, who stuffed her full of food whenever she came by Liyue harbor, of Childe, who despite everything, still helped her fight and showered her with Mora whenever he felt like it. Of Venti, singing her songs under the tree, and Zhongli, sharing his vast knowledge of Liyue history.
Of Paimon, who stuck with her through thick and thin, who listened to her worries and guided her as much as she could, who reassured her and gave her a name when she didn’t have any to give.
Belatedly, she realized that she had far more friends than she thought she ever could have.
Perhaps she had managed to make a home for herself after all.