Chapter Text
“The rain doesn’t seem to be letting up. We will have to camp in this cave for the night,” Lumine says, wringing the fabric of her skirt.
“That’s alright with me.” Could you muster another day’s worth of payment? Your shivering doesn’t abate despite the mortified heat coursing through you.
“Hold on, I’ll get out a warming bottle.”
You sit by the fringes of its orange glow as she prepares dinner. Your adventurer’s cap and green overcoat are laid out on a nearby rock to dry, alongside her scarf and gloves. The meal is taken in silence, save for when you mutter a quiet “thanks” as you hand your bowl to her.
While she takes first watch, you try settling in your sleeping bag.
To no avail.
“Move a little closer, you’ll catch a cold.”
“I’m fine right here, thank you.”
She opens a second warming bottle, placing it closer to you. “Better?”
A bit. But the discomfort lingered—the question tumbles from you, “why did you take this commission?”
“To escort you to the outskirts of the Court of Fontaine?”
“...You could’ve done something more noble than babysitting.”
Despite her delicate features, there’s something jaded in her expression as she replies. “I’m not always looking to do something grand.”
“So you’re saying that your reputation—all of your achievements were accidents? Circumstance?”
“Maybe, maybe not. Things don’t always go according to plan, as you’ve seen.”
“...Right.”
Rain continues to fall.
“Getting you to your destination safely is enough payment,” Lumine says, as if signposting the end of that conversation.
Which, you can’t accept. That she’s seen through you like this, that you can barely get a read on her. You’ve listened to so many stories and rumors that you thought you could paint a detailed portrait of the illustrious Traveler. But here, Lumine’s only become more of an enigma.
And that innate adventurer’s curiosity tugs at you, compounds your insomnia.
“There has to be something that I—that will suffice. For your time and effort in accompanying me.” Some hidden treasure, a rare sight, something.
“Who knows what we’ll find?” Lumine appraises you with a faint smile. “I’m glad that you’re actually more talkative than you look.”
Warmth blazes through you. “I’m trying to be courteous—”
(This back and forth continues for several hours. You don’t even realize when you’ve drifted off.)