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Lumine settled at Windrise, sitting down to watch the rising sun with her trusty travel companion, Paimon, and her Totally-Not-Divine friend, Venti. The traveller was exhausted from her adventures, and her journey had only just begun. After helping Dvalin, or whatever kind of sense they ended up slapping into the old lizard, Lumine decided that she was already sick of dragons for the rest of time. (unbeknownst to her, she would soon meet a much older, much gayer lizard when she ventured to Liyue.)
Back in her true home, away from this mess of a planet, dragons weren't a threat at all. They were small, more like common vermin that got into your walls. Comparable to mice, but with wings and an attitude. She'd kept one as a pet, in her youth. Aether wasn't allowed anywhere near hers, as he always joked about cooking the reptiles into soup. He'd probably regret mentioning that here in Teyvat, were they travelling together.
Dragons that towered over buildings, capable of flattening cities. With threats like that, Lumine was unsure how the normal civilians here managed to live for so many millions of years when time passed so slowly in Teyvat. After 500 years, which should've been an easy nap for Lumine, she woke up feeling as if she'd been in a coma. And she'd found herself well rested after a measly 8 hours, compared to the thousand year rests she'd fall into back home.
How old was she, now? She'd barely kept up. Born only 10 minutes before Aether, the twins would be celebrating their 17,999,999,900th birthdays this year, right? Counting the 500 year slumber, of course. Essentially 18 billion, but that didn't matter to the citizens of Mondstadt. In their eyes, she was a child for the next hundred years or so. It was odd, being in a place with so many elder beings. She was used to being the oldest anywhere she went, excluding the twins' mother, Stellara.
Teyvat citizens had been abbreviating ages much more simply than she'd been taught. She was considered 17, here. Some friends had their ages abbreviated similarly. Diluc, 22. Kaeya, 20. Venti, 2000. She was shocked to hear that, to his amusement.
"Two trillion.." She'd murmured, getting only a raised eyebrow in response. Maybe it wasn't that surprising, but even her mother, older than the stars like her and her brother, was only around 48 billion. Aether would discreetly call their mom "the oldest of old ladies," earning a tiny smack from his sister.
She had to find him fast and get out of Teyvat, and so her journey continued to Liyue. Or, would. She was beyond exhausted. Paimon, despite not doing a thing, seemed to share the sentiment. She pitied the pixie a bit. She was like a little kid, trailing along Lumine's soon-to-be-frequent death marches.. She may not have done anything, but her adrenaline must've been pumping! Lumine felt bad.
"Hey, Paimon, how about we try something out before we head to Liyue? We have some time!" She winked at her companion, who stared curiously. "Consider it a victory lap around Mondstadt! We're heroes, after all." She put her hands on her hips like a superhero, the pixie following suit in excitement. She was quiet, likely still a bit shaken, but some light returned to her eyes as she was offered fun, simple adventure!
"Paimon would love to go around defeating bad guys! Bam bam!" She did some vague karate chops. Lumine wasn't too sure where she got those from. "Ooh, but first, we have to get food! Paimon is starving to death! And drinks, too!" She circled around the traveller's head, just to be caught like a little cat.
The girls shared a laugh as the Anemo Archon fluttered down from his tree branch. Aether used to do this in the trees they played around as kids. Impulsively, she yanked his leg forward before he touched the ground, making him flip wildly, cartoonishly in the air, whining like a toddler when she stopped him in place.
"Whoops!" She scratched the back of her head as the Archon huffed and puffed at her. Scratching behind her head, she gave a little laugh. "Ehh... My brother does the same thing. I always flip him around." She tried to laugh it off.
"Well I'll say! Maybe he's off hiding somewhere so he doesn't-" The archon stumbled on his feet. "Get spun right round like a record, baby!" He giggled, flopping down onto his bottom. Lumine was momentarily confused before realizing that Venti's knowledge of music was unmatched. She rolled her eyes.
"Sure, music man. I'll take you out for drinks as an apology." She patted her senior's back. She offered. He accepted right away. "Sing me one of your fancy future tunes, and I'll buy you two drinks."
"Make it three!"
"Deal."
"...Four?"
"You're pushing it."
"Awwe." He sighed, pulling out his lyre of which wasn't utterly destroyed. He leaned back, strumming a very familiar tune. It took her a moment to recognize it, and before she could put her hands around his stupid throat-
"We're no strangers to loooove~~ You know the rules-" he chimed, right before she began to strangle him. He squirmed, the two of them laughing uncontrollably. Paimon didn't quite understand, but she giggled, too, and the trio watched the sun continue to rise over the city of freedom before starting their free day. They'd earned it.
Venti was gone with the wind (an an 'ehe!') Within seconds, leaving Lumine and Paimon to roam the streets. After some Idle chatter, Lumine noticed that her tiny companion was looking a bit sluggish.. So she started subtly brushing people off, heading towards the good hunter. She got herself some fisherman's toast, and two entire sweet madames for Paimon. She felt like a rich woman getting an entire rotisserie chicken for her beloved cat's birthday, setting Paimon down.
"I'll be at the blacksmith. Come find me when you're done!" Was all she said before disappearing with a waypoint. Paimon knew she did it for dramatic effect, because the nearest waypoint was on top of a building near the church, and the blacksmith was literally a few yards away from where they already were!
Still, food was food, and she'd gotten two free sweet madames! It was obvious that Lumine wanted her to cheer up, and who was Paimon to question her first ever friend? Other than a brat. But Paimon decided to put those instincts aside and focus on her food. She couldn't help think it needed something. Maybe some nutmeg. Oh well...
When the pixie was done with her meal after 30 minutes, she yawned, just about ready to climb back into Lumine's bag and head to sleep. But no, she was counting on Paimon to meet her! The pixie fought sleep, standing up, struggling to get down from the table for about a minute before realizing that she could fly. And so fly she did, around the corner to the blacksmith, where Lumine was waiting with a knife.
Paimon floated over, almost crashing into the blonde, and realized something. That "knife" had pink stars lining the cross guard. The bottom of the hilt had a pointed star at the end, too. There were black accents wherever possible, and it set in that Paimon wasn't looking at a knife, it was-
"Ta-da! Your very own sword, Paimon! You told me the other day you wanted one, and this morning, you said you wanted to help strike down bad guys." The traveller, light in her eyes, held it out to Paimon. There were tears in the Pixie's eyes as she took it, feeling the power radiating from it. It looked just like the traveller's own Sword of Descension, and just holding it made her feel powerful, like her true friend and protector. Before she knew what was happening, Lumine was adjusting a similarly fashioned sheathe onto the pixie's waist.
Paimon was at a loss for words. For several quiet moments, the only sounds were the sheathing and unsheathing of the brand new blade. Then, with a final sheathe, she threw herself at the traveller without a word, but with a lot of tears.
"Awwe, don't cry, Paimon. I did all this to see you smile!" She laughed, and the little pixie cried harder. Lumine smiled at the blacksmith, carrying the pixie off.
The tender moment was followed up with pure bloodshed! Kind of. A certain someone she'd meet in the future would be proud nonetheless. She took Paimon to fight enemies, and Teyvat's monsters just kind of dissolved when struck down, like those who uttered the name of the veiled kingdom, Valla, outside of its borders. Or was that a different world...? Lumine couldn't be bothered to guess, and she definitely wasn't going to test it.
Regardless, she taught Paimon to use a sword during combat, the best way to learn. Paimon ended up using her blade more like a dagger, impressing Lumine on more than one occasion. She was even intimidated a bit, watching a tiny baby slit a hillichurl's throat. Paimon could fly and hide well, making her oddly formidable... The only issue was how quickly she tired. Lumine felt a bit frustrated. Paimon could become a skilled assassin in someone else's care, but she'd never give up the pixie that'd captured her heart like a sister...
The two spent a large chunk of the day tearing through enemies, clearing out camps and bases. Paimon even helped with a Mitachurl, the sharpness of her sword letting her jab into it.
Lumine was satisfied when the two collapsed in an empty camp, panting. She might've been holding Paimon back, but she seemed so happy, she didn't want to say a word.
"Hey Paimon? I love you." She said without much thought behind it. It just came naturally.
"Paimon loves you too, Lumine!" She giggled, sheathing her sword before yawning. She retreated into the bag Lumine carried for a nap, and Lumine had no complaints... Until she realized the sun was setting. She'd completely forgot about meeting with Venti! Standing, she dusted off her dress, opting to clean herself up before heading to the Angel's Share to bother Diluc. She at least had the decency to spare him the scent of the outdoors, sweat and monsters.
After a thorough scrubbing behind a waterfall, as well as letting Paimon clean up, the two set off towards the Tavern.
It took more than a few moments to get there, the moon already taking its place in the sky. Lumine acknowledged that she forgot she could teleport, and immediately put it behind her, all but bursting into the tavern. Venti was holding Diluc down by the collar, whispering something into his ear. The owner was bright red and shaky, looking at Lumine like a savior. He loudly cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Traveller. Paimon." He waved, and Lumine had to suffer through the Bard's oddly on-key screech. D flat? He whipped around, waving nervously. Whatever that fruitbasket of a pair was up to, she wanted no part in it. Sitting down next to Venti and yanking on one of her braids, she leaned back.
"Hope I'm not late?" She cooly laughed. Paimon fluttered around the room, probably looking for an opportunity to steal treats.
"I've been here forever, waiting, and then you pull my luscious locks!" Venti sighed, dramatically leaning back, leg raising high. She pushed him over onto the ground, further picking on him. Diluc was staring at a cup as he wiped it down, as it'd suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world to him.
"He's been here 7 minutes." Diluc murmured. They all burst into laughter, even the pyro wielder snickering a bit.
"Alright, zest fest, I'll take two dandelion-" She started, and Venti cleared his throat. "THREE dandelion wines." She held out the appropriate amount of fingers. After spending so long alive, she'd learned a thing or two about counting. Diluc just shook his head.
"I can't serve alcoholic beverages to children." He rolled his eyes. She wailed.
"Diluc! Come on, I'm a power nap away from adulthood!" She tossed her arms in the air.
"Then take a power nap and come back." He crossed his arms.
"Come on, it won't be the same if I sleep for a century. Think about it: Today could end perfectly! I treat my closest friends to their favourite things, I find a new ally in combat, and I finish it off by celebrating saving the city with some delicious wine!" She painted the picture, batting her lashes. Unfortunately, that move didn't work on gay men. He just turned away like a brat, pouting and shifting his weight onto one leg. Venti caught a glimpse of him and perked up like the strange little dog he was.
"I'm not going to prison." He scoffed. He seemed to realize something. "Did you say-"
"Exactly! You won't go to prison for giving me a drink, Just give me a quick hundred years." She crossed her arms.
Diluc seemed suddenly very, very tired. "...Lumine, exactly how old are you?"
"17,999,999,900. Told you, just give me a hundred years, and-"
"Lumine, the legal drinking age is 18. Not 18 billion, 18." He covered his face before pouring the drinks. Lumine's brain seemed to be fried, like Diluc's after-
"What." She deadpanned.
"Lumine, we're human. Er - I am. I'll hardly live a hundred years at best. Probably more in the ballpark of 80." He explained as she stared at him blankly. Venti was already on his third bottle of stolen wine, sneaking apples to Paimon. (Diluc would make Venti pay for that later in their agreed upon way.)
"Nnaaaah, you'll live, like, a couple hundred or thousand, since you're my wife." Venti slurred, opening the bottle. It was true, immortals tended to extend their lover's lifespans, consciously or not. Venti was extending his lover's very, very consciously.
"What?" Diluc turned to look at him
"One problem at a time, Diluc?" Lumine weakly snarked. Diluc looked back at her. "You mean I've been under the impression-"
"Yes, that the citizens of Teyvat are millions, if not billions of years old, when in reality, you're older than our known universe. I gathered." Diluc keeps wiping the same glass he was cleaning 5 minutes ago. Clearly just trying to keep busy with something. Lumine slammed her head into the table.
"Diluc Alexandria Ragnvindr."
"That's not my middle name."
"If you don't grace me with enough Alcohol in volume to kill an Archon, you're gonna WISH your middle name was Alexandria."
"What does that mean?"
"Let's just say a very sticky situation involving you, me, some duct tape and an inkwell." She scoffed. He thought for a moment, shuddered and began pouring drinks.
After appropriately poisoning herself with her dear friend, Diluc just let them pass out on the ground. He couldn't be bothered to clean up. He'd done his part, eliminating even the memory of germs from that one cup he was wiping. Charles could handle the rest. After pickpocketing Lumine for the appropriate amount of Mora, He picked up his personal trainwreck of a bard in the end, carrying him home when he left. Paimon was asleep in a basket, cozy. He'd tucked her in.
Before Lumine and Paimon continued their journey to Liyue, the knights, Diluc and Venti had come to see them off. After some heartfelt goodbyes and tears from the knights(Diluc absolutely wasn't crying, though. Impossible.), he walked up to the pair.
"Before you go... I just wanted to ask, What were you going to do? With the duct tape and stuff." He seemed cautious.
"Oh, nothing. I just pick two random nouns and let your brain work out the rest. Its way scarier than whatever I could come up with." She answered, skipping off without a hitch. He sighed heavily.
Was that woman really his senior..?
Well, if he was dating Barbatos, anything was possible...