Chapter 2: Prologue, Part 2

A/N: Aaaaand we have covid. On my birthday. What a WONDERFUL present! I'm a little bitter, in case you couldn't tell...

But we don't talk about covid, no no no (yes, I did just do that)... Actually, I tried to say it like 10 different ways, and apparently even the word 'sick' (along with 'covid,' 'corona,' and 'virus') is censored in the Genshin chat lol

At any rate... it was SO HARD to make Lumine and Diluc's conversation without them talking at all, and having to call him nothing but 'the man' 'him' and 'the red-haired man' the whole time was SO ANNOYING! Those two things are why I couldn't finish the whole prologue before midnight on the 21st (a bit after midnight on the 22nd isn't too bad though, right?)

XD

But I'm gonna try and stop digressing (again).

~Golden out~

Previously: Stooping down slightly and offering her his hand, he looked deep into her golden eyes with his earnest, ruby-red stare, and asking her something in a tone of concern that could probably be translated as "are you okay?"

Looking up at the red-haired man, Lumine nodded shakily, then reconsidered and shook her head, before letting out a long, shuddering breath and placing her hand in his. He grasped her hand firmly and lifted her gently - effortlessly - to her feet. Her trembling legs almost gave out again, but he grabbed her forearms and steadied her until she could properly stand.

Her rescuer repeated his question, and she shrugged, telling him, "Uh... maybe?"

The man frowned and asked her another question. Lumine could only shrug helplessly, having no clue what he was trying to say. Sighing, she thought to herself, I bet he'll just walk away in annoyance like all the others I've met, not realizing that I genuinely can't understand him.

However, that was not what he did. Instead, he started pantomiming something: gesturing to her, shaking his head, then pointing to his ear.

After a few moments, Lumine understood. "I'm not deaf, I can hear just fine!" She protested. Then she sighed, smacking her forehead at her own dumbness. He can probably understand my language about as well as I understand his!

I... hear... fine, Lumine mouthed the words as she gestured in reply.

The red-haired man stared at her curiously, then raised a finger - one second - and strode over to one of the tables in the cavern that was piled high with papers. He sifted through them until he found what he was looking for, and quickly returned.

Kneeling beside her, he spread the paper out across the floor in front of them, and Lumine realized that it was a map. Pulling a beautiful, red-feathered quill from somewhere, he leaned forwards and drew a sort of vague circle. He tapped it, then pointed to the two of them and the surrounding cavern.

Oh, so that must be where we are! Lumine realized, nodding at him to show that she understood.

The corner of the red-haired man's mouth twitched upwards in the slightest hint of a smile, and he turned back to the map. Setting his quill to another spot, he quickly drew a little house. Turning to face her, he gestured to himself, then offered her his quill.

That's his home, Lumine realized, and he must want to know where I'm from as well!

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to explain.

Looking at him, she placed a hand on the map and shook her head, Shoving it gently aside. Rising unsteadily to her feet (the red-haired man started up to help her, but she waved him off determinedly - she was still capable of standing up without help!), Lumine went to a desk and grabbed a few loose sheets of blank paper, bringing them over and sitting back down.

Laying a page on the ground where the map had been, she quickly filled it with little doodled stars and a moon. Tapping the page, she looked at the red-haired man hopefully, trying to see how well he understood.

Her hopeful smile changed to concern and confusion as the man's face suddenly became guarded. He seemed slightly confused, but rather wary of her. Lumine looked at him blankly. What had she done that made him react that way?

Seeing her complete confusion, he appeared to relax a little bit. "Solesteea...?" He asked, shaking his head slightly in a questioning way. Lumine took this to mean, "you aren't from 'Solesteea,' right?"

Since she had no idea what 'Solesteea' even was, she shook her head no.

The man nodded, and the wary expression mostly left his face. He turned back to the paper and tapped it, then looked at her and shrugged. Lumine took this as "what does this mean, then?"

Grabbing another page, she tried again. Using the map as a reference, she drew her best impression of his planet in one corner. In the opposite corner, she drew her own world. In between, she sketched a few other planets. Then, she laid it flat in front of the red-haired man, who raised an eyebrow at her skeptically. She huffed and rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm not done," she muttered to herself. He just smirked.

Lumine showed him the first planet, pointing to him and to the map. He nodded, so she went on. Showing him the one on the opposite side - the drawing of her home - she gestured to herself. The man's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he signaled to her that he understood. She smiled and turned back to her sketch. However, her smile faded as she took a deep breath and drew a harsh slash through her planet, and a little trail leading to the next one.

Lumine still remembered perfectly - after all this time - the destruction of her world. Even now, it brought her nightmares at times.

The red-haired man put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and as she looked up at him, she realized that there were tears in the corners of her eyes. She turned quickly to wipe them away, and he pretended not to notice.

Lumine bent back over the sketch and steeled herself, before making a slash through the second one, and a trail leading to the third. On it went, until finally the trail reached his own world.

Every world that she and Aether had traveled to were destroyed in the end, before ever managing to feel like a home... all they'd ever wanted was a home, but now she didn't even have her brother anymore!

Lumine gave a start as she felt a tap on her arm. The red-haired man was looking at her questioningly, pointing to - to a little drawing of herself and Aether that she'd absentmindedly made on the page.

"Oh..."

Lumine took a fresh piece of paper and drew a larger picture of her and her twin brother, their wings unfurled and swords in hand. Then, she drew a jagged line between them, and a large question mark over Aether.

I'm... looking... for him, she gestured, and smiled sadly.

The man looked at her for a moment with an unreadable expression, then sprang to his feet and offered her his hand. This time, she took it without hesitation.

As he lifted Lumine to her feet, she winced slightly before she could stop herself. She had accidentally used the arm that had been injured during her fight with the masked people - which she had kept on using, ignoring the growing pain each time she drew something. She attempted to brush it off, but the sharp-eyed man had noticed, and wasn't fooled in the slightest.

With his left hand, he reached into a pocket - he was still holding her hand with his right - and pulled out a roll of clean bandages. He let go of her hand to rip a length off from the roll, and it felt strangely empty now... Lumine hadn't had any physical contact with another person since Aether, and his hand around hers had felt nice.

The red-haired man wrapped the bandage firmly around the cut in her arm, and the pain left almost completely.

Lumine looked earnestly into his eyes, pressing her hands to her heart, trying to tell him thank you without using any words.

The man looked back at her, and for the first time, he truly smiled at her - it lit up his whole face and made him look much younger, and she realized he was only about twenty years old.

Then, he reached into another pocket and pulled out a flask and a small package, pressing them into her hands. Lumine opened the package and saw that it contained a couple skewers of meat and mushroom.

Wait... these are his emergency food supplies! Lumine realized. She shook her head frantically and tried to give them back. The red-haired man crossed his arms and frowned at her. He said something to her in a disapproving tone, pointing from the food to her injured arm. That's true, it'll help me heal faster, Lumine realized, and I guess I'm probably in more need of food than him...

She gave in and took a huge bite of one of the skewers. The next moment, the package was empty, and she was polishing off the last bit of chicken still clinging to her final skewer. Coming back to herself, Lumine realized that the man had been watching her ravenously devour his skewers like a starving person (she had been kind of starving, though). She gave an embarrassed sort of laugh, and he chuckled a little.

Then, he gestured to the flask that she'd completely forgotten about, and she picked it up and opened it curiously. Taking a small sip, she was delighted at the delicious, refreshing taste, and gulped the rest down quickly. He smirked, taking the empty containers from her and stuffing them back in his pocket.

The red-haired man stood there undecidedly, shooting a glance at the cavern's entrance. Lumine's heart sank just a tiny bit, but she smiled at him and gestured, you... can... go...

He looked at her hesitantly, as if saying "are you sure?"

Lumine quickly nodded. I'll be fine! She mouthed, pointing to herself and giving him a thumbs-up.

He still looked unsure, but Lumine knew she'd taken enough from him already, without taking up even more of his time. She started to shoo him towards the cavern entrance, and he reluctantly gave in.

The red-haired man started walking into the tunnel but turned around before he reached the bend. Lumine smiled at him and waved goodbye, and he smiled back. Lifting a hand in farewell, he stood there for a few seconds, before marching around the bend and out of sight.

Lumine was alone again, but she didn't feel as lonely as before. Her chance meeting with this red-haired stranger, who had been so kind to her, had brought hope back into her heart - someday, she would find her brother, and they would finally find a home together.

Humming happily to herself, Lumine went and grabbed the map they'd been drawing on before. This will probably come in handy at some point!

Taking one last look around the cavern, something suddenly occurred to her: What happened to those other masked people who hadn't fought, the ones wearing black coats? I wonder where they went...

(Meanwhile: "Time for... RETRIBUTION!")

Bonus:

"Uhuhuheheheeheehee..."

"Thus you were behind this!" Kaeya exclaimed, turning to face the Hydro Abyss mage which had just emerged from behind a pillar.

For a moment, the two stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then, the Abyss Mage raised its staff in the air and chanted, "Gohus, Chiso Vonph!" Water swirled around it as it began to form a shield.

Suddenly, five streams of fire raced from the entrance, crashing into the Mage, which stumbled back. Then, from the midst of the flame, a man with bright red hair darted forwards, seizing the Abyssal being and whirling it around, throwing it across the room - and right past Kaeya.

The man rushed after it, and Kaeya smirked as he saw his face - Diluc Ragnvindr. Not that it could've been anyone else, of course.

Diluc's claymore swung upwards, and the Abyss Mage went flying towards the ceiling. Diluc leaped after it, sword blazing and slammed down on its staff - which it had raised just in time to block his blow - in midair. The heavy blow slammed it to the ground, where it landed in an unconscious heap at the foot of a pillar.

Diluc landed in a crouch, sword blazing at his side. He straightened up and gave the sword a jerk, snuffing the fire out, and half-glanced behind him at Kaeya. "Knights of Favonius... Always so inefficient."

Kaeya turned to face him, clapping. "Agree to disagree," he said smoothly. "But first... have you met the illustrious Traveler?"

A/N: Ta-da! The prologue is complete. I sure hope you remember what scene that last bit is from, if not OH WELL THEN! I know that wasn't really what Kaeya said at the end, but... if you have issues, take them up with my sister, she's the one who insisted I add that scene, and who came up with Kaeya's line. I actually have this cutscene recorded, so I tried to follow it as closely as I could (apart from the different line at the end, obviously).

Well, I hope you like it so far everyone (but specifically 'Night' because this is your story lol)!

I'll go, and let you (and me) go to sleep.

Here's to us recovering from covid quickly! And also to me having a better birthday next year :)

~Golden out~

Edit: It's about 5 minutes after I posted this chapter, and I just realized the thing I'd wanted to mention in my author's notes but had forgotten about (because I knew there was SOMETHING, lol)! And it is: my sis 'Night' literally sewed me a Lumine-inspired dress for my birthday present! It's sooo pretty, but it doesn't fit quite right yet, and she hasn't made a scarf either...(yet)

But, it's amazing, and I just needed to share that fact with the world.

So, there you go!

~Golden out (again)~