Hello there,
Here is a one-shot about the friendship between Aether and Paimon. Hope you enjoy the story and good reading.
"- It's my emergency food!"
"- Don't pay attention to her, she acts like a child sometimes."
"- You're not very smart..."
Every day, she only heard these kinds of sentences. Since she started traveling with him, she was subject to this kind of teasing, and she knew it was for fun, that it was part of their dynamic and that she was not supposed to feel this kind of things, but the longer the journey went, the less she felt that was the case. At this point, she was almost convinced that he saw her like this, a small disruptor on his long road to arriving at his destination, reuniting with his sister.
Normally, Paimon, the little fairy and self-proclaimed guide, is a good-natured and cheerful person who, if a bit goofy, was good company, at least for the Traveler.
However, for some time, she no longer had the same energy as before, and sometimes daydreamed, which caused her interlocutors to briefly worry about her. For Aether, the Traveler, it was only a matter of time before she started screaming all over the place and resumed her usual behaviour, so he wasn't too worried.
But it was when one day, when he and she were invited to a dinner party, where he was pretty sure that Paimon was going to feast on all the food and leave nothing for anyone, that he saw the little fairy waiting and staring blankly at the dishes, without eating them, when he asked her, he heard an answer that no one thought they would ever hear from Paimon:
"- No thank you, Paimon doesn't feel like hungry today..."
Aether was surprised, not to say completely stunned by what he had just heard, knowing that since their arrival in Sumeru, she was already feasting in advance to be able to taste all the existing dishes of this country, and to elsewhere other people who more or less knew the Traveler in the audience knew that his floating companion would never want to ignore it, which surprised them just as much.
That's when Aether realized from seeing Paimon's blank stare that something had really upset him, he couldn't tell what, but it really worried him. He may never say it in front of her, but he was truly grateful to have a fellow companion like her, even with all her mistakes.
When they returned to their hotel where they had stayed when they had saved Dunyarzad from death, before they could return there, Nilou, who was accompanying them, grabbed Aether by her sleeve gently, to announce that she had also noticed the sudden change in her friend's behaviour.
"- Aether, I think you noticed that too.
- I know what you're going to tell me, and I agree with you. Paimon hadn't been on her plate for some time, but it's getting worse and worse, I'll talk to her about it.
- I see, Aether, luckily you're here, that's what I wanted to know. It saddens me to see Paimon in this situation. I know that I know her much less than you, and maybe I interfere in things that don't concern me, but everyone had noticed it too, whether it's Dehya, or even your friends in the forest, and I wanted to be sure that you would do something about it.
- I know it well, after all, she knows me by heart and I know her like the back of my hand. You know, the last thing I want to lose right now is someone I care about a lot...", he said, clenching his fist, which Nilou noticed, and she passed her hand on Aether's, gently comforting him while caressing him.
"- Aether... I know you will do a good job, you literally saved Sumeru, all its inhabitants and came to my help to save what was dearest to me, it shouldn't be too difficult for you... So trust yourself...
- Thank you... Nilou... And sorry to have bothered you with that...
- No problem, it's the least I can do. Take care, Aether, and good night.
- Good night Nilou."
She waved to him from afar and then left, leaving Aether alone with her thoughts of figuring out why Paimon was in this state, only to see that when he entered the room, there was no sign of the little fairy. He looked everywhere in the room, and when he no longer saw her, he asked around, but no one had seen her.
He began to seriously worry about her, and fearing the worst, he walked to a small house on the outskirts of Sumeru town, and saw the little fairy on the roof, sitting looking at the moon, crossing her arms on her knees, crying and sniffling.
After climbing onto the roof, he joins Paimon in crying out in concern, startling the little white-haired girl.
"- Aether!?
- Paimon, you weren't so scary! Never leave like that again!
- Sorry... Paimon just wanted to be alone, but Paimon sees that she has created problems for Aether again...
- What, again?
- You know very well, it's my fault if you're slowed down in your quest.
- Who decided that?
- But it's the truth...
- Paimon..."
This is where the Traveler sat down next to Paimon, and asked him for an explanation of what was happening, but Paimon answered with another question:
"- Aether, is Paimon a bother to you?", she said on the verge of tears, with a fake smile to try not to scare the traveler.
At that moment, Aether understood what was happening, Paimon was afraid of being useless, of being abandoned, of having no positive contribution in his objective. She thought she was a bad person who took advantage of the kindness of the blond-haired boy to eat for free and have more moras.
It was then that Aether took on a grave, serious expression, and seeing this, Paimon thought he interpreted this as the end of her journey with him.
"- Paimon knew it... Sorry, and thank you for everything...
- Wait, did I say something...
- No but...
- Listen to what I have to tell you...
- OK...
- Did I ever say that I no longer wanted to have you by my side? I thought the answer was obvious.
- But, I see now how much I don't help you, in each fight, against Dvalin, Osial, Tartaglia, Signora, Scaramouche, not to mention the other enemies, I can't do anything to contribute to a better success rate without you have to do all the work. Each time, I speak without saying anything, sometimes being rude. Besides, I waste your preciously earned moras buying food all the time. The more we travel, the more I begin to tell myself that you have no reason to continue your journey with someone like Paimon. I'm just a pathetic, stupid guide who doesn't deserve to be by your side."
Aether, listening to the monologue, said nothing, but he felt one, then two tears fall on his face, and one of them had fallen on Paimon's face, and she looked up only to catch a glimpse of something. She had seen only twice during her journey, during the death of Teppei and the convalescence of Dunyarzad: Aether crying.
"- Aether..."
She knew that Aether was not someone who cried easily, and seeing the hero of many nations crying for her left her speechless, she would never have believed that. She saw him trying to wipe away her tears in vain, then Paimon heard something she couldn't understand why her friend was telling her that.
"- Sorry Paimon...Forgive me... I didn't think you were in so much pain...
- Aether, no, it's Paimon's to apologize, not you! It's you who suffers in this story... I'm the culprit...
- Paimon..."
After calming down a bit for a few seconds, Aether took a deep breath and told him what he really thought of the situation.
"-Paimon, you don't have to mentally torture yourself like that and I'll settle this once and for all.
- Eh?
- You know, I admit that there were times when I wasn't kind to you, I call you emergency food, a moras vacuum cleaner or like a not very intelligent person, but these are not only jokes about your behaviour, I would never really insult you, neither before, nor now, nor in the future.
- It's true?
- Of course. And you know, when there was the incident on the Sabzeruz festival, when we left each other for a day in order to verify the theory of the time loop...
- I remember...
- There was something that really stuck with me. You worried about me the whole day I was gone and when we got together you hugged me right away and cried all the tears you had because you were so happy to see me again and because you genuinely cared about me.
- Yes...Paimon didn't want you to leave...
- Exactly, and I wouldn't. You know, that day, I saw the total trust you had given me, and it had been a long time since I had seen someone worry so sincerely about me. And I want to honor that trust you placed in me.
- Paimon doesn't want to lose you.
- And I don't want you to leave either. It's true that I don't talk much about my emotions and that I don't show it convents, but you mean a lot to me.
- But I'm not helping you much.
- It's true that in combat you don't help me physically, but as you told me, you support me. I know you can't fight, but that's enough for me, knowing that you're on my side is enough for me. And beyond that, on a daily basis, your company is pleasant, you are funny, and you speak for me when I don't really want to chat with people or when they are boring, I also thank you for that.
- Aether...
- And that's not all, it's true that sometimes I'm on edge because of all the events that are happening, so I may speak badly, but I would never think that you are useless. You know this trip would be pretty boring without having a companion as energetic as you. And then, several times you made me keep my calm against a lot of people, and even worse events could have happened than what we had experienced. It doesn't seem like it, but I can get angry easier than people think.
- Do you really think it, traveling with me isn't boring?
- There are little problems sometimes, but nothing is perfect in this world, and I really appreciate your company, without you my journey to find my sister would be a bit bland, and I think I would never have met as many people as if they had made the trip alone. I never told anyone, but since losing my sister, I felt a little empty, I mean, I always traveled with my sister in all the previous worlds that I visited, but arrived here, and as we progress, you have managed to fill a little this void that I had in my heart.
- Paimon is also happy to have been able to meet you.
- Thank you Paimon, or should I say little sister.
Hearing those words, Paimon couldn't help crying, but this time with joy, and giving Aether a warm hug.
"- Do you really mean your last words?
- Yes, you have reached a point where I think, or rather I see you as my little sister, and when I see you, some of your behavior makes me think of Lumine, and I know that I will see her again one day. But for now, I just want to see my best friend and the only one who didn't give up on me from start to finish smiling like she always does."
Paimon was happy that her doubts were gone, and hearing Aether call her best friend for the first time was the best thing she could hear from him, because she knew Aether wasn't one to put names on her. on people.
She made her typical pose and smiled broadly:
"- You too, Aether, you are my best friend, and meeting you was the best thing that could have happened to me."
Aether couldn't help but smile too seeing Paimon's heart soothed, and seeing her so grateful when he didn't do anything according to him. He closed his eyes to think, and opened them again, before saying simply:
"- Me too Paimon, I'm glad you came on my way."
It was then that Paimon gave Aether one last hug before saying something that surprised Aether, but in a good way:
"- Aether, I promise to try my best to help you from now on, and not to waste so many moras."
- It's a promise, you'd better keep it to the end.
- Paimon promises.", before our two protagonists shake hands to confirm their agreement.
"- You know Paimon...
- Yes...
- I think you and Lumine will get along well. It's true, after all, for me, you are family, and then Lumine would also accept you without problem.
- Thank you Aether, from the bottom of my heart, Paimon thanks you for everything you have done.
- You're welcome, now let's get some sleep, because the party has exhausted me.
- You're right."
On the way, Paimon saw Aether gazing at the stars in Sumeru's sky, and to reassure him, for she knew what he was thinking, and replied:
«- You will find her, and you will present her to me?
- One day, Paimon, one day... »
They took advantage of the landscape of the city in their walk before falling asleep when they had arrived at their destination.
The next morning, Paimon was full of energy and had regained her usual joy of living, to the delight of Aether who saw her eating with appetite in the café where they had taken to eating their breakfast, where they were joined by Nilou and Dehya later, and they saw the little fairy back to her usual state.
"- Hello, Aether and Paimon.
- Dehya, Nilou, good morning.
- Hello to both of you.
- Here's one who caught up with everything she hadn't eaten the previous evening.
- Aether, I see that you managed to restore the joy of living to our Paimon.
- As you can see, Nilou, she just needed more self-confidence.
- Like a certain traveler...
- Eh eh...
- In any case, if Paimon is better, that's the main thing, but could we find out what the problem was, if you don't mind?", Dehya asked, and Nilou agreed with her because they both wanted to know, but Aether simply replied:
"- Let's say my best friend suppressed her worries."
Dehya and Nilou understood what he was referring to more or less because Aether hardly ever called Paimon by "her best friend", so they linked it to a problem related to their friendship.
Aether invited them to eat breakfast with him and Paimon since they hadn't eaten anything and were with him.
Next to the traveler was Nilou, who teased him:
"- You saved someone again, don't you stop?
- You know, I'm not even doing it on purpose, and then, I don't think it's a rescue.
- Still as modest as I see. In any case, here is your reward.", and she kissed Aether with her lips glued to his, under the eyes of Dehya and Paimon who stopped eating, and who did not understand what was happening, while the traveler himself did not expect this bold behavior from the dancer.
After the kiss, Nilou whispered softly and seductively in Aether's ear:
"- You will have an even better reward tonight...", she said before giving him a wink, making the traveler blush like a tomato, under the astonished eyes of the fairy and the mercenary.
"- Can someone tell Paimon what's going on?
- I didn't know you two were in this kind of relationship.
- It's quite complicated to explain..."
After explaining the adventures of their relationship, and after discussing about nothing, the group, via Dehya's proposal, was going to do a little quest to stretch their legs.
Along the way to the location, Dehya asked Aether a question regarding Paimon:
"- I was wondering, Paimon doesn't have to come with you to fights, she might hurt herself or get in your way, so why?"
That's where Paimon and Aether looked at each other, laughing, under the intrigued eyes of Dehya and Nilou, who didn't understand.
"- Paimon will never abandon Aether.
- And I would never give up on Paimon. It's important to have moral support, especially when you're an adventurer and you travel everywhere, so I don't see why my best friend wouldn't be with me. Don't underestimate her importance, it can be crucial when you least expect it.
- I see...
- It really looks like you are siblings like that! It's lovely!
- It's true, Nilou is right. I understand now why you two are traveling companions. It's true that I would have liked to have a person like Paimon in my mercenary job to make my work less dull.
- Maybe it will happen one day, Dehya, if Dunyarzad recovers, she can accompany you.
- I hope so, Aether.
- Anyway, I tell you honestly, you can say what you want, but on the way, Paimon is the best friend you can have.
- Thank you Aether."
The small group continued on its way to the quest in a good mood, with doubts vanished in the hearts of our two protagonists.