Dive In
Paimon waits quietly eating in the bedroom of their room. It has only been four days since Paimon and the traveler met. That is why she knew to give her companion some space in the morning. Without fail every morning so far the traveler sits by herself and remembers her brother. The nonchalant and occasionally sassy aura she carries is replaced with a somber one. Then the day begins and they set out.
"Ready to go?" Lumine chirps upon entering the room.
"Paimon saved you some." Paimon clamours while whisking out her plate. "Paimon is just nice like that."
Lumine usually ate an apple or two to start her morning. Joining the adventurer's guild kept her busy so she ate lighter when departing for a mission. Knowing that, Paimon cut the fisherman's toast in half for her to eat.
"Thanks." She barely gets out before taking a bite.
The room they are sharing is at the knights of favonius's headquarters. Being a hotshot knight came with plenty of perks. Lumine holds her breakfast in her mouth as she locks the door behind them. Paimon floats in circles to keep herself occupied. The red carpet and tapestries gave the hallway a regal look. Most of the building is made from stone which gives a cool vibe literally and aesthetically. Paimon and Lumine engage in light comical squabble down the hallway.
"We'll grab the commissions for today and then-" Lumine starts to recount their agenda for the day.
The traveler's eyes go wide as she hesitates. Turning the corner she almost bumps into a fellow knight. Her fingertips hover a centimeter over the other's chest. A centimeter from brushing against their skin. Diverting her attention to the owner's face wasn't helpful either. The expression she sees is more inviting and taunting than her bashful one.
"Huh?" Paimon wonders aloud before turning the corner too. "Oh, Kaeya!"
Lumine steps away from him at the sound of Paimon's voice. Kaeya, captain of the cavalry, doesn't seem to notice the movement. His full attention goes to the floating friend.
"You look rather adorable today, going anywhere special?" Kaeya schmoozes.
"But Paimon always looks adorable." Paimon proclaims. "Does daily commissions make Paimon look different?" She directs the question to Lumine.
The knight answers her non-verbally with a head shake. Paimon takes on a thinking pose as she considers Kaeya's words more. Meanwhile Lumine shakes off the jitters from earlier since he doesn't seem to mind. Kaeya observes the blonde again.
"Oh the guild." He seems to state dismissively. "When do you plan to return?"
"Paimon doesn't know." Paimon answers.
Albeit amused now, Kaeya still only watches Lumine for her answer. If they were assigned other quests then he was certain Paimon would have forgotten them. Things that didn't affect Paimon didn't seem to register much with her. To answer him she gave a slight shrug. That would change his plans then. Nothing more could be said so they went their separate ways.
"Seize the day." Kaeya encourages.
Reaching the bottom of the staircase Lumine and Paimon witness friendly expressions. The lobby of the headquarters has four doors and four guards. The left side of the building is Jean's stress lair. Honestly Paimon and Lumine haven't gotten to explore the right side of the building yet, but Lisa goes there often. Currently Lisa and Amber stand at the door leading out.
"Hi darling," Lisa yawns after greeting her. "I still have work to get done. Come see me later and maybe you'll get a reward." She finishes winsomely while sauntering off.
"Morning! Wanna go for a jog?" Amber beams now standing considerably closer to them.
"Personal space!" Paimon shrieks.
"Oh sorry." Amber chuckles and moves away.
"We're doing commissions for the guild today." Lumine informs.
"Want to come with?" Paimon adds.
"Sure. Ready to go?" Amber agrees.
"Yeah."
The trio checks the board for the quests and commissions for the day. Stormterror, the dragon, storms of rage leaves devastation all over. For the small adventurer's guild that means more work than they can handle. Thankfully it helps pass time when waiting on another task from Jean.
Their first quest took them to the top of the hill to protect farmland from hilichurls. The two seasoned females treated it like a morning warm up. The next task is located over 500 meters away from their first. Katheryne, from the adventurer's guild, hand picks Lumine's quests every morning. Paimon collects the sunsettia fruits from the tree and hands them to Lumine. Amber takes in the view near the edge of the cliff.
"Ah!" Amber inhales. "Don't you just love weather like this?"
Lumine looks over towards her and finally takes in the weather. Mondstat on brink of peril, brother forcefully kidnapped still, but hey it's a little less cloudy than yesterday. Paimon analyzes Lumine's face and knows that look well by now. She glides over to her companion and lightly clasps her hands.
"Wind gliding." Paimon suggests.
"It's perfect wind gliding weather." Amber jumps and cheers. "Ready? Set. Go!" This time she really jumps off.
"That girl." Paimon sighs with her hands on her hips. "Well come on." Paimon motions for Lumine to follow.
The traveler holds her breath as she looks over the cliff side. Watching her friends have fun made her feel lonely. Stepping two steps back she runs and jumps. The wind feels like tender hands caressing her face. Lumine opens her glider and now those hands carry her over the land. Super sites, adrenaline, and this weather seems to wash her worries away. Paimon flies beside her as they tail Amber. Sensing them behind her, Amber peaks back and beams a smile. She slows so they can all glide side by side.
"Doesn't this feel amazing?" Amber hollars over the wind.
Gliding at this level there are no bugs and few leaves to bother you. There is a breeze just when you miss the wind blasting your face. Most importantly this is where her friends are. Paimon grins as she sees this is just what her pal needed to let loose. Amber and Paimon wait for her to answer how she feels.
"Woooohoooooooo!" The female twin bellows for all to hear.
The trio burst into laughter at the sudden hurrah. Their giggling trails behind them on the wind. Cider lake rests under them and shimmers in the sunlight.
The second task proves to be more tedious. One large ice slime wears armor, called a cryo slime, so they coordinate their attacks. Wind doth feed the flame. Once the bounty is done Amber fires at the mist flower beside the slime condensate. Quizzically Lumine squats down to observe the flower. The ice surrounding the mist flower was not produced by the slimes but the flower itself. Plucking it took slightly more effort and care than a normal flower. The bud still feels chilly to the touch. Anything worth picking takes effort. The reward she found is worth all the antics.
"Paimon's hungry." Paimon blurts out patting her tummy.
"Let's grab that lunch I promised you at Good Hunter." Amber suggests with zeal.
"Paimon likes that idea."
"I could eat." Lumine agrees.
The traveler's companions seem to skip and hop as they make their way back to Mondstat. Paimon went so far as to hum until she heard her roommate laughing. Reaching the gates the guards stop Amber.
"Outrider, Amber, Jean is requesting you immediately." The guard on the left informs her.
"Aww man. I better go, bye Paimon. Bye traveler." Amber scuffs her shoe and waves.
Watching Amber dash through the city kept the duo in silence. Upon being out of sight the duo glances at each other.
"Does Lumine want to eat at Good Hunter?" Paimon questions.
"Let's go with Amber. We need some milk-" Lumine cuts herself off remembering a meme from another world. "Hah. Ugh from the store and I could cook something." She decides to keep the joke to herself since no one would understand. No one here but her brother...
"Okay! Paimon thinks she likes Lumine's cooking as well." Paimon grins brightly.
At the store Paimon flies around wildly like a child running in the store. It is up to Lumine to avoid excessive spending.
"Oooo candy." Paimon drools.
"We're here for milk."
"Chicken breast only at-"
"Not milk."
"Can I have-"
"Not milk."
"Let's buy a funny hat."
"That's not how you spell m-i—l-k."
A defeated Paimon lays at the counter. Lumine notices some new cooking recipes. Now carrying milk and a recipe she smiles. Paimon slid some candy in as the order was being counted. Especially since she broke her own rules, Lumine allows it. They have plenty of mora, which is money, but requests aren't guaranteed. Peaceful days could mean no pay for them. As long as Stormterror is around she should be fine.
They eat their lunch peacefully in their room. There are still two more requests to complete before the day is over. The third quest takes the most combat skill. Sunset is here as they begin the final task. A dangerous wind monster is getting too close to a village out east. Being the same element, Lumine relies on her swordplay skills instead of an elemental advantage. The fight takes hours and drags on deep into the night. On the way home Lumine peers over a cliff.
She takes a step back and then runs off the cliff to glide into Mondstadt. Mid flight she loses wind and falls into the lake. Paimon starts to dart around frantically trying to find signs of her companion. The water is colder at night so when Lumine finally comes up for air she is shivering. Paimon flies over and hugs her head in relief. She couldn't imagine trying to fish her out of the river herself.
"Don't scare me like that ever again." Paimon demands.
After nodding Lumine starts her way to the shore. If she had a stamina bar it feels as if she's near depletion. The cold salty water lapping back at her as she treads through doesn't help. Her vision is growing blurry maybe from the water, or she's that tired today, perhaps she's nearing exhaustion. Paimon's small voice seems so far away as they get closer to the shore. With one last effort Lumine tries to swim faster to get there. Paimon moves faster to try to keep up until she sees her friend sinking, In one frantic last struggle Lumine reaches out for her hand and looks up at her with desperate eyes. Like a rock she sinks below into the depths.
"Lumine!" Paimon shrills. "No! Where are you? No!"
Hurriedly Paimons starts trying to part the water to find her friend. There is no way for her tiny body to pull her out. Meanwhile Lumine drifts further under the shadowy parts of the lake.
"Hold on! I'll get all of the knights." Paimon declares. "This is an emergency." She repeats as she flies through the night.
Kaeya is out in the fields near Mondstadt. Unfortunately for him new information just came up about the Darknight Hero. He has his suspicions of who the hero could be but tonight they would see him in action. Paimon sees him and she flails her arms warningly. She is doing all she can and needs a second to repeat it again. Kaeya begins to wave at her but pauses noticing Lumine is not nearby.
"Kaeya!" Paimon whines.
"Where's Lumine?" His usual cool demeanor starts to crack.
"Emergency! Emergency! Lumine fell into Cider lake."
At her words Kaeya runs off in the direction of the lake. The cool night wind seems to part as he tears through. Paimon is on his heels and cheering him along. The guards with him hesitate but follow him to wherever they are going. Upon reaching Cider lake Kaeya starts to discard unnecessary clothing. Ignoring the cries of those around them, he dives into the lake.
It's dark and cold in the water. His eyepatch does nothing to aid him in his search for the female knight. Kaeya holds his breath looking at everything that is moving. To his dismay he rushes to 'save' seaweed and various debris instead of Lumine. To avoid sinking much like her, he rises to top for a breath of air.
"Kaeya!" Paimon screeches.
"Captain Kaeya!" Some of his men call out. "Get his coat."
"No!" He screams more at himself than them. "I'll get her."
Not waiting for protest he dives back down into the lake. Manically the captain of the calvary scurries the lake floor. How long has she been under? Trying to push the worry away from his mind he more aggressively moves the items on the bed of the lake. This time he comes up for air and slaps the water angrily. The chills of the lake is starting to take its toll on him as well.
"Captain come out, we'll come in." One man offers.
Kaeya huffs and shivers while trying to stay afloat. Thanks to his cyro affiliation he can handle a chill or two. Still time was running out before...Lumine wouldn't be able to be resuscitated or worse she'd freeze to death. Gulping back his fear and maybe some barf he prepares for one more dive. The noise on the beach shore was just that; noise. Feeling the push of the current on his feet an idea comes to him. Instead of searching the same space he moves following the current. Sure enough he finds his blonde headache drifting into a log along the floor. Trudging out the water with her is still a minor part to all this. She has to wake up. Now on the beach he collapses to the ground dropping her beside him. Her cold and lifeless expression wounds him deep in his core.
"They're here!" Paimon answers the guards. "He found her come on."
Mustering the strength to do the job he moves to doing chest compressions on her chest. Kaeya thinks of a silent prayer that she holds on just a bit longer. After finishing the first round of reps he pinches the bridge of her nose and breathes air into her. He shakes away the fear of her not responding to the first and follows procedure again. Paimon and the guards could practically feel his hysteria. He wants to tease her again and see that blush from earlier. They still have so much friendship to experience together. Pushing water and the oncoming tear from his right eye that got on his cheek he continues.
"Get up, Lumine." Kaeya says loud enough for only him and her to hear.
The reps continue on and on. Following eight more tries one guard looks at another. They may need to secure their captain away from the body. Unaware and disregarding the audience, Kaeya does not sense or feel them approaching. Paimon kicks in blubbers in a complete mess. As expected, the captain struggles to get back to saving his friend. Accidentally he presses hard on Lumine's abdomen making her cough up water. She rolls over trying to gag up the rest. Everyone else watches in relief and stupefaction. Paimon flies over to bury her little body in her companion's torso. Awkwardly the guards who tried to stop Kaeya moved away from him.
On her side Lumine straddles Paimon for warmth and comfort. The guards cloak them in the captain's furry partial coat. Kaeya wouldn't mind anyway as he lays on the sand flat on his back to rest.
"I'll start a fire." One of the men declares.
They all break to try to warm the wet heroes. The moment all of the knights leave the beach a silence falls between the three.
"Thanks." Lumine manages to say loud enough to be heard.
The following morning Paimon nibbles on the breakfast she scored from Amber earlier. Lumine is back to her normal habits already, Today her reminiscing of her brother takes a bit longer than usual. Lumine zooms into the room and digs out a single apple to bite into. A face of confusion plays on her features as Paimon studies her.
"Come on, Paimon." Lumine calls as she sets to leave. "We got to start the day."
Not wanting to leave her side, Paimon darts over to her. In the regal hall they play around and giggle. Kaeya and Lisa are speaking in hushed tones at the bottom of the stairs. When Lumine and Kaeya make eye contact they both crack a grin. Amber comes running in and greets everyone . They all gather and talk about what they plan to do for the day. As Lumine and Paimon depart they pause at the voice calling to them.
"Seize the day."
Kiro: My first Genshin Impact story about my first Genshin Impact crush. What did you think?
~Cinnamon & Oranges~