Chapter 2 - Is that a Dragon and a God I see?

/_\

"I must say, it's quite impressive that you're able to wield Anemo without the use of a vision to such an extent." Raylan stated as he flicked away his sword, allowing it to disappear into magical light particles, "Your skill is tremendous for one such as yourself, few would expect it given your lovely appearance." The Planeswalker complimented with a small smile.

"Yeah, Lumine!" Paimon added, floating up beside her companion as Lumine finished dealing with her own small group of four Hilichurls. "Paimon didn't expect you to be so good! You're great with a sword!"

Lumine dispersed her own weapon as she turned to her floating friend with a small smile, "Thanks, both of you, I've trained quite a bit with the blade over the years so I've gotten a lot of practice in." Her eyes flickered to the Planeswalker. "You're quite skilled with a blade yourself, Raylan." She smirked slightly in his direction, "For someone such as yourself." She added playfully.

The Planeswalkers chuckled, "Experience, my dear." Raylan replied nonchalantly, waving off the compliment. "I've fought in a number of battles, many of which tested my skills in various ways." And many more that didn't.

"Well, Paimon thinks you're both amazing with swords!" The little fairy smiled, oddly proud for some reason. "You dealt with those Hilichurls like they were nothing!" She cheered.

Raylan suppressed his laughter, "That's because they were nothing in comparison to what I've dealt with before my little friend." He kept that thought to himself though, instead the Planeswalker said, "Best not to delay though, they took up more of our time than necessary. Let's make haste to the city of freedom, shall we?"

Lumine and Paimon nodded in agreement, however before either party could make to move a bellowing roar drew their attention to the skies. Much to the surprise and shock of Lumine and Paimon, and silent amusement of Raylan, the trio witnessed a colorful dragon soaring overhead, kicking the wind up as it went.

It was quite the sight to see a dragon flying so majestically through the sky, the power coming from the creature was impressive.

Well, not to a Planeswalker but still.

"Wow!" Paimon verbalized her response, the little fair pointed in the direction the beast had gone. "Did you see the size of that dragon?!"

Raylan merely smiled, "We did, it certainly was impressive." Not. While dragons were always majestic, and usually powerful, creatures, that one seemed far too young. The power it exuded, compared to other dragons in the multiverse, was relatively low tier.

The dragon rumbled again as it soared over the woodland in the direction of the city before it seemingly landed within the forest itself, disappearing from view beneath the landscape and trees.

"Come on," Paimon waved them on, "It went that way!" The little fairy pointed in the direction of the woods, "Let's go after it!"

With that, Lumine and Paimon took off in pursuit of the dragon. Their mission to get to the city momentarily forgotten as they chased after the dragon.

Raylan merely smiled and shook his good-naturedly, "So much for getting to the city as fast as possible." The Planeswalker merely waved it off as his eyes tracked toward his two companions ahead of him. "Oh well, chasing dragons can be good fun too!"

The Planeswalker swiftly followed suit, moving far faster than Lumine or the Fairy due to his… enhanced… body. As soon as he closed the distance he reduced his speed to make it seem relatively normal again.

The trio quickly reached the forest, leaving the open fields behind. Lumine's pace slowed, as did Paimons' as she hovered next to her friend.

"Woah," Paimon looked around the forest, "This forest is so pretty!" Lumine took the time to glance around her environment as well.

Raylan did concede it was quite nice, the colorful fruits and flowers that littered the trees and ground made for a pleasant view. The trio still held a brisk pace as they continued through the forest in search of the dragon.

During their walk Raylan had swiftly snatched three individual fruits from one of the nearby trees, quickly checked to make sure they weren't poisonous, and took a bite of one. The sound of the bite magically drew the attention of the fairy who spun toward him.

But before she uttered a word he softly tossed one of the fruits in her direction, she caught the fruit just fine.

"Oh," Paimon mumbled as she observed the fruit in her hand, "Thanks!" The little fairy smiled at him. Lumine turned to him when she heard Paimon speak just in time to notice and catch the fruit Raylan had gently tossed her way.

"Thank you," Lumine said as Raylan merely nodded once in response. The Planeswalker followed behind the pair, briefly watching how the little fairy literally devoured the fruit in one bite as the trio advanced further into the depths of the woods.

Raylan sensed the dragon's presence coming up shortly but chose not to speak of it. The Planeswalker did also note the other presence next to the dragon, one even stronger than the beast itself.

"I wonder what we have here?" Raylan thought to himself with a small, quiet chuckle.

A soft rumble of a large creature, and the sound of a song being played alerted Lumine and Paimon to something nearby.

"Did you hear that?" Paimon whispered to the pair.

"Yeah," Lumine confirmed, "Sounds like it came from over there." The blonde woman gestured in the direction off the main path.

"Let's go check it out!" Paimon said, to which the little fairy and Lumine began to advance on the location Raylan knew the dragon was at. As the trio crept closer they rounded a tree to find the massive dragon in a small opening before them.

Paimon and Lumine looked in awe and curiosity, watching the dragon. But it was then that they noticed the person next to the dragon, an individual wearing a lot of green.

The person in question was actually attempting to communicate with the dragon.

"Easy there, old friend." The person in green, that Raylan noted to himself held a great amount of power in the Anemo element, said to the creature. Greater than that of the dragon he was attempting to speak with.

That clued Raylan as to who this individual might be.

"A dragon and a god, huh? Oh, how original." The Planeswalker mused to himself.

The person's efforts seemed to be working, the dragon was calm and the man-boy was close enough to gently lay his hands on the beast in a friendly manner.

All seemed to be going well.

Right up until it wasn't.

For some odd reason, Lumine's Anemo powers flared up unexpectedly, the element burst out from her hands for a single moment much to the surprise of both the blonde traveler and her fairy companion.

The dragon turned away from their companion and roared in the direction of Lumine, Paimon, and Raylan. Anemo power burst forth from the beast in a threatening display of strength. The person who had been beside them had turned toward them as well, catching sight of the trio for a moment, to which Raylan stared directly into the person's eyes as they did his, before they backed up two feet and teleported away in a vortex of Anemo.

Raylan merely hummed to himself having seen the individual teleport, ignoring the dragon entirely whilst Lumine and Paimon backed up a cautious step as the dragon took flight. Its wings created such a gust of wind that branches snapped off of nearby trees just from it taking off.

Out of view due to the treeline, the beast let out one last roar before fading away into the distance.

Well, wasn't that something?

"It seems we interrupted someone's private moment," Raylan stated simply, pulling the attention of his companions to him. "It's surprising to see someone approaching a dragon so casually, right?"

"Yeah," Paimon quickly agreed, "Paimon's never met someone who's friends with a dragon before. Most people are scared of dragons."

"Well, our mysterious friend wasn't scared." Raylan continued, "I thought I heard him call the dragon an old friend."

"Paimon heard that too," The little fairy confirmed, to which Lumine also nodded confirming she too had heard it.

"A shame then we disrupted a reunion between two friends," Raylan eyed Lumine playfully, "Perhaps we should have been a bit more subtle, right~?"

A light dusting of pink coloured Lumine's cheeks, causing Paimon to giggle at her friend's expression.

"I- I didn't mean it though!" Lumine argued softly in her own defense, "It just… happened!"

Her rather weak defense only amused her companions more, further painting her cheeks an adorable pink.

"Well, no harm done in the end." Raylan spoke up, "Let's be thankful the dragon fled the area instead of eating us all alive~!" His cheery, playful tone didn't seem to sit well with the fairy when talking about being killed.

"Ah!" Paimon cried, "Don't say scary things like that!"

This time it was Lumine's turn to crack a small smile, holding back a cute giggle of her own.

It seems everyone's mood was uplifted again, good.

Raylan merely smiled at Paimon, "My apologies, I certainly didn't mean to scare you." He absolutely did but she didn't need to know that.

The fairy stomped her foot in the air, which was hilariously cute to see might he add, before pouting at him like a kicked puppy.

"You should be sorry!" She argued back, "It's not funny to scare Paimon!"

"We'll agree to disagree on that one," Raylan said under his breath, which didn't go unheard by the blonde traveler who held a hand up to her mouth to hide her cheeky grin.

"We should keep moving," Raylan said, changing the direction of the conversation back to their original goal. "The day is still young but it won't be forever, let's continue onto Mondstadt."

The Planeswalkers' two companions quickly agreed with his sentiment, with Lumine taking the main lead of the group just two steps ahead of him with Raylan and Paimon following close behind.

The group of three pushed on through the woods.

The walk to Mondstadt had turned into a small lecture on the city itself, courtesy of the little guide with them. Although Raylan could tell she didn't know a whole lot about the nation, seeing as she didn't go into great detail about specific areas, it was still worth listening in.

Something else Raylan had learned was that Paimon had only met Lumine that same day, similar to himself. Apparently, Paimon had agreed to help Lumine with something and be her guide for traveling Teyvat.

But that lecture came and went as well, so the Planeswalker decided to find out more about the beautiful blonde he was traveling with.

"So, Miss Lumine," Raylan began as the trio made their way along an old dirt path, "May I ask why you're heading to the city of freedom?"

At the question his companions' expression changed, turning more downcast and hurt. Paimon's expression seemed to mirror her new friend's.

"I'm searching for my brother," She answered simply, obviously not enjoying the change in conversation topic.

"Your brother?" Raylan questioned with a raised brow. Now he wasn't expecting that to be her answer. "Curious, I wonder if her brother is also an Outlander." He thought to himself.

"My twin," Lumine added, "We were separated from one another, and I haven't been able to find him since."

"Hmmm," Raylan hummed, "How were you separated?"

Paimon looked at him as she floated closer, placing herself in the middle of the two. "It's a long story."

"I'm willing to listen," Raylan countered with a genuine, reassuring smile. "If there's anything I can do to help you in your search, I will gladly do so."

Lumine and Paimon eyed one another for a moment before turning back to the Planeswalker. The young blonde one was the one to speak first, she began her retelling of the story she had shared with Paimon.

/_\

"Your story is certainly unique," Raylan stated evenly, "I'm curious as to how you and your brother were separated given you were both captured by this unknown god at the same time, very strange that." The Planeswalker waved that thought off, "Regardless, I'm sorry you went through such an ordeal. Being away from someone you spent most of your life with is never an easy situation to accept."

"I miss him," Lumine confirmed, his expression still downcast, "And it frustrates me that I haven't been able to find any clue as to where he is."

"Lumine…" Paimon mumbled as she patted her friend on the shoulder in an attempt to reassure her, it was a thoughtful gesture. Raylan observed the pair for a moment.

"To lose a twin in such a manner," Raylan thought to himself, "Her pain is fresh, I can understand her suffering." She had searched for two months and had come up with nothing for her efforts. That would both frustrate and sadden anyone searching for their loved one.

So, of course, how could he let something like that happen?

Simple answer, he couldn't.

A Planeswalker always aided those in need.

"I may be able to help you locate your brother," Raylan stated simply, Lumine and Paimon looked up toward him in surprise, and in Lumine's case specifically a look of hope burned within her beautiful golden eyes.

"Really?" Lumine asked softly, "You can help me find my brother?"

"How?!" Paimon yelled in shock.

"With magic." He answered the Fairy, "I should be able to find him, yes." Raylan emphasized, "Give me some time to work out the details and I'll help you find your brother. I promise" It honestly wouldn't be that hard, using some observation magic to locate a single person is easy and Teyvat had only several places to hide.

Truth be told Raylan could likely find out where her brother was here and now within seconds, and also teleport the three of them to his location for a nice little reunion.

But that would be the very headstrong thing to do.

It would be better to hunker down in the city for the night first, establish themselves there so that if things went south they could leave and head back to Mondstadt as a backup plan. Although the Planeswalker was likely untouchable by whatever this world had to throw at him, recklessly risking the lives of Lumine and Paimon wasn't acceptable to him.

"Let's get to the city first, from there I'll work out a way to locate your brother, alright?" Raylan asked his two companions.

"Good idea," Paimon agreed cheerfully, "Paimon thinks it's a good idea to head to the city anyway, we need a place to stay and some delicious foooood to eat!"

Raylan noted the odd way the fairy said food but otherwise chose not to comment on it. When his eyes tracked to Lumine she merely nodded in agreement, but a moment later her eyes turned toward the ground as her hand came up to hover just over her heart.

It was plain as day to see the cautious hope she held in her heart.

Raylan silently vowed to himself that her hope wasn't misplaced with him. With a gentle smile, the Planeswalker said, "The sooner we make it to the city, the better."

"Alright, let's go!" Paimon cheered, breaking Lumine from her stupor. Having caught the end of the conversation, the blonde traveler understood what the pair must have been talking about.

The group of three all turned and made toward the City of Freedom once again.

But Raylan couldn't help but imagine what other obstructions they might encounter!

/_\

"Can't say I expected to run into a bunny-themed knight in the wilds," Raylan thought to himself with a subtle smile.

The young, cute, outrider Amber, as she had introduced herself, had intercepted the trio on their way to the city. Quite literally jumping from a higher position before landing into a roll before their path, placing herself between them and the city. Apparently, they looked suspicious enough to investigate.

The Planewalkers did note how the outrider's eyes lingered on him specifically when she said suspicious individuals. Honestly, he couldn't fault her for that. Raylan was the most suspicious and most threatening of the bunch if you went off appearances alone, and she was right to believe that.

Points to the cute bunny girl for that one, well done.

"You're searching for your missing brother?" Amber asked, mostly to herself after hearing the travelers' story and their reason for visiting Mondstadt. "Well, I'm sure the knights would be willing to help put up posters for you around the city. I'll help out personally too."

"That would be a great help, truly," Lumine replied, nodding her head in thanks to the outrider. "I haven't been able to find any leads on his whereabouts so far." The blonde traveler turned to Raylan, "Raylan here said he might be able to help me find my brother but he needs to prepare himself before he can go anything, so we all agreed to travel to Mondstaft to see what we can do there in the meantime."

Amber turned to the Planeswalker, "That's very kind of you to help her in her search."

Raylan waved her off, "Think nothing of it, what kind of person would I be if I ignored someone in need?" A poor excuse for a Planeswalker, that's what.

"I can respect that attitude," Amber replied with a pleased smile. The outrider turned back to the other two in the group, "Well since you don't seem to be up to anything nefarious I suppose I can escort you to the city." The young woman bit her lip in thought, "But I have to go deal with a Hilichurl camp first."

"A Hilichurl camp?" Lumine asked, "You have to deal with one on your own?"

"Well," Amber scratched her cheek, "First I'd scout the camp and decide from there what my plan is. If the camp is infested with Hilichurls then I'd have to call for back-up, if not then I'd deal with it myself." The young knight sighed, "Hilichurls have become a real problem recently, they've been making incursions on the city for a while now."

That was interesting to know. Raylan would have to file that problem away for later as a note, investigate the increase in Hilichurl activity around Mondstadt.

"Maybe we can help?" Paimon asked, the fairy turned to her two friends expectantly.

"I'm willing to help if you'd have us." Lumine offered, "The sooner you're done with your duties the sooner we get to Mondstadt." A win-win for all involved.

With his companions offering their aid, he supposed it was his turn to do the same.

"If it will help Mondstadt and its people then I will gladly help," Raylan added. The trio were all smiles as they all looked toward Amber.

The adorable outrider blinked twice, "Oh, well, I'd appreciate the help! You guys can fight though, right?" Her eyes washed over the two for a moment, "I don't see a vision on either of you."

Raylan chuckled to himself whilst Lumine spoke, "We don't need them, we're skilled enough on our own." Funny how she didn't mention she could use Anemo without a vision.

"Yeah!" Paimon hastily agreed, "Paimon saw Lumine and Raylan take down some Hilichurls earlier, they made it look easy!"

"Okay then," Amber conceded, "If that's the case then you guys can help, but if there is any sign of trouble we should retreat. It wouldn't do for an outrider to allow anyone to get hurt during this mission."

Lumine and Paimon agreed to her terms verbally whilst Raylan gave a lazy salute.

"Alright," The outrider said once she was satisfied with their responses, "Let's get moving!"

The little bunny outrider took the lead, guiding the trio in the direction of the Hilichurl camp.

Raylan lagged the furthest behind, allowing Amber, Lumine, and Paimon to take the lead. His thoughts were elsewhere but otherwise kept up with the group.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined my travels of this world would go," The Planeswalker thought to himself, his eyes tracked to the backs of the two ladies leading the charge, "But I can't say I'm disappointed by this turn of events." He hummed to himself, "I wonder what else the world has in store for me~"

/_\

Dealing with a camp full of Hilichurls had been a trivial matter. They were the most basic of threats Raylan had encountered in some time on his travels; it certainly broke the routine of battling gods and eldritch monsters in the defense of the multiverse.

The Planeswalker made swift work of the majority of the camp, so much so that his skill and combat prowess drew the attention of the outrider, the traveler, and the little fairy when they'd finished fighting a much smaller group than his own.

His speed, strength, and skill were unlike anything they'd seen before.

Not that Raylan paid their attention much mind, it was always fun to amaze a crowd anyway. Planeswalkers usually drew attention to themselves when they worked, that's just how things were, they were good at ignoring it and simply did their jobs regardless of who was looking.

Obviously, subtly was an important part of their work but showing off one's skills was never really an issue if one kept it moderately realistic for the world they were in.

The Planeswalker made sure not to display any use of Anemo though, his lack of a vision would certainly draw unwanted attention in this world. He'd keep that card close to his chest for now.

But the group made swift work of a large camp, according to Amber, and so could move onto Mondstadt now that her duty as the knights' outrider was complete.

Soon they'd be in the city of freedom.

Surely nothing bad would happen upon their arrival, right?


C2: End.

A simple chapter in all honesty, not much happens but some character interactions.

Hope you enjoyed it anyway! I'll be skipping bits and pieces from the main story if they don't change drastically. No need to talk about Raylan and Co taking out a camp of Hilichurls for a commission or whatever unless there is an important reason to, right?

We'll still be dealing with Devalin and the Mondstadt Arc in general but we're skipping parts that don't change much. We'll be mainly following Raylan's side of things, but we'll break off to follow Lumine's too. Next chapter we're in Mondstadt proper.

Review Response(s):

Harisnorw: Glad you enjoyed it.

Mr. Mimikyu: Yeah, I'll try to add more dialogue to future chapters. Chapter one was kinda exposition more than anything else, just so people know what's going on to begin with. I should have put a warning at the top though. Hope this one is more to your liking!

Runelt99: True, but teleportation is possible in Genshin. Xiao does it, Venti and Mona teleport too. It's surprising but not exactly impossible to do. That crack fic idea ain't a bad one, maybe I'll have this Planeswalker speak about Raid Shadow Legends for the laugh. lol

And that's the chapter, how everyone reading enjoyed that.

Till next time, good luck!

AlcatrazDGold - Peace!