Solivagant ᵏᵃᵉʸᵃ ˣ ʳᵉᵃᵈᵉʳ

1

Right as you were turning around to book it, shouting that surprisingly wasn't your own made you freeze.

"PAAAAAAAAAAAAALM VORTEX!"

"PAAAAAAAAAAAAALM VORTEX!"

A braided blondie along with a weird, floating child dropped from the sky, gusts of wind hitting your face as the boy stabbed the monster in the eye.

What's that? It's not an eye? More of a core, really?

Bah. Be quiet.

The boy then pulled his sword out, jumping off of the robot in an awesome fashion as it collapsed to the ground.

"WOOO! WE'RE SO COOL!" The weirdass baby squealed and threw a fist into the air, dancing excitedly around the boy. He shook his head and sighed.

"Was that why you want to shout palm vortex? That wasn't even a palm vortex!"

"Ehe, you should be heroic when saving somebody, though..."

The boy seemed to suddenly remember that you existed, turning around with a jolt. You had unsurprisingly - to you, at least - already walked up to them.

"Ah! I'm so sorry for not checking on you sooner, are you okay? Are you injured? Did we save you in time?" The blondie spoke frantically, causing you to laugh and wave your hand in the air.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?" You nodded, smiling in amusement.

"Well, gee, I thought they'd be all crying and screaming like Pallad!" A high-pitched voice butted in, the blondie becoming visibly irked at the mention of this 'Pallad'.

"What's up with the kid?"

"I am NOT a kid!" The kid shouted, the boy slightly tilting away as she continued to correct you. "I'm Paimon!"

"Right. Sorry, kid."

"I SAID PAIMON!" She stomped her foot in the air, glaring at you, before turning to the blondie and pointing an angry finger at your face. "This person's ungrateful! I say we leave 'em to the slimes!"

"Paimon, that's not very heroic..."

"PAIMON DOESN'T CARE ANYMORE!"

"Haha, what's with you two?" The two of them looked back at your giggling form, temporarily pausing their argument.

"Hmph. Why're you traveling alone, anyway? That's dangerous!" Paimon bit her cheek, crossing her arms as she spoke. You paused your giggling, immediately lighting up at her question

"I'm a traveler! I've been all around Teyvat! I'm visiting Mondstadt next." The blondie perked up.

"You've traveled around Teyvat?"

"Yeah! Do you want to hear some stories?" He shook his head - a different expression had come over his face. It was hopeful, you could tell, however it wasn't entirely the happy kind. His eyes held a sort of pain.

"I'm traveling too, actually. I'm looking for my sister - she looks kind of like me? She's about this tall, has short hair, and last time I saw her she was..." He was smiling, gesturing softly, only to end up trailing off as he watched you shake your head. His smile fell.

"I've met lots of people, but none of them looked like that. I'm sorry." You pouted, feeling bad for the blondie. You couldn't imagine how it felt losing someone like that. Mostly because you never actually had someone like that - a sibling, a close friend, or a loved one - but still.

"Ah..." He slumped over a bit, the floating kid frowning down at him. She then threw on an angry expression, slapping the back of his head.

"Hey, what'd I say about getting sad! You'll find her someday, don't let this get you in the dumps! We still got five other archons to ask, ya know?" The blondie rubbed the back of his head, straightening up a bit.

"Right! There's still five more!" He clenched his fists, Paimon nodding vigorously. You smiled a bit. At least he had a good friend to cheer him up.

"Well, my name's Y/N. It's nice talking, but I needa get to Mondstadt, so-"

"We can escort you!" The blondie interrupted, only to slap a hand over his mouth a moment later. "Sorry, sorry! I meant my name's Aether, and we can, you know..."

"Uh, Aether?" Paimon floated over, blocking his line of view of you. " We need to get to that domain. We don't have time to escort her!"

"Ah, you're right..." The kid flew back to his side, leaving Aether looking conflicted. You laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry! I was going to refuse anyway, I can handle myself." You turned away, only to stop and turn back to face the duo. You pointed past them sheepishly.

"Mondstadt is that-a-way!" You laughed as you passed them, giving a small wave before starting into a jog.