⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰
SCENE I ⊹₊꒷︶꒷꒦‧₊˚⊹
"Traveler... Paimon's hungry!" Whined a shrill, high-pitched voice, seemingly addressing her traveling companion.
"You're always hungry," the addressed responded with an eye roll. "Maybe try a diet for once? Soon you won't be able to fly anymore."
This 'Traveler' was a boy of shorter stature, bearing long, luxurious golden hair that reached past his waist. It was fitted neatly in a braid as to not be a bother during his travels. His eyes matched that of his hair— golden, but just slighter more saturated as to add a unique contrast. Speaking of unique, that would be the word the locals in Mondstadt would use to describe his appearance, along with others like 'foreign,' or 'otherworldly.' In short, his clothes and his real name, Aether, resembled not even one of the seven nation across Teyvat.
"Hey, that's mean! Weight doesn't affect Paimon's magical floating abilities!" The shrill voice whined some more, stomping her feet at seemingly nothing but air. "So let's stop by Good Hunter on the way to... wherever we are going... and get a delicious Sticky Honey Roast. That way Paimon will be energized for... wherever we are going!"
"You clearly don't listen to a thing I say..."
Now if Aether, the traveler boy, wasn't an oddity enough, the bearer of this high-pitched and ear-bleeding voice was. To sum it up, she looked and acted like a child— well, a floating child. What was she? Who knows. Even Aether hadn't a clue of where she came from or what species she was.
Despite this, she bore the appearance of a human— just smaller and with more attitude. She had short white hair curled inward at the bottom, where on the top rested a pale pink crown of some sort. Her eyes were the darkest of all purples, so dark it could possibly hold the whole universe inside. Even more, her attire seemed to have been peeled from the gates of Celestia itself, and her starlit scarf, the Abyss.
The boy sighed as the two of them walked across a vast and sturdy stone bridge— the one which guided visitors from afar into what was now the city of Mondstadt. It granted them passage over the masses of water surrounding that of the small, quaint, quiet town.
"Just strop complaining and follow me or you'll be the Sticky Honey Roast."
Paimon gasped in fear. Being melodramatic was normal for her. "Okay okay! But Paimon wants—"
Aether abruptly turned to face her with a piercing gaze, knowing another complaint was on its way.
"Eek! What are you looking at me like that for?!" The floating child quivered, waving her arms around in a frenzy. "Paimon was only gonna ask where you wanna go so bad!"
Aether couldn't decipher whether that was the truth or just an attempt to save herself from his wrath, so he simply played along. "Do you listen to me when I talk? Do you have any sense of memory?"
Paimon thought to herself for a moment. "Hmm... Is this about those super duper creepy voices we heard around that one Seelie Garden earlier today?" For once, she actually managed to be correct about something. "And geez! Why are you being such a grump?"
"Yes... it is." The Traveler replied, ignoring the second half of his annoying companion's statement. "I've led many Seelie's home during my time here in Teyvat, but this was different. Never have I... heard such odd things."
It was in Aether's nature to be rather stoic and expressionless, so it was almost frightening to see him visibly concerned.
"Yeah, I mean... they were really creepy— so creepy that Paimon even lost her appetite!" She paused. "Don't worry though, it was only for like two minutes because then Paimon was hungry all over again!"
"What a relief." Though his voiced was riddled with sarcasm, he honestly wasn't listening to what Paimon was saying. The matter at hand was all too much of a priority to even give her the time of day. "Who..? Who would we ask about this? I don't think we know any Seelie experts."
"Hmm..." Paimon brainstormed, as the duo wandered through the welcoming front gates of the Mondstadt. Surrounding guards wouldn't even think twice about letting them inside city walls, for they were renowned heroes to the land of freedom.
"Someone in the Knights of Favonius has got to have at least some knowledge on Seelies, right?" Aether lifted his fingers to his chin. "And if its anyone, it'll be Albedo. It seems like it'd be up his alley."
"Yeah! That weirdo nerd alchemist has got to know something!" Paimon chimed in, hoping to help even though helping is impossible for her. "But it'll be super hard to find him, ya know... He never seems to be where we want him to be— and not to mention he loves that stupid freezing ice-cold mountain! No way, no way, no way. Paimon is not going there!"
"You're right about that. He's always somewhere you'd never expect." He closed his to amplify focus. "We need to find someone who might know of his whereabouts. Timaeus— he's always working that alchemy tent near the center of town. Let's ask him. He's probably the best chance we've got at finding Albedo."
Paimon nodded.
"Oh! Wait!"
Her sudden outburst startled the boy.
Paimon smirked. "Timaeus works right by Good Hunter..." She nudged Aether with her elbow. "So, maybe Paimon can-"
"Fine." He interrupted, already knowing what she was going to say. "Here's a few mora. I'll be at the Alchemy table if you need me." He tossed her a few coins in hopes to keep her annoying mouth quiet.
"YAY!"
Paimon nodded again and then the two of them went their separate ways. After all, she wouldn't have been much help in the first place.
⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰
SCENE II ⊹₊꒷︶꒷꒦‧₊˚⊹
"C'mon Timaeus, work with me here..." Aether mumbled to the brown-haired alchemist, appearing quite distraught. "You're trying to tell me... Albedo won't be back for another two weeks?! And there's nothing you can do about it?"
"Unfortunately, that is correct. He is running an experiment in Fontaine at the mom—"
"TRAVELERRRRRRR!! HEEEEELP!"
Frightened by the sudden interruption, both Timaeus and the traveller boy quickly brought their attention towards the all-too-familiar squealing. It wasn't hard to find Paimon, as Good Hunter was not even 20 feet away from the alchemy tent, and on top of that, her obnoxious voice could've been heard from even the giant wind god statue at the top of the city.
From what it looked like, the floating child's current situation was rather unfortunate for her— funny for Aether, but unfortunate for her. After all, she was begging to be freed from a certain green bard's suffocating grasp.
This bard in question was all the rage in the humble city of Mondstadt. Not so humble himself, for very much he knew he was loved. All the time he would brag about being voted three times as Mondstadt's most popular bard.
His fashion choices were questionable in its own bardic way. With a green, Cecilia-adorned beret on his head and a pair of rich, dark blue braids on each side of his face, he could be recognized almost anywhere. Underneath his long black lashes, were eyes the definition of turquoise. In fact, his eyes, along with the tips of his braids seemed to even glow at certain times of the day. Not to mention his smooth, pale skin contrasted wonderfully with that green cape he wore. It reached below his knees, making him look majestic on windy days.
He was quite feminine, but he was also very charming. In addition, his looks were definitely easy on the eyes.
"Help me, Traveler! The stupid tone-deaf bard is attacking me!" She was terrified for her life, and bringing her even more fear, her panic brought a smile to Aether's face. He chuckled.
"Don't just stand there and come save me!" Paimon pleaded, barely breathing from the bard's fatal embrace.
"Ehe~" The green captor smirked in his usual cheeky demeanor. "Awe... It seems you don't like me very much, Paimon. That's too bad~"
"Waaaaaaahhhhh!" Paimon wailed and continued to desperate flail around in his arms, hoping to escape. The poor girl just wanted to eat her Sticky Honey Roast.
"It's been awhile, Venti." Aether greeted, joining the bard and Paimon at Good Hunter. "I apologize Timaeus, but... it seems something has come up." He motioned towards the two rambunctious individuals causing a scene.
"I understand. Have a nice day!"
Aether grinned a friendly goodbye to Timaeus, turned, and separated the two troublemakers.
"Hey! What was that for, you idiot tone-deaf bard?!" Paimon shouted after her near-death experience with Venti. It was completely in her right to be upset. From her perspective, she was quiet (for once), peaceful, and patient, waiting for her delicious feast to be served when he suddenly attacked from above— and for no apparent reason either!
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Venti hummed with convincingly honest, wide eyes. "I just missed my two best friends! That's all~"
With an angry expression, Paimon crossed her arms and said nothing.
"Oh~? What's this?" He spoke curiously, tapping his pointer finger to his chin. It's almost concerning how someone as mischievous as Venti can appear so innocent at the same time. "Did the tiny talking fairy not miss me?"
With a (probably fake) frown on the bard's face, he waited to see what snarky comeback this 'talking fairy' might have for him. Though unfortunately for Venti's fun, Aether spoke up before the time came, in order spare his traveling partner's feelings.
"Of course she missed you, Venti— and so did I. Paimon is just upset that you interrupted her feeding time."
"FEEDING TIME?!" Paimon was flabbergasted. "I'm not some sort of pet!" With the flip of her short hair, she turned and waltzed back to the table where her dish had been served, now probably cold and soggy.
"Hahah!" Venti let out a hearty chuckle and hummed a short tune. "Bitter towards me, Seelie, it's me that you don't need~"
Bards have a bad tendency to be unnecessarily poetic at random times, though this time, it was just what Aether needed.
The Traveler jolted. "What was that, Venti?"
"Hm? Did I say that out loud? Whoops~" Venti scratched his head and smiled. "It's just a little tune I wrote for an old friend of mine. Ehe~ It seems Paimon sparked some forgotten memories of mine just then."
Aether went silent for a moment, and Venti seemed to notice.
"Oh? Why the long face, Traveller?" Venti wondered, leaning closer to Aether, almost entering his personal space.
After a few seconds of silence, he answered. "Venti... do you know anything about Seelies?"
"But of course, dear Traveller!" Venti brightened up, ready for another tune. "Stripped of all that the body once held close and the soul once held dear, song and memories are all that now remain of yesteryear—"
"I'm going to stop you there." Aether interrupted. "I don't know what that means, Venti. I don't speak bard."
"Oh, right! Ehe~" He jokingly clocked his head. "It's simple really~ Seelies are the remnants of a bygone race that once held beautiful forms and immense wisdom, and used it to guide mankind. Haven't you read about them in books before?"
"I'm afraid not." Aether replied, still in need of information. With Albedo all the way in Fontaine, he was at a loss of what to do. "And I'm afraid what you said didn't help much either... Got anything else?"
"Hmm..." Venti twirled into one of the empty seats near Good Hunter and beckoned for a glass of wine. "It depends, I suppose. What is it you'd like to hear? Is there something that's bugging you?"
"Well... "
In his head, Aether recalled what had happened earlier that morning. Honestly, it was such a surreal experience to him that he didn't even know what to ask— or what to think!
"I didn't think it was possible until today, but after what we heard..." He paused. "Venti, do you know if... do you know if Seelies can talk? Can they speak?"
"Yeah!" Paimon rubbed her satisfied stomach, now finished with her meal. "On Starsnatch Cliff we heard some super creepy voices while following a Seelie to its garden-home-thingy. They kept going on and on and— WOAH!" Paimon exclaimed and pointed at Venti. "Bard?! Is your face okay?!"
Sure enough, Venti was making a face did not look okay. He was as pale as a sheet, and was so still that he could've been mistaken for his statue. His eyes were both dull and widened, almost like he was trying to mask some internal panic.
"Venti... Are you alright?" Aether rested a worried hand on the bard's shoulder. It seemed to snap him out of it.
"Oh! Silly me~ Was I making a funny face just then?" His expression had almost immediately switched back to his typical happy-go-lucky look. "My bad~ I'm just a bit bummed that the wine I ordered hasn't arrived yet."
Aether made quick eye contact with Paimon, both feeling a sudden chill in the wind. The mood had gotten weird, but having a mission to accomplish, the two shrugged it off as normal Venti behavior.
Maybe he did just want his wine?
"I'm sorry, my dear friends~ It's really too bad, but it seems I can't help with this one!" He winked and bonked his fist to his head, sticking out a tongue. "I've got a performance in the cathedral courtyard soon and I've got no time to spare! Catch me next time~"
With a single wave, he was gone and around the corner, leaving Paimon and Aether alone with nothing but their even-more-confused thoughts and Venti's order of drinks.
Venti in such a rush that he'd leave behind his beloved wine? That was unheard of.
"So... what do we do now, Traveler?" Paimon expressed, breaking the odd silence. "Albedo's in a different region, Venti just ran away from us, and... Timaeus is done for the day." From her seat, she pointed towards the alchemy table across the fountain from Good Hunter. There was indeed, no sign of Timaeus.
"Well... since Venti was the opposite of helpful, now I have even more questions. Who else could we talk to?" Aether brought his finger to his chin and brainstormed, attempting to find some sort of clarity after the events that unfolded with the bard. "Do we go investigate on our own, or... Wait, I've got it!"
He shot up, almost as if a lightbulb had lit over his head. "The Guild! We couldn't have been the only ones who heard those voices, right? Katherine has got to have knowledge from other adventurers!"
"Good thinking!"
Without a second thought, the two of them bolted off towards the Adventurer's Guild desk near the front gates of Mondstadt, hoping Katherine would be of aid to their troubles. Though, upon arriving, they instead found the opposite. They would be the ones needed by Katherine.
"Honorary Knight! You're just in time!"
Something very urgent must have happened, for it was a rare sight to see a panicked Katherine outside of her stand.
"Honorary Knight." She huffed, attempting to catch her breath. "There's been an emergency commission! A girl was found terribly injured at the bottom of Starsnatch Cliff. I've already sent others to the scene, including a healer, but I fear they won't be enough."
"What? What happened?!" Aether questioned, caught in a frenzy of confusion. "How did she get there?"
"We aren't sure yet, but even if we were, I wouldn't have time to explain. She's in critical condition and she needs to be rushed to the hospital wing immediately!" Katherine threw her hand to her chest to express the urgency. "Please, Honorary Knight if you are willing, help her. There will be a substantial reward waiting for anyone who aids in this commission."
"No need. We will help." Aether motioned towards Paimon and started through the gates of Mondstadt. "Paimon, our questions will have to wait. Let's go."
⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰
word count: 2703