Morning
You groaned, a painfully bright light making its way into your room. You rubbed your eyes, shoving your face into your pillow. "I don't wanna get up.."
You laid there for a few minutes before slipping out of bed, your feet touching the cold floor. Brr..
You grabbed your shoes from under the bed and put them on, leaving the room.
It hadn't occurred to you until now but you were in the attic of the tavern that only had a few rooms shoved together round a small hallway. The hallway reeked of wine. What if i find rats here... Gross..
Going down the spiral stairs you noticed that the tavern was rather empty in the morning. On the second floor there was no person to be seen!
You walked up to the bartender. I think Aether said his name yesterday.. Charles, was it? "May i ask something?"
"Go for it." The bartender replied, he seemed rather annoyed by the question, probably because it was morning and he had glasses to clean.
"Do you know where Aether is?" He was the only friend you've made so far. Paimon didn't count. So.. It wouldn't hurt to ask.
"Aether ay? Hm. He's always 'round the place. Sometimes he's in Mondstadt, other times he's in Liyue. At times it seems like the guy can teleport."
You frowned. That didn't help at all. Maybe i should ask someone else..
"Yeah sorry bucko, can't help you."
"Thanks anyway." You smiled at the bartender and waved at them before leaving.
"Okay.. Aether.." you mumbled to yourself. If someone couldn't help you find him you'd have to do it yourself. You ran around the city, looking for any familiar faces. None. But woah the city was huge, how are you supposed to find people here?
You had stopped next to a flower shop, you frowned, you realised it might be best to ask someone for help.
"Oh Diluc.." you heard someone mumble.
Diluc?
Didn't Aether mention he was going to talk to someone with that name?
"I- uh- You know Diluc?" you turned to where the mumbling came from. It was a young girl, she seemed to work at the flowershop.
"Diluc?? I was talking about Diluc??" the girl suddenly became flustered. Nervously putting her hands behind her back. "I uh- i mean i do. Yes. Sort of."
That's weird..
"Then if you don't mind me asking, do you know where i can find them? A friend of mine said he was going to visit them."
The girl's anxiousness silenced after she heard you ask the question. I wonder why.. "Oh yes! Uh. I think he's usually at the dawn winery? ᵒᵒᵒ, ⁱ ˢʰᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵛⁱˢⁱᵗ ʰⁱᵐ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗⁱᵐᵉ.."
You nodded in response. "Thank you."
"No problem! My name is Donna by the way." the girl yelled. Sheesh, she was all over the place.
"It's nice to meet you, I'm (Y/N). I guess I'll see you around..?"
"Bye (Y/N)!!"
You had quickly made your way out of that street. Brr.. She seemed like an intense fangirl.. I wonder what that Diluc guy is like. Maybe he's famous? Now all you had to do was figure the directions to the dawn winery. Maybe you could ask a guard.
★
Afternoon
You had arrived at the dawn winery. The scenery was so pretty here.. And the building was so.. Big! This Diluc-guy must be rich. You scanned the area, looking for the entrance, but to your surprise you saw... "Paimon..? Paimon!" you shouted out. Paimon was floating upside down, nibbling on the grapes and other fruits from the winery. Isn't that stealing? You didn't bother questioning that now and approached Paimon. Afterall, Paimon meant Aether.
"Oh! Good afternoon (Y/N)!" Paimon quickly threw the fruits backwards. Nothing to see here. Even though you did see it..
"Good afternoon, Paimon.."
"Aether is discussing something with Diluc for some reason. Paimon kept distance because Master Diluc is on Paimon's don't mess with list."
"Don't-mess-with-list?" you questioned.
"Yeah! There are many scary people out here."
"Right... So when can i talk to Aether?"
A different voice spoke up from behind you, "You can talk to him right now." startled, you turned around. Aether was right there, a red haired man had followed him outside.
"Oho" Aether chuckled. "Sorry if i startled you. Good Afternoon (Y/N)."
The red-head spoke up. "So this is the girl settling in at Angel's Share?"
Aether nodded. "Mhm. How did you know i was here though?"
"You mentioned you were going to visit someone named Diluc," you explained. "So I asked around where i could find that person."
"And that person, disagrees with how a room was rented without my consent." The red-head spoke up, crossing his arms.
Oh, so that's him.
"It's okay though, i won't kick you out. If you're willing to help our with a few tasks every day."
"But i already paid..!" Aether protested.
"She'll be provided with food, so it's only fair."
You waved your hands around nervously. "It's okay Aether, i need to pay you back aswell. And i indeed don't have any currency so food would be nice. Thanksfortheoppertunity."
"It's nothing. The bartender will leave a paper with tasks next to your door on the box every morning. You start tomorrow, no slacking." and that's when the red-head turned and walked away. What an interesting entity..
"Sorry.." Aether apologized. "If you ever need help just come find me."
"Where though?" you questioned, recalling the troubles you had finding him today.
"Eh.. Good point.." he thought for a bit. "Just shout, if not go ask the knights."
"And you'll just magically descend from the heavens when i shout your name?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation in his voice. He kept a blank stare while saying that. Well that's concerning..
"Paimon will make sure Aether doesn't slack while descending, don't worry (Y/N)! But uh.. Can you get me in on that food you're getting.."
Aether sighed at Paimon's braggings. "I should get going though. I have some commissions."
"Aether wait..!" You couldn't have him leave now, you needed answers.
"I still don't know how i got here and i.. I don't know anything about this world. Can you explain things to me..?"
He nodded. "Ofcourse. I'll be at the tavern tomorrow morning."
"Paimon can explain too, y'know!" The creature argued only to be silenced again by Aether. You weren't even sure what Paimon was at this point.
"No Paimon, you're coming with me incase of emergencies."
"Nu-uh. Paimon is an essential! Not for emergencies."
"Essential food doesn't have the same ring to it though.."
"Paimon is not food!"
You waved at the two, leaving them to bicker. This means you had the rest of the day all for yourself. Perhaps you could find a job, or have someone explain things for you early. Or maybe you could find a friend. Or maybe..
Information!
Any knowledge you could grasp would be useful, maybe it could help you figure out how to return home or how you even got here. Home?
Thinking on it some more you assumed there should be a library somewhere in Mondstadt. So you left to go look for it.
★
Evening
You had managed to find the library. There, you encountered a woman named Lisa. She allowed you to take some books with you aslong as you returned them intime. Which you promised you would.
But now here you were, back in your room at Angel's Share, holding a pile of books. Uncertain on what to do.
Knock..! Knock..!
Hm? You placed the books down on the desk and walked up to the door, opening it. It was the bartender. "I heard it's been confirmed you'd be stayin here for a bit and that food would be provided. It wouldn't go in til tomorrow, but this one's on the house. " He placed down a plate on a cardboard box. "Here is some Chicken-Mushroom Skewers. Eat it before it gets cold."
You gave them a thankful smile, before they left and returned downstairs.
You picked up the plate and sat down with it at your bed. It smelled.. So good..! Without hesitation you dug in. The meat was tender and sweet accompanied by the soft mushrooms and the dip that was provided on your plate. Perfection on a stick! You hummed with satisfaction. When was the last time you had a meal? You left the finished plate at your desk, you would bring it downstairs the next morning. All that mattered now was the bed, and (Y/N).
You laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling before closing your eyes. What would you await the next day? You could only wonder.
And once you closed your eyes it didn't take long for you to drift off to dreamland.
_______
𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ☕︎
This chapter was alot of fun to write! I hope you liked it. For now I'm planning on fitting a day into each chapter, but once the story starts rolling a bit more I'll fit several in.
Question! (Don't be afraid to comment!)
How would you feel about (Y/N) getting a small animal companion simular to Paimon to accompany them and explain things?