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You know, Traveler, you’ve been having some weird dreams lately.” Paimon commented, staring at the blonde haired girl as she sat up from her bed.
“Weird dreams?” She echoed, giving Paimon a suspicious look.
Letting out a sigh, Paimon crossed her arms, “When Paimon tries to wake you up you’d say some.. Weird gibberish! Paimon was scared you turned into a hilichurl!” The Traveler yawned, unbothered by whatever nonsense Paimon was spewing.
“Whenever Paimon had dreams of turning into something else, like a slime, Paimon would always get eaten! It is always super scary!” Paimon shivered, floating next to the Traveler as she rolled out from the covers and stood up, stretching.
“I think your dreams are weirder than mine if you dream of being a slime..” The Traveler replied, giving Paimon a smug glance. “Hey!” Paimon interjected, glaring at the Traveler.
“That’s not the point! It’s like you’re speaking some foreign language.” Paimon huffed, giving her a worried look. “
Hmm..” The Traveler thought for a moment. “What did it sound like?” She replied, walking over to a mirror to begin fixing her hair.
“Uh… Like..” Paimon paused for a moment, trying to recall specific sounds. “It’s hard to remember when you don’t know the language.” She pouted, handing the Traveler a hairbrush to fix her hair with.
“That’s fair, it was probably my native tongue, though.” She smiled back, grabbing the brush and combing her knotted hair strands, before putting on her high heeled boots.
“Your.. native tongue?” Paimon inquired, tilting her head as she followed her outside the house.
“I guess I haven’t told you about it, you taught me Teyvat’s language but I never taught you about mine.” The Traveler hummed, pondering something for a quick moment before walking down the stairs of the front porch.
“Oh, are you headed out, Traveler?” Tubby asked, waking up from her teapot and letting out a yawn.
“Hey, Tubby! We promised to meet with Alhaitham so the Traveler could see if her physical capabilities have increased since it’s been a while!” Paimon grinned, floating around the Traveler.
“Oh, then have safe travels, you’re free to come back anytime!” Tubby nodded, waving to the two as they left the Serenitea Pot. A gush of magic swirled around the two as they were transported to a forest, a floating teapot left behind them.
"Oh! Paimon remembers teaching you Teyvat’s language, you’re a really quick learner.” Paimon beamed, proud of her teaching skills more so than the Traveler’s intelligence.
“I would offer to teach you my native language but..” The Traveler trailed off teasingly, turning around to face Paimon as she walked backwards.
“But what?” Paimon blinked, confused and slightly suspicious.
“I’m not sure your brain could handle all that information.” The Traveler shrugged, smirking and turning back around.
“Oh you... Now you’ve done it!” Paimon turned her head away, pouting.
“Awh, I’m sorry Paimon. Will a sweet madame make up for it?” The Traveler laughed, looking at Paimon with sincerity.
“You know just how to cheer Paimon up!” Paimon grinned, excitedly kicking her legs.
“Of course, you’re my teacher and trusty guide after all!” The Traveler smiled warmly, patting Paimon’s head.
"Paimon hasn't had a sweet madame in ages!” Paimon announced, giddily talking about food the entire way to Port Ormos.
“Alhaitham said he’d meet us here but he’s late! We even did some commissions before this!” Paimon huffed, crossing her arms as she surveyed the surrounding crowd.
“Calm down, he’ll be here soon.” The Traveler smiled, pushing her plate towards Paimon for her to eat, which didn’t take long.
“You’re the best, Traveler!” Paimon mumbled through a mouthful of pita pocket. Letting out a small laugh, the Traveler turned around to spot Alhaitham walking towards them.
“Ah! Alhaitham you’re late! Paimon can’t believe you made us wait when you wanted to meet us!” Paimon scolded, making Alhaitham stare at her with contempt as she quickly swallowed her food.
“I am perfectly on time, I told you to meet up at noon and it is noon.” Alhaitham grumbled, taking a seat across from the duo.
“But we were here before you so you’re basically late!” Paimon muttered, glaring at him.
“You said you wanted to measure how much my skills had grown?” The Traveler asked, ignoring Paimon’s mumblings.
“Yes, it would be a shame if the First Sage of Buer had hit a wall in her growth.” Alhaitham replied, crossing his arms and glancing at the Traveler.
“As if! She has gotten much stronger, just you wait and see!” Paimon fumed, still trying to rack her brain to give Alhaitham an ugly nickname.
“Well, I’m waiting, that was the plan.” He replied, looking down at Paimon.
“Then, we should go to the forest to test my skills and work on improving them.” The Traveler chimed in, standing up and glancing at Paimon, trying to stealthily tell her to stop picking a fight with Alhaitham. Paimon grumpily retreated, floating behind the Traveler while still giving Alhaitham the stink eye.
Alhaitham pulled out a tiny notebook as the three made their way to an open area, “You’ve made it to Natlan, so I trust you’ve had no troubles honing your talents.” The Traveler stopped walking, they were at the same place where he had tested how much she improved after absorbing the canned knowledge.
“It is the nation of war, after all.” The Traveler smiled, albeit a little exasperatedly as she tossed out some bait for the fungi. Alhaitham nodded, looking up as a few fungi and dendroshrooms approached, ready for a fight after smelling the scattered remnants of berries. The Traveler looked at the enemies, drawing out her dull blade and getting ready to fight.
“You got this, Traveler! Show them how strong you are!” Paimon cheered as the blonde slashed and stabbed the creatures, making quick work of them. It looked less like a battle and more like a practiced dance.
“There are more coming.” Alhaitahm warned, jotting down a few notes in his notebook. The Traveler nodded, not taking her eyes off the enemies as she brandished her sword when they approached.
A hydroshroom lunged at her, which she easily blocked, ready to counterattack she lifted her arm up to slash but was interrupted by a winged fungus. It had approached her from the side and dove in to attack, making Alhaitham narrow his eyes.
She stumbled out of the way in the nick of time, doing a horizontal slash embedded with dendro to push both it and the hydroshroom away from her.
“That was close..” Paimon worried, watching intently as the Traveler fought the fungi. The Traveler, seeing more were trying to attack her from different angles, let out a sigh and slammed her sword into the ground, summoning a Lea Lotus Lamp to help fight them off.
The creatures, slightly scared, backed up before charging back in once they deemed it safe enough. Small explosions of dendro stopped them in their tracks, giving her an easy opportunity to dispatch them swiftly.
"Good job, Traveler!” Paimon encouraged, giving the Traveler a high five as she walked over to them.
“You fumbled midway through because you left your sides open. It’s almost as if you were expecting someone to cover you.” Alhaitham reported, looking at the notes he took.
“Oh. That’s..” The Traveler trailed off, trying not to give away her guilt through her tone of voice. She briefly thought about how in the long run, it didn't matter. She could come back to life at a Statue of the Seven, it wasn't like death was permanent for her. But, she knew that wouldn't be a good enough explanation, and she'd always like to avoid the pain of dying when possible.
Alhaitham closed his book, looking back at the Traveler.
“If you want to get better you need to start watching those attacks. I know you saw it, you just didn’t do anything. Why?” He pressed, having an idea but wanting confirmation for the reason.
“It’s muscle memory.” The Traveler laughed awkwardly, looking up at him.
“Even if you’re used to fighting with someone by your side, they aren’t here right now, are they?” He scolded, showing his worry for her through a harsh tone.
“I’m trying to fix that.” She muttered, putting her hand on her forehead.
“Your fighting style or the person?” Paimon glanced at Alhaitham, angry at him for saying that.
“..Both. But you’re right. I do need to fix my fighting. I just feel like..” The Traveler paused, gathering her thoughts. She knew the reason, “ that when I stop expecting him to be there, he really won’t come back and be my brother again. It’ll be like I just.. Gave up on him. ”
But, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She took a sharp breath in, trying not to let her voice shake and show how much this is bothering her, “He’ll get mad if we stop fighting in sync.” She joked, trying to lighten the mood and convey that she was okay with a smile.
Not expecting that answer, Alhaitham stayed silent, looking at Paimon to comfort her.
“Oh Traveler.. It’s okay! We’ll find him no matter what! He’ll come back and we can all travel together, and nobody will be mad at anyone, Paimon promises!” Paimon said softly, giving the Traveler a hug.
The Traveler smiled, but she quietly looked away, guiltily, knowing she’ll inevitably have to leave Paimon behind at the end of this journey.
“Do you want to take a break?” Alhaitham asked, breaking the silence.
“No, I’m fine. We can start working on my reaction to attacks from my sides.” The Traveler replied, gripping her sword tighter.
“..Alright.” Alhaitham nodded, looking at the Traveler as she walked back over to the path. She reminded him of Kaveh at times, hiding her feelings behind a mask of smiles.
As she was fighting with different fungi, dendro and hydroshrooms, Alhaitham started a forced conversation with Paimon. “Why did she make that face?” He questioned, glancing at the floating child.
“Because you mentioned her missing brother who kind of.. Betrayed her.” Paimon snapped, glaring at Alhaitham.
“I meant when you hugged her.” Alhaitham glared back, before continuing to watch the Traveler.
“She made a face?” Paimon wondered, thinking back, concerned.
“Right when you said you would all travel together.” Alhaitham sighed, uncrossing his arms, “she looked bothered by it.” Paimon paused, trying to think why her best friend would be bothered by that.
“Maybe because her brother is well..” Paimon shook her head. “Paimon isn’t going to tell you! You.. ugh, why can’t Paimon think of an ugly nickname for you!” She scoffed and stomped the air angrily. Alhaitham rolled his eyes, making her turn her head away and inch away from him in annoyance.
----
"Traveler?” Paimon murmured, looking at her face as the two laid in bed, trying to fall asleep.
“What is it, Paimon?” The Traveler asked, opening her eyes to look at the silver haired kid.
“Paimon is sorry if something Paimon said bothered you.. Paimon doesn’t want you to feel sad because of Paimon..” She bit her lip, looking at the Traveler with regret.
“Oh Paimon, you didn’t hurt my feelings, don’t worry.” The Traveler smiled, placing a hand on her head gently.
“Paimon’s glad.” She smiled, slowly closing her eyes and drifting off into sleep. The Traveler rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Despite how long she had been in Teyvat for, she still couldn’t bring herself to change her sleep schedule to fit in with their shorter days so, there were times she stayed awake the whole night.
She laid in bed, not wanting to disturb Paimon, but not wanting to try and fall asleep to just dream of chasing after her brother without being able to ever reach him. “ Why can’t he just tell me everything? Why do I have to go on my own separate journey? Why do I have to figure it all out alone ? Why is he leading the Abyss? I just.. Don’t get it, ” she let out a sigh, “ I’m not alone, I have Paimon. ”
A small smile crept on her face as she glanced over at her sleeping companion. She was thankful her Teapot was peaceful, her rest was undisturbed and she felt safe to relax. She stared at the ceiling for a couple minutes, thoughts swirling in her head.
“Traveler?” Paimon mumbled, peeking a sleepy eye open.
“You’re awake?” She questioned, rolling over to look at Paimon.
“Paimon was thinking..” Paimon let out a yawn, trying to stay awake.
“What’s up?” She giggled, seeing how tired Paimon was.
“When Aether walked through the Abyss Herald’s portal.. He called you Lumine .” Paimon muttered, looking up at the Traveler with curious eyes. The Traveler tensed up, looking back at Paimon with concerned eyes.
“Do you just want Paimon to call you Traveler? You don’t use the name Lumine, so Paimon never used it.. But Paimon was curious.” Paimon mumbled, anxiously averting her gaze.
“Just Traveler is fine.” She smiled back, looking at Paimon with almost pleading eyes.
“Is there a reason?” She squeaked, grabbing The Traveler’s hand to comfort her.
“...It’s kind of just become a habit.” She laughed nervously, gripping Paimon’s hand tighter.
"Oh.. well, Paimon understands! Paimon is sorry for asking..” Paimon smiled, looking a tad bit guilty.
“Don’t worry, I’m not mad or anything. Is there a way I can make you feel better?” She laughed, rubbing Paimon’s head, knowing Paimon was upset she might’ve brought up bad memories. She really didn’t want to dwell on the topic any longer, hoping Paimon would choose something to change the conversation.
“Phew.. You scared Paimon! Paimon thought you were mad! To make up for it you have to tell Paimon stories of your travels in other worlds." Paimon huffed, her excitement not only to change the topic but also for new stories clearly visible through her pouting.
“Haha, okay, Paimon.” The Traveler softly grinned, thinking back on her travels. “Hmm.. where should I begin..” The Traveler trailed off, before quickly picking back up and starting to tell Paimon about tons of her adventures, only to see Paimon had fallen asleep, again. Sighing, she smiled and closed her eyes as well. Even if she couldn’t fall asleep, it was very peaceful to lay there and relax at her trusted companion’s side.