The duo easily trekked forward, passing Starfell Lake, home to the statue of an Archon whom Paimon had explained was Barbatos. Barbatos was well known to the people of this particular nation, Monstadt, as the God of Anemo, or the wind element, and as the embodiment of freedom. Barbatos apparently only watched as the citizenry of Monstadt governed themselves, thought to be happy so long as his people were happy. It was from this statue Lumine received her power over the wind, leaving the traveler to wonder why it is she had recieved his blessing, and in a way Paimon had deemed as non-standard. Apparently, the Archons typically bestowed elemental focuses known as Visions onto people they acknowledged, granting them access to elemental power. Paimon's best guess as to why Lumine was different was because she was to small to wield a vision, so he gave her the powers directly, though this still left Lumine with many questions.
Lumine began to truly focus on these thoughts as she stared upon the statue. Why provide me with these powers? What price will these gifts come with? Why would a god gift me strength when it was another who cursed me and stole my brother? These and many more queries flooded Lumine's head, leaving her oblivious to the fact which was Paimon's arrival at the Whispering Woods as they sought to reach Monstadt to ask the locals about Aether. Suddenly, Lumine is pulled from her thoughts as she feels Paimon jerk to the side, rapidly concealing herself and her charge behind a tree.
"Paimon, what's wrong? Why are we hiding?"
"Paimon saw something Lumine, look!" And with the exclamation Lumin is suddenly thrust out far enough around the edge of their tree that she can see what spooked her companion. And the sight before her truly does leave her startled like Paimon was.
Before the duo is an immense dragon, blocking the road as it stares down a young man. The dragon is massive, with scales shimmering in brilliant shades of green, multiple wings which likely make flight incredibly easy, and sharpened claws and fangs, each of the biological knives seeming quite intimidating to peer over at. Standing almost comically before it is a boy barely the size of a mouse in comparison to the beast before him. This youthful lad seemed to be equipped with a green bard's outfit and a small lyre. From a distance, it appears that the bard is talking to the dragon.
"Oh, what are they saying? Paimon wants to know!"
"Can u try getting us closer, Paimon?"
Paimon paled, and furiously whispered back, "No way! What if that big old dragon sees you and me and decides we look tasty!"
"I mean, between the two of us, we'd barely constitute a bite too it," Lumine mused.
"That's not funny, Traveler!"
"In any case, if we want to know what this is about, we need to get closer, wouldn't you agree?"
Paimon hesitates a moment, but then relents, uneasily floating forward.As she does however, a sudden breeze rips through the air, likely produced by a stray movement of the dragon's wings.This breeze isn't extraordinarily powerful, but it is strong enough to startle Paimon, who squeals in fright.Paimon freezes, clutching Lumine tight to her chest as the dragon and bard both take notice of the small duo.
Almost immediately, the dragon launches itself upward, its multiple sets of wings carrying the beast vertically quite rapidly. The bard likewise retreats, sliding into the woodland foliage beside him as seamlessly as the wind itself. For her part, Paimon tried to catch up to him, but the stranger was just too fast, as he ignored Paimon's calls to wait. Within moments, it became impossible to tell such strange beings had ever existed in the area.
"Oh no, they got away!"
"It's okay Paimon, you tried ur best," Lumine reassures her friend, patting her hand encouragingly.
"But if Paimon hadn't been startled..."
"Hey it's fine Paimon, I think I myself would've been startled too, what with how sudden the wind was and how a dragon was just in front of us."
"What do you think that was all about anyway?"
Lumine looks to where the dragon and bard were, and ponders a moment before saying, "That's not really our concern. After all, we just want to get to Mondstadt."
Paimon chews on this line of reasoning for a moment, and then agrees. The duo just needs to reach Mondstadt, not deal with dragons. Their reasons for wanting to reach Monstadt are many, and important.
First and foremost, Lumine wishes to search for any sign of here brother Aether, who is hopefully not in the same state she's in. Secondly, Lumine hopes to find someone who can help Lumine with her new size, or at least explain the new form and its effects. If either goal (or preferably both)can be accomplished,then Lumine would be overjoyed. To this end, she and Paimon proceed to hover down the woodland path.
As the pair continue though, Lumine manages to hear a faint, rapid thumping noise. The sound grows closer as finally, a red... Bunny girl? Leaps from the woods and into Paimon's path. Looking her up and down, Lumine notes that the young woman is relatively on the leaner side, with brown hair going down to her lower back, clad in a tight-fitting red and brown top, with rather short shorts stretching down to her upper thighs as her boots rise to her mid-thighs.Draped around her neck are a pair of goggles, and tied to her head is a red ribbon shaped like bunny ears, separating the rest of her hair from the bangs framing her face.
The new girl proceeds to cross one arm over her chest, her golden eyes locked on Paimon as she addresses the duo, "Greetings strange yet respectable traveler, please state your identity and intended destination. The Knights of Favonius are here to ensure your safety."
"Knights of Favonius?" Lumine asks, though Paimon is too busy talking to respond.
"Oh, hi, Paimon's name is Paimon, and this is Lumine," Paimon declares while raising Lumine up to emphasize her, "And we're on our way to Mondstadt."
"Greetings then, Paimon, I'm the Outrider of The Knights of Favonius, Amber. I notice that you're travelling through the Whispering Woods alone, which is quite dangerous for someone your size to do by yourself. May I offer to escort you to Mondstadt safely?"
"Oh, there's no need for all of that, Lumine may be small, but she's a great fighter. She can whip through Hilichurls as though they're nothing at all."
"Your... Doll?" Amber looks skeptically at Lumine.
"What? Lumine isn't a doll, she's a person like you and Paimon."
Paimon proceeds to float closer to Amber so that she can see the miniature girl better. Lumine waves at Amber, causing her to be startled. Amber then leans her face in really close, studying Lumine for a moment, until Lumine says, "Hi."
Startled again, Amber hops back a step, before exclaiming, "Wait, your doll's alive?!"
"Once again, Lumine is not a doll, she's a person, and my best friend. She's just a bit on the... Smaller side."
Amber stays stunned for another moment or two, before she immediately panics,realizing she was just very rude to the miniature woman within the fairy's grasp, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry about that Miss Lumine,Miss Paimon! I didn't mean any offense, I just have never met anyone so little before!"
Don't worry, I kind of expected that the first people I'd meet would react like this, so I'm not offended," Lumine reassures the Outrider.
"Oh, that's good to hear, and once again, I am so sorry for all of that just now. By the way, why is it so hard to hear you?"
"Oh, that's because Lumine is so small that her voice barely carries out. That's why Paimon handles most of the talking for her."
"Oh,I see, hm...," Amber thinks for a moment, and then smiles widely as she hold out her cupped palms, "May I please have Lumine for a moment?"
The Traveler and Paimon share a glance, before Paimon relents, setting Lumine down into Amber's cupped hands. From up close, Lumine can tell that Amber uses her hands frequently, as evidenced by how well worm her leather gloves are. Amber then slowly raises her hands upwards, being careful to avoid jostling the small woman she has a hold on. Eventually, Amber releases Lumine onto her bunny-eared headband, while Lumine hooks her legs under the band while grabbing the "ears" as support.
"There we go, now I should be able to hear you without any problems!"
Lumine surveys her position, making sure she's secure, before sounding an affirmation to Amber.
"Good, I'm happy your secure," the Outrider giggles, "Now, can you two explain your whole situation? I'd like to know how I can help." | |
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