EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

13 - Confession

Lumine woke up very early, long before the sun was up. The two friends had an appointment at dawn with Zhongli, so the only time she could escape the surveillance of the little fairy was while it was still dark. The day before, when her friend had given her Childe's message, she was sure that he would be at the beach. But, at the time, she hadn't asked herself when he would be there. With her intuition he would be there in the early morning, the Traveler decided to get up and get ready, although she was still tired from the short night she had just had.

When she was ready to leave, she checked the room to be sure Paimon hadn't appeared, then went outside quietly even though her flying friend didn't hear her from her private world unless she shouted her name from what she had noticed.

No sooner had she stepped outside than she was assaulted by the bitter cold and the icy breeze. The temperatures had cooled since her last escapades without Paimon's knowledge, and she immediately regretted not having dressed more warmly. She had a scarf around her neck, but it didn't keep her warm at all because it didn't even cover the top of her shoulders.

Not wanting to go back to change and therefore losing some time uselessly, she decided to run to the beach to warm up. With a jogging speed, Lumine started to cross the town, which despite the early hour and the dark night, was slowly starting to come alive. She could hear the fishermen in the distance preparing for their rounds, polishing their boats and checking their equipment, the merchants taking inventory of their recently received stock, the chefs preparing their meals in advance for the expected breakfast rush, and the Milleliths making their usual rounds to check on the town. Little by little, as she was moving away from the city, the morning agitation gave way to silence only troubled by the sound of the wind rushing into the trees and shaking their leaves, liberating some soothing sounds.

Once she arrived at the beach, the wind was even stronger, chilling Lumine to the bone. Her whole body begged her to turn around, go back to her room and wrap herself in her comforter until Paimon woke up, but she ignored it. She would have all the time to think another time, alone in her warm room, but at this instant, she had to see Childe to understand.

The latest times she had spent with him seemed to have something new and invigorating she had never noticed at the beginning when they barely knew each other. She had the impression that his smiles were widening, that his laughs were far more imbued with joy than before, and that the number of sidelong glances he threw at her was intensifying. Even in their bickering, she had the impression that the atmosphere surrounding them had subtly changed, adding a little she-didn't-know-what which made the time spent with him far more enjoyable—even though the discussion would be about the childish, stubborn, and even mocking behavior that Childe had.

That was precisely this secret ingredient, which seemed to emerge between them, that Lumine wanted to discover. Perhaps had she became completely paranoid and that all these impressions were only illusory, or, and that was exactly what she wanted to figure out, perhaps was there really a wind of change between them that she wasn't the only one to feel, and perhaps was that the subject Childe wanted to talk to her about. In all cases, she wanted to know.

She wanted to know why Childe had asked her to come.

She wanted to know why Zhongli had said he was frustrated.

She wanted to know why she wanted to see him.

This last thought made her bite her lower lip at the same time she stopped in her tracks. She had always seen the thing from the point of view of a flourishing friendship blooming between them, overcoming their position as enemies to allow confidence to prosper. But now that her mind was affirming her that she wanted to see him, she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Strangely, just as she had many friends here in Teyvat, Lumine only realized at that very moment that this desire, this yearning to see him, was a lot different compared to when she wanted to see Jean or Amber. It wasn't exactly either the same impression she had when she ardently wanted to see her brother. It was something else, an unknown sensation she had yet never experienced over her long life. Something that was making her joyful when they were bickering, something that was putting on fire her body each time Childe's fingers brushed her, something that was making her cheeks red when he was teasing and embarrassing her.