The Windmills of Memories

Embarking on a Pilgrimage

Lumine looks at her tattered bag. She rolled her sleeping bag and tucked it away. Cramming travel logs and recipes. Once that was all said and done, Lumine zipped up her bag, then looked down at her left hand. The omamori.

This gift…this thoughtful gift. Passed from father to mother to son…and now to her. The golden ribbon shines a warm reflection in the sun. Lumine's heart fluttered.

Lumine questions this act to this day. It was out of the blue. That whole day felt like a dream…a day where true colors were shown. Hearts were open. A day…a day where she fell in love.

I hope this trip is worth it.

The compact boat was ready to go. Lumine threw her bag in the back of the boat. Tilting slightly, then reconfigured. Lumine then looked behind her to Thoma.

Thoma gave Lumine his bag with quivering hands. It has been some time since he took a long journey on a boat. Taking a deep breath, Thoma begins to relax briefly, and centers his attention on the golden-haired woman. Warmth sweeps through his chest with a fluttering beat in his heart. Thoma smiles faintly at this matter.

Lumine hops onto the boat and lends out her right hand. Lightly grasping onto it, Thoma attempts to leap onto the boat, stumbling, and lands on the boat, only to be holding on Lumine's waist tightly.

Patting Thomas soft hair, Lumine spoke softly.

"You're alright Thoma. You made it. Now, get yourself comfortable, and I'll be sailing us to Mondstat."

Thoma sits by the passenger seat. Shifting himself and nods in agreement.

"Thank you heh. It's certainly been a long time since I took a trip this long. But, as we stated before, it will be good for me. Overcoming my doubts and troubles being on a boat, the fear of not making it.. Will make it to Mondstat for sure, especially you sailing. I trust you, Traveller."

Lumine smiles and waits for a specific someone.

"LUMINEEEEE WAIIIT!!!! "

Paimon flies to the boat as fast as she could. She takes a deep breath arriving at the scene.

"We're you going to leave me!? I brought us some dango and onigiri liked you asked me too! "

Paimon pouts while still catching her breath. Her blue glittery wings keep her afloat.

Lumine sighs and chuckles.

"Why would I leave you here Paimon? We were just putting our bags in the boat and got ourselves situated since it is cramped. We weren't going to leave you."

Paimon with much embarrassment taps her  pointer fingers together.

"Ooooooooh. Hehe…sorry"

Thoma pats Paimon on the head and smiles.

"No worries at all. Are you excited to eat all of the fisherman's toast you can imagine?"

Paimon then drools and squeals

"Yes. Yes. Yes!"

Lumine starts sailing the boat, steady yet fast. Reaching the boarder of Inazuma, Thoma's hands begin to have a cold sweat. Reflecting during the time of the Vision Hunt Degree, no one could come and go without strict agreement. Now, the border is clear. No electric shield. The ocean shows it's deepest blues. The sky is cloudy with the lightest grey clouds.

The boat passes the border. One step closer for Thoma, healing the wounds of his past.

Thunder bellows, rattling the boat left and right. Water plays roughly with the wooden boat adding more noise to the tense trip. Creaking and cracking, the cramped boat keeps sailing on.

Lumine guides the waverider with a steady hand. Glancing over at Thoma, she takes her right hand off the helm, and passes her hand to Thoma's left hand. Covered with a cold sweat, but after a breif moment, Thoma's hand begins to warm up.

Thoma looks down at the wooden floor. Grinning, he squeezes Lumine's hand tightly. Thinking to himself, he can't cheese this out. No teleporting.

"...You know me too well Lumine~"

Lightly chucking, Lumine guides the helm with her left hand with no pushback with the playful waves.

"Of course I do. Well, at least I hope I do. We're about halfway now Thoma. If I can speed up the waverider a couple more times, we'll be there by sunrise."

The air feels less thick when those words were spoken. Thoma lessens the squeeze with his hand holding and goes for a more assuring, calm one, while lightly sketching his thumb over Lumine's soft and tender hand, feeling more and more relaxed.

Paimon is dead asleep in the back. Snoring with a pitch that reminded the group of a baby chick, nothing was going to wake up her after all the onigiri she ate.

A breif yawn came out of Lumine's mouth. While guiding the wave rider, Lumine's upright position became loose. She was slouching. More and more. Glacing over to the red and black cropped jacket, she lets her head tilt more towards Thoma.
The jacket feels warm. Comforting. May not be the most soft fabric, but it definitely had the feeling of protection. Lumine's head was gently placed on Thomas' shoulder, feeling warmth throughout her body, especially by her heart. The beating was faster. Flickering. She has never felt like this before. With anyone. Lumine just keeps a tight grip on the helm, having Thoma supporting her sleepiness.

In awe, Thoma savored the gentile pressure from Lumine leaning on his shoulder. Taking a good look, he looks at the inteyvat flowers on her head. Firm. The flowers, like her, can endure so much. They glimmer with the hint of the lightest blues intermixed with the snowy white. They are so beautiful, like her.
Thomas heart begins to pound harder as each thought crosses through his head. Heat dances across his face.

Suddenly, the waverider speeds up. The last haul. Not much time before the ship arrives to the long awaited destination.

Jolting more awake, Lumine becomes alert. Guiding the waverider stable and steady, making sure Thoma is calm.

Paimon wakes up, flies above the boat. Awe and wonder fills her eyes.

Looking at Falcon Coast, relief is swept in the boat. At long last, they have reached the coast of Mondstat.

Author's Note

Greetings fellow readers. I have risen once again. I feel like I can write a lot better now since I am in college.
So, this app will be my testing grounds to see if any of my unfinished projects gain traction before moving them to AO3 once I have an account. Please give me any feedback especially on grammar. I hope that some of you enjoy my fics and give me motivation write more. I'm majoring in zoology so not writing. This is just a fun hobby I do for characters I love.