[Another Dimension] Xiao x Lumine

Amber Eyes

"And that was the last time I saw Them" Lumine looked into the Mondstadt sky, after telling the tale for at least 5th time to her Dear flying emergency food. 

- Awh, but.. You don't remember anything else? Maybe-" Before Paimon could finish the sentence, suddenly she was stopped by Lumine.

"No, Paimon. I can not recall anything else, just the thought of it makes my head explode" - Lumine complained, putting her hand on her forehead dramatically, as in pain. This little action only made the flying child giggle and float around her happily. 

- You know, Paimon is happy that You are in a better mood!! And You know what would make it even better? -The little companion asked, knowing well that Lumine was fully aware of how to answer. 

"Wow, that is such a hard question Paimon. I don't think I can guess it" - Lumine sighed sarcastically, staring at her Emergency Food with a grin.

-It's food!!! We should go to the Good Hunter for the last time to eat before We visit Liyue! Paimon is staarvinggg. It's been so long since We ate in a restaurant!- She spun another few times, hoping to convince her Blonde Friend to eat in a restaurant, instead of hunting food in the wild.

And with that, Lumine got up and started packing her things back into her (apparently huge) backpack to get ready to continue before it gets dark and the restaurant will close. 

It only took 20 minutes to reach Their destination point, as They were greeted by Sara and welcomed in. Lumine looked around out of curiosity, as the whole place was empty.
 "That is odd, usually there are drunk people everywhere, but today?" - She thought and decided to wait for Sara to use the opportunity to ask her about what is going on.

It didn't take longer than 10 minutes of wait to see her carrying food on two fancy trays. 
"Actually-" - Lumine begin to speak, getting Sara's attention, before she managed to return behind the counter.
"Where is everyone? Why is it so empty and quiet all of a sudden?" - She asked, her eyes still focused on the surroundings and only eyeing Sara from time to time, to show respect and attention towards her answer. 

" Why, of course, it is the Birthday of Acting Grand Master Jean! Everyone is celebrating inside, and all bars are closed already! Those, who couldn't participate, went home already. Which reminds me.. Traveler, weren't You also invited? I thought You were close to Knights Of Favonius?" -Sara asked, quite surprised by the fact that she didn't know.

-Ah, yes, I was invited. Although We planned to leave Mondstadt a week ago. Due to the bad weather, We had to stay longer. It would be too dangerous to travel to a new location with thunders striking nearly every minute. We are planning to leave soon, as the weather is now clear, We arrived here to say goodbye to You, as We already said farewell to everyone else!-

Sara seemed very pleased with this answer, as she tilted her head, giving both of Travelers a big smile. " Well then, it was certainly a pleasure to have You two over. I hope to see You healthy soon and remember, You can still use Your discount Coupon every so often! " - And with that, she went back to work, leaving two of them to finish digging up Their food and leaving the gates of Mondstadt, heading towards Liyue. 

Exploring the new areas took them a few hours, and with a blink of an eye, it was quiet and dark everywhere.
Fortunately, They have managed to unlock half of The Waypoints, so it was now always possible to travel back to where They wanted to.
A new mission was to just set up a camp and wait until morning to finally get to the Liyue Harbor and unlock the rest of Waypoints. During the night it would be too dark and dangerous to climb mountains or run into new enemies.

"All done!" - Lumine said loudly, now staring at the perfectly set up camp.
 It wasn't big, but also not too ordinary or small. It could easily fit two people, or a person and a flying child.
Paimon immediately flew inside and made herself comfortable, when Lumine decided to stay outside to make sure there is no threat around them. If only she knew, that even the slightest move of her was observed by pair of Amber eyes. 

At last, Lumine has been woke by the rising sun, shining bright in her eyes. After a quick look around, she concluded, that Paimon had most likely disappeared into her tiny world and will soon be back. She then slowly started folding the camp and finally put it back in her backpack as she got up and headed straight to the City. It didn't take long for her to run into a group of Hilichurls, Lumine pulled out her sword, sneaking up on them and slaying each one of them, unlocking Common Chest. With the sound of goods falling out, Paimon appeared behind her with an awed face.

 -SHINYYY~ - She yelled, causing Lumine to jump in surprise.
 "Paimon, how many times did I tell You not to sneak up on me like that!?"- The traveler stood stricken by the lighting with her heart pounding twice fast as usual.
- Tee hee~~ Morning to You too, Lumi!"- She smiled innocently, floating around her Dear friend with a silly smile.
But before They could continue Their lovely chit-chat, They felt the earth shake beneath Them. Lumine tightened the grip on her sword ready for any attack, while Paimon tried her best to stay brave.
-It was probably Paimon's stomach! Paimon didn't have Breakfast yet!- But Lumine couldn't answer anything, due to another earthquake appearing and after this one, another one. With a blink of an eye, three Geovishaps launched in the air and landed on the surface with a huge noise and dust everywhere. Paimon yelled and immediately disappeared, to hide in a safe place. 

"Thanks, Paimon, can always count on You" - Lumine answered, half joking, half serious as she stood with a dull blade in front of Two, no, three adult Beasts roaring and getting ready to attack. The oldest of the enemies suddenly charged at her, but before he was halfway close, suddenly he fell dead with a gust of blue wind.
Soon, two other beasts followed Their companion's fate, as They were crashed by something or someone from above. Near Their corpses, surrounded by dust floating in the air, stood a..person?
 He had a black/gold mask with gorgeous, yet terrifying blue eye sockets, white long teeth, and black/blue aura floating around him. His body was turned side to Lumine's, seemingly to look somewhere else. She managed to take a peek underneath his mask and noticed that even though his torso was facing another direction, his sharp amber eyes were locked on hers like a predator hunting for prey.
 He put back his polearn and turned around, but right before he could teleport, she stopped him, raising her hand and speaking loud to get his attention.

-Hey, wait! I haven't got to thank You yet! What is Your name?- She managed to make him turn his head towards her, still standing back facing her. His eyes were now staring emotionless at her.
" Xiao. Adeptus Xiao."  - He answered quite shortly and looked up to avoid her eye contact.
- Thank You, Xiao. And sorry for the trouble!-  Lumine said with a soft smile, still looking at him and hoping He'd turn around to accept Her appreciation. 
" I will not rescue You next time, Mortal. Stay out of trouble. "- He answered coldly, and just like that, he vanished into the air, leaving Traveler stunned. 
Fortunately, not for long, as Paimon appeared next to her, clearly annoyed.
 
"What a Meanie!! Paimon wants to give him an ugly nickname! How can he be so cold and rude?!" -She cried with cheeks puffed as she was stomping her leg in the air continuously floating.
-Well, We both have to agree. He helped Us and We owe him that." -With that, Paimon tilted her head to look Traveler in the eyes. 
"How exactly do We want to pay it back? We do not know where he went!! Or who he is!!"
This was when Lumine's eyes sparkled with determination as she just set a new goal to achieve. 

- And that is why We will find him in the Liyue Harbor. -