That night, Lumine couldn't stop thinking about the way Wanderer comforted her. It was nice, and she wished that he would always be like this.
The next morning, shortly after they ate breakfast, Paimon invited Lumine, Wanderer, and Nahida to play Charades with her. Paimon, being the one that came up with this idea, went first.
She fixed her hair so that a bit stuck out on both sides, and crossed her arms. She pretended to swing around her imaginary sword.
"Huh? Xiao?" Lumine tried.
Paimon shook her head.
"Lumine!" Wanderer shouted, and Lumine spun to face him.
"What?"
"No, Paimon was pretending to be you, fool," Wanderer rolled his eyes, "this game is stupid. What a waste of time."
Lumine facepalmed. Of course! Well, she went next. She bent her legs so that she was slightly shorter, and pretended to fly around, shooting windblades.
Wanderer scowled. Paimon just looked confused. Nahida grinned.
"It's Wanderer, isn't it?" Nahida said, laughing at Lumine's depiction.
"Yup!" Lumine gave her a thumbs-up.
"I'm not that short! I'm average!" Wanderer pouted.
"Well, well, same thing," Lumine laughed, "it's your turn now."
Wanderer stepped up, and played with his imaginary ears sprouting from the top of his head. He then pretended to kick a small ball around, and used an imaginary bow.
"TIGHNARI!" Lumine shouted, springing up from her seat.
"Yes! Nahida's turn!" Wanderer sat back down, and looked away, uninterested.
Nahida stepped up, and sat on her little swing. She looked...normal? She wasn't acting like anything.
"Is it...you?" Paimon gave it a go.
Nahida nodded. Paimon quickly explained;
"You're supposed to act like someone other than yourself."
Nahida opened her mouth and nodded.
"Ohh!"
She went back to acting.
"What do you call a fly without wings?"
"What?" Paimon looked very intrigued.
"A walk."
Nahida got a few forced chuckles. Lumine smiled when she realized.
"Cyno. It's Cyno, isn't it?"
Nahida grinned, and nodded.
"Yes! It was Cyno. Though I think the General Mahamatra's jokes are acceptable, others seem to be rather...displeasing?"
Wanderer sneered, and looked back at the three. Paimon walked up again.
She pretended to be taller, and pulled an imaginary sword out of her chest. Wanderer flinched. Nahida tilted her head. Lumine shot her a look.
"Paimon, Wanderer's here." Lumine hissed.
Paimon raised an eyebrow, but upon seeing Wanderer's annoyed and pained expression, she understood.
"Ohh! Paimon knew that Ei had abandoned him, so he probably wouldn't want me to pretend to be her, that's Paimon's bad! Sorry!"
Wanderer snarled at Paimon, and sent a small wind blade at her, making her almost tumble out of the air.
"Paimon!" Lumine sighed, and grabbed Paimon by her leg, "promise me you won't do that again. It's rather rude."
Paimon huffed.
"Wanderer sent a wind blade at me! And yet you didn't scold him!"
But one look from Lumine zipped Paimon's mouth.
"Well, displeasing individuals? I think that's it for me today. Let me go take some commissions. Maybe clear some hilichurl camps. I hope your days all spoil."
Wanderer walked out of the large sanctuary, and slammed the door shut. The sound of the door slamming into its frame echoed in Paimon's head.
"I'm sorry..I didn't mean to offend Wanderer!"
Nahida quickly tried to comfort Paimon, but Lumine just glowered at her.
"It's too late now, isn't it?"
Lumine ran after Wanderer, opening the door just wide enough for her to run through. But she stopped once she was outside. Sumeru city was so big, and there were so many people everywhere. Wherever she looked, she could see children running, couples walking, elderly people slowly wobbling around. How was she ever going to find him?
Her safest bet was to get to Katheryne, the commissioner for the Adventurer's Guild.
She ran all the way there, down the flights of stairs and long paths it took. She ignored the tiring sensation ringing in her legs, and panted as she reached the commissioner's stand.
"Ad Astro Abyssosque-" Katheryne said, before being interrupted by Lumine.
"Have you...have seen Wanderer around here?" Lumine gasped between breaths, "an average (slightly short) guy with a large hat? Wearing blue? He told me he was taking a commission or clearing hilichurl camps."
Katheryne shook her head.
"No, I'm not sure I have. Though there are a few hilichurl camps around here, maybe you could try your luck there?"
Katheryne gave her a small sheet of paper with the map of Avidya Forest (the part of Sumeru that Sumeru city is located in) and certain places with red X's on them.
Lumine thanked Katheryne, and quickly chose the closest Hilichurl camp, and set off.
Will she find Wanderer there? Was it a bad idea to run off into a hilichurl camp all by herself?
YOU ARE READING
Trust-Scaralumi fanfic
FanfictionWanderer has been through 3 betrayals in his life, so it's understandable why he's unsure of whether to trust Lumine or not. But now, he's given the choice to.
