The walk was treacherous and dark. I could barely see my own hand, something like black fog hindering my vision. There was nothing in the air, but it felt thick and dense as if I were wading through mud. It was silent but something was roaring in my head—constant warnings to turn, run the other way, get out of wherever in Teyvat I was if I was even still in that land.

But I kept forward, for in the bleakness of my surroundings, there was a single muted light in the distance. I strove towards it, feeling as if my body was being hauled back by invisible hands. It was a slow, lonely journey, but after some time—minutes, hours, days, weeks—the light was closer to me and I could make out its shape. Her shape.

"Lu...Lumine?" I murmured, my voice echoing in the surrounding darkness.

Lumine turned, her eyes holding the same gold as they did in mine. But that hope—that longing, that light—was not there. Face to face, we stood there as her empty eyes gazed up at mine. "Brother... It is too soon. We shall not meet for a time."

No—not again. She was right there in front of me. We were so close to each other. Why didn't she want to see me? Lumine turned and began to walk away. No... No no no! I would not lose her again! I leapt forward in an attempt to grab her—to hold her close to me so she would not be taken away—but all I grasped was air, Lumine's figure dissipating into the mist.

⁜※⁜

I awoke with a gasp, jolting upright and immediately clutching my head. It didn't take long for the dream's—or rather, nightmare's—events to resurface and I found myself on the verge of tears. It was the same dream again and again. Constantly, almost every night. I exhaled deeply, shutting my eyes as I leaned my elbow on my knee. Archons...

"Traveller~" a high-pitched voice sang. "Are you awake? Collei made breakfast!"

I sniffed and immediately wiped away whatever indication there may have been of tears and called out to my companion, "I'll be there in a moment, Paimon!"

"Hurry! Hurry! Paimon can hardly contain herself any longer!"

I couldn't stop the smile that broke out. Ok, so my dream had put me in a bad mood—but the others would fix that. Right?

I carefully slipped out of the covers and tidied myself up. Tighnari had been able to spare a nice room for me to stay in—not that the other rooms in Gandharva Ville weren't nice—so I was well-rested despite the interruption. The room was large and the walls largely blocked out the chatter of nocturnal forest noises. Though they weren't at all unpleasant sounds, some nights, one just prefers to be undisturbed.

Shortly after I had re-braided my hair, I strode out of the hut, prepared to face the day, when Paimon came flying over. "Come on, Aether! You're gonna miss out!" She pointed excitedly down the rope bridge to where I saw Collei, Tighnari and Cyno sitting together a few trees away. "Everyone's already sat down waiting for you!"

"Alright, alright," I said with a light smile and chuckle. "Let's go."

Before I had even finished speaking, Paimon was already zooming back across the bridge. The bridge was sturdy, thankfully (I had heard rumours that some bridges were in need of repair as they swayed too much to be considered safe), as I crossed it. The idle chatter of the forest encompassed me—the lifting melodies of the birds, the gentle whispers of the winds, the soft hushing of the streams. It was as if the forest was trying to calm me, trying to take my mind away from my nightmare. And it was sort of working.

I sat myself down next to Collei and smiled at Tighnari and Cyno across from me—and the smile wasn't as forced as I thought it would be. Paimon floated beside me, wriggling in excitement. "Surely, we can eat now!"

Tighnari laughed and waved a hand over the spread of food before us. "Of course, Paimon. Indulge yourselves. All of you." He gave a soft smile in my direction. "You slept in longer than usual again, Aether. Having trouble sleeping? I can come up with a remedy for that, you know."

I waved my hand in gentle dismissal. "N—no, not at all. I'm actually getting to sleep quite quickly." He nodded in response before turning back to his plate. I couldn't bear to tell them I was actually beginning to become afraid of falling asleep. Because every time I closed my eyes I saw my sister—saw her run away from me, out of my grasp. It was a daily reminder of the goal of my journey. I had to find her. Soon. Now.

"You seem a little tense, Traveller," Collei murmured, likely noting I wanted to keep things to myself and trying not to alert Tighnari and Cyno. "Is everything ok?"

"I..." I trailed off and offered a terse nod. "I'll deal with it."

"Are you sure? I can help you, you know. I won't tell Master Tighnari or Cyno if you don't want me to."

"No no no, I wouldn't ask that of you. You shouldn't risk that. Tighnari would hold you accountable for keeping secrets about a patient."

Collei's expression was grave—but only because she knew it was the truth. With that, we resumed our meal. It was delicious—as expected of the Forest Rangers—but it couldn't take my mind away from the dark thoughts that loomed above me. I stilled as I realised that there was a possibility I would never be reunited with Lumine and I loosed an unsteady breath.

"Traveller, what's the matter with you?" Paimon asked bluntly, tearing my attention away from the plate in front of me. Straight to the point, as always—and strangely sharp this morning, too. "We're on vacation!"

I turned my head slightly as everyone looked at us. Paimon's eyes widened in worry.

"Paimon knew it! You are upset!"

"Upset?" Tighnari echoed, worry clearly evident in his voice.

"Upset about what?" Cyno inquired.

"N—nothing..." I said, staring at my plate as if the steaming food heaped upon it would solve any of my problems. As if it hadn't already failed to distract me.

"Don't lie to Paimon! We've been on so many adventures together! Don't you think Paimon would know if something was wrong?"

Despite myself, my bottom lip wobbled. Something was wrong, she said. There was no denying that now. Wrong, wrong, wrong, all of it was just wrong. Everything so Archons-damned wrong.

The tears leaked from my eyes before I could stop them, a steady stream of droplets dripping from my face to splash on my clenched fists. "..I miss her..." The words were no more than a whisper, and I wondered if the others had even heard me. A choked sob was forced out of my body. "I miss her so much..."

Paimon's gaze softened and she flew closer and hugged my arm, resting her head on my shoulder. "We'll find your sister, Aether... Paimon promises we'll find her."

I could only nod, golden eyes overflowing with warm tears. I heard the rustle of fabric and looked up as Cyno stood. "Let's go for a walk."

"A... a walk?"

Tighnari nodded as both he and Collei stood. "Perhaps it will do you some good. It should help clear your mind."

"Ok..."

Paimon pulled me to my feet, not letting go of my hand as the five of us walked—well, four of us walked, Paimon flew—across the bridges that would lead to the ground. The morning was cool as a gentle breeze rustled through the trees, providing calming background noise for me to tune into as I tried to push Lumine away from my thoughts.

We all continued in silence. I could feel they were all keeping a close eye on me. If anything else went wrong—if I showed any more signs of distress—they would immediately be by my side. Paimon's tiny fingers intertwined with mine—my closest companion, through and through.

Soon, we came to a small waterfall, overlooking a large valley filled with giant blue shrooms. "Here," Cyno said, walking to the edge. "We can stop here and take a break."

I followed him, unsure of what to do with myself. Tighnari and Collei stood to the side to engage in discussion, taking Paimon with them. Tighnari eyed Cyno, who nodded in response.

"What's that about?" I asked, trying to blink away the remnants of tears that I could still feel gathering in my eyes.

"Nothing important," Cyno replied. "Tighnari was just reminding me of something. Back to the matter at hand—are you feeling any better?"

I clasped my hands behind my back as he turned to me and I looked down at the shrooms that covered the expanse. "Admittedly... I... am still not feeling at my best."

"That is to be expected. Don't force yourself. Tighnari might very well kill me for letting a patient do that to themself."

Despite myself, a huff of laughter found its way out of my mouth and a weak smile formed on my lips. "General Mahamatra... forced into submission by a Forest Watcher?"

"H—hey, he's surprisingly terrifying for a fox. And don't say it like that," he added, lightly punching me on the arm. "I submit to no one." I laughed again, and he smiled with me. "Did that help?" he asked.

I nodded. "Very much. Thank you, Cyno."

"Hey, you two!" Tighnari soon called to us. "Get over here! We're heading back!"

Cyno and I were immediately by the Forest Watcher's side. "Leaving so soon?" I asked, some brightness back in my eyes after taking this small breather.

"Duty calls," Tighnari replied. "Collei will keep you company in my absence." He met Cyno's gaze and inclined his head back towards Gandharva Ville. "Oh, and we'll need Paimon, too, Aether."

I nodded slowly—hesitantly. "Alright, then..."

With that, Cyno grabbed Paimon's little hand and hauled her along the path, ignoring her squealed complaints, quickly following Tighnari back to Gandharva Ville. I turned and found Collei smiling at me. "Shall we continue our walk, Traveller?"

It was almost weird to not have Paimon with me—the one companion who had been with me through everything on my journey—but still I smiled and nodded. Perhaps this would be a nice change of pace. "I'm sure there will be places even I have not explored that you will be excited to show me, Collei."

She beamed. "Indeed. Come! Come on! So much to see with so little time!" Collei gripped my wrist and began tugging me along and I laughed, and I knew that at least for the next few hours, Lumine would not be at the forefront of my mind—the despair that stemmed from her absence hidden away as Collei dragged me around the forest.

⁜※⁜

The sun was beginning to set as we made our way back to Gandharva Ville. Tighnari himself had asked Collei to keep me company for a few hours, but even so, she was beginning to feel nervous being away for so long. Collei had explained that she didn't want to be late, but when I inquired about what she would be late for, she refused to explain further.

This, of course, confused me, but I didn't question her about it as she hurriedly led me back to the others. Whatever the case, I would feel somewhat guilty if Collei was given one of Tighnari's stern lectures.

The two of us moved swiftly through the forest—a shortcut, Collei had claimed—before we found ourselves on the main path, just beneath the first huts belonging to Gandharva. I glimpsed the tips of purple and black pointed ears and wisps of white hair as the figure that was overlooking us suddenly turned and walked out of sight.

Collei noticed the figure, too, and stopped, claiming she needed to take a breather even though I knew she had plenty of energy left. She was buying time for something—or rather, someone—but why? After a minute or two, we resumed our trek—at a leisurely walking pace, this time.

I had assumed we were going into Gandharva, but instead, Collei led me beneath the village, straight towards a small lake in the near distance. Even from here, I could see how it glowed in the setting sun, how it appeared the gleaming expanse harboured its own field of stars that twinkled in the light.

The lake was soon hidden from view by the treeline as we strolled on a path that led downhill. "Almost there," Collei announced, trying to keep a grin from her face. At this point, I knew she had a surprise for me—and when we finally emerged from the treeline to meet Paimon's bright smile and tiny waving hands, I saw what it was.

Those stars I saw were really small candles perched within sun lotuses, resting on the calm lake waters, bobbing up and down with each slight ripple. "What... what is this?" I asked upon coming within hearing range.

Cyno offered one of his rare smiles and said, "Tighnari, Collei and Paimon came up with this idea while I distracted you."

"And here I thought you actually cared enough to help me calm down," I joked.

A light huff of a chuckle. "I helped set this up, didn't I?"

I gave him a grateful smile before turning to Tighnari, awaiting an explanation. He met my gaze and saw it as his cue to speak up, stepping forward as he addressed me. "We noticed you hadn't been yourself the past few days, Aether, which we... confirmed... this morning." He cleared his throat. "So we came up with an idea that might brighten your spirits." He waved a hand to the bank, motioning to unlit flowers that idly waited. "Sunflowers cross-bred with lotuses—for hope. Don't worry about wax and wick pollution. I've made sure these are biodegradable candles. It won't affect the forest."

"Every one of those flowers out there are wishes we asked the Forest Watchers to make upon our return," Cyno explained. "And now, we'll add our wishes to the lake."

I could only breathe a sigh of astonishment as I beheld the sight before me. I felt a small hand tap me on the shoulder and saw Paimon floating beside me, holding something behind her. "Paimon... Paimon helped out, but she wanted to do something else for you, Aether. Paimon hopes you'll like it." She presented what she hid behind her back—a small turtle figure made from forest materials. "Hope," she added, looking lovingly at her creation, before lifting her eyes to me. "Paimon heard turtles were a symbol of hope."

I lifted my palm and she slid the little turtle into my outstretched hand. I smiled. "I love it, Paimon. Thank you. Everything, it—" I turned to address the others. "All of you—thank you."

"Come on," Collei said, waving her hand towards the sun lotuses. "It's almost dark. The view is perfect this time of evening!"

Tighnari nodded and knelt beside the lotuses, Paimon gently tugging me along, her turtle still clutched in my hand. Tighnari handed us each a lotus before lighting the wick of each candle. "Make a wish," he said, closing his eyes and murmuring inaudible words as he did so—no doubt to make a wish of his own—before setting his lotus on the water and watching as it joined the many others spread out across the lake.

Cyno and Collei did the same, and I heard Collei whisper something like Help Aether before she gently pushed her lotus to meet Tighnari's, their petals lightly brushing against each other as they touched. Cyno's soon joined them, floating barely a few inches away from their flowers.

Paimon hovered near the water's edge, thinking harder than I had ever seen her think before. "Paimon wishes..." She paused and set her sun lotus on the water and watched it float towards the middle. Her mouth twitched upwards into a gentle smile. "Paimon wishes to be with Aether until the end of our journey... and that we reunite with his sister as soon as possible. And when we do find her, Paimon wants there to be a huge feast in celebration with all of our friends we've met along the way!" She wriggled in excitement at that last part.

I could only chuckle lightly in answer, before walking to the water's edge and spreading my arms open, offering a hug to my companion—which she gladly accepted. The sun was now beginning to dip below the horizon, laying to rest in the golden sands of the desert.

"Just your wish, now, Traveller," Tighnari said, coming up to stand beside me.

I gazed at the lotus, its peach petals grazing the turtle I held as I cupped my hands. I knelt by the water and closed my eyes. There was only one wish I had—no doubt everyone else knew what it was. I wish to be reunited with Lumine... and that this time, she will stay by my side. We will not be separated again.

It was almost like an order to the universe. As I let my sun lotus float out across the shimmering lake, I felt the wind rustle my hair in response, like a gentle mother's caress, as if letting me know the universe had heard me. I smiled to myself. Perhaps this was why Tighnari and the others had set this up for me—to give me the hope and encouragement I needed.

And as I stood once again, the others surrounding me in a tight bundle of hugs, I knew I was incredibly lucky to have met them on my journey. And that no matter how long said journey would be, my memories of them would continue to guide and strengthen me until I found her. Until we were reunited.

⁜※⁜

A/N: The Traveller deserves more love tbh...

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Fanart credits: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/89732353