@swordofdeath ✧ Starfell Lake, Mondstadt
the lake at which the northern Statue of Sevens resided held a special place for Paimon and the Traveler — it was the location where first Lumine was attuned with Anemo energy. the place where they followed Dvalin to find Venti, where they encountered Amber and reached Mondstadt after two months of travel. it was the beginning of everything, and they'd never really been apart since.
but as she floated above the water's surface now, Paimon was all by herself. almost as if the day that Lumine had rescued her never happened. beautiful though the scenery were, it was... lonesome without her. it was an ache Paimon had felt once before, in Sumeru City — a pain she never wanted to be afflicted with again. but... she didn't know how she got here, and there was no sign of her friend. it was... a horribly empty feeling.
there were moments where the Traveler would step aside to speak with someone in private, but she always came back. she never went away for good... like that day in Sumeru. the throbbing within Paimon's chest grew with time — calling out and flying all over had found no trace of the Traveler — it swelled like a sadness consuming her from the inside-out. she was truly alone.
as searching turned up nothing, she spent the remainder of the daylight hours perched on the Statue of Sevens, by the bard's stone robe. eventually there was movement that took shape not familiar to Teyvat — it wasn't the Traveler, but it sparked hope that had Paimon soaring as fast as possible from the platform.
✦Yachiru! is Paimon glad to see you. have you seen Lumine? Paimon thought she'd been thrown out of the city without her.✦
