My Brother is a Tree
Tree!Aether AU
When Lumine wakes up, she initially thinks it was a dream. That she didn’t just see her brother get turned into a sapling, but when she looks around and sees Aether missing, she knows it’s not a dream. Her brother really did get turned into a tree.
.....
When recounting her story to Paimon, Paimon’s initial reaction was to try to stifle a snort. She has never heard of someone being turned into a tree and frankly it was a funny concept. She only tried to stifle it because Lumine seemed genuinely distressed by the situation and she didn’t want to upset her savior.
Encountering a dragon wasn’t something Lumine expected but she wasn’t surprised considering her luck so far. She was kinda thankful none of the trees in the surrounding area was Aether, she didn’t want Aether to get hurt and the damage the dragon had caused certainly would have hurt him severely.
Amber was a sight for sore eyes. While she appreciates Paimon’s company, seeing someone who could help her was relieving. When Paimon told Amber they were looking for her brother, she didn’t go into details as to what her brother was at the moment. She had a feeling this would backfire later but she could deal with that later.
.....
Lumine wanted to leave Mondstadt. While she was fine with helping people, defeating a dragon took time away from searching every tree in Teyvat. However, one positive came from this and it was the missing posters. Unfortunately, she was in for a struggle.
“Your brother turned... into a tree?” Jean narrows her eyes, there was no way the traveler was being serious.
“Yes, roughly 500 years ago I watched as turned into a sapling. By now he’s probably a rather large tree by now but I can’t be certain. If missing person posters aren’t possible then a more efficient way to search the trees would suffice.” Lumine wasn’t phased by her skepticism, hearing that someone was turned into a tree probably wasn’t a common thing to hear.
Behind her, Lisa was trying her best not to laugh while Kaeya wasn’t trying at all not to. Diluc, who joined them to see if her request was anything he could help with, was also trying he best to be sympathetic but the way he covered his mouth with his hand gave away his smile. Lumine had to take a deep breath as to not snap at them.
“Well, I can speak to our Chief Alchemist about that. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay at our dorms for as long as you need.” Jean patted her shoulder. “Mondstadt thanks you for your help, honorary knight.”
.....
“You want me to make a device to find a tree?”
“Yes.”
“And this tree is your brother?”
“Yes.”
Albedo let out a breath. Surely this was a joke. Yes, he was curious about the honorary knight but this is ridiculous. There are millions, if not billions, of trees in Teyvat, he could search every one but even for him it’s an absurd request. Everything about this was absurd, from what caused it to what is being asked. He supposes he has no choice considering this an order from the acting grandmaster.
“Very well, I want to see if we can pinpoint your exact location using your body signature first. We need to figure out what that is though.”
Lumine nods throughout his jargon, she didn’t quite understand everything he was saying yet but hopefully this would bring her closer to finder her brother.
.....
Its been a few grueling weeks of going back and forth between doing commissions and helping Albedo with the device right after. It left her very little time to relax and appreciate the wonders of Mondstadt but it was worth it when Albedo finally announced that he was finished.
“I can’t guarantee this will locate your brother, you’d still need to go to every corner of Teyvat as this device can only reach so far. I will have to accompany you as well to recalibrate the device to every nation’s elemental energy.” He hands her the device and points to a glowing blue dot on the screen. “This is you, perhaps later on I can add some upgrades but so far it will show you the topography of an area as well as the location of statues of the seven and waypoints.” Lumine fidgeted with the controls of the device, it was far more advanced than she expected it to be.
“Thank you for your help, Albedo.” She smiles at him.
“Nothing to thank me for, honorary knight. I’m just doing my job and learning about you was an interesting experience. I look forward to working with you more.”
Thus this officially began Lumine’s journey to find her missing brother, and the harem she makes along the way.