Fading With Time | Genshin Impact |

Chapter 23

The coach remained quiet at this point it became apparent that Childe was sulking.

Klee looked out the window seeing a glowing lake, "What's that Albedo!?" Klee shook his arm trying to get him to look outside faster. "Actually, I'm not too sure... I've never seen that before." Albedo took a breath before speaking again, "How about you ask Miss Lumine instead?" 

Lumine turned hearing her name to see an expecting Klee and the glowing lake behind her in the window. "That's a healing spring, it hasn't been used in a while, and an elemental trace is starting to gather at the top, that's why it's glowing." 

Klee's eyes widened you could see the gears turning in her mind, "Is there FISH!?" Having no audio control and scaring Childe and Tonia. 

"I don't think there's any fish in the pond Klee," Albedo had a laugh hidden well with his words. Lumine wasn't able to see out the window on the right side of her with Albedo in the way. 

Lumine put her hand on the back of Albedo's head and pushed him slightly out of the way so she could see out to the right, they passed the healing springs so she knew they'd be to the town to get dinner soon. 

"What was that for?" Albedo removed her hand and moved it down back to the seats. Lumine then realized she could've just asked Albedo to lean forward, "I was trying to see the pond." 

"Eh-hem, well we passed it." Albedo glanced around and caught the gaze of Childe. 

Not daring to look away he took it as a challenge, Albedo looked Childe in the eyes and Childe did the same. Albedo assessed his eyes they were dreary, almost dead looking he guessed that Childe might've seen something he didn't desire to see. Childe soon turned away and the staring contest ended. 

The coach came to a bumpy stop for an unknown reason, Lumine looked out the window and they were just on an unpaved road, not at a stop. 

Lumine stood up and slid her coat back up her shoulders. "I'm going to go check to see what's happening." She opened the coach door to be blasted with the cold air and snow and stepped outside, Childe following behind her. 

Childe closed the door after straightening up on the solid path. "Why'd you come out here?" Lumine took a look back at Childe while she was looking around. 

"The air in there just isn't the same as out here," Childe said while Lumine looked over to where the coachman was supposed to be, he wasn't there. "I don't suppose you know what happened to the coachman? There are no footprints, he didn't just walk away." Childe walked over to the situation shaking off some snow from his head, "Maybe he got off a bit ago and the horses kept going?" 

Lumine started backtracking and she saw the next carriage carrying workers and a few horses behind that with soldiers riding them. She signaled to them to stop. The carriage came to a stop and Lumine went up to the other coachman, "Did you see your coworker get off the coach and walk away?" The coachman simply shook his head saying no.

"We don't have time to delay... Can you get someone to come out and continue driving the coach?" Lumine asked. 

"Of course, just give us a few minutes we'll have the coach moving again." The coachman said while getting down from his seat to alert everyone. 

Lumine continued and asked a soldier to stay back and look for the driver for a little bit, they obliged but Lumine made sure that they knew they couldn't spend too long doing that. 

"Lumine!" Childe called out the storm was starting to get heavier and he was trying to make sure Lumine would get back into the coach soon. "Yeah?!" Her reply was almost lost in the winds as they picked up so Lumine began her way back to the coach to see Childe waiting for her at the door. 

"Let's go in." Childe opened the door and the chatting that was heard inside came to an end as he and Lumine went in. The snow on their shoes began to melt inside so Lumine used Anemo to dry them, coming to a conclusion that the control over Anemo was the most useful in day-to-day life. 

"So what happened?" Albedo asked while glancing out the window after hearing the winds picking up. "The coachman is missing and in this weather, I doubt we would find him in a few minutes." Tonia cut in after Lumine finished her sentence, "Who is going to drive then?" 

"Someone will take his shift, we should start moving again soon." Lumine yawned, she realized that the sun was starting to fade from the sky and it would be gone soon. She then knew they weren't going to make it to the restaurant she had planned to go to so she'd have to choose another one in a nearby town, luckily Childe's hometown wasn't too far. 

Klee moved her backpack to the floor and started digging through it. Albedo thought she was going to pull out a bomb but she pulled out some items that resembled  Windwheel Asters. 

They were pinwheels in red, they had green stems and Klee handed one out to the new people she had met. "Oh thank you, Klee!" Lumine said and thank you's followed behind hers. 

Lumine inspected the pinwheel while Childe was spinning his he hadn't seen many before and took the time to look at them, Tonia didn't know what the item was and was asking Albedo. 

The carriage soon began to move again and everyone was making small talk and the harsh aura seemed to disappear. Everything was going to plan except the fact that they left too late in the day to arrive at the Restaurant before it closed.