Rainy day out

1. So it begins

"Ugh, Paimons so sick of this gloomy weather! It's starting to feel like Tatarasanu all over again!" Paimon whines as she peers out the window. Across the thick glass panel, raindrops race one another in perpetual motion.

Besides her, a robust radio outlines today's weather report, essentially the same report as yesterday, the day before that, and the day before that day, "Cloudy with 95% chance of rai—"

Lumine changes the channel, sick of hearing the same dull news for the sixth time.

"Cheer up, the rainfall died a little in the past few days and all storms will end eventually," Lumine reassures with what little positivity she has left, "When the rain dies out, I'll treat you to some sticky honey roast from Good Hunters."

Hearing the promise of good food, the little fairy instantly cheers up as she flies off the window ledge and circles around their best friend in an energetic manner.

"You're just the best!" she squeals in excitement as she embraces her arms intimately around Lumine, "Paimon's gonna have no choice but to hold you to your words then."

Lumine smiles knowing that her reassurance was more than effective. A warm fireplace sits cozily by the two, emitting a warm glow all around as its crackling drowns out the pitter-patter of the rain, the wind rattling against the window, and the occasional roar of thunder here and there. As cushy as it had been, it's unfitting for an adventurer anyhow. Lumine would much rather put herself to work in Sumeru's lush forests, taking up commissions or exploring what the region has to offer. Though she is the calmer and more patient one out of the two, getting cooped up in one place for too long can drive anyone restless. Looping through all channels twice and discovering nothing of interest, the radio is shut off to hush its obsessive rambling.

At first, it felt relaxing to finally have a well-deserved break from her normal routine. Instead of hacking enemies and solving mechanisms, Lumine and Paimon rearranged interior pieces of furniture, slept in, played some TCG, and took time off for themselves. An idle body naturally resulted in a restless mind and pretty soon, everything the two did lost its charm in record time. Right now, Lumine would give anything for a chance to fulfill commissions, go on adventures, or explore Sumeru's mysterious deserts. Every day felt the same, blending into each other into distorted memory. It felt as if everything took place over the course of a single day. A single day that stubbornly dragged on and on, refusing to end. As Lumine dwells on unproductivity, she's hit by a source of inspiration, stars practically light up in her eyes. A conceptual lightbulb jolts to life above her head.

"Why don't we pay Nahida a visit?"

The Dendro Archon had a lovely personality and was simply a joy to be around. A check-up on her was much overdue. Lumine hasn't run into her since Sumeru's artificial god incident. It'd be nice to hear how she's doing after taking control of Sumeru. Nahida is a walking library, a library not just for knowledge but also filled with stories to tell and wisdom to share. She'd definitely have good ideas for ways to pass the time in this bizarre weather. Having suggestions or not having suggestions, it's a win-win either way if they could see her.

"Oh! That's a great idea! Nahida is Paimon's favorit—," she sharply cuts herself off mid-sentence and corrects, "Second favorite, after you of course. You'll still be Paimon's favorite no matter how much food Nahida or anyone manages to bribe Paimon."

Lumine snorts as she gets ready to head out, "Is food all you ever think about?

"Hey! Paimon thinks about a lot of other things, and you know it! Like guiding you all throughout Teyvat!," Paimon pouts with both her arms crossed, giving Lumine the side-eye until she realizes Lumine is already well on her way out. "Hey, wait for Paimon!" She calls out.