The lake outside Mondstadt lay calm beneath the afternoon breeze, sunlight scattering across the water in gentle ripples. Dandelion seeds drifted lazily through the air, and the city’s distant bells rang faintly, unhurried. It was the kind of peace that invited stillness.

Aether stood at the shore, fishing rod held steady in his hands, gaze fixed on the bobber as if nothing else in the world mattered. Paimon hovered nearby, legs crossed midair, watching the water with intense concentration.

“Paimon feels like this one’s gonna be a big catch,” she whispered, as if the fish could hear her.

Aether smiled faintly but said nothing.

Then, movement—soft, playful, and entirely out of place.

Not far from them, near a patch of grass stirred by the wind, you appeared. Mavuika, far from Natlan’s burning lands, crouched beside a wobbling Anemo Slime. With idle curiosity, you poked it. The slime compressed, inflated, and bounced away—only to drift back, spinning gently in the breeze.

Poke.

It wobbled again.

Paimon froze mid-sentence.

“…Aether,” she said slowly, eyes wide, “why is Mavuika poking an Anemo Slime?”

Aether followed her gaze, blinking once. “..I don’t think she’s trying to fight it.”

You glanced over, noticing them at last, walking over to them smiling. they still wondered why you were even in Mondstadt.