Chapter 7: The Increasingly Lively Chat Group
The sun beat down on the rugged canyons of Teyvat as they made their way toward the Children of Echoes. Lumine glanced sideways at her floating companion. Paimon was currently locked in a fierce battle with a massive Sweet Madame, tearing into the roasted poultry with zero regard for her own image.
"Hey, Paimon," Lumine began, a playful glint in her golden eyes. "Do you want a surprise?"
Paimon paused mid-chew. She blinked down at Lumine, a single stray grain of rice somehow stuck to her cheek despite the fact she was eating chicken. It gave her an incredibly goofy, endearing look.
"Mmph?" Paimon swallowed hard, her eyes instantly lighting up. "What kind of surprise? Oh! Is it delicious food from another world? Hurry up and take it out! I specifically saved room for dessert!" She patted her tiny, seemingly bottomless stomach.
Lumine chuckled, shaking her head. "No, it's not food. It's an even more special surprise."
Paimon's shoulders slumped for a fraction of a second before curiosity took over. She pulled a napkin from nowhere and hastily wiped the grease from her mouth. "Not food? Then what is it? Oh, come on, stop teasing! Just tell me!"
Lumine crossed her arms, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. "You should be thanking me properly. I managed to score you a member slot in the multiversal chat group. Maybe in the future, we can even travel to other worlds together. And yes, before you ask, that means infinite access to otherworldly delicacies."
A high-pitched squeal erupted from the little fairy. "Ah! Lumine, are you telling the truth?!" Paimon did a rapid loop-the-loop in the air, her starry cape fluttering wildly. "That's great! I can keep traveling with you! I don't have to worry about ever being separated! This is the best!"
Lumine's expression softened. A warm feeling bloomed in her chest. 'She actually cares more about staying with me than the food...'She looked at the floating girl who had been her guide, her voice, and her best friend across countless nations.'Thank you for sticking by my side all this way.'Her resolve hardened.'We are never getting separated. Ever.'
Without missing a beat, Lumine opened the system interface in her mind and sent a direct invitation to the floating fairy. Since Lumine had already briefed her on how the chat group functioned, Paimon didn't even flinch when a crisp, mechanical chime echoed in her head. A glowing prompt materialized before her eyes, asking if she wanted to join. She smashed the agree button without a second thought.
[Teyvat - Lumine] has invited [Emergency Food] to the group. Welcome the new member!
Meanwhile, across the multiverse, the neon glow of Sixth Street filtered through the windows of the Random Play video store. Inside the cozy staff lounge, Belle leaned over the counter, practically vibrating with excitement as she stared at her brother, Wise.
"Hey, brother! We had a deal, remember? I finally got the clearance to pull you into the group. Aren't you going to thank your incredibly cute and capable sister?"
Wise paused his work on the store's terminal, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Is it really possible?" Seeing Belle's expectant, puppy-dog eyes, a fond smile broke across his usually calm face. "You actually pulled it off. Belle is amazing. Thank you, my lovely sister."
Caught off guard by the genuine praise, Belle's cheeks dusted with a faint pink. She quickly waved her hands, trying to play it cool. "W-What was that? Zero sincerity! So robotic! Anyway, I'm sending the invite now. Just hit agree. From now on, you are officially my external brain for all group activities."
A soft chime echoed in the room. Wise tapped the glowing interface that appeared in his vision, accepting the prompt.
[New Eridu - Belle] has invited [Wise is Wise] to the group. Welcome the new member!
The sudden influx of system notifications caused the previously quiet chat interface to explode with activity.
[Shutterbug]: "Wait, wait, wait! Is all this actually real? Were those weird items Stelle just pulled out of thin air seriously from another dimension? Are you guys actually aliens from completely different universes?!"
Aboard the Astral Express, March 7th stared wide-eyed at the holographic screen floating in front of her face. She poked the air a few times, half-expecting the chat box to shatter like an illusion. This entire situation was completely breaking her understanding of reality.
Sitting on one of the parlor car's plush sofas, Dan Heng was experiencing a rare moment of absolute stunned silence. He crossed his arms, his sharp eyes scanning the floating text. As the archivist and manager of the Astral Express's data bank, he prided himself on his extensive knowledge of the cosmos. He had read countless logs on Aeons, star systems, and bizarre phenomena. Yet, absolutely none of that data accounted for a magical chat room that bridged entirely different multiverses and allowed for the physical exchange of matter.
Taking a slow, measured breath to steady his racing thoughts, Dan Heng did what he always did—he adapted. He tapped the holographic keyboard.
[Cloud-Piercing Spear - Dan Heng]: "Greetings, everyone. I am Dan Heng, a guard of the Astral Express and the archivist of its data bank. Thank you all for looking after Stelle."
Snapping out of her daze, March 7th noticed Dan Heng's polite introduction. Not wanting to be left out, her fingers flew across her own virtual keyboard.
[Shutterbug]: "I-I'm March 7th! I'm Stelle's companion and the resident photographer of the Express! Everyone can just call me March!"
She chewed her lower lip, suddenly feeling a bit awkward about how to properly introduce herself to literal beings from other dimensions, but decided keeping it simple was best. Seeing the Astral Express crew breaking the ice, the newly added members quickly chimed in.
[Wise is Wise]: "Hello, everyone. I am Wise, Belle's older brother. Thank you all for taking care of her in this group."
[Emergency Food]: "Hellooooo everyone! I'm Paimon, Lumine's absolute bestest partner in the whole wide world! We're going to travel together forever!"
[Teyvat - Lumine]: "For everyone who just joined, make sure to check the pinned announcement at the top of the chat interface. It has all the detailed rules and information about how this system works."
While March, Dan Heng, and Wise took a moment to read through the system logs, the veterans of the group started their usual banter.
[Astral Express - Stelle]: "Disappointing. I was fully expecting March and Dan Heng to get assigned some completely unhinged group names that would surprise me. But they're just normal."
[New Eridu - Belle]: "Right?! When I joined, the system gave me a totally ridiculous title! But my brother just gets [Wise is Wise]? That's literally just his personality! Zero surprise factor. I demand a refund."
[Astral Express - Stelle]: "@[Teyvat - Lumine] Hold on a second. Didn't Paimon just introduce herself as your 'best partner'? Why in the Aeons is her system name [Emergency Food]? That is incredibly dark. Are you planning to eat her?"
Back in New Eridu, Belle blinked at the screen, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine. She waited anxiously for Lumine to explain, half-wondering if the cute blonde traveler was actually a ruthless survivalist.
[Teyvat - Lumine]: "Relax, it's an inside joke! When we first arrived in Mondstadt and met an Outrider named Amber, she asked what Paimon was. I panicked and called her emergency food."
[Teyvat - Lumine]: "I honestly didn't expect the chat group to actually use it as her official title. She hasn't noticed yet, but she's probably going to throw a massive tantrum in 3... 2... 1..."
Lumine covered her mouth to muffle a snicker. She cast a sideways glance at Paimon, who was currently squinting hard at the holographic screen, completely oblivious to the conversation happening right below the pinned rules.
[Shutterbug]: "Oh, thank goodness! I was genuinely worried for a second there. Combining that cute, cheerful introduction with the title [Emergency Food] was giving me major horror movie vibes."
[Astral Express - Stelle]: "Wow, March. You're not even reading the data bank rules, are you? Just instantly slacking off to gossip in the chat."
[Shutterbug]: "What do you mean slacking off?! Reading boring manuals and organizing data is Dan Heng's job! I'm the public relations expert! I specialize in interacting with people! This is called a highly efficient division of labor, thank you very much!"
Reading the rapid-fire exchange, both Lumine and Belle burst out laughing in their respective worlds. It was glaringly obvious that Stelle and her Express crew shared a deep, chaotic, and incredibly warm bond.
Paimon, who had been furrowing her tiny brow trying to understand the system mechanics, heard Lumine giggling. Curiosity getting the better of her, she swiped down on the holographic interface to read the actual chat history.
Her eyes widened as she read the logs. It took exactly three seconds for her brain to process that the entire multiversal group was currently discussing her assigned username. She looked at the top of her own text box. Right there, in bold, glowing letters, it read: [Emergency Food].
A vein popped on her forehead. She lifted her tiny boots and aggressively stomped the empty air several times, as if trying to physically crush the chat interface beneath her heels.
"What is this?!!" Paimon shrieked, her voice echoing off the canyon walls. "My name should be [Best Partner]! Or at least [Flying Little Seelie]! Why in Teyvat is it [Emergency Food]?!"
She crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out until she looked like an angry blowfish. "I'm so mad! Joining this magical group was supposed to be a super happy occasion, but now I'm just getting bullied by a stupid system! This is so annoying!"
Lumine gave a knowing, utterly smug smile. She watched the fuming fairy with absolute delight. 'Right on cue,'she thought.'It's time for Paimon's traditional nickname-giving retaliation.'Sure enough, Paimon pointed a dramatic finger at the floating screen. "No! I refuse to take this lying down! I'm going to give this stupid chat group an ugly nickname right back! I'll call it...'The Chatty Box'! Yes, take that!"
Lumine bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. 'Devastating,'she thought sarcastically.'Paimon's verbal counterattacks are as terrifying and harmless as ever.'
Her anger quickly deflating into a pout, Paimon floated closer to Lumine and tugged on her sleeve. "Lumine... can this name be changed? I really don't want to be called [Emergency Food] in front of all these new people. It ruins my majestic image."
Suddenly, a lightbulb seemed to go off in her head. "Wait! Didn't you say before that your name was just [Lumine] when you first joined? How did you change it to [Teyvat - Lumine]? Teach me! Teach me right now!"
Looking at Paimon's desperate, fawning expression, Lumine finally took pity on her. She smiled indulgently, reaching out to poke the fairy's forehead. "Alright, alright, calm down. I'll teach you how to change it."
With Lumine guiding her tiny fingers across the holographic interface, Paimon quickly handled to the settings menu. A few taps later, she successfully updated her display name to match Lumine's format: [Teyvat - Paimon]. Satisfied that her dignity was restored, she finally went back to reading the group's actual information logs.
Because Paimon hadn't actually sent a new message since updating her profile, Stelle and the others remained completely oblivious to the fairy's little crisis. The chat interface continued to scroll rapidly as the multiversal crew happily moved on to their next chaotic topic of discussion.
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