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Something wasn’t sitting well. A roiling discomfort settled into her stomach, making it quite difficult to enjoy the company of her brother, long apart though they had been.
“Lumine? What’s the matter?” Aether’s voice jarred the girl from her thoughts.
But… Lumine wasn’t immediately sure how to answer. Her brother had a rather sensitive stomach and if she told him she felt like she was going to be sick, he would only become anxious. On the other hand, if the churning in her guts became productive, catching him off guard wouldn’t be any better for either of them.
“… Lumine?” The concern was clearer this time.
She must have hesitated too long to answer. She takes a careful breath, ascertaining that she’s not going to be sick the moment she opens her mouth, at least.
“I’m not feeling very well,” she admits softly. It’s an understatement. She’d gone from vaguely unsettled to swirling nausea in what felt like mere moments, though Lumine wasn’t able to immediately pinpoint what might have set this off.
“Oh! Uh-” There’s the anxiety she had expected, making itself known in his voice, in the way Aether clearly wasn’t sure what to say. “Come here, let’s sit a moment.”
Lumine is surprised when Aether stabilized within seconds and took charge instead of remaining frozen or even withdrawing. Both would have been more fitting of the brother she’d lost all that time ago.
They’d both changed a lot, hadn’t they?
“I’m not sure-”
“Just try to breathe. It might settle out still.” Aether is optimistic and encouraging as he settles next to her on the bench he’d guided her to.
They’re visiting Liyue for the Lantern Rite, and while there, Lumine had been invited to a small bit of festivity here at the Jade Chamber. She’d brought Aether, figuring it’d be a chance for him to meet some of her allies (friends? Were they friends? If this was Mondstadt she wouldn’t have hesitated to say so, but Liyue was.. complicated) and see the gorgeous view from the Chamber.
Now it made her nervous. The Jade Chamber might not be sacred ground or anything, but it was hardly the sort of place where ducking into the bushes to be ill would go unnoticed.
“Stay here,” he says after a moment or so. “I’m going to get you a glass of water.”
Lumine doesn’t bother to object when he stands and moves off. It’s for the best that he doesn’t over, with the nausea rising and coiling in her stomach. She can’t focus on anything but the twisting sensation that threatened to force up the things that she had consumed in the last handful of hours.
Her mouth waters ominously.
Lumine swallows the bitter saliva that pools in her mouth stubbornly. But, her eyes sweep around the area nearest her, more than half looking for a suitable receptacle that would be within the narrow range she expected to be able to move if (when) this came to a head.
It’s hard to concentrate on keeping her breathing calm when it hitches here and there as her stomach squeezes ominously.
Saliva is pooling again, more rapidly than before. She swallows it down, but it catches in her throat, an ominous gurgle rumbling from below.
She only burps, but the acidic aftertaste warns her that if she doesn’t find a suitable place to be ill, she’ll be making a mess on the marble sooner rather than later.
Mentally, she retraces where the nearest restroom is, but is forced to reject the thought. That would require passing through the main part of the gathering again, and if she didn’t make it, the last thing Lumine wanted was to cause a scene in front of so many people.
Another sickly burp, though Lumine is forced to swallow tightly on the tail of it to keep the contents of her stomach where they belong.
There’s a trashcan not too far, not far enough Aether won’t be able to find her when he returns, and close enough that Lumine thinks she can maintain control long enough to reach it.
The handful of stumbling steps are some of the hardest Lumine has taken in a long time.
She nearly falls, only managing to catch herself on the wall before the tumbles to the floor.
The girl presses her eyes tightly shut against the nausea that she’s still at war with.
A battle she is losing.
A battle she refuses to give up on even so.
Lumine never did know how to give up, did she?
An unpleasant heave brought a bare mouthful of stomach acid, which she spat into the trash, unwilling to attempt to swallow, as she was all too aware that if she did, it would only set off the inevitable wave of heaves.
“Oh, ‘mine,” Aether’s voice was soft.
Lumine started slightly, head jerking up and eyes going wide. She hadn’t heard him come back.
The movement did not sit well with her already unhappy stomach. She is barely able to suppress a retch and leans back down over the trashcan only a moment later.
Despite a shudder that she feels where he’s half pressed against her side, Aether remains next to her, and makes sure the long portion of her bangs doesn’t fall into the line of fire.
“You don’t have to watch this,” she mumbles when she’s somewhat sure she can speak without throwing up.
It’s only a matter of time.
“I’m not going to leave you while you’re feeling sick.”
Lumine wants to point out she’s going to make him sick, too. She’s not able to form the words, all too aware that the next time she opens her mouth, something is going to make a reappearance.
Lumine isn’t able to suppress the next gag, which rapidly gives way to a series of retches.
It takes forever for the heaves to bring up more than a few mouthfuls of stomach acid, and the waiting is honestly the worst part for Lumine.
Knowing she can’t stop what’s going to happen, knowing all she can do is wait. She feels too sick to even think about taking them back to the hotel room they’d be sharing. The jump from the Jade Chamber to the ground alone would be her undoing, certainly.
And guilty, she felt guilty because Aether was here watching her be sick rather than enjoying himself.
Pale fingers tightened around the rim of the trashcan and she closes her eyes again, trying not to think about it.
For a moment, Lumine thinks that perhaps nothing more serious will happen, and they can at least make it back to their temporary home.
Somewhere to lie down sounded nice, about then.
It was not to be.
A final twisting cramp brought a new series of retches and this time, she felt the contents of her stomach clawing its way up.
The thick slurry gushes forward as it finally erupts from between her lips. Lumine keeps her eyes closed, not wanting to see the remnants of that evening’s snacking.
The wave ends. It leaves Lumine feeling weak, and a little shaky. This isn’t unusual. She’s not confident enough in being done that she’s ready to walk back to the bench yet.
Beside her, Aether has gone almost unsettlingly still.
Lumine lifts her head a bit, and opens her eyes, finally.
And yes, her brother has gone pale, with the faintest sheen of sweat.
Lumine takes stock of herself, intending to suggest they go and sit down to get him away from the smell.
It’s too late, she realizes as she watches him swallow convulsively once.
She reaches out and rubs a comforting circle on his back with one hand, keeping the ‘I told you so’ firmly behind her teeth.
Aether’s battle with his stomach is much shorter. Only a scant few heartbeats later, and he’s lurching forward, with a rush of liquid that Lumine tries very hard not to hear splatter against the mess she’d already made.
She does make sure his hair stays out of the way. It’s the least she can do.
She catches a glimpse of the mingled mess in the bottom of the trashcan and has to suppress another gag. The traveler is only partially successful and has to spit out another mouthful of bitter saliva and bile.
Lumine is about to suggest they go and sit down (again) when she senses another presence.
Aether’s weight shifts minutely beside her, and Lumine is distantly aware that he has stepped between her and the newcomer.
Protective. Sweet.
Unwise, given the people here were mostly her allies, at least, and her friends at best. And some of them didn’t have the best impression of him already.
Protective. Sweet. The words described her brother, truly. Because it was the only combination Lumine could think of that ended in her brother, a known sympathy puker staying beside her while she lost her supper, despite knowing that this is probably one of the safest places on Teyvat.
Lumine shifts slightly to look around him and see who, exactly, has caught them.
Shenhe.
Not who Lumine had expected, but somehow better than she might have hoped for. Despite the cool distance of the Adeptus’ pupil, she and Shenhe had forged a bond, and Shenhe wasn’t the sort to fuss or cause a scene unless someone did something particularly stupid.
“If you’re well enough to leave, I can walk back with you.” It’s less a question, and more of a statement. “I’d rather doubt either of you are fit for combat if it comes to it.”
They weren’t safe yet. Shenhe’s words were a sharp reminder of that fact.
“Have to…” Lumine trails off as she glances at the trashcan, well aware she can’t leave it like that even if she’s also certain that any attempt to deal with it would only turn her stomach again.
The mere thought almost does.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t want to take you away from the party,”
“I saw what I came for already.” Shenhe’s words are straight to the point. “Let me take you back to Liyue.”
Of course she had. The performance had been earlier in the evening, and likely was the only reason Shenhe had subjected herself to the presence of so many people.
Well, that and the food.
Ugh, food.
The thought forces Lumine to swallow a little sharply, but nothing seems intent to come up.
Either she doesn’t have anything to bring up left, or her body is content that it purged what was angering it.
Either way, she’d need to be careful with it for a while longer, it seemed.
Lumine just hopes that the short journey back to Liyue is uneventful on all fronts.