"Ahhhhh! Help! Someone save me!"
"Lumine, where are you?"
Sob
"Am I going to freeze to death up here?"
Hearing a familiar voice crying for help, Paimon's own cries abruptly stopped. She wiped her tears and peeked down to see who else was in the same predicament.
Following the sound, she spotted a figure lying on another fragment below her. She could have sworn she saw a little white soul about to escape from his mouth.
"Hey, down there! Are you okay?"
Bennett, who had been shivering on the Nail fragment, looked up at the voice. In that moment, he felt a warmth in his heart—someone else was just as unlucky as him. That meant he wasn't the unluckiest person alive.
"Bennett? What are you doing up here? Weren't you supposed to be at the camp at the foot of the mountain?"
"I was looking for Amber, but I couldn't find her. Then this thing popped out of the ground and brought me up here. Paimon, do you know where they are?"
Having someone to talk to temporarily made Bennett forget his fear. He sat cross-legged on the fragment and chatted with Paimon, asking if she knew anything about Amber and the others.
"Amber separated from us a few days ago. She was heading to the camp at the foot of the mountain. But it looks like something might have happened along the way."
Paimon was puzzled too. She remembered Amber going down with Hu Tao and Qiqi. How could Bennett have missed them? Had they also been caught in an avalanche?
"Bennett, did you run into any avalanches on your way up?"
"How did you know, Paimon? I ran into so many avalanches. One almost buried me."
"The mountain really is dangerous. But then again, Bennett seems to be unlucky everywhere."
Paimon quickly gave up thinking. That kind of thing was better left to Lumine. She'd stick to eating and having fun. And with Hu Tao around, Amber and the others probably weren't in danger.
"Paimon! Paimon! I'm coming to save you! Can you hear me?"
"Lumine, I'm here! Hurry, I'm so scared!"
Hearing Lumine's voice from below, Paimon waved her little arms and shouted frantically. Bennett watched her with envy—he wished he had friends who would come to his rescue.
Hearing Paimon's voice coming from the Nail fragment in midair, Lumine rubbed her forehead and turned to look at Su Bai, who was laughing heartily.
"I didn't expect you to know Paimon so well, Su Bai. This idiot really did forget she can fly."
Su Bai shrugged. He had never overestimated Paimon's intelligence. If she had actually flown down on her own, he would have suspected someone had swapped her out.
"Paimon, you can fly! Just fly down. Don't embarrass yourself up there. Eula and the others will laugh at you."
"Oh, right. I can fly."
Paimon slapped her forehead and flew down. With the Nail fragment thawed and the storm stopped, flying was smooth and easy. Even if a little wind picked up, it wasn't much of a problem.
"Too late. This director already saw everything."
With a few clicks, Hu Tao held up a Kamera and snapped several photos of the Nail fragment. Paimon was dumbfounded. When had Hu Tao gotten a Kamera? But there was no time to think about that—she needed to get down.
When she reached Bennett's side, he looked at her with envy. He used to have a wind glider, but his bad luck kept breaking it every time he fell, so he had stopped buying them.
"Bennett, don't look at me like that. I'm too small to carry you."
"Don't worry. Su Bai's here. If anyone can help, it's him."
Hearing that, Bennett relaxed. Since Su Bai had come, he wouldn't be stuck up here much longer. In Bennett's mind, Su Bai was reliable.
After Paimon flew down, Lumine went to embrace her. But Paimon dodged and flew straight at Hu Tao, ready to headbutt her chest into an even flatter basin.
Seeing Paimon charging, Hu Tao pocketed the photos she had taken and returned the Kamera to Albedo. During their earlier conversation, she had found Albedo quite interesting—especially since he had bought one of her packages, even if it wasn't for himself.
"Give me those photos now, or else..."
"Or else what? Are you going to fight me, little Paimon?"
Hu Tao stuck out her tongue, and her little ghost mimicked her. Furious, Paimon stomped her foot in midair but had no way to retaliate.
After enjoying Paimon's helpless rage for a while, Hu Tao returned the photos. She wasn't a monster—teasing little Paimon a little was enough.
While Hu Tao and Paimon played around, Su Bai was about to use Anemo to bring Bennett down. But Albedo was faster. He controlled a strange flower that floated up, caught Bennett, and delivered him safely to the ground.
"Compared to your half-baked Anemo control, I think it's safer if I handle it myself."
"You wouldn't want Bennett to end up like that apple you demonstrated earlier, would you?"
Albedo had acted not only because he feared Bennett's bad luck would cause an accident but also to thank him for playing with Klee. As her brother, he knew how mischievous she could be.
Bennett shivered as he was set down. Though he didn't know Albedo, he politely thanked him.
"Thanks, big brother. I thought I was done for today."
"No need to thank me. As a Knight of Favonius, it's my duty to help a Mondstadt citizen in trouble. Besides, you've taken care of Klee before. Saving you is only right."
With nothing else to do, Su Bai gathered some firewood and ingredients, found a sheltered spot, and set up a campfire for everyone to rest. The intense journey had drained their energy—Lumine's sweat was almost freezing into ice beads. Bennett, shivering from the cold, also needed to warm up by the fire.