What is this world...?

This question is currently living rent-free in Aether's head. And honestly, who can blame him? He has been stranded on the Teyvat continent for a little while now. And honestly, it still feels so unfamiliar to him. There's the issue of knowing which food is safe to eat in the wild, defending himself from harmful creatures, and don't even get him started on how the Teyvat language works. Who knew there are so many complicated factors for this language, such as enunciation, for example? How can a single language be this complicated?

Oh well, at least he still knows how to do some things in this world, like fishing. And really, he'll take what he can get in terms of survival skills. He doesn't feel quite ready to venture out beyond the little area he already explored though. Not until he learns more about this world...but how is he going to do that?

Alas, no obvious solutions come to mind at the moment. The only thing he can think of doing next is to do the daily fishing routine today, so that's what he went with.

So now he's sitting on a rock near the usual pond he fishes at. With the help of a clear and sunny day, he lets the lush green scenery and the soft breeze of the winds calm him to the point of where it's only him, the calm ambiance, and his thoughts.

Honestly, this fishing activity can be a double-edged sword for him. On one hand, he can calm down and let this calm activity wash all the worries in his life away, as well as getting a free lunch in the form of the fishes he catches. On the other hand though, the waiting period would mean that he's stuck with his thoughts.

Normally, that wouldn't be a bad thing, as Aether is fine with musing to himself every once in a while, but after what happened 500 years ago... Yeah, his thoughts are just going turbulent at this point.

Ever since he got defeated by the unknown god, and being dropped into this Teyvat world as a result, he has felt nothing but hatred for this god. Hell, he probably would have immediately challenged her to a duel the second he sees her again, regardless of the fact that she put some sort of seal on him, making him lose the powers he had before. He doesn't care, he WILL try to fight her again...especially if that means he can get his sister back.

In all honesty, life has been quite hard and lonely without his trusty sibling companion by his side. Not only is he stuck in a world he has absolutely zero clue about, but he's also stuck in a world without his sister by his side. At least he can deal with that whole situation if she's here, but nope, he can't even have that solace and peace in his mind.

What if something bad happened to his sister? What if this world is full of enemies, with no ally in sight at all? What if this world is doomed from the very start-

A sudden little splash in the pond broke Aether out from his turbulent thought process. He inspects the pond to see if there's anyone around, but no sign of that so far.

Then, all of a sudden, his fishing rod (that he built, thank goodness he knows how to do that too) suddenly twitches, as if something—or someone—has been caught on the fishing line. Then he sees some bubbling coming from underneath the pond's surface. He suspects that this isn't normal behavior for a fish, since they can breath underwater and all, so the most likely scenario is that someone is drowning in this pond. Welp, no time to think, it's time to do something about it.

So he grabs his fishing pond and reels the mysterious person out with as much effort as possible. The mysterious person struggles for a bit, but they're no match for Aether's fishing skills.

Soon, he's able to pull the mysterious person out of the water, certainly saving them from the drowning fate. They flew out of the water and flop down next to him on the ground, almost like a fish, funnily enough.

Upon closer inspection, Aether sees that this mysterious person is actually a little silver-haired fairy girl. She seems a little dizzy from that little stunt, so he lets her rest for a bit.

After that, she wakes up and quickly flies up, flying around him like a fly that buzzes around someone's head. "Whoa! Thank you so much! Paimon thought that she was done for after accidentally falling into that pond! Ugh... Anyways, what's your name?" She asked.

Aether can only stare at her with some bewilderment. He clearly wasn't expecting this little fairy to be so hyperactive as soon as she recovered. However, she seems pretty friendly, and after living alone in this world for a little while, he'll take any friendly face he can get.

He tries his best to answer, despite not understanding most of the Teyvat language that she has spouted. "...Aether." He said, one of the few words he knows to say in that language.

The fairy beams after hearing that answer. "Whoa, that's a cool name right there! Paimon's name is Paimon! Nice to meet you!"

In all honesty, he should have seen that coming, judging by how she refers to herself in third person. Of course her name is Paimon, she literally just referred to herself as so. Oh well.

He slowly extends his hand towards her for a handshake, trying to seem as trustworthy as possible, as if that's his way of saying, "Nice to meet you too."

Paimon eagerly accepts the handshake, and then looks at him with curiosity. "Hmm, it seems like you're not from Teyvat... Perhaps you're a traveler from another world? Oh, that would be so amazing if that was the case!"

Aether slowly nods in response to that, which only made Paimon squeal with much excitement, before looking at him with concern upon realization.

"Seems like you're having trouble adapting to this world though... Oh, Paimon knows! She can be your guide for all of your travels in Teyvat! And she can also help you learn about speaking in Teyvat's language! Paimon promises you that she will be the best guide and travel companion ever for you!"

She extends her hand towards him, asking for a handshake this time, as if trying to make this little deal official in some way. This deal is perfect timing for Aether though, considering he's still trying to learn about the entire world around him. And having Paimon as his guide will make the entire Teyvat continent journey he will soon embark on much easier,  not to mention less lonelier too.

And thus, he shakes her hand, solidifying the agreement and the budding friendship between them for the time being.