Portrait of a Yaksha

5

It was dark outside when Aether woke up again. The painting was uncovered, but so dirty that he couldn't make out anything except the silhouette of a person. The box with the spear was gone. Turning on the phone's flashlight didn't help either. His phone itself, however, had multiple messages from Albedo... It was very much nighttime, 20:48, and Aether had climbed up here around midday. Albedo had sent many messages, ranging from inquiry to anger, and now, it was too dark to climb down safely. Terrible, especially after all the mental hoops Aether had justified climbing up here with.

At this point, all he could do was try climbing down as safely as he could, and pray to some archon above that he doesn't slip. Aether sighed, shoving his phone in his pocket without opening the messages, and went over to the hole in the balcony he had climbed through. With all his attention focused on the inside, Aether hadn't spared a glance at the view. Looking up at the sky, clear and dotted with stars, the huge shadow of the mountains in the distance...
No wonder this place was a hit. Waking up with this view? Aether didn't want to leave.

Once Aether reached the bottom, Albedo seemed to be just returning. His hair was disheveled, his face sweaty, and he was breathing heavily. Still, he had enough energy to yell at an indoor volume, which was astronomical in Albedo terms.

"Where were you? You went radio silent on me all afternoon, did you eat lunch? Dinner? What happened? Did I just see you climb down from up there; what happened to waiting?" Albedo had more expression on his face now than Aether had ever seen. The tension in his eyes and brow, pressed lips- What would've passed for mildly irritated on someone else translated to mega-ultra pissed for a stoic. Aether had nothing to say for himself. All he could feel was the sadness radiating off Albedo, and wetness on his cheeks.

Albedo's voice hitched and he froze, shoulders tense. His hands twitched like they wanted to move, and Aether took it upon himself to rest his head on Albedo's shoulder. He could tell Albedo's hands wanted to move, so Aether rested more heavily on the shoulder, on his best friend. It took a minute, but he felt two gloved hands on his back and a shuddering inhale.

"I'm sorry..." It was Aether's turn to talk, but his throat wasn't in it. The guilt of running ahead only to end up hindering their work ate his voice, closed his throat, and constricted his chest. "I'm so sorry, Alby."

"I should have surmised you'd be up there. Thank you for gathering those photos, but what happened? I should have started with this, but; Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry. I went up because you were so distracted with other things, and then there was this book with my name on it and this painting and I- I don't know, I just blacked out and then it was dark nighttime and I-" Aether's voice wouldn't let him go further. His breath quickened, he gripped Albedo's shirt and just cried. He couldn't even tell why he was crying anymore but something had certainly spooked him just a bit, and that was finally settling in.

—

That night, Aether couldn't sleep right. He just kept seeing a young man with green and black hair holding the shimmering jade spear, like that painting come to life.

Xiao... How do I know you? Where do I know you from? When...