Discovery | Albedo's Descent Book 1

Chapter 8: Distractions

Over at the 'P' pile, Albedo was diligently sorting books... but his mind was elsewhere.
The scene of Kaeya asking in his breathy and lackadaisical voice if Albedo were interested in him repeated in his mind. He felt more like he was interested *by* him, not *in* him... but it was more or less the same thing anyways. He wondered how long it would take for him to learn more about the Captain. Probably not for a good long while, Kaeya's walls seemed to be rather thick.
He sighed quietly, this objective seemed like a very challenging task indeed.
"Need a break?" Kaeya asked, kindness in his tone.
Albedo was slightly taken aback. Kaeya wasn't speaking how he normally did. He'd usually smirk and say something like that in an off handed and almost rude way. This time it seemed like he genuinely wanted to know. "What is it?"
"Huh?"
"Do you want something from me?"
Kaeya blinked, then chuckled lightly, "only an answer."
Albedo couldn't read him. His previous inquiries were always laced with an air of mischief, but now it really seemed like he just wanted to know... Albedo was slowly coming to understand when Kaeya was teasing and when he wasn't.
"Then, no..." Albedo continued, "I'm just a little distracted..."
"By what?"
Albedo shrugged, "there is still other work I need to do here before returning to Dragonspine. And then there is the mystery of you, which I think will be a source of my stress for a while."
Kaeya didn't like the idea of being the cause of Albedo's stress. He chuckled, "you could just ask me if you want to know something."
Albedo smiled, "where's the fun in that?" His eyes shone with the flames of a challenge.
Kaeya was surprised but couldn't help but smile wider, "really? I wasn't aware you knew what fun is."
Lisa laughed to herself at their conversation. She decided to butt in this time, "so, Albedo, what do you find fun?"
Albedo smiled a little bit, "well, I enjoy sketching, of course. I also like exploring and finding beautiful sceneries. I especially like when people come to visit me, asking me questions on something they don't know about. The search for knowledge is never ending."
Lisa chuckled, "so you are a hermit, basically?"
Kaeya laughed at that. Really laughed.
Albedo grew a smidge embarrassed, "I suppose I fit the description..."
Lisa covered her mouth as she let out a small giggle, "however do you keep from freezing in Dragonspine anyways?"
"Oh, you don't need to worry. I have plenty of firewood to last for a year. I've also figured out a way to more effectively make fire without using so much wood."
"So you've found a way to stay warm in all that snow?" Kaeya asked.
He nodded, "well, warm enough."
"Goodness, how on earth do you survive? I would probably keel over the second I was near the foot of that mountain!" Lisa shivered at the sheer though.
Albedo hesitated before speaking quietly, as if to himself, "there was this one time that I had gotten so cold that I lost consciousness..."
Kaeya and Lisa shared a very concerned look.
"What happened?" Kaeya felt the urge to fight Albedo's problems.
Albedo paused, "I was trying to find a way to get to the heart of the mountain. I followed many heating seelies to stay warm. Eventually I had gone so deep that even they refused to follow me..."
Lisa and Kaeya waited for him to go on. "What happened next?" She sounded like a child hearing a bedtime story.
"After some time, it became harder to walk... I could feel the cold seeping into my body... Then, all of a sudden, it started to get warm. I could see through a thick sheet of ice something red and bright. When I touched the ice it was warm, but it wasn't melting... At the time I was so exhausted that I'm sure I collapsed, only..." His expression became perplexed. "I don't know how I got back out. I've never been able to find my way back there, either."
Kaeya blinked, a little offended at such a cliffhanger ending. "So what? You were dreaming?"
"Perhaps..." Albedo was deep in thought.
"Was someone with you when you woke up?" Lisa inquired.
Albedo shook his head, "no one had been up the mountain for quite some time before... Maybe the Traveler found me and brought me to safety, though I doubt it. I don't mean to underestimate them, but if I can't find my way there again I don't think they can either."
Lisa nodded thoughtfully, "yes. Maybe it was only a dream."
Albedo nodded, "it's most likely. Though... I had never felt warmth like that before... and dreams cannot create something you've never seen or felt..."
"Oh look! We've finished this pile already!" Lisa clapped as she stood up, "I believe we've earned a tea break! You boys be good while I go brew some!"
Albedo leaned back against a bookshelf silently thinking things through.
"You really think that happened? If it had, wouldn't you have died?..."
Albedo nodded slowly, "when I woke up it did seem to have been hours since I had started exploring... so, yes, if I had passed out in such a place I could have been eaten, trampled, or buried under the snow..." His last statement seemed to remind him of something.
"Please don't tell me you've been buried under snow before!" Kaeya felt distraught, "you need to stop putting yourself in such dangerous situations!"
Albedo paused, "then I won't tell you that I have..."
"Jeez! Does this happen regularly?!" He held his arms out in exasperation.
"... I live in a dangerous place..."
Kaeya sighed, "well now I want to know what happened..."
Albedo thought back, "I had chosen to sketch a specific mint plant because it's color was so vibrant that it seemed to glow. I wanted to capture its likeness before I picked it for studying."
Kaeya suppressed his questions for later use.
"Unfortunately, I had chosen to sit under a tree. It was only snowing lightly so I hadn't expected the snow to pile up on the branches like it had. And so, it fell on me." Albedo shrugged, "so I just laid on my back, staring at the moon. It was quite beautiful. I could see all the stars because the snow had put out the small fire I had been using for light. And I just lay there for a while, letting the snow gently drift onto me as I took it all in."
Kaeya had such a vivid picture in his mind from Albedo's description. He wished he had been there to witness such a beautiful scene. He found himself leaning his elbow against his propped up knee and placing his chin in his palm.
Albedo continued as if he hadn't just narrated something so pretty, "fortunately, my sketch was undamaged and I was able to collect the mint for study. I found that it's properties were different then other mint I had gathered on Dragonspine. The bioluminescence actually stemmed from..."
The rest of Albedo's explanation was drowned out of Kaeya's ears as he stared at the alchemist. He probably wouldn't have understood a word of it, anyways. He tilted his head as he began to smile. He loved the way Albedo became more animated when he spoke about his interests. His hands moved around as if it would help him communicate and his eyes stared at one spot as if he could see it right in front of him. He also spoke louder and more clearly when talking about something he enjoyed.
In fact, Kaeya was so distracted by Albedo that he hadn't even noticed Lisa's return.
"What language are you speaking?" She chuckled lightly.
Albedo smiled, "the words really aren't that hard to understand when you break them down."
"I may be a librarian, but I'm not a dictionary," she rolled her eyes, a smile spreading across her face as she sat down. She set out the tea tray and added cream and sugar to everyone's drinks.
Kaeya noticed something else about Albedo. His eyes. They weren't like anyone else's. Kaeya's own eyes were abnormal, but not on the way Albedo's were... How was Albedo so perfect and special? It didn't seem fair! How had Kaeya met the representation of true perfectness?!
"Kaeya, at least try to come out of dreamland," Lisa rolled her eyes again.
Kaeya snapped out of it, flashing a quick smile, "hm?"
Lisa laughed, "nothing, Kaeya. Here's your tea."
He thanked her as he took it carefully. Kaeya became slightly unsettled again... why was Albedo so perfect?... there was just no way... it was too good to be true. He was literally Kaeya's dream person (minus the whole obliviousness, but even that was adorable sometimes). The fact that Albedo didn't seem to like him felt like the world was punishing him for everything he had ever done wrong. Kaeya grew sad, but hid it rather well.
Not well enough that Lisa wouldn't notice. She frowned slightly, making a note to herself to speak with him later.
"Oh, and Sir Kaeya, the-"
Kaeya chuckled, "please, you don't have to call me that just because I'm a knight."
Albedo hesitated, "then, Kaeya... I wanted to say that the same goes for me. You can always ask me if there is something you want to know."
Kaeya smirked, "be careful, I just might take you up on that."
Albedo smiled, "that is my hope."
Kaeya felt like he'd been shot in the heart. Albedo had said that with such sincerity that Kaeya couldn't even look at him anymore. He took a long drink of his tea, trying to hide the red coming onto his cheeks. It really was so hard not to swoon over Albedo whenever he did something sweet like that. And that wasn't even really anything at all!
Lisa was thoroughly enjoying herself. She wondered when Kaeya would decide he couldn't take it anymore and just made Albedo his. Honestly, she didn't think it would be that difficult. Lisa was pretty confident that Albedo wouldn't reject anyone outright. She surmised that he would be the kind of person to give anyone a chance. The librarian smiled to herself as she sipped her tea.
Albedo hesitated, "have I... said something to offend you?"
"What? No," Kaeya cleared his mind, "why would you think that?"
"Well you retreated..." Albedo said slowly, "I noticed that you do that around me a lot... I figured that I must have offended you in some way..."
"No, not at all!" He hated that he was making Albedo feel bad for nothing. Then he realized that he didn't know how to explain without making his feelings very obvious. Then again, if Albedo knew how Kaeya felt... would he act any differently? Would he be more compelled to like him back? Or would that just make Albedo uncomfortable?... Kaeya felt that maybe Albedo wouldn't like that someone like himself had feelings for him, considering his reputation.
Lisa seemed to understand what Kaeya was thinking. She discreetly nodded in his direction, trying to encourage him.
Kaeya was perplexed at his predicament. Normally when he liked someone these sorts of thoughts never came to mind. So why did he care so much about how Albedo felt? He was thoroughly frustrated.
Albedo finished his tea and placed his cup back onto the small tray.
Lisa stood, "that reminds me! Albedo, come with me!" She pulled Albedo up by his arm and dragged him across the library towards her desk.
She opened several drawers, "there isn't much here, and if you have anything specific in mind just let me know. I have so much more at my house!"
On the contrary, what Albedo saw displayed before him were probably almost a hundred different cosmetic products. He blinked, "what?"
"After we finish organizing the library you have to take a self care day!"
"But I-"
"Even if it isn't immediately, you still have to have one while you're here in town." She froze, "... Albedo... how to you bathe when you're on Dragonspine?..."
Albedo paused, "it isn't as dirty there and there is no way you can sweat so... you don't really need to very often. I return every week or so-"
Lisa sat down in her chair, feeling fait, "how do you live?!"
"... like I said, it doesn't feel dirty..." he tried to explain.
Lisa waved it off, "never mind! Back to what I was saying!" She rummaged through her drawers, setting out a handful of items, "I see you as a plain kind of guy, but doesn't everyone want to smell pretty?!"
Albedo blinked, "I don't think pretty is a smell-"
"Hush, you get my point," she pushed the containers towards him, "I don't know what you would prefer to smell like but I thought that since you like plants so much you might want to smell like one." She smiled wide, waiting for him to look at her offerings.
Albedo hesitated before picking up a jar and reading it. It was labeled "lavender" and Albedo was pretty sure this was some sort of lotion. He read through a few of the other items silently.
Lisa wore a smile as she waiting for him to make a decision. "So? What's your smell?"
Albedo paused, he was tied between two that he rather liked. He just wasn't sure if it would smell good on him. Lisa had remarked that he didn't really smell like anything, so he wasn't too worried. He just hoped it wouldn't be too distracting for Timaeus when he came to Dragonspine. How long would the scent last, anyways?
Finally, he held one of the bottles out to Lisa, "this one."
She smiled, "ah, I thought so! Even so, I didn't think you'd pick such a strong fragrance!" She popped open the lid, "I love the smell of rosemary, too." She then dug through her drawers and produced a matching set of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash to go with the lotion he had chosen.
She set them aside, "we can come get it later." She stood up and started back towards where Kaeya had moved on to the 'R' pile. There were only three books that started with 'Q' so Kaeya had no issues organizing them.
He greeted the two as they returned, "what was that all about?"
Lisa smiled, "I had Albedo pick out a smell for his self care day." She took a seat beside Kaeya.
"Ah," he smiled as well, "and that is?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself," Lisa winked at him.
Albedo sat down on almost the other side of the pile. He was closer to Kaeya than the opposite side. It wasn't like he couldn't hear them, but he decided not to speak.
Kaeya turned to look directly at him, "well?" His eyebrows raised in curiosity as his eyes trained on the alchemist.
Albedo sighed on the inside. He wasn't sure what this said about him as a person so he wasn't too keen on sharing... Nevertheless, he answered, "Rosemary."
Kaeya seemed very surprised as his brows raised even higher and he blinked a few times, "really?"
Lisa giggled, "soon enough our chief alchemist will be smelling like the pretty flower he is!"
Kaeya chuckled, "I'm a little shocked that is what he chose. Are you sure you didn't just pressure it onto him?"
Lisa gasped playfully, "I would never! He picked it all on his own! I gave him options and that's the one he chose!"
"You sure? He doesn't seem the type to pick such a strong smell."
Albedo put a book down louder than he had intended, "why do you both say that?"
They paused, sharing a concerned look. Lisa decided to sacrifice Kaeya, poking him to talk first.
Kaeya spoke slowly, "well... you are just a very secluded person. And your personality is very small. I figured that you would choose a smell that mirrored that. Something faint."
Albedo hesitated for a long moment, "I see..."
Kaeya shrugged, "but I don't know you super well, so it isn't my place to assume."
Albedo blinked at him, "you..."
"I?"
Albedo closed his mouth, looking back down.
"No, I want to know," Kaeya moved closer.
"It isn't important..." Albedo went back to alphabetizing.
"But I think it is~" Kaeya copied Albedo's previous comment. He reached out and caught Albedo's hand as he let go of a book, "why won't you tell me? I told you what you asked."
Albedo gazed up at him. His eyes weren't empty but... they weren't exactly full either. "I was only a bit surprised that you were being considerate of how I felt..."
Kaeya blew air out of his nose in a light laugh as he squeezed Albedo's hand, "I'm sure if you paid more attention to me, you'd see just how nice I can be."
Albedo stared at him. That one crystalline eye and his mysterious eyepatch hiding a closet-full of secrets. His hair falling over his face and mingling with his eyelashes. He had a little smirk seeping into his smile. He was smiling like he meant it. There was a slightly pink tint to his cheeks as well.
The alchemist wondered why Kaeya had phrased it that way. "Paid more attention?..." he muttered, barely moving his lips.
Kaeya squeezed his hand a bit tighter, "yes. Aside from my teasing, I'm quite kind to the citizens of Mondstat."
Albedo believed him for the most part... but he had his doubts. Was Kaeya... trying to get Albedo to do something?...
"Ah! Albedo," Kaeya drew closer, his one eye lighting up, "your eyes!"
Albedo resisted the urge to lean away. "What about them?"
Kaeya smiled wider, "they're different from everyone else's."
Albedo nodded slowly, "yes... they are..." He didn't particularly like that Kaeya was pointing it out, "but yours are, too..."
Kaeya chuckled, putting his hand on Albedo's shoulder, "but even mine aren't like yours."
Albedo shifted his posture away from Kaeya, "that is true..."
"Mine are different just because I'm not from Mondstat," Kaeya smiled, "I know you aren't, either, but I've never seen such glossy eyes..." Kaeya seemed to forgot his words as he gazed into Albedo's captivating eyes that were always sparkling, no matter what expression he made.
Albedo hesitated, "where are you from?" His eyes drifted over to Kaeya's hand. He remembered how Lisa had made it sound like Albedo was the only person he touched like that...
Kaeya chuckled, "it doesn't matter, I'm certain we aren't from the same place."
Albedo paused, "probably not..."
Kaeya gripped his shoulder tighter, "even so, you're so perfect," the words escaped his lips before he even knew what he was saying. He felt his face heating up, "is- is that a trait of where you're from?..."
Albedo noticed how Kaeya's face got pink. He tilted his head to the side, "no... I wouldn't say that I'm... 'perfect'... There are still plenty of things I've done wrong..."
Kaeya's eyes wandered away from Albedo. He kept getting more and more embarrassed, "I mean in the way that you... You're so pretty and you don't have any scars and I've never seen you bruise. And your skin is so soft..." his hand drifted down Albedo's arm.
Albedo gasped quietly in surprise. He looked back up at Kaeya, who was trying very hard not to start shaking. "I... I just don't bruise easily..."
"But I'm certain you've had at least a few cuts before," Kaeya squeezed his arm, "you're the Captain of the Investigation Team!"
Albedo faltered, "I..."
"How do you never scar?"
Albedo shut his mouth. It had been a very long time since he had felt this way. He felt despair and helplessness. He couldn't tell Kaeya - or anyone. Most of all, Albedo felt afraid. Afraid of how people would respond. Would they leave him, too? Just like his teacher had...
Lisa sensed that something was very wrong. She pursed her lips for a moment. Then she laughed, "what are you boys doing over there? You should be working, not-"
"We aren't doing anything," Kaeya swiftly let go of Albedo and spoke frantically.
Lisa gave him a look, "really?"
"Yes." He quickly got back to sorting.
Albedo held his arms closer to himself, obviously uncomfortable with Kaeya's previous questions.
Lisa stood up, "Kaeya, I want to show you something." She had him follow her across the library and over to her desk.
"First of all, I was not-"
Lisa sighed, "I was kidding. I know you weren't. But I could tell that Albedo was... reluctant to answer your questions..."
Kaeya rubbed his arm, "I know... I really shouldn't have pushed him so hard..."
Lisa paused, "Kaeya... I think... I think there's a reason why Albedo is so perfect."
"What is it?" Kaeya asked.
Lisa took a breath, "I noticed that Albedo's aura is basically nonexistent. It's like he doesn't have emotions..."
"... what?" He seemed to be in denial, "but we've seen him smile."
Lisa nodded, "I know but... it's always very faint... I don't know, I just feel like..."
Kaeya waited, his expression slowly becoming worried, "Lisa?..."
"Like maybe he isn't human at all," she gripped her arms tightly. "Not at all in the way you aren't, though. You still have an aura and you can still get hurt and scar. But Albedo doesn't have a natural smell..."
Kaeya didn't like this, "what are you saying... that he's an Archon?..."
Lisa shook her head, "no. It's incredibly obvious when an Archon is around..."
"Then...?"
"I'm saying that," Lisa turned around, unable to look at Kaeya as she said these words. She knew they might just shatter Kaeya's heart into a million shards. "Albedo might be a monster."