Discovery | Albedo's Descent Book 1

Chapter 14: Scatterbrained

Rosaria smirked, "so, how'd it go?"
Kaeya sighed dejectedly, "I'm begining to think there is no hope for me! He practically said he wasn't interested in romance! And he's so oblivious!"
Rosaria blinked, "then why are you only wearing one layer?"
Kaeya froze, "oh... that..."
Rosaria sighed, kneading her forehead, "seriously, Kaeya."
He muttered an apology, "we were talking about tattoos..."
"Oh?" She raised a brow as she sipped from her glass.
Kaeya nodded, red seeping onto his face, "that was it."
She rolled her eyes, "really, I don't see why you're all mushy around him."
"It's not- not mushy..." he tried very poorly to defend himself.
"Whatever you want to call it. You're getting soft." She began to pour him a glass, "So... what did the traveler say?..."
She slid the glass over to him silently.
Kaeya hesitated before taking it, "the Traveler said that he's made of chalk..."
Rosaria seemed a little surprised, "chalk?... well, I assumed he was an artificial person but... out of all the things his creator could have chosen..."
Kaeya chuckled, "he certainly doesn't feel like chalk."
"Might want to rephrase that..."
"I'm too tired," Kaeya sipped his drink.
Rosaria blew air out of her nose, rolling her eyes, "just get over yourself and kiss him."
"What?!"
"I'm sure Lisa has said the same thing." She folded her arms, "it's probably the easiest way to show your feelings without saying anything. Just walk up to him and kiss him. Not that hard."
"You try doing that to the person you like!"
She hummed, "maybe I will..."
"Huh?!"
She smiled, "you heard me."
"What?! You have your eyes on someone?!" He sounded a little too excited.
"Jeez, can't you take a joke?" She took a drink.
"... oh."
"But if there was, I'd do it just to show you how much of a baby you are being."
"I am not being a baby... I'm just being considerate..." he spun his glass around a few times as he spoke, "I don't think Albedo is... ready for that. Considering... if I'm to be his first kiss, I want to do it right..."
Rosaria snorted, "you are so full of BS!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"

"Are you sure your bathtub is big enough? I could magic you a bigger one?" Lisa offered.
Albedo shook his head, "I'll be fine..."
"Remember not to soak for too long! You might melt," she laughed as she walked out.
Albedo smiled, "thanks, Lisa."
She waved her hand as she left, "it's nothing."
Albedo set out the bottles Lisa had brought him. He still wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do while in the bath... Lisa said to relax but... he didn't fancy the idea of falling asleep in the bath...
He sighed quietly as he turned the water on and started filling the tub. He peeled his shirt off, then caught something in the corner of his eye.
His reflection. His eyes widened slightly as he moved closer to the mirror.
Right over where his heart was (he assumed) was a dark fissure with minuscule cracks snaking out from it.
Albedo lifted his hand and gingerly prodded it. It was like he had a cut... but it wasn't bleeding... His body was made of chalk, yes, but it was made to function like a human's. It had never cracked like this before...
He grew worried as white dust floated out of it every once in a while. On the inside of his shirt was the same dust.
What was happening to him?... Nothing weird had happened recently, so- No. something had. That crystal that he had found. Lisa said that it was feeding off his emotions... because he wasn't human, was this a side effect?...
The "cut" wasn't all that deep, but he didn't like the idea of touching it too much.
He remembered he had the water running and quickly turned it off. It didn't seem safe to bathe right now, so he drained it.
"Sorry, Lisa... it will have to wait..." he slowly turned back to the mirror. How was he going to fix this?... Typically his injuries would heal like anyone's. But this was different.
Because he was the result of alchemy... maybe he could use alchemy to put himself back together. He tore through some drawers, looking for chalk.
If this didn't work he could risk really hurting himself... And the fissure didn't hurt, it just really alarmed him. Maybe it would heal on its own...
Albedo sighed as he sat down, if it wasn't healed in a few days he'd think about how to fix it.
He placed his hand over his chest again. Now that he thought about it, he did have a heart beat... but did he really have a heart?... If he did then this cracking could become a problem if it got deeper...
Albedo shook his head. He didn't want to think right now... He hoped it would look better in the morning...
It didn't. But it didn't look worse, either. He pressed against it from all sides, seeing if it would crack more. It didn't do that either. The skin around it behaved like normal, as if it weren't there.
There was still the occasional chalk particles breaking off of it, but it wasn't enough to matter. Though, now, the chalk had more of a pink color to it...
Albedo never payed attention enough to himself to know what color his blood was... This was a bit worrisome. If that Crystal had done something to him, he should probably talk to Lisa about it... but he couldn't do that.
No one could know that he wasn't human... If they did, then... He might be apprehended or considered dangerous. Well, he was dangerous. He didn't know if his consciousness could be overcome or controlled... There were so many things to worry about...