Chapter Text
Gazing up at the spires of ice and rock sends shivers down your spine. You have lots of food and a coat, it shouldn't be too bad, right? As you march up the snowy slope, you admire the scenery. Sure, it's freezing cold, but the icy trees and frosted grass makes the entire mountain look like a fantasy world. Nothing but shades of white, silver, and blue for as far as you can see. The air is crisp, but refreshing. It would be quite a romantic spot, that is, if you weren't single. Romance isn't really your priority, considering you have more pressing matters like finding places to sleep. Reminded of the reason you're here in the first place, you start searching around for abandoned camps. People come up here all the time and leave their stuff, so anything you could find would be helpful. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be many camps around. You've made it halfway up the mountain and all you've found is a boot and someone's old sword. The sword would be pretty useful, if you actually knew how to use it. Well, maybe you can sell it to someone. As you examine the sword in your hand, you hear a loud sound, followed by laughter. Curious as to what was going on, you followed the noise. You find yourself by a lake, mostly frozen over. A young girl wearing bright red clothes seems to be doing something by the shore, but you don't see anyone around her. Concerned, you walk over to her and start a conversation.
"Hey little girl, what'cha doing?"
The girl looks up at you with a blank expression, and says nothing. She just stares at you, and you feel an overwhelming sense of dread. Before you can even say anything, you feel someone standing behind you.
"Why are you talking to my sister."
The voice sends chills all throughout your body, being far more cold than the freezing temperatures of Dragonspine. You turn around to be met with piercing blue eyes, staring right at you. Blonde hair falls in front of the man's face, despite being tied back. Now scared for your life, you try to explain the situation as quickly as possible.
"I thought she was unattended here and I wanted to make sure she was okay so I came over to ask if anyone was around but you're here which means she's alright and safe and that I don't need to worry so I'm just gonna go leave now please don't kill me-"
The stranger sighs in relief, and his demeanor changes completely.
"Ah, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Albedo, Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonious. This here is my sister-"
"Spark knight Klee of the Knights of Favonious!"
The small girl giggles with her introduction, and Albedo pats her head. You introduce yourself in turn, and start talking with Albedo.
"So, what's a chief alchemist doing up on a mountain with his sister?"
"Ah, well I'm conducting research on the environment of Dragonspine, as well as observing the wildlife. Klee here is my assistant, while Jean is away."
While the two of you talk, Klee wanders back to the lake and resumes what she was doing before. Suddenly, a loud explosion goes off, and Albedo ignores it completely, He just keeps talking as if nothing happened, whereas you're trying to figure out what was going on. You spot Klee reaching into the water, as she pulls out a large fish. She runs over to you and starts showing it off, as if it was her greatest achievement ever.
"Look, Look! Look at the fishy I blasted!"
"Y-you blasted it?"
"Yup! with my bombs!!"
Too stunned to speak, you just smile and nod along to what she says. This little kid is using bombs? To fish?? Well, at least now you know where the loud noises were coming from.
The sun starts getting lower in the sky, bringing the temperature down with it. Albedo helps Klee put all her fish in a basket, and they begin to walk further up the mountain. Klee however, stops walking all of a sudden, pouting as she tugs on the end of her brother's coat.
"What about our friend? Can't they come with us?"
Albedo turns to look at you, and thinks for a moment. He then kneels down to Klee's level, and talks to her. You don't hear what he says, but Klee's eyes light up as she runs straight towards you.
"Hey, hey! do you wanna come with us to big brother's lab? He said that if it's okay with you then we can have a sleepover!!"
She hops up and down, excitedly waiting for your answer. You can't bear to say no to this kid, and it's not like you have anywhere else to be, so...
"Sure, I'll come along! Lead the way, Spark knight!"
Albedo watches as you talk with Klee, and smiles. She clearly enjoys being around you, and Albedo can only hope that you'll stick around for a while.
After almost 20 minutes of walking, you make it to a small cave along the path. The inside is decorated with all sorts of things, like books, papers, glass bottles, and various scientific tools. Across from the study cave is a small log cabin, that has a piece of paper stuck to the front door. Upon closer inspection, it's a colorful drawing made by Klee, depicting her and Albedo holding hands in the snow. It would be a pretty normal picture, if it weren't for the explosions drawn in the background. Albedo grabs Klee's fish bin and sets it next to a firepit.
"Hey Klee, got any fire starters left?"
Klee quickly digs into her backpack and pulls out what looks like a small stuffed animal. Then she runs over to albedo, and places it in the firepit. Within seconds, it causes a flame to appear, as she laughs somewhat demonically. Albedo sets a metal grate above the flame, and places a fish onto it. You sit down next to him and Klee, and listen to the young girl talk about her adventures.
Hours pass, and the sun is completely gone. Klee is clearly very tired, though she denies it. You walk with her to the cabin, and get her into bed. She tries to refuse, insisting she's not tired at all, but she falls asleep within minutes. You don't feel very tired yourself, so you decide to see what Albedo's doing. In his lab, he seems to be searching through bottles of ingredients. He's so focused on what he's doing that he doesn't even realize you're there, despite you not being very quiet. You sit down on a nearby chair and let your mind wander. Albedo, still fixated on what he's doing, starts to talk to himself. You can't really follow what he's saying, but you find his monotone voice calming. Occasionally you'll be able to hear what he says, but it's usually just science terms.
"I'm going to need more slime concentrate though..."
Hearing this, you remember your belongings, and offer some assistance.
"Oh, I have lots of that."
Albedo jumps, and turns around, his face flushed. He seems quite startled, but quickly relaxes.
"Oh, sorry about that. I was incredibly focused on this project, I hadn't realized you'd entered. Apologies."
You tell him that you overheard he needed slime concentrate, and you reach into your bag to grab a large jar of it.
"I found this nearby, I don't have any use for it. If it helps you, I want you to have it!"
You smile widely as you offer the jelly to him, and he takes it off your hands to inspect it closely.
"Thank you very much, this is in fact what I need."
Despite not showing much variation in tone, you can tell that he's genuinely pleased. Feeling tired, you say goodnight and go back to the cabin. You lay down on the soft couch, and drift asleep.