Work Text:
Kazuha,
I hope this letter makes it to you in due time. I don’t know where the wind has led you since the end of the Irodori Festival, but I hope it protects you well during your journey. The Traveler recommended that I send this letter to the Alcor, so if you’re reading this, thank Captain Beidou for holding onto this letter for me.
In Dragonspine, the color red is quite hard to find unless you’re actively searching for it. Even as a regular inhabitant of the mountains, I only ever see it when I’m studying the properties of Crimson Agate and Scarlet Quartz or if I get a visit from my younger sister, Klee.
I think you’d enjoy meeting her. She came along with me to the Irodori Festival, but I believe she spent most of her time with the Traveler and Miss Naganohara. Even as a child who still must live under the rules of her guardians, Klee embodies the freedom of Mondstadt. I believe that’s a value that you know quite well, judging from the anemo vision you carry on your back.
My apologies for getting off topic, I wanted to entertain that idea for just a moment.
I suppose I’m telling you this information because I’ve fallen in love with the color. Ritou had such beautiful tones of red adorning it during the festival, but the only shade that is ever present in my mind is the one that resides in your eyes. I wish I had a chance to paint them and commit them to memory, but I’d already taken so much of your time when I asked you to be the model for Akahito’s painting, I didn’t dare ask for anything else.
At one point, I found myself searching for red in everything I passed on my expeditions outside of Dragonspine, in hopes that I was able to see something that reminds me of you just one more time.
I thought I succeeded once, when I noticed the wind blowing life into a patch of Windwheel Asters. The shade of red wasn’t quite right, but it was as if they had been blessed by Barbatos Himself.
I took a few of them back to my lab so I’d have something with me in Dragonspine, but I doubt the cold is doing them any good. I pressed one in an attempt to extend its lifespan, but once the wind couldn’t lift the petals anymore, the life that drew me to it in the first place was gone. It was no longer you, it was just a flower.
Had I not met you, I think I would have always believed that it was “just a flower.” You’ve truly opened my eyes to a new way of thinking, Kaedehara Kazuha. I observe the world, but you are able to do so much more than that. I thank you for teaching me that, even if you had no intention of doing so.
The flowers I left untouched are on their last legs, so I’ll be back at square one once these have died. I’d hate to disturb much more of Mondstadt’s ecosystem, so I don’t believe I’ll be collecting any more of these flowers for the time being. Thank you for keeping me company while I’ve continued to search for the truth of this world, even if only in spirit. Your lessons have allowed me to continue my research with a new perspective, and I truly feel like I’ve begun to make progress.
I’m still trying to figure out why I’ve had the urge to tell you all of this in the first place, but for now, all I can say is knowing that you’ve received and read my letter will be more than enough for me.
May our paths cross again.
Sincerely,
Albedo