Work Text:
Aether shivered as he clenched onto the pencil in his hand. Although there was a small fire crackling on the frosty ground, it provided very little refuge from the cold air. He looked at his knuckles, which were now snow white. Maybe he should have put on an extra layer.
Albedo had invited him to join him painting in Dragonspine, the place where he spent most of his researching and experimenting time. Aether didn't think anyone in their right mind would ever want to hangout in Dragonspine, not when the air was enough to knock someone out with hypothermia, and on top of that, there were always enemies looming around the alps. But here he was. It had been a while since he spent some time with Albedo, and painting didn't sound so bad right now.
Well, that's what he thought at first. He stared at the canvas that was sitting so peacefully on an easel, as if taunting him. It was as blank at the snow under his feet and as white as his freezing hands.
He then glanced at Albedo, who was silently working beside him on his own canvas, completely unbothered. He had already sketched the basic shape of the mountainous landscape that stretched in front them and probably only needed a few more stokes before going into the colors.
Aether sighed, a visible puff of air shooting out of his mouth. He really envied Albedo's art skills sometimes. He looked back at his canvas and scratched his head.
"Hey, Albedo... What do you do when you don't know what to draw?"
Albedo paused his head and took a moment to think. "I have yet to encounter that problem."
He saw Aether evidently slump his shoulders in defeat at his response. "If you are drawing at a blank though," he continued, trying to cheer his friend up, "You could try closing your eyes and paint what comes to mind."
"Huh... okay," Aether hummed, doing as told.
He saw... nothing. As expected. What else were you supposed to see when you close your eyes?
However, Aether pushed himself to make something out of the nothingness. It was dark. It reminded him of the night.
Okay, that was a good start. Now what?
Nighttime is when the stars come out... Stars are pretty. They twinkle- Of course they twinkle. Come on, Aether, think! ...Stars make up constellations that guide poeple. Stars... Stars... What else about stars...
Aether thought some more, squinting his eyes harder, as if that would help his poor brain.
Oh! Sometimes there are shooting stars. Aren't those rare? That's why poeple like them, right?
A shooting star. The mental image reminded him of a distant memory that felt like yesterday. He opened his eyes again. Yes, that was what he would draw. The shooting star that lit up his night sky. Aether confidently took his brush, now that he finally had an idea to paint upon.
After another moment of working in silence, Albedo glanced at Aether's canvas, which was no longer blank. "Is that a self-portrait?" he questioned as he inspected the light sketch.
"Not quite, but you could say that," Aether replied, keeping his focus on his easel.
Albedo nodded. "Well, I'm going to grab some more silverstone. Will you be alright here?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Do you need help though?"
Albedo shook his head. "It shouldn't take me long."
Aether nodded and watched Albedo tread through the snowy path until he disappeared behind a thicket of pine trees. He turned his attention back to his work and closed his eyes, conjuring up the image he had in his mind just seconds ago. Finished with the basic shape of the head, he brought his pencil to the top.
Short, wispy hair that blew carefree in the wind. Gold eyes that looked just like his. She was always the one to jump into action first, but nonetheless had the same adventurous spirit. They were such different people, yet so similar. Aether remembered that day. The look in her eyes when her hands got caught. She looked so sorry for getting distracted, for failing, and he couldn't do anything about it.
Lumine.
As these thoughts raced his mind, his pencil moved faster across his canvas, each stroke with more pressure than the previous one. He would have drowned in his memories if it wasn't for Albedo's voice that brought him back to the cold atmosphere of Dragonspine.
"Ah, I see what you mean now when you said it wasn't a self-portrait," the alchemist commented as calm as ever despite having a considerable blanket of snow on his head. He hesitantly began, "Is... that your sister?"
"Oh, yeah." Aether scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly chuckling from being pulled out of the zone. "That's her..."
But Albedo could sense the emotion from the Traveler, through both his voice and his drawing. "It's very beautiful. I hope one day you can give it to her," he attempted. Albedo didn't think he was the best at comforting, but he knew very well what it's like to be willing to travel to the world's end for a sister. "Your technique is raw, stays true to yourself. And drawing someone from memory. That's very impressive."
Aether nodded with a hidden sad smile. How could he ever forget his sister's face? The one he always saw as they traveled together across vast worlds? He didn't want Lumine to become a distant memory.
The little fire place on the ground casted a warm glow onto his canvas, making it look like she was right there. But the unforgiving breeze that blew by faltered the flame, reminding Aether to not trust the trick of the light. Still, how he wished it was real. He took a deep breath, another white puff of air visible as he exhaled.
He would find Lumine. He swore he would.
Aether brought his hand up to add a little tug to Lumine's mouth. Because as long as she smiled, he could as well.