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The short, dirty blonde headed nekomata stared at her boss with wide, shocked eyes.
“What do you mean I have to go to Dragonspine?! Since when did we expand from Inazuma to Mondstadt?!”
Her employer looked at her and shook her head, “Please, Kirara, do not yell in my office… and yes, we announced our delivery service was expanding in a deal with the Knights of Favonius in our last meeting… that you missed.”
Kirara’s tails swayed back and forth- not to express anger, but in a nervous manner. “Sorry about that, boss…” She said, embarrassed.
“But, why do I have to deliver to that… place?! Can’t anyone else at Komaniya do it?!”
Kirara’s boss shook her head again, “I’m sorry, Kirara, but the rest of our staff is all booked up. I’m sure you’ll be fine at Dragonspine. Now go, it’s only a few shards of Crystal Marrow.”
Kirara’s employer shooed her off and Kirara left… What would await her at Dragonspine? Isn’t there a bunch of scary monsters? She heard it was crawling with Fatui, too…
She shivered, picking up the package of Crystal Marrow from the front desk, and left the office. As she walked slowly through Inazuma and to their port, her mind swarmed with thoughts of what would happen out there- she had never been outside of Inazuma before, she hadn’t a clue of what to expect.
She boarded the boat heading for Mondstadt, barely sleeping a wink the whole trip.
✿❀
Kirara arrived at the camp near the base of the mountain. She stared at it, her heart dropping to her feet. The blizzard that raged at the summit looked intimidating. Her tail lowered and only swished with the cool breeze.
"Miss Kirara?" An adventurer who worked at the camp tapped her shoulder, "We have a map for you, so you can find your way easier!" The adventurer unrolled an old, torn map of dragonspine. It had a circle just south of Wyrmrest Valley, the adventure traced his finger along a route to the marked area. "If you follow that path, you'll find it easily! Don't worry about monsters, you should be fine- we cleared some out last week!"
Should?
Kirara's blood froze a little more- the way the adventure said this implied there was, in-fact, a chance she would get attacked by whatever lived on the mountain. The adventure gave her a bag of basic supplies and a winder coat (her normal outfit simply was not fit for traveling in sub-zero temperatures) and she set off for her destination.
✿❀
She had finally made it halfway up the pathway- she had been attacked by 2 camps of hilichurls so far, as well as cornered by some Fatui foot soldiers who were trying to seize her package. Luckily, she survived all of those encounters. However, with each passing moment, she could feel the freezing cold seep a little more through her coat. She rounded a bend in the pathway and almost slipped and fell down into Wyrmrest Valley.
The bridge, which was the last stretch of her trek, was broken. She stood there- almost defeated, then she notice a small ledge on the mountain side. Her tail quivered and swished in the chilly wind. It would be difficult... but she'd finally get this delivery over with. She took the first step on the ledge, she heard and felt it shift under her paw.
She slowly shimmied herself cross the ledge, holding the parcel in her cold hands. With each step, she felt little cracks in the ledge shift under her. With one misstep- she'd plummet down into the valley- which was almost certain death.
With one last step, she made it to the other side of the mangled bridge. With great relief, her paws landed on the soft mountain snow. She turned to her left and saw a small cave with many sets of lab equipment and the such strewn about. She took a few steps forward into the lab, she was about to ask for someone and then a male's voice was heard behind her, "Hello? May I help you?"
She jumped about a foot in the air, her tails fluffing up as she turned around to face the man who seemingly just materialized behind her.
"Oh, my apologies, I did not intend to startle you." The man said, his dirty blonde hair coated in flecks of snow. His bright blue eyes looked at her curiously. He then saw the package.
"Are you the delivery woman who was sent with my order of Crystal Marrow? You work for Komaniya Express, correct?" Kirara didn't respond. She just stared at the man's face... he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen with her own eyes...
After a few moments, the cold snapped her back to reality. Kirara held out the package with shaky hands, "Um... yeah! I-If you would, please sign here so th-the order can be confirmed back at the o-office..." Her voice stuttered from the cold as he took the package from her, and she reached into her backpack for the signature sheet and a pen.
"Miss, would you like to step into my lab to warm up? I can observe early signs of frostbite..." He tucked the package under one of his arms and gestured to the lab, it looked inviting- and most importantly- warm.
"Yes, please, s-sir. That wo-would be nice..." She shivered as he led her into the lab, pulling up a chair next to the fire he had going. The man set the package on a desk.
"I would love to thank you for delivering these to Dragonspine. I couldn't find any other service to come here. My assistant has been loaded with work, and as have I, so we haven't had time to take a trip to Inazuma. He handed her a cup, it smelled of honey and sweet flowers.
"You're welcome, sir- I mean, it's just what I've gotta do." Kirara said as she sipped on the liquid in the cup, it was a delicious flavor of tea. The man sat across from her, holding his own cup.
"Still, making your way halfway up this mountain is a perilous task- you were here on your own, no? And I'm assuming this is your first time in Dragonspine. Your journey is something to be proud of, in my opinion." He took a sip of his drink. She nodded as she stared at him- Kirara could feel her face flush.
As she got the man's signature and prepared to leave- the wind picked up and snow created a dense blanket over the outside world, layering anything just outside of the mouth of the cave in a curtain of blinding white. Kirara turned to the man.
"Sir...? Do you mind if I stay a while?" She looked at him, her tails flicking back and forth nervously. He nodded.
"I don't mind one bit- I'd rather you stay here for as long as you need than go out into that blizzard." He set his cup on a counter and sat back down in his chair. Kirara's tails perked up, and so did she.
"Oh thank you mister... um... I'm terribly sorry, I didn't get your name..." She quickly slid her backpack off her shoulders, setting it next to her as she sat down in the chair across from the blue-eyed man.
The man smiled a little, holding out his hand. "My name is Albedo, Albedo Kreideprinz. And you?" Kirara shook Albedo's outstretched hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mister Albedo. I'm Kirara!" Her heart fluttered a little as she felt his gloved hand shake hers. She thought Albedo was a beautiful name- fitting for a beautiful man, no?
"Please," Albedo said, "just call me Albedo, Kirara."
✿❀
The two talked for hours, late into the night. The blizzard had not yet died down. Albedo was interested in almost everything about Kirara. Her tails, her paws, and her nature as a nekomata. Kirara was interested in almost everything about Albedo in return. His work and how he could stand the cold intrigued her the most. They shared a meal, as well as stories about their many adventures in their respective nations. The whole time Kirara barely took her eyes off of him. She simply couldn't distract herself from his piercing blue eyes, his golden hair, and his perfect face.