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Sucrose
The reports from adventurers were becoming more frequent now, and after her last conversation with Lumine more insistent for investigation. At least, that is what she kept telling herself as she trekked through the blustering winds of Dragonspine with her ears pressed closely to her head. Eyes squinting to look through the whipping snowfall she removed her gaze from Lumine’s shoddily drawn map to the traces of footsteps left leading off the common trails. Something tightened in her chest as she carefully trudged along, her footfalls creating a rhythm as she pressed forward…
Should she have left a note in the lab for him?
A warmth began to spread from her tightened chest to her cheeks and fingertips causing her to vigorously shake the very thought out of her head. A simple investigation mission like this didn’t require his support or a note! After all, if anything were to happen she was sure Lumine would let him know… Or possibly Paimon would. Her hat goes flying off on the wind. Distracted, she turns to catch it but is met with an unexpected squeak of her boot instead. Suddenly, she finds herself flipping upward without warning and curses internally. Black ice. Great. She tumbles over stones and snow down the cliffside before gaining her bearings and whipping up some wind to cushion a frankly dangerous fall. With a flick of her ears she dusted herself off and that’s when she spots it…
A cryo whooperflower (she thinks) of unusual size…
Adjusting her glasses, she mentally noted that it was not quite large enough to have turned into a regisvine but it seemed to be getting close. Her eyes scanned the tendrils inching closer to her as she began to step away slowly… Red and black tipped the ends that slithered across the icy floor followed by a strange sizzling sound. Panic was rising as she continued scanning upward and noticed the unfamiliar elemental energy surrounding the whooperflower along with it’s piercing red eyes. She felt her back stiffen with a chill as she hit a stone wall and registered the true danger she was in. The smell of rust begins to sting her nose as she came to a frightening realization. There was no escape from this. She’d have to fight her way out. Bracing herself she began to summon the anemo around her a reassuring scent of dandelion breaking the tension in her. She fixes her eyes on the creature before her when a familiar voice came crackling from within the beast.
“Sucrose?”
Stunned, she feels the anemo dissipate from her and within a flash of cryo she found herself becoming acquainted with the darkness…
Albedo
The sun was setting on Dragonspire as he paced uneasily in the bio-alchemy lab. She wasn’t back yet, and from the winds howling outside the storm was inching ever closer to thier mountain abode. He remembered telling his assistant this morning that he wished to head to Mondstat before dark to shelter from the storm for safety purposes of course but…
He couldn’t very well do that without… Her.
Albedo spies his coat in the corner and with a sigh he swiftly grabs it, pulls it on and heads out the door. By now he knows her stubborn habits, she probably went off without him to investigate one thing or another on the mountain. Lumine had been floating around Dragonspine for days complaining about a particular monster lurking and harming adventurers, but he had not payed any mind to it. As he reflected on the conversations of the past few days he found himself reaching a concerning conclusion…
Did she carelessly listen to Lumine and go off on her own? Without informing me?
He felt his pace subconsciously quicken as he scanned the snow for the now faint outlines of Sucrose’s boot prints. He thought the tiny paw prints above the heel were a touch cliche, but now as he retraced her steps through the storm he thanked the archons for that detail. The winds began to whip around him, turning the snowflakes into tiny daggers, forcing him to brace his arm over his face as he began to race for more traces of her. An unease sets in as he found a trace of a paw print wiped away, and a faint smell of rust he looked over the cliff side to spot some blood and a familiar form resting at the bottom of an unnatural cave form at the bottom of the fall.
No…
Without hesitation, he leaps off the cliff side towards her, summoning isotoma platforms to use as steps. He works carefully but quickly on his way down, feeling the temperature dropping as he got closer to her. He had to stay focused, after all he didn’t want to slip and end up like—
At the bottom, Albedo skids towards Sucrose finding a thin dusting of snow covering parts of her. He reaches down gingerly to scoop her up when he hears a very unsettling crunch. His eyebrow raises as he takes a closer look to find the source of the strange sound and discovers deep cuts that had since stopped bleeding due to the conditions of Dragonspire. Spotting a particularly concerning cut on her cheek hidden behind her tangled hair, he raises a finger to push the hair away when he hears that unsettling crunching sound once more. Everything mentally clicked into place… Sucrose was covered in some sort of residue. An unfamiliar chattering sound carries on the wind along with a sharp smell of rust, spurring him to summon Cinnabar Spindle in his hand carefully scanning the cave for any signs of what could’ve possibly caused this state to his assistant.
Guiding the tip of his blade around the cave, he could map out the conflict so easily in his mind, stomach churning at the reality. She slipped off the cliffside and fell. Possibly using her anemo abilities to prevent a more dangerous fall as she got closer to the bottom. She probably examined the scene upon realizing she fell into the center of this cave which he found to be incredibly unatural considering the makeup of Dragonspine. Then she encountered… Something… Knowing her she was probably curious at first, taking down some mental observational notes when she realized how she was in danger. He could trace out her slow retreat from the faint footprints on the snow. The thing, with what he could see were tendrils, encroached on her retreat. From there, the rest of the scene seemed blurry from what the snow preserved. Small blood splatters were left in seemingly random places, so she must’ve been thrown around. The cuts on her legs, arms, and face showed she put up a struggle, but as a spell caster she was not prepared for close combat. As for the residue…. He swallowed hard, and returned his gaze to the limp assistant in his arm.
Was the thing trying to eat her or…
His jaw tightened. He couldn’t dwell on that right now. He leaned his ear closer and felt a faint, almost wheezing breath, escaping from her. She was alive… But barely. The wind whistled above them as he returned Cinnabar Spindle and allowed himself one more free arm to lift Sucrose from the frozen ground with a concerning ripping sound. The frozen residue on her clothes crunched in his arms as he slowly stood up, cradling her like a princess in his arms and scanned her form for any other signs of injury. Where she made contact with the ground in the residue seemed unharmed but incredibly cold and her hair was frozen in the state it was left in when she fell. He also realized her hat and one boot were entirely missing and her cape was hardly protecting her from the weather in it’s current state. She was truly worse for wear and as he stared at her the gears of his mind were turning. Could he take her back to the lab and weather the storm while trying to investigate this residue alone or should he proceed with his original plan and head down Dragonspine into Mondstat and see if he could possibly find someone (who’d be knowledgeable as them both) to figure out how to remove this residue? He felt himself frown as he realized how this all could be perceived as well. After all, the state of his assistant was…Questionable at best. Would his own ability as a mentor be challenged if a fellow Knight of Favonious spotted him? With a sharp inhale, the logical solution became clear. Heading into town was the only solution and he’d have to talk with her to get any answers. With a soft exhale he summoned another isotoma to lift them out of the scene of the fight and back into the storm.
—
I mean… I don’t think Sucrose would appreciate being seen in this state…
The thought kept looping in his mind as his footfalls went from crunching through snow to slipping into the travel-worn pathways of Dragonspine. He had made sure to carefully bundle Sucrose in his jacket before cautiously placing her over his shoulder with a slow crinkling sound before setting out. Guilt had ridden him the entire silent journey as he tried to think back over the past few days to Sucrose’s mutterings. He faintly recalled something about Lumine having a request and this morning about a “tiny” investigation, but as he turned his head to the shoulder where she was slung his breath slipped. He wasn’t sure this investigation was as small as she had mentioned, especially considering the state she was in now. Shame was creeping through his skin as his mind began to drift to his mental monster roster. A whooperflower could’ve made some of these scratches, but they would have been dealt with by Sucrose easily, she was a talented spell caster after all.
A Fellflower on the other hand… Like that one…
A familiar unease flooded him causing him to miss a footfall and nearly slip. Albedo regained his balance easily but took the warning seriously. He couldn’t afford to make any mistakes on this journey back to town, after all, he had no idea if Sucrose already suffered a blow to the head. Sunset was beginning to settle as found himself approaching the Adventurer’s Base Camp. No sounds seemed to carry through the air as the weary workers had either headed to other locations or settled in for the night to come. After all, the storm was slinking ever closer to the mountain bringing a particular smell of ice and fear to the air. The respite of the quiet camp is tempting, but he continued to press forward, ensuring his footfalls did not make a sound. He needed to get aid as quickly as he could. Around him, the vegetation became denser and full of life as he followed the natural bends of the trails that began to melt away from snow into dirt. The winds of winter were dying down but the chill lingered in the evening air as he began to see the silhouette of Mondstat form in the distance. Overhead he hears a familiar flourish, turning his eyes skyward he sees a figure swooping overhead, gliding towards the makeshift runway ahead of him… Oh no, it was the Outrider. Swiftly he slides into a nearby bush, rustling the leaves and spurring a quick turn from Amber. She holds her attention on his hiding spot, muttering something to herself about the Knights before she takes off down the trail herself. He pauses, trying to recall if there was some sort of Knights of Favonious even taking place today that slipped his mind while pursuing leads or that he wasn’t privy to. He could pop out of his hiding spot to ask, however, her need to always be helpful would inadvertently take his well-managed situation into one of spiraling side quests, plus he wasn’t ready to talk to anyone right now. Once the Outrider’s footfalls have faded into the night he carefully steps out from the bushes, readjusts Sucrose’s form on his shoulder and begins a brisk walk towards Mondstat.
—
Crossing the bridge, he spots a guard who he believes is Swaan standing idly. Their eyes catch each others, and with a quick nod the knight allows him to pass. No questions, no fuss.
Thank goodness.
Once entering town, the game begins again, as Albedo tucked himself and his precious cargo into the shadows. The streets of Mondstat are relatively quiet for this hour, as the gentle bustle of Angel’s Share drifts carelessly on the chilled breeze. His footfalls echo as he presses onward through the town, the smells of the markets of the day still lingering, until he spots the familiar sight of his headquarters. His pace quickens as he races up the stairs, and presses the wooden door open with a mighty push. The halls are deathly silent as he carefully makes his way through appreciating the familiarity of the landscape paintings on the stone walls. Slowing his pace, he swears he hears the nonsensical musings of Klee from the Confinement Room, but quickly he remembers that he cannot be lingering. He ponders ducking into his own office to investigate Sucrose’s situation further, but he knows that there is one other person here that could help him in this predicament. With a heavy sigh, he treks the remnants of his quick travels into the library.
The dusty smell of old paper settles his nerves as he carefully weaves through the shelves, avoiding any contact between the books and his still silent assistant. He never felt uncomfortable in this space, but the intensity of the past few hours has fried his very being to the core. He carefully scans the shelves looking for something or someone that could help him get to the bottom of this encounter. Though, as his careful steps begin to unravel into resonating footfalls his mind wanders. Out of all the times for her not to be here… Where was the witch? He winds around to the next aisle when a voice breaks the silence behind him.
“Oh hello cutie~What happened to you?”
The familiar voice wasn’t speaking to him. She was speaking to the unconscious Sucrose on his shoulder.
Feeling flustered, he turns to look over his shoulder at Lisa. Normally, he wouldn’t have any feeling towards the Purple Witch, but his body loosens in gratitude at the sight of her knowing she’d have the knowledge he was seeking.
“To be honest, I’m not 100% certain what happened to her.” He noted that his voice sounded tight and dry from his travels.
Lisa’s face remained unchanged from her usual teasing nature, “Oh my, let me pull up some chairs for you both.”
—
He looked down at his gloved hands, unable to make eye contact with the older brunette as he recounted the day’s events. He maintained a purely analytical, evidence-based summary but he noted how he felt the same unease describing the scene he found Sucrose abandoned in and the rising tension in his body describing the injuries he discovered on her. When he finally raised his eyes to meet Lisa's, her periwinkle eyes were soft, then raised in the corners as she let out a small giggle, a coy grin surfacing. “Are you sure that’s all that happened, Albedo?”
He first stared at her dumbfounded. How on Earth could she not believe his report? How could she consider that he was leaving something-
Oh.
He read between the lines, as the witch held a hand to her mouth to cover her newfound laughter. His cheeks felt an unfamiliar warmth, quickly turning away from her, his voice cracked out now, “I’m certain… That was all I could assess independently.”
Lisa’s soft laughter subsided, she rested her cheek on her hand, gaze not moving from the alchemist, “Well, no ordinary researcher would carry their assistant all the way down Teyvat’s largest mountain to get help… Even if there’s a big storm coming.”
Her electro purple eyes pierced into him as he continued to keep his gaze anywhere but on the fellow Knight. He heard the dragging of a chair on the floor as Lisa’s form began to examine Sucrose, limp and unmoving. Familiar crunches filled the stillness of the library along with Lisa’s own hums and “oh mys” prompting him to look and see the librarian summoning Sumerian books off the shelves and gently examining the girl.
“From what I can tell,” Lisa’s voice was serious despite her light-hearted nature, “This is Whooperflower Nectar. Thankfully, the conditions of Dragonspire didn’t harm her. Maybe the nectar freezing essentially preserved her? But one things for certain, if you didn’t find her and begin to warm her with your body heat she would’ve perished in the storm.”
Relief flooded over him, warm and consolling, as he rested his gaze on Sucrose. He was about to ask Lisa if there was any risk of blood loss but her thoughts continued.
“We’ll have to scrub all of this frozen nectar off to ensure there isn’t any other serious injuries under the residue.” That familiar knowing gaze meets his, “Would you like to do that, cutie? After all, you two must be close after all that time in your mountain laboratory.”
The relief he once was graced with leaves as quickly as it had came, his spirit buckling under the assumption. Sure, he would consider himself and Sucrose close. They were investigators and alchemists after all. But he still gave her space, in fact, there were times where he would leave for the entire day if she needed to get things done. She was important to him after all. But not in the sense this witch was assuming and he was certain he… He felt his eyebrows press together in quiet frustration trying to not let the witch get a reaction from him. Logically speaking, would Sucrose be comfortable with Lisa in this scenario? Being unclothed then washed by a fellow knight? With a deep breath, he raises his gaze to Lisa and responds, “I’ll assist with this.”
—
“Everyone else is out for the evening,” she mused, finger to the lip as she tried to recall the information, “I believe they all decided to go to the Angel’s Share. So it’s just you, me, Sucrose and Jean.” With a wink she added, “While carrying your fellow alchemist like a sack of potatoes did help to transfer that nectar from her to you with body heat alone, you can be a bit more gentle now, right?”
Was the librarian always this forward… Or was the adrenaline in his system beginning to settle?
Taking Sucrose into his arms in a gentle carry his mind flashed to when he found her earlier today. Without his need to find her, she might’ve been buried in Dragonspire’s snowfall. The thought of her in an unexpected frozen tomb made him nauseous. Snapping back to reality, he found himself following Lisa up the stairs in the back of the main hall of the headquarters, a place he had never considered venturing before. As if reading his mind, Lisa filled in the blanks.
“Our headquarters was once an indoor bathhouse. During the renovations, they decided to keep the upper baths functioning. Knight business can be rather...” She turned over her shoulder to look at him, his assistant cradled in his arms, “messy after all.”
The insinuation wasn’t lost on him as they made their way through the hall into the grand bathroom on the second floor. Tiled walls greeted him as he looked to the sunken tubs, makeshift showers and ceramic sinks. Had he known the grandeur of this place, he would’ve brought his sketchbook along to capture the sculpture of the fox alone. Over his shoulder Lisa asks him to prepare the bath water for Sucrose ensuring it was warm and not hot with some bath salts added to help relax her muscles and remove some of the nectar chemically. Over his shoulder he heard the now familiar crunching of Sucrose’s clothing as Lisa began to undress her behind him. He knew better than to look so as a small “oh my” drifted between the two he kept his attention straight ahead on one of the sunken tubs and turned the tap. As the water rushed into the tub he dipped his fingers in to ensure it was the specified temperature then turns his attention to the matter of bath salts. Along the surfaces of the tubs and showers are a variety of different products, but a small jar with a rose label catches his eye. The label read Rose Shards, and after uncorking the lid he gives a tentative sniff before throwing the entirety of the jars contents into the rushing waters. Refocusing, he hears a small grunt and more crunches behind him once more.
“Is this something you recalled hearing before?” His mind wandered to the scene in the library as she flipped through compendiums and field guides, “Maybe in your studies?”
“I recalled reading about something like this during my studies in Sumeru, but I must say I never thought I’d actually see it in person. After all…” her voice began to drift as if she were a self-reading text, “Only incredibly strong Whooperflowers and possibly Fellflowers can expel nectar in this way. It’s usually a sign that they want to consume their target.”
“Consume?” his voice and body stiffened.
“Yes. They cover the target in nectar to slow them down and essentially trap them. Considering that your assistant Sucrose was exposed to nectar in lower temperatures it’s a miracle she was able to come out of the fight like this.”
He gazed into the rippling waters at his reflection as he crouched by the sunken tub, the guilt sinking in again now that his earlier suspicion was confirmed. He dips his hand into the water and swirls it around, the Rose Shards bath salts slowly dissolving and tinging the water a soft pink against the green tiling. He felt Lisa’s gaze resting on his back as he resisted the clawing of his remorse, her soft voice keeping him from the depths.
“You must be incredibly proud of her. Despite this condition she’s in, she must’ve known how to fend off such an aggressive specimen…” she paused before continuing, “Her field of research is bio-alchemy after all. Right?”
“Yes… It is.” He noted how his voice sounded slightly choked as he got a tight sigh of a response from the witch.
“Well, enough of that. Let’s get this little one scrubbed down so we can all get some rest.”
He hears the clicking of Lisa’s heels approaching and in an abundance of caution he keeps his gaze turned away from the tub. The static warmth of the electro witches’ laughter makes him stir a bit, before a tapping on his shoulder let’s him know he can turn back.
“Get to scrubbing now, cutie. I’ll grab her some spare clothes.” Her smile was too pleased as he watched her spin on her heels and before he could even speak she had already disappeared out the bathhouse doors.
It was just him and Sucrose now.
—
He had to be honest to himself now. He was not prepared for this much… Closeness.
During his initial examination, he gained an initial sense of where Sucrose was sprayed with this… Digestive aid. But as he sat beside the sunken tub and stared at the now slowly thawing alchemist he suddenly was unsure where to start. His eyes drifted to her hair and ears, hardened in place by the nectar and permanently plastered to how it had naturally fell when she had been lying on the ground of Dragonspire. The creeping guilt was inching through his veins as he steeled himself to the reality once more. He had to get this scrubbing done quickly, efficiently and with the least amount of exposure… For the both of them.
He glanced around the bathhouse surfaces once more for tools to help aid in the process. First, a red bottle of shampoo with a picture of a horse on it. Skepticism crossed his mind, but in a flash he realized that this horse tonic must be that Calvary captains’. Next, a bar of soap that was light green and has a small imprint of a dandelion… Seemed straightforward enough for breaking down the nectar with a scent that reminded him of how anemo smells when summoned for combat. Lastly, a wooden scrub brush with bristles. He ran his fingers along the bristles noting how they seemed a bit stiff, but the small bird on the base reassured him that they must soften with a combination of soap and water. With one last careful glance at the subject of this task he got to work.
Using his hands as a makeshift bucket he poured the warm water gingerly over the solidified mass that was Sucrose’s hair, taking care around her ears. He poured a touch of of the Calvary captain’s shampoo into his palms, rubbing them together until a foam formed then began to carefully scrub to the tone of more discomforting crunches. He continued the process over and over, water, shampoo, foam, scrub until her hair flowed freely through his fingers with no resistance. He paused, taking note of how silky her mint-green hair was… He paused to remember what shampoo he just applied them shook his head back into the present moment. He couldn’t let the water get cold while lost in his own careless thoughts, otherwise this nectar would not come off.
His eyes turned to Sucrose’s ears. They were down, possibly from the nectar, and were already damp from treating her hair. He grabbed the dandelion soap into his hands and carefully formed a new bubble foam before gently rubbing her ears. He was surprised at the small crunching he was hearing, but continued on, until he heard a small hum. He stopped, panic mixing with curiosity. Carefully, with the softest touch he could muster, rubbed her ears again. No crunches were heard as the remains of the Whooperflower nectar were gone, but the mysterious humming began once more. He quickly pulled him hands back.
Did she… Enjoy that? Does she normally… Hum?
Deciding the endeavor was done, he cupped some warm water into his hands and rinsed her ears once more, ignoring how his mind lingered on the humming. He stopped to assess how much more scrubbing was still left to complete.
And where was Lisa with the clothes for Sucrose?
Practicality trumped his inaction and he opted to start on her arms. Before starting he slipped his hand into the water for a temperature check. Noticing the warmth lingering in the bathwater he carefully takes one of Sucrose’s arms and quickly runs the bar of soap on every inch of soft cream skin he can. Grabbing the scrub brush he forms little circles, noting the small rolls of dried nectar and dead skin lifting with ease and the cuts to be more cautious around. Once the soap was cleared he carefully turned his arm to look at her hands more carefully and discovered the reason why she wore gloves around him. Inquisitively, he traces the scars, raised and worn with time, before gingerly returning her arm and hand to the warm water once more. He repeats the process for her other arm, and pensively pauses when he finds a similar scar on the palm of her opposite hand. Incongruous and winkled.
What could’ve caused burn marks like this… An experiment gone horribly wrong?
He catches himself tracing the second set of scars with his own slim fingers and without a second thought he places her arm back in the water. His attention turns to her face, not a stir or a hum but the warmth seems to have returned to her cheeks. He spots the cut from before that curves along her left cheek and feels his own face turn into a grimace. If he found that Whooper of Fellflower he knew exactly the damage he’d do in return for this. The gears of his mind ground on as he registered what was left to scrub: legs, collar bone and her face. Then the gears ground to a stop.
Would this… Be appropriate? Should I… Wait for Lisa?
Staring at the swirling pink bath water gently curving around his assistant there was only one thing he could do. He didn’t want to put her health at risk once again, considering the conclusion Lisa drew out for him earlier. Scooting towards the opposite end of the sunken tub, with a nervous swallow, Albedo slowly plunges his hand into the warm water and grabs Sucrose’s pale leg by the ankle. He presses his lips together as an unusual warmth began to rise from his fingertips to his chest, reminding himself of his mission he grabs the same bar of soap and methodically continues the cleaning. He switches legs with the same seemingly robotic process to the other leg before taking a deep breath and checking the water temperature one more time. Still warm, but a lingering warmth. He had to move onto what he knew would be the more… challenging part. Returning to the head of the sunken tub, rubbing the dandelion soap between his hands for the soft foam he needs he gazed carefully at Sucrose’s collar bone. He swipes the foam gently across the shoulders and collar bone, being careful not to dip any lower than necessary before cupping water into his hands and rinsing the area. His eyes then drift upward to the trickiest section for him to deal with… Her face.
He often avoided looking at people’s faces, not that he was opposed to viewing visages, but because it always felt… Too close. Too intimate. But in this moment, where he found himself staring at the resting face of his assistant it was perfectly close. Perfectly… Shaken? He noticed his hands were quivering now under the unspoken pressure. He was so close to being done with this task, but this is where he had to be the most cautious. Dipping his hands into the bathwater quickly, he gently began to swipe the crusted remains of the Whooperflower Nectar. His hands, as tenderly as he could, rubbed her cheeks, noting the small wince in her brow as his thumb skimmed the deep cut on the left. It was not long until he found himself pausing to look at her mint-green eyelashes, he never noticed how long they were…
“Oh! Looks like you got it all done!”
He found himself jumping and dropping his hands from Sucrose’s face as he whipped around to meet Lisa’s smiling face. In a flurry of flustered feelings he quickly got up and passed her excusing himself from the one thing he knew he couldn’t dare to assist with. Pushing through the doors to stand in the hallway outside of the bathhouse Albedo found himself releasing a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Had he crossed an unspoken line? He let himself lean against the wall, arms crossed as he re-steadied himself. There was nothing he could mentally say to himself regarding the throws of emotions he had experienced today, he just had to compartmentalize and minimize. As if the archons gave her the gift of timing Lisa stepped out of the bathhouse carrying Sucrose in her arms without a sense of struggle. He noted how the witch was stronger than she looked as she quietly nodded her head and began guiding him down the hallway with satisfying clicks. With a gentle tilt of her head, Lisa indicates the room to open which Albedo gratefully obliges to and reveals a spare bedroom. He notes the small chair and wardrobe along with one neatly set bed.
“I figured you only needed one since you must share when you’re up on the mountain, right?” Lisa gave a coy smile towards the alchemist while carefully placing Sucrose onto the bed and tucking the girl into the covers, her breathing more steady now.
Internally shocked by the comment, the witch passes on her wishes for sweet dreams before drifting out of the room with the click of the doorknob. The tension of the day finally leaves his body as Albedo crumples into the chair in exhaustion. His eyelids grow heavy as he turns his attention to Sucrose. She softly rests in the bed without a stir, wince or hum mentioning something about checking on her in the morning. Her mint-green hair is spread beside her in a neatly done braid. Lisa must’ve done that for her.
It suits her.
His eyelids, heavy from exhaustion begin to weigh him down as he notes how Sucrose was finally in the medical clear. She was safe now. She was well. Without an ounce of resistance he allows his vision to blur, sleep overcoming him.
Sucrose
The sound of soft breathing slowly wakes her from her slumber, then comes the sharp stings of pain from the cuts along her. Her fingers hesitantly reaches for the worst pain coming from her cheek, gives the cut a tap, and winces at the resulting pain. Still sore. She forces herself up into a sitting position and that’s when she spots Mister Albedo sitting asleep in a chair. Arms folded across his chest and his head dipping over. His hair is positively dishevled and his coat is nowhere in sight. Streaks of dirt crossed his arms with distinct outlines of what she could only suppose were the areas that were cleaned by snowfall or something else. Grabbing her forehead she tried to recall what exactly happened after the encounter with Lumine’s reported monster. She remembers feeling as if she froze then a strange warmth, the sound of crunching footsteps, gentle touches on her ears and cheeks and something or someone tracing the scars on her hands...
Was it…?
Before she allowed herself to finish her thought she heard a knock at the door, it slowly cracked open to reveal a familiar face smiling warmly at her. Lisa, the Librarian of the Knights appeared with her uniform in her hands.
“Jean has a better eye for sewing than I do, but I’m afraid your missing boot, hat and cape will take a bit more time.” The librarian’s lavender eyes rested a moment on the sleeping form of Albedo before returning to her, “Oh my, he must’ve really been worried about giving you some space.”
She rests the clothes on the foot of the bed before plucking a fresh set of gloves from the top and holding them before Sucrose with care.
“We all have things we’d rather not be known or seen, right cutie?” Lisa’s gaze grows distant, before coming back to, “I suppose you’d like some breakfast? I do have some tea, though we might need to step out for a good sweet to go with it. I don’t suppose the alchemist would mind if you borrowed his coat again.”
A coy smile curled on Lisa’s face as Sucrose felt her cheeks grow warm. Lisa carefully pulled the jacket from the door handle. Without a second thought, Sucrose pulled on the gloves. She couldn’t deny a good breakfast to start the day… Especially if sweets were involved. Leaping from the bed, and grabbing her uniform from the foot of the bed she quietly made her way after the rose-smelling witch.
Albedo
Daylight strikes his face rousing him from his sleep. Running his hands over his eyes the room comes into focus to a startling discovery. The patient that was his assistant had gone missing. In disbelief, he does something he’d normally never do, rub his eyes again as if that would reveal her like a scratch card but no. She truly was missing. Panic begins to crawl through him making his feet feel like lead as his mind races through all the possible scenarios from most likely to least likely. Maybe she woke up and decided to stubbornly look after herself, she was quite efficient after all. Maybe Lisa had taken her to do a quick assessment of her condition, he vaguely remembered her saying she would. Or… Maybe she woke up and was so panicked at her state she slipped on his coat and returned to Dragonspire since she was one to not want to seem like a burden…
That always worried him.
He turned his watercolor eyes to the door and noticed his coat was missing as well. Without a moment to lose he leapt from the chair and raced out of the room. Disheveled from yesterday’s events he raced passed the paintings in the upper halls and down the stairs to the main floor where a familiar light laugh, almost like a whisper of wind on a spring day, danced by his ears. He froze and turned his eyes to the Grandmaster’s Office, following the warmth of the sound and gave the door a gentle push.
The scene he was met with was quite peculiar but in a light-hearted way. Around the Grandmaster’s desk were Sucrose, Lisa and the Acting Grandmaster herself Jean. The soothing smell of breakfast tea filled the air, as hashbrowns, tea break pancakes, breakfast sandwiches and other foods littered the Grandmaster’s desk. The librarian, the dandelion knight and the alchemical assistant were deep in conversation between bites as the sunlight drifted into the space giving it an ethereal glow. He lingered in the doorway, unsure if he should invite himself into the moment or simply drift back into the hallway and wait for another opportunity to connect, however the choice was quickly made for him by a familiar voice.
“Oh! Looks like a certain alchemist recovered from the tribulations of yesterday,” a smile cracks across Lisa’s face as she taps an empty chair beside her, “Come now, we made sure to get some breakfast for you too.”
Sucrose, sitting carefully between the knight and the witch, pricks up her ears as she turns to face him, a flush of pink flashing across her face before she turned away. Ears pressing closer to her face as she focused back on her cup of tea, nervously fixing her glasses. He feels his face mirror hers, his cheeks warming.
Did she know what happened yesterday? Had Lisa told her?
Albedo accepts the invitation with some hesitant steps into the office. He did not want to overstay his visit at the headquarters when the entity that caused Sucrose harm was still wandering somewhere in the caves of Dragonspine. But, a break before the day truly started was fine he supposed. Sitting beside the purple rose witch, he looked across the expanse of the desk at his assistant a small sense of joy flickering in his heart at her recovery. He feels a familiar sensation and turns to look at Lisa beside him, watching him, her lips curled upward in mischief. He had come to know that grin too well over the past few hours and quietly grabbed a hashbrown biting into it with a satisfying crunch. He knew he’d have to explain this ordeal to Sucrose at some point, but as he carefully looked back to her, smile beaming as she shyly spoke with Acting Grandmaster Jean he found himself conflicted in his newfound yearning.
Maybe some things… Would be better left unspoken… For now.