Art trade for Wolfei, who created a wonderful cover for Coagulated Chalk. Go check out her amazing arts (a lot of Albedo included) at twitter and tumblr!
This takes place after Enkanomiya's questline. I tried to stick with established lore but some creative liberties for the sake of ~ ~
General weird biology/body horror warnings apply here, as well dealing with a character's death (don't worry he gets better)
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Aether has returned from his travels with a strange old tome.
The book is unremarkable in its cover or size, though its contents remain unknown no matter how much Albedo inquires about them. Aether is equally tight-lipped about where he got it from, settling for an extremely vague story of travelling to one of Inazuma's islands and stumbling upon an old library. Even stranger is that Paimon, usually the first to boast over their travels and achievements, shares Aether's reluctance about their most recent excursion.
Thus, Albedo keeps silent on the matter as well. He doesn't want to frustrate Aether to the point of no longer visiting him.
"Any more tests you have for me today?" Aether asks, rotating his shoulders after demonstrating his newly-acquired electro powers.
"Geez no more!" Paimon groans as she sleepily settles on Aether's head. "We've done nothing but tests, Paimon is tired! And wants the meal we were promised!"
"If you're tired, we can stop and continue tomorrow," Albedo says as he gestures to a pot full of boiling stew. "And you're welcome to an early dinner."
"Yay!" Paimon exclaims as she dashes at the food, dragging Aether behind her who complains that she hasn't done anything so she couldn't be hungry right after they had an afternoon snack.
Albedo smiles at their ensuing squabble, though most of his joy stems from having Aether's company. In truth, the 'tests' he has come up with are inconsequential, nothing more than excuses to make the Traveller spend a little more time with him on Dragonspine. Confusingly, Albedo is unsure if his enjoyment of Aether's company stems solely from his still-mysterious nature. Discovery and progressing through his studies do make him feel excited, but they have never been accompanied by such affection for his test subjects.
Aether quickly eats through the stew then yawns, Paimon following suit.
"You can use the spare cot if you're tired," Albedo speaks up after their yawns.
Aether sleepily nods and he and Paimon collapse head first on the bed, their breathing slowing minutes later as they fall asleep.
Albedo finishes writing up a few of his notes before he picks up the pot and walks outside, spilling the remaining stew over a sharp incline before returning to his camp. He stops by the occupied cot, gently nudges Aether, then Paimon. Only when they remain sound asleep, does he start rifling through their belongings.
This is an underhanded tactic, mixing in a sleeping potion in their food, but the two seem determined to hide something from him. When Aether first arrived here from Inazuma, he asked if Albedo really knew little of Khaenri'ah. Albedo's confirmation of that fact only made him frown and clutch that book tighter, but any of Albedo's attempts to discern Aether's sudden interest hit a metaphorical brick wall.
And earlier today, Paimon blurted out something about exploring a vast underwater cavern before Aether quickly shushed her and started talking about the weather, finally putting that book away…
Of which, Albedo finally finds. Just like what he's seen, the tome is unremarkable, so he opens it and leafs through the pages.
And stops. The script is not from any of Teyvat's nations. It's not Khaenri'ahn either, but it is a language Albedo understands, one of the many taught to him by Master when he first learned to read and write.
Albedo moves back to the title page. It reads:
Before Sun and Moon
