"You know your true enemy now," Rhinedottir says after the conclusion of their latest meeting.
"Celestia," Aether says as he rubs his arm from where she withdrew blood. So far she's collected everything, from blood to hair to moderately uncomfortable skin biopsies and one very painful bone marrow extraction. He's not sure what she needs them for, and doubts he will get an answer if he asks. Another difference between her and her creation. "Is that what you're after? Revenge?"
Aether does not expect an answer, and he's not sure if he wants one. Rhinedottir's existing grudge with the divine has worsened since they met. Aether hopes that such hatred stems from the love Rhinedottir holds for Albedo somewhere deep within her withered heart, rather than anger and indignation at losing a valuable sample. But the more time Aether spends with her, the more those two options intertwine.
As for Albedo, after an initial shock which rendered him so pale Aether thought he was fading away, he asked Aether to keep his presence hidden.
Aether, of course, obliged him. He's unsure why Albedo wants to keep up the charade of his death, but it's easy to come up with possible reasons. From fear that Albedo will forever be stuck in this ephemeral form, to not wanting to cause her more heartbreak, though Aether seriously doubts if she is capable of even that. Another likely answer is that Albedo feels shame for his current predicament, reduced to nothing more than a stone housing a ghost.
"That is for me to know and for you to stop wondering about," Rhinedottir says as she flicks the tube with his blood and puts away some of her implements. She ignores him for quite some time, and though Aether wants to protest, he keeps his mouth shut. Trying to argue or clear answers from her with her is like trying to talk past a brick wall with a mean streak.
"Here," Rhinedottir tosses him a bottle with a questionable liquid. "You will drink three drops of this every twelve hours."
"What for?" Aether asks.
"Elemental flow," Rhinedottir says and refuses to elaborate.
Aether checks the liquid. She has been asking him to drink certain brews of her soon after they met. Though understandably wary at first, Aether has done as instructed and so far the worst side effects have been an occasional drowsiness.
Rhinedottir goes back to busying herself, so Aether stretches and gets up to leave. As he walks past the sparse camp he stops by the entrance, where a few scant supplies are spread out. One of them is a book with a familiar cover. Xingqiu's book.
Aether discreetly picks it up and leafs through it. All the text pages have been torn out, leaving only the illustrations, authored by Albedo. A few more pages have been neatly arranged inside, more of Albedo's drawings. From very rough sketches which must have been his very first ones, to more and more elaborate ones resembling his current style. Some of the pages aren't even drawings, but notes, Albedo's handwriting too evolving from a child's chicken scratch to his more elegant but still barely-legible style.
"What are you loitering here for?" Gold barks and Aether jumps, quickly returning the book to its place and running away from her camp with his tail between his legs.
