is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social pain—a psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with an unwanted lack of connection and intimacy.
Loneliness was not something that was uncommon for Albedo. No, he was never one to allow such an unneeded emotion to enter his body and mind. He welcomed the quiet and silence that came with being alone for long periods of time. It was comforting to be able to work in pure quiet. Loneliness was something he liked. Though today of all days, he could not help but feel the emotion stronger than before. He was only a few short days away from the Lantern Rite and he felt nothing but loneliness in Miss Alexie's company. None of her topics of interest peaked his mind, in fact they were all boring and dull in his point of view. This is one of the many reasons why he preferred to stay in Klee's company as she was more interesting than most adults in general, but he would be the first to admit that it was merely because his little sister had an energy around her that led the two into new adventures. So he was biased in this stand point due to Klee's natural curiosity that allowed them to explore much of Mondstadt together. Yet here he was trying to learn about a woman he was courting and was uninterested in every topic that Miss Alexie brought up.
Now he was eight days away from the Lantern Rite. He let out a small breath to relax his tensed body as he walked around Liyue Harbor by himself. All the ladies had darted off to find outfits, Viox had tagged along though she wasn't really one to look at dresses and such. She was asked by Klee to go. So Albedo was walking around.
"Albedo? What are you doing walking around by yourself on this fine day?" Zhongli's voice called out
Albedo looked towards his left as a small tea shop with outside seating. Zhongli sat in one of the seats, a cup of hot tea was next to his hand as well as a teapot, so if he wanted to, he could pour his own drink.
"Oh Zhongli. Mind if I join you? All the girls have gone off and are doing their own shopping before the Lantern Rite. I am merely by myself till dinner time." Albedo asked as he walked over.
"Please, take a seat. I am on my lunch break from work. Rei said that she was going to shove Viox into a dress today. How? I am unsure, but I trust that she will make sure that the dress won't make Viox uncomfortable. How's your courted, Miss Alexie? Did she go with the girls as well?" Zhongli pointed towards a chair, watching as Albedo took the seat. He had picked a shady spot in the outside area, so he wasn't too worried about either of them overheating.
Albedo blinked, "I don't believe Viox will get a dress. She doesn't seem to like them like Klee does. As for Miss Alexie, things are going well, though I have some questions for you."
"Please go on."
Albedo looked at the table, "How did you feel when courting Rei?"
Zhongli made a small noise in the back of his throat, "Well, things were sort of fast for her and I. I was taking a stroll around the Harbor as she was helping out with making some deliveries. We both were not really paying attention as we crashed into each other. We ended up covered in tea leaves and coffee beans. I got up and apologized to her right away. She did the same. When our eyes met, I'll never forget the feeling of curiosity and awe just by looking at her. I wanted to do nothing but get to know her. After a year of meeting each other as just friends. I asked her to court me. When she agreed. The feeling was…" Zhongli stopped for a moment, thinking over, "It was happiness. Pure unfiltered happiness." He finally stated with a smile.
Albedo blinked as he looked at Zhongli. The emotions the other was able to express was clear that even thinking about the past, he was still truly happy with his decision. So why couldn't Albedo fully feel this emotion with Miss Alexie?
"You seem to be thinking about something, care to share?" Zhongli asked as he sipped his drink.
Albedo shook his head, "Nothing of importance."
"Emotions are a tricky thing, Albedo. Don't be fooled by one emotion when another can take its place just as fast, you are still learning and understanding them. You are a different breed of Golem. Remember that." Zhongli commented
Albedo paused for a moment, was this the reason he was feeling emotions so quickly? Because he was different?
"I see."
"Albedo? Have you seen my hairbrush?" Viox called out as she walked into the room, her hair was dripping still from the warm bath she had just barely taken.
Albedo was sitting on his bed with Klee in front of him, as he carefully was brushing her hair into her signature ponytails, "I had borrowed it for Klee's hair." He said as he tilted his chin towards the brush
"Thank you." Viox said as she picked it up as brushed through her tangled locks. She wasn't a fan of having to brush her long hair all the time, but it did help when she put it up so it wasn't tangled.
Albedo carefully tied off the last ponytail as he carefully placed Klee's bright red hat on her head
Klee smiled warmly at her older brother before looking up at Viox, "We have one week till Lantern Rite, are you just as excited as me Big Sis Viox?"
Viox hummed lightly, "Well I cant say im all too excited, we do go back to Mondstadt the morning afterwards. Though as much as I've enjoyed this trip away from home, I'm going to miss talking with Rei and Zhongli daily. Oh and fish blasting with you once a week." She chuckled as Klee smiled at her
"We can still go fish blasting in Mondstadt too!" Klee piped up as she clutched her best friend, Dodoco to her chest
"Well we still have another three months before this journey comes to a full end. So fish blasting will have to wait until afterwards." Viox reminded the other as she put her brush down.
"Well we are staying in Mondstadt a week before the next part. The Windblume starts the day we return. I figured all of us could enjoy it together this year." Albedo commented from his spot.
Viox perked up at this, "Wow…The Windblume is already so close? I thought it was still a few months away."
Albedo nodded, "Yes. We get back during the first day."
Klee squealed, "That means Big Sis Viox can see her sister!"
Viox smiled, she would also be seeing Kaeya as well, though she had to talk with the man about her feelings. She had a small hutch that the other knew about the long time feelings Viox had for years, but now. Viox wasn't so sure if she still held the same feelings as she once did. The Windblume Festival was one of the few that Mondstadt held in the summer months. It was a chance to tell a person your feelings of adoration or friendship. Viox had skipped out on the last three Windblume's due to working or over all not wanting to be around so many couples. The ache of loneliness entered her body as Viox felt her smile drop somewhat.
"Viox?" Albedo called out
Viox swore in her mind, "I'm alright. I was thinking about something. This will be my first real Windblume that I'm not working or skipping out on. I think it would be lovely to enjoy it with you guys this year."
Klee's grin broke into a larger smile, "Yay! We can do all the cool fun games! Oh! There is this one game called Stack Them up! We can play that together!"
Viox listened to Klee as the younger explained more games and foods that Windblume held. She couldn't help but let her mind wonder somewhat, though it was her first festival with the siblings, did Albedo know the meaning behind the festival? Or was he trying to be polite? She nodded along with Klee's words, agreeing on some things about how the games as the night crawled onwards.
Soon, Klee was snuggled into the large shared bed of her and Viox. Sleep had taken the younger one as Viox was still awake. Rei's words were still eating at her mind about Albedo and Miss Alexie. She couldn't really shut it off after all. Was she really jealous or was she just…lonely?