ᴄʜᴇᴍɪᴄᴀʟ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ - ᴀʟʙᴇᴅᴏ x ᴏᴄ

Chapter 32 - Constellations

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All day... all night, it was the same. Fitfully waking up every hour or so, Melanie staggered out of bed for the fourteenth time that night to sit under the low-hanging moon. She was tired of trying to nap throughout the previous day when all she was met with was the darkness behind her eyelids. Stargazing would be the only thing she'd be doing.

Melanie grabbed a spare blanket off of the ground to bring out with her. The smooth rocks would work perfectly as something to lay on. With her back to the rock, she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders in a burrito formation to look up at the clear sky. For the first time in forever, she could see the stars glimmering in the heavens.

The stars reminded her of the stories her mother would tell her as a child. Each star was a Vision waiting to descend in Teyvat. It was difficult to distinguish which star would be which element, but she distinctly remembered that the orange ones were Pyro, and the golden ones were Geo. Perhaps the more icy blue ones were Cryo, but they were the hardest to distinguish from the Hydro.

Speaking of Visions, it reminded her of the one clipped on the inside of her boot. She always kept it hidden from view for fear of it being discovered while she was out in the wild with the Treasure Hoarders. It glimmered brightly in the night, the crystal cyan swirling with wisps of elemental energy.

She removed her boot and tipped it over into her hand, the clasp of her Vision undoing to drop into her hand. Melanie shoved her boot back on her foot while she analyzed the source of her strength. Every day, she dwelled on how she had been lucky enough to catch the Cyro Archon's attention.

All she had been doing was celebrating a successful raid. It had been during a time of great starvation for the Treasure Hoarders, even with the massive amounts of cabbage and shriveled apples they were receiving. But when she decided to lead a raid on her own, she brought back pounds upon pounds of mora for the Treasure Hoarders to spend and gorge on.

Soon after that, she felt chills shudder through her, unlike the heat people often felt upon receiving a Vision. A light in the sky descended upon her, and in her hands fell the Cryo Vision for hers to claim. The moment had been ceremonious, but also meant the expectations were raised.

"I pushed my Vision off to the side when I first received it."

Melanie turned her head, offering an exhausted smile to Albedo. He was barely dressed in his shorts, t-shirt, and boots when he seated himself on the rock beside her, tea in hand. The steaming mug was passed off to her gratefully. While the night was chilly, it was the warmest she'd felt in ages.

After taking a long sip of the tea, she licked her lips and held the mug on her belly. "You completely ignored your Vision?! You, of all people, I'd expect to be the most intrigued by it."

Albedo pushed back the hair from her face. She saw the heavy lines of bags under his eyes from checking on her every time she woke; luckily, they weren't very dark. The alchemist lifted his golden Vision, gazing at it warmly.

"I was working at the time. The breakthrough was incredible... I could barely even spare it a glance before returning to my work. I'll be honest when I say it wasn't much of a surprise. However, it is its own mystery, which I'll uncover in time with help," Albedo said vacantly, but Melanie could see the glimmer of inspiration glittering in his teal eyes.

She laughed softly, placing her free arm on his leg. Another sip of her tea was taken, the flavor dancing on her tongue. The coolness of the mint felt nice going down to sit in her empty belly. Whatever time it was, it had to be day 11 already. Time flies when you're sleepless in the mountains.