Chapter Text
Albedo's every gesture was as gracefully measured and controlled as the ingredients and variables in his latest experiment. He whisked together the final touches and set down his beaker on the countertop that he stood behind.
It was another day, and so, Albedo was conducting another experiment. Although on this particular evening, his work had hardly gotten to the stage where it could be called "an experiment". The way Albedo saw it, he was still "gathering materials" to prepare for the real thing.
This time his work led him to extract the DNA from a valberry and a sunsettia, in the hopes of mixing their best traits together to get a sweeter and hardier hybrid of the two plants.
This task was simple for Albedo. In fact, the task was so easy that he could have easily delegated it to his assistant, Sucrose, but the thing was- Albedo needed a distraction.
And his quest for a distraction had led him to be extracting DNA on, Dragonspine, the highest peak and most frigid place in all of Mondstadt.
To most, the freezing cold temperatures of Dragonspine, the pressure of trying to avoid spilling chemicals everywhere, and the fear of being on the most dangerous mountain chain in all of Mondstadt, would already serve as ample distraction.
However, Albedo had long since grown used to the cold. He had also long since become adept with chemicals and lab safety. And he had most certainly long since outgrown any fear of the mountains, in spite of the wretched rumors that plagued them.
The fact of the matter was that Dragonspine was Albedo's home. So despite his best efforts, Albedo wasn't distracted. Instead, his mind was focused on his usual unpleasant thoughts.
If I were truly human, what would I be doing right now? He pondered.
Would I be close to my birth family? What would they be like? How much would they have shaped my interests and personality?
If I were born a natural human, maybe I wouldn't be so clinical and withdrawn.
I wouldn't have been made to be a trophy and then simply cast aside after my creator grew bore-
Albedo shook his head.
"The valberries won't slice themselves," he murmured to himself.
Then he grabbed a petri dish, laid out his DNA samples, and continued on with his work.