soulless vessel | genshin impact x f.reader

♡ʙᴜᴛ ɪ'ᴍ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴀᴍ♡

•the interest of an alchemist•

♡__.○.__♡

After a bet made between her and Paimon about who could traverse up the mountains of Dragonspine and meet a particular alchemist first, y/n accepted the challenge and parted ways from the duo with whom she promised to stick together with on their journey. Kind of ironic.

As the biting winds whipped through the air, y/n embarked on her ascent, seeming undeterred by the harsh conditions that surrounded her and the knee-deep snowdrifts.

However, being physically undeterred didn't mean this wasn't still a hassle. The never ending amount of hilichurls and other creatures hindering her path upwards was rather insane. The harsh winds threatening to throw her down and the frost forming on her limbs wasn't helping either.

She hoped Paimon and Aether were fairing through alright, kind of regretting that she left them to it on their own.

But after the hardships of making it up these mountains, she found herself standing on the precipice of a breathtaking landscape. And suddenly everything that made her journey difficult became a beauty instead. A realm of towering mountains painted with white, a snowfall that wasn't as harsh as she remembered it to be a second ago and the forest green colour of tree leaves barely peeking out from beneath the layer of sparkling snow that hid them.

And there, standing amidst the splendor of Dragonspine's nature, was a boy with platinum blond hair wearing a tailored coat of black, white and deep indigo, its rich fabric flowing gracefully around him thanks to the cold breeze. The golden chains accentuating his coat clinked softly and the sound most likely would've slipped past her if she weren't inhuman.

His gaze was fixed upon the horizon with a thoughtful expression, a sketchbook at hand.

And then he paused.

As though he sensed her presence, the boy turned to face the girl not so far him, his eyes alight with curiosity as he studied her with keen intellect. They were a mesmerizing shade of teal.

It was as though the mere sight of her peeked his interest.

Approaching her with a graceful stride, the platinum haired individual extended a hand in greeting, his voice calm and measured as he spoke.

"Greetings, traveler," he said, his tone warm yet reserved. "I am Albedo, chief alchemist of the knights of Favonius. And who might you be?"

Shocked, y/n stammered a bit at first, surprised by both the fact that he accepted her presence and introduced himself so casually and the fact that she found who she was looking for so quickly. She was expecting her search to take at least a little longer.

"I- uh, y/n." She spoke her name, letting go of her fan and letting it dissipate now that she wasn't expecting any fights ahead, "I'm y/n, I was looking for you."

"Hm, the purple get-up made me assume you were. My guess was correct." The boy nodded, "So one of Mondstadt's heroes was looking for me. May I ask why?"

"Oh- not just me." Y/n added quickly, "Aether as well- I mean, the other honorary knight."

She laughed awkwardly, lifting a hand to twist a strand of her bangs between her fingers. She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the way this alchemist was observing her.

His gaze was so calm and reserved, but somehow she could tell there was something more to the look behind his eyes.

"We were..uhm..we met Sucrose in the city, she said we could help you with research? Something along those lines." She wasn't sure if her words were making much sense, she sure hoped they were. She'd rather not make a fool out of herself in front of someone with such a presence of calmness and grace exuding from him.

It must've made sense, cause Albedo hummed.

"In that case, would you care to follow my instructions and stand over there?" His words held more of an expectant tone rather than one of a question as he pointed to the middle of the scenery she found so mesmerizing.

She paused, wanting to question it but deciding not to do so as she complied and made her way over to where she'd been instructed to stand. The sound of her shoes crunching into layers snow with each step would've fallen deaf to any normal human being's ears.

"Here?" She asked, turning to Albedo after looking around.

"Yes," Albedo nodded, "Before I get started, could you please straighten your posture? Maybe hold your hands together."

'Get started on what?' Y/n pondered, kind of anxious.

'I sense no dangers ahead.' Megumi assured her, so she decided to push through her worries.

She fixed her stance and held her head high, her arms remaining low as her own fingers intertwined with one another, smooth hands hanging before the skirt of her dress. The winds pushed her hair off her shoulders and made it sway to the side. Some snow was even blown off her only to be replaced with more.

Albedo watched her in silence and y/n' nervous smile returned. This seemed to have been the last thing needed to fulfill his expectations.

"Perfect, well done." He praised as he lifted the sketchbook in his hand, pencil in the other, "Try to keep still, but do move if needed." He instructed next as the tip of the pencil met with white paper.

Y/n stood in silence as she'd been told, but not because it was what was requested of her.

She was questioning just what was going on.

'He's drawing you.' Megumi explained and y/n's eyes widened ever so slightly.

'Me? He's drawing me?' She questioned internally, 'Why?'

'Well, you are quite pretty.' Megumi offered an ever so casual explanation.

Y/n would've blushed if the freezing cold didn't cause her to do so already. Albedo's next words added to this.

"You're doing great." His eyes barely ever leave his up and coming sketch, though he still praised her acting as a reference, "Your beauty compliments the scenery well. Stay there just a bit longer, if that's alright. This'll be done soon."

Y/n tried not to let a flustered laugh escape her mouth, and in the distance, her blond travelling companion and a shivering pixie were closing in on their location, followed by a dark cloaked nun.