"So it seems," Albedo deduced. "That based on... ah... recent developments, the test subjects will rapidly return to their original age- in large increments at a time. In this case, it was five years, but at times, it may vary... and it occurs when certain emotions are evoked in particular situations... Sucrose, please record the data samples please..." "Yes Mister Albedo!" "Please Sucrose, Albedo is just fine..." "Yes Sir Albedo!" He sighed. Beside him, the alchemist with fluffy, mint green hair rapidly scribbled notes on a clipboard, while collecting vials into a wooden box with her other hand. Wren stared with vague amusement. She felt slightly impressed at the feat. The clumsy girl was quite good with her hands at times.
"Hmm, but it seems the reaction may only be applicable to one of the subjects at a time?" Albedo peered down at her. "Is it alright if I could have a sample of your hair as well? Perhaps analyzing your DNA will prove to be note worthy... we may be able to draw further conclusions from such things." Wren furrowed her eyebrows. "You sure?" He nodded. "Everything now is trial and error. After all, this is the first test. Abnormalities are to be expected. It's just how we recover from failures that matters, after all." He squinted at her.
Meanwhile, Kaeya watched the exchange with a frown on his face as he leaned against Jean's desk, arms crossed. It was strange. As the Alchemist had noted, his body had biologically advanced to when he was around fourteen years old. However, Wren was still the same- noticeable a child. He didn't even know her age, he realized with a start. But if what Albedo had been true, and the changes only happened when they felt certain things... what if the emotion that had triggered the reaction that night was... love? He felt a warmth rush to his cheeks at the realization. No. There was no way. He could not- he could not afford to be in such a relationship with someone. Especially now, as one of them was clearly much too young for such things. He felt squeamish thinking about it. And also, Wren was most likely to brush him off either way.
Oh well, Kaeya thought. All in good time. He smiled to himself. When she gets older again, I'll make sure to court her properly.
~❄️👑~
So basically, Kaeya had grown, and she did not. Why was that? Wren thought. It was kind of a letdown, especially since Kaeya could now tease her with his newfound height. He towered over her- probably because he was exactly double her current age... but still, it was unfair and very annoying. She very much wanted to kick him in the shins every time she saw his face. And she did. On multiple occasions. However, maybe it was just because her childlike body wasn't strong enough- but her attacks never really seemed to faze him. Was she really that weak? The thought made her feel kind of angry, actually. Wren went to the front gates to pick dandelions.
She reached down, gently blowing on the fluffy seeds and collecting them in her skirt pocket as they blew up into the air. Maybe Jean would like these.
"Hey! Miss Wren!" She continued to pick at the fluff off the stems, not caring to turn around and face the harbinger. The fallen leaves on the grass rustled as Childe lowered himself to the ground. "What are you doing?" He asked playfully. "What does it look like?" She retorted sharply. "So cold," He sighed. Childe reached forward to pluck a whole dandelion by it's stem, grasping all the seeds in his fist and twisting them off all at once. "Here you go," He said, holding them out to her. Wren stared at them, frowning. "You crushed half of them you brute. And there's still fluff on some of them. Pick out the nice ones if you want to give them to me." Childe rolled his eyes, but complied. He unfurled his fingers and began to toss the crushed seeds over his shoulder.
"Why are you here? Don't you have adult stuff to do?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Childe laughed. "Yeah of course I do- I just don't want to do it." "So?" She stared at him expectantly. "That's why I;m here," He said. She gave him a deadpan look. "I don't think you should do that. Won't that lady be mad?" He frowned. "Who?" She thought for a moment. "That woman," She said. "She follows you around sometimes. She wears a mask." "Ah, Ekatarina! Yes, I know. It's okay though, she won't do that." Wren frowned. No way was he just going to be let off doing work that easy. Even if he was a harbinger. "I don't think so," She retorted. "She seems like a very responsible adult. Unlike you," She added the last part spitefully. "Hey!" She giggled. "Gimme my seeds," She held out her hand expectantly. He laughed at her haughty expression but dropped his handful into her hand. "So demanding," Childe sighed.
"I heard what happened," He continued as he watched her carefully gather the seeds in an handkerchief. It was a plain, simple one, one that she didn't mind dirtying because it was easy to clean and didn't have any beadwork. "You okay?" Wren shrugged. "Eh. I'm the same as ever. Just that Kaeya got bigger. Not fair." She pouted. "Oh yeah-" Wren clutched the seeds closely to her chest. Recently, Kaeya had been acting weirdly around her- she had barely seen him the past few days, even though he used to stick by her side like glue before. What had changed? He wouldn't even look her in the eye when she was talking to him! Maybe the height difference made things awkward? Was the system notification wrong?
"What?" Childe asked. Ah. She had forgotten about him. "...Nothing. Just that Kaeya has been being mean to be lately," She sighed. He frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Really now? Do you want me to talk to him?" Wren squinted at him. No. Absolutely not. There was no way she was letting the two of them confront each other. Jean would not take it kindly if half of the city was destroyed because of a fight between a harbinger and Mond's own calvary captain. "Please don't," She said quietly. "I don't want either of you getting hurt. That would suck." She mumbled the last part, turning her attention to a group of particularly long grass blades. She plucked a few, and tied the corners of the handkerchief together.
Little did she know, Childe stared at her with a shocked expression on his face. It was nice, that she still cared- after all these years. Although she showed no signs of recognizing him, it was so much like her to think about others. Something so small- but it was the little things that count, right? But... he squinted. She looked around the age that they first met. It hadn't taken long for them to become close- so why hadn't she acknowledged him? Should he reveal himself? No, it would be weird- she would definitely question the difference between their age, and appearance. Protecting her innocence was a first, in his book.
"Alright alright," He huffed. "I won't fight the calvary captain." Wren frowned at him. "So you admit that you would-" "Let's be off then, don't want to keep Ekatarina waiting!" He barked out a laugh, ignoring the girl's protests behind him. "Wait!" "What now?" Wren reached down, picking two more dandelions and handing him one. He took it, a confused smile on his face. "What's this?" He asked. "A dandelion," She said. "No, I know that, but-" Wren giggled. "It's to make a wish!" She explained cheerily. "Make a wish with me!" Childe laughed. "You know, maybe I'm a bit too old for these things?" Wren shook her head. "You're old, yes," A scoff. "But you're never too old to make wishes!" Childe hesitated. Suddenly, an image of Teucer came to mind. Their smiles matched perfectly, Childe noticed. Beaming, bright- enough to bring the long forgotten twinkle to his eye.
"Fine," He gave in. "Let's do it." Wren threw her arms up into the air in triumph. "Yay! Come on, come on!" She pulled him towards the edge of cider lake, plopping down onto the grass. As Childe dropped down beside her, she said,"On my count, don't do it too early." "Does that kind of thing matter?" Childe wondered. "Yes it does, how come you don't know these things?" She replied sharply. "Okay, god, you sound like-" She shot him a glare. "Ready? One, two, three!" Wren took in a deep breath, then blew with all her might with puffed cheeks. Together, they watched as the seeds drifted away on the wind.
"What did you wish for?" Wren asked, breaking the silence. "Well I can't tell you, can I? Or it won't come true. Isn't that how these things work?" Childe responded playfully. "No. That's only with birthday wishes, not these kind of wishes." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You know what, I'll tell you mine. You don't even have to tell me yours!" Childe hesitated. There was a contemplative look on his face- and some other emotion lingered on his features. She couldn't place a finger on it, and as the sun was setting, it was getting harder and harder to see. She squinted. "Alright. Tell me," He answered. She smiled. "I wished..." He leaned closer in anticipation. "I wished..."
"For a big bowl of ice cream." Childe blinked. "What?" "Ice cream! It's really yummy. Especially now that it's so hot, it would be a really refreshing treat. You should try some!" "Seriously?" Wren giggled, snuggling into his side and resting her head under his arm (She was too short to reach his shoulders). He tensed. "Tired. Gonna sleep now," She yawned. Childe smiled at her in adoration as he watched her eyes flutter shut. He turned to the sunset in front of them. "It really is a beautiful day, isn't it, Angel?" Just as he was dozing off himself, Wren stirred under his hold. "I wished..." He straightened, suddenly wide awake. "Did you say something, Angel?" Wren smiled in her sleep. "I wished..."
"To be free."
~❄️👑~
Later, Childe sat at his makeshift desk at his hotel room. He tapped the tip of his quill repeatedly against the wood, not caring for the ink that splattered across it. What had she meant, those words? I wished to be free. Was she not already free? After all, this was Mondstadt- the city of freedom. It was about as free as you could get. Of course, he knew that Mond- like every other nation- had it's much darker secrets, but putting that aside, and taking into account the people around her, the people who cared... why wouldn't she be happy? What invisible chains were holding her down? He frowned and closed his eyes, just as Ekatarina finally made an appearance at the door.
"Master Childe? Are you alright?" He thought for a moment, putting down his quill beside an unfinished report. He hesitated before speaking. "Ekatarina?"
"Yes Master Childe?"
A moment of silence.
"I want ice cream."
.
.
.
"...Pardon?"
~❄️👑~
A/N Bit of a longer chap because of a long time with no update. Happi new year!!! :3