#the lantern is important to nol

[furymint]

FFXIV Writes Entry #7

Characters: Nolanel, Josseloux | Word Count: 642 | TW: None

Context: Nolanel visits Elliot’s father for an errand and gets his ear chewed off instead.

Nolanel refused a cup of tea. He watched the silver-plated pot, and followed the thin steam upwards to Josseloux’s eyes.

The priest smirked as he returned the lid to the sugar bowl. He allowed the drink to steep longer. Lacing his fingers together, he leaned into the yellow saffron of the sofa and asked, “Do you trust me?”

“Without question, Father.” Nolanel straightened his posture. He slowly regained his hunch as Josseloux allowed the silence to stretch.

Josseloux nodded. Reflection did not stir any portion of his manner; Nolanel thought that naught could ever force Josseloux to betray neutrality. A chronometer hidden in an ivory dresser chimed for the Hour of the wolf.

Josseloux finally poured himself a cup, which he set aside. He motioned for Nolanel to stay seated and removed the tea tray. He laid it on a vanity and returned. “Would you empty your pockets and place everything on the table, please?” Josseloux tapped a hand against the white marble surface.

Nolanel noted the scars and rubbed his own gloved hands. He shifted and rubbed one ankle against the other. Without question or complaint, he gradually checked each pocket and pouch in his arming coat. He stopped a minute later.

Atop the table: a rosary, a pocket Enchiridion, a broken leaf, a string-drawn pouch of gil, and a piece of coal.

Josseloux chuckled at the collection and teased, “That’s all?”

Guilty, Nolanel admitted, “There’s a knife in my boot, Father. The left.”

“Leave it.” He took a sip of his tea. “Now, why do you think I ask you to do that?”

“I don’t know, Father.”

“Why did you do it? And why don’t you ask me to?”

“Because you told me to do so, and because I trust that you don’t have anything--” Nolanel’s throat closed-- “--dangerous on your person.”

“So you think I don’t trust you.”

Nolanel frowned, and like a child, asked to move on from the subject. Josseloux gave an imperceptible shrug, and with theatrical sluggishness, deposited the contents of is pockets on the table: a handkerchief, a tiny key, a rosary, and a bent quill. “What strikes you, Ser Feran?”

Nolanel pursed his lips and pointed at the key.

“Oh no, that’s a secret.”

Nolanel apologized.

Josseloux assured he was joking. “It unlocks a drawer in my desk. My son would call it ‘the key to my heart.�� He can be so uncreative.”

“I’m unsure of that. I would call it only ‘a key.’”

“That said, the purpose of creativity is not to tell the truth.” Josseloux laughed, then frowned, and left Nolanel puzzled and staring at the table.

Josseloux grabbed his things, tucked them away, and instructed Nolanel to do the same. “My point today is that every man has his secrets, and one should not think lesser of a man for them. I’ve revealed one to you, but kept the greater mystery locked up; and you will not inquire after it. It may be nothing at all. Your secret may not be physical or able to be carried, but you have one, and that is not a fault, and neither is it something you are obligated to share.” He stood. Having enough of Nolanel’s rueful stare, he offered his hand.

Nolanel hovered his fingertips over Josseloux’s fingers rather than touch the scars. Despite noticing, Josseloux made no acknowledgment; he only waited for Nolanel to sort himself enough to speak.

Nolanel did, partway to the exit. “Sins are not secrets, though.”

“No; they cannot be kept or hidden.” Josseloux snapped his finger, eliciting a flinch in the fleeing man. Nolanel stopped. Josseloux handed him a a trio of slim candles. “But you’ve forgotten why you’re here. These will work with your lantern. Leave it to Elliot to give a gift one must rely on him to use. Let’s not allow him to win.”

[ragingbookdragon]

Found family with the lanternfam? Four dudes and a kid? It can be angst it can be fluff.

FOUND FAMILY IS FOUR GUYS AND AN ALIEN CHILD WHO DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

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Hal knelt before the young child, eyes kind as he asked softly, “Hey kid, you think you can show me where my friends are?” he smiled. “I need to find them. It’s really important.”

They blinked their eyes, big and wide, then reached out and took his white gloved hand. “Bo naal zu’u,” they said and led him down a winding path, sheltered by vibrant and glowing flowers.

Their fingers were cold, much like their skin, a pale blue and had bioluminescent white and blue marks along their arms and legs; their body was clothed in leather garment, something he’d only seen cave people wearing in museums, adorned with thick black leather strips holding sharpened bones.

The night sky above them shone with billions of twinkling stars, only compared in beauty to the phosphorescent plants around them. Hal and the others had crashed landed on the planet after an anomaly was found; something in the atmosphere had siphoned the energy from their rings, causing them all to disperse as the static shock echoed outwards. Hal had ended up by some red lake and knowing it probably wasn’t water, decided to avoid it.

He’d wandered all day trying to find one of the other Corpsmen but to no avail; and he’d narrowly avoided being attacked by any wildlife in the thick and dense forest. He’d seen the kid watching him for a while and knowing that they probably had some idea of where Kyle, Guy, and John were, he decided to talk to them.

Surprisingly, they’d offered food and water, which he was wary to take, but too hungry and thirsty to care. Hal was glad he did because the taste made him feel like he was a dying man at a feast. Once he’d finished, he tried to speak to them, but they only cocked their head back and forth, white brows furrowing as he spoke, and yet, it seemed like they understood.

“Where are you leading me?” he whispered and they turned their head, gazing at him.

“Hofkiin,” they said, and Hal shook his head.

“I don’t understand what that means, kid.”

They frowned, looking at their feet. “Zu’u los drun hi wah dii hofkiin.” Shaking their head, they tugged his hand again. “Hin fahdon los til.”

Hal sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to understand them no matter what and resigned himself to being led around by a glowing blue alien speaking another language.

***

After an hour of walking, they came upon a cave and they kid stopped, pointing to it. “Hin fahdon los ko.”

Hal blinked, looking down at them. “Inside? Go inside?”

They nodded and he inhaled deeply, stilling himself as he pulled away the thick brush and crouched, crawling underneath. Immediately he was greeted by the warmth of a fire and someone yelling, “HAL!”

His eyes widened as he was bearhugged by Guy, the man’s shout awakening the two sleeping Green Lanterns under animal hides, who scrambled up and into the hug as well.

Hal was never so glad to see all his friends more than that moment and he looked behind him at the small alien child crawling inside. “Thank you.”

They smiled and hurried over, climbing up the back of his legs and torso to wrap their arms around everyone’s heads. “Mu los brod!” they shouted cheerfully, and Hal cracked a grin, looking at the guys.

“How’d you guys get here?” Hal asked as they pulled away.

John nodded at the alien sliding down Hal’s back, tugging Kyle over to a wall covered in drawings. “Kid found us all and brought us here one by one.”

“Can’t understand shit they’re saying though,” Guy remarked. “But it seems like they understand us.” His eyes went to Hal’s ring. “Have you got any juice left?”

Hal’s fingers twitched and he frowned. “No. Do you guys—”

“Holy crap!”

They all spun at Kyle’s exclamation, eyes widening when he picked up a Power Battery keyed into their rings.

“Is that a—”

Kyle looked at John. “A power battery? Uh, yeah it is.” He glanced at the alien. “Where’d you get this?”

The child blinked, then reached into its satchel, digging around for a moment before pulling something out and holding it to him. “Bormah lost nii aan lingrah bok vod.” They slipped the ring onto their finger and to everyone’s amazement, a green suit flowed over their leather dressed body. “Rok ofun nii wah zu’u.”

Everyone stood in shock and Hal breathed, “Oh my God, they’re a Green Lantern.”

***

With their rings charged, they were ready to depart the planet and give their reports once they got back to Oa, but it all seemed heavy for the young one as they gripped Kyle’s leg and refused to let go, only shouting, “Mu los brod! Hi nis bo nol zu’u!”

Kyle looked at them for support, then bent down and patted their head. “Kid, we have to leave.”

They stared at him with teary eyes, taking his hand and showing him the ring before flashing their own. “Mu los brod!”

“The ring?” he asked, and they nodded, then gestured between them. “You and me? Us?” they nodded then pointed at Hal and the other two, then back to themselves. “All of us?”

“Mu los brod,” they said, gesturing in a circle between them, then clasping their hands together. “Brod.”

“Brothers?” Guy called out and they shook their head.

John frowned. “Maybe they mean the Corps? The Green Lanterns Corps? All of us belong to it?”

Another shake of their head and they did the gesturing again. “Mu los brod. Brod.”

Then it clicked and Hal said, “Family.”

The kid’s eyes went wide, and they pointed at him, shouting, “Geh! Geh! Mu los brod!”

“We’re family,” Hal repeated, then glanced at his ring. “That’s why they don’t want us to leave. We’re family through the rings.”

Kyle’s brows furrowed. “Well, what are we supposed to do? We can’t take them with us. This is their home. What about their family?”

The child shook their head. “Dii brod lost oblaan.” They thumbed the ring. “Zu’u bon aal hi.” Their green suit flashed to life, and they took Kyle’s hand, then took Hal’s and rose into the sky, the other two Green Lanterns hurrying to fly with them.

“Wait, are you coming with us?” Guy yelled and the kid nodded.

“Geh.”

Hal huffed a laugh. “I think that means yes, Guy.” He glanced at the others. “I guess we’ve got a kid now.”

“I’m not ready to be a parent though!” Kyle yelped and looked up at the kid. "I gotta be like your older brother! I'm not old enough to be a dad!"

The kid and the other guys merely laughed at Kyle's splutters.