godswritingfreak

[godswritingfreak]

Down in the Dirt

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Characters: Jennifer Holden, Katarina Kulo

Don’t forget, all my writing is now also posted on Ao3! It’s still a work in progress to upload everything without spamming the tag, so keep an eye on it, older work should appear eventually!

“Ah, Jennifer, there you are!”

The Elezen smiled as she walked through the small crowd occupying the Quicksand. “Momodi, it’s good to see you again! How’s business been?”

The Lalafell spread her arms towards the crowd. “Well, as always. And as happy as I am to see you again, I do have to apologize for pulling you all the way over here, but I honestly could think of few more qualified for the mission that came in.”

Jen waved her hand dismissively. “Not to worry, Momodi, I’m happy to be considered! Now what exactly is this job I’m to take? It’s not often I’m sent such a cryptic message!”

Momodi shrugged and crossed her arms. “I was just given the requirements for whoever was hired, I don’t know anything about the job itself. You’d have to talk to the one who requested the mission for that.”

Jen frowned and placed a finger along her cheek, spending a moment in thought. This mission was suddenly raising some concerns, though if they were submitting an official request through the Adventurer’s Guild, it had to be of at least some interest. And what exactly made herself among the most qualified of adventurers to look into it?

“Well, alright then, where can I find the client?” She asked, succumbing to curiosity.

Momodi opened her mouth to respond, but stopped and looked past Jen, who turned to find a hooded figure pull back their hood just enough to make out the features of a young woman. “That would be me, and I’d prefer if we could talk in private.”

Concerns indeed, Jen thought, as she glanced back at Momodi, who shrugged again, but hopped down from her position behind the counter, and waved them both into a back room. Jen offered a gesture that she would follow after the robed woman, and she took the lead.

The trio filed into the back room and Jen closed the door behind them, turning back in time to see the woman shed her robe entirely. Jen was now able to see that the woman wore a fairly upper-class style of dress, though one hardy enough for travel, and certainly Ul’dahn in style. She was tall, for a Midlander, though Jen had to guess she had Highlander blood in her. Her skin was darker than hers by a number of degrees, and her dark red hair had tints of a deep green at the ends. She had bright green eyes, and a dark green mark on her left cheek, an old tribal marking perhaps, or a simplified family crest? Maybe both, but she wasn’t about to ask, she had another question on her mind.

“Alright, so what’s the mission?” Jen asked, crossing her arms.

The woman smiled. “Straight to the point, though I suppose it makes sense considering the secrecy you’ve encountered thus far. Not to worry though, the secrecy is meant to assist you, I don’t want stray ears overhearing and taking it upon themselves to do our mission for us.”

“Our? Us?” Jen questioned.

The woman nodded. “I’ll be accompanying you,” the woman raised a hand before Jen could protest. “And before you say otherwise, allow me to explain in full.”

Jen closed her mouth and nodded.

“Thank you. I am Katarina Kulo, I’m sure you’ve heard the name?”

Jen nodded again. “Not exactly one of the most powerful houses among Ul’dah, but still notable enough, especially considering it’s a Hyuran family, not Lalafellin. You work closely with the Order of Nald’Thal as well, yes?”

Katarina nodded, smiling. “Correct. And it is in this partnership that I am requesting your assistance. We’ve come to the knowledge of a new cave system on Vylbrand that seems related to the ancient city of Nym. Considering the recommendation Momodi gave you, I assume you’re at least somewhat familiar with that?”

“An ancient city-state that disappeared shortly after the Great Flood, pieces can still be found floating about La Noscea, but aside from the hints of architecture, those pieces hold little to no clues on what the civilization was like, its history, or its people. Some relics have been found and studied, but few have given up much more than the chunks of land that still float,” Jen confirmed.

Katarina glanced at Momodi. “I am ever grateful for your ability to pick out the right adventurer for the job at hand, Momodi.”

The Lalafell leaned back in a chair, not quite smug, but certainly proud.

“Again, correct. Recently, however, information from some tablets translated by a member of the Marauder’s Guild - yes, strange, I know - has begun to circulate, and interest in Nym and what relics it may hold, as well as the coin one might earn from these relics, has begun to rise. The Order of Nald’thal has joined this pursuit as well, discreetly, in an attempt to preserve this knowledge, as opposed to sell it for profit,” Katarina continued, leaving a pause. “Well, at least not on the black market.”

“Thus the secrecy around the mission and who was requesting it,” Jen guessed.

“Three for three,” Katarina confirmed. “Finally we reach the end of my explanation. To keep a low profile, the Order cannot simply send its own people in, it would draw far too much attention, especially to others in the Syndicate. Instead, they asked my family for assistance, but as we have few historians or other such people interested in ancient civilizations, and considering it would be something of a small team, indeed it shall be only us two, I decided an adventurer may be worth hiring. In this case, someone adaptable, knowledgeable, and honest. A rare set of traits to be sure, but I had faith Momodi could find someone. And here you are. So, my dear adventurer, are you up to the task?”

Jen sat on this information for a moment. She had certainly done some research into Nym at the Arcanist’s Guild, it was one of Vylbrand’s largest mysteries, very similar to the Gelmorran ruins scattered about the Shroud, something she had also spent time researching. The chance to explore previously unfound ruins of the ancient civilization would be a rare chance indeed. Not to mention she was extremely curious about those tablets the Marauder’s Guild had translated. Perhaps she would get to meet this scholarly warrior, and learn whatever knowledge they had gleaned.

“Alright, I’m in!” Jen said brightly, her dour and serious mood up to this point completely evaporating. “When do we leave?”

Katarina chuckled. “Excellent. And soon, I have a few more things to prepare, now that I have secured your employment. I’d say early tomorrow morning, we can take a ship to Vylbrand and hike over to the ruins. Oh, and one question for me, actually.”

“Go ahead.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jennifer Holden,” Jen answered.

Katarina’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Holden? As in the high ranking members of both the Speakers and Gods’ Quiver? As in the primal slayer that works with our very own Immortal Flames?”

“That’s cor-” Jen paused and did a double take. “I-I’m sorry, primal slayer?”

“You haven’t heard?” Katarina asked. “A number of adventurers were captured by the Amalj’aa - assisted by traitors, sadly - and taken before their summoned god, Ifrit. None walk away from a primal’s tempering with their minds intact, however these adventurers resisted the effects, slew the primal, and walked away with hardly a singed hair. One Logan Holden was among them, is he not related to you?”

Jennifer stared at the other woman in shock. “L-Logan? My little cousin, was here, in Thanalan, as an adventurer, captured by Amalj’aa, and slew a primal god!?”

“I’ll take it you didn't know then. Yes, he’s made quite a name for himself in recent days, wouldn’t you say, Momodi?”

The Lalafell nodded. “Very much so. He seemed a bit on the wishy-washy side when he first arrived, but he’s grown into quite the adventurer since then!”

“Well, this day just keeps getting more and more interesting…” Jen muttered to herself. “Sorry for the interruption, but yes, shall I meet you at Vesper Bay tomorrow morning then?”

Katarina nodded. “Yes, I will see you there tomorrow.”

“This is it,” Katarina introduced, showing Jen the small hole in the cliff wall.

Jen stared at the hole in disbelief. “How are we even going to fit in there? How was this even found?” She looked over at Katarina. “And how do you know what you say is in there is even actually in there?”

Katarina shrugged and stepped up to the hole. “I’ve already been inside. A member of Order was the one who found it though, quite by accident. It’s another story entirely, help me move these please?”

It was then that Jen realized the entry of the hole was being obscured by boulders that had been lashed to the entrance, by conjury, she guessed, though it could’ve been done by hand as well. A few moments later, the boulders had been pulled aside, the upper ones still hanging by some thick vines, ready to be pushed back into place should it be necessary to hide the hole once again.

“Let’s head inside, shall we?” Katarina asked, lifting a staff from its holster on her back, and causing the tip to glow.

“After you,” Jen offered, following the other inside the cave.

She also pulled a small branch wand from her pack, and lit it as well.She may not have overly much skill in conjury, but she’d learned a thing or two, and she always kept a small wand on hand for when such skills came in handy.

“So you’re an archer, conjurer, and arcanist?” Katarina asked as she led the pair down the tunnel. “I noticed your bow and tome, but the wand makes three. I can guess where a couple of those came from, but I’d rather hear your account.”

“I was put through training for both archery and conjury as a child,” Jen explained. “The conjury didn’t really stick with me, but I learned enough practical uses that it pays to have a conduit on hand. Archery ended up being more my style, though to answer your next question, I didn’t believe the God’s Quiver was the right place for me, I wanted to help Eorzea, not just the Twelveswood.”

“And the tome?”

“Came across the arcanists shortly after becoming an adventurer, and the books on history and mysteries of the world caught my eye,” Jen noticed the tunnel was beginning to split into branching paths, but Katarina seemed to have no difficulty picking their path. “After they noticed I kept coming back, they asked me to try joining, I ran through their tests, and seemed to pass with flying colours. Just something I decided to stick with since then, I suppose. It’s certainly an interesting discipline, far more so than conjury. How do you know where we’re going?”

Katarina stepped into another branching path and lifted her staff to the roof of the cave, and a marking began to glow. “When I came in earlier, I marked each path with a small bit of magic using my own aether. It’s completely invisible otherwise, but when my magic comes near it, it reacts and lights up. A little trick I picked up a couple years ago.”

Sure enough, as Katarina moved past it, and Jen lifted her own wand to the spot the glowing rune had appeared, there was nothing to be seen. Maybe she could learn the same trick, it would certainly make marking paths through ruins easier, and no one could come and steal her finds either.

They walked in relative silence the rest of the way through the tunnels, and thankfully it didn’t take long for them to open up into a slightly larger cavern.

“In case your sense of direction has gotten turned around in the tunnels,” Katarina began, lifting her staff to brighten the room. “This is almost directly below the remaining floating pieces of Nym, more or less. Looks like whatever used to stand here, or float here, was thoroughly buried after the Great Flood and, more than likely, the Calamity as well. Or, perhaps we can thank the latter for granting us access to the area. Regardless, here’s our newly discovered ruin of Nym, for your intellectual consumption.”

Jen looked around astonished. She wasn’t entirely sure what kind of building it was, or if it was multiple buildings that had fallen into each other. The structure wasn’t exactly intact, but she could tell where at least one building had once stood. The cave was only maybe twice her height, but wide enough that she could possibly envision that the tunnel had lead them straight down a city street, with a building on each side. The cave was larger on the left side, and more of the building’s foundation could be seen there. Moving closer, and stepping around chunks of rubble, she found one of the pillars near the street-facing side had writing in it.

“What’s it say?” Katarina asked, leaning in next to Jen to look at the writing.

“I’m not sure, I looked over some of the Nymian language from what information we had at the Arcanist’s Guild, but I never dedicated overly much time to it, nor was much information present. I do have some notes though…”

Jen put her wand between her teeth, and began to dig through her pack, pulling out a well worn notebook. She began to flip through its pages, and stopped when she found a page with similar writing as that on the pillar.

“Here,” she said through her wand-filled mouth, before pulling it out and sticking it under her armpit instead. “This is similar, though not exact. Something translated, meaning something like… health? Or healing?”

“Interesting,” Katarina mused, glancing at the notes, the writing on the pillar, then the building at large. “Maybe a medical facility? Did they use White Magic in Nym?”

“No, I don’t think so…” Jen said absently, flipping through a few more of her notes. “It certainly could be a place of medicine though, the Nymians did have a notable mind for military tactics, I can only assume they’d have the ability to heal their soldiers as well.”

“Well, let’s see if we can’t get inside then, shall we?” Katarina offered.

Between the two of them, they managed to find some rubble they could reasonably move and, with a bit of noise and a lot of dust kicked up, stepped inside the crumbled building. Things weren’t much better inside. Many areas were just filled with rubble, and what was left was almost completely destroyed by the passage of time. Flakes of rusted metal could be found, or fossilized wood.

“Well, with all this, the general layout of the room… considering what’s left…” Jen ran her hand along a large rock up against what must’ve been one wall of the room, and found it was more likely to be a fossilized shelving unit. “This was definitely a medical centre of some sort.”

“Fascinating…” Katarina breathed, taking in the sights. “But what can we find. Something we can secure, take back with us?”

Jen shrugged. “I… I dunno, I guess we can start looking around?”

“Let’s get to work then!”

Again the pair went to their tasks, scouring the rubble filled ruins, shoving boulders and broken pieces of stone to uncover new areas. Finally, Katarina pushed away a large piece of stone, possibly from the ceiling, and with a grunt, called out to Jen.

“Jennifer! Over here!”

Quickly abandoning her own fruitless search, Jen went to see what her companion had uncovered. “What is it?”

Katarina pulled her head up from where the stone had been, and held up a small clump of rocks. “It looks like… a mineral perhaps? I’ve not seen a natural gem that looks quite like this before however, and trust me when I say I’ve seen many, real and fake.”

Jen didn’t argue, instead picking up the clump of stone and inspecting it closely. Much of the outer layer was the same rock that the tunnel and earth itself was made up of, but the part that had caught Katarina’s eye was instead the brilliant blue gem inside this outer layer. As she looked at it, Jen swore it seemed to shimmer, almost glow.

“Did you see that?” Jen asked.

Katarina lifted her eyes from the rocks. “See what?”

Jen shook her head, still staring at the rocks. “Nothing… But I think I can get it out.”

She put the rock down on the floor and took another small nearby rock and began chipping at the outer layer.

“Be careful, we don’t want to damage it!” Katarina insisted. “This could be the exact valuable object we were looking for!”

“I am…” Jen assured, absentmindedly, still chipping at the rocks. “Just a little more…”

Suddenly the outer layer cracked and shattered, crumbling away, and revealing not just a gem, but instead a glowing, shaped stone, with a symbol etched into the stone.

“That… is that… Is that a Soul Stone…?” Katarina said in almost a whisper.

Jen nodded silently, and used her thumb to brush more dust away, and as soon as she touched it, it glowed brightly. The rest of the dirt and rock simply dropped away, and Jen closed her eyes as the light began to blind her. When she opened her eyes, a small aetherical figure fluttered before her eyes.

“What…?” Jen asked, confused.

[Greetings]

The sound echoed in Jen’s head and she jerked backwards, falling onto her rear and hands.

“What, did something happen?” Katarina asked, jumping to Jen’s side.

“It… It spoke? I think?” Jen said, staring at the floating aetherial figure. “Sort of, anyway, at least, I heard it.”

[You are my new master, the one who summoned me, finally a new Scholar!]

“Scholar…?” Jen questioned.

“Is it still talking to you?” Katarina asked, softly but insistent.

Jen nodded. “Yeah gimmie a sec,” she answered before turning her attention back to the figure. “What do you mean, a Scholar? What are you?”

[I am a fairy, summoned and bound to the Soul Stone you now hold. I am yours to command. I see Nym has been gone for some time… You must require much assistance in learning how to use my magics correctly. This will take some work.]

Jen’s eyes narrowed. “I think it’s being sassy at me. But it’s agreeing to help? I think it’s bonded with me already…”

[Quite. You at least know the basics of arcanima if that tome is anything to go by, it shouldn’t be hopeless.]

“Well, it wasn’t quite what we were hoping, but at least it’s something,” Katarina said with a shrug. “Let’s see what else we can find here.”

[I can assist. I know where important documents were stored, potential information. If it’s not completely caved in, it should be salvageable.]

With the fairy’s help, Jen and Katarina managed to find a few choice pieces of information, get them safely placed in their packs, and decided that this was a good time to pack it up and head back out. The fairy disappeared as they began to head out, with a comment about watching from within the stone.

“I think we’ve got the biggest, most important pieces. With this I think we can officially secure the location with the Order’s help, and excavate what else might lie within. At least we won’t be at the mercy of any treasure hunters finding the easiest pieces,” Katarina said as they exited the tunnel entrance. “Help me put these back into place?”

The pair quickly resecured the boulders to make the tunnel entrance look like a tiny hole once again, to keep it safe until the Order could come take ownership of the area. Once it was done, Katarina turned back to Jen.

“Thank you for the help, Jennifer. You’ll get your payment when we return to Ul’dah, but something tells me you’ve got something far more valuable than some coin,” she said, pointing to the Soul Stone still in Jen’s hand.

She held it up. “Wait, I can keep it?”

“Well, you found it, and the fairy began to communicate with you, and you do have the skills to use it, according to what you said. So why not? I think you’ve proven trustworthy enough so far. In fact, I might ask for your assistance in the future with such matters.”

Jen smiled and clutched the stone in her hand. “I think that sounds great. Thank you, Katarina.”

Katarina smiled back. “Please, call me Kat. I look forward to working with you.

[godswritingfreak]

Beneath the Sultantree

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Characters: Logan Holden, Cherise Holden, Thancred, Nanamo Ul Namo Reminder that everything I post from now on will also live on AO3! You can find a link to this story here!

“What kind of noble could this Lilira be to get this many people out looking for her?” Cherise wondered out loud as soon as they were out of earshot of Papashan.

Logan glanced over his shoulder to double check the aging Lalafell couldn't, in fact, hear them, before replying. “No idea. I think he's still hiding something, but I don't think it's anything bad…”

“Yeah, I got the same feeling. What's the Sultantree anyway?”

Logan shrugged. “No idea. Haven't heard of it until now. But I'm guessing it's that one.”

He pointed ahead, to the south, and there was a singular, tall tree jutting out from a rocky area a ways away. Few trees were as noticeable across Thanalan’s deserts, so the guess was good enough for Cherise, and the twins headed off.

“So, still not talking about your jail time with the stranger you ran into?” Logan asked, making conversation as they walked.

“She ran into me, and no, because it's not worth talking about,” she all but spat back. Still sour about it apparently. “What about you and this Miqo’te that keeps dragging you off? What's that about?”

The look Cherise gave him made him blush slightly. “N-Nothing! Not that! She just. I dunno. Likes dragging me around? I don't mind I guess, helps me get used to the area, and she seems to know it better than I do…”

“Uh huh,” Cherise replied flatly. “Just be careful okay? I don't trust her…”

“I have my linkpearl, and you don't trust anyone.”

“Linkpearls are not infallible, and it seems like a safe assumption from what I can tell from this place.”

“Plus you might get overnight jail time if you trust the wrong person?”

“No, I'm just wary of young, attractive, female Miqo’te in a place like this around my doe-eyed little-”

“-I was born first!-”

“-brother!”

“So what, you think she's a-”

“Shh!” Cherise cut her brother's words off suddenly.

Logan blinked in surprise and a quick glance at his sister made it obvious she was listening intently. He paused to listen himself and heard what she must've heard. A muttering to one's self, not far, and the Sultantree was very close now. The twins shared glances, and then took off for the tree.

“Seriously though I'm taller too, what makes me little?”

“Your maturity level.”

He stuck his tongue out at her, and Cherise just raised an eyebrow in return. Logan put his tongue back in his mouth.

They rounded the pile of rocks surrounding the Sultantree and found a pink-clad Lalafell dressed in what looked more like commoner clothing than something befitting a noble. Logan wondered if that wasn't the point. The Lalafell stood at the sound of their approaching footsteps, and turned to look at them.

“Show yourself!” She shouted suddenly.

Logan jumped, realizing that she wasn't looking at them, but past them. He turned to look behind him and saw a tall, white-haired man he hadn't noticed before. Cherise seemed unsurprised at his appearance, and Logan noticed her hands were by the knuckles on her hips.

“As you command, O Lilira,” the man said easily, sauntering forward, ignoring the twins. “Forgive my selfish desire to assure your safety.”

Lilira glared at him. “I don't recall requesting an escort! Simply pretend we never met and continue on your way!”

Logan leaned over to his sister. “So… they’re okay then?” He whispered.

Cherise shrugged but relaxed. “I guess.”

He shook his head. “We both know I can do no such thing. It isn't safe for you here alone,” he pleaded. “It isn't safe for anyone - not with this aetheric disturbance… it's as if the dead are watching us…”

Logan suddenly shivered. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it now, or actually feeling what the man was describing. He glanced over and saw Cherise’s eyes darting around as if looking for a threat. So it wasn’t just him, then.

“And I'd prefer not to join them. If it's all the same to you,” the man continued, going from serious to sarcastic in record time.

Finally the man turned to the twins. “And you two must be the ones Papashan mentioned. Congratulations on finding our elusive young charge.”

Finally getting a good look at him, Logan saw that he had two very standout features, aside from his white hair. First was a tattoo on his neck, a symbol of some sort he didn't recognize. The second was a strange device, almost like large goggles, that was attached to a forearm. Logan got the sense that he was the kind of person who always knew more about a situation than he let on, and it bugged him. It was always something Logan was bad at, and something Cherise was good at. At least he trusted Cherise.

“You'll have to forgive Her Impetuousness. What she lacks in discipline she makes up for in stubbornness,” he apologized, before continuing with an offer. “You should return with us. The stationmaster will be eager to thank Lady Lilira’s protector in person.”

Logan was sure he heard Cherise scoff under her breath, and wondered now if they had, indeed, found her, or if this man had been shadowing her all along.

Still, Logan opened his mouth to reply in the positive when a sudden, horrible screech rebounded among the rocks. All four of them looked up, and Logan’s eyes widened when he saw a dark, bat-winged creature flying above them. It had long, spindly arms and legs, but only a pair of claws at the end of each limb. It’s face was beaked, had two ugly jutting horns on its head, and eyes that glowed a sickly gold. It swooped around from behind the rocks, coming to a hover just outside the tiny valley, and shrieked a challenge at the group once more.

In a flash, Cherise had her knuckles out and was immediately in a combat-ready stance. Logan did his best but ended up fumbling with his buckler, but eventually got it off his back and his sword out of its sheathe. The man, however, calmly stood forward, standing between the creature and Lilira.

“Alas, the stationmaster will have to wait,” his voice was as calm as his stature, despite the horrific creature in front of them. “Dear Lilira, for my sake, please stay out of harm’s way.”

She nodded, and quickly retreated to the back of the valley, hunkering down by the Sultantree.

Next, the man stepped forward to be next to Logan and Cherise. “As for you, dear friends - for Lilira’s sake - please stay in harm’s way!”

Both twins rolled their eyes as he dashed forward, meeting another screech from the monster - whatever it was - with a drawn blade. He engaged the monster in battle, deflecting a claw before swiping at it with his sword.

He jumped away from the next swipe and looked at the twins over his shoulder. “Well, come on! Let’s attend to our uninvited guest!’

Logan glanced at Cherise, who nodded to him, then the pair took off after the monster. Cherise went all the way around to make strikes from behind, the monster clawing and beating its wings at her, but she dodged around them. Logan took up a flanking position, warding off swipes directed at him as well. The mysterious man, however, occupied most of the monster’s attention, as he seemed the most experienced of the three. He practically danced around the unfamiliar beast, and Logan quickly realized the man must’ve been an accomplished fighter of some sort.

Certainly unlike himself. He felt his arms going weak from the effort of blocking the batting wings, as well as the fright in fighting something that looked like a living twisted nightmare. What glances he could spare showed Cherise having seemingly no problem pummeling it, but Logan felt his knees shake, feeling like he may fall over at any moment.

“Oh great, it brought friends!”

The call from the stranger had Logan jerking his head around, and he saw two, smaller versions of the monster swoop out from behind a nearby tree. Logan’s distraction cost him, as the monster’s wing buffeted him, sending him flying through the air and rolling through the craggy dirt.

“Stay close if you want me to heal you!”

“Yeah thanks I’ll just…” Logan muttered to himself, devolving into wordless grumbles as he got back to his feet.

Cherise had disengaged from the larger monster, and was working on one of the smaller ones by the time Logan was standing and moving back to the fray. She was having more issues with these, as they were smaller and faster, and not distracted by the white-haired man. Their claws raked at her shoulders, back and hair. Logan suddenly put on speed, charging with a shout as he batted one of the monsters away with his shield. With the opening, Cherise quickly one-two punched the other, giving both the twins some breathing room. They squared up next to each other, each one taking a smaller beast. Logan moved in first, slicing at one, but hitting it only with the side of his blade. Cherise swung a punch at the other, missing, but following up with a second that impacted it right on the side of the head. It spun away, still hovering but dazed. As she charged after it, Logan swiped again at his, this time the blade slicing across it. It cried out in pain and fell to the ground, where it began melting away to nothing.

Logan looked up from it with disgust to see Cherise backhanding her monster out of the air as well. It hit a rock nearby and simply splattered across it before melting away similarly. Logan was starting to feel a little sick, both from the heat of the desert, the sight of splattering monsters, and the fear that continued to eat and twist in his stomach. His knees felt weak, and his arms numb, and it had arguably been only a minute or two. While training had been rough, and while Logan had battled against many pests and beasts surrounding Ul’dah, this was the first time he’d faced true life or death combat. As that realization settled on him, he suddenly felt like he might really throw up.

“You okay?” Cherise asked, placing her hand on his back just a little more forceful than necessary.

Logan shook his head. “I-I don’t know, we could… this is…” He swallowed.

Cherise frowned at him. “Look, I know this isn’t exactly your thing, I know you want to just go home, but if we don’t do this, people will get hurt,” he followed her gaze to the man, still fighting the original creature, and to Lilira, still hiding behind the rocks. “If you don’t want to hurt them then don’t, just give me an opening, keep me safe and I’ll do the rest!”

Logan nodded. “Yeah, okay, that works, I-I can do that.”

“Good, because here comes more!”

Sure enough another pair of the voidsent creatures swooped down. Logan took a deep settling breath, and let his sister’s words sink into place of their life or death situation. He forced himself to remember the training he’d been given, and how to use that in conjunction with others. When he let the breath out, he felt steady, ready.

Cherise was already moving, engaging the voidsent. Logan charged after her, then past her, taking a swing at one of the voidsent, then spinning and throwing out his shield arm to try and bash the other. Both attacks missed, but they got the attention of the voidsent. Cherise immediately pounded on their exposed flanks, and one of the monsters wobbled off a little, dazed. Logan took another swing at the remaining engaged monster, but his blade was batted aside. Cherise came in again, and so Logan spun off the momentum of his deflected blade, stepped off to the side, and swung again. This kept his sister in the voidsent’s blind spot, so he never saw the flurry of blows coming. When it felt them, it spun to rake at the offender, but Logan stabbed it in the back, a sharp, unnatural cry of pain coming from its mouth, before it dropped to the ground and began to dissolve. The remaining beast saw its fallen comrade and shrieked, a piercing cry that made both twins wince. It charged Logan, but it never even made it close. Cherise leapt into the air and, with a spin, kicked it square in the head. A loud crack followed the impact, and the monster was half gone by the time it hit the ground.

No further reinforcements seemed incoming, so, after a brief glance and reassurance towards each other, Logan and Cherise turned back to the larger beast. The white-haired man seemed relieved that the beast was now once more distracted, and the three of them began an all out attack. The man lead the charge, moving in and slashing away, distracting it so Cherise could strike heavy blows, and by the time it turned to face her, Logan was in her place, sword and shield deflecting its counter attacks. Finally the man found an opening, and, moving faster than even Cherise, darted in and sunk his sword deep into the chest of the monster.

The voidsent gurgled, fell to the ground, and just like the others, slowly melted away.

“Good show!” The man exclaimed, sheathing his blade. “I must say, I wasn’t quite expecting all that much from either of you, but I am impressed. Not many can stare down voidsent like that and simply walk away. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a noble to check in on...”

He turned from the twins and walked back towards the Sultantree, and Lilira. Cherise looked after him and shrugged at Logan before following. Logan took a look back at the still dissipating stain of the voidsent, but just before turning to follow the others, a sparkle caught his eye. On the ground between him and the voidsent was a pure blue crystal. He hadn’t noticed it before, and wondered where it had come from. From the voidsent itself maybe? What little he knew of magic told him it may have been a focus for summoning the beast, an energy source or something. He walked over to it and bent to pick it up, intending to show it to Cherise and the stranger, maybe they could tell more about what it was. As soon as his fingers brushed the crystal however, his vision went white.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself floating in nothingness, similar to the visions he’d had back home. But this time a bright magical circle appeared around him, glyphs and designs all floating under his feet for a few yalms in every direction, perfectly symmetrical. In the middle portion of the ring, six circles stood completely empty. Floating between his hands in front of him was the crystal. It began to glow, as did one of the circles, then suddenly both the circle and the crystal flashed. Logan’s sight went white again, and once more the words from his visions echoed in his mind.

“Hear… Feel… Think…”

Blackness surrounded him, not even the light aetherical currents to help him orient himself in this world. He looked around but saw nothing. Then a sudden roar of noise above him. He looked up and saw roiling storm clouds, grey, but glowing every brighter orange and yellow as it reached the center of the storm. Streaks of flame spat forth, shooting past him, but they illuminated nothing but himself. Again, his vision went white.

Again, he reopened his eyes and found once more the aetherical currents in the void, joined by what looked like stars. But instead of standing on a surface of nothingness, Logan found himself floating freely, as though flying. Not only that, but he seemed to be glowing!

“Crystal bearer…”

It was the same voice as before, but this time seemed to be actually speaking to him, instead of just echoing the same words as before. Ahead of him was a very large crystal, as large as he but much more jagged and random than the smooth clean cut crystal he’d found on the ground. It began to float towards him, and, as soon as Logan thought about moving towards it in return, found he was already floating to meet it.

“I am Hydaelyn. All made one.”

The voice this time did not echo through Logan’s mind, but from the crystal itself. He said nothing, unsure of how to handle the situation, though he found it curious the crystal named itself after the very world he lived on.

“A Light there once was that shone throughout this realm… yet it hath since grown dim. And as it hath faltered, so hath Darkness risen up in its stead, presaging an end to life. For the sake of all, I beseech thee: deliver us from this fate! The power to banish the Darkness dwelleth in the Crystals of Light. Journey forth and lay claim to them.”

At this point more crystals had begun to appear, similar in cut though varying in shape and size. They began to float around Logan, and as he watched them spin, he looked back forward and suddenly a crystal larger than any building he had ever seen in Limsa Lominsa or Ul’dah had appeared before him. The smaller crystals were now spinning around it, and Logan found himself completely entranced by the sight.

“By thy deeds shall the Crystals reveal themselves to thee. Only believe, for the Light liveth in thy heart.”

A sense pulled Logan’s sight away from the crystal, and to his side, in the distance, he saw another figure, also glowing, making it hard to make them out clearly. A woman, maybe? A man, though what race he could not tell, suddenly flew right past him, also aglow. They were like shooting stars, visible for but the briefest of moments before disappearing in the distance. He felt an urge to join them, to help with whatever it was they were so intent on. And so he did, his glow burning brighter and he found himself shooting off to join the other stars as they began to surround the crystal. A sun appeared bright and warm above the crystal, and it drew Logan in.

“Go now, my child, and shine thy Light on all creation.”

Yes, that was what he wanted to do, what felt right. He continued towards the light, and one more time, his vision went white.

“Logan!” Cherise called out, though she sounded so distant. “Logan, wake up!” That sounded yet closer. “Don’t make me hit you!”

That sounded as though she were screaming in his ear. Logan’s eyes snapped open and he took a deep breath. “W-What? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong!? You just passed out on the ground! What in the hells do you think is wrong!?” Cherise scolded, fingers digging into his shoulders.

“Ow! Let go, help me up!” Logan complained, realizing that yes, indeed, he was flat on the ground.

Cherise scowled but stood up, extending a hand for her brother to help him up. He took it and got back to his feet, brushing the dust off his pants.

“Ah, coming around now?” The man from before commented, glancing over at the twins.

Logan blinked, feeling confused. How long had he been out? It can’t have been long, everyone was about right where he’d left them, the sun was still shining. Strange. Whatever that… vision had been had felt like hours.

“Would you mind telling me what that was!?” Lilira suddenly demanded of the man.

“If I only knew! A voidsent, but as for what kind, exactly, I know not,” he answered calmly.

Lilira seemed quite disturbed by this news and shook her head. “A voidsent? Here? But how?”

The man seemed equally disturbed, and Logan wondered what they were all thinking. “The question isn’t ‘how’, but ‘who’. We’re not dealing with bookless bandits.” The man glanced over at Logan. “I don’t suppose the answer came to you in a dream?”

It sounded like a joke, but Logan was tempted to answer with what he saw. But maybe that was best saved for when there weren’t a pair of complete strangers nearby.

“You passed out on the spot just a moment ago, too much aether, no doubt,” he continued with a shrug, moving on from his attempted joke.

Logan hesitated for just a moment, but then produced the crystal he’d found. “What about this?” He asked.

The man put a hand to his chin. “Interesting… I hadn’t considered a crystal…” The man paused then suddenly exclaimed. “But of course! This changes everything!”

Logan, Cherise and Lilira were all silent and staring at the man until he snapped out of his reverie, and noticed them all. “Oh, just thinking aloud! At any rate, we haven’t a moment to spare. I must return and report this at once. I leave Lady Lilira in your capable hands.” Lilira scoffed. “How dare you pass me about like a swaddled babe! I shall return and tell them myself!”

And with that Lilira stormed off, leaving the other three behind.

“As you wish, Your Impetuousness!” The man called after her with a shrug, before turning back to the twins. “I suspect we shall meet again before long. Until then, do try and stay awake!”

With a wave, the man also took his leave of the twins, finally leaving them alone. Logan looked over at Cherise, who was still scowling.

“Keep making that face, it might stay that way,” Logan said flatly.

He got a punch to the shoulder for his trouble. “Shut up, I was worried. What happened to you anyway?”

Logan took a moment to recall the vision, it was still very fresh in his mind, not dwindling like a dream, more like a memory. He told Cherise about what he’d seen, but she just sighed and shook her head.

“I don’t know, I think maybe you hit your head,” she said.

“But we just fought a voidsent!” Logan insisted. “Something’s going on, Cherise. Something big. The visions from before led us here, and this was the same sort of thing, isn’t this exactly what we came here to find? More clues to whatever those visions were? This is it!”

Cherise shrugged. “And did it tell you what to do next?”

“Well…” Logan tried to find an argument. “No, I guess not. But she did say that thing about deeds.”

“Great, so, our only hint is for you to keep… helping people?” Cherise asked. “You didn’t just make that up to have an excuse to keep helping that Miqo’te did you?”

Logan groaned loudly and started walking away. “Let’s just go find Papashan.”

He knew something was happening, something bad. But why was he the one being charged with stopping it? What was one man against such a darkness that the crystal - Hydaelyn - had described? What had he gotten himself into?

[godswritingfreak]

I am now officially on AO3! I’ve posted my two Mass Effect: Andromeda stories on there already, so if you want to give it a look, maybe subscribe or kudos or whatever it is you do on there (I’m still really new to it, it’ll take me a bit to figure out how it all works) that would be great!

My username there is KitsunesKnight and you can find my ME:A stories right here!

[godswritingfreak]

A Sliver of Hope

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV (AU) Characters: Makayla Holden, Aiko Slanda

Things were not okay. They hadn’t been okay for awhile, but hope at least had been possible. The Warriors of Light had still fought, had still managed to win the day. The Awoken Wanderers, even their oldest members, had done what they could, led by Logan, a Warrior of Light himself. But there were so many, and despite Logan’s power and skill, he could not block every blow. The worst of it had been, it was her fault. She’d stepped out of line, lost her place in the formation. She’d gotten flanked. She would’ve died. But as he’d always promised, as he’d always done in the past, her father’s shield had been there to protect her.

But this time it didn’t protect him, as well.

The shield had only blocked the first blow. It knocked his shield aside and the many others had been blocked by his body. She had focused on ridding those who had attacked them first, but after there was a moment to breathe, she found his was ragged. He’d died in her arms, something no child should ever have to go through. There was no one else there. Not her mother, not aunt Cherise or aunt Jen, all of them separated by the chaos of battle. He died with a smile on his face, knowing she was safe.

Makayla could no longer remember the last time she smiled. Things had been busy anyway, lots of reconstruction, relief efforts. Work to do. No one had taken it well. Her father had been a figurehead, a pillar of community, a leader. A friend, brother and husband. He was loved by so many. And now he was gone. But no one had taken it worse than her mother. Aiko had regularly disappeared in the days since that battle, and even when she was home, had locked herself away, never speaking to anyone, never acknowledging anyone’s - even Makayla’s - presence. It was only making things worse. Not that Makayla would’ve expected anything else. Her mother had always been selfish, had almost never been there for her. But there had been one tiny sliver of hope that her father’s death might bring them together, even just a little closer. But no, instead Aiko had simply decided to disappear.

She seemed to be collecting or gathering something, for research or something, though Makayla had no idea what. She didn’t dare try to disturb her, she knew too well the folly of crossing her mother, at least from what she’d seen happen to those who did, and she was even more emotionally unstable now. But despite everything, Makayla held onto that one sliver of hope, and did what she could for her mother, leaving her food, checking to see if she was asleep and needed moving to her bed, or blankets for warmth.

Then one day she didn’t come home.

Makayla didn’t think too much of it at first, but she very rarely didn’t come home at the end of the day. And never did she simply leave her door open. There was little thought of not entering the room that night, curiosity had been building anyway, and maybe she’d find a hint of where her mother had disappeared to. Rummaging through the papers, Makayla found exactly what she was looking for, and something far worse than she could’ve ever expected.

With only the briefest of messages left at the Free Company house about what was happening, she fled after her mother. She didn’t have time to wait, and neither did her mother. She had, indeed, been researching something. Something horrible, something Makayla would never have guessed at. Some hidden location, some forbidden, ancient magic. Something… powerful and dangerous. Something that, if Aiko found it, could erase her mind. Makayla’s chest tightened just thinking about it. She was grieving too, the loss of her father was the worst pain she had ever experienced, but the thought of losing her mother as well was even worse. She couldn’t imagine what her mother was feeling to take this course of action, but it couldn’t be this bad, it couldn’t. She had to stop her, she had to catch up and make her see reason, to make her realize she couldn’t just leave her daughter alone like this.

It was in a mountain range somewhere on Othard, some remote forest. Merely a legend, though Aiko had managed to find some corroborating evidence in some sorts of books Makayla had never seen the likes of before. Obviously it had been enough to make her travel here, once she had the location. Thankfully she had left it behind in her haste, so Makayla was easily able to follow. She even picked up her mother’s trail after a time, not too far ahead. Maybe she could stop this, maybe she could keep this fraction of her family together. Just maybe… things could be okay, eventually.

Makayla reached the forest not ten minutes after her mother, if her readings of her tracks were right. Her legs burned from the effort of the chase, her chest heaved with laboured breaths. She wasn’t far, just a little more. Makayla pushed forward, her cloak catching on stray branches, her feet nearly stumbling at every little rock and root. She just needed to find her. To stop her. To keep them together.

She came upon a clearing suddenly. An opening, where the setting sun didn’t quite reach, where the stars were already visible overhead to her left, but a soft orange and blue glow still touched the clouds on her right. And before her, the kneeling form of a purple and white haired Miqo’te, her mother.

“M...Mom…?” Makayla whispered, her voice raspy.

Aiko slowly looked up at her daughter. “What?”

“Mom, don’t do this! You can’t forget!” Makayla pleaded, running to her mother’s side, wrapping her arms around her. “I need you! You can’t leave me!”

Makayla’s eyes watered and she felt tears fall down her face. It hadn’t been too late, she’d found her, she was still here! She felt a hand on her back, rubbing it slowly.

“Forget what?” Aiko asked, confused.

Makayla sat up. “Everything! Forget about me, forget about-”

Makayla stopped. She had thought her mother had been surprised, and that maybe Makayla had been wrong about her intent, maybe she had come looking for something else. But now, looking into her mother’s golden eyes, Makayla suddenly realized she was too late. Her mother’s eyes were empty, her expression blank. Aiko did not recognize the young woman in front of her. She did not recognize her own daughter.

“I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong person…” Aiko said softly, as if not quite sure how to grasp the situation in front of her own eyes.

Makayla shook her head. “No…” She crawled backwards a little, horrified at the blank expression on her mother’s face. “No, you didn’t…”

“I-I’m sorry, what did I do? Where are we?” Aiko asked, finally looking around at her surroundings. “How did we get here?”

“No!” Makayla shouted. “You can’t! You can’t be gone too! I can’t- I can’t lose you both! NO!”

With a wail, Makayla collapsed fully to the ground and cried into the grass. She cried harder than she had ever cried before, knowing she was truly alone now. Her father was dead and her mother was gone. Why had they both left her? Why was she doomed now, to be alone forever?

Why had hope itself abandoned her?

[godswritingfreak]

Primal Instincts

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Characters: Logan Holden, Cherise Holden, Aiko Slanda, Akio Conley

“Try it again,” Cherise said.

Logan gripped his Lance, closed his eyes, and tried to find the power of the Eye flowing from his crystal. He tried to find that draconic power. He could see it, but whenever he tried to reach for it, it slid away. Like it was scared of him. Or maybe he was scared of it.

Logan inhaled sharply and his eyes snapped open. He looked at Cherise who shook her head.

“Nothing.”

He sighed and planted his lance on the ground with more force than necessary. “What am I doing wrong? I can see it, I know what I’m supposed to do, but it’s not working! The crystal even showed me!”

Beside his sister stood Akio, one of the Wanderers’ other Dragoons, one who had been at this longer than either of them. The three stood together in a training area for Ishgardian knights, graciously offered to them by Aymeric, as long as they followed the same rules and scheduled their time like every other training group.

The towering Au Ra turned Cherise aside for a moment, the two talking low enough that Logan couldn’t overhear much.

“…Only way…”

“No… to him…”

“Cherise…”

“…Don’t like…”

They paused, and Cherise sighed and turned back to Logan. “I’m going to ask you to do something you’re not going to like.”

Logan frowned. “What?”

She seemed pained to respond. “We think you need to tap into your connection with Bahamut. Whatever happened to you during the Calamity, and later when we found him in Dalamud’s ruins…”

“We think you have a connection stronger to him than Nidhogg’s eye,” Akio finished, as Cherise trailed off. “The crystal shows you only a connection to the Eye, but you might need something else. Try it.”

Logan looked from Akio to Cherise. His sister wouldn’t look at him. He had been a lot better around dragons since they’d faced Bahamut, that was true. He’d faced off against Nidhogg, and argued with Hraesvalgr, become a linchpin in the Dragonsong War. But he was still afraid. Maybe that was why he couldn’t reach the power. It wasn’t moving away from him, maybe he was moving away from it.

“Okay,” he said finally, taking a deep breath. “I’ll try it.”

Cherise finally looked up at him and they shared a glance. She didn’t really want him to, he didn’t have to. He assured her it was fine, he wanted to try, he wanted this to work. She relented. All in a glance. Having a twin sister had its perks sometimes.

He closed his eyes again, lance gripped tight and held at the ready. Once again he could see the power, but he largely ignored it. Instead he looked around for something else, for that fear he’d felt when he first laid eyes on Bahamut. He found it, circling above, as if waiting for him to notice. He reached for it, but it snapped at him, and Logan drew back. He could see it now though, he was the one retreating, not the power, he was scared, afraid of this primal essence and of letting it in. This was far more than facing a foe on the battlefield.

But… had he not determined to stop letting fear sway him from moving forward? No, he had to do this. Logan reached out again, and when Bahamut struck out at him, Logan found a spear in his hand and struck back. Bahamut melted into a glowing essence that overtook his spear, then his arm, then flowed over him completely.

Logan’s eyes snapped open. He could feel the new energy swirling around him, and he looked over at Cherise and Akio. Their eyes were wide, surprised.

“What?” Logan asked.

“You did it!” Akio said with a grin.

“I can’t believe that worked…” Cherise breathed. She then took a moment to compose herself and spoke louder. “Okay, now try to focus all that into a jump on a target. You should find that you can hit it much-”

Before she could even finish, Logan leapt into the air, then came flying back down, his spear ripping through the practice dummy on the other side of the training ground. He leapt back and landed smoothly, took a moment to ensure everything felt okay, then looked back at his dragoon mentors.

“Like that? That definitely felt stronger!” He said excitedly.

“Yes!” Akio exclaimed, and seemed overjoyed that Logan had managed to progress.

Cherise looked more unsure however. “Yeah, pretty much that. There’s more to it, but keep practicing that. The crystal will show you more when you’re ready for it. For now, go take a break.”

Logan blinked. A break? But he just- “Wait, what time is it?” He asked suddenly.

“Why? I mean…” Cherise looked into the sky. “Not far past noon?”

“Ooh, I gotta go!” Logan said, running past both of them, practically tossing his spear to Cherise on his way past. “Meeting thing they wanted me at, Warrior of Light stuff!”

“Logan, wait a second!” Cherise called after him, but he just gave her a wave and ran out of the practice yard. “What does he think I am, his personal assistant!? …And what was that golden glow…?” She muttered that last bit under her breath.

Akio gave her a careful look. “I… could take it if you don’t-”

She gave him a punch on his arm, and stormed off the field herself. “He’s going to get himself into trouble, isn’t he…”

Hours later and Logan found himself slumped back into his chair half-listening to the most boring meeting he could’ve imagined. The new group of Ishgardian leaders were sitting around the table chatting away about various politics. More changes or policies that had to be thought of following the end of the war, or something like that. Logan had stopped paying attention mere minutes into the meeting.

He knew the others often complained about how much the Warriors of Light were abused for menial tasks, but he’d never thought it was that bad. Not until now, anyway. He wanted to do something. Not sit around, he wanted a fight. That’s what he was good at, right? He was, after all, a Warrior of Light. He needed to take something on, head to head, fight it, win. Like that Ishgardian knight at the door. He could beat him. He could rip him apart. Into shreds, literally, sink his blade into him and watch him-

“Logan!?”

Aymeric’s startled voice snapped Logan back to attention, and he found he was leaning far over the table, fists clenched, staring at the knight at the door, who, even with his helmet on, looked terrified.

“Wh… what?” Logan stuttered, leaning back in his chair, wondering what had just happened. “What were we talking about?”

There was a brief pause before Aymeric slowly continued. “We were just talking about how it might do some good for you to make an appearance at-”

“An appearance!?” Logan snapped back, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands down on the table. “I sat here for hours just so you could announce that I’m to be paraded around again!?”

His anger leapt back to a boiling point, and a part of him wondered why he was so angry, but most of him didn’t care. He was so tired of being looked at, shown off, doing menial tasks. He was a hero! Not a trophy!

“I… I simply thought-” Aymeric tried to respond, but Logan cut him off.

“Yeah, I bet you did. Forget it, I’m going home.”

And with that, Logan spun and left the room, giving one more terrifying glare to the knight at the door, who visibly recoiled. Logan’s laugh echoed through the room as the door swing shut behind him.

Aymeric turned to Lucia. “See if you can track down the Wanderers. Something is not right here.”

The trusted knight nodded and she quickly hurried off through the door as well, while Aymeric began to try and smooth things over with the others.

“He did what!?” Cherise exclaimed.

“I know, that’s why I came looking for you,” Lucia confirmed with a solemn nod. “I thought you might be able to, er, handle him.”

Cherise stormed past the taller woman. “I’m gonna punch his brains out! What an idiot! What was he thinking!?” She stopped suddenly and spun around. “Wait, where did he say he was going?”

Lucia blinked, unsure how to handle the raging redhead. “Um. ‘Home’ I believe is what he said.”

Cherise didn’t move for a moment, thoughts racing, and then she spun on her heel and ran off again. “Oh hells, this might be bad.” As an afterthought, she looked over her shoulder back at Lucia. “Oh, and thanks!”

Lucia sighed and began walking back to the meeting room. “Siblings,” she muttered with a small shake of her head and just the slightest hint of a smile.

“Hello?” Cherise called into the currently empty house belonging to Awoken Wanderers.

Their headquarters in the Mist had been somewhat abandoned after the events in Ul’dah, and with the Dragonsong War going on in Ishgard they hadn’t had time to reassemble everyone and get it up and running again. A few of them still lived here however, though they often spent most of their time away. But if Logan was headed “home”, this is where Cherise believed he’d end up.

No one answered her call however, so she opened the door leading to the private rooms, found Logan’s, and knocked. “Logan, are you in there?”

The door opened and Aiko stood in the doorway, holding a bedsheet up to her otherwise naked body. “Oh!” Cherise immediately took a step back and looked at the ceiling.

“Yeeees?” The Miqo’te asked, her voice a bit airy.

Cherise cleared her throat but continued, avoiding looking forward. “Um. Did, uh, Logan come here?” The answer seemed obvious, but she asked anyway.

“Yes. He. Did,” Aiko answered, as if answering an entirely different question.

“Ooookay, nope, oh gods, no, no,” Cherise shook her head and stepped away from the doorway, pointing past Aiko and into the room. “No, go put clothes on, I need to talk to you and this isn’t working, or happening, just. Oh Twelve, no.”

Aiko laughed a little as Cherise made a few gagging noises, but did indeed go back inside and shut the door.

“List of things I did not need to see or hear or imagine, ugh…” Cherise muttered to herself, rubbing her forehead as if it may remove the memory from her mind as she walked back to the main room of the house.

A few moments later Aiko reappeared looking back to her full senses, and fully clothed, much to Cherise’s relief. “Alright Cherise, what’s wrong?” She asked.

The Hyur crossed her arms and scowled. “Well you saw Logan didn’t you? Isn’t there something wrong with him? Acting oddly?”

“Well I was a bit distracted,” Aiko said, the slightest hint of a purr in her voice bringing out another gag from Cherise. “Though I do have to admit there did seem something a bit odd about him. And familiar, too, actually… I can’t place it though… What’s going on with him anyway?”

“He…” Cherise hesitated, unsure of how much to say. “He used a technique called Blood of the Dragon, which usually uses power from Nidhogg’s eye. But he never interacted with them, not enough. So… he used Bahamut’s aether instead.”

Aiko’s eyes widened. “That’s what felt familiar! He was practically drowning in Bahamut’s aether! Cherise that could be incredibly dangerous!”

“No shit!” Cherise flung out her arms. “What do you think I’m doing!? Now did he say where he was going when he left?

Aiko hummed, tapping a finger against her lips. “Mmm… No… I think he mentioned he was hungry though?”

“Oh boy…” Cherise groaned. “There’s only one place in all La Noscea he’ll go if he’s hungry.”

“The Drowning Wench,” they said together.

Cherise and Aiko weren’t even halfway up the stairs to the second level of Limsa Lominsa when they heard the fighting. They didn’t even trade a glance before charging up the stairs. When they turned the corner the Drowning Wench was living up to its namesake, ale covered the floor, at least three men were unconscious, a pair of barmaids were hiding behind their serving trays, and Baderon came up from behind the bar to spot the two women.

Right in the center of the brawl, which consisted of at least ten men and a few women, was Logan. He was unarmoured and unarmed, but attacking anyone who came too close like a rabid, cornered animal.

“You two!” Baderon called out, gesturing to the pair. “Ge’ o’er here!”

Without hesitation Cherise and Aiko slipped along the wall and jumped the bar, crouching down next to Baderon.

“Wha’ in th’ seven ‘ells is goin’ on wit’ yer brother?” Baderon demanded of Cherise.

“Long story,” she answered. “What happened?”

“No idea. One momen’ e’ry thing was fine, an’ then bam! Chaos like I ‘aven’t seen since th’ Calamity!”

“Okay, well stay down, we’ll handle him.”

“Gladly!”

Aiko turned to Cherise. “How do we even stop… whatever this is?”

Cherise paused. “I’m… not sure. Usually it takes some effort to keep it up, and I never told him how. I’m not sure how he’s kept it going so long…”

“I could be the first to tell you that if he’s channeling Bahamut he could be going for awhile,” Aiko explained, pulling out her tome and flipping through some pages.

“Great, so what, just tie him down until he calms down?” Cherise asked as she heard a heavy thud that must’ve been a combatant dropping unconscious.

“Mmm, as much as I might like that-”

“Do not.”

“-I think I might be able to put him in a trance and possibly siphon it off.” Aiko pointed to a page of her tome, but Cherise didn’t understand a thing on it. “But you will still need to knock him down. I’ll need time.”

“Knocking down I can do,” Cherise nodded, punching a fist into her palm. “Get ready.”

With that, Cherise jumped up on the bar and shouted. “Hey! Logan! You want a fight, I’m right here!”

The fight paused and Cherise got a closer look at her brother. There was a faint glow of orange and gold, the effects of Bahamut’s aether. But worse was the savage look in Logan’s eyes, a look that did not belong to him. It hurt to see, but only steeled her resolve. The other fighters broke off, sensing a battle they shouldn’t be a part of, and Logan stared down Cherise. A calm silence came over the tavern as everyone waited to see what would happen.

Then both of them dashed forward. Cherise slammed into Logan, but he caught her by the shoulders and simply slid back, growling and then tossing her across the rest of the room. She skittered to a halt on all fours, wiping her hands of the ale on her jacket. He shouted wordlessly and charged at her again, but she sidestepped him, grabbed his shoulder, and threw him into the wall. He smashed into it, bounced off of it, turned with a snarl, and took a fist to the face. Just like that Logan was laid down flat on the floor.

“Aiko, now!” Cherise shouted.

Aiko leapt over the bar, held out one hand, and muttered incantations from the book she held in the other. The golden-orange glow representing Bahamut’s aether flowed from Logan and into Aiko’s outstretched palm. She squeezed it shut and the aether dissipated.

Cherise kneeled down by her brother and checked his breathing. “Did it work?” It was even, he seemed okay.

“I think so,” Aiko said, sounding unsure. “I mean, it did what it was supposed to do, but whether it worked to keep him from being… whatever that was, we won’t know until he wakes up.”

Cherise sighed and nodded. “Well, help me get him back home then. We wouldn’t want him to break out of the inn rooms and terrorize the bar patrons again.”

Baderon, now back on his feet and turning tables back upright looked up at Cherise and nodded. “Aye, get ‘im ‘ome, I can take care o’ things ‘ere. Twelve knows ‘e’s done loads for us, a messy bar ain’t nothin’.”

Logan stirred and sat up. His head felt like paste, that his brain was flopping about inside his skull. What had happened anyway? Last thing he remembered was storming out of the meeting in Ishgard.

“He’s awake!” Aiko’s voice called, though Logan refused to open his eyes just yet.

“How is he?” Cherise’s voice called back from somewhere further away.

“Stop yelling…” Logan complained, attempting to wave his hand at them but finding lifting his arm to be somewhat difficult.

The next thing he felt was Aiko’s cool hand stroke the side of his face. “Are you feeling okay?” She asked softly.

“No… What hit me…?” Logan mumbled.

“That was Cherise,” Aiko said with a hint of laughter to her voice. “But you’re okay? You don’t feel um… Like you want to pick a fight or anything?”

“What? No, the thought of that just makes my head hurt more…” Logan groaned.

Lips touched his forehead. “Good. Then lay here and rest.”

“But what happened? I don’t remember anything after the meeting…” Logan insisted.

He heard someone enter the room, and Cherise’s voice was heard again, much closer. “I think it was the blood of the dragon skill… I think Bahamut’s aether took you over or something. The ability is supposed to give you extra power and combat instincts, but it does mean giving a bit of yourself over to the primal instincts of the dragon. I guess in your case it was just too much…”

Logan felt the bed sink a little as Cherise must’ve sat down next to him. “So… so what… happened…?” He almost didn’t want to know, and felt his stomach sinking.

“Well…” Cherise started. “You stormed out of the meeting in Ishgard enough to scare half the people in the room and insult the other half.” Logan groaned. “Then you came here and, uh…”

There was an awkward pause and Logan swore he felt the bed shake a little.

“You spent some time with me,” Aiko said simply, her tone pleased, though Logan felt immense disapproval from Cherise, even without seeing her.

Cherise cleared her throat. “Then you went to the Drowning Wench where you, apparently, ate more than Baderon’s seen a man eat, save for a 'starving bilgerat’, then no one’s quite sure what happened, but a fight broke out, you knocked four people unconscious - yes, they’ll be fine - and I had to smash your head into a wall to knock you out and let Aiko pull some of Bahamut’s aether off of you.”

Logan swallowed deeply. “I… did all that?” He started to shake his head but thought better of it immediately. “Just because of that dragoon ability?”

“I…” Cherise started.

“It seems so,” Aiko confirmed. “As someone with experience, Bahamut’s aether is not to be taken lightly. You just weren’t prepared. I can help you with it, if you want.”

“…Sure…” Logan said, not sounding sure at all.

There was a brief silence. “Get some rest,” Cherise said softly, and Logan felt her fingers brush his hair.

“We’ll be nearby if you need anything,” Aiko confirmed, planting her lips upon his forehead once more.

“Okay.”

Logan listened to them leave. He’d be impressed at their ability to work together, but he was far too distracted by his missing memories and the story Cherise had just told him. He’d spent so much time rebuilding their reputation after Ul’dah, and now this. Could he even truly manage the power of the dragoon if this was a possible result? Was it responsible of him to even try? He’d been so scared of Bahamut both in the past and present, even if he had overcome much of his fear. Despite his insistence to no longer act out of fear, maybe this was one act of caution he should heed.

Maybe he should just give up on becoming a dragoon.

[godswritingfreak]

Like a Book

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Characters: Vincent Laland, Faye Casella, Arluin

“You’re staring.”

Vincent levelled his eyes at Arluin. “At what?”

“At nothing,” Arluin confirmed, not looking up from the book on the table in front of him. “That’s exactly the problem.

“Then how am I staring?” Vincent challenged, looking back out among the people inhabiting the Drowning Wench. “If I’m not looking at anything.”

“Ah, but you’re avoiding one particular place,” Arluin continued, flipping a page of his book. “And avoiding looking in a direction is just as bad as staring at it.”

Vincent sighed and shook his head. “And? What am I not staring at?”

Arluin did finally look up, his eyes glancing over to the direction Vincent had been avoiding. Walking up to the bar to order food was Faye, having finally woken up and come looking for breakfast. His eyes went back to his book.

“Yes, okay, fine, I was avoiding her. What of it?” Vincent finally looked in her direction, watched her smile at Baderon as they chatted for a few moments.

“Everyone around here can tell you look uncomfortable, uneasy. It’s distracting.”

“It’s not my fault. She makes me nervous,” Vincent explained, watching as she accepted a drink, but stayed at the front to wait for her food.

“Oh I’m well aware of what makes you nervous, but it’s not her,” Arluin argued. “Just because she’s from Gridania doesn’t mean anything, and you know that. You’ve worked with many merchants coming and going across the sea between Limsa and Horizon. Never once have you felt as uncomfortable as you do with her.”

“I just can’t win with you, can I Arluin?” Vincent sighed, watching as Faye collected her food and began scanning the room, spotting the Miqo’te pair and waving, a smile on her face.

“Never have, and never will, as I know for a fact that your eyes have not left her since I pointed out you were not staring, and my eyes have not once left the pages of this book.”

Arluin then turned another page of his book, as if to accentuate his point.

“I liked you better when you were an airhead with big ideas, rather than a know it all,” Vincent complained. “You still haven’t said this big reason she makes me uncomfortable, either, if it isn’t her heritage.”

Arluin finally looked up and straight at Vincent, giving only a wry smile before turning to Faye who reached the table. “Good morning, Faye,” he said, all traces of cheekiness and argument immediately wiped from his face.

“Good morning Arluin! Glad to see you’re doing well,” she said, placing her food down on the table.

Vincent squinted at Arluin briefly, but after that pushed out the chair to his right with his foot, allowing Faye an easier time of sitting down with them. She gratefully nodded to him and took a seat.

“Good morning to you too, Vincent. I hope you’re doing alright as well?” She asked, still smiling.

“Doing great,” he said, only slightly flat.

Vincent prided his ability on reading people, but it always annoyed him how Arluin managed to stay one step ahead of him. His cryptic wording of things always drove him crazy. He had no idea what “reason” he was talking about, but he’d find out eventually.

[godswritingfreak]

Homecoming

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Characters: Naomi Yukana, Cherise Holden

“Here they come! Do you think we missed anyone!?” Naomi chirped, practically jumping as the Domans began to disembark.

“No, Naomi, they just started, we haven't missed anything,” Cherise replied, decidedly less excited. Sitting and watching a bunch of foreigners wasn't exactly her decision of a fun day. Still, Naomi had been away from her family for a couple years now, so it was hard to say no.

“Okay good!” She said, jumping up on a nearby crate and kicking her feet. “I'm not moving from here until everyone's off and I introduce you to everyone!”

“Great…!” Cherise forced a bit of cheer into her voice, but ultimately failed.

The Hyur sat on the crate to the side, eyes scanning the oncoming crowd out of boredom than any actual interest.

“Have I told you about them?” Naomi said, making conversation, and not waiting for a response. “Obviously I have my mom and dad. They're pretty cool, but a bit strict… I guess it's because they care, and they did let me come all the way here, so, they're not that bad! Plus I only got in trouble when I was caught!”

“Sounds like you,” Cherise snorted.”

“Doesn't it though?” Naomi said with a smile of fake innocence. “Then there's my older brother, he's really tall. Like huge. He used to carry me around a lot, it was fun. He was the one who'd get me in trouble most actually, he had an annoying ability to show up at the worst times…”

Naomi continued on about her family and Doma in general, Cherise nodding and giving replies as necessary. The hours went by, morning into afternoon, into evening. The docks were almost silent as the last group of people were coming off the boats.

Naomi was quiet now, still smiling, but Cherise noticed it didn't seem the same as before. She hadn't spoken about her family in a few hours now. Worry had set in for the redhead, knowing what might have happened to them.

“Want a drink?”

“Huh?” Naomi turned suddenly, as if surprised by Cherise's presence.

“A drink. You want something?” Cherise repeated.

“Oh. Uh, sure. Thanks…” Naomi turned back to the crowd, immediately forgetting about Cherise.

Cherise turned to head over to a nearby stall, pausing only to give the Au Ra a worried look before walking off.

Cherise hadn't been gone a minute when someone called out. “Naomi!? Is that you?”

Naomi jerked her head towards the sound of the voice, her heart lifting her off the crate. A smaller Raen - relatively as far as males went - came out of the tide of people, approaching her.

“That is you! You actually did make it out here then!”

Naomi grinned, recognizing the man from her home. “I did! I found a bunch of new friends too, we're pretty big deals, actually…!”

“No kidding! So what are you doing here then?”

“My family! Duh! If you're here they must be around somewhere, right!? Oh I'm so excited to see them again, I-”

“Naomi…” the Raen suddenly looked sullen. “I'm… uh…”

Naomi blinked a few times. “W-what?”

“They… they didn't make it…”

“H-Huh?”

“When the Garleans came, they were… they didn't… they died in the attack…”

“But…”

“I'm so sorry… I… I should get going…”

The Raen left, his head hanging, leaving Naomi standing there in shock, alone. Naomi had no idea how long she stood there, only coming back to reality when a voice called her.

“Naomi?”

“What!?” Naomi jumped, turning to face Cherise, two cups of orange juice in her hands. “Oh! Drinks!”

“Yeah. You… okay?” She asked, giving Naomi a careful glance. “You seemed kind of out of it.

“Fine!” She said enthusiastically, taking a cup. “I think we missed them. There were a lot of people, we should check back later.”

Naomi began to walk off, and Cherise gave her a look of complete confusion. She seemed fine, so why did something seem so off…?

[godswritingfreak]

Bleeding Heart

Verse: Mass Effect: Andromeda Characters: Logan Holden

Logan stood in front of a control panel of Nexus Ops. A glowing button told him that if he pushed it, it would release a small number of people from cryo, as per a manual override. He did not know if he should push it.

Mere hours ago he had disembarked the Tempest, a successful mission on Havarl completed. They’d made contact with an entirely new alien species, the friendly angara. They’d found a vault on their original homeworld, too contaminated to properly live on, and reset it, the healing process having begun. It had been wonderful progress, but, more importantly, it had been a good distraction.

He had come back to the Nexus intending to complete a few tasks, and trade what they’d found on Havarl for more supplies before heading off to Voeld and assisting in a strike on a kett facility with the angara Rebellion. And, though he hadn’t told anyone, also to check in on his sister, who was still in a coma. He had not even exited the docking bay when a commotion reached his ears.

“Free our families!” One voice called.

“Don’t keep us separated!” Another shouted.

Curious, Logan had wandered over. What he hadn’t expected was an entire protest, made up of various races, including a krogan, blocking off Hydroponics, nor that as soon as he showed his face, that the protesters immediately singled him out.

“Pathfinder! You can fix this! How could you choose to put a science team on Prodromos!?”

They continued shouting about ruined schedules, separated tribes, trapped families, unknowns. Logan tried to explain, that he hadn’t realized what it would cause, that all he wanted was to try and find ways to grow. They wouldn’t listen, they wanted answers. Logan finally assured them that he’d ask.

At least, after he went to see Cherise. On his way there, however, a human woman began to shout at him.

“You ruined everything! You and your no good father!”

It had legitimately scared him, causing him to skip away a couple steps. “E-Excuse me?”

“You heard me! Your father convinced us all to come all the way out here just to die! It was all lies! He’s ruined us!” She insisted.

“He tried to fix things!” Logan protested, now getting angry himself. “We all are! He died to protect us, to save us!”

“Believe what you want, but my family is gone and I’ll never see them again! And it’s your fault!”

The woman spat at his feet and stormed off. Logan was left standing there, staring after her, questioning everything all over again.

He spent half an hour sitting by Cherise’s side, holding her hand. He didn’t dare speak of anything negative again. Not after what happened last time. The news about Habitat 7 and their father had not gone over well. Instead he told her about the angara, and Aya and Havarl, how he’d fixed it, and that it was healing. That he was planning to do it again. There was no interface with SAM to ensure she’d hear, or that she could speak back, but he’d seen the vids and read the stories. Talking helped. Not just her, either, after that half hour, he felt ready to look at his next problem.

Finally reaching Operations, Logan headed to the militia headquarters to speak with Kandros, the turian in charge. He had been an early confidence booster to Logan, someone who knew his job, knew how bad things were, and had respect for the human Pathfinder, while recognizing that he still had things to learn. He was a person Logan knew wouldn’t hold back something important, or try to dodge issues. Straightforward and reliable.

Someone who said it would take everyone’s input to decide what to do with the cryo pods. So Director Tann and Nakmor Kesh joined them at the militia HQ. They discussed that the protesters were blocking the extremely important Hydroponics, that they couldn’t just cave to demands, that they had processes for a reason. But that they were pioneers, they could really cause damage if they wanted to, that armed force would likely be necessary. They didn’t want to hurt anyone, of course, but they would if they had to.

All eyes turned to Logan, he was, after all, the Pathfinder. He could make the decision using an override command at Nexus Operations. He stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, the gazes of the others bearing down on him. He remembered the pain in the voices of the protesters, the anger in the voice of the woman. He remembered his father, dead on Habitat 7. His sister, in a coma in Hyperion’s medbay.

“Don’t touch them. I’ll open the pods.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but no one seemed quite pleased with the decision. They didn’t argue it, instead just dispersing.

So now he stood there, in front of the panel. The names of the people the protesters had demanded be woken sitting in a list. The glowing button waiting for him to press it. It would strain the Nexus’ resources until they could grow again. It could cause issues. More may demand their loved ones be freed in a never-ending domino effect that would quickly overwhelm them. Was he really ready to condemn the entire Initiative over a bleeding heart?

“Wait, are you really gonna do it?”

Logan turned to find one of the human men from the protest behind him. “I…”

“I can’t believe it, I’m gonna see my mom again! Thank you!”

He looked into the man’s eyes, saw the hope, the pain, the relief.

Yes. He was going to potentially condemn the entire Initiative over a bleeding heart. Because he could find no other way to stop the bleeding, at least not for now, and if the Initiative was to be doomed, at least they could face it together, instead of being trapped in a never-ending dream.

Logan turned back to the console and pressed the button. SAM read off the names.

“That one! That’s her!” The man exclaimed on the fifth name. “That’s my mom!”

Logan smiled. “Well don’t wait around here, then. Go be the first thing she sees when she wakes up.”

“I will! Thank you so much, Pathfinder!” He said, tears running down his cheeks, before he turned and ran off.

“You’re welcome,” Logan said, holding back tears of his own, knowing he may feel that same hope himself.

[godswritingfreak]

What About Pirates?

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Characters: Faye Casella, Vincent Lalande

The docks were one of the things Limsa was most known for, true, but that didn’t mean it was the best place for sightseeing. For one, it was often busy, for another, even with the Maelstrom and Yellowjackets around, there were lots of places for nasty business to come about. Sailors of most kinds were a salty lot, and even if the honest ones were friendly, the dishonest ones were some of the most cutthroat people one could come across. The trouble was, they were often difficult to tell apart.

“I wouldn’t advise going down this way, miss, it’s not known for being that, er, reputable…” Vincent called out as he followed the insistent auri further down the docks.

While he may be getting paid to babysit - excuse me, escort - the woman, it didn’t mean he couldn’t try to dissuade her from forcing him into a dangerous situation. He didn’t sign up to the Marauder’s Guild for this…

“It’s just a quick look!” Faye turned to glance back at the marauder, just for a second, before her gaze turned back towards the ship that was docked nearby. Her eyes full of childlike wonder at the ship before her.

“Gridania is very beautiful, have you ever been to Gridania by the way?” The auri didn’t pause long enough to hear his answer before she continued, “I’ve heard stories of Limsa’s beauty, but it doesn’t compare to seeing it with your own eyes. And now that I have seen it, I can finally say that it’s just as beautiful as Gridania. I came all this way, and before I set out on adventurer business, I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss a corner of this city!”

Well, at least she was right about one thing, it was beautiful. The ship and the city. He almost even let it distract him long enough to miss a shift in the comings and goings of the dock. His ears began to twitch as they tried to hone in on the sounds of the abnormalities he was detecting.

“Adventurer business?” Vincent snorted, his eyes scanning the crowd, even while his head stayed locked on the ship. “If you’re an adventurer, what do you need a ba-bodyguard for?” He pointedly avoided answering any question about Gridania.

He scanned the ship as well, and between that and the people he was seeing among the crowd, realized they’d already made a mistake. This wasn’t just a ship, it was a pirate ship. Now, that didn’t necessarily mean anything, there were a lot of pirates that came through Limsa, and many of them weren’t necessarily the awful type. But some of them were. And some of them were Serpent Reavers. At this point, there was no way to avoid confrontation, he just hoped he could talk them out of a violent one.

“Well, I didn’t say I was an adventurer.. yet! Best to start somewhere,” Faye turned to face him, tapping the elm cane strapped to her back, “I thought you knew, I’m only a conjurer, I’m aware there are things I can’t do. And shouldn’t do by myself.”

“True…” Vincent agreed, now turning around as the crowd began to thin, almost as if they were being slowly herded out of the area. “Speaking of which, I think we might have trouble. Stay quiet and let me handle it.”

There was no one nearby anymore and Vincent hoped there was a Yellowjacket worth his salt nearby, though he knew it’d be a longshot. A Roegadyn and two Hyur, all obviously sailors, and all very armed, approached them.

“You two seem pretty interested in that ship there don’t’cha?” The Roegadyn said, eyeing the pair. “Wanna tell us why?”

“She wanted to see the ships, what’s it to you?” Vincent asked. “Is it yours?”

“It is, and I’m not sure I like the fact of you taking advantage of it for sightseein’, maybe I oughta charge ya somethin for it?”

The two Hyur began to laugh as the Roegadyn crossed his arms and glared down at Vincent and Faye, as if daring them to do something.

“Charge us?” Faye couldn’t help but chime in, a look of confusion coloring her face, “I thought the docks were public property?” The Au Ra turned to her Marauder companion, waiting for him to respond back.

Vincent shot Faye a look that quite clearly said “shush”, and went back to studying the pirates. The one thing that puzzled him about their appearance was the blue tattoo across each of their faces. He’d never seen markings like that before, and couldn’t place them to any singular pirate gang.

Before Vincent could respond however, the Roegadyn spoke up. “You questionin’ me, girl?” He growled, and the two Hyur behind him suddenly went quiet and dead serious. “It’s my ship, so if I says it costs to look at it, it costs to look at it.”

“We were just leaving, I’ve got a few gil you can have, it’s not worth a commotion is it?” Vincent questioned, the end of his tail twitching slightly as the only sign of his nervousness. “We get out of your way, you get a few more coins lining your pocket… Win-win, right?”

He tried to sound as pleasant as possible, and it looked like the Roegadyn was seriously considering his offer when one of the Hyur spoke up. “Boss, she look like she come from money, ain’t no one on the docks look that nice. Bet we could get more than jus’ a few coin!”

Vincent’s ears went rigid as he realized they were probably already too deep. His hand inched towards the axe on his back even as the Roegadyn eyed the Au Ra head to toe.

He leaned back a little to Faye and whispered, “Can you swim?”

“What?”

Vincent growled a little, and raised his voice just a little bit louder. “Can. You. Swim?”

“O-Oh, yes I guess I-”

In one smooth motion, Vincent drew his axe and shoved Faye with his shoulder, sending her flailing into the ocean. Just in time too, as the Roegadyn drew his own and swung. Vincent parried, and stole only a glance to Faye, who bobbed to the surface of the water, splashing.

“Swim to the edge!” Vincent shouted, pointing to a ladder that was hung over the edge of Limsa proper, away from the wooden piers.

Managing to right herself in the water proper, Faye noticed the ladder, and did her best to swim off towards it. Vincent turned back to his enemies in time to catch the Roegadyn’s axe once more, but the Hyur had also drawn weapons. This was not a fight he could win. Carrying his momentum from the last parry, Vincent swung around in a wide arc, forcing the others back. As soon as he came around and saw them step back, he whipped himself around and dropped into the water himself.

Faye finally reached the ladder, took hold, got one rung up, spitting salt water out of her mouth, and when she went to reach a second hand up, found that it was grasped by another. On reflex she pulled back, but when she looked up, she saw a dark-skinned, white-haired Miqo’te smiling at her.

“Hold on, miss, no need to worry, I’m with the grump who pushed you in. Come on, let’s get out of that water shall we?” He said, kindly.

Not really sure what to think anymore, and exhausted from trying to swim through the heavy currents of the ocean, and the salt sticking to everything, and soaking wet, Faye simply gave in to the other, and let him heft her up onto shore. He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders as she sat, shivering, despite the warm La Noscean sun.

Moments later Vincent gasped for breath as he came up for air, grasping at the ladder. He hefted himself up to shore on his own, glad he hadn’t worn his full armour, and then rolled over onto his back.

“Thanks for the help Arluin,” Vincent spat with mock annoyance.

“No problem,” he said with a smile. “She’s quite alright, as you can see.”

Vincent rolled his eyes and sat up. His ears lay flat and twitched, as if trying to rid itself of water. His tail flicked back and forth much the same. “Well, that’s a heck of a first day in Limsa. Welcome to town.”

“T-Thanks…” Faye said, still trying to shake off the last of the shivers. “D-Do you push a-all the girls into the ocean d-during city tours?”

Vincent flicked his ears and tail one more time before offering her a hand, not able to help a small smile. “I try not to, but sometimes things happen, keeps it interesting,” she took it, pulling herself to her feet. “Alright, let’s get you somewhere safe and dried off. Come on.”

The trio started off towards the center of Limsa and the Drowning Wench, but Vincent looked over his shoulder. He saw a red-headed female Miqo’te headed down the pier with a couple of unassuming types - another red-headed Miqo’te, and a Lalafell - as if to go confront the blue-faced men they had run into. Vincent shook his head and knew better than to ask about that later. She could handle it from here, though he was forever curious how K’lett knew the Rogue’s Guild…

Once they had returned to the Drowning Wench, and Arluin had taken Faye to her room and made sure she was settled and able to change into something not drenched, Vincent wandered over to the main counter.

“Ahh, Vincent, what can I do for ye today? Somethin’ ta do with the drowned wench ya brought in?” The proprietor asked with a grin, fully aware of the pun.

Vincent shook his head and gave up a small laugh for the man. “Sort of. More to do with what caused the drowning. Heard anything about blue-tattoo’d men about?”

Baderon hummed to himself, stroking his auburn beard. “It do ring a bell, aye. ‘eard a bit o’ news out by Summerford methinks, though ye’d ‘ave ta go check it out yerself. Ask fer Staelwyrn. Maybe keep a lookout for a tiny one, while yer there, over eager little lass. Sent ‘er ‘is way th’other day, ‘opefully ‘asn’t gotten in o’er ‘er head. Should be easy ta spot.”

“Thanks, be back for a drink later,” Vincent promised.

“Aye, ya always are.”

[godswritingfreak]

Stay or Flambé?

Verse: Pokemon Characters: Vincent Lalande, Faye Casella

“No, here, give me the keys. There we go. I've got it. Just stay there while I-”

“I'm​ not drunk, jeez…”

“No, but you're just tipsy enough to be a danger to yourself. Just stand there for a second.”

The keys jangled and then the lock clicked open. Vincent hit the lights and Faye nearly stumbled back out of the house, except that he caught her and carefully guided her inside.

“There, there's the couch. Sit down, close your eyes for a second.”

Faye waved him off but sat down regardless. Cinnie walked in after them, the Ninetales having been by her Trainer's side the entire trip home, insisting that she be Faye's crutch, not Vincent. He hadn't argued.

“Mmm… tonight was fun,” Faye said wistfully, sinking into a couple pillows in one corner of the couch.

She patted the open area next to her and looked up at Vincent. He shook his head, but smiled, and sat down next to her. She immediately flung her legs upon his lap and leaned back.

“I'm glad you enjoyed it,” Vincent said, patting her bare leg. Faye rarely wore anything but shorts during the summer.

“You know what else I'd enjoy…?” Faye teased, her still sandaled foot lifting up to try and poke at Vincent's nose.

Vincent quickly and carefully placed his hand atop her toes and lowered the slightly flailing foot before it smacked him in the face. “What would that be?” He asked calmly.

“If you stayed overnight…” She said softly.

“I suppose I-” Vincent suddenly felt an aura directed at him that made him realize what the man he'd chased off must've felt, and sure enough, Cinnie was glaring pointedly into his eyes.

But the tone in Faye's voice, as if she had been scared to even ask, reminded him of the pain he'd caused after that night on his birthday. It had been a hell of a chore earning enough of Cinnie's trust back to even get this close without being flambéed. In fact his very act of driving the man away could be all that was keeping her from doing so right now. Still, when he glanced to Faye, eyes full of hope for a positive answer, he found that even the very real threat of becoming something that resembled what he'd eaten for dinner last night couldn't dissuade him.

Vincent cleared his throat. “I suppose I could,” he finished. “I can sleep on the couch.”

Cinnie didn’t move, he took that as a sign he’d given an acceptable answer. Faye, however, pouted and sat up, poking at his nose. “On the couch…?”

“Ah… yes, I uh…” He quickly switched gears. “I wouldn’t want you to take my eye out in the middle of the night.”

Her pout deepened. “I am not drunk!” She insisted.

“No, but even tipsy you nearly took my eye out with your toe just now,” he argued calmly.

With a loud and over dramatic groan Faye flopped back down on the couch. “Fiiiine. But you’re making breakfast then.”

“Gladly. Let’s get you to bed.”

With that, in one smooth motion, got up off the couch and swept Faye up into his arms. She giggled as he began to carry her to the bedroom. Vincent spared a glance down to Cinnie, who was following, as expected, but there was no steam coming from her mouth, so he had to assume he’d done well.

Talk about a complicated relationship.

[godswritingfreak]

The Soul of Rebellion Awakens

Felt like writing up this section of Persona 5. Mild beginning of game spoilers for those who haven’t played yet. It seemed dramatic and I like rewriting sections of video games sometimes, to put my own spin on it, or doing my best to capture the feeling of the scenes with purely words instead of the visual medium video games employ.

“Hey… Hey wake up!”

The voice stirred him from unconsciousness, and he sat up slowly, his head throbbing. What had happened? When he opened his eyes he was greeted to the sight of a murky stone dungeon, straight out of a fantasy film. Right, the castle sitting where the school was supposed to be. Those big soldiers. What was going on?

“You alright?”

He looked over and saw the blond boy he’d followed to the castle. “I’m fine.” The blond seemed okay too, aside from the fact they were both trapped in this cell.

“Same, more or less,” the blond replied, before turning back to look out the cell bars. “Looks like this ain’t no dream… Ugh, what’s goin’ on!?” The blond suddenly ran up towards the door and began banging on it. “Hey, let us outta here! I know there’s someone out there!”

Considering how the guards from before had treated them, he had a feeling this wasn’t exactly the best idea. However, only silence and the faint sound of flowing water answered the words.

“Dammit, where are we!?” The blond shouted again, walking back to him. “Is this some kinda TV set…?”

Before he could answer a scream of agony echoed down into their cell from somewhere else in the dungeon. He stood, alarmed, and a shiver ran down his back. They both rushed to the cell door and tried to see where it was coming from.

“The hell was that just now…?”

The screaming dwindled before slowly sputtering to a halt.

“Woah… woah, woah, woah, woah, woah… You’re shittin’ me, right? This is real bad…! Isn’t there some way outta here!? C’mon, we gotta do something!” The blond asked, panic beginning to creep into his voice.

He looked around the room. There was the wooden cot he had been passed out on. Chains hung up on the wall, barrels in the corners. But nothing useful. Not a thing. Were they really trapped down here? Were they going to end up screaming like the person they’d heard?

“Hey, you hear that?” The blond suddenly spoke up.

He turned back to the bars and also heard it: footsteps and clanking metal. Before long one of the masked guards walked up to the door, armour clanking loudly.

“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death.”

“Say what!?” The blond shouted.

Death did seem a bit much for accidental trespassing…

“No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle.”

This voice was new, coming from behind the guards at the cell door. It also sounded vaguely familiar, but he was having a hard time placing it… That is until the man walked up to them, moving past the guards as they gave way. He was dressed in a red, fur-lined cloak decorated in red and pink hearts. He seemed to wear no pants, only sandals, topped with a golden crown atop his black hair. Staring at them with golden eyes was the teacher the blond boy had been complaining about, the one who had given the girl a ride to school. But he hadn’t had golden eyes then…

“Huh? Wait… Is that you, Kamoshida?” The blond asked, incredulous at the sight of a familiar face.

The man scoffed. “I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it’d be you, Sakamoto… Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all, huh?” Kamoshida’s voice was menacing, and he wondered what history there was between the two. “Oh, and you brought a friend this time… because you can’t do anything for yourself.”

Now the man’s tone had turned mocking, and the blond, Sakamoto, seemed to be egged on by it. “This ain’t funny you asshole!”

“Is that how you speak to a king!?” Kamoshida spat. “It seems you don’t understand the position you’re in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me - the king. The punishment for that. Is death.” The man swung out his arm in a commanding gesture, and a guard stepped forward. “It’s time for an execution! Take him out!”

The students backed away from the door, and he could tell Sakamoto was starting to get legitimately worried. “S-Stop it…!”

There was little power to his voice now however, and the guards opened and stepped into the door, cornering the blond in the back corner, leaving him up against the side wall. This was really bad. This wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t a prank, this was serious, whatever it was. The guards’ weapons looked truly sharp, and whoever this man was that looked like the teacher sounded deadly serious about killing them.

Sakamoto spoke up again as he was cornered “...Goddammit…!” The boy’s voice quivered with fear, but he seemed to pull himself together enough to charge forward, ramming into one of the guard’s shields with enough force to knock it to the ground. “I ain’t down for this shit!” Sakamoto yelled, looking at him. “C’mon, we’re outta here!”

Before either of them could act however, another guard came up and punched Sakamoto in the stomach, sending him reeling with a loud groan, stumbling up against the wall near the hanging chains. He tried to push forward but the guards regrouped, and all he could do was push uselessly against their stocky stances.

Slowly falling to his knees, Sakamoto looked up. “Just go! Get outta here! These guys are serious!”

He glanced towards the open door. All that stood between him and freedom was the kingly teacher. It could’ve been easy enough to push past and run off. He didn’t deserve to die after all, did he? He didn’t deserve anything he’d been put through. Not the assault charge. Not the school transfer. Not the scorn of all those he met. Not this dungeon. Not death. All he had to do was run…

“Oh? Running away, are we?” Kamoshida taunted. “What a heartless friend you are.”

Guilt struck at his heart and his feet stayed rooted.

“He… ain’t a friend…” Sakamoto argued, still gasping for breath. “C’mon! Hurry up and go!”

Sakamoto was trying to absolve any guilt for staying. The boy wasn’t a friend, they were strangers, it was even true. Why stay for someone he didn’t know? But that ended up only making it worse. His legs began to feel weak, panic settling in truly now.

“What’s the matter? Too scared to run away?” Kamoshida taunted further, laughing at his indecision. “Hmph, pathetic scum isn’t worth my time… I’ll focus on this one’s execution...”

The guards grabbed Sakamoto and lifted him by the arms, while another came to crowd him back into the corner, preventing any further attempts at escape. Kamoshida walked up to him, his face now turned away, and laughed as he began to beat on the blonde boy, until he dropped back to the floor, face down, groaning in pain.

Kamoshida spat on him and scoffed. Where’d your energy from earlier go? A peasant like you isn’t even worth beating. I’ll have you killed right now.”

A guard tossed Sakamoto across the floor. He winced at the sight, his mind reeling at what was happening. Sakamoto didn’t deserve this either, no one did. Especially after trying to save him. He couldn’t just let this happen.

“Stop it!” He shouted, his voice sounding feeble against the actions he was witnessing.

Kamoshida turned to face him. “What? Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know who I am.” He glared back, doing his best to try and look threatening while being held back by the two massive guards.

“That look in your eyes irritates me!” The man’s leg came out suddenly, kicking him in the chest, throwing him against the wall. It hurt, bad, and knocked the wind out of him.

“Hold him there… After the peasant, it’s his turn to die,” Kamoshida ordered, turning back to Sakamoto.

“No!” He shouted, running forward on instinct, but the guards immediately grabbed him and threw him back against the wall, pinning him by the shoulders.

Kamoshida stalked towards Sakamoto, laughing.

“No… I don’t wanna die!”

Pure fear had entered Sakamoto’s voice, and all he could do was stand there and watch. This wasn’t fair! Why were they even here! Why did they have to die!?

“This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none.”

A soft, female voice echoed through his mind, and when he blinked, there was suddenly and aetheric, glowing butterfly flying right through the middle of the room. The others were oblivious to its presence, but he sensed the voice was coming from it.

“But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…”

He blinked again and the room was back to normal, the butterfly missing. But now another voice, deeper, dangerous, but calling to him.

“What’s the matter? Are you simply going to watch?”

But what can I do?

“Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing.”

I-I don’t… I can’t!

“Was your previous decision a mistake then?”

Suddenly visions of the woman he’d attempted to save, of the man who’d dealt him the assault charges, of the police arresting him, flew through his mind. He hadn’t hesitated then.

“It wasn’t.”

He was surprised at the conviction in his own voice, and he suddenly felt his anger rising. Sakamoto was lifted by his collar, Kamoshida still laughing, the guard holding the boy lifting a sword to his throat.

He began to struggle, refusing to let this scene play out, but the guards held him fast, and the voice, again, spoke.

“Very well… I have heeded your resolve.”

Something shook him to the core. Was it pain? He wasn’t sure, exactly, but it was strange, and made him cry out as though it hurt.

“Vow to me,” the voice demanded. “I am thou, thou art I…”

He continued screaming, as the voice grew in volume and power, this feeling increasing.

“Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!”

With a final scream, the feeling settled, and where there was once weak and shaking legs, he stood steady. Where before he had struggled, he stood still. Where before there was doubt and fear, he now stood firm and furious.

“Execute him!” Kamoshida ordered.

“That’s enough!” He shouted back.

“...What. Was that…?” Kamoshida asked venomously, turning slowly to look at him.

The guard released Sakamoto, who took in a gasp of air to his previously choked throat.

“You desire to be killed that much? Fine!” Kamoshida nodded to one of the guards.

It lifted its shield and bashed him across the face, knocking him to the side, but he kept his footing. Two other guards rushed in and pinned him to the wall, crossing lances across his throat. Sakamoto fell fully to the floor, exhausted. The guard who hit him lifted his sword to strike.

Then power flowed through him. It was like a rush, enough to blow out into the room, knocking the guards away from him, Kamoshida’s cloak billowing. There was suddenly a mask upon his face. It was surprising. It was… wrong. It shouldn’t be there! It needed to come off! But it wouldn’t! He tugged and pulled, but it wouldn’t come off! Pull harder! It needed off! It began to tear at his skin, and he felt the wet and warm sensation of blood flowing down his cheeks. He pulled harder, and it finally ripped free, the pain swelling, but not nearly as much as the need to remove the mask. He screamed with the pain and elation of finally removing the mask.

And then power. Incredible power rushed through him, around him, overtaking him in literal blue flame that engulfed his body. The menacing voice from earlier began to laugh, and he realized this was what he had been offered. Kamoshida and the guards could only look on, unknowing what was happening. Chains came to his hands as the flames dispersed, revealing another figure behind him, the source of the voice. As he gripped them, he tossed them away, shattering, releasing him from his prison of doubt and fear.

The guards were flung across the room as his awoken power rushed through the dungeon cell. Kamoshida, eyes wide with horror, fled to the doorway. Sakamoto was frozen in place, out of fear, pain, or a combination, he didn’t know. Or care. There would be time later. Instead he turned to Kamoshida, who summoned his guards. They retook their footing and stood between this new threat and their king.

“I am the pillager of twilight - Arsene!” The voice announced, his aetherial body floating behind him.

Arsene was cloaked in red, a billowing jacket, tall boots. A tall black top hat. Large, black, feathered wings, and horns that jutted forward flowing with a red-black colour. It was a menacing sight, and he saw Sakamoto press himself closer to the wall he was leaning against. Kamoshida looked shaken, but refused to retreat.

“I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis.”

He looked up to the figure, determination clear on his face. “Give me your power.”

The being grunted in approval. “Very well.”

“Who the hell are you!?” Kamoshida demanded. He grunted and pointed forward. “Never mind, start by killing that one!”

The armoured guards suddenly poured forth a red-black liquid, dissolving, then reforming into new, twisted shapes. They looked like jack-o-lanterns, with a witch hat, a cloak and holding forth a lantern.

“You’ll learn the true strength of my men!” Kamoshida laughed.

The flew into a formation ahead of him, and he turned to face them. Arsene hovered behind him, and spoke again. “Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power… and unleash it!”

He concentrated on the enemies, and on the feeling of power flowing through him. Blue flame burst from his mask, and he held his hand up to it. He called up on Arsene to attack, and a burst of red-black energy shot up from beneath one of the crypt-dwelling pyromaniac pumpkins and it screamed with pain as the tendrils pierced its body. Both of them then darted forward, lanterns swinging. He did his best to block the attacks, but they buffeted him. But it didn’t hurt like the guards had done to him earlier. It was a minor inconvenience at best.

“Now, swing your blade!” Arsene commanded.

A new instinct poured forth, and he dashed to the one who he’d pierced earlier, finding a dagger now in his hand that wasn’t there before. He sliced at the pyromaniac and it exploded in a cloud of black fog.

“This power of mine is yours!” Arsene announced. “Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart’s content!”

Finally, he could feel the full strength of Arsene in him. It could guide his attacks, protect him from pain, and unleash Hell’s wrath upon his enemies. All this power was his to command. And he intended to use it.

With another burst of energy, he once more summoned the power of Arsene, his cursed energy piercing the remaining pyromaniac, and killing it in a single blow. He laughed, reveling in his power and the death of his enemies. The scene quickly calmed. The guards dispatched. He alone in the room now, with only Sakamoto and Kamoshida.

The boy broke the silence first. “What…?”

Suddenly reality snapped back into place. They had been in danger. He had fought - and killed! - the guards! And… he was wearing a new coat and suit, all black, with blood red gloves. When had this happened? What was that he had just done?

“What was that just now?” Sakamoto continued questioning.

He didn’t know. Not really. But… it had felt good…

“You little…!” Kamoshida stalked forward, boldly, unwilling to let him do what he pleases.

Sakamoto quickly found his footing and charged the older man. Just like the guard from earlier, the boy tackled Kamoshida to the ground, knocking him flat.

“Hah! You like that, you son of a bitch!?” Sakamoto taunted.

“The keys!” He shouted.

The boy looked down and quickly snapped up the ring of keys Kamoshida or one of the guards had dropped.

“Lock him in!”

They ran out, slammed the door shut, and Sakamoto quickly locked the gate.

“Damn you!” Kamoshida shouted, getting to his feet and gripping the bars of what was now his cell.

“Hey!” Sakamoto turned to him, ignoring the petulant man. “What was that just now!? And… your clothes!”

As if by his mention alone, the black coat disappeared, and his school uniform returned.

“Woah, it went back to normal! What the hell?”

He had no idea, and he no longer cared. All that mattered was they were free, and they had to leave. The power had saved them once, but without really knowing what it was or how it worked, he could not guarantee it would save them again.

“You bastards!”

“This is effin’ nuts... Let's scram! You lead the way!”

Sakamoto turned and looked Kamoshida in the eyes. “Nyeeeeh!” He taunted before tossing the keys into the small river that was running through the middle of the dungeon.

They both took off running, leaving Kamoshida alone in his cell, rattling the bars.

“You goddamn theives…! After them! Don’t let them escape!”

[godswritingfreak]

EW!!!

Characters: Logan, Cherise Verse: Pokemon

“I told you, I don't wanna…” Cherise complained even as they walked up to the front door of the restaurant.

“And yet, here we are. Come on, I know you don't like your birthday, but just let me do this for you? It doesn't have to be a bad thing. I'll make it a good thing!” Logan attempted to persuade her, and held the door open.

Cherise looked up at the building. It wasn't an overly fancy place, just enough that it was more expensive than fast food, but wasn't anywhere that specialized in anything. She glanced down and saw a pair of red eyes glow in her shadow that seemed to be urging her onward.

“Alright, I'm going, jeez…” she mumbled, knowing Midna would hear her.

“Yeah?” Logan asked, his face growing to a grin. “Okay, come on. You can pick anything, even a dessert. Consider it your birthday cake.”

“As long as you're not the one making it.”

“That hurts. The instructions are right on the box, I'm not that hopeless…”

The siblings walked in and Logan took the lead towards the greeter, who smiled at them.

“Hi! Table for two?” She asked.

“Yup! Thanks,” Logan said, smiling as well.

Cherise crossed her arms and waited. They waited just a moment for the greeter to go around the podium, grabbed a couple menus and walked them through the restaurant. She led them to a table sort of in the back, near a window, with booth seats. Logan always liked those best, more comfortable than a chair. It also gave him a place to drop his bag without leaving it on the floor. He slid into the seat, Cherise followed suit, he dropped his bag next to him, and thanked the greeter again as she put the menus in front of them and left the pair alone.

“So, let me guess,” Cherise asked, flipping open the menu without lifting it off the table. “You’re gonna get a burger or something, right?”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “So? I like them…”

“But it’s just more fast food, what’s special about it?”

“They’re bigger…” Logan pouted. “And taste better. And more fries. Big fries! It’s just better! Not the sloppy fast food stuff. Which still tastes good anyway…”

Cherise scoffed. “You’re so uncultured.”

“And what are you gonna get? You wear just as many video game t-shirts as I do,” Logan countered.

“None of your business.”

Logan rolled his eyes and sighed. “You enjoy being difficult, don’t you?”

“Sometimes,” Cherise finally looked up from the menu and gave him a small smirk.

Logan smiled and shook his head, and silence fell as they took a moment to earnestly look over the menu for their respective meals. They ordered, talked, Cherise mentioned it was too quiet without Karok sniffing away at everything and barking excitedly, so Logan let him out. He immediately started chattering away, happy as always to be with the pair. Logan tossed him a few fries as well, but mostly he was content to curl up next to one or the other and bark away if he felt he needed to be heard. Overall, it was nice. Logan had questions about breeding and the competitive stuff Cherise had spent so much time doing and learning, and she rattled on about something Logan had barely heard of before, but was honestly thinking of checking it out now.

As they finished up, Logan took in a deep, pleasant breath while Cherise looked over the desserts to top it all off. This had really worked out. They'd talked a lot, and he felt like they'd managed to really get close. Times like these were few and far between with her. He still often doubted if he was getting through to her at all, if she actually trusted him or not. But days like these made him lose all worry. Even Karok seemed pleased as he napped, flopped upside down next to Cherise.

“Did you enjoy your meal?” Their server asked as she once more approached the table.

“Yes!” They answered in unison.

“Excellent! Anything for dessert?” She continued, spotting the open menu in Cherise's hand.

“Yeah, one of these!” Cherise pointed to one of the items on the menu.

“Of course, I'll be right back.”

“And I'll take the bill, too,” Logan added hastily.

“Sure. Together?”

“Yes.”

The server smiled, nodded, and walked off. True to her word only a few minutes passed before she returned with both Cherise's dessert and Logan's bill. He payed while Cherise dug in.

“Okay, and we're done!” The server said as she confirmed the payment was complete. “I hope you two enjoyed your date here tonight!”

Cherise immediately began choking on her food.

“Uhh…” Logan glanced from the server to his sister, suddenly with a bad feeling in his stomach.

Cherise slammed the table, hard enough that Karok very suddenly woke up and rolled off his seat with a cry, and Logan noticed a few nearby diners glance their way. She swallowed, clearing her throat and stood up. “EWW!!!”

Her shriek definitely drew more attention, and Logan felt his face go red with embarrassment.

“That is… so gross!” She cried, finding herself unable to look in any real direction, especially towards anyone.

“H-Hey, relax, it was just a simple-” Logan tried to calm her down.

She shook her head hard, her hair flipping everywhere. “Nope, no, I've already started going there and I'm grossed out, I'm outta here.”

With that she charged out of her seat, nearly bumping the server, who looked at least as embarrassed as the siblings. Logan watched her go for a second, mind contemplating what just happened, but a sharp poke to his ribs had him up on his feet, bag in hand.

“S-Sorry about that…” Logan muttered to the server before dashing after his sister, Quilava in tow.

“No, it was my fault,” she apologized, still wide eyed.

Logan caught up to his sister outside, who was being accosted by her Gengar.

She spun on her heel and glared at Logan. “We. Never. Speak. Of. This. Ever.”

Logan's head recoiled slightly and he just nodded.

Cherise took a deep breath. “Thank you… for food. Now let's… please leave…?”

“Y-Yeah…” Logan agreed.

[godswritingfreak]

The Pathfinder - ME:A

Universe: Mass Effect: Andromeda Characters: Logan Holden, Cherise Holden (mentioned)

Logan slowly blinked into consciousness, watching the dull steel ceiling shift from a tired blur to properly sharp vision. He blinked once model trying to remember what happened. It was all a blur. One second he was watching the sky clear with his father, the next he was… here.

Before he could ask himself where exactly here was, a familiar voice rang out. “Welcome back, Logan.”

It was the AI of the Hyperion ark, SAM. As good a place as any to get some answers while his brain woke up. “What happened?”

“You were clinically dead for twenty-two seconds.”

He sat up, groaning as his body resisted the action. “What… what about the others? What about my dad?”

Sudden movement from the ground in front of him made Logan jump, until he recognized it as Liam. “Hey… you're still with us!”

He stood up, looking tired. Logan guessed he'd been sitting there watching over him until he fell asleep. Liam blinked it away as he activated his omni-tool’s comm. “Guys, get to SAM Node, Holden’s awake!” After the message, he lowered his arm and looked closer at Logan. “Who were you talking to?”

“SAM,” Logan answered matter-of-factly, thinking it was obvious.

“I didn't hear him…” Liam replied, sounding confused.

Further discussion was cut off as Cora and Lexi ran in. The asari quickly began opening diagnostics on her omni-tool while Cora stood off to the side to take her own look at Logan.

“You're up!” Cora greeted as she walked in, obviously grateful to see he'd pulled through.

“Look here,” Lexi instructed, holding her omni-tool arm to one side.

Logan did, then she moved her arm to the other side. “Now here.”

She seemed satisfied as he followed her motions, but something else caught Logan's eye. A discarded helmet. N7. His father's.

“Where's my dad?” He asked, glancing up to Cora.

The Lieutenant glanced down, avoiding Logan's gaze, then shared a glance with Lexi, who seemed at a loss for words. Logan's gut wrenched. He prayed he wasn't about to hear what he thought he was.

“It was your life or his,” Cora answered finally. “And he chose yours.”

Logan's heart skipped a beat. He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head, fingers gripping into his pants as he tried to process that. His father was dead. Elite N7 soldier, lead Pathfinder of the Hyperion ark, one of the first humans to touch down on a world of the Andromeda galaxy. Dead. To save his son. Logan swallowed and opened his eyes again, forcing himself to relax.

“I'm sorry Logan,” Cora continued after giving him his moment. “I know this must be a blow.”

Logan nodded. “He… he did what he had to. He saved me, saved the team. We would've all died down there if he hadn't…” his voice hitched, so he took a breath and sighed, head lowering again. “I just can't believe he's gone…”

There was silence for a moment, not quite awkward, but not quite respectful distance either. Cora eventually broke it.

“You know… he once said, that when his time came, he wanted to go out among stars that no one has seen before.”

Logan nodded. Liam came up behind Cora, put a hand on her shoulder, then came up and did the same to Logan. He did his best to remember that Cora and his dad were also fairly close. She had to be devastated by this too. He shook his head, he knew this would be dangerous, and he couldn't do anything else about it right now. Certainly not with a room full of people. Instead, he took a breath and questioned said room.

“What, ah, what are we doing in SAM Node anyway?” Logan asked with a final sniff and steadying breath.

This definitely wasn't the medbay, Logan had been sleeping on essentially a metal slab, which had caused an ache in his shoulders. No, this was the room that SAM essentially lived in, where his interface and core was found. Definitely not where you'd take someone who had clinically died for twenty-two seconds.

Lexi stepped forward. “SAM is… a part of you now. In a way we don't fully understand. It played havoc with your brain.

What the heck did that mean? “SAM?” Logan called out to the room.

“Your father authorized the transfer of Pathfinder authority to you,” the AI answered.

“Wait, what!?” Logan exclaimed. “Me? Why me? I thought that was supposed to be Cora!” What did this mean?

“In theory, yes,” Cora responded evenly. “In reality… You're the new Pathfinder, Logan.”

Logan just stared at Cora. Then glanced at Liam and Lexi. No one was laughing so it wasn't a joke. No, this was real. Logan was now the leader of humanity's exploration of Andromeda, responsible for everyone on Hyperion, light years away from the home they all knew, over six hundred years of travel. And his father was dead, and his sister trapped in stasis for who knows how long. God, his sister. How was he supposed to handle that? She hadn’t had any further complications since he’d left, had she?

He rubbed his face with his hands and took another in a long line of deep breaths. “I… I…”

“What's the matter?” Liam asked, crossing his arms. “I think you're up for it.”

Logan gave him an incredulous look. “Really? I mean, I don't have any kind of training for this though. Why would my dad do this?”

Liam shrugged. “Your father had faith in you. And I've seen what you can do back on Habitat 7. I say run with it.”

“It's all academic anyway,” Lexi cut in. “SAM’s linked to your mind on a deeper level now. Trying to untangle it… could kill you.”

“I know this is tough,” Cora said. “But, we need to start thinking about the next step. A lot of people are counting on us.”

Logan nodded and ran his hand through his hair, wondering when he’d be able to stop taking deep breaths to steady himself. Today was a heck of a day. “Is, um, is the ark… okay? Is it still drifting?”

Liam answered. “That’s the thing, whatever your dad did with that tower, it saved the day. Some sort of atmosphere scrubber.”

Cora nodded. “The energy cloud thinned out. We’re on our way to the rally point now. Should be at the Nexus soon.”

“He needs to rest first,” Lexi stated sternly.

Cora looked at the doctor. “He’s got two hours.” She glanced back at Logan. “We’ll need our Pathfinder for this.”

Cora nodded to Liam, then jerked her head from Lexi to the door, and the three of them began to file out. Logan, however, called to Liam to wait a moment. He waited just long enough for the others to leave before opening his mouth, but Liam beat him to it.

“I checked on your sister. Still no change,” he said, warranting a relaxing sigh from Logan. “And hey, if you can pull through, so can she.”

He chuckled and gave a small smile. “Yeah. She’s always been tougher than me.”

Liam shrugged. “Bit of your dad in both of you.”

“Thanks,” Logan said as Liam headed out the door.

Silence permeated the room. Logan hung his head, no longer feeling the need to look strong for the others. It was something of an automatic response, he guessed, but this was a lot to take on. Sure, he’d had Alliance military training, but this was… He’d never been in a leadership position before, not like this. And this wasn’t just some assigned commander that had been killed, it was his father. Now he was left here, alone, no dad, no sister, no one he really knew to talk to. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to lead these people?

“Your father will be missed,” the familiar slightly fuzzy voice of the AI finally spoke up again.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, what I’m going to do,” Logan told him, feeling his throat tighten. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“This is our private channel,” SAM started. “I shared it with him.”

Not exactly the answer he was looking for, but it was something. “Why did he do it? Why did he pick me?”

“Unknown. But he never acted without reason.” That was only a little satisfying. “Alec wouldn’t want us to lose sight of the goal. He said pain emboldens our resolve. He’d insist we grow stronger from his passing.”

“Yeah… That sounds like him,” Logan admitted, wiping away tears. “I guess it was the same when mom died. But I had the rest of my family for that. People to lean on. But now everyone’s leaning on me. That’s a lot of pressure…”

“I am sure your father knew what he was doing, even if I do not understand it,” SAM offered.

“I guess if that’s all I’ve got, I’ll take it,” Logan said, swallowing a new set of tears that threatened to form, standing up, sniffled, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath before leaving SAM Node.

He walked through the steel corridors of Hyperion, heading to the medbay. A few people passed him, each one glancing at him with a concerned look. Logan had no idea if it was pity, sadness, or concern. How many people knew he was now the Pathfinder anyway? How many people believed in him? How many people didn’t? He tried not to think of it, focusing instead on just getting to the medbay.

When he opened the door, Lexi looked up with surprise. “Holden, I thought you’d be in your quarters, resting.”

He nodded. “I thought about it, but… Um, where’s my sister’s pod…?”

She looked him over for a moment, then nodded, turning to direct him to a corner of the room. “Over there. I’ll have a bed moved over for you.”

Logan offered her a small, grateful smile. “Thanks.”

For the next two hours, Logan lay on his side, staring at the pod that contained his comatose sister. Cherise had to wake up, she had to come and see this new galaxy, had to be here with him. It didn’t feel right to be doing any of this without her.

But he wasn’t looking forward to telling her that their father was dead.

[godswritingfreak]

The Sandworm

I have been stupidly inspired by the Zelda series lately, especially the trailers for Breath of the Wild (which I probably won’t get to play for awhile, since Switch preorders have been sold out since day one). This isn’t supposed to be a Zelda story, but more a generic exercise of something heavily inspired by the series, its tales of legend, and beautiful boss fights. More than anything I’d love to write an entire story similar to the Legend of Zelda, but with my own spin on things. For now... Enjoy a battle against a sandworm.

It was always something, they thought to themselves, boots sinking into the sands of the open desert, wind blowing silently over the dunes and through their cloak. At least it would be thrilling, battling a gigantic sandworm, assuming the stories were true. Harried merchants and surprised soldiers often had a skewed idea of what a “large monster” was, but they held out hope. They pulled the map out of its case, unraveling the worn parchment, and confirmed their position.

“It should be right around here…” They muttered to themselves. “Now, what’s it going to take to bring you up to the surface, hmm…?”

There was nothing out here, aside from the road - if you were to call it that - far behind them, and the markers used to point the way forward in case the road were to disappear beneath the sands for a time. They considered the situation. So far the worm had only attacked merchant groups, or patrols. Larger numbers, clanking metals, jingling coins and jewelry. From beneath their cloak, they drew their sword and shield, the steel glinting in the harsh sunlight.

“Alright worm!” They called out to the dunes, beginning to bang the sword and shield against each other. “Come on out!”

Moments passed, and they kept clanging. They paused, and more silent moments passed.

They began to clang again. “Come on, I don’t have all d-woah!”

Their words halted as the sands shifted beneath their boots. It was small, but just enough to put them off balance for a moment. They quickly realigned to a balanced, ready position, shield ahead, sword at their side, but once more things were still and quiet. Their eyes scanned the dunes, but nothing… nothing… There.

A dune suddenly began to expand, the sands pushing out and sliding away, bulging, until finally, the sands exploded outwards with a bellowing roar. They ducked their head, using the shield and the hood of the cloak to keep the sand from their eyes, but glancing up again quickly to see what was most definitely a gigantic sandworm. It was easily the length of twenty horses nose to rear, and large enough around to swallow a single horse as a snack. It was covered in fins, and a pale yellow, nearly matching the colour of the sands themselves. But the most important detail that they noticed, was the large, grinding teeth inside the mouth that opened to nearly its full width, and headed straight for them.

With a grin, they dashed to the side, leaping and rolling just as the monster crashed back into the dunes, an explosion of sand being left as its tail end slipped back down out of sight. The quickly came back to their feet, instantly back in their ready position, waiting for the next appearance of the monster. The bulging of the sand appeared again, and this time they were ready. They dashed forward, full speed, and reached the bulge just as the monster burst forth. Dropping to their knees, they slid under the worm, sword thrusting upwards. The hide of the beast turned the steel aside, and it scraped across the surface, completely ineffectual. Another tactic would be required. This time, when the beast landed upon the sands again, it did not submerge, but began to swim through it, making a wide turn back around towards them.

“A weak spot, I need a weak spot. An opening in the hide, anything!” They called out to the noisily shifting sands.

The monster was bearing down on them now, but they stood steady, waiting for the last possible moment to dodge out of the way. As it came, they saw it. Two eyes raised slightly above the top of the monster, its otherwise round shape coming up to a point with what looked like an even tougher, darker, more brown coloured hide along the top, likely protecting its spine. Maybe there.

“Dodging first!” They yelled to themselves, once more leaping away and rolling to their feet, sand spraying them as the worm dashed through the sands mere feet away.

Also along the top of the monster were long spines, feelers, maybe, to help orient itself while underground? Whatever they were, they were an opening. Quickly sheathing their sword, they drew another item from beneath the cloak. It was clawed at one end, with a handle at the other. They had no idea how it was constructed, but they knew how to use it. With a press of the trigger, the claw shot forth, rope inside trailing after it, flying over the monster, and as soon as one of the spines touched the rope, they hit the trigger again, stopping the rope and reversing its direction. It went tight, and the claw and rope both wrapped around the spine, the claw looping around and finding purchase along the rope itself, locking into place. With the rope taut and the claw locked, they soon found themselves pulled forward by the beast’s charge. As they were pulled off their feet and into the air being dragged after the the monster, they pulled back on the rope, righted themself, and put the shield under their feet. With a thrilled laugh, they shoved down, the shield impacting the sand, and beginning to slide across it. Both hands clutching the clawshot, they maneuvered across the sands, doing their best to stay balanced, even as the device slowly reeled them in towards the beast. With gritted teeth, they slowly got alongside the worm, using one hand to try and find a handhold. Finally something felt solid beneath their fingers, and they pulled. With the shield strap looped around their boot, and the clawshot still slowly reeling in, they pulled themselves up onto the worm. With a push of another switch on the clawshot, it disengaged, the rope quickly winding back into the device, the claw setting back in place with a click. They situated themselves atop the worm, pulling their shield back up onto their arm, and laughing as they rode a worm over twenty times their size. It was thrilling, but they had a job to do.

Slowly standing, they stalked forward, the beast beginning to zig and zag as they felt the humanoid atop them. Using the spines along the worm’s back, they started making their way towards the worm’s face more quickly, knowing that it could dive back underground at any moment. It was hard, especially with the fins along the worm’s side slicing through the sand and kicking it up into their face. It felt like hours, but was only moments before they had reached the front of the worm.

“I’ve got you now, you-”

Just as they were reaching back for their sword, the beast shuddered, and began to rotate. Just as they began to slide off the back of the beast, they began to scramble to the side, climbing over the rotating monster. They dodged a flapping fin by mere inches, onto its stomach, which bucked, but a quick anchoring with the clawshot kept them on board, even as the worm rotated again. This time the fin slapped them across the face, and they nearly lost their footing as they spun away, clutching the side of their face. But they threw themself forward, and gripped onto the tougher hide along the top as it rotated back up. From their prone position they crawled forward, finally reaching their target: the beast’s eyes.

Stowing the clawshot, they reached back and once more drew their sword, the sound of steel coming forth ringing through the air, and without hesitation, stabbed downwards into the creature’s right eye. A sound unlike any they had ever heard screeched from the creature, but its meaning was unmistakable. Pure pain. Blood came forth as the eyeball burst, and the creature shuddered so suddenly and violently that finally, they were knocked free. They hit the sand hard, and even trying to roll with the impact, felt their left side throb with pain. Looking up, they saw the creature submerge again. They came to a knee, making sure that standing wouldn’t cause more pain, and wondering if the beast would disappear beneath the sands, never to return. At least until its eye was healed. But just as they struggled to their feet, they felt the sand beneath them shift again. Looking down, they saw they were standing on a bulge like those from before. With a panicked cry, they leapt forward, just as the gaping maw of the beast once more burst forth, right where they had been standing but a blink of an eye before. It roared, this time with anger, as it came arcing back down to where they scrambled for purchase on the sand, trying desperately to get out of the way.

It slammed back down into the sand, tunneling away and out of sight, but they knew it would be back. It wasn’t scared, it was angry, and it wanted blood. Again it burst forth from the sand, but this time nearby, arcing through the air towards them, they dodged, and it disappeared again. No longer was it content to swim across the surface, but was trying to ambush them without giving access to its remaining eye. They had to dodge three more times before they managed to figure out a pattern, and had caught a glimpse of the eye, at the last moment before it would land atop them. Sheathing sword and shield once more, they now drew forth a bow, digging out two arrows from their quiver, nocking one and keeping the other ready in their off hand. The bulge once more appeared, and this time they stood their ground. It burst forth as before, arcing through the air. They pulled back on the string, aiming, waiting. It began to arc down towards them, and they tracked its movement with the arrowhead. Finally, just as it came down, the leapt backwards, flipping mid-air, and landing once more on one knee, arrow still drawn, then let go of the string. With a satisfying thwipp the arrow was released, and as if in slow motion, they watched it fly through the air, before it met the worm’s eye. The beast shrieked again, and this time bounced off the sands, its trajectory thrown off by the spasms of pain. It skidded to a halt, pained screams echoing across the dunes as it writhed in pain.

They stalked towards it, stowing the bow and once more drawing their sword. They walked around its flapping jaws, one hand against their side, until they came around to the now empty eye sockets. They aimed their sword then stabbed deep inside. Then again, and again, repeatedly, until the beast’s writing came to an end, the shrieking slowly dying away with the creature itself. Finally, it lay still, and they fell backwards, letting out an exhausted breath, but with a grin solidly on their face.

“Well. That was fun, don’t you think?”

“You are just a touch too reckless still, is what I think.” The voice came from beneath the hood of their cloak, a small light, glowing and dimming as it spoke.

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”

“That is not an appropriate- ah, never mind. You’d not listen anyway. Yes, it worked, good job.”

“Now that old man can finally hand over what we need. I can’t believe saving the world against pure evil is this hard! You’d think people would cooperate more! Bah, fools need to be staring doom in the face before they’d let anyone help. Oh well.”

“It’s another step forward. At least you still have many more fights to experience.”

“Haha! I can’t wait! Come on, let’s get back to town.”

Wiping the sword clean with a cloth, then sheathing it once more on their back, they turned and headed back to the marked road, the quest complete. What more would the world have to throw at them? Who knew, but they were eager to find out.

[godswritingfreak]

Run - FFXIV - Vincent

Verse: Final Fantasy XIV Character: Vincent Lalande

“Niqi’a!”

The voice of his father woke him, but despite the urgency in his father’s tone, all he did was roll to face opposite the approaching man.

“Niqi’a, wake up! Please!”

He shrugged the hand off his shoulder that shook him, and he half-turned his head. “What do you want, father?”

His father sighed, and shook his head. “You need to leave. You need to run. I’ve packed some things for you, but you must leave. Immediately.”

This got his attention, there wasn’t just urgency, there was also panic in his father’s voice, so he sat up to listen. “Why?”

His father pressed a satchel into his son’s hands. “It is your mother. I had hoped I could find a way to… I didn’t think…” His father sighed and did his best to compose himself. “I know you think little of me, and you have much reason to. I am sorry I have failed you thus far, but I hope with this act I can save myself in your eyes. Your mother desires power, and we have been incapable of providing it. She has decided to take extreme measures, and even now plans to join the Coeurl King, but to do so, she must take us before him and slay us both. I refuse to let her insane desires harm you any further, so you must flee Niqi’a, please, before she returns!”

He looked into his father’s eyes, and felt his father’s hands around his, still pressing them around the satchel. There was a fire there that he had never seen before, not for the thirteen years he had been alive. Despite all the derision he had for his father, he took these words to heart and nodded to his father.

“Okay.”

Relief visibly flooded his father, who took his hands away, and ruffled his son’s hair. “Good. And truly… I am sorry. I thought I could find a way to appeal to her, to change her, so that you could see the woman I fell in love with, but… She seems to be long gone. So I am sorry for all I have caused you. But please, flee from here, flee from the Shroud, for if you remain beneath this canopy I fear she will never stop hunting you. Go out, make me proud, let loose the adventurous spirit I’ve seen in you!”

He followed his father to the edge of the clearing that their small home existed in, but paused to look up at him. “But… what about you?” He had never once asked his father such a question, and it felt strange, but after all this time, he could see the father he always wished he had.

“I will delay her. I fear you shall not make it far without me to slow her down. Your safety is my most important goal. So please, Niqi’a, flee. Flee far and fast.” His father ended his plea with a click of his tongue, a notion in the huntspeak tongue of the Miqo’te that meant a deep and urgent warning to get away.

With that sharp sound echoing in his ears, he fled, and didn’t look back.

His mind raced as he ran, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation, that he could never return home, that all he knew would be lost. Except… just maybe…

He turned sharply and made for another area he knew well. The place where his friend, an orphan living amongst the Keepers in the area, lived. He barrelled into the tiny clearing, and nearly ran straight into his friend.

“Niqi’a! What are you doing here?”

“Alanu’a, I need help!” He pleaded.

“Oh? What did that nasty Rizho do now?”

“It’s what she plans to do. She means to kill me and my father, he bade me flee the Shroud, but, I didn’t know-, I would’ve been-” He paused. “I-I don’t… know how to read...”

Alanu’a studied his friend for a moment before responding. “So she finally snapped, huh? Well, not to worry, your studious best pal shall not leave you hanging. We know the best ways around these woods, don’t we? We’ll be free of the Shroud in a moments time, and I shall guide our way into the world beyond!” Alanu’a puffed out his chest, and placed a fist on his breast.

He half sighed and half laughed in relief. There would be at least one thing that would stay with him.

Alanu’a made him wait only a moment as he collected his few possessions, hefting them in a satchel similar to his own. “Come, Niqi’a, let’s be off!”

That night, the pair made their first steps into the deserts of Thanalan. Sure enough, Alanu’a was quite capable of leading them, both with his sense of direction - one that was shared between them - as well as his ability to read the common script of Eorzea. When they came upon the city-state of Ul’dah, they found it crowded, hot, and uncomfortable. Instead, Alanu’a suggested a yet further place, a temperate island off the coast, large, a whole nation. Far away was all the description he needed, even better that it lay across the water, he decided his mother would never find him there.

They boarded a ship, using the surprisingly large amount of gil his father had included in the satchel, and before long, the coast that held the hot desert of Thanalan and the now suffocating canopy of the Shroud, was barely a mark on the horizon. Looking forward, he found the beautiful blue ocean ahead of him, a sight that made a permanent mark in his memory.

The city of Limsa Lominsa was cool, salty, and while damp, it was not stuffy or highly uncomfortable. They made their way off the vessel and into the city itself, and he stopped his friend, speaking low.

“Alanu’a, in order to make our escape as solid as possible, we must abandon our names. I would not want word of me to ever escape but the memory of our past lives. Not only that, but, I want nothing to do with my parentage any longer, instead let us find names of the faraway places we’d always spoke of, and adopt those instead?”

Alanu’a considered this a moment, then nodded. “I don’t have much against my own name, but I see your point. I bet we could find some fine names to use! All we need is-”

Just then, a door swung open opposite the hall, and Alanu’a���s eyes began to shine. “Look! Books!” He cried, pointing into the room.

Sure enough, he saw as they made their way to the door, there were bookshelves lining the walls, reaching to the high ceiling.

“This is perfect, all we need is to find names in one of these books!” Alanu’a whispered excitedly.

As he looked, he saw many people moving about, plucking books, replacing them, showing them to someone behind a counter, then walking away with them. A symbol adorned the counter, symbolizing it as some kind of group, but he could not read any of the words.

Without hesitation, Alanu’a approached the desk. “Excuse me, are we allowed to read any of these books?”

The figure on the other side smiled. “Most, at least. Many are for the exclusive use of the guild, but… Well, what sort of book would you like to read?”

Alanu’a pursed his lips, thinking. “A book of names. From a faraway place!”

It was the figure’s turn to take a moment of thought. “I believe we have such books available. But why would you want a book of names?”

“I like names!” Alanu’a said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Well, I daresay it is an odd thing for a child to enjoy, but far be it for me to restrict a child from learning. Give me but a moment.”

The next hours were spent pouring over the books they had been given, Alanu’a pointing out as much as he could to him, to help him begin learning to read on his own, searching for names, and by the time the sun was setting outside, and the room was growing quiet, he finally stood.

“That is my name, then. No longer will you call me Niqi’a Rizho, for he died escaping the Shroud.”

His friend stood as well. “And no longer will I be Alanu’a Nichi, his best friend and companion even to the grave! I am Arluin Noel, a noble Keeper of Limsa Lominsa!”

“And I am Vincent Lalande, Keeper of the sea!” Vincent said, feeling pride within him, determining that this man would be everything he'd dreamed of.

[godswritingfreak]

Memories A World Away - FFXIV

Not that long ago, Naomi had been one of the only Au Ra Cherise had ever met. Today, they wandered everywhere around Vesper Bay, and the one she was looking for was nowhere to be found.

“Of course when I want to find you, you pick that moment to go quiet and disappear…” Cherise huffed to herself.

Naomi had been missing for hours now, and it was highly unlike her to just disappear and be completely unnoticeable. The former, sure, she did that all the time, but she would always reappear soon after with a flourish of some sort. To be fully honest with herself, Cherise was worried. Ever since the Domans docked at Vesper Bay, Naomi hadn’t been herself. She had insisted she’d been fine, even acted like it. Mostly. Something was still off. But there still hadn’t been any sign of her family since then. They probably really were dead.

Just then, something caught Cherise’s attention. “Hey!” She called out, recognizing one of the faces that stood taller than most of the others. “Hey you!” She didn’t know the Raen’s name, but she didn’t really care, he had known Naomi, talked to her at the docks, reported her family’s death, maybe he knew where she was.

A few people looked around, confused, but only the Raen fully stopped, seeing Cherise’s gaze locked upon him. “Er, yes? Can I help you?”

“Have you seen Naomi around anywhere?” Cherise asked bluntly.

“What? Oh!” Recognition lit his face. “You were with Naomi at the docks, of course. Let me think… I believe I saw her leaving town towards the camp just north of here.”

“Great! Thanks,” She said quickly before turning and walking away, leaving the poor man slightly baffled.

Cherise ran out of town without another glance back, wondering what Naomi was doing all the way out here alone. Sure, there were always Blades stationed out here so it wasn’t exactly unsafe but… Oh she was fine, Naomi was always fine, why was this even bothering her so much? She was probably just goofing off like she always did.

Those thoughts didn’t slow the Hyur’s pace, as she all but sprinted towards the camp. When she reached it, she didn’t immediately see Naomi anywhere. “Psh, figured, she probably already moved on, who knows when that guy even saw her. She’s probably playing with the kids or something, back at-”

Just as Cherise turned to leave, she caught Naomi out of the corner of her eye. The Raen was sitting on the rocks at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the ocean. Her knees were drawn up to her chin, and she sat so still, it was hard to recognize her, considering how animated she so often was. Cherise swallowed and slowly approached her.

“Naomi?” She called softly as she got closer.

Naomi slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder at Cherise. “Cherise?” She asked, a look of confusion on her face. “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Cherise replied, coming to sit next to Naomi. “I was looking for you.”

“Oh,” Naomi turned to stare back out over the ocean.

Cherise got a better look at her from here, and her eyes were puffy from crying. “Naomi… what’s wrong?”

Naomi went even more still, something Cherise didn’t think she could’ve managed. The Raen swallowed seemed to focus even harder on the blue horizon. “They’re really gone, aren’t they?” She said after a few moments. “They’re not on another boat, or mixed in with another group. They’re dead. Out there somewhere.”

Cherise didn’t have an answer to that, just nodded slowly.

“You know, I always gave them a lot of trouble. I didn’t really mean to, but… Well, you know how I am. Most Raen are quiet, like to keep to themselves, hide away in the mountains and whatever. I was never like that, not at all. Got into a lot of trouble, my parents always seemed exasperated with me. My older brother often followed me around like a bodyguard or something. No one ever complained though. It’s like… I don’t know, as if they knew I couldn’t help myself. They weren’t surprised when I said I wanted to leave, to go exploring worlds out there no one there had ever seen. I wanted to go to Eorzea. I’d heard about it, everyone had. Especially after the Calamity. So I left, with my family’s blessings. Three years ago.”

Naomi turned to glance at Cherise. “I was fifteen.”

Cherise nodded again, this time in understanding. She had always felt something similar, never wanting to stay in one place, not wanting to catch and haul fish all her life. In fact she had her own escape, though one she had been very careful not to spread back home. Sneaking off and being a member of the Rogue’s Guild had given her the escape she’d needed then. Logan, she knew, would’ve been perfectly happy staying right there, making an honest living doing a simple job. She wondered, sometimes, if he was even happy being the face of the Warriors of Light, being the big hero. Not that he didn’t like helping others, that was always his thing. But was he happy?

Naomi looked back out over the ocean and continued. “Two years later, of course, I ran into you. Literally. Got us thrown in jail. Just one more piece of trouble I managed to get someone else into. At least people knew me back home, got reprimanded and my brother was never far to carry me off and away from whatever I’d done. You probably would’ve liked him. He was a Ninja, you know. Sorta like how you fight sometimes, with your knives, like the Rogues in Limsa. I think I’d heard that they’re related somehow, I don’t remember though. He was quiet, tall, liked to just smile and nod and go along with things. Didn’t put up with anyone being rude or mean though. No one back home ever wanted to cross him. That alone probably kept me out of even more trouble. He definitely would’ve fought the Garleans when they came. He would’ve… been right at the f-front. W-Well, n-no, not exactly. B-Behind, them, I mean, attacking from behind them. Surprised them. O-Or lead them away from others, l-let a family e-e-escape. A-And now he’s… H-He’s…”

Tears began to stream down Naomi’s cheeks again as her shoulders shook. “My parents were so kind too. Patient to a fault, i-if you imagined t-the typical quiet, m-meditative R-Raen, t-that was them. L-Lotta people probably wondered h-how I was related to them. T-They would’ve driven you c-crazy.” She laughed to cover sobs she couldn’t keep back. “I l-left them a-at fifteen y-years old, Cherise. A-And now… I-I’m never going to see them again…”

Naomi buried her face in her knees and finally began to cry in full. Cherise frowned, not knowing how to help, or how to react to all of that. All she could do was to slide closer to Naomi, wrap an arm around her, and hold her close.

She cried for awhile, but eventually it quieter into sniffles. Mumbled words didn’t make it out of her knees.

“What?” Cherise asked, looking down.

Naomi raised her head slightly. “Would I make a good Ninja?”

Cherise looked at her, confused. “I… don’t know. I don’t know what they do, really. Why?”

Naomi glanfed at Cherise and then back to the ocean. “Just wondering… If I could manage to follow in my brother’s footsteps…”

“…I think it’s worth a shot,” Cherise said.

“Really?” Naomi looked up at Cherise with hope in her eyes. “You think I could do it?”

“I think you could be stubborn enough to at least make a good attempt. And I think you should at least try,” Cherise looked down into Naomi’s eyes. “For your brother.”

Naomi smiled back at her. “For my brother.”

[godswritingfreak]

Auracite Echoes - FFXIV (Future)

“Oooh… she is such a… a…” Makayla fumed, fists clenched, glaring at the wall in front of her, and even stomped a foot, though she tried to keep it as quiet as possible, while still displaying the frustration she felt. “Crone.” She finally spat before taking a deep breath only to huff it out her nose.

“Being has harsh as ever with her lessons then?”

The sudden presence of another’s voice caused Makayla’s ears and tail to go rigid as her whole body flinched. Embarrassed, she turned to see Yda giving her a small smile, the Hyur looking equal parts amused and understanding. Makayla dropped her gaze and scuffed the floor with her boot. She had thought the back area of the Rising Stones had been empty enough for her to let out her frustrations in private.

“Y-Yeah… I mean, she’s right I guess, it’s just so hard to pay attention to it all. When am I even going to use information about… weird crystal stuff?”

Yda put a finger to her lips and hummed, cocking her head in thought. “Well, depends on the crystal I suppose. Lots of them have helped us before. What was she talking to you about?”

“Something called auracite?” Makayla answered, now suddenly curious.

“Ahh…” Yda nodded sagely at the word. “That one was very important. I’m surprised you don’t already know about it! It was quite an important part of your parents’ early journeys!”

Makayla’s eyes went wide. “What? Really? Tell me!” She pressed, suddenly eager, her tail flicking back and forth.

“Well… I don’t know…” Yda drew it out. “I wouldn’t want you to call me a crone or anything…”

“Yda!”

The Hyur let out a giggle. “Alright, alright. Sit down, I’ll tell you why weird crystal stuff is so important.” Makayla hopped into a chair and Yda leaned against the back of another and began the story.

“Well, let’s start with this: you’ve heard of the Ascians, yes?” Makayla nodded. “Right, so this was actually just before we all got split up after the complications in Ul’dah. You parents and the other Warriors of Light had just taken out the primals Ramuh and Shiva, and were beginning to investigate the troubles of Ishgard and the Dravanians, while looking for a way to kill the Ascians, who seemed to be turning up around every corner!

Well we had to call in a specialist, another Sharlayan, and a good friend of mine, Moenbryda. Oh she knew so much about crystals and aether! In fact, she was able to trace Shiva’s teleport even without an aetheryte! Oh but the look on your father’s face when he heard about that, he was white as a sheet! Of course, as I’m sure you know, he was the first one through, and it worked like a charm! Anyway, she helped us research how we could try to weaponize crystals and aether to blow away Ascians, even as slippery as they were. Specifically, white auracite.”

Yda gave Makayla a knowing glance, and was rewarded with a silent “ahhh” and a nod, so she continued.

“So. We were trying to figure out how to gather all this aether, because we had to do it all at once you see, as it doesn’t like to stick around, even with auracite. Meanwhile your parents went off to check up on the big frozen Midgardsormr out in the lake just outside Revenant's Toll here. Turns out, Midgardsormr wasn’t really dead, and challenged the Warriors of Light on their purpose and resolve, stripping them of the blessing of Light. While a potentially noble reasoning behind it, it was certainly an inconvenient timing.

Considering we were looking so closely at the Ascians, they were watching us as well. As soon as they realized the Warriors lacked the Light, they struck, right here, in the Rising Stones, right in the Solar itself!”

Makayla’s eyes went wide, and they darted over to where the Solar doors stood closed before snapping back to Yda, eager to hear more.

“Well Minfilia tried her best, but the Ascian who attacked us, Nabriales, was too strong. He knocked her aside, took Tupsimati, and planned to usher in another Calamity! The Warriors got there just as he was about to leave, and Moenbryda charged him, in a vain attempt to keep him from escaping. She was critically wounded, but gave the Warriors an opening to chase him through his portal, and did battle with him! Of course, I wasn’t there, but I hear it took all their effort to subdue him, rescue Minfilia, and take back Tupsimati.

But, like I said, Ascians are slippery. Once they returned to the Solar, he tried to escape. Moenbryda had the white auracite still though, and Minfilia used it to capture his aether! Now that they had him, they just had to destroy it, which meant a surge of aether of our own. Your father and the other Warriors channeled all they had, but it wasn’t going to be enough. So…”

Yda faltered suddenly. What had been a passionately retelling suddenly drifted off, and her eyes fell away from Makayla.

“W...What happened?” Makayla asked softly, her excitement suddenly drained. “My parents killed Nabriales, right? So they had to have succeeded…”

Yda nodded. “Oh, they did, but… In order to summon enough aether to penetrate his defenses, Moenbryda… She… She stepped into the stream of aether…” Yda swallowed. “She used her own life’s aether to power the attack. It obliterated Nabriales, but we lost a dear friend that day. A dear friend and an expert scholar.”

A single tear fell down Yda’s cheek, and Makayla knew just how much the Sharlayan had meant to her, if such a retelling could cause such a reaction, even after all this time. “I’m so sorry…”

The Hyur smiled and wiped the tear away. “It’s alright. She did what she had to, and it was a great victory for us. I’m sure she’s proud to know her very aether destroyed an Ascian of all things. She was like that. Something we had in common I suppose, probably why she talked to me like few other Sharlayans did. Ah, but the point of the story.

Y’shtola and the rest of the Scions have worked long and hard to learn what they know, some of it to hopefully prevent things like what happened to Moenbryda. I know it can be hard to listen to her go on, trust me, I’ve lived with it since before you were born! But it is important. If you do ever need some inspiration however, you are free to come to me and see if there’s a good story in it!”

Makayla smiled and nodded. “Can you tell me more about her? Moenbryda, I mean.”

Yda smiled back. “Oh, yes. She was a Roegadyn, so very tall, all muscles. I’m sure that’s not what you think of when you think of a scholar, but she wasn’t all brains! She’d even give me a run for my money! Bright white hair, shaved on one side and long and tossed off on the other side. Wore lots of blue, and had her tattoo right here on her neck-”

As Yda pointed to a spot on her own neck, Makayla suddenly saw a tattoo there. She frowned, and squeezed her eyes closed for a moment to try and clear her vision. When she reopened her eyes however, the room around her had changed. It was… flickering. The back room of the Rising Stones was still there, as was Yda, but there was something else… intersecting with it. Inside the same space as Yda was a Roegadyn, just as she had been describing. There was a flash, and Makayla jumped out of her chair, spinning around. Before her stood a tall, dark robed figure with a blood red mask. Her eyes went wide and she backed up, looking over her shoulder to see Moenbryda on the ground. More figures moved around her. She saw her father first, his bulky white and blue Paladin armour. Her mother was beside him, her tome in hand and her Garuda-egi by her side. Others filled in, the other Warriors of Light, and they charged the Ascian even as he escaped through a portal.

The room spun for a moment and Makayla fell to her knees. Everyone was back, and a floating white crystal now hovered where the Ascian had been earlier. The Warriors of Light stood to the side, holding out a cracked staff’s head, Tupsimati, and a beam of aether pouring into the crystal, buffeted by a shield of darkness. From the ground, Moenbryda stirred, and staggered to her feet. Slowly she stepped towards the beam of aether, and muttered something Makayla heard, but didn’t understand. She then stepped into it, and in a flash was gone. Another flash and the crystal was gone too, the echoing screams of the Ascian floating away with the sudden light.

Then it was all gone. Makayla was once more solidly in the back room of the Rising Stones, her head spinning.

“Makayla, are you alright!?”

She heard Yda call to her, but even as she turned her head to look, her vision blurred and she slumped to the ground.

“By the Gods… she has the Echo…” Yda muttered to herself as she gathered up the young Miqo’te. “I don’t know if I should celebrate or pity you… But you will definitely have a destiny, young one…”