#//beetle is grey's self insert ;o; best friends forever

[lalannaoronir]

She could still remember how she felt that night at Kadjaya's Footsteps: a mixture of awe and an underlying terror she couldn't quite explain at the sight of the brilliant starshower above Thavnair.

Hear. Feel. Think.

She was only a child then, barely past her seventeenth nameday; could anyone blame her for ignoring Hydaelyn's call? She didn't even know it was Hydaelyn at the time. She didn't know who Hydaelyn was at all -- only the Sisters. And that voice did not belong to any of them. So she ignored it, or tried to, for three years.

But the visions. The visions of others' memories, the ones that overwhelmed her that day by the shore -- her, an Au Ra practically birthed to swim in Thavnair's clear waters -- she couldn't hide that. She couldn't think of an excuse quick enough to explain to her mother why she had nearly drowned in front of her.

She didn't want to leave, but she knew she couldn't keep going on like this. These visions, this Echo had to go. But the Students of Baldesion had wrote that a group in the far-off land of Eorzea would be able to help her, and so she believed them.

She boarded a ship heading to Aldenard, to Thanalan, and upon her arrival, the timid foreign girl requested aid of an official-looking armored guard.

"I am seeking the Scions of the Seventh Dawn," she pleaded. "Do you know where I could find them?"

Unbeknownst to her, the Scions had been accused of regicide only a day prior. The guard, a member of the Brass Blades, led her straight to a prison -- and only when he opened the cell door for her did she realize she was being arrested. All too late. They ignored her questions and pleas and that was it. Off the boat and into jail. She didn't understand what was happening. It felt like a nightmare. It was a nightmare.

It was only later that night, when even her terrified weeping had subsided, that a voice addressed her from the next cell over. Lalanna had never seen a Viera before, but then again, she hadn't seen very many Roegadyn or Lalafell, either, until she had boarded the ship taking her to Eorzea. She would talk to a plant if it spoke to her nicely enough at this rate.

She wasn't sure why Ben'aan had asked her what had happened to her. Curiosity? Sympathy? Boredom? He himself had been locked up by the Brass Blades for a few weeks, or so he claimed, due to being falsely accused of being a spy for the Garlean Empire. Lalanna knew better than to trust a stranger at his word, but she was so distraught and he was the only one willing to listen to her. She told him everything, including the Echo she wished to dismiss and her search for the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.

And for whatever reason -- she thought, at the time, it was just to escape -- Ben'aan offered to help her find the Scions, in exchange for her assistance in getting out of this prison. She had no reason to refuse, and soon, they were running out of Ul'dah with the Brass Blades hot on their heels. Eventually, though, they lost them.

Ben'aan had heard that the Scions had been accused of regicide, but that their headquarters lay in the small town of Vesper Bay. Upon arriving, however, Lalanna was horrified to find their supposed headquarters abandoned. Nothing but an empty warehouse, now. She had collapsed, all but consumed by her hopelessness -- but Ben'aan was not deterred. He insisted they leave for the Black Shroud, if only to avoid the Brass Blades' influence. Listless and with nowhere else to go (and no gil to her name to try and return home), Lalanna agreed.

Over the course of the next few months, the two of them picked up odd jobs around Gridania and its surrounding villages, keeping their ears open for word about the Scions and earning just enough gil to survive. Ben'aan even taught her how to defend herself, sharing the his own dual-blade fighting style with her. Through this, and the time they spent together overall, they grew close. It wasn't very difficult at all for Lalanna to begin to harbor romantic feelings for him, but it was hard to gauge his reciprocity. Still, she was content enough for now just to have a companion. After all, he had no reason to stay by her side now that he was free from the Brass Blades. Surely he liked her, at least to some extent, to stay by her side.

And then news arrived of the Scions once more: that the Scions' own Warrior of Light had began to bridge the gap between the Eorzean Alliance and the withdrawn city-state of Ishgard, and even helped to end the centuries-long Dragonsong War. Soon after, there were whispers of the Scions' new headquarters being located in the Rising Stones in Mor Dhona.

She recalled Ben'aan's initial hesitance when she proposed they seek them out, but he agreed so quickly she didn't pay it any mind. Perhaps, she thought privately, he was reluctant to change the familiar life they had settled into together. Regardless, they made it to Mor Dhona the same day that a forebooding orb had appeared in the sky, not unlike the story of Dalamund. Upon arriving at the Seventh Heaven Bar, she began to second guess her decision to seek them out -- but Ben'aan had encouraged her to go.

"This is something you need to do yourself, Lalanna," he urged. "I'll find us a room at the inn in the meantime. Come find me when you're done."

He took the gil they shared and left, presumably to pay for their rooms, and she steeled her nerves before making her way inside.

Fortunately, she had found the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Krile, in particular, had been a member of the Students of Baldesion and knew of the Auri girl that had been sent to seek Minfilia's guidance. But with this comfort came a new slew of revelations: the Echo could not be removed, nor silenced, and the Scions could do little but nurture the ability she had never wanted.

Distressed, Lalanna excused herself from the Rising Stones to find Ben'aan, only to learn that there wasn't a proper inn at this particular town. Puzzled, she searched the settlement, only to learn that the guards just outside the town had seen Ben'aan leave on a chocobo cart to some unknown destination an hour ago.

After all that time, he had left without so much as a goodbye. Again, she found herself lost and with no one to turn to. No one but the Scions, who fortunately were kind enough to take her in. Of course, she was inconsolable at first -- she curled up in the bed assigned to her in Dawn's respite and lay there, listless and overwhelmed for nearly an entire day. Eventually, however, a fellow Scion was sent in to try and get her to eat -- a fellow Au Ra, this one with dark green scales she had never seen before, carrying a tray and flanked by five curious little fairies.

Their name was Beetle Bleisyl. They had been one of the few arcanists in the Scions' employ when the Bloody Banquet had occurred, and had been doing their part to help find the Scions that had been lost during that time. They were also quite the little oddball, although Lalanna immediately felt a camaraderie with them upon meeting. Almost as though they had always meant to be friends.

With Beetle and Krile's support, Lalanna found the strength within herself to embrace her new life as a Scion. She finally had a chance to write her parents in Thavnair, assuring them that she was finally safe and working with her gift after nearly a year of no contact. She met the other Scions, including the Warrior of Light, albeit briefly, just before they departed for Gyr Abania.

In the meantime, she, Beetle, and a few other newer members of the Scions were tasked with culling the unruly monsters in Eorzea haunting local dungeons. Although it was frightening at first, it helped build her confidence as a fighter and as a person in general.

A few days into embracing her new role, she came across a stray kitten in Quarrymill, and immediately adopted her, naming her Butternut for the golden-tabby pattern of her fur. She would later get her own chocobo, too, and name it Puddles...because he liked to have accidents when he was excited.

Despite not having as much life or adventuring experience as others, Lalanna eventually became the unofficial leader of her team for how she took charge and looked after others. While not a prominent frontliner compared to the Warrior of Light's closest companions, she and her group stepped up while the events unfolded on the First. Lalanna and Beetle even assisted Tataru and Krile in recruiting Estinien Varlineau, and subsequent missions to eliminate Black Rose chemical plants.

Despite her shaky beginnings, Lalanna quickly grew into a competent adventurer and ally of the Warrior of Light. Still, she couldn't quite let go what had happened with Ben'aan. She vowed to find him one day and learn his reasons for leaving her behind herself.