#Skybuilder's Soap reference

[starres-stuff]

FFXIV Writes 2023 | Day 7 | Noisome

Arriving in Ishgard, the Sharlayan learns some of the secrets of its people from his Sister.

As life progressed from those days in Garlemald and the loss of his friends, Dimitri found himself called to Eorzea by the most disturbing of things, a missive that invited him to meet his birth family due to the failing health of their matriarch and Baroness, Saphelle Jienuex. It was an odd request, at least he found himself thinking so but every member of his adopted family acted as if Lady Jienuex was so important that they were offering to pack his things for him and push him out the door. He found the entire thing preposterous but went along with the request nonetheless.

It would be three evenings later that he would find himself standing on the airship dock in Ishgard with his bags in his hands, waiting for the Jienuex carriage to arrive to usher him on to the Manor where he would be staying during this extended visit and while he did so he found himself taking in what he could see from that spot of the City that would be his temporary home.

It was far different than Sharlayan or Garlemald for that matter. Its gray skies and constantly falling snow were rather pretty mixed in with the largely gothic architecture that made up the buildings, many of which reached towards the sky in ornate arches and domes. At first thought, he had to admit that it was quite breathtaking, but he could do without the cold nipping at his skin.

There were many things Dimitri had read about the Ishgardian people, some of which were quite strange to him. They seemed to favor open-air bath houses where people would gather as if some valued social activity often in states of undress that boggled his mind as it was the opposite of all he had known in Sharlayan. That tidbit also seemed to clash with things he had been told by travelers that had visited the City, that the people of Ishgard tended to be rather noisome and only an outsider would notice it.

This was something that truly concerned the redhead, as he was known to have a rather delicate nose, sometimes being able to detect scents that other people did not notice around them. So far so good it seemed, however, for a while he did see people swaddled up in numerous layers of clothing as he was told he would he did not smell any particular stench coming from them and thus he relaxed believing it was nothing more than some tale that would turn out to be a scorned person way of deterring others from visiting the City.

It would seem like bells had passed by the time the carriage appeared, and from it stepped the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, she even made him forget how to breathe at first. “Dimitri?” she called out seeing his lone figure standing on the dock “Dimitri Jienuex?” Closer she came, long blonde hair covering her pointed ears and framing her pale skin, striking sapphire standing out from everything else and shining in the darkness. “Are you Dimitri Jienuex?”

The closer she came the more he noticed about her, first was the distinct similarities between their features and the fact that for an adult Elezen, she was extremely short. She was also very well dressed and decked out in jewelry that he had never seen a woman wear before. Thankfully she also did not carry an offensive smell, instead smelling of rose water and vanilla.

“That would be me.” Dimitri finally said, sweeping into a flourishing bow that ended with his head lifted and a grin spread on his face. “And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?” his manners thankfully were intact despite the fact he couldn’t remember a time that he had spoken to a woman who looked like her.

“Seriphina Jienuex,” she stated simply, with a raised eyebrow that Dimitri would come to learn was a family trait. “Your half-sister. Older than you by a handful of years, and only just learned of your existence the other day when Mother requested I send for you. This way please.” She stopped to look at his uncovered nose, then she pointed towards it with a gloved finger. “Do you have a scarf to put over that? Visitors often find certain things unpleasant, and it is not the communal salt licks at the dinner table. I do recommend it until you have built a resilience to it covering your snout. The stench of this Hells forsaken place is known to make people retch and I am hardly in the mood to watch you lose your Archon Loaf.”

Not only was she beautiful, she was sassy and he couldn’t help but smile at how this little bundle of energy was his sister, though there was curious thought Dimitri had as her name was not mentioned in the letter. “Another sister?” he said smoothly as he hauled his bags up from the snowy wood and started after her heading towards the carriage in the distance. “I was told that I would be met by my sister Viviane and that she had red hair. I found that amusing of course since I have it too.”

“That’s me.” She called back “ Lady Viviane Seriphina Jienuex.” She rattled off her full name then cast somewhat of a smile over her shoulder “And yes my natural hair color is the same shade as yours. I had a show last evening and I haven’t removed the glamour from my hair, but I dare say we will look close to twins when I do. You can call me Seri. I tend to avoid using my actual first name. It reminds me that I am the next in line to hold the head of our House when Mother passes and with everything as it is that might be rather soon. I should also make you aware that circumstances have changed since our letter and we, meaning you and I will be leaving in the morning for Gridania where Mother’s medical care is being handled.”

By now they had reached the carriage, and thankfully it was quite big. It had been another thing that Dimitri worried about as they walked, what if he was the only tall member of the family How would he fit, of course he was also startled by the fact that he would have to travel further to meet his Mother, let alone Gridania of all places which he had heard terrible things about for those who appeared to be of Duskwight heritage, which he was full-blood Duskwight himself.

“Did she take a turn for the worse?” He asked as he stowed his bag and climbed in the door to the plush interior nodding to the man holding it open for him to close it after him, Once inside he made himself as comfortable as possible in the strange surroundings.

“It is a long story, longer than I care to get into with ears abound. We can talk about it when we are inside of the Manor.” Seri replied as she unwound her scarf from her neck, took out a small bottle of what had to be perfume, and spritzed a bit on the heavy fabric, holding it out to Dimitri to take. “Please I beg of you hold this to your nose. I never quite noticed how bad the smell is until I spent the last five cycles in Gridania myself. I live out in the Black Shroud, surrounded by trees, earth, and wildflowers. It is a very comforting and clean smell. When I returned here at Mother’s request I was ill for days. These people do not wash.” Her eyes seemed to cross and her lips pursed at her own words and then she added, “The dress in layers to kill the smell and douse themselves in perfume and the Nobles in the Pillars are the absolute worst about it.”

Dimitri found himself staring at her leather-gloved hand for a moment before he finally reached out his own and took the offering, the delicate fabric had to be cashmere or some special form of wool for how soft he perceived it to be even without touching it. “I had heard rumors of such things, but with the bathhouses, I didn’t expect it to be true?” He tried to laugh it off but as the carriage began to move, pulled by two resplendent Chocobo he found himself lifting the scarf to his nose just in case so that he would be prepared for anything.

Dimitri found most of the trip from the Airship Dock to the Jienuex Manor in the Pillars to be rather pleasant. They discussed a great many things on the way from their Mother to Seriphina’s political stance when it came to current events in Ishgard, revealing to the studious man that she had taken quite well to her training as a Noble over the years or at least that she was skilled at bullshitting her way through conversations in a fashion that made her sound smart.