#ahmi vhelo

[nadana-vhet]

Hot Chocolate

WoL: Ahmi Vhelo, Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te

Pairing: WoL x Haurchefant Greystone

“Ah, there you are!” A familiar voice boomed behind her, confident and warm as it grew louder as he approached.

Ahmi turned her head to see Haurchefant, dressed in more casual attire as the night wound down and Camp Dragonhead slowly became still. She hummed a greeting towards him, not speaking for a moment as she had just popped a handful of Coerthan berries into her mouth. “You were looking for me - Is aught amiss?” She asked, concerned, after she swallowed. She dangled her legs over the balustrade that overlooked the camp, the highest point that she could climb without directly scaling the tall tower atop the main building. Since coming to Camp Dragonhead in search of the Enterprise, she found herself up here a lot. She enjoyed the calm of watching from above, as if nothing could touch or ground her as she let her thoughts wander.

“Oh, no.” Haurchefant shook his head, patting her blanketed shoulder in comfort. “All is well tonight, my friend, especially now that I have found you! I simply wished to chat with you, ‘tis all.” He winked, sitting next to her and reaching over to pluck a berry from her hand. She rolled her eyes at him playfully, which only led to a warm chuckle from the flirtatious elezen.

She relaxed her shoulders at the relief of knowing she wasn’t needed for something daring, for once. Her hand shifted, allowing the pouch of berries to sit on her knee closest to him as they ate in silence for a few moments, looking up at the night sky of Corethas and watching the moon and the stars through sparse, wispy clouds. It was cold out, so she had taken the precaution of wrapping herself in a blanket, but secretly she enjoyed the slight sting of the chill on her reddened cheeks.

“You seem quite at home here, it seems. Your friend, Alphinaud, has not become accustomed nearly as well,” he chuckled, glancing over at her through his silvery bangs as he mused, “I do not believe you have ever mentioned where you hailed from?” He suddenly seemed aware of this fact, and his tone was almost a hint apologetic, as if he felt bad for not asking before.

“Gridania,” Ahmi nodded, popping another red berry into her mouth before swallowing, “I had actually never left the Twelveswood until shortly before joining the Scions.” She handed the berries over to him, signifying she was done snacking, before moving her hands to rub some warmth into the tips of her ears. “I’ll admit, though – I hate how warm it is in Thanalan. I’ll take the cold over sweating any day,” she laughed softly.

“Ah, it seems we have that in common! I also, in fact, have never left my home domain. Do you think you have room for another in your ranks? If anything at all, I could be of use assisting the Warrior of Light in reaching things in high places.” His hand hovered over the top of her head, as if to emphasize her short stature.

Ahmi attempted to feign offense, but it was hard to hide her amusement at his warmth. “Unfortunately, Urianger already fulfills the needed top-shelf-reaching quota.” For emphasis, Ahmi reached a hand above her head to mimic the action. The simple gesture made Haurchefant’s heart flutter, but for once he didn’t have a witty, flirtatious aside for her. He simply stared for a few moments until she furrowed her brows at him. Halone preserve him, she had only been here a week and he was already faltering.

“Haurchefant?” She questioned, and with his name from her lips he shook himself from his stupor.

“Hm?” He hummed before blinking, realizing his blunder as he cleared his throat. “Well, how unfortunate. I suppose I must continue my existence inside these confining walls.” Haurchefant sighed dramatically.

Ahmi chuckled, though through her amusement she shivered at the growing cold of the evening. “I assure you, Ser Haurchefant, that you will be the first to know if the Scions are in need of another such individual.”

“I look forward to it, Miss-“ Haurchefant paused, noticing the fact that the miqo’te was beginning to suffer the consequences of the harsh Corethas wind. “Never mind that, I request that you let me escort you inside before you become a frozen statue atop my camp!” he offered, turning around and standing on the stone walkway before holding out a hand to her.

“I am sure I would be quite an unsightly statue,” she grinned, taking his hand gratefully before hopping down from the balustrade.

Despite both their hands being covered by gloves, Haurchefant couldn’t help but quietly marvel at how tiny her hand felt in his. He led her inside and practically begged to continue keeping her company, using the excuse that she needed to recover from the cold before he (a most proper and diligent host) would even consider leaving her alone.

The two made pleasant conversation as he lead her through the main castle, down stairs and hallways until eventually he turned a corner to a simple sitting room, having only been recently dusted due to the arrival of the Warrior of Light and her white-haired companions. He hurried across the room to light the fireplace, begrudgingly accepting aid from the miqo’te as she handed him kindling and crouched next to him. “I insist, Miss Ahmi – rest! You must be far too cold.”

“Mm, yes, but I will warm faster if I keep moving.” Ahmi quipped back with a smile.

Haurchefant tried to argue further, but it was useless against her wits. He simply gave in and allowed her to do whatever she pleased, which he began to appreciate as he watched her delicate hands pass over the matches. He continued to notice the small details (he wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not) like her eyes watching intently for any opening to assist further, or the way her blue waves contrasted with the firelight as it flickered to life.

Haurchefant excused himself before he said something too embarrassing, and when he returned he brought a tray with two mugs and two metal kettles, one with a painted blue top, and another red. He set it down on the table in front of the fireplace and gestured towards it with a flourish. “Fortemps specialty hot chocolate – the blue lid is without alcohol, and the red one with.”

“What kind?”

“Why, rum, of course. The only proper alcohol that is allowed to go in hot chocolate, lest I show up to remedy the mistake personally.” He smiled, picking up the mug closest to him and pouring some of the alcoholic hot chocolate into his mug.

Ahmi chuckled, “You sound very passionate about your hot chocolate, Ser Greystone.” She seemed to think for a moment before picking up her mug and pouring from the non-alcoholic kettle, “I hope you are not slighted at the idea of drinking alone, but I much prefer to try out your esteemed recipe unabated, first,” she smiled at him, blowing on the liquid carefully before taking a sip. Her eyes lit up happily, humming contently into the lip of the mug. “Oh my gods, this is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted!” She threw her head back dramatically, closing her eyes as she savored the taste.

“Oh? Well, I know plenty of other things that taste better. Perhaps they even reside in this very room.” Haurchefant’s eyebrows quirked upwards, which offered another giggle from his companion.

She leaned across the table and pushed his shoulder playfully, shaking her head at him, “Are you wont to seduce every adventurer that passes through Corethas?”

“Only the pretty ones,” he corrected, brushing his hair from his face with another wicked smile.

Ahmi rolled her eyes at him, settling herself back in the cozy armchair across from him. “Mm, likely story.” she pursed her lips, but behind the glint of her grey eyes there was a surprising glimpse of mischief, despite her otherwise unassuming demeanor. He wasn’t sure if she was teasing or serious, but even so, he wasn’t quite sure of his own intentions either.

She had discarded the blanket while he was off making their beverages, the fur draped across the back of the chair, her elbows propped against its arms. She wore a a simple enough sweater and skirt combo, with the former being tucked in at the waist to flatter her full figure. It had been about a week since her and her white-haired companions brokered for his help, and he had noticed that she had quickly adapted and bought some warmer clothes from the few merchants that occasionally stopped by to sell their wares. It seemed only practical, since it was unfolding that their stay would be longer than they were expecting – especially with how it was becoming increasingly difficult to procure information about the Enterprise. He would search tirelessly, however, because the one asking this of him was so captivating.

And she vowed to help Francel, of course.

“‘Tis true! And, Camp Dragonhead does not get many adventurers, so perhaps you have been the only adventurer I have attempted to seduce,” he winked again, though there was an inkling of truth to his defense. Of course he had seduced men and women alike, but Camp Dragonhead didn’t get many adventurers, and none of them were as beautiful as her.

“Mm, now I am wondering if you came to find me just to see if you could bed me, with all this obvious flattery. How predictable, the plight of men.” Ahmi teased, her laugh like the bells of the convocation, calling forth its congregation to worship.

“My chambers are open for you any hour of the day, Miss Ahmi,” he grinned, taking another long sip of his boozy concoction. Another jest, but it was absolutely not a joke. Not in the slightest.

Ahmi blushed a little deeper under her already reddened cheeks, still adjusting to the warmth inside the walls. “You cannot expect me to come that easily, foolish man. Perhaps I will indulge you once you have given me a reason besides your boyish charms. A backstory, perhaps?” She hummed at him expectantly, holding out her mug for him as if she expected him to oblige what she was asking.

“I am simply a humble knight of Ishgard,” he bowed his head, but she certainly was not going to take that as an answer. He could talk anyone’s ear off if he so chose, and she had figured that out very quickly. She watched him expectantly, egging him to continue on.

Haurchefant obliged, but not before making her promise to divulge some of her’s in return. He spoke of all the good parts – mentioned being a bastard, of course, as it was unavoidable when she realized he did not share the Fortemps surname. Beautiful and perceptive, he noted. He skimmed over the hatred of his stepmother, of how othered he felt as a child. Instead, he spoke of how hard he trained as a knight, of silly little adventures he had inside and out of the city, and of his young self getting into all sorts of trouble.

He even recounted the tale of trying to defend a woman from some grisly man. Haurchefant had only been a mere fifteen summers at the time, his voice cracking as he valiantly told the man to unhand the lady. However, to his embarrassment, she just laughed and explained that he was just her very affectionate, very drunk husband.

“I see you have been chasing after maidens since you were a boy.” Ahmi giggled, and by that time she was on her third mug of hot chocolate. She kept it without alcohol, which he noted, as she urged him to continue his stories. She felt so blissfully comfortable to talk to, asking questions at all the right places and making him feel like she was actually interested in his silly antics, so much so that he didn’t feel guilty talking about himself as he usually did.

Finally, he told her of Francel and their friendship that he held dear. He recounted the time Francel had gotten kidnapped by bandits, and how frantic and worried he was for his friend as he tracked them down with merely a hunting knife to defend himself. He left out the grisly bits, as he knew she was experienced enough with combat to fill in the blanks. It was then he revealed that it was this deed that finally awarded him his position as a Knight of Ishgard. He was fiercely proud of his position, and Ahmi could tell.

“T’would seem that you, of all people, should deserve the position the most.” Ahmi noted, a steep compliment to Haurchefant, but she spoke it as if it were a simple fact of life. “A true knight should fight for justice and the ones he loves, and it seems you hold the standard for that code.” She smiled brightly at him, and again Haurchefant’s heart threatened to burst from his chest. He knew it was no more than a puppy crush. She was a primal slayer, after all – a beautiful, kind, delightful primal slayer. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in danger of it turning into something more.

“I… thank you, my friend. I appreciate the sentiment more than you know,” he smiled at her softly before glancing down at his mug. She is going to leave, ‘ere long, Haurchefant thought to himself, she has duties to attend to, and I mine. However, that does not leave out the possibility of more casual affairs, if she so chooses…

However, by the time Haurchefant had pulled himself out of his internal musings for yet another time that night, he had found that her eyes had drifted shut, her mouth slightly agape as she slept quietly, curled up in the armchair with the mug still held in her hands, though thankfully it was empty.

When Ahmi awoke the next morning, she was curled up in her own guest chambers, the same fur blanket she had the night before draped over her. The sun shone dimly through the curtains, and though she could tell it was far later than she would have liked to have woken up, her chest filled with a pleasing warmth despite the cold and she allowed herself to rest for a few moments longer.

[nadana-vhet]

Sketch of Ahmi I did during class today! O/

[nadana-vhet]

Hello I made a quick sketch of Ahmi from this lil thing I wrote! One day I’ll actually sit down and draw Ahmi for real instead of just slapping color on a sketch in procreate, but for now here’s my girl.

[nadana-vhet]

(WIP) Untitled AhmixHaurchefant

Hi Ahmi is shamelessly my thot and I love her. Yes her and Haurchefant were also a thing please have a tiny little thing I wrote today!! I’ve been low key mapping out her backstory in the back of my mind so I’ll probably be jumping back and forth and write whatever I’m vibing with at the time. Hopefully I’ll post up something soon like a timeline??? Who knows, college be hell sometimes.

T for Teen? Innuendos. But that’s pretty on-brand for Haurchefant (and Ahmi tbh).

“Haurchefant, I can’t! I’ve already promised Alphinaud that I’d make tea tonight.” Ahmi huffed, stopping in the middle of the hall and pulling the elezen’s arm back.

He could have kept dragging her easily, but the little pressure she put on him made him stop. “Can he live without tea for another night?” Haurchefant pouted, using every ounce of his being to widen those puppy dog eyes of his.

“It’s special tea!”

“Special enough that it cannot wait until after dinner, at least? I’m sure the young Leveilleur will not object to me stealing you away for such a short amount of time.” Haurchefant tilted his chin down at her, lowering his voice as if he had something to hide – as if they had something to hide, despite the main hall having cleared out for the evening.

Ahmi relented with a sigh, “‘Tis never a short time with you, but… I suppose not. However, I’ll only agree on one condition.”

Haurchefaunt’s eyes lit up eagerly, “No condition is too grand for your company, my lady.”

Ahmi was used to the flirtation by now, so much so that she would return them in jest, but his tone felt different today, almost… nervous? “That you will join us for tea tonight as well. Now that you know about my special tea, I cannot have you blabbering to your soldiers about the Warrior of Light’s mysterious tea making practices.”

“If you invite me, will I not have more knowledge to divulge?” Haurchefant grinned.

Ahmi chuckled, allowing him to escort her to wherever he wanted to go as the continued their banter, “Once you taste it, I am sure you will not want to share it with anyone else.”

“I am already certain I do not want to share, Lady Ahmi.” Haurchefant glanced down at her to wiggle his brows, hoping to catch her flustered.

But she was used to this – she was ready for him this time. “Oh?”

“Mm, of course! My lips are sealed.” Haurchefant quipped eagerly.

“A shame that they are.”

[nadana-vhet]

Hi they’re matching now (:

[nadana-vhet]

Secrets

WoLExarch, takes place sometime during ShB msq.

“You’re very… strange, Exarch. Has anyone ever told you that before?”

The hooded figure chuckled, “Yes, they most certainly have.”

His candid amusement surprised Ahmi, but she would be lying if she didn’t admit that she found his laughter pleasant. “Not that that’s a bad thing! Perhaps eccentric is a more accurate descriptor? I… truthfully, you are simply not what I expected, I suppose.”

“What did you expect of me, hero?”

Ahmi had somehow managed to catch the Exarch outside the tower – such a rare occasion that she would be an idiot not to take advantage of it. She had taken just a moment to watch from the top of the stairs before making herself known, not being able to resist observing the mysterious man when he thought that no one was looking. He had been singing to himself quietly, a voice so sweet that it tugged at something in her chest that she couldn’t quite place. He had insisted that he should go back to work once Ahmi had caught him ‘slacking,’ which for the Exarch meant preparing himself dinner in the kitchens, but she convinced (threatened) him to take a much-needed break.

“For one, I did not expect the leader of such an esteemed city to be such a talented sandwich artisan.” Ahmi hummed with a grin, leaning back against the countertop and moving to grab a fruit that she still didn’t know the name of, despite it being one of the strange new treats from the First that she had liked the most. The ingredients he had laid out, she had noticed, were quite similar to the array of sandwiches that mysteriously ended up in her chambers when she first arrived. Perhaps that was just what the Crystarium had, but it was also in the way he wasn’t stingy with the ingredients, the order in which he layered them, and the delicate, diagonal way they were cut and placed on his plate.

The Exarch hesitated at her words, his fingers subtly twitching against the hilt of the knife he was using to spread sweet-smelling jam across his sandwich, “Pray tell, I was not aware you had the had the misfortune of eating one of my sandwiches.” he nervously laughed it off, quickly returning to his preparations as if to salvage his fumble as gracefully as he could manage.

“Hm? I never mentioned eating one, I was simply admiring your craftsmanship from a visual perspective.” Ahmi took a bite of the fruit she had snagged, ripe and juicy enough that she was glad the Exarch was turned just so that she could wipe her mouth with her sleeve without fear of a witness.

That made him pause, a quiet breath escaping him as he tried to recover. The Exarch was certainly aware that Ahmi had caught him up in a lie, but mercifully for him, she didn’t admit it.

“Would it be too much trouble to make me one as well?” Ahmi hummed.

Gods, perhaps it would have been better for her to simply confront me.

I should deny her – the less time I spend around her, the less it hurts. Just make an excuse that you simply must return to work-

“Not at all, hero. What would you like?” The Exarch responded, cursing to himself at how easily he gave in. Not to mention the pressure he suddenly felt making a mere sandwich (gods, his mother would never let him live it down). He had figured out why when she first arrived in the First – everything he did for Ahmi needed to be perfect, but it was still frustrating to know how little he could control it. The little things were the least he could do, knowing that he would inevitably have to betray those beautiful grey eyes.

His chest ached at the memory of her standing on the other side of the gates of the Crystal Tower, the image of her staring at him until the last possible moment etched into his very soul. She had held Rammbroes’s arm gently, comforting the almost comically larger man as a wall was permanently placed between him and the ones he loved most. He would never admit it, but he sat on the other side of that door for hours before he resided himself to his slumber.

He quietly thanked Hydaelyn for at least granting him a window for such an impenetrable wall, but even though the Warrior of Light was standing in front of him in this very moment, he had to push away every urge to open that window and pull her through.

Seeing Ahmi study him intently out of the corner of his eye made his melancholy thoughts ease slightly, instead focusing on the way her head tilted, pushing the glasses up on her nose that she only wore when she had the rare opportunity lounge in more casual attire. Despite her title of warrior, Ahmi Vhelo was a scholar at heart, always choosing magic over the blade whenever she was able. Her quick wit and calculating mind were the qualities writers waxed poetic about ages after the dreaded Black Rose, and even though those words seemed distant on a page, he could see them so clearly, even in a quiet moment such as this.

Once he was finished with the sandwich, he sliced it diagonal and turned around to grab a plate for Ahmi. However, once he turned back around, she already had half the sandwich in her hand with a voracious bite taken out of it. “I can eat it over the counter-“ Ahmi blinked after she swallowed.

The Exarch couldn’t help but chuckle quietly, putting the plate down on the counter next to her and shaking his head. “Has anyone ever said that you are strange, Warrior of Light?”

“Mm, usually they’re too scared – a shame, really, considering it’d knock my ego down a few warranted pegs.” Ahmi grinned, polishing off the sandwich in record time with nary a crumb left in sight. “Incredible talent, by the way. Second best sandwich I’ve ever had.”

“Only second? Then I suppose I still have much to learn,” the Exarch smiled softly, tidying up his workspace only a moment before Ahmi jumped in to assist him. “Would you humor an old man and divulge this secret sandwich master? I would not be surprised if it was Urianger.”

“Another time,” Ahmi raised a brow at him, “perhaps I shall divulge that secret when you divulge one of your’s? You know so many of mine, and I only know two of your’s.”

“Two?” The Exarch asked nervously. She was intelligent, he knew that, but did his carefully crafted plan unravel that easily under the watchful gaze of the Warrior of Light?

“Mm, two. I did not expect such a lovely singing voice from under that hood, Exarch.” Ahmi waved at him on her way out, the door already shut behind her before the Exarch had the chance to open his mouth.

[nadana-vhet]

Ahmi-inspired picrews from ARR -> Endwalker! It’s this one, which I mess with all the time I just love it sm. Unfortunately no cat ears in this one but it’s still super cool!