#and one day ryne will hopefully be able to join us

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Adventure

Day 25 of Fluffvember: Adventure featuring Serafina, Thancred, Mortimer, and the koala joey

[raelly-writing]

Frozen Affright

Ryne & WoL with Thancred/WoL, post-Eden8.

Pretty much just me wanting to go “nah” at there not being any injuries or somesuch after Eden 8, which prompted the thought that Ryne would be left a bit rattled by it all. So yeah, this fic happened.

There’s some brief referencing of events from a fic I wrote last year where Viana and Thancred bumped into her childhood friend while in Ul’dah investigating the Griffin’s activities post patch 3.4.

----

 “The Light… it’s too much for her to bear! She won’t last much longer!”

 “Then help her!”

---

“Seven swiving Hells, Thancred!”

Several more curses that could make a Limsan dockworker blush like a Ishgardian maiden were right at the tip of her tongue, but Viana clenched her teeth together when the sharp pricks that shot up from the side of her waist caused her to reflexively jerk her body to the side. Another sharp lance of pain followed when she, in doing so, jostled her broken arm in its makeshift sling. Groaning, she nearly wrenched her leg out of Urianger’s careful grip in the process. The pain twined together with her exhaustion, forming into a roiling sense of nausea.

Urianger glanced up at her with a concerned furrow between his brow, before securing his hold on her leg once more.

Before she had a chance to apologise to him, a firm hand landed on her uninjured shoulder, fingers digging into her skin. “Stay still,” Thancred bit out.

Unease instantly bristled in her chest at his rough tone. Rather than snapping back at him, she screwed her eyes shut and bit out another muffled curse while trying to sit still once more. Evidently satisfied, Thancred returned to applying the healing ointment to the burn on her waist. Despite his less than happy tone, his touch felt gentle as he worked - not that it prevented the salve from prickling and stinging at her raw skin.

“Prevail for just a few more moments, my friend,” Urianger’s soothing voice chimed in as he continued wrapping bandages around her injured ankle.

Viana made a noise at the back of her throat, brow knitted together in a frown, while worrying the edge of the blanket pooled around her waist with her one good hand. A few bruised ribs, several burns and some cuts, a broken arm and sprained ankle had been the final tally of this adventure.

Normally, she could deal with pain fairly well - but between her aether being utterly spent in that desperate dash to weaken Shiva so Gaia could help Ryne regain control, the primal’s unnatural chill that still wrecked her body, and the emotional fatigue, she just felt tired and all too sensitive to every twinge and jolt of pain. Lingering out here in the Empty, even now with the aether starting to rebalance itself, was draining as it were. Her head throbbed and all she really wanted to do was to sleep. Preferably in a warm bed, and not the uncomfortable cots they had out here in the Empty.

An irrational twinge of annoyance at herself made her grit her teeth once more. Seven Hells, she’d gotten soft over the years since joining the Scions - sleeping off injuries in a proper bed had been the very rarest of luxuries for most of her life. Ten-fifteen years ago, when she’d been a young mercenary fresh off the unforgiving streets of Ul’dah, a cot would have been more than fine for her.

Perhaps prodded by the unwanted memories of nurturing one wound or another while on the road, Viana’s attention drifted towards the tent where Ryne lay resting under Gaia’s watchful eye. Worry instantly rose like bile in her throat, and with it an unpleasant, heavy weight over her chest. It’d scared her half to death when Ryne had passed out in Thancred’s arms before they’d even made it back to camp, clearly having spent herself utterly on struggling to control Shiva and the Light.

What a reckless idea this had all been. She should have followed her gut, put her foot down and refused to go ahead with it. Surely it hadn’t been necessary to replicate Ysayle’s summoning method so precisely as they had.

Though they were all used to close calls by now, this had all been too close for comfort - not just for them personally, but for the rest of the First as well. Viana swallowed around the lump in her throat and stared out over the sparse greenery that had sprouted around their campsite. Done was done but… it was hard to shake off the dread of what could have happened. Hopefully, Ryne would regain consciousness soon and be able to see the fruit of their efforts. No doubt she’d be pleased to see that their efforts had not been in vain.

Viana could only hope that seeing that joy might scatter the clouds of turmoil raging in her chest.

“Raise your arm.”

Thancred’s gruff command stirred her from her thoughts. Silently, she did as he asked. He was careful not to jostle her broken arm where it was secured against her chest as he wrapped bandages around her midsection to hold the medical dressing over the burn in place.

Another sharp lance of pain made her bite back a wince and screw her eyes out. But slowly, the pressure from the bandages evened out and the stinging from the salve mulled into a dull but not outright painful throb.

The silence hung heavy over all three of them, until Urianger gently set down her securely bandaged foot. “I do not fear thy injury to be severe,” he spoke, “though I wouldst ask thee to abstain from any and all attempts to move without sufficient support to keep thy weight of thy injured foot, lest you may exacerbate it for thy efforts.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t do any merry jigs then,” Viana drawled.

Urianger made a soft sound of amusement. “As formidable as thou are my friend, I wouldst advice against such endeavours. A few days of rest wouldst be preferred.”

She cracked her eyes open and gave him a halfhearted smile. “Thank you Urianger, I’ll try to.” There was a careful tug on her raised arm, and she obediently lowered it once more.

As he rose back up from his crouch, accompanied by the melodic tinkle of his jewellery, Urianger’s golden gaze softened a little, and briefly flickered past her shoulder, over to Thancred. “I imagine thou shall not be left for want of assistance whilst thou recuperate.”

Viana followed his line of sight to glance over her shoulder. Thancred’s brow was furrowed, eyes focused on where he was securing the bandages. “Indeed not,” he replied firmly. “Can’t have the Warrior of Darkness tripping and falling in front of half the Crystarium while trying to make it to her room, can we.” Satisfied with his work, he carefully pulled her shirt back down over the bandages.

“That’s a bit dramatic, love.”

Finally, he looked up. There was heavy tension around his eyes, a storm of emotions still raging in them, his jawline hard.

Mustering a hopefully comforting smile despite her fatigue, she tilted her head to the side. “I’m fine.”

The hard lines in Thancred’s expression softened a little, but before he had a chance to reply, a muffled shout made their attentions snap to the tents.

“She’s awake!” Gaia declared as she burst through the tent flap. For a moment, she frantically looked around for something, until she snatched up a spare blanket and water bottle from atop the supply crate where Thancred had left them before.

“Gaia, I’m fine, I-”

Ryne, with Thancred’s coat still hanging off her shoulders, pushed aside the tent flap. Even the brief appearance of her, before Gaia promptly shooed her back into the tent with a series of stern admonishments and gripes about how troublesome she was being, was enough for some of the tension to seep out of Viana’s back and her breaths come a little bit easier, her shoulders drooping with relief.

Thancred stood up. Viana looked back to him, but to her surprise, he merely kicked the crate he’d been sitting on over to her left side, sat down and grabbed a towel and water bottle from the supplies strewn about.

“Wilt thou not rush to her aid?” Urianger asked.

She watched silently as Thancred wet a corner of the towel, then took her uninjured hand and set about cleaning away traces of blood that still lingered after that Urianger had healed the shallow cuts and bruises. “Perhaps I’m getting slow in my old age,” he replied casually, “because it would seem Gaia’s beaten me to it.”

The voices of the two young girls, though muffled from within the tent, were still audible from where the three of them were sitting, and the air felt a little less still and suffocating with that quiet murmur to fill the void.

“To think that she would be the one to break the ice,” he muttered under his breath.

Pain and fatigue momentarily forgotten, Viana carefully leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He grew still for a moment, then sighed and looked up at her and then Urianger with a faint smile on his lips. “They may have gotten off to a rocky start, but I think they’ll make quite the pair, if given a bit more time.”

“Is that a hint of melancholy I detect in thy voice?” Urianger mused, his deep voice warm with gentle amusement. “Something akin to a pining mother bird whose chicks have flown the nest…?”

Thancred’s eyes went wide at the teasing accusation, and Viana failed to contain a smile at the sight. Just then, the soft peal of Ryne’s laughter and Gaia’s flustered and fervent denial about something drifted over. His gaze flickered towards the sound, then his expression softened with resignation and fondness. “Father bird, if you don’t mind.”

Warm affection prompted Viana to lace her cold fingers with his and gave his hand a weak squeeze. He quickly bent his neck to press a kiss to the back of her hand, thumb rubbing alongside it as he folded his other hand over her fingers, lending some of his warmth to chase away the chill.

“But aye, you’re not entirely wrong,” Thancred continued, eyes downcast and a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “When the day finally comes to say goodbye, it heartens me to know she won’t be alone.”

Despite his soft tone, it was hard not to notice the sorrow that laced his words. Viana swallowed thickly. Not for the first time since Emet-Selch’s defeat, she felt her chest grow tight with anguish for Thancred and Ryne’s unavoidable separation. The sharp, dark feeling clashed with her own yearning to see their souls safely returned to the Source, tangling into a thorny ball of guilt for wanting her family back at the cost of what they’d all gained here at the First.

“Thancred-” she began, and without thinking, twisted her body towards him. A searing hot flash of pain instantly made her freeze up with a groan, her words of reassurance catching in her throat.

Thancred’s head immediately shot up, his gaze narrowed with worry. Exhaustion came crashing back down over her, no longer content to be held at bay with discussions of things that still lay in the future.

Grimacing at a sudden wave of vertigo, she slipped her hand from his and rubbed at her eyes. “‘S fine,” she mumbled. “Forgive me.”

“Perhaps, we ought to make an expeditious return to Amh Araeng,” Urianger spoke up. “Though the area is stabilizing, lingering wouldst be unwise.”

She felt Thancred pull up the blanket around her shoulders, wrapping it tightly around her. “That may be for the best, yes.”

Despite her quiet attempt to convince him to go check on Ryne, Thancred picked her up, blanket and all, and carried her the short distance to their transportation, with Urianger following close behind to assist if needed. Shivering, Viana briefly rested her head on Thancred’s shoulder, her eyes feeling too heavy to keep open. The leather of his cuirass was cold against her cheek, and a distant, half-formed thought flitted through her mind - a yearning to just lie curled up next to him, to bask in the comforting warmth of his body pressed against hers.

With her injuries it was a little awkward to get into the skyslipper, but with some help from Thancred and Urianger she was soon able to hop over and sink down into the back seat. Exhaling slowly, Viana leaned her head back, her eyes closed. “Thank you,” she murmured. Twelve, she hadn’t felt this worn out since her near fatal tussle with Zenos. Even expelling the Light against Emet-Selch had left her feeling less sore than this.

Or maybe it was less physical exhaustion and more emotional.

“I’ll join you soon, Urianger,” Thancred said, and there was a soft affirmative followed by Urianger’s footsteps retreating back to the camp.

Carefully, she tried to pull the blanket back up over her shoulders, only for Thancred to do it instead. With a quiet sigh, she caught his hand and opened her eyes.

Thancred immediately froze, meeting her gaze. His jaw was still tense and his brow furrowed in a clearly unhappy expression. It was an unpleasant reminder of his tense demeanour when they’d ventured down into the depths of the sea to search for Emet-Selch.

Mustering a tired smile, Viana squeezed his hand. “I will be fine, Thancred; go to her.”

He hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Yell if you need something.”

“Will do, love.”

-----

Despite the aches in her body, she managed to doze off into a fitful sleep that was light enough that she was distantly aware of the comforting murmurs of other’s voices, and the occasional footsteps of someone carrying something to the storage at the rear of the skyslipper.

“Viana?”

The soft, worried voice made her blink her eyes open. Ryne met her gaze, grey eyes wide with concern. Thancred’s coat was still draped over her shoulders, her smaller frame drowning in it. Mustering a smile, Viana carefully sat up a little straighter. “Something wrong, Ryne?”

Ryne held out a mug towards her. “Urianger prepared this for you.”

Gingerly, she worked free her arm from the blankets and accepted the mug from her. Steam rose from the ruby red liquid within. “Thank you.” A sweet, tart scent filled her nose when she carefully took a sip of the drink. It tasted much the same, clearly masking the taste of something herbal. The warmth from it settled in her stomach, chasing away some traces of the chill. “Tastes like pixieberries,” she mused.

Ryne sat down at the other end of the seat and drew Thancred’s coat close around herself. She was carrying a blanket in her arms as well, but made no move to wrap herself in it. Instead, she picked at the sleeve of the coat that hung well down to her forearm. “He said it’d help rejuvenate your aether,” she replied softly.

Glancing at her, Viana took another mouthful of the beverage, observing her hunched up shoulders and downcast gaze. It was a stark reminder of how she’d carried herself just a short while ago, when she’d still walked in the shadow of Minfilia’s memory and image. A prickle of concern rose in her chest, and she slowly lowered the mug to rest it in her lap. “How are you feeling?” Viana asked gently. “You gave me quite a scare back there.”

She immediately flinched and pressed her lips together. “I’m fine! But…” Pausing abruptly, she pulled at an errant thread coming loose from the coat sleeve, before she looked back up, eyes wide and face grim. “I’m sorry, I thought I could handle it,” she blurted out, her voice sharp with anguish. “I thought I could control Shiva, like Ysayle did.” Bowing her head once more, she looked like she wanted to curl up and hide herself away from the rest of the world in Thancred’s coat. “I thought I was strong enough. And because I wasn’t, you got hurt.”

The anguish and distress in her soft voice made Viana’s heart clench. It was swiftly followed by a sense of unease as she was all too aware that Ryne was, in some regards, still younger than her counted years, having missed out on so much growing up in that cell in Eulmore, and only now finding her own two feet in the world.

Taking a deep breath, Viana gave a small, thoughtful hum. “Perhaps you bit off more than you could chew,” she began, keeping her voice even and calm - the last thing she wanted was for Ryne to think she placed any blame on her. “And perhaps it was reckless, and I should have been firmer with my disagreement with your plan.” Carefully, she balanced the mug between her knees, freeing up her hand to reach out and put it on Ryne’s back. “But that is part of growing up - I’m just glad that we were all here, Gaia included, to help when it went sideways.”

Slowly, uncertainly, Ryne looked back up. Apprehension and a fear of rejection was so evident in her eyes. “You’re not angry with me? Even though I talked you into this?”

Shaking her head, she gave her a soft smile. “Gods no, I’m not. I’m just glad you’re unharmed.” Raising her eyebrows, she fixed her with a discerning look. “You are unharmed, right?”

Ryne’s shoulders drooped slightly with a relieved exhale and she hugged the blanket closer to her chest while giving a small nod. “I am. Thancred... told me to go here and rest while they pack up the tents.”

Something about the hesitation in her voice made Viana frown in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m… worried that... he’s upset with me.”

By reflex, her gaze flickered towards the campsite. “He’s not, I’m sure of it.”

Ryne was chewing on her bottom lip when she looked back up. “He seemed unhappy.”

Without thinking of it, Viana gently pulled at her shoulder, and Ryne shuffled closer, seemingly by instinct, until she was curled up against her side. “Thancred isn’t angry at you,” Viana spoke quietly while absently stroking a hand over Ryne’s hair.

“How can you be so sure?” She asked softly. “He was even more against this idea than you were.”

A small smile quirked the corner of Viana’s mouth. “Because I’ve known him long enough by now.” Letting her arm settle around Ryne’s shoulders, she gave her the best version of a hug that she could muster at that time. “What did he say to you after you’d woken up?”

“He asked if I was uninjured, and seemed relieved when I said I was not,” Ryne responded slowly. “But he never seemed to relax, even as I told him I was fine. I… I was worried about you too.” She trailed off, and even with his coat around her smaller frame, Viana could feel her tremble. “He seemed so… closed off.”

Mentally, Viana sighed. Twelve, perhaps she should have done more to try and ease him out of that state of mind. If only she hadn’t been so exhausted and raw with the injuries she’d sustained. “He’s upset with himself - not you,” she said gently, “because what could have happened scared him, and made him fear that he’d lose you too. Give him a few more hours, and he’ll have calmed down.”

“Oh…” With that quiet exhale, Viana felt Ryne’s entire body relax, the weight settling against her side as her head came to rest on her shoulder.

It was then that she felt how she was trembling. Concern instantly shot through her, and she gave Ryne a careful look. “You’re still shivering.”

She looked up, expression relaxed and void of the turmoil and anguish of mere moments ago, and gave a tired smile, looking for all the world like the exhaustion had finally caught back up with her. “It’s just the cold.”

“Here, help me with the blankets.”

Ryne did as she asked, and soon they were both huddled beneath them, sharing the warmth.

“Thank you, this is nice.”

Ryne’s quiet murmur and the earnest tone, made Viana smile to herself. A familiar sort of fond contentment, one she often felt around the twins, warmed her chest. “Anytime,” she replied softly. For all that Ryne had come into her own and acted with much more confidence, it was hard to forget how much of her life had been void of much personal contact. In the back of her head she heard Thancred’s quiet musings about how neither he nor Ryne had any experience with family, and despite it they’d managed to work things out relatively well.

Taking a slow breath, Viana looked out towards the campsite. Somehow, the small area looked even more chaotic, with parts of tents, cots and supply crates strewn about while the other three worked on their respective tasks. She had no knowledge of how it was to grow up with a family either - for all her childhood and teens the prospect of a family, where people cared for and supported each other, had been used as a toxic web by her supposed friend to control and manipulate those around her.

Even now with the time that had passed since then, recalling the last time she’d seen Aisthal still left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was a memory with two sides to it - the bitterness of facing her old friend once more and being reminded of the vicious criminal life that’d caused her to leave Ul’dah in her late teens, contrasted with Thancred’s steadfast and comforting presence that night.

Remembering how he’d distracted her with lighthearted tales and conversations about their friends until she’d calmed down, Viana cast a quick glance down at Ryne. “How do you think this place will look once it’s fully recovered?”

Ryne made a quiet, thoughtful sound, her head still resting against her shoulder. “I can’t help but hope that there’ll be plenty of flowers,” she replied, reverence and wonder so clear in her voice. “Bright, colourful ones, like in Il Mheg.”

Viana nodded slowly while looking out over the still desolate white hills in the distance. It was easy to picture them covered in high green grass and flowers in all the colours of the rainbow. “Yes, that sounds nice.” Looking back to Ryne, she smiled and tensed the arm around her smaller frame in a slightly awkward hug. “Maybe you could show the sights of Il Mheg to Gaia? Pack those coffee biscuits and other snacks, and enjoy them outside in the sun on one of those hills by Urianger’s house?”

An endearing look of embarrassment flickered across Ryne’s features. “Oh, I’m not sure... “ Slowly, her gaze drifted over towards the camp while her expression softened into something thoughtful. “Do you think she’d like that?”

Shrugging with one shoulder, Viana made a thoughtful noise at the back of her throat. “Maybe? Won’t know until you ask her.”

“It would be fun, I think…” When their eyes met again, there was a contemplative look on Ryne’s face before she smiled. “Yes, it's worth asking, I suppose.”

“After this, I think you’ve both earned yourself a bit of fun,” Viana hummed in response. Twelve, both them and the twins deserved every minute of carefree, lighthearted fun. They were still teenagers, too young to weighted down by all the burdens of adulthood - the weariness, the cynicism, the scars that never went away.

Sitting up a little straighter, Ryne fixed her with a firm and determined look. “So have you!”

Surprised, Viana blinked at her, then smiled sheepishly. “Alright, alright, no need to look like that,” she replied, and only just managed to bite back the reply that her injuries would keep her confined to her room for a few days anyhow. “I promise I’ll do so if a chance presents itself in the near future.”

Ryne settled back down again. “Good. You’re all always working so terribly hard.” There was a brief pause, before she quietly, under her breath, continued, “I don’t want any of you to wear yourself out.” Suddenly, she failed to stifle a yawn.

Smiling fondly, Viana gave her another one-armed hug. “Perhaps we should rest, before Thancred gets his feathers in a ruffle because of us.”

Her only response was another quiet hum. With a slow exhale, Viana relaxed back against the seat. Somehow, despite the dull aches in her body, the weight of Ryne against her side was oddly comforting, as the exhaustion crept up over her once more.

----

Thancred frowned as he turned over Viana’s cuirass in his hands. A sour taste rose in his mouth as he brushed his fingers over the scuffed and battered surface where one of Shiva’s light aspected attacks had burned her. The section would need to be replaced, along with a few others that had been too damaged by sword slashes or magical attacks. Quickly, he stuffed the cuirass on top of the rest of her gear in her customary travelling satchel, and with it, the dark thoughts that kept skulking at the edges of his mind. Closing up the satchel with brisk movements, he rose to his feet and hefted up the bag onto his shoulder.

Picking up the slim belt with Ryne’s daggers - undamaged, despite that she had been wearing it at the time of the summoning - he put it too over his shoulder, then retrieved Viana’s gunblade from where Gaia had been quick to discard it upon their arrival at camp, far more concerned with Ryne as she had been.

His scowl deepened when he gave it a critical onceover, his mouth suddenly dry. “Seven Hells,” he muttered. Scorch marks stained the steel near the cartridge chamber. A disconcerting sight, for sure. Had she overloaded it when breaking the ice around Shiva so Gaia could get to her?

Whichever way, he’d best disassemble it when they got back to the Crystarium and better judge the internal damage before he delivered it to the craftswoman at the Means who usually oversaw their gunblade and armour repairs. And, he could ask Viana later what she’d done - sometime when he didn’t feel like turmoil still rested in his chest like a ball of thorns. With a deep sigh, Thancred walked back to where the last few of their things were being packed up by Urianger.

“I’ll take these up to the skyslipper,” Thancred said as he picked up his own gunblade where it was leaning against a crate.

Urianger gave a small nod in reply. “It shan’t be much longer before we can depart.”

The sooner the better, Thancred felt as he began walking.

Gaia was hurrying back from the skyslipper with a look of determination on her face. She paid him no mind as they passed by each other - clearly she was eager to get out of the Empty as well.

A shiver crept down Thancred’s spine. Despite his inability to channel aether anymore, there was still something disconcerting about being out in the Empty for too long, even now with the immediate area’s aether rebalanced towards something more natural. Like something was slowly draining him of energy, flaking off his hold on his corporeal form. It made his skin crawl.

Or maybe he was just tired.

As he approached the skyslipper to set down the gear inside it, he looked towards the backseat to make sure Ryne and Viana were all right.

Except, Ryne was nowhere in sight. Confusion jolted through his mind, with the reflexive fear he’d fostered over the three years they’d spent being pursued by Eulmore’s forces following hot on its heels.

But before he had time to do much more than register the feeling, it vanished and a warm fondness bloomed in its stead as he paused to take in the sight. Viana was deep asleep, expression finally relaxed and void of pain, her chest rising and falling slowly with each shallow breath. In her lap, the top of a head with familiar red hair poked out from beneath the blankets, nearly obscured due to how she had one arm protectively draped over Ryne’s sleeping form.

His breath rushed out of his lungs in a deep exhale, and with it, the turmoil of dark emotions in his heart scattered like dust. He was used to close shaves but this… this had been a bit too close for comfort. Silently, he offered a prayer of thanks to the Twelve, whether they could hear him or not in this world.

They were both safe and alive. He hadn’t lost them.

Quietly, Thancred climbed into the skyslipper and deposited the items he carried on the floor, to the side where they wouldn’t be in the way. Despite his logical side urging him to the contrary, he leaned down over Viana and pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

“What’s..? Thancred?” she murmured, her voice coming out rough and weary, while turning her head towards him enough that their noses bumped together in the process.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “We’ve nearly packed up and will be heading back soon,” he said quietly as to not wake Ryne. “You still okay? Need anything?”

“Mhm,” she replied with a small nod while drowsily blinking up at him. “Just fine. So’s Ryne. She fell asleep pretty quickly. Don't need anything.”

Cradling her jaw, he brushed another kiss to her lips, relieved that her skin no longer felt as cold to the touch as though she’d just walked in from a blizzard. Viana made a soft, pleased noise in turn, the sound so familiar to him by now that he felt his chest grow tight with affection.

“Do you feel better?” she asked quietly.

With a quiet sigh, he rested his forehead against hers and let his hand drop to gently touch the top of Ryne’s head. “Yes, I do.”

---

Sort of headcanon, in that “I am not sure if this works with the lore” sort of way, that she tried to use a samurai LB3 to break the ice, but since the gunblade and gunbreaker armour isn’t quite as aether conductive as samurai gear, it was more just a brute force expulsion of aether.