#and someone in the library even says the book requests on the scions and the circle of knowing have been almost nonstop

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

the last princess (7)

“There’s practically nothing on the Warrior of Light’s life before she became a Scion!”  The comment caught Mathye’s attention as he strode towards one of the Studium’s doorways.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do.  Professor Albright of all things was the one who issued this assignment!”

What the...  Mathye let his footsteps slow as he passed the speaker in question.  A pink-haired hyur was addressing two other students, all three carrying heavy tomes. 

<Did she just say...?>  Hrist hissed.

“You’re not the only one researching the Scions and the Warrior of Light, perhaps the appropriate books have been checked out?”  The lalafell ventured.  “Maybe you could ask Professor Seves--I mean Albright for an extension so you can get your hands on the materials you need?”  Mathye’s eyes widened, but he made himself keep walking towards the doorway.

“Hrist, give me a hand here?”  He muttered beneath his breath, calling up the words for a incarnation in his head as he pushed against the carved wood.  In response he could feel Hrist offering a small surge of power, applying dragonaether to the intent, adding her own considerable strength and will.  The medic’s form started to blur briefly--and then faded completely from visible sight.  G’raha’s purloined invisibility spell--but now with a draconic flavor, as Mathye could rely on his inner dragon to attune the spell to the ambient aether around them--ensuring they wouldn’t be detected.  Spell in place, Mathye slipped through the other set of doors and back over to the trio, standing behind the pillar.

“It’s not just me!  There are others as well--they’re doing their own researches or just want to educate themselves.  There’s plenty of information on the Scions, and while it’s a bit iffy on the Warrior’s battle-companions, there’s absolutely nothing at all about her childhood or even life before she came to Eorzea.  It’s like she came out of thin air!”

“That can’t be possible!”  The miqo’te exclaimed, her tail twitching. 

“Nobody can just come out of thin air, it makes no sense!  You need to have parents or at least guardians...”  The lalafell huffed, adjusting his weight to better grip the book he was holding tucked under one arm.

“Why is Professor Albright giving an assignment on the Scions of the Seventh Dawn anyway?”  The miqo’te asked.

“He wants us to come up with counter-arguments for some of their policies.  I thought it would be a good idea to research the Warrior of Light’s origins and offer up a paper on how that possibly has influenced her actions but...”  The pink-haired hyur gestured.  Mathye’s eyes narrowed.

Since when the hell is Sevestre suddenly willing to use us as the focus of school assignments?  He thought.

<I think the question would be, since when is he suddenly interested in Riven’s origins?>  Hrist countered, Mathye could feel the tip of her tail twitching against the small of his back, ghost-like. 

You think he’s digging for information on Riven?

<As the pink one said, it’s possible to learn about the other Scions, and while difficult, it is also possible to learn about you and the others.  And you know full well the reason why Riven has never said anything about her past.>

“She can’t remember.”  Mathye murmured lowly.  As the group’s healer, Riven’s...’amnesia’, if he could even call it that, was intimate knowledge.  The brunette had very hazy memories of her childhood, and was unable to recall a large portion of her teenage years.  In fact when pressed on it, Riven would become anxious.  The memory loss, combined with the scars of older injuries he’d first picked up on during a healing session, had made Mathye draw the conclusion that Riven had experienced some form of trauma during her formative years.  Riven herself had expressed no desire to try and research her past, seemingly at peace to leave it alone and embrace her present. 

Maybe he’s trying to find a way to be an even bigger pain in the arse.  Gods only scandal-digging was a thing in Ishgard. 

<If he cannot learn anything, he will probably give up soon enough.>  Hrist murmured.  <Still, this does bear watching.>

On that we agree.

----------

the last princess [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

[jenovahh]

Wild Greens Choke Tended Gardens - Ch. 4 - Gladiolus (Sword Lily)

He’s bored.

He usually is, but something about the monotony of everyday life seems particularly...bothersome now.

It has been another day of delegating and overseeing, having returned to the Garlean Embassy within Kugane after releasing the Warrior of Light back to her friends.

“I’m A’yana Salvia, the Warrior of Light.” She huffs, her tail giving an angry flick. “And you are going to let my friends go, peacefully.”

He can’t help but let loose a chuckle then, eyes unseeing as a servant refills his glass of wine. He had to admit, it was certainly amusing to see how readily she stood up to him, how she was devoid of fear despite her defeat by his hand at their last encounter. He couldn’t help but find the entire situation...refreshing.

“You are strong, but I am willing to lay down my life for my friends. I would do whatever it takes to allow them to escape.”

He had heard of people like her. Noble. Dutiful. Selfless.

A waste, comes the thought unbidden.

He had never understood those types, those that threw down their lives for the sake of others. Those who attached their sole reason to do battle to weak concepts such as selflessness and pride.

Man should fight for the joy of it. Only man could fight for fightings’ sake.

“Why are you even here?”

He can’t help but grin to himself, remembering her rage, how her eyes flashed with unbridled fury at his insult of her skills. How he could see any desire to save her friends had bled from her eyes and turned into a wish to see him dead where he stood.

“You had come looking for me, have you not? Sorry to disappoint you once again, but I am the Warrior of Light and the Warrior of Light is me.”

A’yana Salvia, the Warrior of Light…

Standing from his chair, he excuses himself, not allowing himself to head to his rooms straightaway. While sleep was tempting, if only to spare him from the boredom of the waking hours, he had something to occupy his time if only for a little while.

He walks the halls until he reaches a door, punching in the code to unlock the latch to allow him inside. Behind the door was an office, nearly as opulent as his own back home in Garlemald, filled with all manner of books and files and maps. Upon the desk was a neat stack of paper, along with a single book, bound in leather with gold trim.

Nearing the desk he sits himself in the high backed chair accompanying it, leaning back for a bit of comfort as he takes the documents in hand and reads the note on the first page.

A Brief History of the Warrior of Light, A’yana Salvia

At his request had his men been tasked with finding out as much about the Warrior of Light as possible, from the time of her birth to what she liked to eat for dinner. He was if anything thorough, and he had failed his own standards by not being able to connect her title with the Miqo’te woman herself. He would not make that mistake again.

Flipping the page, he is surprised to find there is little known about the details of her birth. The report goes on to say how there were no official records or reports or even hearsay of her birth, no ties back to any childhood homes. Even her parents were a mystery. Despite his best efforts to remain impartial, he couldn’t help but sit a little straighter, intrigued by the concept of a hero who came from nothing, but not in the traditional sense.

To anyone who tried to delve into her origins, they would find nothing. Even nomads, even beggars of savage city-states had some history and telling of their beginnings, and yet…

A’yana Salvia had none.

And not for lack of trying, either. The report goes on to say that others have attempted to dig deeper into her past, but no one, not even those known to be close to her know of her origins. It is said that she had almost seemed to appear from the mists, an adult ready to explore the world when she had been discovered by the Scions of the Seventh Dawn to come together to orchestrate Baelsar’s defeat.

It was all rather peculiar, that someone of such power had so little known about their life, save for their deeds as the hero. Enough deeds, that someone had deigned to write an entire book practically detailing her accomplishments.

The Dragonsong War, by Count Edmont Fortemps lays on the desk still, its leather staring back at him unassumingly. Cutting his eyes back to the report, he flips through the pages, seeing more information he had known already in addition to whatever his men could scrounge up. He had already heard the Garlean side of Baelsar’s defeat, but the report managed to dig up a few more details, such as her befriending of the traitor, Cid nan Garlond.

Done with the report, he picks up the tome, flipping through the first few pages that details the author’s early life. His years as a child were oft spent in between the shelves of the royal library, the princeling easily gaining the ability to scan through tome for information he sought.

Reaching the beginning of the retelling, some of the words begin to jog his memory. He had heard of the first brood. Heard of the terrifying power of Midgardsormr and his equally terrifying children from books about the fall of Agrius. The war of a thousand years waged by one of the dragon’s sons, fueled by nothing but his hatred for mortals. He had not seen such a beast himself, but he knew that the stories were true that despite not holding their sire's power, the first brood were still magnificent in their own right.

And she had slain him, this Nidhogg.

The Warrior of Light was lucky, yes, but there was no denying her power.

How could such potential be housed in such a small frame, such gifts be given to someone so... unworthy?

Part of him whispered that she was not as unworthy as he thought. The slowly fading scar on his neck attested to that.

It had been years since he sustained such an injury, his fingers constantly drifting to his neck anytime glanced at himself in a mirror. It had long since healed, the scarring not an angry red, but pale and silvery, as if dust from the moon itself had been imbued in her magic.

His eyelids fall close as he relives the rush of pain, the rush of feeling his blood well up into tiny pebbles at the small cut on his skin. He was strong enough to withstand her magic without difficulty, but even the discomfort it gave told him that the average man would find it nigh unbearable.

Their gap in power was not as large as it first seemed. Unlike him she lacked training, lacked control.

Somehow that was part of his unintentional obsession. He had built himself from the ground up with power, doing all he could to become a better hunter. The prestigious prince who had the best instructors in the land brought to his home to teach him, versus the feline warrior from shrouded origins with nothing but a blessing and luck to her name.

It was almost laughable really, and yet he found himself more intrigued than he cared to admit. He continues to flip through the pages, eyes dragging across the Ishgardian cursive script with the barest hint of detachment, his eyes steadily drifting closed.

He's dreaming again.

The usual warmth surrounds him, melding into his bones in a way that is frighteningly comforting. It has always been like this, yet only now does he consciously realize it is so.

It feels akin to--

The feeling of her in his arms--

"Thinking of someone?"

The dreamspace shifts and coalesces into another dense forest, though this time it is dark and moonlight drifts through the trees. His friend is behind him, their presence still formless and yet not, their energy seeming much looser and not all there.

"Why would you draw such a conclusion?" He asks, brows furrowed, not even bothering to turn to face what is not there.

"That woman," they begin, "the Warrior of Light. Was she not in your thoughts?"

He remains silent gazing up at the moon. It's milky surface stares back at him, shining brightly and illuminating the depths of his soul. He closes his eyes and allows himself to bask in its glow, the strange sense of comfort drifting across him again.

A minute passes before he realizes he's not given an answer. "Yes."

He hears tinkling sounds behind him, but still he does not turn to face them. "I like her."

Frowning, he responds in monotone. "That makes one of us."

Silence sits between both of them for another beat. "Do you feel nothing when you look in her eyes?"

He does whirl on them then glaring at their misty form. "I thought we already discussed this." he growls.

“Discussed what?” They question nonchalantly.

“Discussed this...soulmate nonsense--” he grounds out, glaring harder as their tinkling laughter surrounds him and their form solidifies a little more. “And what is so amusing?” he snaps, crossing his arms across his chest. “Do you find my innermost thoughts a source of entertainment?”

Though they don't have the form to manage it, even he can sense them shrugging nonchalantly. "I have only ever wanted you to be happy Zenos."

His lips move to form the words that he is happy, but he cannot bring himself to state such a blatant lie. Not to himself, not to his friend, because whether he liked it or not, they always found out the truth.

“And how would she make me happy?” he questions, regaining a little more composure. “She is weak. Untrained. She is used to having her equally weak companions throw her at whatever god arises and vanquishing it with raw power and sheer luck.” he scoffs, lip curling at the thought. “How could such a weakling make me happy?”

“You question how she could make you happy, yet you have spared her twice.” They respond, not at all bothered by his lofty tone.

Wrinkling his nose, he turns away from them again, trailing off into the forest. “A mistake I will soon rectify when next we meet.”

“Did she not say herself that you have caught her out of her element?” They press on, following behind him at a safe distance.

“What good is someone incapable of fighting on any battleground?” Zenos asks, uncaring as water from the creek soaks his pants leg. “Either she will prove that she is the challenge I seek when next we meet, or she shall die by my hand.”

His friend giggles behind them then, and he can’t help but turn once more to see their form a bit more solid. Were they always so much smaller than him? “And just what is it that you find so humorous?” He grumbles, sighing as the breeze caresses his skin.

“If only you could see it yourself, Zenos.” They giggle, their laughter like the tinkling of bells. “Try as you might, you're more invested than you let on.”

Frowning, Zenos finds that that thought resonates with him a bit more than he’d like. “You have known me this long. Am I anything other than thorough?” He asks, coming to a stop as he gazes out at the greenery before him.

“You are right, I have known you this long. Long enough to know when you are nearly obsessed. Long enough to know you thirst for more.” They echo, the dreamscape once again fading, his friend’s voice drifting away as it becomes indiscernible from the wind whispering through the trees.

Blinking away sleep, moonlight pours through the window, signaling he had been sleeping for quite some time. Shifting to a standing position, rolls his shoulders, preparing to retire for the night until he sees some of the Kugane guards running about in the streets.

Drifting closer to the window, he watches their paper lanterns light their path as they scuttle along, their voices muffled but Zenos can gather enough of what is going on. They seem to be trying to apprehend someone.

No longer interested, he prepares to turn away until a particular group’s conversation is loud enough to drift up to him.

Scions of the Seventh Dawn…

Garlean traitors…

The Warrior of Light--

His feet have carried him out of the office and toward the main entrance before he can even stop himself to ask what he’s doing. His soldiers question him, but he only feels his lips form the orders to not follow him if they wish to remain living. Grabbing a single sword, he stalks out into the night, noting that the guards have moved further into the city.

His hair trails behind him as he makes his way to where the general populace of Kugane resides, sticking close to the alleys as he keeps track of the guard’s movements through the streets. They are rather disorganized, and already he has spotted the two women the warrior calls her friends sneaking through the city to their destination. He does not doubt the Warrior of Light is far behind, taking the backstreets to keep a low profile. While not in his full regalia, there was nothing else he could be but the prince, and any guard that did happen to spot him wisely overlooked his presence.

It would also not do to have the woman know he was out looking for her as well. She’s doing a surprisingly good job of hiding from him; surely he would have spotted her at least once by now.

He keeps up his search until a group of guards begins shouting, their exclamations turned into coughs as a cloud of smoke erupts in the city street. Hurried footsteps barrel toward him and with all the grace of a predator does he reach out and snag the would be intruder, dragging them into the shadows as the smoke clears. They struggle against him but go still as the guards begin searching the area, failing to notice the two huddled together under a dark alcove.

As the sounds grow quieter, they renew their struggle, prompting Zenos to let them go.

“What are you doing?!” The Warrior of Light hisses, fangs catching the faintest bit of moonlight, sapphire eyes gleaming up at him in the darkness.

“Protecting my investment.” He responds dryly, watching as that riles her further.

“Your investment?!” She whispers harshly, looking as if she would love nothing more than to raise her voice.

“Letting you live was not without cost. Until I duel you under more...favorable circumstances, then it would be in my best interest to make sure no misfortune befalls you.” He sighs, watching as her eyes go wide with shock before narrowing once again.

“I did not need your help!” She growls, preparing to leave, but he blocks her path.

“I am inclined to disagree.” He purrs, unable to keep himself from poking the hot embers before him, in hopes that he’ll be burned. “Kugane may be a state of neutrality, but even they know that they must bow to the emperor, or risk their way of life being upset.” He hums, watching the gears turn in her head. “I would hate to bring attention to your location, or worse, your friends who I saw pass by earlier…” he trails off, unable to keep amusement from suffusing his words.

Her expression steels immediately.

Ah...there it is.

“You wouldn’t dare.” She whispers, the sound so sinister and low that he can’t help the shiver that runs down his spine.

“Would I?” he goads, eyes darting to how she flexes her claws. “While I have endeavored to occupy my time with more important matters, I find you have too many mysteries surrounding you for my curiosity to ignore.” He continues, watching an unreadable expression pass through her eyes. “Answer my questions truthfully, and I will allow you to return to your friends. Refuse…”

“Right, right, ask your stupid questions.” She snaps, crossing her arms across her chest.

He had expected more arguing from her, but he’s pleased to see that she is at least practical. “The first: why are you running?”

His eyes have adjusted to the darkness sometime ago, able to see her tail give an angry flick. “My friends and I were looking for a comrade of ours. Unfortunately we trusted a stupid fish who tried to turn us into your soldiers.” She grumbles, ears flicking to and fro as if still listening for guards.

“A comrade? For what purpose?” He continues on, unconsciously taking a step toward her. The alley is narrow and already one step has him nearly looming over her.

“To liberate Doma, what else?” She retorts, not at all afraid of him.

“You mean to free Doma?” He laughs, taking another step closer. She does take a step back then, though he can tell it is not from fear. Her eyes have not left his, fierce and unafraid. “While I applaud your ambition, I believe I have shown you twice now where standing against me will bring you.” He rumbles, voice thrumming in his chest. “What primal will your friends throw you at next, little Warrior? What tasks will they place upon you to bear alone?” He presses on, smirking all the while. “I have heard of Eorzea’s Savior, though a more aptly named title would be...Eorzea’s Errand Girl. Barring she is not killed first.”

“You…” she seethes, not even flinching as he backs her against a wall. He stands tall above her then, but she does not tremble, does not shake even though most people cower in his presence, his proximity notwithstanding. Even in the dark he can see the slits of her eyes have widened to let in more light, giving her superior vision in the night. Her fangs capture his attention with how sharp they actually are, but most of all…

It is the rage he feels from her that makes him shudder.

“Is this all you sought me out for? To insult me and make me question how my friends care for me?” She huffs, standing her ground.

“I have asked questions, but not made you question anything, Warrior of Light.” he chuckles, her title sounding like silk on his tongue. “I am merely curious about your endeavors, as any enemy would be. Is that so wrong?” He taunts, hoping for another violent reaction, but his smirk fades as a determination enters her eyes, one that stills his breath.

“You will listen and listen well, Garlean.” She hisses, reaching for his hair and yanking him down, the movement surprising him so thoroughly, his brain is still struggling to catch up. Never had anyone dare to take such liberties with his person. Even the servants whose job was solely to take care of his hair asked for permission to do their job.

That his body almost moves at her will, bringing him face to face with her so that she can glare at him from her level, sets something alight within him. A burn he had not felt his whole life. In this moment his entire being is tuned into her, tuned into the quiet conviction in her eyes.

“You may insult me all you like, but I will not allow you to insult my friends. Yes, they may be unable to fight a majority of battles without my help, but it is help I give gladly, it is help I give willingly.” She seethes, his eyes paying close attention to how the curl of her lip keeps her fangs displayed, almost as if in reminder of how she could sink them in his throat. The thought makes him shiver with an unnamed emotion. “As I had informed you at my capture, I don’t have time to play with a spoiled prince. My friends need my help and if it means giving up my life to help them, then so be it.” She growls, giving his hair one more tug and it goes straight to his groin.

“Now, you will be letting me go, without any fuss.” She demands, and just like that, he can see it.

The Warrior of Light in all of her glory.

She releases his hair, but he makes no moves to stand back to full height quite yet, still staring at her in muted wonder. She stares back until confusion slowly seeps into her gaze, unsure for why he has remained silent for so long. Silence continues to stretch between them, until her impatience finally gets the better of her. “Are you quite done staring? You are more than welcome to have me come sit in for a portrait if you so wish. I don’t have time to stand here with you gawking at me.”

Eyelids fluttering closed, he releases a single chuckle, standing back to full height as his hand absentmindedly runs across the strands of hair she had abused but moments before. Once he opens his eyes, she gasps, unsure what she sees there, but caring little.

If she had wanted him to leave her alone, there was no way he was doing so now.

“Very well, Warrior of Light.” he hums, stepping from her personal space. Giving her a forceful shove into a dark corner in the alley, not giving her time to complain as he calls out into the night. “Guards!”

He can hear her go stock still behind him, quiet as a mouse as nearby guards rush over to him.

“Lord Zenos!” they exclaim, bowing profusely in his presence. “How may we assist you?”

Glancing down the street, he remembers what direction her friends were heading before speaking once more. “While I am loath to help you bumbling savages...I would rather not have my rest interrupted by you shouting all over the district. While unsure of your targets, I last saw a suspicious group of people head south west of here.” Resting his hand on his sword, he can hear them all audibly swallow. “I would also suggest you be quick about it. I would like the district clear by the time I arrive at the Embassy to rest.”

“O-Of course, my lord!” they hastily bow, rushing down the streets like their lives depended on it. Turning to speak with the Warrior of Light, she stares back at him almost equally mystified, though her skepticism is clear on her face.

“As I had informed you earlier...I must protect my investments.” He grins, lips pulling into a genuine smile that stuns her even further. “Run free, Warrior of Light. Our next meeting may be sooner than you think.”

She shoots him a distrustful glare without hesitation, pushing past him as if he were just another man and not her sole enemy. The change is so refreshing he cannot find it in himself to even think of punishing her for her disrespect. To do so would be counterproductive.

“Oh, my wild, untamed beast…” he purrs to himself as he watches her hurry to her destination, skirts trailing behind her as she disappears into the night. “There is no escaping me now.”

When he returns to the Garlean embassy it is with purpose, his men nearly jumping out their skin at the look in his eye as he begins rattling off orders. His father hasn’t approved any action to march on the savages in Gyr Abania, giving him a copious amount of free time to do as he wished. If his father really did begin to ask after him, he could always feign that he was putting the Doman wench in line; which would not be far from the truth. She had failed him by letting the Warrior of Light reclaim the Ruby Sea, and yet he cannot be too harsh on her.

She had brought him a challenge after all.

When morning comes, he feels a drive he had not felt since he was a boy. A zest for life that was blooming within his chest, barely able to contain the sheer joy he felt. It was not hard to arrange for his entourage to prepare him a vessel to depart for Doma the next morning. Using the information he had gleaned from the Warrior of Light the night prior, he was walking the halls of the dilapidated castle in no time at all.

The Doman woman kneels before him, subservient as the rest. Her hatred had intrigued him before; it was why he had seen fit to ascend her to a position that allowed the subjugation of her own people. But looking in her eyes now, all he can feel is disappointment.

Blue, feline eyes glare back at him in his mind’s eye, and a rush of heat runs through him.

“Have you anything to say for yourself?” he questions, not even deigning to stand up. Prostrated before him, he is glad she does not tremble before him at least, but the lack of defiance is rather uninspiring.

“Nay, my lord.” she replies, not even bothering to look at him to give her answer.

Rolling his eyes, he studies her for a moment longer. “Tell me then, in detail just how you failed me. Have you not heard of the Warrior of Light? Is your network so under utilized that you could not quash a rebellion well before it started?”

She flinches under his criticism, and remains kneeling before him. “I had not, my lord.” she answers, throat tight. “She was like a storm; a typhoon, making landfall before you could even do anything about it.” She does rise up to look at him then, most likely in hopes that he will see how sorry she is. “She had rallied the Confederacy so quickly, and I had tried to stop her...but suddenly those Kojin...she had slain a god.”

His eyebrows raise as she sounds almost stupefied, as if trying to make sense of how it all went wrong so fast. “It was as if the fear of the empire no longer mattered. Her and her friends had organized and planned, she had instilled the people with a will that even the empire could not suppress. She is formidable, my lord.” she finishes, and her words make him think.

The conviction he saw within her eyes, a will not easily broken. That even as he stood before her, out of her element, her life in his hands by the prospect of her being in his presence alone…

It was this will that inspired the masses to rebel as he had hoped the Doman woman could do.

Begrudgingly he had to admit that she knew how to inspire the masses. She accomplished in days what the woman couldn’t even accomplish after several moons and imperial forces at her disposal.

It was also clear that between her and her two comrades, she was not the strategist. He would not go as far as to insult her intelligence, but there was no denying that just as his presence evoked fear, hers inspired hope. He doubted she gave speeches, doubted she gave orders. Simply by existing she was an inspiration, a morale booster of the highest caliber.

He can’t stop himself from smirking, even if the action makes the woman before him fear for her life. He envisions those fierce blue eyes again, whispering her name on his lips.

“The Warrior of Light, A’yana Salvia…”

Her name on his lips tastes heavenly.

As much as she warned him to stay away, to threaten his life in the hopes he would take heed to her promises…

It only made him yearn for their battle more. Without trying, his prey had gotten snared in his trap--

And he would not suffer to let it go.

[voidsentprinces]

My Brain on Shadowbringers: Remind

Talk to Tataru. Leave Rising Stones. Run across to boat. Talk to dude. Come sail away. Come sail away come sail away with me. Talk to Tataru. Indiana Jones the places. Touch the things. TATARU I THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THOSE MUFFINS! Must be summer cause the sun is up at 6 in the fucking morning. Oh hey a dude. He’s been drinking. He calls you drunk. Follow the road. Rabbit Wife spotted. Tell her you’re from the Source. She accuses you of lying. Oh hey an eldritch horror. It ate the dude. Crystal Exarch appears. A+ husband material that one. What can you say? You got a thing for enigmatic men made of rock candy dressed in robes three feet shorter than you. Talk to Crystal Lover. Go into the Crystarium. GRAB AAAALLLLL THE AETHERYTE! Get lost a couple of times because some of the aetheryte are on the ledge over looking an area with an aetheryte underneath. Talk to Crystal Lover. Go into Tavern. Talk to Crystal Lover. Leave. Run across and talk to Book Nerd. Leave. Talk to Blacksmith Lady. Run across and talk to Barkeep. Talk to Crystal Lover. FEO UL ENTERS SMASH! Best character since Hilda. Go to Crystal Tower. Talk to Guard. Talk to Crystal Lover. Talk to Crystal Lover. Leave. Run across the Bar area. Talk to Crystal Lover. Talk to Innkeep. Oh shit Crystal Lover hooked you up with your own room. The marriage is in December. Spend the Night. Oh shit Ardbert is here to act as Patrick Swayze. Practice pottery with him. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Leave. Go to Crystal Tower. Talk to Guard. Talk to Crystal Lover. He must never know of Ghost Husband. Choose between Book Son and Sword Daughter. Run to Amaro meadows. Talk to Lizard Man. Go to Rookery. Talk to other Lizard man. Fly to Amh Amaerg. Get your hand held by Roe.

Land in desert. Music is so majestic. Talk to Roe. Ride across. Admire Giant Cactuar. Talk to Roe near bridge. Run through sand. Go to Kobold city. Get the aethryte and Amaro Route. Talk to people Talk to Kobolds. Hand over a coin. Select between worms, spicy meat, or other such bad diet options. EAT THE ENTIRE FUCKING THING WELCOME TO FEARFACTOR! Talk to Roe. Pick up the exact number of things he requested. Look up guide for this exact number and bullshit your way through it. Talk to Roe. Roe still talking to Kobolds. Talk to Tesleen. Walk through the desert. PUNCH SOME COYOTES! Talk to Tesleen. Follow Tesleen. PUNCH MORE COYOTES! Make it to base. Talk to Tesleen. Go out and hunt you down a Sword Daughter. Walk around. Walk around. Walk around. SWORD DAUGHTER APPEARS! She’s grown like two inches. Have an awkward sibling hug with her. Help hunt down Sineaters with her. PUNCH A BUG! PUNCH ANOTHER BUG! PUNCH A HORSEBAT! Talk to Sword Daughter. Talk to Tesleen. Pat Pale Dude. Pat Pale Roe. Pat Pale Child. Talk to Tesleen. Speak to dude. Teleport to Kobold City. Talk to Dude. Talk to other dude. Return to place. Talk to Sword Daughter. Talk to Tesleen. Pale Child has escaped. SHIT GOES DOWN! OH FUCK THATS WHOA SHIT! OH GOD! YOU HAVE SEEN SOME SHIT BUT THAT WAS...FUCKED UP! Talk to Sword Daughter. Return to Inn. Talk to people. Leave with Sword Daughter by to Crystarium. Sword Daughter is depressed. Fly to Kholusia.

Have Roe hold you hand. Land on sandy beach. Majestic Acoustic Steel String Music INTENSIFIES. Talk to Roe. Run across the sand. Talk to dude. Head to town. Attune to aetheryte. Talk to Bar tender. Stand around. Get hit on. Go to garden. PUNCH THINGS! PUNCH MORE THINGS! PUNCH BUGS! Knock on door. Knock on door again. KICK DOWN THE DOOR! No one home. You don’t have to pay for the door. Go back to bar. Get hit on. Wait around. BOOK SON APPEARS! He’s grown like three inches and he’s dressed for a Christmas Album. Talk to Book Son. Walk along. Hear scream. Find lady. PUNCH HORSEBAT! Save lady. Go to Hooverville. Talk to people. Watch jesters hand out sweet hawaiian buns. Talk to Book Son. Run to place. Someone scalped your stuff. Run along. CSI: First Shard. Track down blue haired catte. He’s now your son. Leave stuff with him. Wait around. Pose as artist and his assistant. Go with Jesters. Talk to Jesters. Go to customs. Talk to Lady. Wash the Gaius, Dragon, and bajillion other things you killed between ARR and now off your body. Walk out door. Threaten to tell Estinien about the time Alphinaud got wasted and bully him into showering. Spray perfume. Go back to customs. Get in. Talk to Momma Catte and Anxious Husband. Walk around the place. Talk to lady. Talk to dude hanging off ledge. Go to strip club. Win a match making game. DANCE BITCH! Talk to lady. Leave. Talk to Book Son. Take an elevator. BEHOLD SUPER KAMI GURU! Leave before shit gets weird. Fly back to Crystarium with Book Son.

Talk to Book Son. Talk to Sword Daughter. Go to Crystal Tower. Talk to Guard. Talk to Crystal Lover. Talk to Crystal Lover. Rabbit Wife enters the fray! Follow her out to Lakeland. Teleport to Fort Jobb ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  Run up the hill. Talk to Crystal Lover. Unlock Holminster Switch. PUNCH AN ANGEL! OH FUCK ITS TESLEEN! PUNCH HER! OH GOD STAY STRONG SWORD DAUGHTER! PUNCH A GIANT SQUID THING! Become what you must, return night to the First. Go back to the Crystarium. Talk to Crystal Lover. Return to Inn. Maintain connection to Ghost Husband. Make more pottery ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Return to Crystal Lover. Use the Cloak of Invisibility. Ran’jit enters smash! Teleport to Library. Talk to Book Nerd. Talk to Rabbit Wife. Join the military. Run around. Talk to people. Get an Amaro. Abuse the Amaro by exploring all of Lakeland before you get the Aether Currents. Land at place. Talk to Guy. Talk to other guy. Check on foundation of tower. Walk around. Back flip. Do the twist. Fly into battle. PUNCH GUARDS! PUNCH MORE GUARDS! PUNCH EVEN MORE GUARDS! Save Knife wielding child. She’s your daughter now. Run away. OH SHIT IS RAN’JIT! Punch him. He fucking cheats. God its Zenos all over again. Why do we have to do Zenos all over again? Edgecred appears! He shaved and got a bad ass cloak. Cool entrance...he gets his ass kicked. Crystal Lover saves the day. RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! We can’t stop here this is fae country!

Talk to Thancred. Talk into town. Attune to Aetheryte. Talk to Thancred. Check some bushes. The bushes talk to you. Don’t say shit. Return to Thancred. Thancred spies with his little eye PIXIES! Feo Ul appears! BEGONE [THOT]! Talk to Feo Ul. Talk to Thancred. Leave the Twins behind to be tormented by Pixies. Kick down a door. CARELESS WHISPER INTENSIFIES AS URIANGER SHOWS OFF HIS ARMS! You dirty elezen! I’d take you now if Thancred and Knife Daughter weren’t right there. Listen to Sexy Nerd talk. Talk to Thancred. Leave. Pick up the Twins. Walk to the edge of a lake. Unlock Donh Meg. DANCE OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRIES INTENSIFY! PUNCH FROG WITH HIS BULLSHIT GEYSERS! PUNCH VEGGIEDRAGON WITH HIS BULLSHIT BUDS! ALPHINAUD FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HEAL YOURSELF! PUNCH TALL FROG! FUCK! TIGHT ROPE! PUNCH THE FROG SOME MORE! Almost get drowned. Make out with Ghost Husband under water. Swim to Scions. Ride back. Get cockblocked by Pixies. Use Cloak of Invisibility. Dodge Pixies. Meet with WIDE LAD! Talk to WIDE LAD! Talk to other rabbit earred puppies. Go out with Knife Daughter. PUNCH SOME RABBIT EARRED PUPPIES! Steal ink return! Talk to Knife Daughter! Get mind fucked by floating faerie lady. Return to Rabbit Earred Puppies. Talk to Thancred, talk to Scion. Talk to Amaro. ...Ardbert? Sob for fifteen minutes. Talk to Seto. Walk around. Pet fluffy dragons. Punch some things for Amaro. Talk to Seto. Return to Feo Ul. Go to sick ass Cathedral. Unlock Dancing Plague.

BIGGER IS BETTER! WET WET WET! WHEN YOU PLAY WITH FIRE! IM SICK OF THIS CRAMPED OLD CASTLE! LETS GO TO THE FOREST! YAE CON SLEEP WHEN YER DEAD!

Watch many a party fail to burst down Titania’s three big guys and wiped 200 times. Eventually win after 3 days of game play. Years at the academy. WASTED! Feo Ul becomes Titania. Return Night to Il Mheg. Fight off Ran’jit. Talk to Thancred. Return to Crystarium. Get left behind. Fall asleep while she’s taking a drag. Meet with Ghost Husband. Cheer him up about Seto. Return to Crystarium. SKUNK MAN HAS ARRIVED! Visit Crystal Lover. Skunk Man breaks down the door! Leave and go to Fort Jobb ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Search ruins. Find iPad. Run across Lakeland and enter LA HEE

LA HEE PUT A BIG COAT ON! HEE! NOW EXARCHS IN A ROBE! TAKE THAT ROBE OFF! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) LA  HEEE!

Watch Thancred and Skunk Man get two inches from Hate Fucking Each other. Find a village. Its been burned down. YOU’RE SURROUNDED! Do what any sensible person would do. KUPO? Skunk Man flees from battle. GOTH WIFE APPEARS! Ride off to Goth Wife’s village. Talk to Goth Wife. Talk to Goth Wife behind closed doors. Leave. Talk to Lion Husband. Pat him on the head. Plant some stuff. Grab some candles. Ride out and punch some mean dudes harassing a patroller. Follow Knife Daughter. Kill some Sineaters. Took around return to Goth Wife Village. Hold funeral. Ride out and punch mean dudes. Grab a hornet’s nest. Throw it through a whole. Ride past a bunch of aggro mobs. Talk to Goth Wife. Look at cave paintings. Talk to Ghost Husband. Talk to Goth Wife. Pick up the SCREE!!!! Dive under water. Pat a statue. Swim. Pat another statue. Swim. Pat one more statue get medal of honour. Return to Goth Wife. Hand over Medal. Return to Goth Wife Village. Follow blue flowers. Get interrupted by THREE RABBIT WIVES! Follow the path to RABBIT WIFE VILLAGE! HOLY SHIT! Tall Rabbit Women ready to kill you...the tension is palpable! Introduce yourself to these tall muscular women. Get Aetheryte. Go to northern ruins. Read some glyphs. Read more glyphs. Read even more glyphs. Read more gylphs. Just kidding you didn’t read shit. Look up a guide for the answer to the riddle. Talk to Goth Wife. Get compliments by first trying it. Head into ruins. Talk to Goth Wife. Find statue. Indiana Jones to the opening. Talk to Goth Wife. Avoid patrols. Oh shit Ran’jit is invading. Oh shit theres a giant fucking boulder RUN! FUCKING RUN! Drop down. Run across place. RAN’JIT BREAKS THE PARTY UP! FIGHT HIM! No he isn’t going down. Run to statue. Place falls apart. GOTH WIFE NO! Return to Rabbit Village. Hand over stone to Rabbit Sisters. Talk to Lion Husband. Tell him Goth Wife has gone to the Cure Concert upstate. SKUNK MAN RUINS THE MOMENT! Skunk Man offers to bring Goth Wife back. Stand at a spot. Wave a lantern. Skunk Man summons Goth Wife. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  Skunk Man dresses Goth Wife. Return to Rabbit Village. Talk to Rabbit Sisters. Ride down a tree branch. Unlock Qitana Ravel.

GET YA GROOVE ON WITH A SICK ASS WOOD INSTRUMENT SOLO!

PUNCH OX STATUE! ADOPT BATQUATCH! DOOOO DUUUH DOOO DUHH DOOO DUUH DUHH DOOO DUHH DOOO DUHH DOOO! SECRET OF MANA REFERENCE! PUNCH SINEATERS! PUNCH CHIMERA WARDEN! NEARLY HAVE HEARTATTACK! Leave. Listen to Skunk Man Story. Talk to Goth Wife.

Return to Crystarium. Talk to Innkeeper. Talk with Ghost Husband. Walk out. WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! Build barriers. Ride out. PUNCH SINEATER! PUNCH SINEATER! PUNCH MORE SINEATERS! PUNCH ALLL THE FUCKING SINEATERS! You win. But at what cost? Talk to Rabbit Captain. Cheer her up. Return to Crystarium. Talk an alternative route into Amh Araeng. Talk to people. Talk to Thancred. Walk across tracks. Talk to drunk dude. Talk to Trolley Enthuists. Take 20 years to hand over a wrench, hammer, and tools. PUNCH SOME BIRDS! Return. Drunk Lion is still drunk. Talk to Thancred. Talk to Sexy Nerd. Listen to Sexy Nerd and Knife Daughter have a heart-to-heart. Run across the desert. Track down some worms. PUNCH SOME STUFF! Get some ore. Talk to dude. Return to Trolley enthusiast. Repair Golem. Sexy Nerd stays behind. Ride Big Thunder Mountain with Knife Daughter and Thancred. OH SHIT ITS RAN’JIT! THANCRED GONNA DO HIMSELF A GROWING UP! WHY DO TANKS DO SO LITTLE DAMAGE! PUNCH RAN’JIT IN HIS FUCKING FACE! Dadcred almost dies. Carry Knife Daughter to the edge oblivion. Watch as she has a talk with Minfilia. Knife Daughter is now a red head with pretty eyes. She is her own person. Support Knife Daughter. Find Dadcred near death. Knife Daughter is now Ryne. Ryne leads us to Snarlacc Pit. Unlock Malikah’s Well. PUNCH ARMADILLO! PUNCH BUCKET GOLEM! PUNCH COOL FAERIE LIGHTWARDEN! ALMOST HAVE A HEART ATTACK RETURN NIGHT TO DESERT! Leave. Talk to Knife Daughter. Return to Crystarium. Go to sleep. Talk to Ghost Husband. Talk to Crystal Lover. Fly to Kholusia.

Walk around. Punch some people getting high. Punch some more people. Approach Hooverville. Punch possessed people. FIGHT TO THE GATES! PUNCH JESTERS! RUN UP STAIRS! Oh goddamnit its FUCKING Ran’jit! PUNCH HIM IN HIS ZENOS-WANNABE FUCKING FACE! Run up the stairs. Face off against J. Edgar Hoover. Watch him grow tiny wings and fly off. Take control of TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE! Finally attune to that fucking aetheryte. Talk to Book Son. Shame the 1%. Convince Anxious Catte Husband to aid. Ride across Kholusia. Talk to elevator guy. Ride out. Look up a guy and give the guy the exact amount of lumber you have. Ride back to elevator. Skunk Man talks cryptically and walks away. Take elevator up. Look around. Talk to Sword Daughter. Walk up ramp. Look around. SHOEBILL! See dude. Ride across. Oh hey its an Artist Guy you saved earlier but I didn’t mention before. Convince him the 1% isn’t here to dodge their taxes. He says bring back the guillotine. Say thats fair. Talk to Anxious Catte Husband. Crystal Lover appears. Ride out. Meet Dwaves. DO YOU EVEN LALI-HO MOTHERFUCKER!?! Attune to aetheryte. LALI-HO LALI-HO LALI-HO Use darts. SHOEBILL! Hit Dwarf. Get accepted. Do another round of darts . SHOE BILL! Hit the dwarf. LALI-HO! Go with Crystal Lover and escort Dwarf. PUNCH ALL THE SINEATERS! Go invisible and put dwarves to sleep. Get caught by head dwarf. Knock him out. Ride back to Town. Anxious Catte tries to make amends to Artist. He punches catte husband with words. They call it even. Ride out. SHOE BILL! Sleeping Crystal Lover. Ride back. Witness a GIANT GOLEM! Ride forth. Unlock Mt. Gulg. PUNCH GIANT LION! PUNCH RUBIX CUBE! PUNCH SINEATER LADY! Unlock Crown of the Immaculate. PUNCH DONALD TRUMP! OH FUCK TRUMP TURNED INTO FABIO! PUNCH HIM MORE! Absorb his essence. Oh god having a Heart Attack. Crystal Lover appears. YAY! Crystal Lover turns out to be a Catte Son! Do you hear that? Is that a Skunk Man? HES GOT A GUN! OH NO HE SHOT CATTE SON! Oh no the heart attack is getting worse. You faint and wake up in your innroom.

Talk to Ghost Husband. Fucking...the Sun is back up at 6:30 in the fucking morning. Order Black out curtains. Walk around. Talk to people. Go out and look over the world. Talk to Ghost Husband. Feo Ul appears and thinks you’re off your rocker. Go to Amaro Rookery. Try to leave without your friends. Your friends stop you from going. Group Family Hug. Knife Daughter is included. Fly out to Lakeland. Fly to giant island. Sexy Nerd pets the island but it goes back to sleep. SUMMON FEO UL IN ATTACK MODE! Island is actually Bismarck! He flies you into the middle of the ocean!

Welcome back to Relaxing Music you can study to 24/7. Talk to Scions. Walk along the bottom of the ocean. Discover fishman. Fishman flees. Track down fishman to their base. Talk to fishmen. Attune to Aetheryte. Talk to Fishmen. Ride out and punch some stuff. Talk to Goth Wife. Ride out and inspect some architecture. Talk to Goth Wife. Return to Fish Men. Ride out to giant glass house. Talk to Blacksmith. Due your job quests. Return to Blacksmith. Get Job Armor and metal thingie. Return to Fishmen. Hand over thingie. Talk to Fishmen. Talk to Scions. Ride across the ocean. Talk to Sword Daughter. Ride across ocean. Talk to Sexy Nerd. Barrier is lowered. Ride through the bottom of the ocean. DISCOVER A CITY! Go to Elevator. Take elevator. Welcome back to Lo-Fi Ascian Radio to Study to while the noises of the city and debating ghosts play in the background. Ride across the city. Talk to ghost. Get called a child. Talk to other ghosts. Sealion one into debating a guy. Talk to register dude. Sit on bench. Talk to Friend Shaped Ghost. Go to the counter. Leave. PUNCH SOME BLOBS! Return to Ghost. Ride across. Talk to Scions. Have a pep talk with each of them. Talk to Book Son. Approach doors. Enter doors. Have a dick measuring contest with Skunk Man. He opens the doors to hell. Unlock Amaurot.

Run Amaurot. Punch---WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?! OH GOT ITS DROPPING METEORS ON US! OH FUCK AN ENTIRE BUILDING IS COLLAPSING! OH FUCK! OH GOD! OH FUCK! Never speak of this moment again. Punch Balloon Chicken. Balloon Chicken runs away. PUNCH ALL THE DAEMONS OF HELL! Punch Balloon Chicken. It blew up. Take portal. Listen to Skunk Man read Dante’s Inferno. Punch cosmic horrors. Punch cosmic horrors. Punch book end with legs. Leave. Flex on Skunk Man. Skunk Man punches the Scions. Have a heart attack. Touch Ghost Husband’s Axe ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ONE BRINGS SHADOW ONE BRINGS THE LIGHT! Let us do away with false names, I AM HADES! Unlock Dying Gasp.

PUNCH HADES! PUNCH HIS GHOST FRIENDS! MUSIC SWELL! OH FUCK HADES EVOLVED INTO A GHOST FLYING TYPE! MUSIC REACHES CRESECENDO PUNCH HADES! GET BEHIND ARM! REMOVE CURSE! BREAK BUBBLE! DODGE MIDDLE! PUNCH HADES! HADES ACTIVATES BONDAGE ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  BREAK FREE WITH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP! KICK! HIS! FUCKING! ASS! Leave. He’s back. Dadcred enters the fight and chucks White Aurecity at him. Goth Wife, Knife Daughter, Sword Daughter, Sexy Nerd, and Book Son power it with light. Summon Ghost Husband’s Axe. THROW IT AT HIS FUCKING FACE! YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! ...Remember us...remember we once lived. Save Catte Son. Swim all the fucking way back to Kholusia. Lose Sexy Nerd on the way. Book Son almost dies. Get celebrated. Walk back to Crystarium. Enjoy a hero’s welcome. Go back to Eorzea. Pray thee return to the Rising Stones. Surprise Tataru.

Meanwhile in Garlemald. Edgestinien teams up with Hobo Gaius. They fight across Garlemald and break in. Zenos was possessing an Elezen. He takes his body back from Elidibus and stabs Emperor Severus Snape. Hobo Gaius is all like ZEEEENOOOOS! Cut and roll credits.

[b-does-the-write-thing]

general incivility, chapter two

                              - a brienne x jaime pride & prejudice retelling -

chapter one l chapter two 

The day of the assembly,  Morne Manor was busier than it had been in over a decade. The carriages had finally arrived from Casterly Rock just yesterday with all the trappings and furnishings that befitted the scion of the lion.

Not that Tyrion had wanted any of the crimson or gold hangings. All Tyrion had cared about was the bottles of brandy from the Rock. And the wine from the arbor. Though to be fair he had also expressed considerable annoyance over the lack of port. 

Thankfully, all had arrived with the rest of his things, not that Tyrion was around to notice. His new steward had things well in order, though he was an odd, rough sort of man. Tyrion had picked him up somewhere along the mountain roads. Gruff and sly, Bronn Blackwater had seemed an odd choice for steward to Jaime’s eye, but Tyrion enjoyed the man and so far he had proved proficient.

All in all, Tyrion was overall delighted with the ancient place and its idiosyncrasies. He had already found two hidden passages and a carving he was convinced dated back to the Andals. 

For his part, Jaime was ready to flee back to Casterly Rock. From what he had seen thus far, the Stormlands were a destitute, rocky wasteland. Morne Manor itself had been nearly in ruins when Tyrion had decided to purchase the estate. The youngest son of Tywin Lannister had read about it some book somewhere and decided on a whim to make it his new home. Though why anyone would want to live in the Stormlands instead of the Riverlands, Jaime couldn’t have said. 

“It’s ghastly here,” Cersei echoed, even though he had not uttered a word. His cousin stood beside him at the head of the staircase, watching the servants scuttle this way, spilling from the doorway like black ants.  With a sigh, Cersei turned away from the organized chaos unfolding below. “Take a stroll with me,” she purred, more a demand than a request. Before he could answer, she took him by the arm and began to stroll up the hallway, letting her head rest upon his bicep. 

He tensed, ever so slightly, eyes cutting around them as they walked. In a town this size, someone would always be watching, if only out of boredom rather than malice. Another reason he could not wait for Tyrion to grow bored with this little game and return back to the Rock. 

He did not disentangle himself from Cersei but he could not quite relax either. Born on the same day, the firstborn children of the Lannister twin brothers, Cersei and Jaimie were as close as any siblings. They had grown up together but lately, Cersei had been hinting at something new...at taking their relationship from those of cousins to that of something more intimate...to an understanding.  

She was a beautiful woman, smart and intelligent, and he cared for her, yes, but something held him back. He could not say what it was other than an innate certainty that her interest was less for the love of him and more of a desire to be known as Lady Lannister of Casterly Rock, instead of just simply Ms. Lannister. 

As they turned down the west wing hallway, a door creaked open just as they passed, revealing the empty library. “There you are, Jaime,” Tyrion declared. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Cersei gave a sweet, short laugh. “Well. Small wonder you couldn’t find him in the library. Your brother was seeing to the preparation of the house, something the master of the house should be overseeing. Not tucked away in some musty old library. For such an intelligent fellow, you tend to be terribly short-sighted, Tyrion. ”

Not missing her emphasis, Tyrion gave their cousin a grin. “I’m surprised you can even see me from that high horse of yours, cuz.”

Cersei’s green eyes, so like Jaime’s, flashed in rage. “Have a care how you speak to me, sir. I need only stand in my stocking feet  to look down upon you.”

“No fine feat considering most children can as well,” Tyrion agreed. “Which is why I have need of my brother here. I cannot reach one of the shelves and my ladder has not yet arrived.”

Knowing they could go on for hours, Jaime disentangled himself from Cersei. “Now, now, children. Manners.”

Cersei knew Jaime well enough to pick up that he was in no mood for their diatribes today. She smoothed her face back into a courteous smile. “You’re quite right, Jaime, dear. Besides, I should go see that these country maids have managed to iron my gown without ruining it.”

Without so much as a glance at Tyrion, she pressed a kiss to Jaime’s cheek before departing. Jaime lingered just long enough to admire the way her hips swayed in the scarlet silk gown she had custom designed from Bravos. Empire-waisted, she had explained when she had first shown it to him. He wasn’t sure what that meant but it did fit her tall, willowy figure admirably- 

Tyrion chuckled under his breath. “Our dear cousin is rather out of her element in the Stormlands, isn’t she?” He looked up at Jaime knowingly. “I must say, it did rather surprise me when our sweet cousin voluntarily chose to accompany us to my new estate.”

“As I told you, once I’ve seen you settled, I will accompany Cersei to King’s Landing for the winter,” he reminded Tyrion. 

“Right, right,” Tyrion muttered as he waddled back into the library. Jaime followed after him, feeling already ill at ease in the massive room. Every surface was covered in books. Their father had been happy to get rid of his black sheep of a son, happy enough to send a majority of the Rock’s library with him to the Stormlands without an argument. 

“Where were you this morning?” Jaime inquired as he followed behind Tyrion towards the back of the library. “I had hoped to take a ride down to the shore before the weather turned.”

Tyrion screwed up his face. “I have no interest in riding down to any body of water.” He patted his short, squat legs with a leer. “I’m not made for swimming. I’d sink like a stone.” Jaime ignored this. Tyrion always used his stature as an excuse to avoid anything more strenuous than going down to the kitchen cellars. “Besides, I called on Selwyn Tarth at Evenfall Hall.”

Jaime was not familiar with the names. “For what purpose?”

Tyrion climbed up into the chair specially designed for him. “In all honesty? I had hoped to catch a sight of his daughter.”

Jaime groaned. “Tyrion-”

“The Beauty of Tarth,” Tyrion continued, pointing to a blue book on the top leftmost shelf. “Fetch that for me, would you?”

Jaime did as he was asked. “Lives of the Nine Septons?” he read quizzically. “Feeling rather pious lately, dear brother?”

Tyrion harrumphed. “Not on your life. I was looking for the Jade Compendium. I could have sworn it was that same color. Perhaps over here…”

Tyrion hopped back down and headed across the back wall of windows towards the far corner. Jaime trailed after him. “This beauty,” Jamie said, knowing his brother well enough to know where this was going. “Does she….”

“Know I’m a dwarf?” Tyrion said with a leer over his shoulder. “I haven’t the foggiest. If it hasn’t gotten out by now, I suppose she and the rest of the Stormlands will learn of it tonight at the assembly.” He paused, looking this way and that. “Where could it have gotten?”

Jaime knelt down and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Tyrion, I know this whole business has been...strenuous.”

“Oh, the part about un-inheriting me unless I give up my claim to Castlery Rock and settle down with a respectable wife on the other side of Westeros?” Tyrion was smiling but his eyes were hard. “Or the part where my dear brother informed my father of my plans to elope to Gretna Green with a crofter’s daughter?” He brushed Jaime’s hand off his shoulder. “Forget the book. I should follow Cersei’s lead and prepare for the assembly. I want to make an impression, after all.”

“Tyrion-” Jaime began but it was too late. His brother had already turned the corner and disappeared down another stack of shelves, leaving Jamie Lannister alone in the library alone with only his good intentions. 

--

Tyrion Lannister was a dwarf.

The entire assembly was abuzz about this development. It was the most shocking piece of gossip in over a century and no one was immune to its salacious nature. People reporting back also admitted to finding the gentleman gifted with an easy, unaffected manner paired with a sharp wit that was delightfully well wielded. 

Attention soon also shifted to his companions: a brother and cousin. Beautiful in the classic way that was so en vogue at the moment, the pair looked so alike they could have been twins, from the way their green eyes narrowed in disdain to the way their full lips curled up in amused derision. 

Half the ladies were already in love with the gentleman before they even learned that he had ten thousand pounds a year. After that, there was a great burst of fuss and fluttering before it became clear that though rich and handsome, his manners left much to be desired. Jaime Lannister was curt in conversation, rude in his responses, and refused to dance despite the numerous ladies sitting along the wall. He was quickly declared to be the most disagreeable man anyone had ever met. 

On the other hand, Tyrion Lannister, despite his stature, had already made the acquaintance of nearly every person in attendance. Every corner soon buzzed about his latest quip or joke, if not remarking on the cold beauty of his companions. 

In all the excitement, Brienne’s usual tormentors did not notice or care that she was even in attendance. She had been left mercifully alone for the entire evening, having selected a spot along the back wall upon her arrival but as more and more guests arrived, her haven was soon overrun.

Heading out of the gathering crush before she garnered any unwanted attention, Brienne was in the process of trying to make herself as small as humanly possible (which did not work any better than it ever had or would for someone over six feet tall) when she nearly stepped on the gentleman of the hour. 

“My apologies, my lord,” Brienne hurried to amend, dropping into a rough courtesy. “I didn’t see you- I mean-”

The dwarf threw his head back up at her and then,  to her disbelief, laughed. “No, I don’t think you could from all the way up there,” he agreed. One black eye and one green sparkled up at her. Tyrion Lannister was almost half her size, with a face almost as unfortunate as her own, but it was plain to see he was at ease with himself, as confident in his own skin as any man. 

Before Brienne could muddle things further, her father materialized at their sides, handing Brienne a glass of punch. “Ah, Mister Lannister, I see you’ve met my daughter. Brienne, this is Tyrion Lannister, Lord of Morne Manor.”

“This is your daughter?” Tyrion said, clearly taken aback. Uncertain of what to say or do, Brienne offered him another courtesy.  He recovered quickly, a smile back on his odd face. “Delighted to make your acquaintance, Ms. Brienne,” Tyrion said, offering her his own small bow. “I am afraid I’ve promised this dance and the next and the next.”

“I thank you, but I do not dance, good sir,” Brienne said hastily as the music started to summon the dancers back to their places. 

“Sad tidings. We would be quite a pair,” he said with a cheerful wink, that was not at all mockery. It was more like an inside joke, and Brienne found herself relaxing despite herself, something she never did at balls. “Till we meet again, Miss Tarth.”

As her father spied one of his old business partners and moved to speak with him, Brienne retired to the edge of the hall. There were a few other ladies lingering against the wall, but none of them spared her a glance. Everyone knew Brienne Tarth and no one was worried they may be slighted for a dance in her favor. 

With her height, Brienne was able to see everything on the dance floor with ease despite the occasional plumage in a lady’s coiffure. She remained there, watching the events of the evening unfold and hoping her father would grow tired soon and they could leave. Septa Roelle would be waiting to hear all about the evening and Brienne wanted to have plenty to tell her. She would just leave out the part where she had stood in a corner the whole evening. 

Unintentionally, Brienne's gaze was drawn to the pair of lions on the far side of the room. It was hard to miss such a splendid pair. Tyrion’s older brother, Jaime Lannister, was indeed a handsome man but his face seemed to be permanently contorted into a sour glower. He stood with his arms crossed and did not speak to a single person with the exception of his brother and the stunningly beautiful woman at his side. 

Cersei Lannister, a cousin on their father’s side, was by all reports an accomplished woman. She too was tall, but still at least two heads shorter than her cousin. She had the same blonde hair as the Lannister brothers but hers was pinned in curled ringlets, tightly coiled and shining as if it was actual gold in the lamplight. Her dress was of the latest fashion, only seen thus far in magazines from town, and outshone all the drab, simple cotton dresses the rest of the ladies wore.

The handsome pair had already danced once and soon Cersei Lannister danced with three other men. All the while, Jaime Lannister did not move from his spot. 

Despite being the early days of autumn, the day had been unseasonably humid and the evening continued to be as such. Brienne soon grew too warm in her vantage spot and was obliged to move towards the back wall where the doors were opened up to let the night air circulate into the hall. 

She took a seat upon the benches lining the wall, and let her eyes fall shut as she listened to the last song fade away. When the song changed, she opened her eyes to find she could no longer see the dancers. A few couples had retired to this edge of the dancefloor to catch their breath, amongst them Tyrion Lannister who was joined by his brother. 

“Come, Jaime,” Tyrion wheedled. “You looked wretched standing there twiddling your thumbs. I’ve seen you dance at the Rock. These dances are not so different.”

His brother scoffed. “I prefer to be acquainted with my dancing partner. And the only lady in my acquaintance present has been engaged for the majority of the evening.”

“There are plenty of pretty girls,” Tyrion protested. “And if none of them turn your fancy, I just met the most wonderful specimen of woman. The Beauty of Tarth. You must let me introduce you.” 

For some reason, hearing Tyrion Lannister utter that moniker stung. Brienne stood, intending to find refuge in the music room for the remainder of the evening but she miscalculated. 

At the sudden movement behind him, Jaime Lannister half turned and caught sight of her just as Tyrion announced, “She can’t be hard to spot, she’s taller than you are! ”

Brienne hastily averted her gaze. She could feel Jaime Lannister consider her for a moment before he turned his back on her. “I am in no humor at present to give consequence to slighted young ladies, tolerable or no.” The apothecary's daughter appeared, requesting a dance from Tyrion who happily obliged her. As the pair hurried to join the reel, Jaime Lannister walked away as well, leaving Brienne to sink back down to the bench. 

Thankfully, the evening passed quickly after that encounter. When she and her father returned to Evenfall Hall, Septa Roelle was still up with The Seven Pointed Star. She put it aside and stood hastily. “Well?”

Selwyn Tarth hid a yawn behind his hand. “Apologies, my dear, septa,” he murmured through another yawn. “I’m quite done for. If you’ll excuse me-”

Brienne found herself quite alone with Septa Roelle, who was inspecting her closely. They had hidden the bruise under powder and rouge and done Brienne’s hair up as best they could but it had fallen with the humidity and was currently hanging lackluster around her face. Thankfully, her gown had been spared the usual “accidental” punch spill this time. It was rather damp under the arms and would need a good laundering but was otherwise still presentable. 

Brienne was also quite exhausted but she knew she would have no peace until she recounted the entire tale from start to finish. Lowering herself to the chaise, she kicked off her slippers, which had pinched her feet mercilessly and caused her to mince for the last hour or so.

“How did you find Mr. Tyrion Lannister?” Roelle prompted. 

“Short,” Brienne answered honestly. “But overall well mannered if not prone to being a bit libel with his consummation of brandy.”  

Roelle frowned at this. “Did you dance with him?”

Brienne flushed. “I did not have the honor, Septa, no.”

“And what of his brother?” Septa Roelle continued, though she made no attempt to hide her disappointment. “I’ve heard he is quite handsome and is to have ten thousand pounds a year-”

“He has an understanding with his cousin, a Miss Cersei Lannister,” Brienne lied. Well, she did not know it was a lie. It could very well be true. And if it wasn’t, Septa Roelle would hear about it, no doubt. 

“Hmm, well, I cannot say I had expected any different,” Septa Roelle said as she settled back into her seat. “I simply thought perhaps…”

A dwarf would be desperate enough to marry a giant. It would have been rather funny if Brienne had not been the butt of the joke.

[colubrina]

Never have I ever... written a Hermione Riddle/Draco Malfoy fic!

I did once, but so many people said it didn’t work I pulled it.  But I will copy at 2K words of it below the cut for you.

from never have I ever

Hermione did hate having to pretend.  

She’d whinged to her father at first.  “But why,” she’d said.  “And if I can’t be your daughter why can’t I just be a half-blood.  Why this?”  

Her father had delivered one of his lectures on power and manipulation and pointed out how she’d learn far more about what people really thought if she watched them as a supposedly powerless outsider.  “How people treat the weak, my darling, will let you see their characters.  That will be useful to you when we,” he’d paused.  “You know.”  

She did.

It didn't mean she liked it.

As she got older, however, she realized he was right.  People revealed things to her they'd never share with a pureblood, or even an established half-blood.  Ron Weasley, her housemate and theoretical friend, had parents with a hilarious fascination with Muggles that masked bone deep prejudice and he was one of the supposed liberal faction, part of Albus Dumbledore little crusade of light.  Her father laughed until tears ran down his cheeks when she acted our Arthur Weasley asking about rubber ducks.   Theodore Nott sneered in a rather pro-forma way at her blood status and then, once her academic prowess became known, sat with her in the library if no one else was around.  

"Pragmatic," her father said approvingly.   She lent Theo notes, borrowed his, and never commented how he failed to notice her in public.  She found his quiet competence restful and understood the constraints that kept him, son of a Death Eater, pureblood scion, and member of Slytherin from being friends with the Muggle-born Gryffindor.  Those would change.

Draco Malfoy, however, was a different matter.  He had no subtlety.  He was rude and vulgar and a crude little show off.  As they got older he started to eye her when he thought she wasn't looking and she looked back.  He became pretty, so very pretty, and she began to fantasize about how he'd react when he found out who she was.   She liked to picture him confessing long suppressed love and apologizing.  "I just didn't know what to say," she imagined him muttering.  "My father… you know.  I thought he'd disown me if I… can we start again?"

She doubted that would happen, however.  The idea of Draco Malfoy admitting he was wrong seemed unlikely, and she had no intention of humiliating herself to pursue him.  No matter how much she liked his cheekbones, or the way his eyes flashed when he was being clever and cocky, he'd be unlikely to ever show up at her door with flowers in hand willingly, even when he did find out she was Tom Riddle's daughter.

Not that she'd want a boy who only wanted her for her heritage anyway.

She hated admitting her father was right.  

And she hated that she wanted the smug bastard.  Stupid Draco Malfoy with his biting wit and pointed laugh.  She did, though.  She wanted him a lot more than Ron Weasley, who she flirted with in order to disguise her growing fascination with Malfoy, and she wanted him more than Cormac McClaggan, who couldn't take a hint to go away, and she wanted him more than Harry Potter who, thank Merlin, was as uninterested in her as she was in him.  She decided she'd have him, too, because she was the Darkest princess their world would ever know, the only child of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Black, and if she wanted a boy she'd have him.  Her father laughed and told her she was a minx but he was happy to give her any toy she wanted.

So she smiled at Malfoy, and every time he sneered “Granger” at her in his arrogant, nasal voice she smiled a little bit more.  

When her father finally made his move and took over the Ministry, sending Harry Potter on a fool's errand with what appeared to be a toy from the late, unlamented Dumbledore, a used Snitch, and a book of fairy tales she looked forward to seeing Draco Malfoy's expression when her true identity was revealed.  She beamed at her father as he presented her to his followers and their children at her eighteenth birthday party.

Theodore Nott looked like a mystery had finally been solved and smiled at her;  you'd have to know him well to see the relief in his eyes when she smiled back but she saw it and enjoyed the confirmation of the sudden shift in her status.  Greg Goyle just looked confused that Hermione Granger was someone else, someone important.  Draco Malfoy, however, looked horrified.  She could see him tallying up his sins in his brilliant mind and his pale face got paler still when he realized just how many there were.  It was beautiful.  It was everything she'd hoped for.

Lord Voldemort said, “My lovely daughter has sacrificed so much as I regained my strength.    We needed to hide her from the likes of the Order of the Phoenix until the time was right but We could have hidden her as any number of things.  Instead We decided to hide her as the lowest of the low so she could watch all your children and determine who was truly trustworthy.”  He turned to Lucius Malfoy.  “Don’t you agree, Lucius,  that such a sacrifice on her part deserves recognition.”

Lucius Malfoy, properly nervous at being singled out mumbled that of course, that he hoped his family had never been seen as lacking in support.  Voldemort had to wave his hand at the man in annoyance to get him to stop.  

“She’s asked for one little gift for her birthday,” Voldemort said.  He regarded her with delight.  “A request that shows Us she is truly her mother’s daughter.”

Many of the assembled Death Eaters looked increasingly nervous at that proclamation.  Even before Azkaban, Bellatrix had been unstable.  Now she hadn't even been permitted to attend her daughter's party because of her insanity and unpredictable violence; the idea Hermione might take after her mother scared them all.

Hermione managed to avoid licking her lips as her father crooked his finger and beckoned Draco Malfoy forward.  “Congratulations, Lucius,” he said.  “You’ve just given your only son to Our daughter for her birthday.”  

“My Lord,” Lucius whispered but someone next to him had the presence of mind to step on his foot and shut him up.

“Darling,” Voldemort said to Hermione.  “Remember, don’t break your toys.  It’s not like I can get you another one.”

“I promise,” she said as she smiled at Draco Malfoy, who looked like he was trying not to pass out.  “I’ll be good.”

“That’s what she said about the unicorn toy,” Voldemort said fondly.  “Little hellion snapped it in half in three days.”  The Death Eaters all laughed.

That was when Draco fainted.

. . . . . . . . . .

When he came to he kept his eyes squinched shut and tested his limbs and determined he didn't seem to be tied up in any way and he could even feel the familiar pressure of his wand against his hip.  When he risked opening his eyes  he was in a bland room and Hermione Granger - no, Hermione Riddle - was curled up in a large, beige chair with her nose in a book; she didn't seem to realize he'd regained consciousness.  He studied her through the fringe of his hair.  

She was as damnably beautiful as she'd been for years.   Her dark hair sprang out around her face and, now that he was looking, he could see the similarity to his Aunt Bella's own locks, though Hermione's hair was more of a rich brown than the black of her mother's.  He knew her eyes were dark, so dark he'd gotten caught in them a few times, always yanking himself away with a muttered slur.  There were girls you dated, girls you married, and girls if you got caught with your mother burned you from the family tree while, quite possibly, your insane aunt tortured you to death.  He'd known which category Hermione was in.

Or, well, he'd thought he'd known.

Fuck, he'd been wrong. So wrong. He couldn't have messed this up worse if he'd set out to ruin his life on purpose.

He considered knocking her out and making a run for it but dismissed the idea as that of an idiot.  Where would he go?  To the Order?  He hated them anyway, and if he showed up on their doorstep telling them Harry Potter's Muggle-born friend was really Lord Voldemort's only child they'd laugh themselves sick before dumping him at St. Mungo's, where he'd sit, trapped, until Hermione felt like fetching him.

She turned a page.

"Do you plan to kill me?"  he asked.

She looked up at that.

"Can't stand the thought of the filthy Mudblood not being quite what you thought?"  

Draco thought he heard a little bitterness under that and thought with more than a little rancor that she didn't get to be the pissy one in this situation.  She was the one with all the power, as she had just demonstrated by demanding he be handed over to her as a gift.  "It seems like a reasonable question," he said.  "Or hurt me? I'd like to get it over with if that's the plan."

Her jaw tightened and he was shocked to see she seemed upset.  "I wasn't planning on it," she muttered.

"Do I get to ask what the plan is?"

She slouched lower in the big armchair until it seemed to swallow her and finally said, "I didn't really think past the part where I got to see you be shocked and horrified that I wasn't the nobody you thought I was."

Draco pulled himself upright and sat so he leaned against the headboard and looked at the girl who was huddled into the chair and looked more like a lost soul than the terrifying dark princess she'd been at the earlier celebration.  "Did you like that part?" he asked, the words coming out more gently than he'd meant them to.

"Yes," she admitted.  She looked up at him through lashes so long and dark he'd have thought they were enhanced magically if it weren't for the way he'd seen the woman wear cosmetics only once in all the years he'd known her.   The lashes were real.  "I liked that part quite a bit if we're being honest."

"I would have," he said.  "If you'd been a shite to me for years and then you found out I was young Lord Voldemort?  I would have reveled in that."

"I've fantasized about it for years," she admitted.  "Every time you were an arse I thought, just wait.  You'll see."

Draco bit the inside of his mouth and swallowed hard.  She'd thought about him for years.  She'd wanted him for years.  "Why me?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light.  "You could have had anyone.  Could have anyone. I'm sure if you wanted half a dozen boys to wait on you, your father would hand them over."

"He's always spoiled me," she said.  "When I was home, that is.  I think… he wanted to make up for having to hide me with the Grangers."

"Why me?"  he asked again.  

The sun shone in through the sheer curtains and dust motes swirled around and he watched them sparkle for an eternity before she said, "I wanted… you're so… it's stupid and it's pathetic."  She closed her book with an audible snap and stood up on her impossibly long legs.  "Never mind.  I've had my fun seeing you turn white and faint like that.  You can go and tell your father I released you."

Drqco stood up and took a step toward the door and then stopped and looked at the way she stood, half-resigned, half-defensive.

"Go," she said again.

He'd always thought he'd known what category she fell in.  It was the out of bounds category. It was the not-to-be-touched category.  It might not have been fair, it might not have been right, but bravery and battling the world wasn't something he did, not even for a pair of dark eyes that glistened right now as the woman they belonged to folded her arms across her body.

"I'm a coward," he said, reaching one hand out to cup her chin.

"I do know that," she said.   She sounded sullen.  She had her lip thrust out in a classic gesture of sulky petulance he suddenly found unbearably adorable.

He lowered his mouth to that lip. "I am not, however, stupid," he said right before he kissed her.

[ffxiv-ariavitali]

For Aria Vitali

1. Unless you threaten the people she cared about, rather difficult to upset her. She won’t hide it at all; her displeasure will be known.

2. Oh, yes. Definitely. She’s a romantic that way.

3. Ignorance and prejudice are the biggest of them all. She gives stern lectures to the nobles in Ishgard whenever she hears such words of slander.

4. Zenith. She often flies the tallest spire so she could stargaze and occasionally visit Hraesvaelgr.

5. She was most happy when she had been inducted by the Scions. She finally felt as if all her wandering had paid off and she found the place she belonged.

6. A toss up between the death of her mother at the tender age of seven (she was abducted by the Garleans) vs. when she lost Haurchefant (she felt as if she was repeating history again and the guilt consumed her).

7. Definitely more likely to buy people drinks, but only if it’s people she recognizes.

8. Indeed - being the Warrior of Light is no joke! Asides from that, she has broken a leg before she had become an Adventurer when she fell off a cliff in Gridania trying to gather herbs.

9. She’s had very painful memories, but she treasures each one. No matter how painful, she wouldn’t ever wish to forget.

10. Her favorite memory from childhood would be the day she had been allowed apprenticeship in the Arcanist Guild under her mother in Limsa Lominsa. Her family celebrated and her brother had presented her with her first grimoire so she could practice. She has kept and treasures the book even today.

11. Not necessarily. Though, she would open her heart more to the people that see her for who she really is rather than simply the Warrior of Light or savior.

12. Her favorite possession would definitely be the crystal shard earring she carries around. She and her brother have a matching pair so even when he’s not physically capable of being by her side, a small part of him still remains.

13. No and no. She’s not a fan, but she admires the artwork on others.

14. Nope, she isn’t interested, either.

15. As long as she can get her own personal library and a garden reserved for growing herbs, she doesn’t necessarily have a specific ‘dream house’ in mind. (As long as Aymeric is with her, of course)

16. The fact that she retains some of her Lominsan accent from when she was a child. It tends to come out when she’s lecturing her brother or someone close to her, but with the way that she speaks so semi-formally and proper no one expects a sailor’s tongue from her.

17. Under pressure, not good at all. If she comes across something that reminds her of someone during her adventures, she would be spot on.

18. Botany. When her family moved to Gridania after the loss of her mother, she requested training to expand her horizons in medicinal herbs. From there, she was able to support her family through the vendoring of said herbs, as well as to stave off her father’s illness following the Seventh Umbral Calamity.

19. Quiet, yet determined. While she doesn’t initially say anything unless prompted to, there’s a fire burning in her eyes that’s constantly looking towards the new dawn.

20. Passionate, especially in the areas of academia. One of the most charitable souls they have met with the way she freely gives, gives, gives to those that are in need of succor (her help in the Restoration effort a testament to it).

21. While she’s gotten better at accepting the fact it won’t happen, she is terrified of being abandoned. Stronger yet is her fear of the inner darkness within her heart taking over and she loses herself in the process.

22. Highest physical is her dexterity. Highest non-physical, surprisingly, is her charisma.

23. Immense hurt. She can understand why someone would do it, but it doesn’t stop the feeling from being there - especially when she was betrayed by someone she thought wouldn’t ever leave.

24. In between. Not too cold, not too warm. But between the two, cold weather.

25. To her lover and brother, quite easily. To her close friends, she is sparse, but she lets actions speak louder than words.

26. Difficult. She’s most likely to spill her secrets when she’s on the verge of breaking, but most of the time, people have to pry the answer out of her.

27. Oh, yes. We all know where.

28. A little bit. Not necessarily when someone is purposely trying to tickle them, but if something were to brush against her in her weak spots, it would affect her.

29. Physical, very high. Emotional, about medium.

30. Learn some engineering from Cid... she’s somewhat embarrassed to constantly have to go to him for repairs to her magitek mounts and explain the often stupid reasons why she would break it.

31. Definitely neat. Has had proper etiquette beat into her when she was young by her mother.

32. When she was betrayed by the Crystal Braves and accused of poisoning the Sultana. That was a riot.

33. -insert level 70 DRK job quest-

34. Hearing - she likes singing, loves hearing music and uses this as a medium to project her true feelings.

35. No. She would rather get right to the point of a meeting/appointment or deep, sentimental talks.

36. To Hades: “what was I to you back then?”

37. Neither. She’s learned to accept the life that she has and as much as she would like to save her mother, she knows it may not have led her to where she is now. Though, if she had to in order to save the world, she will.

38. Haurchefant for positive. He allowed her to accept that even she has the right to love and be loved. Allowed her to trust again when the world seemed to go against her. For negative, it’s hard to say. There are awful people, but they’ve all taught her lessons she wouldn’t otherwise have learned. Perhaps Ser Zephirin - even though he was doing what he thought was right, he introduced her to how deep and dark the abyss can be.

39. Surrounded by people. While she does need her alone time, she can’t bear the prolonged silence - it eats away at her.

40. The sight of the person that first broke her heart before she became an Adventurer - the one that led her mother to being taken away by the Garleans and subsequently executed.

tagging: whoever ends up reading all of this :)