#ikara Esho

[peacekeeper-xiv]

The Second Shard

Ikara had spent the night arguing, and then making up with Beta, but the next morning she was determined to contact as many people as she could think of that Lloire might want to fight. First at the top of the list was Helene. She just hoped the linkpearl frequency was still the same. Testing it out a bit she called over the pearl, "Helene, its Ikara... you there?"

There was silence on her hand for a few beats before the line came through crystal clear. In the distance came the heavy rumble of a giant waterfall along with the usual sound of her armor shifting against itself. "Ikara! Long time no see, yeah?"

Ikara breathed a sigh of relief that the linkpearl connected and was beaming on the other end, "Hey! I'm glad you didn't change linkpearls. It’s been too long! How are you?"

Steels slid into the sheath at her side and she let out a long exhale. "Ahh, ya know. Keepin' busy! Wouldn't change lines unless I lost it, yeah? Gotta keep up with people." She could hear Helene dusting off her gloves together. "Oh! Got married. That uh, yeah sorry I didn't invite ya. Was kinda sudden. But hey! You sound like you are doing well, yeah?"

Ikara blinked at the news and squealed happily on the other end of the line, "Oh my goodness!! I am so happy for you! I mean... you should have invited me... but Uh.. I have kind of been out in the burn for moons anyways, so it’s not like you could have reached me. Man... I really want to catch up, but you know how things go. I've got some good news and bad news, and I'm guessing you want the bad first."

Chance had been looking over the ledgers with the quartermaster and growling over some of the expenses when he looked over his shoulder as Helene went from a smile to her more serious expression. Work almost never made her wear that look, so he could safely bet it was something more personal. A heavy sigh left the wolf but he'd let her finish her call before pressing for details. Besides, there was still plenty he needed to work out on the books.

Helene Ashton had pressed her hand against her ear as if it would help make the call as crystal clear as possible. "Figured ya had some reason aside from catching up. Hit me with it. You need help? You okay?" Her footing shifted into a balanced stance out of habit.

Ikara laughed a little, "One of these days I am going to call just to shoot the shit... but really I always feel bad doing that. With the way folks I know are, they are likely to be in the middle of a battlefield." She sighed a little and considered, "Well, on the plus side I have good and bad news. Good news is me, I'm actually excellent, but we'll get to that. I don't even really know how to easily explain the bad. Its magey bullshit that Niisan... I mean Lloire, Lion... well shit... no wonder... too many names, Anyways, Lloire did some dumbass magic crap to himself. He is... okay, ish. It’s like his aether is a big old mirror and he put his fist through it, and now he has a bunch of different personalities and is intent on fighting all his friends to prove to himself they can protect themselves or some bullshit. So, he will likely try to find you and pick a fight with you with one of his... now many facets. I already fought one of them. They are entirely made up of his aether, but it didn't seem to physically hurt his real body when I kicked his aether butt."

Chance frowned. If her words weren't enough to put him on edge, her sudden statuesque nature certainly was. A low growl left his throat, rumbling enough to put the quartermaster on edge.

Helene Ashton had fallen silent and let her statuesque form scream for her. A deep breath was pulled, and she looked down to the ground. “Okay…ish?” Her lips pressed together, tensing her muscles through her neck. “Aye, aye I see. You’re okay though, yeah? He didn’t hurt ya too bad, did he? I’ll sock him one extra If he did. He would want me to.”

Ikara waited on the other end for Helene to say -something-, and when she finally did Ikara breathed a little easier. Helene was so used to weird shit from the Order, she just needed the important stuff to know how to win. "He is okay, I think. Its, like he only has a certain amount of control over it. I mean, looking at his aether is disturbing, and I offered to try to fix it, but I mean, I'm not sure I could have. I'm fine, promise! I won! I mean, I almost didn't, Niisan is a pain in the ass when it comes to his magical talents and now I have to figure out what the hell that last spell he used was, but no, I'm fine. I realized at the end of the fight that his .. facet is made of Aether.. and well, that is my specialty... manipulating aether.. so I just kinda... disrupted the whole facet. I may have had my eyebrows singed off though, but thats okay... they'll grow back."

Chance spun around at her last words looking furious. He wasn't fool enough to react without the full story, but this had begun to sound domestic and if Lloire had put his hands on Velestine, there was going to be blood.

Helene Ashton heard him shift behind her and she cast her bright emerald hues over her shoulder to him. It wasn't going to help the fire, she was 'Shield' more than 'Hells' in that moment. if protective had a facial expression, she was the poster child of it. Helene Ashton then muttered a bunch of incoherent colorful commentary low enough that only a word or two could be made out. Stubborn and Fool, respectively and clearly not meant for her Wolf.

The quartermaster had tried to regain Chance's attention, but with the look Helene wore, there was little chance of that. He simply growled a dismissal and the man gave a hurried salute before beating a hasty exit.

Helene Ashton noted the poor quartermaster and couldn't help her smirk. She continued the conversation, though. "Glad you are okay. Eyebrows or not, I’m bettin' you're still cute so don't worry about it, yeah? Said you didn't hurt him, right? Nothin' you did had any affect?"

The merc was now both angry and confused. He paced slowly back and forth, waiting for an explanation.

Ikara huffed a laugh, "Like I said, they'll grow back." Thinking on how to explain it she finally settled on an answer, "Well, the real Lloire, like his physical body collapsed. This ... second Lloire, appeared. It was entirely made of aether, but a physical thing. Like, if I cast spells at it, it bled, I burned its arm off. But the damage I did to the facet didn't appear on the real Lloire. I'm not a hundred percent sure what killing it would do to his main aether to be honest, but he claims that it should actual mend what’s wrong. Though, again, I don't know. I basically disrupted it and reshaped it into a staff instead so he could always still have access to that part of himself, without taking the risk of breaking it. I don't know how it would go in a physical fight to be honest. I know you -can- win, and you -can- hurt it, but these facets are how he sees those parts of himself, so they are a hard fight."

Helene Ashton cast her features up to the heavens and let out a hard exhale. "Aye, well, I can't shape aether or even cast any of it so I am gonna have to do it the old fashioned way an' hope. Thanks for the heads up, Ikara. You call Vele--no, wait, it's Lion. He wouldn't give ya that info. I'll call his girlfriend and give her a heads up, yeah?"

Chance was even more confused now, but his hackles went down ever so slightly. Her words about doing it the old fashioned way seemed to annoy him more though.

Ikara perked up a bit, "Oh! I did headbutt it in the face and crack his nose, so physical hits work. I um.. he mentioned this new girlfriend of his. I told him he didn't need to fight folks, he needed a therapist, he said he tried that and ended up dating her and that he'd introduce me later, but yea if you can get a hold of her all the better, cause I don't know how."

Helene Ashton then laughed. "Oh, aye, he is dating his therapist alright. Wait 'till ya meet this one, Ikara. He has tried so hard to run from her. Anyroad, once this is done, we should have dinner at Lion's place an' you can meet her and my Husband, yeah? He owes us after this."

Her 'Husband' huffed as the conversation seemed to derail and stopped pacing. Whatever the news was, obviously Helene didn't see it as terribly threatening.

Ikara laughed and had a big grin that could be heard in her tone, "That sounds like a really good plan. We'll make him cook for all of us as contrition for being a dummy and I can meet people. Just, I wanted to warn you cause I don't think he will go with a surprise attack, but I didn't want you to be unprepared. Also, tell your new Husband that I am asking very nicely for him to please not kill my big brother for being a dumbass. I would really appreciate it. I imagine anyone that you marry would be perfectly willing to put him in the ground for hurting you, so yea.. speaking of... so that good news.. something good to leave off on anyways, Beta proposed annnnd after I stared at him like he had grown a second head, I said yes. Sooo eventually I'll get to invite you to -my- wedding. Not anytime soon though. We aren't in a hurry."

Helene Ashton still was holding her balanced stance and tightened frame but given her armor, that wasn't showcased as easily. Her tone was still 'forced' in a way he may pick up on. Helene Ashton then turned some to look at Chance. Now he could see that it was on purpose. "Ayyy!!! 'Bout time!! Congrats girly, I will be there front row and center for your big day. We will talk more on that and get back to easy conversations soon, yeah? I should talk to Wolf before he pounces on me here. He's givin' me the look of death since this is one sided convo, yeah? Thanks for the warning, though. I'll update ya if he shows."

Chance was unsure who she was speaking with and took the tone at face value at first. He rose a brow as she continued though and shook his head at her 'look of death comment' but held his tongue since it was clear the conversation was wrapping up now.

Ikara giggled across the line, "Oh yea, I didn't realize he was there, oops! I should have. Yea we will catch up soon. Kick my brother's ass yea, but don't go killing him or he can't cook us all dinner. Go and I'll talk to you soon."

Helene Ashton gave a curt nod. "Aye, aye. Miss ya, kid. See you soon."

"Miss you too. See you."

With that, she took her hand down from the pearl and twitched her nose enough to shift her wrinkles about on her cheeks. “Oi..”

The merc crossed his arms, his expression not changing one ilm. "So... who needs to die, and who are we congratulating on something?"

Helene Ashton cleared her throat. “Ikara is Lloire’s little sister in the fact he ‘adopted’ her into his care. She’s the one that called. She’s marrying his ‘son’ Beta. So, there’s the good news, yeah?” She then shifted her footing to dig her heel in as if waiting for the heavy blow. “Lloire’s gone and gotten his aether all shattered or something into different manifestations of his personalities and is off fighting his friends to prove a point. Ikara fought him, burned off his arm and headbutt him and it hurt the ‘form’ of him, but not….his real form. It’s confusin’, yeah? Anyway he ended up burning off her eyebrows in the fight but otherwise, she’s fine. Not shockin’ to me as she is the strongest aether user I ever heard of. But, I’m not. I don’t even have any and he is likely headin’ this way at some point and likely lookin’ to take me on.”

Lloire Peace, sort of, stepped into the doorway and lifted his visor. "Not you, actually, Shield sister." The spear was drawn from his back and pointed at Chance. "Him. He's your other half... I would know that he can defend you as easily as you can defend him." Chance took a step to the side, not even having had an opportunity to ask about the insanity Helene had just explained. "Are you crazy?" The wolf asked angrily. "Who the hell are you to think we owe you some test of our might?" Lloire lowered the spear. "I am Warrenson. A son of Peace. Accept my challenge, or do not... I will accept a forfeit."

Helene Ashton had moved on instinct at hearing Lloire. Given the context of the call from Ikara, her immediate response was to pivot and put herself between her brother-in-arms and her husband. “Oi!” Auburn locks were tied back but had grown long enough now that they collected to the opposite shoulder with the fluidity of her motions. “Lion. Let’s just talk this out, yeah? What’s got you doin’ this anyway?”

Lloire Peace shook his head slightly. "Not Lion... He'll be here for you later. Warrenson." He frowned as he looked between them. "I was listening... did the girl not explain it properly?" The spear rose again at a movement from Chance and his brow rose. "I hope you are not without honor mercenary... Your wife has asked a question... Do not engage me before I have answered her." Chance sneered but stopped moving. "The hell, Hels... I say I just kick his ass and we can ask him what the hell his issue is after this part's been beaten and broken..."

Helene Ashton huffed and looked over her shoulder to Chance but not enough to take Lloire out of her peripherals. “Don’t kill Lloire. Not sure what these… aether things do to him if they die but don’t attack him directly.” She then set her sharp gaze on ‘Warrenson.’ “Where is he?”

Warrenson grinned at her words and motioned behind him, outside. "The vessel is quite fine. He's resting. He'd thought to come explain it all to you himself, but when I heard you speaking with the girl... well, no sense explaining what's already been said, is there?" He gave her a simple nod. "You can check on him if that's your desire." His spear arm stiffened. "But I would have an answer to my challenge first." Chance growled and moved to Helene's side, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Idiot's gone and gotten broken as fuck in the head... but I doubt that makes him less dangerous... Your call, wife... He's your brother... Shall I oblige the ass, and kick it?"

Helene Ashton had always been the type not to swing too far off into the emotional spectrum of life. When it came to those she cared for, she would shift into her ‘Shield’ persona that she earned the name for. But in that moment, the way he spoke about Lloire and challenged Chance, questioning his ability? Hells hath no fury. “The ‘vessel’?” Chance coming to her side and setting a hand to her pauldron was enough to let the fire out of her veins. Her glare upon the apparition was heated and steady, her palm resting tightly to the pommel of the steel at her side, but she flicked her gaze away to lock it to her Wolf’s own hues. “Fuck him up, yeah?” And oh, how she grinned.

Warrenson smiled at the answer he'd been given. He turned without another word and stepped outside. Chance put down pressure on the pauldron beneath his fingers and nodded as he moved around her. "I love it when you talk sexy like that." His own spear was shook at his side as he moved to follow the false-Lloire and swapped it between hands as though to loosen up his grip. When he was out in the sunlight there was a clear divide between the two. Chance, the golden wolf. Lloire, the silver Lion. "Any rules to this duel of ours, False Lloire?" The other glared at Chance. "You will address me as Warrenson, or Son of Peace. Do not trifle with me, mercenary..." The merc simply grinned. "Shouldn't let me get under your skin so easily False Lloire..."

Helene Ashton winked as he moved around her, but she wasn’t far behind. Stepping out with them, she noted their positions, armor, weapons, the field on with they would play, everything. Both arms crossed upon her chest as she then took the moment to look for her brother.

Warrenson lay unconscious on the ground behind 'Warrenson' near the water. From where Helene stood, he seemed hale and whole, though completely unmoving aside from the steady rise and fall of his chest. Warrenson took a moment to adjust his gauntlets and shook his head. "Outside of the fact that this battle is between you and I, no. No other conditions or handicaps." Chance rolled his shoulders, letting his neck crack several times before nodding. "Alright... Let's get on with this then. I win how?" Warrenson pulled down the visor on his helm and smirked. "Despite the requests of the ladies... You only win if I am completely defeated. Slay me and win... fail to do so and I win... proving you don't have what it takes..."

Helene Ashton tucked her tongue into the curve of her cheek as she listened to the rule set. But again, that grin showed on her features and made her freckles rise. “Never said he couldn’t put you in your place. I said he can’t touch my brother.” She pointed to Lloire by the water. “Far as I’m concerned, he can hand you your teeth one by one, yeah? But if my brother starts feelin’ the pain, I’m gonna take issue.”

Warrenson scoffed. "The vessel will remain whole. Do not worry." The spear was rose aloft and he spun it once before settling into a stance. "Ready yourself mercenary!" With that, the battle began in earnest. Warrenson struck first. He leapt into the air and came down, getting the jump on Chance with speed that the mercenary had not expected from a mage. It was a glancing blow, but it stung all the same. Especially that Lloire had drawn first blood. "Remind me again Hels, what all is this asshole trained in?"

Helene Ashton shifted her footing as Chance took the hit first, but she kept her features neutral for the moment. “…Everything.” Arms tightened upon her chest as she adjusted them to get comfortable. “He spent a lot of time with every weapon he could get his hands on.”

Warrenson took a step back, letting the weapon in his hand twist around to his side again, 'allowing' Chance a moment to recuperate from the attack. The mercenary frowned at his wife's answer. "Well that's just -great-... Fuckin' Gillionaires... too much damn time on their hands, not enough real work to do." Chance shifted his left shoulder again, adjusting his grip on his own spear. "Well, there's something to be said about specializing." He charged Lloire, forcing the Hyur to lift his lance defensively. The mercenary feinted though, slamming his own spear into the dirt and using it to launch dirt and sand up and into the other's eyes. Warrenson stumbled back wiping at his eyes angrily as Chance rushed forward with the followup attack.

Helene Ashton winced at Chance’s response to the information but smirked as Warrenson was faked out. Memories. “He an’ I have that whole ‘hero’ complex in common, yeah? I know my way ‘round a few weapons so I can be ready. Same for him.” Holding conversation as if Warrenson was nothing more than a trainee being tested, she kept it casual now and glanced around the area, but Wolf would know her best. Her footing gave away everything.

The wolf was many things... but a hero, was never among them. Prideful, conceitful, no. He was practical. His enemy was blinded. His enemy was agitated. Pride was a weakness to exploit. His spear found its mark. Between scales, center mass, he buried it so far into the other Hyur that even Helen could see the other end from her position. Warrenson gasped out as the weapon rammed through him, blood splattering Chance in the face as they were now but a breath apart. The merc remained stoic and calm. "Something wrong? Looks like you might've broken a few... vessels there..."

Helene Ashton unfolded her arms the minute she watched the spear tip explode out the back of Warrenson. Pride may have been his weakness, but the sin shown clear as day all over her form for the man who claimed her. A few steps carried her down the makeshift ramp as she looked from her Wolf, to her Brother laying by the water. Little care was given to their enemy in that moment as she was focused on the rise and fall of Lloire’s chest; looking for blood.

Lloire Peace, even now seemed the perfect picture of health. A unique look for him all things considered. Chance watched the enemy carefully as he pulled in ragged breaths and Helene passed. When she reached Lloire his eyes fell to her. "He alright?" He asked with concern tinting his voice.

"I... told... <coughs blood> you.... he was... fine." Chance's pupils immediately dilated as he turned his attention to the enemy whose free hand now gripped tightly to the others spear. Warrenson leaned back for a fraction of a heartbeat before he slammed his head forward, helm crashing into Chance's unprotected face, blood splattering all around it from the impact. Chance fell back, losing his grip on the spear as he stumbled back from the blow, holding his face. "You thought this..." He motioned to the spear jutting through him now, "...would kill me? You know NOTHING about me!"

Helene Ashton had lowered down into a crouch to check on Lloire’s pulse, his breathing, and set a hand over his chest where the spear had hit its mark. All clear. She let out a slow breath before touching his cheek briefly. That was cut short as she heard the collide behind her and quickly rose to look back on the fight. That glare leveled on Warrenson as Chance stumbled back and she took a few steps closer, keeping her hand off her sword so as not to provoke intent.

Warrenson ripped Chance's spear from his gut, now holding both his own and Chance's crimson stained weapon. He was quickly bleeding out now, but seemed in no hurry to fetch a healer nor to slow down. Instead, Chance's weapon was lifted over his head and directed at the merc. "You should have ended it... now your wife has to watch you die... Even if I fall... slaying you will prove the vessel's fears true... I will lay down my life to ensure that Peace survives!"

Helene Ashton dug her feet to the ground and launched herself forward with speed. Despite the armor, despite the weight of her shield, she moved as if neither had been upon her in that moment. Sunlight glinted off the broad surface as she ducked down, leapt, and planted her feet suddenly, swinging her arm wide with enough force behind it to hopefully send Warrenson careening into the pillar close by.

Warrenson hadn't expected the rules to be ignored. He went flying, staggering towards the pillar and crashing into it. Stunned, he collapsed to the ground, shaking his head. "Foul!" He cried and he and Chance forced themselves to their feet. "That was outside the rules! This was between he and I!"

Helene Ashton slowly pulled steel from its home at her hip, letting the song ring out for his ears. Emerald hues were locked dead to his features as she righted herself and rolled the shoulder of the arm that held tight to that shield. Her tone had dipped into a serious edge, yet she smirked. “Like you said…” The sword swung this way and that as she warmed up her hold. “…you know nothing about me, yeah? Lloire wouldn’t kill the man I loved nor would I allow him, to kill Lloire.” Her steps brought her between Chance and Warrenson once more. “Hero.” She shrugged.

Warrenson staggered to his feet. "Very well hero... when the vessel remains broken... we will be sure that he knows it was your interfe--" Before the last word could leave his lips his head jutted backwards with the impact of something slamming into his face. The body that had been Warrenson slid down the stone column until it then fell over to the side, an expertly thrown knife jutting from one of his eyes.

Helene Ashton widened her gaze as the man fell over with a new addition for his trouble. A step or two brought her closer but she didn’t let it keep her attention. Instead, she looked back to Chance.

The merc was wiping blood from his nose with one hand, the other still pointed in the direct of his throw. "Live through that, asshole..." Chance staggered a moment in place before the arm dropped to his side and he frowned. "Thanks, Hels..." He remarked, gratefully. Before she could respond though, the being that had called itself Warrenson began to break apart into the base blocks of aether it had been formed of. They lingered in the air for several heartbeats before then moving back to Lloire and coalescing around him. There was a soft glow there for several moments but soon it faded and Lloire seemed to become restless in his slumber.

Helene Ashton softened at the fact he was standing upright. “Never need to thank me. Wasn’t sure you’d have enough time to throw it.” She then turned back to watch the figure break apart. “We didn’t shake on the rules anyway. Lloire knows our shake.” Her own defenses were up as she continued to watch her brother until he moved. Helene exhaled. “Good. He’s comin’ to.” The sword and shield were tucked away as she approached Chance to check on him. “How’s the nose?”

Chance reached up, growled beforehand, and pushed it back into place, causing a bit more blood to rush. "I'll live." He commented as he tore at a sleeve and used it to stanch the bleeding. "Fucker's pretty tough to take down, even broken as shit like this... I see why you two get 'long..." He moved to her side as Lloire began to move more. "Should we get him inside?"

Helene Ashton scoffed. “Should’ve seen him with an axe, yeah? Downright frightening.” Once she was sure he was alright, she turned and looked to Lloire once more. “Aye. He is likely feelin’ like a truck hit him by now. Also, remind me never to take you on and mean it.” Once more, pride shown in her features as she smiled to him before moving over to where Lloire lay. “Oi, you ‘wake?”

Lloire Peace seemed as though he were working on regaining consciousness but wasn't there quite yet. Chance followed her and shrugged. "I'd hope our vows prevented that all the same..." He wasn't quite clear on the aether and magic aspects of all that had occurred. Warrenson had felt plenty real to him afterall. "Let's get him inside then. He moved to help her carry the Hyur inside. "Maybe he'll be able to tell us something helpful... I don't recommend we just let him go out and try to kill people."

Helene Ashton lowered down and scooped Lloire up under one arm, helping get him up to move. “I didn’t think he’d go as far as trying to outright kill you, yeah?” Concern etched at the corners of her features as she looked to Lloire and then Chance. “I can’t let him leave if he is heading out to kill his friends, yeah?”

Chance Ashton helped Helene with the weight of the Hyur and nodded. "Though, I'm gonna guess with all his magic and fuck all crazy, talkin' him outta it or keeping him pinned down are gonna be tough. But we gotta try, I guess. Maybe find out who is next at least."

Helene Ashton shook her head. “Aye, who knows what his magic can do now. But maybe he’ll talk. Startin’ to think I need to get everyone in the same room and help protect them.” As they entered the barracks, she pushed the door open with her foot and helped take Lloire inside. She then nodded to one of the beds. “There or the bench?”

Chance Ashton shrugged and motioned towards the closest bunk. "There's fine. Not like he's bleedin'. Benedict won't mind." A heavy sigh rattled from him. "I swear... this Lion better not be gunning to fight right away..."

Helene Ashton helped haul her brother to the bed and get him situated upon it. She then dusted off her hands and took a step back. “He said he would be comin’ for me later. Not sure what that meant but if Lion is ‘Lion’, like the nickname I gave him? It’s not goin’ to be a pretty fight, Chance. He is full blood berserk mode in that moment, yeah?”

Chance Ashton's brow furrowed as she explained. "Well, I see no reason I can't give you a hand with him. Doesn't seem these 'rules' of theirs mean shit." A groan alerted the couple to Lloire regaining consciousness and the Hyur reached up and rubbed his forehead gingerly. "Lion'll wait... He's not ready to fight. Wants the other sides to lose before he bothers to rouse..." He shook his head as his eyes adjusted to the light. "Well fought, both of you..."

Helene Ashton turned as Lloire came to. She waited for a beat to be sure he really was alright before slamming her gauntleted, mhigan fist into his gut to take the wind from him if possible. “That was for trying to kill Ikara. An’ you should be -real- fuckin’ apologetic for tryin’ to kill Chance because I am this close...” she pinched her fingers together for him “…to givin’ you a throttling.”

Lloire Peace took the hit with a loud "Umphh!" as she got her wish and the air was robbed from him. He took several moments to regain his breath and moved to a sitting position. "Yeah, I likely deserve that..." He said sheepishly as his other hand reached up to rub the back of his head idly. "I'm glad you're both okay..." He let out a sharp breath and shook his head. "You and Ikara both... Look, Hels, Chance... Let's say I go against this plan... and I decide I don't trust you all to win... Then what's gonna stop Shade or Lion from deciding to just surprise attack and kill the people I care about when they are in control. Right now there's an uneasy truce in my head. They all get a shot to prove they are the side that’s too dangerous to be part of me... that I can't have companions... If I go against that... They are just gonna take control when they damn well please and do what they want like they have been.”

Helene Ashton set her hands on her hips as she listened to the explanation and she was kind enough to at least do that. “Lion…no, droppin’ nicknames for now, Lloire! How is -killin- your companions any fuckin’ better, yeah? You an’ I both know that if you had killed Ikara, Chance, Me, or even Velestine, you would come out of it worse than before. Stop bein’ an’ idiot and let us help. You aren’t alone.”

Chance Ashton nodded, agreeing with Helene, for lack of a better option. This all sounded utterly insane to him. Lloire frowned. "Don't you understand Shield? This -is- me letting you help. This -is- me trusting you all. Maybe Ikara could fix my aether, but the underlying trauma would still be there. It'd shatter anew..." He frowned deeper. "They killed Claudettea... The Galreans know who Velestine is now... That says nothing about you or Ikara... add that to the fact that another one beside Balmora's taken an interest in me... do you really think they'll afford any of us the chance to put me through years of aethereal and psychological therapy? Do you think Shade would...? I trust you all to take out these shadows of mine... To prove to my subconscious that I really don't have to worry that I'll be the death of everyone -else- I hold dear. That not everyone is Aliya or Claudettea..."

Helene Ashton lofted her brows at the mention of Claudettea and her shoulders sunk a little. “I’m sorry ‘bout Claudettea, Lloire. I liked her.” A sigh. “Always have to mess with ya, don’t they?” She could have spit if she wanted to but sucked air through teeth instead. “Why not just gather all your companions and take out Balmora 2.0, yeah? Wouldn’t that prove we could handle it? The Warrior of Light doesn’t even work alone half the time and he has had his own shit to deal with.” A beat was given as she shifted her footing once more. “Look, I get it, yeah? But now that I know you are out tryin’ to -kill- us, I’m havin’ a hard time not packing up and following you.”

Chance Ashton nodded. "Or knock your ass out and go handle the Imperials ourselves, yea?" Lloire shook his head. "I was unconscious the last time I fought someone Chance... It wouldn't really do much good if I can manifest elsewhere..." He returned his attention to Helene. "I get your side... but if you tried, most of the shards would just refuse to fight and I'll stay... fragmented. Is this an elegant solution, even a wise or practical one... hell no. But it's better than slamming a dagger in my heart or turning myself over to the Garleans like I nearly did... so..." He huffed. "You're gonna have to trust me. And I have to trust all of you. And hopefully nobody gets killed in all this and I can be thoroughly proven wrong."

Helene Ashton turned and looked at Chance as if asking permission to beat the snot out of him in some respects. Though she didn’t move to do such, she stood there staring at her husband, taking his presence as a form of strength. She then looked to Lloire. “Couple things, yeah? You try to kill yourself again, and I will find someone to drag your ass back from the void. If anything, you fighting all of us should fuckin’ prove how loved you are by many even when you are as ‘broken’ as you are. Two, when you put yourself together again, you are marching your scrawny ass back here and planning an attack on that Garlean trash that messed with you, yeah? Three, you are makin’ everyone dinner.”

Chance Ashton nearly laughed as his Wife laid out her conditions and simply crossed his arms as though to show there was no arguing these conditions. Lloire listened and nodded, without a word. "You got it. When this is said and done... We'll put together a damned Company of Heroes and go bring the fucker to justice and then I'll hold a victory feast."

Helene Ashton stared at him for a few moments again and lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t think you’re comin’ out of this, do ya?”

Lloire stared up at her with a soft expression and shook his head. "On the contrary... I believe with all my heart that I will. I just need all of you to believe it too."

Helene Ashton wrinkled her nose as those freckles danced with the motion. “That was the fastest you ever agreed to somethin’ I said. So, you either must believe that you will, or you are staying positive so we will.” Both hands lifted to rub her temples then. “But I know you are too stubborn so I’m goin’ to trust ya on this one this time.”

Chance Ashton placed a hand on her shoulder and turned to Lloire. "My conditions now brother-in-law... Since this was my fight in theory... One... You don't have to stay here... you are too stubborn to do so... but you will rest before you go seeking anyone else out... Two... You tell us now who is next... Three... know that if my Wife comes back with even a single digit less than she has now... I'll carve from you anything she loses..." Lloire looked between the two and shook his head with a laugh. "I'll rest before the next fight, don't worry. I have to so my aether reabsorbs properly... I'm close to where my old friend Tyranie lives now... so she is likely next... Anything I take should be taken from me. I accept that... But I suspect she will do fine." He turned to Helene and smirked. "You really did need a Sword... He's exactly what I expected for you."

Helene Ashton glanced to Chance and smirked at his list. The last one made her look to Lloire with a grin. “Good. Glad ya agree, yeah?” His comment on ‘Sword’ made her roll her eyes. “Us stubborn types need someone that enables as well as puts us in check. He’s perfect at both.” Leaning down to get to eye level with him now, a mischievous hold took over her grin. “Sound familiar? How’s that Lion tamer of yours?”

Chance Ashton had to hold back from barking a laugh at her comments. Lloire however looked impassive at the taunting. "We'll have to see. You all have been through more of my..." Chance interrupted, "Insanity?" Lloire continued, "...life than she's had to so far, but she's seen enough to maybe have second thoughts by now. I'll let you know at the victory feast." The blue-haired Hyur made to stand. "I need to be on my way Shield, Sword. Thank you both... Continue to take care of one another..."

Helene Ashton took a step back to let him stand. “Let -her- make that choice this time, yeah? Since you’re keen on us proving ourselves.” She let it drop then and switched gears by coming in to wrap him up in a hug this time. Normally tensing at such a motion, she was rigid for a moment in the start, then settled, giving him one good squeeze. “I believe in you an’ all of us. I will see ya at dinner.” She then let go and stepped back like nothing happened, clearing her throat.

Lloire had been surprised by the hug but returned it with a smile before nodding at her and then Chance. "Aye. That's the plan." He stepped past them both, offering Chance another brief nod of respect before heading to the door. He paused as his hand wrapped around the handle. "Just make sure... you don't hold back when the time comes to face Lion, okay? You have to be at your best." With that, he was out the door and heading away.

Helene Ashton nodded to the comment. “I am back on training regimen first thing in the morning.” As he left, she gave a short wave and looked to Chance. “I’m going to need the best gear we can afford.” Despite her cockiness at the best of times, there was a small hint of fear in her gaze.

Chance Ashton took both of her shoulders into his hands and nodded. "Alright. We'll get it figured out." He smiled, his reluctant rare smile. "And you and I will spare between exercises. You'll be more than prepared for him."

Helene Ashton looked down between them and exhaled slowly from puffed cheeks. “It’s mostly the blows from the axe I’m worried about. He isn’t goin’ to tire in that state and that is how you get at that weapon. You tire the user.” She then looked back up at him and shifted her footing into a relaxed state. “But we’ve got time. First, let’s get ya to Benny so he can heal that nose, yeah?”

Chance Ashton nodded quietly. "Yea, let's go poke the bear." He smirked. "I think his new look will surprise you..." With that he took her hand into his and started for the door.

[wicked-virtue]

Prompt #2: Silenced: Ikara Esho

(Catching up slowly, but surely. Late to the party, but everyone encouraged me to do this so here we go. Its under the cut for those who are easily disturbed)

Ikara tossed and turned in her sleep. It was the same nightmare over and over. The problem with this nightmare though, was that it was real. Memories played out over and over each time she tried to sleep.  She had been a weapon her whole life for someone. First for her mother, then for the Garleans, then even when she came to live in the city states. It was all she knew how to do really. Fight. Destroy. There is was again. That voice in the back of her mind that seemed to echo through her dreams. Burn them all. And while she looked on from inside her own head the flames and ice devoured the enemies of whoever controlled her leash. 

She was seven, her mother made her kill a small dog she had tried to keep as a pet. It had whined in fear. Her mother had ordered her to silence it. Shut that mongrel up. She had obeyed. That was what a good daughter did right? Obey your parents? It was her fault the dog had to be put down. If she hadn’t thought to keep it for herself it wouldn’t have happened. 

She was thirteen, the experiments continued. Wires and currents, tubes full of liquid, all being pumped into her. She used to scream and cry when they started, but not anymore. Now she retreated as far into the back of her mind as she could. If she didn’t whine like the dog, if she stayed silent, they might stop. They might not kill her with their attempts. 

She was fifteen, another creature that had to be put down. Another creature to quiet. This one was perhaps more painful than the last. It was a monster, sure, but it was in pain, sad. It wasn’t its fault that it was made the way it was. Just another monster like her. It had kindness in it, but that didn’t matter. All that sadness over a stupid magical mask. 

She was sixteen, it was her birthday. She was only aware of it being her birthday because Balorma had taunted her with it. She stood in the hallway of cells, unable to control her own movements. Only able to look on through the windows of her mind. Violet hues, now tinted with a crimson glow scanned the room. Sixteen prisoners. All resistance fighters. A gift for her birthday, from Commander Qerel. A couple of them knew her, she had fought with one of them in the Resistance. They had pleaded with her to fight back, to free them, and she had tried. It hadn’t done any good. “Execute them.” The order had been given, and she had obeyed. She hadn’t wanted to, but try as she might she wasn’t the one holding her own leash. They screamed as their flesh burned away, and in her head she begged them to be silent. To die quickly. 

She was walking through a field, all the dead she had left in her wake scattered across the ground in an endless sea. The only sound was the crackle of burning embers being touched by falling snow. All those voices, all those lives, silenced. 

She woke up with a jerk and took several gasping breaths. She was alone in her apartment. Her father had gotten his own place, Beta was off with the Popularis, trying to make things better in his own way. The silence in the apartment felt oppressive. She scrambled out of her bed and ran out to the front room, slamming a hand on the orchestrion machine to fill the room with music instead. She needed noise. The music was turned up as loud as it would go and she sank down on the couch to look across at the new shelf Beta had gotten her for her birthday this year. She was seventeen now. Almost an adult, but she never felt smaller than she did right in that moment.

[helenestonefist]

‘Tis the Season

A moderately sized wooden crate was delivered to the front door of the Peace residence early one morning. There were clear instructions to ensure that it was delivered with care and handed off only to Lloire. A description was provided and if he was not home, the man was paid to remain there until he returned. Nestled within the confines of the crate was a slumbering form with a purple string tied around their wrist.The card that was attached to it read in simple writing:

“Merry Starlight, Lion.                -Shield”

Helene watched as a few of the kids chased one another around the Reach. Calls of laughter and cries of defeat echoed against the walls to bring about the sense of normality that was just starting to seep back into the people. Merchants were busy selling their wares now that their shipments were moving in regularly. The healing camps had seen a decrease in volume. There were more and more people coming to help rebuild this location when not busy with Ala Mhigo and amidst all that, they were putting up a Starlight tree. “Helene!” She snapped out of her distraction as the rope in her hand was tugged from behind. Glancing back, she noted Chance was towing most of the weight. “Sorry!” She turned back to the tree and dug her heels in to help him pull the massive pine up so that the others could lock it in place. They let the rope fall and dusted their palms off from the loose twine that collected in their grip.

“Looks good, yeah?” “Sure.” A man wandered over to the pair with a piece of paper in hand and a rather cheerful espression across his features. “Miss Stonefist?” “Aye?” “Package delivered for you. Too big to carry here so pick it up when you can! Came with this!” Helene took the note from him and turned it over in her grasp. Immediately, she recognized the signature at the bottom. Yuti. She had sent over a weapon and shield for her and they were being held at the main tent until she could claim them. “Yuti.” Her thumb grazed the name and she let out a soft exhale. Her heart was hurting for those she left behind and more so for her dear friend. “Someone you know?” Chance lofted a brow to her. “Aye. Close friend.” One more look towards the tree and she seemed to smile wide enough that the freckles tightened over. With all that had happened, with every moment stolen or shared, she was thankful that her family back home was complete again. Minus one redhead. { @peacekeeper-xiv // Chance II @yutikyis II @wicked-virtue // Ikara }

[komainu-no-hana]

Our baby’s growing up... Castrum Meriadianum beaten, and onward we go!

 @ikara-esho @lloire14 @captain-tanner @yutikyis

[lloire14]

Guilt

I needed time to clear my head. Time away from everything that didn’t make sense. So, I headed back into the frigid arms of lady Ishgard. West Coerthas to be exact. Before I left though I sent word to Helene to meet me there if she fancied a hunt. I met up with her at Falcon’s Nest and after we got our things together we trekked out into the snow in search of steinbock.

It didn’t take long to find our prey. Knowing what vicious creatures they could be, I had Helene stand at the ready with sword and shield while I took aim. I guess I wanted to prove I was still a decent shot. That no matter how messed up my eye was after what the monks did to me, that it would not stop me. Luckily I’d already had practice at compensating and this time my aim held much more true.

We brought down our first buck, but it was small. Thin, as though it’d had trouble finding food. We moved on. The next one I grazed and it ran. Unusual. They typically turn to fight rather than flight. Finally Helene and I found a larger buck. We brought it down without too much trouble, but when we were fighting in off I saw it froth a bit about the mouth. Worried that it was sick, we left it and moved further north. We were set upon by another. Much more aggressive than expected. After we brought the beast down, I decided to check it out more thoroughly. We found out that it was in fact sick, just like the last one. I started to worry that something in the area was corrupted and causing the wildlife to grow sick.

Almost just as I had the thought, I started to feel it. There was a taint somewhere close. Calling Helene we rushed towards where I sensed it. Dozens of smaller creatures were swarming our earlier kills and ripping them apart. They too were clearly being influenced by the corruption. We brought them down. Luckily a passing Thaumaturge gave us a hand and eventually we were able to wipe out the lot of them.

I couldn’t leave without trying to track down the source of the corruption. If nothing else, if we found it, I could pass the information on to someone else to have a Conjurer come and deal with it. We pressed on further North. Helene for her part didn’t ask too many questions, trusting that I somehow knew where I was going. I followed the sickness I felt, the worse it got, the closer I knew we were.

We made our way across the snow fields, down cliff faces, and further North. Eventually, we came upon what I knew had to be the source. Two voidsent were making meals of some local wildlife when Helene and I came upon them. Luckily they were not so difficult to dispatch. With Helene drawing their attention, I was able to loose arrow after arrow into them. When they died though, I felt that familiar draw on my soul. It’s always the same. Like being pulled into a rip current, and drawn under water. Eventually I managed to get myself back under control and Helene and I went back for our first kill, then back to Night Blade’s manor.

When we got back, we left the kill to be dealt with later and went to my office there. She’d been patient, so after taking a bit of time to check on the voidsent we’d encountered, I explained to her how I had been able to track the voidsent. I had to tell her of my past, and why the void calls to me as it does. I also explained that I believed someone had called those voidsent to corrupt the land and explained that I would be passing the information along to the Ishgardian authorities. They aren’t dragons, I doubt much will be done, but I should at least try.

As we were talking though. Soren called me over the linkpearl. I have not felt so much anger in quite some time. Soren explained that he’d left Kessy, something I’d expected, but also that he’d tried to kill or be killed by Aeritria, and that he’d nearly died when Rath came to Aeritria’s rescue. I asked him where she was so I could check on her and told him to stay at the house. I just wanted to strangle the man. After all we’d been through trying to save her soul, that he would risk all of that, and his life. I need to stop writing about it. I’m getting angry again. Either way, I let Helene know I needed to go and we parted ways. I went out and found a Moogle willing to deliver a letter to Aeritria and sent her my linkpearl frequency and asked her to contact me.

It took a bit of time, but eventually Aeritria did contact me and we agreed to meet at my apartment. In a way, she was very much the Aeritria I remembered, but in other ways, she was not. She came in cautiously, worried that she’d be attacked again. I found out that not only had Soren attacked her when she was unarmed, so had Destiney’s cousin Lance. We talked at length and I tried to convince her not to seek revenge. To simply leave both Soren and the Order be and walk away. It seems that this Rath person may be doing her more good than Soren or I ever could. She explained that she was still trying to stay on the right side of the line. We agreed to not go into specifics, but she explained that she’d been taking out criminals of the worst sort. The kind that preyed on children. Who am I to judge someone for that when I indiscriminately kill Garleans. She asked me to get her payment from Soren and I agreed to try. He and I are not going to have a pleasant talk me thinks.

Aeritria left and I went back to the house. Soren was out again it seemed, so I went back to the apartment. It wasn’t too long after that in which I discovered where he had been. Ikara showed up and had it out with me over my attempts to test my own mortality. Guilt is something I had not felt for some time. I knew she’d be the one to make me feel that way. As much as I want to believe that my little sister would be fine without me. Can I truthfully say I believe that? That she doesn’t need me, if nothing else, as moral support? Knowing that we share a past, a hatred, and goal? I could not apologize truly for what I had done, so instead I just let her know I was getting better. That I was not doing that as much anymore. It was the truth. Somehow though, it felt weak.

Umi showed up while I was talking to her to discuss the materials we were going to sell. It was strange. I feel like I should have been more nervous about Umi and Ikara being in the same room than I was with her and Soren, but I wasn’t. Mayhaps I’ve told Umi enough that I’m not scared what she finds out anymore. For one like Umi, who sees with aether, Ikara looks like a raging bonfire. There wasn’t much to hide. We spoke a while more and Ikara asked that I craft her something to help with her powers. Afterwards she took off and I was left alone with Umi.

I refused to talk about anything serious. I wanted to go out and do things with Umi. To just spend time together and see how it felt. Nothing serious, just time. I’d gotten ahold of a few maps. We went out and tracked the treasures down. She seemed confused by my attitude about the whole endeavor. We were hunting down one of the magically triggered chests that could open a portal to where the real treasure lay. Unfortunately, we did not find one that day. So I offered to take her to my favorite place in the Hinterlands. We were already close, so we flew to the cave near Alexander’s resting place. There we sat and talked a while. She explained that she had a plan to deal with her sight. That she was going to try and heal it, learn to control it. I told her that I planned to conquer my fear of my magicks. We spoke more and after some time, she turned again to our relationship. I tried to say it in words. To explain what she was beginning to mean to me. She didn’t understand. She thought I cared for her as I would any other friend. I guess I had finally had enough going in circles with her. I did something I probably shouldn’t have. I kissed her. I should feel guilty about it. So soon after my breakup, it’s only been a few moons. She’s still with Joundi. I should feel guilty. I don’t. Still, I told her that I shouldn’t have done that and explained that I simply couldn’t think of another way to show her what I was trying to say.

Then she wanted to talk about my magic. She wanted me to try and confront them then and there. How does she talk me into these things? I agreed with little argument and then created a small pocket of snow around her, and then showed her the small flaming heart I’d learned to make before. We talked a bit about how it looked to her and about how it had looked to her before when I lost control. Afterwards she asked to give me a gift.

I have to ask what the gods expect of me here? How can she give me something like that and not expect me to fall for her just a bit? Is it just a bit? Twelve, I don’t know anymore. She called water, shaping it like a heart. Opposite the fire I’d made. Irony, or something else? Then she called wind, freezing the water to hold the shape. Finally, she breathed a bit of her own aether into it, sealing the spells and creating something that would remain so long as she lived. She gave me her heart and a way to always know that she lives. No walls I could build would withstand that. We talked a while more, then in true Umi fashion she turned about-face and began to chastise me for kissing her, claiming it was twice now and saying I had to be punished. She demanded cake for one, ignoring my protests that she’d kissed me the first time, and then for the second she drew close. I wanted to just kiss her again. To fight fire with fire since I felt like she were teasing me. Instead I simply reminded her that a punishment that was the same as the crime that earned it was foolish. She gave in and said she’d think of another later. We parted ways and I went home to try and craft something to hold her heart in. Something so that I could keep it close.

We met up again the next day. I went by her house to deliver the cake I’d baked for her as well as the stuffed moogle I’d made for her. I wanted her to have it so that she could practice seeing with her hands more. Instead of the simple wood that the nutkin had been, the moogle had fur and felt more life-like.

We agreed to hunt down more of the maps I had. We travelled around and sought out treasure. This time with bets to make it more interesting. The first two maps failed to find us a portal. I offered her double or nothing. That reminds me, she owes me dinner. After all, the third time’s generally the charm.

The portal opened and we went inside. The first room was filled with monsters left there to guard the riches. We brought them down and pressed on. I told her I would offer her a confession for each room we made it through, so I admitted to her that I thought she was beautiful. Then asked her which way we were going. She picked and we made it through the first gate. The second room’s beasts were a bit more of a challenge and we were both left catching our breathes. Being there with her, fighting as we did. I felt alive like I had not in some time. This time I confessed that I would want to ask her out were she single but I feared rejection. She seemed surprised that I could face death without fear, but a no was more difficult. She picked our direction again. I tried to ask her what she feared but she did not answer.

We got through the next gate and defeated the creatures beyond it. I told her that while I had that fear, I would conquer it if the opportunity came. We pressed on and entered a room that was filled with much more treasure and aether than the ones before. I could not think of any other confessions so we continued on. We were set upon by far more than we could handle and found ourselves overwhelmed. Something was triggered during our battle and suddenly and violently we were torn from the portal and returned to where we’d entered from.

I checked on her, and while unharmed she was obviously tired. We teleported back to Joundi’s home and got her sitting down. I went downstairs to make her soup. She called down after me and we spoke some. She mentioned moving back to Night Blade’s manor. I offered to have her stay with me if she preferred. She explained a bit more about the rift between herself and Joundi. She asked me something I thought strange. She wanted to know if I would look for her if she disappeared. Of course I would. I told her the same.  She told me she had a confession, but she would speak on it over dinner. I finished making the soup and took it up to her.

As we spoke, she admitted that she’d considered giving up. I told her that I did not want her to. I know it was hypocritical, but I did not care. She explained just how weak and tired she’d been getting. I tried once more to get her to accept my proposal to bind her anima to mine. She refused, saying that she could not risk my life after meeting Soren and Ikara.

She made light of my feelings a bit, telling me that she were but a single female and that I could find others to fight for. Fool woman. Then she asked me if I truly believed I were willing to tie my anima to hers. She told me that our hearts would have to accept each other in them for it to work. I told her that I would. That I cared deeply for her. I almost said more. She admitted that she wasn’t sure that she was ready to truly live again yet. She has such guilt about her sister and is looking for forgiveness it seems. Finally, I made one different offer. That she take aether from me each night by her own hand, without the binding.

She agreed, on the condition that we did it at my place. I’m not sure if she was testing my commitment or not, but there was no way I would put what I wanted above her health. I agreed without hesitation and we left for my apartment.

She’s awfully cute standing in a nightgown with a stuffed moogle in her arms. I had to push those thoughts away though. I had to be strong. Even as we sat on the side of my bed and prepared to have her pull the aether from me, she still seemed worried for me and asked if I was sure. I finally convinced her that I was and we began. I’ll admit it is draining. Luckily I draw aether from the land for my spells. What she pulls I do not often use. Draining or not though, seeing some of the color return to her cheeks. To see life in her eyes again. I’d endure that and much more to see that.

I asked her to stay. She agreed. I laid down beside her, felt her lips brush against mine, and then I found sleep. I should feel guilty. I don’t.

[betaxiv]

Log Entry #1

07:00 – Wake up. Shower.

07:30 – Breakfast of fruit salad and yogurt.

08:00 – Arrival at Foundaton of Ishgard by means of Aetheryte.

08:15 – Assignment of Class-3 hunt objects as justification for arrival.

08:30 – Depart Ishgard and travel by means of horsebird to the Churning Mists.

10:45 – Arrival in the Churning Mists.

11:00 – Begin search for clues.

11:30 – Set upon by Diresaurs.

12:15 – Resumed search.

12:45 – Queried local Moogles regarding objective.

13:45 – Completed Moogle requests.

Side Note – These Moogles were completely unhelpful. After completion of their chores the only intel they provided was that someone matching his description had possibly been spotted to the north but the source could not be recalled.

14:00 – Proceeded north of Moghome. Located a hunt mark. Engaged.

14:15 – Successfully neutralized threat. Returned to primary goal.

14:45 – Arrival at The Gauntlet.

14:50 – Observation of enormous airship north of location. Classification unknown.

15:00 – Engaged secondary hunt mark.

15:05 – Linkpearl communication from Ikara.

15:10 – Successfully neutralized threat.

15:50 – Departed the Churning Mists and returned to Lavender Beds.

16:15 – Shower. Changed into date attire.

Side Note – I think I looked good and Ikara agreed, but it’s really uncomfortable

16:20 – Arrived at Gridanian Aetheryte.

16:45 – Ikara arrives.

17:00 – Begin festivities.

Side Note – Ikara looked stunning in a red dress which appeared to be of Doman influence.

Additional Note – The event’s organizer was a complete buffoon.

17:15 – Festive souvenirs purchased and event organizer’s lesson observed.

Side Note – Yep. Total buffoon.

17:30 – Proceed to Carline Canopy. Proceed with event organizer’s directives.

18:30 – Complete event organizer’s directives. Enjoy stinging humiliation.

18:45 – Returned to event organizer.

Side Note – I had to ignore the couple’s exhibitionist innuendos. I swear, it was like they let J’kie be in charge of this one.

19:00 – Located a quiet place to sit and talk with Ikara.

Side Note – We also played around a bit, climbing one of the light poles to get a better view of the area.

19:45 – Return to Lily Hills for dinner.

Side Note – Lloire’s apartment felt like a home. I would like something like that one day.

Additional Note – Ikara was cute when watching her cook. She looked like she enjoyed it.

20:15 – Returned to Ikara’s apartment to eat.

Side Note – Miq’abobs are delicious. This might be the first thing I can agree with other Miqo’te on.

20:30 – Discussion regarding dangerous activities and avoiding them.

Side Note – I still think horsebirds stink.

21:00 – Dinner finished. Meat Miq’abobs, Rolanberry Shaved Ice, Juice

21:05 – Presented with a gift

Side Note – I felt guilty accepting the gift, jewelry made by Lloire, since I hadn’t made any progress in finding him. I don’t want tell Ikara this, but people don’t usually come back from being missing this long. I think he’s probably dead.

21:30 – Goodnight Kiss

Side Note – It’s getting a lot harder to pull away when I’m kissing her, or avoiding her horns now that I know what that does.

01:15 – Sleep

[maria-zolts]

Maria Zolts Song Challenge

It's hard to keep my feet on the ground The way I'm feeling right now No gravity could be Ever containing me No, no, no-o-o

I feel I'm falling skywards A force to be reckoned with And the emptiness i see Could it control me? And nothing will be stopping me

Not even the gravity

(Gravity - Xilent)

Tagged by: @tenaki-borlaaq (it won’t let me tag you?)

Tagging: @vorenmox, @hassanpakravan , @nebula1984, @ikara-esho, @ladyrivienne, @sarantsatsrdotharl, and anyone else who wants to do it!

[hedgearcher]

Fighting Despair

Tara’s point of view on an LS story Arc run by @ikara-esho and @betaxiv

The door to her room closed with a despondent ‘thundk’ and Tara sank to the ground in front of it, clutching a piece of parchment.She unclenched her fist and smoothed out the thick paper, not needing to reread it, the words written in think ink had burned themselves into her mind so heavily she was certain she could have recited it in her sleep, but doing so anyway, hoping beyond hope that they had changed.

Dearest Cousin,

I know you inquired over the well being of one in the camp with me and it pains me to inform you the individual has been labeled MIA. I don’t know much about the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, only that they are gone. I know that this news isn’t the type you wanted to hear… I’m sorry Tara. ~Edwyn

Tara swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Ikara was missing then. Her fist lashed out at the wall, a satisfying thunk echoing through the room, though Tara didn’t notice it, a sob tearing itself from her throat.

She wasn’t certain how long she sat against her door crying, but the sun was sinking below the horizon, casting her room in a grey purple light. She wiped at the mostly dried tear tracks on her face and sighed slowly, pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes gently.

Oh Twelve… did Phoenix know? Edwyn’s note had said nothing about any next of kin and if he didn’t know… Gods, she didn’t even want to think of what it would feel like if he didn’t know. Here she’d been, wallowing in sadness and self-pity when there was someone far closer to Ikara who might not even know she was missing. Tara glared derisively at herself. She hefted herself off the ground and set to work.

Packing only took a quarter of a bell, thankfully, since she hadn’t completely unpacked from getting home. As she packed a plan unfolded in her mind. She’d fly south, find Phoenix, tell him if he didn’t already know, and then, maybe, set out to find Ikara. It was almost assuredly a suicide mission, not that Tara cared. She’d find her little sister if it was the last thing she did. One directionally challenged Hyur against the Ala Mhigan wilds peppered with Imperial strongholds, what could go wrong?

With a last look around her room, mentally taking inventory of what she’d packed, for anything she may have missed, Tara headed downstairs, bags over her shoulder.

Her parents were waiting for her at the door, her Papa in his apron smelling of sticky cinnamon buns and Mama still in her wintertime hunting gear. Her Papa pressed a waterproof bag into her hands. “Food for the trip, Theo is saddling Phoenix and Jazz for you. He’s bringing them around to the front of the house in a moment.” Tara wrapped her parents in a tight hug before taking the new bag and stepping into the twilight, drawing her hood up as she walked into the sleet.

Phoenix and Jazz were standing placidly behind Theo, waiting for saddlebags and packs. Theo and Tara worked in tandem, fastening the bags with quick efficiency before Theo drew Tara into a tight embrace. “Stay safe.” Her twin murmured, releasing her and making his way back into the warm house.

Tara stood looking around her home, ignoring the sleet that fell in sheets from the sky. Phoenix clucked and ambled over to her, resting his head on her shoulder in comfort. She shook herself after a moment and swung onto his saddle. “Let’s head south boys.” The two chocobos lifted into the sky, turning southwards, towards Eorzea. As she flew, she sent a prayer to Rhalgr, Destroyer, Patron of my mother’s people, give me the strength to find Ikara, and another to Nophica, Matron, Goddess of my choice, I beg You, give Your Compassion and Protection to Ikara. Keep her safe. I beg You, Lady. Tara’s mouth tightened in determination as Phoenix flew southwards.

[peacekeeper-xiv]

Serious Events

A series of events…

Aeritria and Arakiel meet accidentally inside Samael house.

Aeritria Locklair stopped dead in her tracks when Ara turned around. The blood drained from what little he could see of her face, and her eyes narrowed moving over him to look for weapons, surprises, explosives, all the things he might have on him while in Soren's house. It took her a couple ticks to reconcile the sight of him in Soren's house. Alive. Not dead. Not even thinking of the advantage that came from him not knowing who she was, she finally spoke, "Well bloody damn hell... you look surprisingly healthy for a dead man."

 Arakiel agrees to travel with Aeritria east, having decided that Ikara had been gone for too long and he was going to look for his daughter. They discover that they still have some disagreements though.

Arakiel Etemorah smirked. "Wrath?" He chuckled smarmily. "Kinda daft name to call a kid. He pick that out himself?" Still, he didn't seem intent on keeping up his teasing. "And what do they all mean to ya? What would you do if they were in danger?"

Aeritria Locklair rolled her eyes, "Its short, for Rathorin... " When he questioned her on what they meant to her and what she would do there was clearly a reaction. She tried to keep the calm, snarky demeanor, but too many things had already happened where she had given a whole lot for those three. There was the briefest of haunted looks before it was replaced with tense shoulders and a defensive posture. "Enough..."  Her lips pulled into a thin line, "Is that supposed to be a threat?”

Arakiel Etemorah smiled knowingly and shook his head. "No, but that's answer enough." Sheathing his katana, he stood. "I have a daughter. She should have returned by now, but she hasn't. That's what's in the Burn." His expression turned somewhat grim. "I wanted you to know before you decided to follow me. I'm willing to do -enough- for her.”

 Aeritria agrees to accompany Arakiel in his search for Ikara and together, they make for The Burn. Arakiels insistence on drawing out Aeritrias ire though, nearly sets them at odds.

Aeritria Thorne had never been good at reining in her temper, it was why she made such a good marauder. It was also why she had made such a good criminal. There was a sudden shift from her that would hit every one of his senses. The growled words came out with cold fury, "Fuck you Arakiel. I came out to help you, but that was just another dumbass mistake on my part. Everything is fucking fine. Its more godsdamn fine than it has been in over a twelves damned year, but you just can't leave well the fuck enough alone. I don't want to fucking talk about it cause its none of your gods damned business. You don't get to fucking come back from the dead and act like I should just fucking ugh!" Axe or no axe, there was a hint of red glowing in the abysmal darkness of her eyes before she turned around and started storming away. "Fuck you!"

It would be some time after that they managed to work out their difference, but once they had they concluded, wandering the desert in search of one small Au Ra was futile. Aeritria then turned to a dangerous source of power to send out the needed signal flare, her Dark Knight soul stone.

Aeritria Thorne took a few moments to try to catch her breath and shake away the voices that still tried to reach her from the stone. Running her fingers through her hair to push it out of the way she glared over at it for a moment. "I tried to warn you the darn thing isn't... as helpful as I like sometimes. I really did kick Rath's balls all the way into his throat last time I used the damn thing." Aeri rubbed the back of her neck and looked away, "Sorry... I haven't used it in a long while. With my other soul stones... it’s easy. It’s like they want to help. That one... there is still a bit of a fight going on with who is in charge of who."

 After some time arguing with the voices in her mind, Aeritria finally was able to cause a large enough explosion of aether that could be seen from malms around. The fact that it nearly killed herself and Arakiel was of little consequence.

Arakiel Etemorah wasn't a hero. It just wasn't in him. But he wasn't the same man he'd been a few years ago either. The blade in his hands was quickly sheathed and he rushed forward to where Aeritria stumbled. He wasn't about to pick her up and carry her away from danger like some knight in shining armor. But then, she'd have hated that. He grabbed her by the wrist and literally dragged her behind him. "Come the fuck on!" He wasn't going to let her go until they were behind enough rock to guarantee they would be safe from the explosion that was likely coming.

 Several bells later, their fishing attempt proved fruitful and they noted the appearance of an approaching figure. Unfortunately, it was not exactly who they had been looking for.

Arakiel Etemorah sheathed his blade, looking at her curiously as his hearing had not completely recovered. "One of them?" He looked to where the creature had been sniped and put two and two together. "The boy..." The unknown Miqo'te still seemed rather protective of Beta and stood between them and him, even if his weapon was put away. Beta's familiar voice shouted across the sands as he approached. "It's okay Aasifa, they are... family of a sort I guess?" The one called Aasifa seemed to relax a bit and plopped down in the sand as Beta and Ara and Aeri approached his location. "Aasifa is still thinking there are better ways to fish." He said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. Arakiel's steps seemed to hasten as he approached.

 With so many differing personalities… and because Aasifa is Aasifa, some troubles did arise.

 Aeritria Thorne saw Arakiel start choking after Aasifa did whatever the hell it was that he did and her attention snapped to the Miqo'te. Her chakrams came out and pinned Aasifa to one of the rock walls by his sleeves, "The Fuck you think you are doing you piece of shit! What the hell did you do to him?!"  She stood between Arakiel and Aasifa, and if looks could kill he would have been dead a thousand times over. She held a finger up to Beta to shut him up before he tried to 'help'.

 Eventually though, a peace was brokered, and the quartet left in search of the large sources of aether that Beta’s instruments had detected after the explosion Aeritria had caused.

Arakiel Etemorah might have moved to stop Aeri if she had still wielding her chakrams, but he did not expect the idiot cat to die from a punch. Beta called out in frustration as the punch landed. Aasifa for his part might have dodged the attack, if he'd bothered to try. Instead he took the hit to the throat and grinned at her as though he almost enjoyed all the chaos he'd caused. "Was... good... hit." He croaked out from a damaged voice. "Proud... of... sister." He ripped his sleeves free from the blades and found his feet on the sand once more. He didn't retaliate, simply rubbed at his throat and looked at her expectedly. Beta however was exasperated. "I swear to Alexander! Everyone's crazy!" He huffed and put away the smoke bomb and electric charge he'd been prepping if they hadn't stopped. Aeri's words had registered with him, but he knew better than provoking her further and refused to retort. "Can we get back to looking for Ikara now? Since you and I are the only ones who can speak now, I'll take your word for both of you."

Aeritria Thorne grit her teeth, dug her sharp nails into her palms and drew blood from her own hands to keep from murdering Aasifa right there and then. She reached over, grabbed her Chakrams, held them tight for a moment, still wound up and considering putting them through the rest of Aasifa's neck. It was Beta that managed to draw her out of it with his ridiculous cursing, "For fucks sake... didn't anyone ever teach you to curse properly?" She looked to Arakiel then took another breath. "I came out here to find you and Ikara... if Aasifa so much as touches that damn necklace again I will cut it off his neck, and I'm sure Arakiel will help, so if you want to find your girlfriend before something fucking happens to her you better tell you -friend- to behave or leave. Now, if you have an idea of where to go... let’s go."

Beta took in a deep breath and let out a long exhale. "I was trying to..." He frowned at Aasifa and pointed at the necklace. "No more chaos magic!" Aasifa looked like he might argue but Beta glared, and he stopped. "For all you know that thing might have called a hundred sandworms to raid the burn and it would've put her in more danger! So, no more til she's safe!" Beta looked properly angry and despite his inability to curse properly, seemed to convey the same feelings. He then turned to Arakiel. "And don't act like he's all innocent. Stop acting like you are gonna gut me 'cause I didn't know Ikara was out here! Cause I didn't and now I'm gonna find her! Aasifa could easily have seen you as a threat to his friend." Ara narrowed his eyes at the boy but simply turned his chin some and sneered. Finally, he turned to Aeritria. "He goes for the necklace again... stab him... ‘Cause I said not to. But you stop threatening him if he doesn't, 'kay? I've been wandering the burn for weeks now. I'm ready to be done with this place... so I just wanna find Ikara and then we can all go home." He huffed out another breath and continued. "And thank you for helping Arakiel look for her... I'm sorry this is all a mess, but I was trying to do good. So, let's... just do what you came here to do please." He continued a moment later in quieter tones. "And I don't like everyone else’s profanity. It's boring."

 Elsewhere in the Burn though the target of their search was about to have her own random encounter.

Ikara had been wandering the burn for what felt like an age. Trying to track Beta had turned into a much bigger problem than she had originally anticipated. She had made her way into Garlemald, stealing a uniform and posing as a Garlean soldier. Eventually she found the site where the popularis had their operations that Beta had been a part of. She searched every ilm of the area for any signs of Beta or which way he might have went. She eventually found Beta's tomephone, cracked and busted with charred and melted edges. She picked it up and searched the area even more, moving rubble. Eventually she resorted to carefully questioning a few citizens and was told that the rebels had flown off in the direction of the burn via magitek armor. She breathed a sigh of relief in the hope that Beta was on the airship, as she did hear from someone that no one was taken prisoner. All the rebels were killed or escaped, and she hadn't found his body yet. If he wasn't there, he might still be alive. Clutching the little scrap of a tomephone she went in the direction that the few citizens had pointed her in. She eventually found the wreckage of the armor and searched the entire thing from top to bottom. There was still no sign of Beta, but she found some disturbances in the sand and hoped they were the remnants of footprints. She followed them until they disappeared, eaten by the shifting sands. Then she kept looking. She wasn't sure how long she had been searching, but she knew she was lost, and she didn't care. If she was lost, it meant Beta probably was too, and they would eventually find each other.

A few malms away, Lloire had left the simulacrum of Cartenaeu that his mind had created as a battleground for himself and his reflections. Now he wandered the desert sands of the Burn once more, sorting his thoughts. He had no clue how to go about finding the people he needed to find or what order to find them in. Even as that were, were there enough people he worried for to face all the various aspects of his soul?

Some had been quoted as saying that the universe around them had come about in the beginning due to a massive explosion of aether, the same catalyst woke him from his indecisiveness. He hit the sand as an enormous shockwave of aether flew past him, stealing his feet from him.

"The fuck was that?"

As his senses returned to him, Lloire closed his eyes and focused not on where the explosion had been, but on any source powerful enough to have caused it. There was a massive pool of energy to the east of him that was far bleeding aether into the air. It was more than reasonable to assume that who or whatever it was, they were responsible for the massive explosion he'd felt. His fights would have to wait, leaving anything that powerful this close to Doma's borders would be irresponsible. Gathering his feet under him, he took off at a run towards the source of aether.

Ikara had been wandering in the Burn long enough that she felt like she was going blind. The land being so drained of aether meant she saw the world as everyone else did. She felt sorry for them, all the color was gone from this part of the world. She had found a small outcropping of what she originally thought were rocks but had eventually realized was the skull of a very large beast that had once dwelled there, and hidden away for a bit to get some rest and get out of the sun.

Then the world exploded in color far away. She felt it before she ran out and saw it. Her eyes watered from all the colors and she started searching the horizon for any signs of something that would explain it. Clutching the tomephone she started in the direction of the explosion, hoping that maybe if Beta was out there, he would investigate too.

Lloire travelled swiftly across the sand as he rushed towards the source of aether drawing at his senses. Eventually he climbed over an outcropping of rock and saw a figure in the distance. They didn't seem to have noticed him yet but were moving closer to him. If he held his position, he could wait until they were close enough to engage before revealing himself. He moved back behind one of the jutted-out stones and waited.

As Ikara made her way towards the explosion another source of aether caught her eye in the distance and closing in on her position. The aether was wrong, fractured, broken, and extremely potent.

The tomephone she clutched in her hand was tucked into her pocket and replaced by her staff. She had been conserving her aether the whole time she was out here, to the point where it was overflowing. Her necklace had been filled to the brim, but she had waited and not wasted it in case of running into a Garlean contingent or some beast.

She held her staff to her side, loosely and in a nonthreatening manner, but she was ready for whatever was on the other side of the ridge. When she got close enough, she yelled to whoever was there, "I can see you! Come out before I decide that I'll cast first and ask questions later. This is your only warning!"

Her voice was unmistakable. Lloire came out from behind the rocks with a curious expression worn on his face. "Ikara? What are yo--" He wasn't able to finish his question though as the sounds of the winds and shifting sands in the area were pierced with the sound of shattering glass. Ikara, who had the unique advantage of always seeing aether would see a fragment of Lloire's aether break away from the rest.

As for Lloire himself, he collapsed in a heap in front of her while the image of a younger Lloire remained where he had been standing. The Lloire-image began to solidify before finally seeming as alive, even to her vision, as Lloire had moments ago. "I should've known we'd run into you first and I'd be the first to fight..." He sighed. "You remind him... us... of Aliya sometimes." A staff materialized in his hands and a blackmage soul stone pulsed with aether beneath his robes. "I'm called Kid... And so that your older brother can live, I have to fight you with all my might... and you gotta kill me."

As he spoke, the similarities between who Lloire used to be and who Beta was seemed all the more pronounced. "Show him... us... what you're made of. That you won't be another Aliya, okay?"

Ikara was equal parts confused and relieved when Lloire stepped out from behind the rocks. "Nii---..." She watched his aether shard and split then him collapse to the ground and started running for him, without thought to her own safety. That was until a shard split off and started to solidify. Ikara skid to a halt, her staff still out at her side as a younger version of Lloire appeared before her.

"Halone's frosty tits... what the hells?" She eyed the fragment for a moment before flipping down a visor to see if he was still there without her aether sight. Her frown deepened as she tried to piece together what she saw with the visor down, verses what she was seeing with it up, "Oh.... what have you done to yourself big brother..?" His aether had somehow split off and manifested. The younger version of him was real in a sense, but only in so much as the creations she made from aether. It would disappear with time, but not until the wielder or spell was completed or removed.

Mention of Aliya had her frown deepening, "I'll take that as a compliment. Aliya was your best friend." She shook her head at the aether spirit. "I won't fight you. It could hurt the whole of him. He is completely fractured. Let me fix it instead." She wasn't holding her staff weakly at her side anymore though, it was ready in case the splinter decided to attack.

For his part, Kid-Lloire didn't seem to be in a rush to attack her. "It was a compliment. Look, you haven't seen us for a while. The Lloire you know. Nii-san I think? Anyways, he's prolly more messed up now then when he stabbed himself in the chest. He just fought each and every splinter of himself and killed each one. Well, except me and Erioll...." He shook his head energetically. "But that's off subject. The point is... He's finally realized what's got him so screwed up. He's scared that the people he cares for are gonna die. Usually ‘cause of him. There's a lot to unpack, but the basic gist is he needs his friends to prove they can handle their own against him when he's not in control. He's scared of his black magic... or his anger issues... or being you know... Hyur. But the truth is he's only really dangerous when he's whole... and then, only to his enemies. But we gotta prove it to him... us... so, you have to kill me. I'd rather you went into this with full knowledge and not making me force the issue." He huffed a breath, having spoken more than Lloire usually would. "So, what do you say?" The younger Lloire lazily lifted his staff and nodded to Ikara. "I mean, if nothing else... you kinda need to blow some aether." A small almost shy smile was half hidden behind his staff.

Ikara listened and it was clear she was starting to nurse a headache from how dumb it all sounded. Then again, she really wasn't too much different than her brother. She had run off plenty of times without people to protect them. She wasn't sure she trusted any of them to take care of themselves. It was why she was in this gods forsaken desert in the first place.

"Let me examine him, to ascertain that you are telling the truth, though I doubt you are lying. I have to be sure it won't kill him. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I killed him without checking first. Let me do that, and sure... I'll kick your ass." She smirked at him, "I mean, Nii-san is tough, and he taught me a lot, but it’s been a while, and the collective you haven't seen what I'm capable of anymore. Just you know.... do me a favor and let me check him first and I'm down. Also... beforehand... Did you cause that other explosion? Cause really, I can't spend a ton of time here if you didn't. I've god a cute moronic Miqo to save."

The younger manifestation lowered the staff and stepped aside to allow Ikara past to check on Lloire's unconscious form. "Too true, but don't forget... Lloire's been out to war just as long as you presumably have. Don't take this too lightly please." True to his word he would stand still and let her examine Lloire. "Also, no. We thought it was you. You've the largest pool of aether out here beyond our own. The other sources of aether out here are weaker... except one particularly bright spot further south..." His head tilted as he considered -who- she was likely speaking about. "Though, large sources of aether wouldn't help you find Beta but large explosions might. Guess that would make sense. We didn't know he was out here though." He shrugged. "Well, like I said, I can't hold back or we'll know... so I'll try and make it as fast as I can... but no promises."

Ikara was wise enough not to completely let her guard down but moved over to examine Lloire's unconscious form. She examined him as well as she could, even checking to see if he would wake with prodding. He didn't, and she obviously was looking at something with concern, 'These threads of aether tying you to him. If I hurt you, I'm hurting him. To be fair, you are only a portion of his aether, but you are an important part of his being. You won't be destroyed right?" She considered what he said about the spot further south and frowned. "If there was an explosion, I doubt that Beta caused it. He wouldn't give his position away like that... especially when there are Garleans after him... so I'm sorry but I won't be holding back either."

She jumped back and her staff spun in the air as aether pulled not from the land, or from her, but from a single crystal in her necklace. The necklace drained in but a few breaths as she unleashed one of the most powerful spells she had on the fragment of Lloire. She didn't have time to play. Those could have been Garleans killing her boyfriend and she loved her brother, but damn if she was going to let her boyfriend die cause her brother was being stupid. The magic flared bright and large with destruction so that it could be seen for several malms.

When the smoke cleared, Kid was standing in a charred crater, his staff held up as though he were blocking with it and the aether of his mana wall shimmered as the spell dissipated from absorbing the attack. Nevertheless, Flare was an impressive spell and she could see some singed edges around his clothing and armor. Another side of Lloire might have spoken here. Warned her or threatened her, but Kid understood her and knew she was only doing what she needed to in order to protect her loved ones. Instead he returned the attack. He vanished and reappeared nearly on top of her. It was completely against everything one was taught as a thaumaturge and would have been insane if he was fighting a sword wielder. With her so close, she could see the lightning flash in his eyes as his aether swelled. The first strike was a blast of lightning aether that dropped down from the sky towards her. The second was a blast of weak fire that seemed almost pointless in its intensity. Finally, he wrapped up the triple casting of spells with a much more potent fire spell as his entire aura seemed to pulse with heat. The spells complete he took a step back from her to examine their effectiveness.

Ikara honestly would have been disappointed if the first spell had done all the work. It would work for piddly little Garlean soldiers, but this was a part of her brother, and she expected more from him. There was a small smile at the fact that he had gotten his manawall up fast enough. Then again, the spell took plenty of time to cast and gave him amply time to prepare.

When he teleported right in front of her, she laughed. "You should have been a redmage, kid. Its more fun, but to be fair less destructive." to illustrate her point she stepped out of the way of the lightning blast and wacked at his nose with her staff, holding it like a rapier. Which, to be fair, wasn't nearly as quick to maneuver, but was much harder to dodge due to the size of her staff and his proximity. Soul stone or no, she had learned how to leap and fly as a red mage and those things were all body, not magic. She couldn't wield those same spells, but a quick backflip and she was out of the way of the weak fire spell, only to land at the point where he struck with the larger fire spell. It singed her hair and clothes before she managed to get up her own manawall and protect herself from the subsequent blasts.

Already she was working to cast again, though there wasn't a huge explosion this time. Instead she targeted his mind, addling his sense to weaken his spells, then attempted to put the shard to sleep.

The back to back spells struck and Kid felt his mind cloud with the enfeeblements along with the ringing in his head from the staff hit. Still, he seemed immune to sleep spells. It did allow fog his thoughts enough that he responded to her banter rather than continue incessant spellcasting. "Wasn't readily taught when I was around... I'm sure Azure can show you what Lloire's learned though." Wiping idly at his nose to ensure there was no bleeding, he only managed to fire of a scathing blast of energy from his staff as he moved away from her and she saw his aether pool into the ground as leylines became visible beneath him.

Far in the distance of the Burn the group of misfits that were wandering and looking for Ikara could see the mushroom cloud from her first flare, and the subsequent explosions of lightning, fire, and magic lighting the horizon. Aeri immediately turned to Aasifa with an accusatory look, "You do that too?" She was guessing whoever was blowing up the horizon was likely pissing off the little lizard though.

True to Aeri's thoughts, Ikara was getting annoyed. She had hoped to put Kid to sleep long enough to check and make sure her brother wasn't actually being hurt by the fight. "What? I have fight all of you? I ain't got time for that shit. You're wasting enough time as is."

She tried to examine Lloire from a distance to make sure he was still okay, and that moment of distraction gave Kid the opening that he needed to hit her with a blast of energy and make her shake her head to get her vision back. Fighting mages was a lot harder as everything was so damn bright.

Aetheric symbols swirled around her as she started to vent her frustration on the shard of her brother, "Will..." A giant glacier was dropped on him, "You..." Another one, "Just..." Another one... "Piss off!" Aether flared around her in crystalline light and she tapped another crystal in her necklace, though this one didn't drain all the way, instead only draining two thirds of the way as she dropped another huge flare of magic on Kid, then tapped the rest of that crystal and cast a second flare. The power off the flurry of spells back to back was enough to send a shockwave out in all directions.

Kid attempted to ward off the spells but was only able to block off the first set. Those crystals she wore were going to be his undoing if he didn't deprive her of them sooner rather than later. Still, his own pools of aether were rather large and he wasn't exhausting them on flares. Still, the second one she'd unleashed in a row was more than his wards could handle and the explosion blackened his staff arm, leaving it near useless. Still, he wasn't one of Lloire's sides that reacted to anger as easily, not even in the significant pain he was in now. "I... told you... Not going to make this... easy on you!"

He stood up with flames flickering out around him on the ground and took the staff into his other hand. "Enough of this..." Runes began to glow around him as he activated Enochian. "The highest tier of fire magicks he knew was unleashed where she stood, the leylines fed him aether faster and another was cast at her to follow it. "This ends now!" One more swift cast and he'd have the power built up he needed to unleash his largest spell. Another fourth-tier fireball exploded where Ikara was standing and even the group further out could feel the swelling of aether at the battleground.

Hundreds of yalms away Aasifa shot a look around him at the others, looking hurt that he'd been accused. "What? Cannot... be Aasifa, he... is needing to say ...word. Aasifa... has been... quiet. That is a war zone, ...yes?" He croaked out before he grinned widely. "Let's go... and see!" Arakiel frowned and growled but started off towards the explosions before anyone else.

Aeri glanced between Arakiel and Beta both before speeding up the pace the group had set. Which, in all honestly didn't take much as the others were in just as much of a hurry. "I get Ikara can blow shit up... but ... thats a lot of firepower." She shook her head and they all moved as quickly as they reasonably could towards the battle. Aeri had her misgivings about it, as she wasn't really feeling like being blown up in this gods forsaken place, but she had given Ara her word, and she wasn't about to go back on it now.

 Ikara got some satisfaction from Kid's blackened arm. Even thought she had said she was going to put her all into this fight, she was still doing her best to only tap the aether in her necklace as she didn't know what she would find where Beta was. "Oh for Halone's sake... you think this is easy for me? The hardest part of this is not turning the hell around and leaving you to sulk in the fact that I won't fight you. You have the WORST timing ever... I've got places to be! I'm supposed to be saving my boyfriend, not my brother. For fucks sake... worst older brother..."

Fire exploded all around her, but before he could get off all his spells she was moving. This time it was her turn to teleport to him. One moment she was where his spells were aimed, and the next she was standing on top of him and wrapping her arms around him in a bear hug, then smashing her forehead into his nose to interrupt his casting. The first fire spell missed her, the second engulfed both of them, and she aimed her knee for his family jewels when he tried to cast the last spell, aiming to knock him to the ground and just punch him in the face. The whole time she was aiming physical spells at him she was building up her own aether to counter with her own spells.

Kid didn't have a chance to respond right away, her brow had found his nose and it gave a loud crack and blood spewed from the quickly bruising part of his face. "Little brother right now!" He shouted back at her. "You're older than I was!" His aether appeared to stop wavering at all and grew very sure and still as he began reciting the last spell, his eyes locking on her with intense focus. "This ends sis!" The spell was likely one she'd not seen him cast before. It was one that Lloire had learned only recently on the frontlines. His most powerful spell was building over both their heads and it was clear that he meant to put his everything into it, even if it meant a draw and a draw meant they both lost.

Ikara was splattered with warm blood that spewed from Kid's nose, and his words hit a chord with her. It was one of those things she always forgot. She wasn't a kid anymore. She was an adult now. She mostly never felt like one, but she was. She had been through more than most kids ever went through and come across the other side. She had lived to see adulthood. The train of thought was disrupted by the pure aether building as Kid started a spell that she didn't know. She knew if he got the spell off that would be devastating for her, and for Lloire. She had to win, or Lloire would stay broken.

She wiped the blood from her face, and her vision focused on it for a moment making her realize that while it felt real, it still wasn't real. It was all aether, and one thing she was good at was controlling aether. "You're right! I am older than you. I'm an adult, and I don't need Lloire to take care of me. We take care of each other because that is what family does, but I made it this far... and I'll be fine!"

The last five crystals in her necklace started to drain as she pulled the specific types of aether from them. Earth, Air, Fire, Ice, and Lightning... the catalysts that made everything in the world. "I won't destroy you. You're a part of my brother... but I don't have to destroy you to beat you!" She started disrupting the flow of aether in Kid, pulling the elements apart, as she had done so many times with her 'paintings'. Normally she had more time, but right his moment she didn't. She poured all the aether from her necklace into rearranging the aether in this fragment of her big brother. She worked desperately fast, trying to reform him into something else. At the last moment she poured her own aether into building the strongest manawall she could and prayed to Halone to make this work. "I can take care of myself, and you're an egotistical jerk for thinking I can't manage without you!"

 The last words were spoken as his spell went off, and the aether that he was created from shifted into the form she thought of when she thought of their lessons when she was still learning how to cast the simplest spells.

Kid seemed to know that he'd lost in that moment. Despite the spell above them and his own aether breaking down, he smiled. "Good. Remember that... And learn the lesson it took us this long to start to learn..."

Ikara grit her teeth and forced the last strands of aether into place where she wanted them, just as the spell overhead exploded. It could be seen for malms and malms around.

[wicked-virtue]

All Saints 2018 - Ikara Esho: Icarus 

Living beyond your years Acting out all their fears You feel it in your chest

Your hands protect the flames From the wild winds around you Icarus is flying too close to the sun And Icarus's life, it has only just begun It's just begun

[cadrenebula]

Random screens from the last few days of RP fun.

@michisilver @helenestonefist @ikara-esho @yutikyis

[helenestonefist]

Risk

Up came her shield right before the fire hit...but then it skipped off her. Turning, she watched the wall melt and her heart skipped a small beat. No fear in her gaze, no look on her features, she turned back to Ikara and noted the way the world bent to her calling. If she did turn on Chance, that wouldn't end well. So she started to walk to the side and put a closer distance to him; counting that he could hold off.

"Beta might come looking for ya, Ikara. Can you imagine if he did? What they'd do to him? " Her glove flexed around the handle of her sword. "He has a gift with tech. They'd break him. Just like they broke me, yeah? Remember that? Still got that carved on me."

Closer still and keeping a steady distance to not draw attention; her hand poised near the trigger behind the shield. "I know you don't want to do this, yeah? Come home."

The Vanguards certainly kept Chance busy, but the first one fell to a crumpled heap, leaving him to deal with the other. It drew Ikara's attention enough that she pulled at all the lightning aether in the destroyed mech before it powdered down. Each time Helene spoke about Beta her aether flickered just for a moment. It was enough to disrupt any longer and more complex spells, but didn't stop her from lashing out, "SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!" A bolt of lightning shot straight for Helene.

There was something cracking in the veneer of calm and nearly sociopathic behavior of the auri girl.

With the first machine destroyed, Chance took the fight to the remaining Vanguard. He didn't know the girl, he didn't know this Phoenix, and saying anything at all would likely undo what efforts Helene was taking. A soldier through and through, he focused on the tasks he had and let her focus on hers. As he fought he sought the remaining Garlean, trying to make sure he kept an eye on him so he did not slip away. No one was going to report back if he could help it, assuming they somehow won. Whoever this Phoenix was, Chance owed him a drink. Helene's use of the name might well be the difference between life and death for them.

Again, she lifted the shield to absorb the arch and the bolts ripped through the metal that wrapped her. Sparks danced off pauldrons, gloves and boots as the insulation below kept it off her form; though her hair lifted a little for it.

She shook it off and eased off the trigger. "They came for you, yeah? Everyone. All of 'em. And they wont stay down, Ikara. They are comin' for you again. He will be there with them. Yuti, Soren, Lloire, everyone." She took a few steps towards her and flicked her gaze to Chance. Then tossed her sword to the dirt. It fell with a thud and she kept her shield; choosing to hold her hand out. "Come on. Come back home with me. It's Starlight, yeah? Don't ya want to curl up with Beta and enjoy it for once?"

Chance continued to fight with the Vanguard, and it eventually fell, but where it fell, the Garlean realized he wasn't getting out alive and came to attack him. He would rather die by a sword than by that weapon's magic.

A viscious sneer crossed her face, "Yea, they came and they failed and ran away. Too late now. I'm where I belonged from the start." The mention of startlight had her aether sputtering and she shook her head, grabbing the side of it then her eyes lit up and she ripped the mask off, pure disdain in her eyes, "I don't need Starlight. Fuck Starlight. Fuck you!" Now the aether really started to gather. She was cracking, but it was making her start to overload instead of stop. A huge arcane symbol spread over the circle of earth and whatever it was that was about to fall on their heads was going to be nasty.

The mercenary was simply glad to be done with the mechas and was glad to oblige the remaining Garlean. He wanted to shout at Helene, having seen that look before on other's faces. He'd give her until his last foes was dead before he tried things his way. As much as he wanted to shout at her to remember what she'd promised, drawing attention to himself was a tactical error he just couldn't justify.

During this exhange she had made a key motion. Stepping closer to where Chance was and then stepping closer to Ikara. All of her anger and focus was drawing into that attack and unless she wanted to stop and try again, she was going to keep it.

Down Helene went into a crouch before her feet dug to sand and she pushed herself into a sprint -at- Ikara. The sword was added weight. She had to drop it. The ground she had been on was too soft, she had to move. And now her finger was on the trigger of the magitch device tucked away behind the shield and if Ikara stayed her ground to burn her down, as she guessed? Then the barrier was going to launch up like a wide disc while she sought to either knock the girl straight off her feet in a solid hit or hope the magic would echo off it and do the same.

The Garlean went down without much of a fight at all. If anything he had been seeking his death. Chance had plenty of time to see Helene launch herself at Ikara.

For her part Ikara was absorbed in the spell. It was huge and took a lot of focus. The air wavered and shook and even those without aether senses could feel how wrong the air was. Chance could see the aether spiking off of the small auri, but not just that... it was leaking off of her in waves. She could have been a star unto herself with how much she was drawing in her anger. The shield came straight into contact with her horns and the backlash of aether from the spell going awry sent ripples through the air collapsing the earthen walls and knocking them all to thier backsides. They would recover much quicker than Ikara though as her small size and slight frame lent to her physical frailty.

Chance ended up on his ass but after half a heartbeat and realizing he was neither ash nor missing any limbs he jumped back to his feet and rushed over to where the Auri girl and Helene were. He twisted the blade in his hands, ready to bring the flat of it down on her skull if she so much as moved towards either of them. He had to fight off the urge to vomit from the amount of aether in the air but forced himself to keep his lunch. However it had worked, somehow, their plan seemed to have succeeded.

[ @peacekeeper-xiv // Chance 》 @wicked-virtue // Ikara ]

[komainu-no-hana]

Our baby White Mage did so well.  It was so much fun to take her through it all! ♥

@ikara-esho @lloire14 @captain-tanner @bezzetserlein @yutikyis

[voidfirenate]

Day 4. Drew a friend's character a while back, but it wasn't great. Made a vow to redraw when I felt I'd made some progress. Well. . . Tadah! A little bit of progress, doin the gecko justice one step at a time :3 (Character belongs to: @ikara-esho )

[lloire14]

Broken Bonds

A lot has gone on. I’m not sure I’ll catch everything in here. Guess I better try though.

Umi continued to come by and I shared aether with her. One of the nights though, after we had spent part of the day travelling, something awful happened. Umi had woke from a nightmare and I offered to make her tea and something to eat to help calm her nerves. I made the mistake of asking her what she had dreamed about and that was when she lost control. It was like seeing everything that everyone had ever told me about myself brought to life. She couldn’t hear me. She lashed out with her magic uncontrollably, wind slicing through me and the furnishings alike. I tried to talk to her. To get her to hear my voice, but nothing I said got through to her. She reached out and grabbed the ice heart I wore around my neck, threatening to destroy it. I really couldn’t let that happen, so I put her to sleep with a spell.

She woke soon after, not remembering what happened. I sent he to sleep properly, not wanting to tell her what happened. Not wanting her to worry over what happened. I laid beside her, wondering if somehow I had passed on my curse to another. Times like that make it easy to hate myself.

She was gone before I woke the next day. Not uncommon and I had stayed up half the night worrying over what happened. So what do I do? I decide to head to see Soren and confront him about Aeritria. There is absolutely no way that could have gone worse except if I had killed him. Soren has known me a long time. He knows exactly what buttons to press. We started fighting almost immediately. I demanded that he stop trying to get himself killed and to give Aeritria what he owed her and be done with her. We fought more and more. When his first attempt didn’t get him the right response, he used Umi against me. He knew that would set me off, but with how the previous night had gone, he couldn’t know how badly.

We ‘fought’. That is to say he threw a few swings and mostly let me beat the shit out of him. I took it way too far. He said things that just drove that rage inside me to surface and I let all the pain and frustration that was building up out on him. Eventually I knocked him out, but nothing I shouted at him, none of the blows I stuck did a damn thing to help.

Afterward, I got rid of all the things Soren’d use to kill himself as the things he’d said worried me a lot. I made sure to patch up anything bleeding too badly. Took a while and Soren was still out. I decided it might be best to go and find a healer to check on him. I was about to head out when Destiney arrived. Soren had said before that she had been staying at the house quite a bit so I wasn’t surprised, but I did feel a bit ashamed. Still, she was a healer and Soren needed one. I showed her where he was, spoke with her briefly, and then left. I needed out of there, and he needed me to be gone when he woke up. I hoped that mayhaps Destiney could get through to him where I could not. How messed up is my life that I can comfort and understand Aeritria, but Soren is a mystery to me? I owe Destiney a drink. Mayhaps once she’s forgotten she’s mad at me. Hah.

I went out to the Shroud. To my favorite place in all of Eorzea, and I began to try and test my magicks against steel. Pouring aether I drew in into the blade, each sword broke or shattered. Some swords held longer than others, but none of them seemed capable of handling the aether. I spent a long time in quiet contemplation before at some point I decided to call for Umi. I had made a decision.

She agreed to meet me. When she arrived, she wanted to know about my busted lip and hand. I told her about the fight with Soren, but then I told her about what happened to her the previous night. I told her that we shouldn’t spend so much time together, be so close. She almost let it go, but she had to say something. I tried to turn away, let it be, but I couldn’t. Pride. It’s a dangerous thing. She got angry, I shouted. She told me she could do whatever she wanted. I told her that she couldn’t if it involved me too. I tried so hard to get her to see it was dangerous to be near me. She didn’t care what I had to say. Somehow we got on the subject of what I wanted. I kissed her. What the hells is wrong with me? I don’t mean a small kiss, or some soft kiss. A real kiss. We spoke more, came to something of an agreement. She asked me why I had kissed her. I told her it was because I wanted to. It seems our agreement is we’ll both do what we want to, consequences be damned? Then she left. Back out into the world to hunt things she needed down. Where did this woman even come from? I left the conversation feeling frustrated and happy. How does that even happen?

I went back to my training for a day or two. I went through so many swords. It seems the larger the sword, the better it holds aether. It makes sense, but it’s frustrating as I am best with a broadsword or a longsword. The only sword I haven’t broken thus far is an old claymore I had laying around.

At one point Soren called me over the pearl and told me Helene had been hurt. He mentioned that it was in part because of her armor and asked if I’d make her a set. I agreed and travelled to Limsa to forge her a new set. Soren agreed to have it delivered anonymously, so I left my usual trademark off the armor. I had it delivered to him so he could make the arrangements. We agreed to talk later.

Deciding to take a break, I travelled up to Tailfeather. My contact there had my messages. One of the Vath I worked for before was requesting Nanka eggs and meat again. I figured a bit of hunting would be harmless and might take my mind off other things, so I gathered my gear and headed north. I’d barely left to town  and started on the trail when I noticed a huge lump up on one of the arching roots. Climbing up it, I found out the lump was a man, half-starved and unconscious. Then I found out it was Caedmon.

I helped get him back on his feet with food and water. It turned out he was hunting down treasure. We talked a bit about what had led to him being unconscious in the woods and then I offered him a meal for his story. He agreed and we went out in hunt of food. It wasn’t long before we had our kill and made camp. I set about cooking and Caedmon told me his tale.

I won’t go into details here because it is his secret to keep, but needless to say, Caedmon found an artifact that might be very useful, but it comes at a cost. I agreed to help him hunt down the treasure he was after and we discovered that somehow, I was able to use the artifact without the same repercussions he faces. I think it may be how aetherically attuned I am. Caedmon was beyond excited and decided to look further into it. I agreed to help him later and we parted ways.

Part of our talk though, had been about magic and how we had both set ours aside for different reasons. That got me thinking, so after I finished my hunt for the Vath and got some rest, I struck out for the Shroud. I went out to that manor out there with the tragic history and I called Umi once again.

She came, and we spoke briefly. I explained that I needed to be sure she didn’t face the same triggers I did and that I wanted to push myself to conquer my fears. The wailers were having a hard time with the voidsent which had invariably returned so they had no qualms letting us give them a hand.

Death, pain, violence. The place has seeped in it. I could hear things almost immediately. We discovered that the voidsent had done a good job of taking over the place once again and the wailers were losing badly. Half of them were possessed already. We fought our way through the manor but I started to lose myself. I guess Umi saw that. She wanted to protect me. So she tricked me and ran ahead. I managed to get myself back somehow and noticing her missing, gave chase. I followed her path until we reached the source.

She was weak. I was still fighting back the whispers. She wanted to face the creature alone, but I asked her to trust me. We fought together and destroyed the creature… but it was enough to push me over the brink. Umi though, Umi pulled me back.

We left the manor and spoke outside. She told me that she might disappear and she didn’t want me to look for her. I was upset of course, but I promised her that I would be there waiting for her when she returned.

We went back to my apartment and I set about making soup. Umi asked me if I was afraid of her. I hate how I seemingly cannot lie to her. It’s bothersome. I told her I was. That I was afraid I was falling in love with her and I would lose her. We spoke a bit more. Confessions on my part I suppose. I went and sat beside her as we ate and she asked about what I had heard in the manor. I told her everything. She said something. Something that was probably just an off-hand comment, but it made me happy. She told me that being there, in that moment with me, she was happy. What more could I really ask for than that?

Then she asked me something I was not expecting. She asked about binding our animas as I had suggested a while back I told her I didn’t think it was a great idea all things considered now that she had another plan in place. She seemed intent on trying to cleanse the whispers and taint from me. I tried to decline. It was around then that she started to seem ill. I tried to convince her to take my aether, but she refused. She told me that we were already bound, if only a bit. I didn’t believe her.

We discussed it a bit more. I began to worry that she was right and feared what I had done to her. She curled up against me, too tired. Having her close like that, I just wanted to make her feel better. To be the source of her comfort. She was too weak to drain aether and I dared not try to force it. Before she fell asleep, she mentioned that if we were bound we’d be stuck together forever. Mayhaps she meant it as a warning, so why then, did it make me smile? She fell asleep there in my lap, and there I sat, petting her for half the night.

The next day I left for Dravania to fish. Soren called. I agreed to head back to talk with him. I apologized for going overkill when we last saw one another, but then he tried to remind me that the house was mine as well. My home. I disagreed with him. At least this time it did not come to blows. I left and returned to Dravania to think. Not just Aeritria it seems, even dragons make more sense to me.

It wasn’t very long before Umi found me. At first I didn’t question how. She asked about Soren. Why I hadn’t mentioned him in a while. I told her about our latest disagreement and she demanded that I make it right. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually she got me to agree to at least try. I called for him over the pearl and there was no answer. Umi and I spoke more. She’d gotten it in her head that if I tried to make things right with Soren, she’d grant me a request. She didn’t like my first request, so I came up with another. I wanted to know if she’d always been honest with me. She said she had. She seemed so tired, I lifted her up and carried her. It seems silly, but in a way it was sweet. She let me pamper her a bit. Unusual for her. She then wanted to know about what I had refused to ask of her as my request. The thing I told her I would want her to find on her own and wouldn’t request of her. I told her. I wanted her to care for me the same way I cared for her.

I tried Soren again. He finally responded. I agreed to go back and talk to him. We hadn’t left yet when Umi managed to surprise me. She kissed at my neck, just a breath away from nipping there. Every single time I think I have her figured out she pulls something new. She’s not so innocent or naïve to not know what she’s doing. I know that. So what was it then? Did she do it on instinct? To see how I’d react? Just because she wanted to? I had to ask her not to. I swear at times she’s trying to push just how far she can take me before I give up all my self-control. I mean, what was I supposed to do with that? Stare at her blankly? I try to be as steel-willed as possible. A rock to lean against, but I’m still a man. She knows that right? I swear if she truly put in the effort, I’d be putty. I’ve got to find a way around that. Back to wearing more armor around her. It’s incredibly frustrating when you are trying to keep yourself from going after what you want, and that same thing is trying to draw you in. I just wish I understood her motivations better. I can’t let her make me into putty. Have to find a way to deal with that.

Well, a quick exit later, we arrived at Soren’s. Damn… glad he doesn’t read this. Our place. I guess it still doesn’t feel like home. I’m never there. Umi stays at the apartment with me. Maybe I should spend some more time there. Just so it stops feeling so distant.

We went inside and I explained to Soren what I had meant to say the first time. I guess I had an epiphany. I realized I was taking away their choices. All of them. Destiney, Helen, Soren, Ikara, even Umi. Every time I tried to push them away for their own good, I was telling them that they didn’t have a right to decide their own fate. Even if I think I’m right, I have no right to make that decision for them.

We spoke a bit more, but then Umi seemed to notice what was up with Soren. All his hidden injuries his new girl had given him. She insisted on healing them. I’ve not seen Soren so scared a long long time. He followed me downstairs and she eventually talked him into letting her see to his wounds with traditional medicine. She patched him up and then tried to give him something for the pain. I am not sure what came over me. She would have listened just by telling her to stop. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Why? That didn’t help anything. I got her to agree to no pain meds but she insisted on an herb to treat infections. Soren agreed reluctantly and we returned to Joundi’s to fetch the herb.

She looked exhausted and I just wanted to stay there to care for her. Healers though, always worried about others. She insisted I go back to give Soren the herb. I agreed eventually. Just before I could leave, she said she would seek a way to break the bond we share. I don’t think I want her to. Even if I wasn’t scared that it might damage one of us. It is comforting knowing I am always with her and she with I.

I left and returned to the house. I spoke to Soren more. He admitted he was still angry and I assured him that I would try harder to be a better friend. I finally got him to take the medicine in tea. He downed it all in a few ticks and it wasn’t long at all after that where he seemed out of it. Another sleep spell. I’m getting good at these again. I helped him over to his bed and then crashed out in my own.

It’s been a busy few days. Mayhaps things will finally calm down some.

[betaxiv]

Random Factoids Beta

The Basics:

❖ Name: Beta “Phoenix” Imito ❖ Age: 15 (2) ❖ Deity: Byregot, The Builder ❖ One good trait: Cheerful / Lighthearted  ❖ One bad trait: Denialism

Habits:

❖ One bad habit: Overworking. I get bored too easily to sit still.

❖ One good habit: Hardworking. They go hand in hand

❖ One habit they can’t break: Scratching at my ears when I am unsure of something or trying to hide something.

❖ One they’ve broken: Faking a smile at every bad thought. I only do it most of the time now.

❖ What they’re afraid of: Being forgotten.

Family:

❖ Their parents names: Mother: Unknown, Father: Unknown, Adoptive Father Figure:  Lucilius Smit

❖ Their siblings names: No known living siblings.

❖ Other relations: None

❖ Favorite childhood memory: I don’t remember being a child exactly, but since I’m still so young I’d say the first time I tried chocolate ranks pretty high up there.

❖ Favorite childhood toy: I didn’t have toys before I started living in Gridania. Now I have a shelf dedicated to them. It’s gotta be a tie between my model reaper and my model Alexander.

❖ Embarrassing story: There was this one time this girl I liked kissed me and then set my tail on fire when I said I didn’t wanna marry her.

❖ Favorite family member: Umm... Lucilius?

❖ A story about that family member: Lucilius couldn’t offer me much. One of the things he could though were tools. I remember he gave me a wrench one morning and asked my to tighten the bolts of the project he was working on. I did that, but then I also removed half the panels on the floor of my room. He was not happy when he came home. Especially since it took him a bell to find me. I had found the crawl spaces and ended up under his room.

What they prefer:

❖ Coffee or tea? COFFEE! Coffee coffee coffee! It’s so good!

❖ Showering in the day or night? Umm... whenever I’m dirty I guess?

❖ Taking baths or taking showers? Shower for sure. I get way too much grease and dirt on me. It’d turn into a mudbath.

❖ Writing or reading? Drawing? Writing I guess. Blueprints!

❖ Platonic or romantic love? Mostly platonic. This romance stuff is still really really new to me. I do like it though.

❖ Iced tea or lemonade? Cooooffffffeeeee!

❖ Ice cream or smoothies? Ice cream! Chocolate usually. I’ve heard rumors that there is a coffee flavored kind though...

❖ Cupcakes or cake? Cake for sure! But topped with icecream. Or maybe a Rolanberry shortcake... mmm...

❖ Beach or mountains? The mountains. I’m not a big fan of water. I fell off the ship my first time to Limsa. Learned I could swim though. I like high places and feeling like I can touch the stars. Plus! That’s where all the iron comes from!

Tagged By: (Stole it from @ikara-esho )

Tagging: Hmm, naw.