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1Powell05/11/2019
2(An envelope arrives for Mist, delivered by a very old Moogle. Accompanying the letter inside is a single photo, and a pressed rainbow blossom.)
3
4"Mist,
5
6This is a longshot. I don't know if it'll ever reach you, but the moogles say they have their ways.
7
8I don't even know if you're real, or still the girl of my dreams.
9
10Nevertheless, these are for you. Grew them myself. And I'll see them by my side, every morning when I wake.
11
12All my love,
13
14S"
15
16 
17Powell05/12/2019
18(A second envelope later follows the first, containing another photo, and another pressed rainbow brightlily.)
19
20 
21๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?05/15/2019
22
23It's late and she's had too much to drink. She knows that, she knows that, and as Seyka and Sanary sing loudly off key for the poor patrons of the Gold Saucer, and Cassandra pours herself another drink, she finds her feet moving without her. From the lounge to the lower floor she moves, the tail on her rump bouncing with every step she takes. It's a cute accessory to go along with the bunny suit, but it certainly feels a bit out of place. It draws her attention to the prismatic scales showing on her arms, hips, and legs, and a tiny appreciative sigh escapes her. Letting the world view her as a tailless au ra certainly trumped the truth in her case.
24
25There's a melancholy plaguing her, proven with the sluggish motions. She turns her back, resting it against the abandoned game in progress, a prize falling from the moogle's paw. Somewhere, an echo of a gate opening to a jumping puzzle fills the air, and she finds herself entirely alone once the whirlwind of energy passes by. It's a prick, a pang, a coil that makes her feel like a petulent children; she allows it to take root and fester in her heart (much like the poison left behind by the Lambs of Dalamud in their effort to summon the All-Mother into the world using her form as a vessel.)
26It's late and she's had too much to drink. She knows that, she knows that, and as Seyka and Sanary sing loudly off key for the poor patrons of the Gold Saucer, and Cassandra pours herself another drink, she finds her feet moving without her. From the lounge to the lower floor she moves, the tail on her rump bouncing with every step she takes. It's a cute accessory to go along with the bunny suit, but it certainly feels a bit out of place. It draws her attention to the prismatic scales showing on her arms, hips, and legs, and a tiny appreciative sigh escapes her. Letting the world view her as a tailless au ra certainly trumped the truth in her case.
27
28There's a melancholy plaguing her, proven with the sluggish motions. She turns her back, resting it against the abandoned game in progress, a prize falling from the moogle's paw. Somewhere, an echo of a gate opening to a jumping puzzle fills the air, and she finds herself entirely alone once the whirlwind of energy passes by. It's a prick, a pang, a coil that makes her feel like a petulent children; she allows it to take root and fester in her heart (much like the poison left behind by the Lambs of Dalamud in their effort to summon the All-Mother into the world using her form as a vessel.)
29She shakes her head. Fiercely. Because those thoughts don't help. Not at all. No, she's happy. She is! She just... needs a moment to sulk. Rising, she adjusts the bunny ears and nods to herself, and puts on a smile. It doesn't suit her to be down. Going full speed ahead is more her style, anyway.
30
31There's a moment of hesitating. Her hand falls, pressing against the rainbow brightlily flattened against her outer thigh, flush against her skin due to the fishnet stockings. A soft reminder she keeps on her. Whatever mystically properties it has, it'll get her through the night. (As will more wine.)
32 
33Powell05/16/2019
34"So yes, that's the job. Lord Godbert thinks there's a possibility his son may have ended up in Norvrandt... and he'd like you and the others to keep an eye out for any information in the field."
35
36Schezar rubbed his eyes, absently tugging for a moment at the necktie he wore. He never really liked putting on suits, even for the big meetings - felt way too constricting. The highlander leaned back against the railing, glancing over his shoulder down at the bright lights and bustling noise of the Gold Saucer below. "We 'aven't even been to this First World yet - don't even know if it's real an' exists - an' already we're solvin' First World problems."
37
38He grumbled, glancing over at Adanelle. As always, the elezen was crisp and elegant in her formal dress and spectacles - far more diplomatic than he was. "It pays to be on th' Mandervilles' good side. We'll take th' job." Somewhere distant down below, drunken, joyous singing came from the bar area. He turned, leaning over the railing, as his COO answered, "Very good. I'll go and draw up the terms of the contract."
39
40Schezar nodded. Squinting for a moment, he watched one of the distant figures down below - a staff member? Dark hair, fishnets, seemingly raen horns. She seemed to fiddle for a moment with her bunny ears, her back turned. But even from that far distance, her prismatic scales seemed to gleam, more real than the fake lights of the casino... something oddly familiar...
41
42The adventurer paused, noticing his colleague still standing by his side, her arms folded. "Summat else ye needed, Ada?" He turned back to her, a striking figure in his own formal black wear. The elezen gave him another keen look before she answered, "Are you still having those dreams?"
43
44That brought a frown to his lips. He turned again, looking down toward the lower floor, far below - but the au ra had seemingly vanished for the night. He shook his head. "No," Schezar lied. "Jus' dreams, those were. S'time to focus on th' missions at 'and."
45
46"Very well. We need you and the others at 100% for this expedition." Giving her business partner one last, lingering look, Adanelle turned and walked back toward the Mandervilles' main office.
47 
48Powell05/17/2019
49Schezar stared skeptically at the freshly installed device. "Ye sure this contraption'll work? It'll be wha' brings us to th' First, is it?"
50
51The namazu engineer nearby rubbed stubby fins together. "Once properly calibrated, yes, yes! And once you've attuned to a proper aetheryte on the other side. Presuming all goes well, it should--"
52
53"An' why again did we 'ave to put it in me 'ouse?" The hyur glanced over his shoulder, watching whiskers twitch nervously. "Erm... well... you have security measures and wards aplenty here, yes, yes! Same as with your office, yes? We will complete setup there, as well. Per the contract terms."
54
55Schezar shook his head, looking back again at the crystalline spire. His eyes drifted down toward the nearby rainbow lily, carefully tended and nurtured each morning. "Alrigh'. Finish th' other one, as well." He exhaled as the engineer excitedly scampered off.
56
57"...I 'ave to know. An' see her with me own eyes."
58
59 
60๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?05/19/2019
61“Sche. Sche, wake up. Breakfast is going to get cold!”
62
63He’s had a rough few days. With everything going on around him, that’s to be expected. And maybe it’s why his mind has given him a small reprieve in dreams that day. In the form of small hands that poke his forehead in an effort to rouse him and silk that falls across pale skin, and messy black hair yet to be properly combed, and the scent of rice and fish that would make anyone’s stomach growl.
64
65She hums lightly and nuzzles his neck with a cold nose before moving out of the bed — their bed, his mind desperately supplies for him in the haze of the dream, because it is exactly that and he needs something good in his life at the moment — to pad across the floor to the kitchenette. “I think we’re out of soy sauce, so I improvised. It’ll be a bit on the sweet side since I used mirin.”
66
67Mist turns, a smile on her face, and ladle in her hand. A ring, silver band with a heart-shaped diamond, on her finger. “Come eat. You’ve got a busy day and students to teach. They’re eager to see you since we’ll be away for a few days. Can you believe our luck? Getting to dive for treasure in the Ruby Sea is going to be great!”
68 
69Powell05/19/2019
70https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Qc9Q5d3I8
71
72He stares at her finger, then at her. Raven dark hair instead of green. Mist's sweet smile. The sight and thought of the ring, at first, brought an instinctive reaction to his mind: never again.
73
74Here, however... as he felt the touch of her cold nose to his throat, his tension drained away. Here, in dreams, it was alright. If only it had been her. "Maybe even go visit th' auspices while we're out there, eh?" he answered softly, the faint shadow of a smile ghosting his lips. "An' Princess Kurenai." He reached out, touching her fingers that held the ladle, drawing close - his lips pressing warmly, fully, against hers.
75
76Schezar drew back a few moments after the kiss, offering her another warm smile. "Mornin', luv." He glanced over at a window, watching the sunlight stream in from outside. "I'll ask Chloe to 'elp with a few more rice bowls. Can't 'ave th' little buggers starvin' after training, after all." Were his house staff and servants even here in this dream too? Was it even his house, or hers? Or theirs? Didn't know. Best not to sweat the details. It was a dream, after all.
77
78He yawned, glancing around the room. "Suppose I'd best put a shirt on." He turned again, padding back near the bed.
79
80If only it had been you.
81YouTube
82まる
83Sword Art Online Original Soundtrack Vol 1 03 everyday life
84
85 
86๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?05/19/2019
87The soft kiss to welcome the day returns itself in full, and while she is keen to abandon breakfast all together to indulge other bits of her baser desires, the thought of leaving it all in the hands of others doesn’t sit well with her. She’s already proven that by making her view on his lifestyle extremely well known; where he goes, she goes. Where she goes, he goes. It isn’t because she is worried over his safety or doubts what he can do, but because she wants to be part of it. To make him part of it. 
88
89It’s a big wide world out there. She doesn’t plan on slowing down too much for many years to come!
90
91“Chloe has her hands full with Alysia.” Mist skews her face up at that. “Honestly, she has it in her mind that cookies are for breakfast because she can do anything she puts her mind to. I wonder who gave her that idea.”
92
93There is a mischievous giggle from the partition door that slides open. Two small children, one with messy black hair who is holding his auburn-haired sister’s hand, peek in. The boy is clearly a few years older, keeping a respectful and curious gleam in his eyes, while the girl wiggles and bounces forward to throw herself at Schezar. “Daddddddy!! Made ‘ooky!”
94
95“She burned them,” the boy smiles. “I ate two.”
96 
97Powell05/19/2019
98He slowly turns, Mist's words registering in his head as the door slides open. He blinks once as Alysia tackles him back down into the bed, the little lass' melodic giggling filling the room, her grabby hands wrapping in a hug around his waist.
99
100The older man is suddenly afraid. Afraid to breathe, to say a word, for fear of the dream ending - waking up alone again in his chambers. But he runs his fingers through the girl's hair with a faint, choked chuckle, and murmurs back. "Best listen to your mum, Aly-cat. Cookies are a sometimes food."
101
102Schezar looked up toward the boy, with Mist's raven-dark hair, and hints of his own highlander features. A thoughtful, conscientious young lad. Both children's scales were beginning to come in, hardening over time as they aged. The adventurer swallowed, his throat dry. "C'mere, Riou."
103
104The boy tilted his head curiously, but approached. "What is it, dad? You're acting a little strange--" He pulled both young ones into a powerful hug, muscled arms wrapping gently around them. Riou blinked, while Alysia squirmed and giggled some more.
105
106"Sorry. Sorry. Yer righ'. Yer old man is bein' a bit odd." Schezar laughed, tears streaming freely down his face as Mist watched. Her knight, the man she loved - reduced to a grinning, weeping mess with his little ones. He took both of their hands, Riou on his right, Alysia on his left. Their smaller fingers intertwined with his much larger hands.
107
108"Tell ye wha'. Yer mum is the empress of this 'ouse, so we'd best ask permission. Luv - could we each 'ave one of Lady Alysia's burned cookies fer breakfast, to go with th' fish an' rice?" Schezar's eyes twinkled playfully, in spite of the tears. "Jus' one each."
109
110* * * * *
111
112Somewhere distant, in another space, another life, the highlander's voice finally answered.
113
114Zodiark... if ye spoke true... if ye can give me all this... then I consent. I agree.
115
116I will become yer Warrior of Darkness.
117 
118๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?05/20/2019
119He knows it is breaking at the seams the moment Mist’s mouth moves without her voice coming through. Alysia reaches up with sticky hands to pat his cheeks, leaving an even stickier kiss near his jaw, and Riou leans more into the embrace as seconds pass, wrapping his arms finally around him in return. 
120
121It’s Mist’s voice, but the context is different. “Oh. Oh, um. Hm. That’s odd.” He hears himself ask why. “It’s just... I love papanasi, but the smell is making me a bit queasy.” There is a jest in his response, but she sounds distant. “No, it’s just... last time I started feeling sick from my favorite foods were when I was...” She doesn’t finish, and even without seeing it, the context clues are clear. 
122
123It’s another scene he can hear snippets of as the dream crumbles, darkness creeping in on the sides. Alysia’s sticky hands still on his face. Riou pulling back. Mist holding her hand out to him, giving royal degree for cookies with today’s breakfast.
124
125“I love it here. You can see all of Kugane from this tower.” She laughs, her voice bright. “It feels like we can reach the stars from here. But I wonder, do you think you could land on that post? If you do, I’ll give you a prize— Sche I’m joking DON’T JUMP—“ There’s silence, then a fit of giggles. “By the Twelve, you’re insane!”
126
127The sticky hands are gone. The entire room is gone, void of the personal touches added, replaced by the familiar. A sweet dream, if only for a moment, shown to him by one who would choose him for the coming events.
128 
129Powell05/20/2019
130The dreams grow more vivid. The auracite has helped me recall more detail, where once so much was a blur. 
131
132Five years ago, Laleta said when she pulled me out from beneath the rubble at Carteneau,  that someone had saved me. I know it was Mist. She vanished that day, and I never found her again, since. 
133
134These dreams, these visions - I don't believe they're coincidence anymore. When I was a boy, I asked Mist who she was. Where she came from. Where she was going. 
135
136She always giggled, always gently deflected. Is there someone else she loves? Does she have a family? Was she wed? 
137
138I don't fear the answers to these questions. What gives me pause is, if I find her, and she is content and happy... then what further need is there for me? 
139
140I believe she is stronger than I know. I believe she is more beloved than I know. I will remain her knight, her Sche... but if her life is complete, then maybe that knowledge alone is solace enough for me.
141
142Writing in this journal is more wearying than my daily kata.
143 
144Powell05/24/2019
145"Titania, we'd like to 'ave a word."
146
147https://youtu.be/xqxITX7WcNI
148YouTube
149jedipowell
150First World Problems
151
152 
153Powell05/24/2019
154
155 
156Powell05/25/2019
157Back to the present, outside dreams once more. Some time before the expedition to Norvrandt.
158
159"Righ', then. Wha' can I do for you, Kira?"
160
161The young lalafell looked up nervously at the much taller, much older hyur. Though Schezar's relaxed smile and demeanor remained soothing, she could still feel her heart pound in her chest. Kirara took a deep breath, steeling herself with a determined frown, and met his gaze evenly.
162
163"Sensei, I'm going to leave Ul'dah. Tomorrow, before dawn's light."
164
165She hoped for encouragement, condemnation - any sort of reaction. Instead, the highlander merely leaned back in his chair, continuing to watch her. Continuing to listen. Pressing past the lump in her throat, knowing she was half-babbling, she added, "Mother and father won't know. I've paid the servants handsomely. I'm joining a caravan heading for Mor Dhona... I'll make my fortune with the House of Splendors." Kirara balled her hands into fists, staying seated, though she nervously rocked back and forth. "I know we didn't train very long with the sword. I know I've got a long way to go. But I just wanted to thank you." She bowed her head. "I'm going to be an adventurer, like you!"
166
167Schezar tapped his chin with a finger, giving her another thoughtful look. Still saying nothing. The socialite's frown deepened. "You must think me foolish," she murmured. "A spoiled rich girl, doing as she pleases."
168In response, the hyur glanced over at the rainbow lilies he tended nearby. She still wasn't sure what they signified - she hadn't worked up the courage yet to ask. "I think yer a spitfire, Kira," he finally answered, his eyes still on the multicolored blossoms. "Yer chafin' under parents wha' don't listen to ye. 14 goin' on 15. Hungry t'get out there, an' leave yer mark."
169
170She nearly stood up in her seat. "Then you understand--"
171
172He looked back at her. "Ye see th' world as ye reckon it ought t'be, instead of 'ow it is." He clasped his fingers together, leaning forward on his desk. "That's not a bad thing, mind. But intent an' execution go 'and-in-'and." He reached out, giving her a light squeeze on the shoulder.
173
174"Talk to yer kin. At least once, instead of runnin' away. Ye never want to part ways without tellin' someone you love them." His student's face fell. "They'll never let me leave, sensei."
175
176Schezar smiled. "Try to give 'em a teeny bit more credit. They migh' end up surprisin' ye."
177 
178Powell06/04/2019
179Silvertear. Less than a moon before the expedition to Norvrandt.
180
181The water no longer shone. It caught and reflected the light of the crystals growing around and in it, but the lake itself was dull, lifeless. All life stripped away by Bahamut's cataclysm, over half a decade ago.
182
183"I understand how much that place means to you. But..."
184
185"But?"
186
187"But we ran every possible scan, Schezar. Aetheric, spectral, spiritual, magicite. Even if there were any supernatural activity before then--"
188
189"So yer sayin' I was a daft kid."
190
191Ada's pause and sigh over the linkpearl was short, but heavy. He knew how much of a pain he could be to the firm, co-founder or not. Still, he had yet to put a dent in their profit structure - meaning indulgences and use of company resources like this was still well within his power. "I'm saying that all this effort to find a childhood imaginary friend - and I'm sure she was absolutely lovely - might be a..." She trailed off, instantly regretting her words. He picked up on it immediately.
192
193"Go on, Ada. Say it."
194
195"No, it's unnecessary--"
196
197"Say it."
198
199"Schez--"
200
201"It migh' be a bit of a reaction to havin' had an imaginary marriage, innit?" Despite his words and cool, almost unnervingly calm tone, he continued to scan the waters, the readout display in his helm feeding data back to their home office.
202
203"You're too hard on yourself. You push yourself too much." His COO's tone was now reproachful, firmer. "That's why I'm our best field agent," he answered quietly. He paused again as the tower came into view. Locked, but still monitored by the Sons of Saint Coinach.
204
205"Ada, wha' about chronal?"
206
207"What?"
208
209"Scans fer chronal energies, Ada. Spacetime distortions, like from th' Alexander incidents."
210
211Her pause this time was longer, until... "Oh, my gods."
212
213He kicked his cybernetic, planeswalking steed into a gallop. "Keep scannin'. I'm headin' to th' water fer a closer look."
214
215"Schezar, there's definitely traces of some sort of dimensional energies near the tower, but I'm telling you, there's nothing there--"
216
217"Then I'll find nothing, I'll come 'ome empty-handed, and ye can dock me fer unpaid overtime. It's fine, Ada. Please, jus'... let me 'ave this. Let me at least take a look."
218 
219Powell06/06/2019
220"She has passed."
221
222You're right there.
223
224"You must accept this."
225
226You're right fucking there!
227
228The air was dangerously thin where he stood. Atop a high fragment of floating rock in the Churning Mists, malms above the surface, he could sense the dragons' eyes upon him. Watching from afar.
229
230The memory of his grandfather's voice seemed so distant, now. "We're all stories in th' end, me lad." He was barely five summers, gap-toothed, sitting on the elder monk's knee. Enthralled by fables of travelers, knights, and how far they would go for their princesses. "If ye should ever find yerself caught up in summat bigger than ye - in a grander tale bein' weaved by powers above..."
231
232Schezar slowly opened his eyes, returning to the present, Gehrman's words echoing in his mind. "...then play yer part. But choose yer own road. An' never stray. Fight for whom ye love, aye - but for yerself, too." He finally switched his armor's comms back on.
233
234"Gods, Schez." Adanelle's voice on the other end was immediate, calm, but strained. "Come back to the office. Please."
235
236He didn't answer. The elezen continued, "What you said earlier--"
237
238"Me childhood love was first empress of th' Allagan empire, Ada. High Allag's Nausicaa. Or an aspect of 'er, seemingly."
239
240Ada fell silent. Schezar looked down at the clouds below. "Ye think I've gone mad."
241
242"I think you're in a lot of pain, Schezar."
243
244The highlander took a deep breath. "Call ye back." Cutting comms again, he stepped off the edge, and descended at meteoric speed.
245https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QLiPmbNj7c
246
247I don't even  know where to begin. But I'll find you. Find the pieces of you. Make you whole again.
248
249Each island in his way exploded, sliced in half on his way down, greatblade seething with aetheric power. 
250
251Because I promised. And if I don't, then I may well just be insane. A dead man walking.
252
253He continued to fall - until Raigo burst forth from the clouds. The black machine sped towards the black-armored hyur, and he grappled onto his steed. Ebon wings beat powerfully, and together, they sped away.
254YouTube
255Sietsu Ryga
256FFXIV Shadowbringers Login Ft. Shadowbringers OST - We Fall (Unoff...
257 
258Powell06/07/2019
259The pain was all around her. Devouring her, here, in the space between worlds. Between words. Nothing more than a concept, a faded memory, now.
260
261Ẅ̸́̓ȟ̷͌y̸̓̓ ̸̎̏d̸̾͘i̷̐̈d̷̍̕n̶̋͑'̴͂̒t̶͗͝ ̴̑̑y̸̒͛o̷̽̀u̶̇̇ ̷͆͊t̶̔̂r̸̀̈́y̶͆́ ̸͑̌t̴̒͌ǒ̸͊ ̷̂͝s̸̑̿a̶̔̏v̴̔͠ë̴́̿ ̴͐̈m̵̂͂ë̶́͜?̷̓͑
262
263The blessing was gone. She could feel herself, her very being, her self, unraveling.
264
265Y̴̾͒ö̵́͌ú̵͉ ̴̋̈k̸͐̈́n̵̈́̊e̶̿̆w̸͑̏ ̷͒͠I̴̓͐ ̴̅̎w̵̍̊à̷̕s̶̅̄ ̷̇̅ď̷́y̶͛́ḯ̶̠n̵͒̓g̷̃...
266Did you forget just because I smiled and laughed with you?
267Were you too wrapped up in your personal drama?
268
269weddings
270
271lovers
272
273aether disintegrating
274
275I stood beside you, doing everything I could to help...
276YOU LET ME ROT WITHOUT TRYING ANYTHING!
277You... you... you...! I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!
278"That's not true," she whispers. Yet there's hesitance. Uncertainty.
279
280I would have given anything for you.
281"I..."
282
283You wouldn't give even half that in return.
284
285"They..."
286
287It hurts. It hurts!
288
289"It hurts..."
290"It hurts..."
291Only nothingness now. No more daughters. No more weddings. No more lake.
292
293no
294
295more
296
297She hated them and their selfishness so much
298
299https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTz06FoTF4o
300
301That wasn't true, she lov--
302
303Something was grabbing onto her arm. Hauling her up. No. Someone. Who? Impossible.
304
305Arm? What arm? She was nothingness. She was no more. No concept of a body. Of a life. She was scattered aether, broken fragments. Only the empress remained. Mist would be forgotten, along with her own undying hate and anger at being left to ROT and--
306
307"Ah, lass."
308
309She didn't know that voice. It was elderly. Almost ancient. Not draconic, though. And not nearly as old as her. But... kind? Wise?
310
311What use were kindness and wisdom when they left her to ROT
312
313It was a hyur. Highlander. Old, graying hair. Massive, powerfully built, nearly a roegadyn. Elderly. Blurred and misty at the edges. A ghostly apparition. One last hallucination before she herself was erased, surely.
314
315He pulled her self - what self? - up onto a small island. A concept of safe harbor. Why? Who?
316
317Gehrman Stormbreaker sat himself down with the first empress of Allag. She must've imagined, hallucinated, the fields of gold, the red flowers that grew around them. "Ye've had quite th' rough time of it, haven't ye?"
318
319YouTube
320Original Soundtrack
321Old Wounds | Piano Collections FINAL FANTASY XIV
322 
323๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/08/2019
324"Nausicaa, put that down." Her mother's chiding voice fell upon death ears. The woman shook her head and didn't try again. Dark hair pulled into a high ponytail, her father's breeches bending with every lunging motion, the farmer's daughter twists and turns at the training dummy against the apple tree a stone's throw from the small cottage bursting to full with delicious scents. Dinner will be done soon and she knows she has to hurry up, or else the meal will be devoured entirely by her brothers. But she doesn't put it down. Not until she goes about three more rotations with the wooden sword. In the fields of gold dotted with red flowers, a single small patch of rainbow ones linger near the tree holding up the dummy. Sweat dripping down from the side of her face is a clear indication of her work out's length and she relents only when her stomach begins to rumble, syncing up with the quota for the day.
325
326'Be more like a lady,' she can hear her mother even when the woman isn't there. 'It will be your duty to take care of your husband and family. Look at the callouses on your hands, girl! Look at your hair! No one is going to want you!' She grins to herself as she bounds forward to the cottage. So what if she wants to stray from the beaten path a bit? Maybe she wants to go off into the wide world and see what is out there. Staying still for too long is boring, and if there is anything she hates, it is being bored!
327I̴̛͝t̷̃̀ ̷̀̀h̵̊͝u̸̢͛r̴̐̓t̶̆͘s̴̑̕,̴̒̎ ̴̆̅ì̶͂t̷̃͌ ̴͛̚h̶̊͒ũ̵͗r̴͒̌ẗ̵́̈́s̶̐̋,̴̐̚ ̸͋̾ȉ̸̗t̴̛̉ ̸̓̕h̸̆̂u̴̔̋r̷̀͑t̷͑͊s̵̽̾.̴̑̍ ̸͑̂P̷͆͘l̷̀̉ě̸̛a̵͕̒s̷͐̓e̶̛̫ ̴̊̚m̵̉̓a̴͗̈ḱ̸̃ė̶͘ ̶͗̋i̶̽̒t̴̿͘ ̵̆͒s̷̓͂t̴̃͝ȍ̷̑p̴̅̚!̴̛
328She pauses. Breath catches in the back of her throat. The cottage is gone. The fields of gold and red flowers spread to the island she's upon. A man, aged features doing nothing to hide the sheer power he possess, speaks to her.  (Before him, the flickering distorted wraith takes shape, solidying into something more stable than the fragment trying to withdraw had been moments before.)
329
330A smile. Bright, vivid, full of life.
331
332"Have I?" Younger, so much younger than she was. Or will be. It is hard to tell. She tilts her head to the left and right, almost in the way a puppy would, a quirk that lasts long into adulthood. But she is not an adult, no, she is barely a wisp of a girl, the tender result of thirteen summers passing her by. Before everything disappeared in fire and blood, in the haze of one night that set her down and amazing and fearsome road.
333
334"I should have..." She pauses, her smile sobering a bit, bittersweet in nature. "I should have been there with them. If I had, I could have... done something. Anything." Nearby in the fields of gold, the ruins of a cottage can be seen, burned to the ground with embers still glowing. "And if not? I could have gone with them. I shouldn't have been the only one..."
335 
336Powell06/08/2019
337"Ah, lass. Could 'ave, would 'ave, should 'ave. Th' star continues to turn, an' our lives play out in th' mothercrystal's light." Was he a spirit? A memory? Impossible, they'd never met when she was still flesh. A notion, an idealized concept, from hours of listening to stories told by the lakeside? "Even one as ancient as yerself was a child, once. An innocent. Th' centuries of regret an' guilt only served to shackle ye."
338
339Whatever the blurred figure was, he flickered like a candle flame in the wind, and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Kindness, without mockery. "None of it was yer fault." He turned and gazed toward the remains of her home, the glowing embers.
340
341"Was quite th' life ye lived. Pain an' fire, then highmother to an empire, mightier than any since." Gehrman slowly shook his head, but as he looked back at her, he smiled.
342
343"Ye know, th' first few years me Schez kept wantin' to come back to Silvertear... then all th' times he stole away himself... I wondered. Like all gran'parents do. I watched from afar, before he was of age." He reached down to the flowers, seeking, looking.
344
345"Ye never meant him harm. An' he loved ye. Still does, even now." He straightened back up, and set another rainbow-hued lily in her hair, a star-stealing girl of 13 summers.
346
347"Well, this is yer life flashin' before your eyes. Your conceptual end. Where d'ye reckon we should go next?"
348 
349๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/08/2019
350"My conceptual end." 
351
352It hurts. It hurts.
353
354She stops. Raises her gaze, focus coming with clarity, and lets the slow realization of the stranger's words wash over her like the water of Silvertear. The place she came from and the place she went to. The place that haunts her dreams -- haunted? It's hard to tell when time ceases to matter -- for five years after waking up near the Sanctum of the Twelve. The place she wants to still... still... it doesn't matter what she wants, she supposes. The dead don't have a say in that matter.
355
356"You're Sche's..." She trails off again, eyes closing the world out for a moment. The grandfather she heard so much about but never could meet. One of her many regrets; to have seen him hale and hearty while he experienced his time would have been joyous. From him the line continued, their family tree a robust and rounded one. She envies him a tiny bit. To the girl bore from her daughter, she never got to know her. A grandchild in name and blood only. Another regret to the pile that threatened to reach the heavens.
357The cottage stood unburned. It was different, a bit bigger, somewhere nearby on the outskirts of the Shroud where it met with Mor Dhona. An apple tree and brightlilies, and chickens clucking as a little boy spread kernels of corn about. Dirty faced, pigtails, and messy hands; that was the little girl following him, making mud pies that will be a present for daddy when he got home. She walks unseen by the two and enters the house, the scent of pie and stew battling for dominance. It's a cozy place with wood stacked high by a masonwork fireplace and stairs leading to the upper portion, and a worn kitchen that's seen plenty of use.
358
359"You know, I..." This wasn't a memory. No, yet part of an ending all the same. The ending of a quiet, selfish dream she used to hold near and dear to her heart. Before Carteneau. Before he vanished from her life one day, too many things left unsaid. Before everything crumbles -- crumbled? -- around them. She moves up the stairs, a ghost haunting something she'll never have. Into the bedroom she goes, sinking down on the bed. It's sturdy, soft and warm, with a knit quilt and pillows smell like spring flowers. "I wanted to build him a home with him. When he got older, I wanted to tell him everything. To bring him to a place like this where we could grow old together, travel the world, and maybe even try saving it sometimes. Because he's strong. He's got the fate of a hero written in the stars."
360
361She smiles, swinging her small legs back and forth. "His fate and mine, though... I saw the signs. The warnings. I knew he would grow restless with the world, with himself, and it would divide us. If I could have followed after him, I would have." It's a confession she's kept to herself for so long. Even now as those memories, precious things lost in the flow of the Archon's spell, begin to unwind, she aches. Something stolen from both of them.
362Letters written in a bottle. Feelings her heart could not contain. Sent out to the ocean for years. Never to reach the one they were intended for. Never to reach the one she couldn't remember the name or face of.
363
364"It's not fair," she finds herself muttering like a petulant child. Fingers curl toward her palms and she huffs, no trace of the regal empress remaining in her at the moment. Only the little girl she once was. "I've done what the Mother has asked. I've bowed, I've fought, I've risen above it all, and for what? For a promise that if I do this, I might be able to live? What good is that if it is ending before it has been given a second chance?!"
365
366It hurts. It hurts, but...
367
368"I don't want to die like this!"
369 
370Powell06/09/2019
371https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKw5gVYoWXk
372
373Gehrman listened to the little girl speak sadly, longingly, of her hopes and dreams for a happier life with his grandson, even as the pain gnawed at the corners of her being. To some, it might have seemed strange to think of the regal empress as a young dreamer, that star-stealing girl from another age, but the monk understood that it remained a part of her, a fundamental aspect of her being.
374
375And as she murmured about her wish for a second chance, her desire to live, he smiled sadly himself. There they were, the words he'd been waiting for. He reached up one massive hand, and poked a gentle finger to her chest, directly upon her heart. Where he touched seemed to appear a tiny light - a flicker of candle flame, or a firefly's glow, seemingly snuffed out all too easily - yet it endured. That single point of light, like a seed he'd planted, continued to glow from within her, even after his touch receded.
376
377"Yer right. S'not fair, Mist." He gazed around the tiny cottage they stood in, looked down fondly at the little boy and little girl outside, at their chickens and mud pies. "We're Warriors of Light. We sacrifice so much fer th' greater good, for th' Mother's will. Only to end up like this. Alone. Sad. Afraid."
378YouTube
379supershigi
380Rakuen "Searching my Life" (Laura Shigihara)
381
382 
383Powell06/09/2019
384He sat down on the bed beside her, seemingly a miracle that it held in place, given his massive muscle and bulk. "But tha' will to fight, and tha' will to live, is all you have left, now. For th' moment." The scene around them seemed to shift, distort - blurring through other moments in her life, as they watched from the sanctuary of the bed. The fall of her empire. Schezar visiting her at the lakeside. Reuniting with her daughters, and the victories and joy they enjoyed together. The slow, creeping degeneration that ate away at her, hidden by glamour, until there was no more time left.
385
386Gehrman rested his hands on his knees. "I reckon that's why I'm 'ere now. Across time an' space itself, by Althyk's blessin'. To deliver ye this message." His gaze turned to her again. "Ye need to hold on to tha' will to live. To work through th' pain, even though it hurts. I'm not all-seein', all-knowin'... but summat tells me others are doin' all they can righ' now. Fightin' with all they 'ave, righ' now. To earn ye tha' second chance." He reached over, his much larger hand gently wrapping over hers, his fingers gently squeezing hers. "Tasks an' tests, missions an' sacrifices, for yer daughters, an' my grandson. So ye can return as a phoenix reborn."
387He gazed out again as the flow of time shifted rapidly around them, sometimes coming back to the the dream of the cottage, then blurring again amidst the different scenes taking place. For a few moments, it shifted to his own experiences as a fellow Warrior of Light, from another era - turmoil and intrigue upon the Isle of Val, and the chaos that ensued around the primal Eureka, fighting alongside Galuf Baldesion, years before Operation Archon. "An' summat tells me tha' ye'll have yer own tests to face, as well. Here, in th' space between worlds. Between words. Between life an' death."
388
389His gaze flickered over to her again. He had the same violet eyes. Older, but kind, just like her Sche's. "And upon me honor as a Stormbreaker, ye need not suffer an' face it alone." He closed those eyes, and began to hum - a gentle melody, a monk mantra. It brought healing, and dulled the pain in her being.
390 
391๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/09/2019
392There is laughter and there is tears, moments of uncontrollable rage fueling her actions, bouts of joy that leave her breathless in the grand scheme of things. A shining moment that stands out above most of the others where a boy and a girl, fifteen summers supporting them, rise their hands joined together in truimph. Their victory is well-earned, hard-fought, and the troops rally behind them. The two, Warriors of Light chosen by Hydaelyn, create an empire that begins to sweep across the entire world. In those beginning years there is still a child-like innocence and wonder, but time changes them as well. Where once was passion and sheer love, differences began to breed. He once told her to speak her mind and never left one true to silence her voice; until the day he became the one forcing her to be speechless.
393
394'You would challenge me in front of my council?' The slip of words gave it away. His council, no longer their council. A cheek turning to hide red blossoming upon sun-kissed skin. She conceals her shame in her chest. 'I will not have my woman raise her voice to me in front of her betters. Return to our chambers at once, Nausicaa. You are bordering hysteria if such actions are your first impulse.'
395
396Thinking back upon those days, before all the fighting and hatred shone through, it was that moment she began to move away from him. The path to becoming strangers. Their hands were forced, yes, but he could have fought harder against his own madness. To let her in and help him, to try to purify the crystal corrupted by an Ascian. To figure it out together, side by side, as they always did before. Instead he wanted her in her place, to become a perfect porcelain toy to admire from afar. To be used as he saw fit. To entertain and put on a show, and perform for the merriment of her betters.
397She comes to loathe that. She comes to loathe him and his wills and his whims and everything he stands for. Until she no longer holds love in her heart for the man she stood side by side with on the battlefield, freeing a country and raising an empire alongside. The man who held her hand gingerly through childbirth and used to laugh when they rolled into bed together after a long day of 'boring political drama.' The man who slowly moved out of reach, moving to a place she could not.
398
399"It's a theme in my life," she remarks with a ghost of a smirk. "Men I fall for deciding to move on without me. Whether it be for their personal ambitions or because of what they believe in, it is the same in the end. They go and I stay, and some way or another, it tends to cause a divide that cannot be easily crossed." She moves over, so much smalling than the massive figure, and settles down directly on his lap. Even as a spirit she's so cold to the touch, desireing a bit of warmth wherever she can. Even from a bodiless specter of the past.
400
401"I never asked him," Mist murmurs in thought. "Stormbreaker Clan. How did you become known as such?"
402 
403Powell06/09/2019
404After watching her memories unfold, from Xande's change to the birth of her daughters, Gehrman smiles sympathetically at her as she settles in his lap. Physical bodies or not, the presence of his spirit provided warmth and comfort - cold as her fragmented soul was, it felt to Mist like cuddling up to the warmth of a roaring fire. "Unchecked ambition is oft a poison to love, and th' true self." He nods apologetically. "I wish I could've taught me Schez tha' final lesson better. Maybe it would've spared ye and his kin so much pain." His eyes gaze out again at the starlit, ever-changing dreamscape. "I, too, wish I could've 'ad more time."
405
406https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUn549UmSlw
407
408At her question, he smiles gently again, seemingly glad for the momentary shift in topic. He raises a hand, pointing, and the scene changes again. "Me clan has many stories an' tales. Some apocryphal. Some with seeds of truth hidden in them." Multiple martial artists, highlander men and women, flash through the centuries, facing various challenges - demons, Allagan machines, rampaging xaela tribes, dragon broods, even other Eorzeans. "We tell th' young ones that our name is a metaphor. Tha' we stand for th' smallfolk throughout the eras, protecting them from storms wha' threaten th' peaceful quiet of their lives."
409
410The scene  shifts into a final one as they remain on the bed. A woman, body honed like steel, skin a light shade of blue, accompanied by stalwart auspices. The animal spirits fly and run toward their foe - a massive, towering tornado, seemingly malms high. A living voidsent hurricane, that roars as it thunders toward them.
411YouTube
412EpicMegaSauce
413Street Fighter 5 - Ryu's Theme (SFV OST)
414
415The half-roegadyn, half-hyur woman unleashes a roar of her own, her fist glowing with meteoric power. "Th' truth of th' matter is, our founder, Sieglinde, was a simple lass - much like yerself, from a nameless farmin' village. She led no empires, but she was among th' first in ancient days to unlock th' dance of chakra an' aether in our bodies." As her animal companions strike together, her fist crashes into the living tornado with a massive detonation of aetheric power.
416
417"Afterward, they named 'er Stormbreaker. Fer obvious reasons, as ye can see."
418 
419๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/10/2019
420Hope for the people. Those who rise above storms and break them. In the case of the clans founder, it became a literal experience. She listens and watches, content with the warm offered by the spectre of a man she never knew in years past. If she had been a bit stronger and tried to leave the lake, would things have gone differently? Would she have been able to steer Schezar from those horrific years he endured at Garlean whim? Could she have stayed by his side and helped him more through the growing frustration of Ala Mhigo's enslavement?
421
422"There is pride to be had in watching where one comes from and seeing where one goes." Sieglinde's strength is not something anyone can argue. Nor is she alone, her companions doing whatever they can. "Power is not enough. There must be understanding and kindness, and most of all, hope." No matter what era, what age, if hope flickered away, it was all for not.
423
424It's... exhausting, sometimes. (Vines grow near her ankles, blossoming flowers along the way) There is loss and there is pain, but there is so much joy in it all. (She closes her eyes, the flora and spectre warming her in equal measure) Fend off the coming storms and handle what can be handled, and prepare the next generation to do the same. (There's a smile and a soft 'thank you, gramps' before the vines begin to retreat from her, leaving a crystallized form situated comfortably on the visiting spirit's lap)
425
426To sleep. To rest. To gather. To hold on to that flickering light that refuses to die.
427__
428
429"There may be a way," the empress speaks to him when he visits the lake a second time. "But, there are some things you must understand, before doing this. You are to be an onlooker. A watcher. A... support, when needed. You are not to intervene or change things." She does not explain more than that. With his consent, his vision goes dark.
430
431Those he works with will find him completely unreachable for a full week.
432
433- - -
434
435When he opens his eyes, colors from the rising sun paint his vision with soft hues. The air stirs with life, accented faintly with flowers growing in vibrant spring, and chickens cluck to greet the day. It takes a moment to adjust -- both aethertically due to that energy being lower than what he is accustomed to and situationally in the aftermath of a perceived teleport -- but as there seems to be no one in the immediate area, time is on his side.
436
437Partially.
438
439Around him, the scene paints itself as something that tugs at the back of his mind. Over the hill and across a stream resides a small cottage that he can see from where he stands amongst a field a wheat. A stone's throw away resides a tall, ancient apple tree, still producing red fruit in the autumnal season. Cobblestone winds through the area to lead to a nearby town, one perfectly visible from the hill marking his arrival. The lack of a wall or any natural defenses leaves it ripe for the picking, and being a community clearly of farmers and storekeepers, it is unlikely there are many guards trained to handle threats.
440"Where are you heading, stranger?" There is no accusation or threat in the words. Light and airy, with an accent from a time long ago. A dog rushes by, golden fur a bit matted from running around the fields, and circles him anxiously. With a click of his owner's tongue, he falls back in line, padding back over to her. Woolen, muddy breeches blending into knee-high boots. The simplest sort of 'popato bag' tunic one can imagine. A basket full of bird seed to scatter for the meandering chickens held in the crook of one arm. But it is her hair decorated by a rainbow lily and her lavender eyes that give her away. She smiles, head cocking to the side. Young. Vibrant. Full of life. Just like she used to be all those years ago at Silvertear Lake.
441
442"You've got the look of an outlander to you," she hums to hold back the laughter bubbling within her. "Meracydian by the looks of you! Well, I suppose it matters not." The ravenette bounces forward, swinging her basket to spread some seed for the brood a fair distance behind her. "We've been receiving a lot of outlanders lately because of the festivities. That's why you're here, too?" 
443
444Fearless and trusting. Traits that will get a girl in trouble during times like these.
445 
446Powell06/10/2019
447The monk smiles, nodding in agreement as she speaks of hope, then watches the childlike empress crystallize upon his lap. With a soft sigh, he closes his own eyes, remaining still with her. Becoming her bulwark against the storm, shielding against further pain, while she recovers within her cocoon. This is to be my final battle, then. Here, at mine own conceptual end. Here, at the end of all things.
448
449"Gehrman, art thou sure of this?"
450
451In the real world, he opens his eyes. Althyk's avatar stands before him, with her ethereal glow. Around them, only the empty whispers of the Temple of the Fist remain to accompany his vigil. Schezar's angry last words to him as they parted were mere moons ago. It did not sting to be called coward, or traitor to the Mad King - it hurt far more to see the anger and desperation in that young, violet gaze. Of all his grandchildren, the boy was the closest to him in stature, and the fire of his spirit.
452
453He knows of the inevitable torture his grandson will undergo beneath Garlemald's yoke. Already has he wept countless tears for it. Every instinct of his being screams to go save him, spirit him away from that hellish fate. Yet he also knows, as well, the necessity of it. So that all things might be ordered and ready.
454
455It is the curse of Althyk's chosen. To see time for what it truly is - not a river, flowing in a single direction, but a tree - intertwining, with countless branches. Countless possibilities. "I've said me goodbyes to me kin. Me answer remains steadfast." Though still massive in size, his muscles have begun to thin, real-world flesh drawing sustenance no longer from water or food, only air and ambient aether itself. As he meditates, astrally projecting his soul, his true self, he can feel the eyes of his fellow Fists watching. Ghosts.
456
457Soon, he will join them, while his form becomes dust. Leaving behind only his journal for Schezar to find, years from now.
458 
459Powell06/10/2019
460It hurts to see her face again. Because it's her. His fairy of the lake, his princess. Though with the bearing of a regal stranger, a ruler over an empire mightier than any other - how many times did he lovingly watch as she danced, naked upon the water? As she crawled on top of him contentedly, all those many nights?
461
462Hearing her conditions, he swallows, and nods. And as the darkness overtakes him, his last thought is, oddly... Hope Bisine got that gift, at least.
463
464Everything is unfamiliar when he comes to. No linkpearl to homebase and the office. No teleportation of his gear, his magitek armor, the blades he'd forged himself. Only the aether and chakra inside him, and the lifetime of training he'd received. His feet and fists. Even that, too, though, seems subdued - he is unsure of how much strength he can bring to bear. If he could even soulforge another weapon, even with E-Una-Kotor's teachings. Then, he remembers Nausicaa's warning, and hesitates to even try.
465
466Then...
467
468It's her. She's so young. Beautiful. He finds himself staring at the rainbow blossom in her hair, then blinks uneasily. He towers over her, still retaining his highlander size, his features, but...
469
470Every instinct screams at him to take her and run. Run where? He was only supposed to observe. The empress' command. "Uh, aye. Visitin', erm... some kin. Distant cousins. Fer the... festival."
471
472He takes a deep breath. "Ye've a keen eye, miss. Me name is..." He pauses. "...Ethan."
473
474Where did that come from? He didn't know. All he knew was the impossibility of seeing her again. Happy and free. And how it broke his heart. "Um... do ye need 'elp with carryin' that?..."
475 
476๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/10/2019
477
478"Aren't you a gent," it's a tease in lifted tones, though she doesn't pass the basket over. "My mother will have my head if someone helps with the chores." It's a way of explaining as she keeps walking, brushing some stray hair behind her ear-- wait, ear? Most certainly, the horns and scales he's intimately familiar with gone entirely, midlander features strong upon her. "She's never been one to turn down a passer on their way to another destination, either. Break your fast before continuing on your way, Ethan. Name's Nausicaa."
479
480Between the fields of grain stretching as far as the eye can see and the cottage with smoke piping from its worn chimney is the tree she stops at, gathering a few plump apples from it. This, at the very least, she allows him to help with, mostly due to the height difference between them. At one point she mutters how her brothers are usually the ones picking apples instead of her, but with the festival in full swing, they won't be awake until midday. Too tuckered out from having fun in the town.
481
482Behind a wooden door with lattice design resides a small living space, cob webs lining the ceiling and natural light spilling inside. Near the stove, straw can be seen spread out, and a few chairs close to creaking surround a circular table. The ravenette drops the basket unceremoniously near the door and rushes to the stove, quickly grabbing a nearby ladle to stir the boiling soup. "Make yourself at home. Father'll be back from the fields soon." Mother will too, either in the midst of fetching milk or eggs from their carefully raised livestock. Extended part of the family, really.
483She flops on one of the chairs, ignoring the creaky protest it makes from the abuse, and flashes him a grin. "What's it like where you're traveling from? I've never been allowed more than a stone's throw from the village. Always wanted to get out there and travel, and see all there is too see. But that ain't ladylike," a scowl forms at the word. Too many times said for her taste.
484 
485Powell06/10/2019
486As he racks his brain, trying to remember everything he's read up on Meracydia of old and the ancient era, the realization catches up with him. From behind, he finds himself staring - it's strange, seeing her hyuran features, and hearing her airy-light accent. But her raven-dark hair, her smile, her voice - these remained the same.
487
488"Thank ye. Mis-- Nausicaa." He listens as he follows behind her, his heart tightening a tiny bit further with every little detail. She had brothers. Parents. A family. The cryptic snippets she shared at the lake, when they were intimate, when she let her guard down - this was it, then. Not a dream, but the distant past.
489
490"Meracydia's a land of many peoples. Ents and dryads, hyur, tribes of centaurs and miqo'te... and everlastin' dragons." Sitting himself down on one of the chairs, he breathes deep of the soup's scent wafting from the kitchen. "We leave Bahamut an' his brood alone, though, for th' most part." He can't help but chuckle softly at seeing her expression.
491
492"Ladylike or not, there's a lot t'see out there. It's a big, wide world, Nausicaa." He takes a deep breath. "Summat tells me ye'll get to see it all yerself, too. In due time. Nothin' will stop ye from carvin' your own path." He pauses as a thought occurs to him - this might be the only time he ever gets to meet her parents. Her family.
493
494He hides his sadness beneath his smile. Boy meets girl. Mortal adventurer meets undying empress. I'm sorry for leaving you, all those years ago.
495
496This time, I won't run.
497 
498๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/11/2019
499She hangs off every word, moving only when breakfast's temptation is too much for her. Two pipping hot bowls of simmered meat and vegetables, a hunk of cheese, some bread leftover from dinner, and washed apples from the tree outside fill the table soon enough, and with the timing of someone who is all too good at predicting this sort of thing, she drags two more chairs over to the table. The door opens afterward, a broad-shoulder man holding it open for a woman barely three inches taller than Nausicaa, eggs filling her apron. Neither give pause at the sight of the tall highlander, going about setting the goods down. The man is the one who speaks, looking over his shoulder. "Outlander, Naus?"
500
501"Mhm! Found 'im out by the fields. Here for the festival," she replies in a quick easy explanation. "How is the other one doing?"
502
503"Not good. Fever hasn't broke." Her mother sighs, wiping her hands off on her apron, before moving closer to the table. She looks Schezar up and down, frizzy brown hair sticking to her face and neck from the morning workout she's already gone through. "Ye've got a good look ta'ye, boyo. Yer back as strong as yer face?"
504
505Nausicaa covers her mouth to hold back her laughter, but her father's chuckles beat her to it. "Leave the outlander be, cuisle mo chroidhe. He'll need his strength for the festival." Thick, dark hair. Lavender eyes and skin worn from overexposure to the sun. She takes after her father in appearance, and given a few more years, she'll be able to take better care of him. There are traces near his eyes, his mouth, of wrinkles that will only get worse with age. Proof of break backing labor to feed people nearby. Not a complaint to be had with it, either.
506"Ma dh ’urrainn dha ithe, faodaidh e beagan obrach a dhèanamh." 
507
508As the two go back and forth, she leans over, keeping her voice quiet. "Found an outlander boy in the fields two days back. Hurt pretty badly, so we've been tending to him in the barn. He don't talk much none to us about what happened. Can't set him off on his own yet. Not until he's got his strength back." She wrinkles her nose, pointing subtly toward her mother. "Apologizing for this is advance, but you might get roped up into helping fix a broken gate out back. She's damn stubborn when she wants to be."
509 
510Powell06/12/2019
511The homecooked meal is exquisite, and as her parents enter, he reflexively leaps to his feet, and bows. "Ma'am, sir. Sche-- Ethan. Met Mis-- sorry, Nausicaa on th' road. Thank ye for yer hospitality!" As he plops back down, he exhales, faintly red-faced. Smooth. Not awkward at all. You numpty.
512
513He tries to ignore the lump in his throat. Hides the sudden nervousness behind his smile. Take them with you. Tell them to run from the coming fire and ruin. So she can hold on to the peace that she never wants to leave.
514
515Yet he promised not to interfere. Only to watch, and understand. "I'm fairly 'andy with a hammer," he replies to her mother's question in a lighthearted tone. The words from their foreign tongue are unknown to him, yet melodic, with a lilt that reminds him of his own home. "An' I'm no stranger to good, 'onest labor. I'm yer workhorse, mum."
516
517As Nausicaa leans over and murmurs to him of recent events, disquiet begins to grow, an image forming in his head. He's always had a wild imagination, but this was inference and instinct. Suspicion, growing into logic. "Sounds unfortunate. What's th' lad's name?"
518 
519๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/12/2019
520"Are ye, now?" The word 'workhorse' ends the conversation between husband and wife, and the latter's eyes gleam with immediate interest. "Then take ye time in passin' through, outlander. If ye find yer family visitin' full up with their rooms, we've got plenty of space to make use of, aye." Food and board in exchange for work. Given another circumstance, Schezar may have found himself with holding a stable position as a farmhand, tending to the fields and the animals and watching over the stretch of land they lived on.
521
522"Athair, dè an t-ainm a th ’air a’ bhalach?" Nausicaa taps her knuckles on the table in time with the inquiry to capture her father's attention.
523
524"Ainm an leanaibh? A ’gairm Laha fhèin."
525
526"Laha," she repeats while watching her mother go about starting to knead dough for the evening meal's bread. "Hurt pretty badly. A boy no older than eleven summers, give or take. Laddy looks like he got left behind on the road. Once he's up and about, we'll do what we can for him, but it'll be up to him whether or not he accepts the help." Grabbing two of the remaining apples, she rises from the table and beckons for the russet-haired man to follow along. "Bidh mi a ’toirt a-mach mi a-muigh còmhla rium."
527
528"Mar a tha thu trom ort, Naus." The aged man's face cracks with a smirk. "Tha thu cinnteach gun toir Xande òg caoimhneas dhut a bhith a ’nochdadh ùidh ann an taobh a-muigh?"
529
530There's a pause. A moment where she seems to realize what she just said before she stomps on the ground, cheeks flaring with a vivid flush. "Na bi cho creagach! Dè tha thu a ’smaoineachadh a bhios mi ga chuartachadh thairis air an fheansa?!"
531
532Her mother interjects, "Ma nì thu, a ’chaileag, bidh thu nas fheàrr a shuidheachadh dà uair cho math."
533"...Màthair!"
534
535The laughter that erupts at her expense has her storming away, unable to look at Schezar's face on the way out. When he finally calms down, her father is still stuck with a smug, lingering smirk on his face, and winks toward the highlander. "Sorry 'bout that, boyo. A bit o' harmless teasin'. Think nothin' o' it, and if she does bend ya over a fence, ya've me permission ta give 'er a firm smack to put 'er back in 'er place."
536 
537Powell06/12/2019
538Schezar continued to outwardly smile, offering a sheepish grin and remaining red-faced. Inside, however, his mind was racing. Amidst all of their warm chatter, unknown as their language was to him, he latched on immediately to one name. Xande. The emperor who shaped history. Allagan technology, Syrcus Tower, where all the expeditions were assembling again, all the way to his ancient pacts with the world of darkness. Pacts with voidsent that, to this day, Schez and his fellow adventurers constantly warred against.
539
540On reflection, it was probably a blessing that he'd emerged here unarmed and unarmored. Or that he hadn't tried to conjure up one of E-Una-Kotor's blades. Best that he let his training, his martial arts, lie hidden, for now. He bemusedly watches as Nausicaa storms out, rising to follow her, then pauses at her father's words - and last suggestion. His face reddens again at that as he turns to face them. "Ye've shown me 'ospitality and kindness, athair, màthair. I intend t'be a model guest." Bowing low and deep again, his sheepish smile remains on his face. "I'll be keepin' me 'ands to meself."
541
542As he exits, following in her footsteps, he muses to himself. Besides, she's so young--
543
544...oh.
545
546Oh.
547
548I guess this is what it was like for you, Mist?
549
550He smiles, but remains red-faced as he follows. Xande, this ancient era... everything is racing through his mind like clockwork. As he catches up to her, though, rather than voice any of his worries and desire to warn her, he instead murmurs aloud, "Yer mum and dad seem like wonderful folk." He glances around the homestead again thoughtfully - fields of gold. Red flowers. "And s'beautiful, th' life ye 'ave here."
551
552The highlander almost reaches for her hand, wanting so much to intertwine his fingers with hers. Instead, he takes a deep breath, holding himself back. "Any chores ye need 'elp with, though? Maybe tha' gate ye mentioned?"
553 
554๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/12/2019
555"Tha e coltach gur e balach math a th ’ann," the woman remarks as the two leave, one a flushing mess and the other showing nothing but the utmost respect.
556
557"Aye," he farmer remarks, palm moving out to deliver a swift whap to his wife's behind. She laughs, turning around to face him, ladle raising in defense. "Ma bhios e a ’dol mun cuairt, is dòcha gum bi rudan nas beòthaile."
558
559"Tha thu a ’dol a dhùsgadh na balaich!" She squeaks as he picks her up effortlessly, dissolving into a mess of laughter when he mumbles a quick 'they'll be asleep until midday.'
560
561"They're naught but bullies, I swear to..." But Nausicaa doesn't swear, trailing off into something too garbled to understand. Internally glad for getting out of the house -- because when they're in such a playful mood, things she has no business seeing usually transpire shortly after -- and for the company, she makes leads the highlander down the twisting dirt path that eventually reaches one of the property's borders. It's an old fence that looks like it'll hardly do it's job, but he can feel it; aether embuing itself with the woodwork. Wards, most likely, to keep danger out and keep livestock in.
562"Been having a lot of storms lately," she confesses with a bit of a frown. "Weather's cleared for the festival, but it's worn things down a fair bit. Hard to handle maintenance when the sky's turning itself against you." Rubbing the back of her neck, she takes a quick moment to look around, then lets out a sigh that contains all the suffering a thirteen-year-old can possibly muster. "Wait here. Gonna fetch the tools."
563
564She tells him stories when she returns. Of her elder brothers -- triplets named Alfyn, Angus, and Argyle by a very disgruntled woman who was fed up with everything after suffering such an intense labor -- and of her parents, of the local village and people she knew there, of the festival dedicated to the autumnal season currently in full swing. Morning passes into early afternoon, and with leftovers from breakfast passing by as lunch, it isn't until the sun begins to dip down that they make their way back to the house.
565
566It's the smell that greets them before the sight does. The ravenette stops dead in her tracks, blinking slowly at the puffs of smoke coming from over the hill. There's a moment of confusion, disbelief, and then she's running, discarding the tools that she insisted on carrying back herself, stumbling in her mad dash to see, to help, to do anything. It's the sight that passes over the hill that shows horrors not forgotten in the era Schezar is from; bandits. Many of them pillaging and plundering, burning crops and slaughtering terrified livestock without second thought to the lives being lived there.
567His senses, honed from years of training, may pick the scent up before hers do, of burning flesh and human hair melting away in an inferno.
568
569The scream that tears itself from her throat is barely human, and given her small stature, throwing herself at one of the bandit's probably isn't the best idea. She has at least enough common sense to go for the arguably shortest out of the six making a mess of the farm, but that's not going to help her when he reaches for the sword on his side.
570 
571Powell06/12/2019
572He listened to her speak of her parents, her kin, and their village, hanging on to her every word. It all sounded idyllic as he sawed then hammered away, making sure not to disrupt the wards - gently joking at one point and calling her brothers the Triple As.
573
574On their walk back, however, the all-too-familiar scent of charred flesh and hair does indeed hit him from afar, along with the smoke. The glow of the distant flames is almost eerie against the backdrop of the sunset. "Nausicaa!" His shout does nothing to slow her dash, her maddened screams. The sound of her anguish breaks his heart anew.
575
576"What is th' first lesson, Schez, me lad?"
577
578"C-control, granddad." He is four years old again, turning five - balancing on two fingers over a wooden beam, body trembling, but vertical. His grandfather smiles and nods proudly as he watches - careful and ready to catch the boy, should he fall. Finally, he flips from his upside-down stance, landing in Gehrman's arms amidst peals of laughter.
579
580He'd promised not to interfere. Not to change the course of history. Surely that didn't mean he was supposed to just let her get stabbed and die here, though. Glacial calm, practiced instinct takes over as he surges forward, in the moment the bandit slices his blade toward her collarbone. If he'd stayed a passive observer at that moment, only watching, she would've been carved open like a Starlight dodo.
581
582Elbow strike to the wrist to make him drop the sword. Chop to the windpipe to crush his voice, and stop him from calling for backup. Then a roundhouse kick to send the bandit to the ground - all within the space of two seconds. Schezar feels the sweat and bloodlust rise in him, but his eyes dart toward her instead. He can see the panic in her eyes, a life forever destroyed. "Nau, s'not safe here," he manages. "Ye 'ave to go. Ye 'ave to live."
583 
584๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/12/2019
585"How can you say that?! I have to... I have to...!" Go? Go where? To the village, firelight dancing upon straw roofs and screaming filling the evening air instead of happy cries from merriment? No, she can't go. There's nowhere to run or hide, and if there is the slim chance she can save any of her family, she'll take it. Throw herself upon the damn flames if it means saving them from that inferno!
586
587Her life. Her family, her farm, her friends, her childhood. How can something end in the blink of an eye? How can there be a goodbye if partings aren't said? She's not sure what it is -- the slow realization that she hears no screams from inside the house proving life is being fought for or natural survival instinct kicking in -- she grips his wrist and stares up at him, grief taking a backseat to the sheer anger pulsating within her. No words are said when she moves with him, guiding him down the cobblestone path away from the village. Away from everything she's ever known. Away from fire and burning and the night that changes everything.
588
589The field disappears, the farm disappears, the village disappears, all blending in to a thick forest. They move until the scent of death is no longer in the air, and all things considered, it isn't much of a surprise when she collapses near the riverbend, contents of her stomach rushing out of her. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand and curls her fingers, striking downwards with the free one.
590
591"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" This time she does curse. She punches the ground repeatedly, needing some sort of outlet from what just transpired, even if her wrist will feel it more in the morning. "I don't... I don't understand," she gasps lowly. "How... how did... why, Ethan? Why?!"
592 
593Powell06/13/2019
594"I know, luv. I know." He kneels beside her, staying close, even with the sight of her retching and traumatized vomit. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Taking her by the hand, steadying her with wordless hushes, he guides her a few steps to the riverbank. He reaches down, cupping and lifting water to wash and clean her lips, her arms.
595
596How do you explain to someone that their tragedy is nothing new, or unique? That they're just one more footnote in history's long and bloody index of man's inhumanity to man? He can feel the sorrow, the rage in her small frame as he envelops his arms around her. No amount of meditation, mantras, or platitudes will heal such fresh wounds.
597
598Yet he holds her gently anyway, brushing his lips lightly against the top of her head, once. "We'll 'ead back. Once things quiet down. We'll go back at dawn, an' find whoever we can." He leaves the rest unsaid - and bury whoever they find. His mind is awhirl as he hugs her. Xande. Laha. Pieces of an unclear puzzle, that he couldn't see all the angles of. How was it all interconnected? 
599
600Any other Stormbreaker would've strode into that village, those flames, and destroyed those invaders. Saved everyone. But this wasn't his story. It was hers. And he was restricted, warned, to only observe. To watch it all unfold. Maybe to hold back the despair and loneliness. 
601
602Powerless, but perhaps, still needed.
603 
604๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/13/2019
605In years to come, the forest will crystallize and the fields will wither, and the stream will grow and grow from where it meets a lake a short stone away. Aether from this tragedy and many others will weigh down upon the land, but it will never pollute it. No, not here, not in the place that an empire will be born around, where dragons will eventually hold a stand against Garleans, where a self-titled fairy and a little boy meet for the first time with color petals drifting between them. An apple tree, one that slowly fossilizes with age, standing the test of time.
606
607"A-muigh," she whispers in desperation. "Is ann mar seo a bhios bàs neo-chiontach." It's not something she gave much thought to. Her mother's advice and wisdom, drawing the line between girl and woman, with the first bleed one of the milestones to be aware of. Her father's laughter over her impatience and willful impulses being an undoing during practice with wooden swords. Her brothers' jeers over how she'll be over the fence chasing the moon if she forgets to keep feet firmly planted on the ground.
608
609But it's the death of innocence, the sights of her childhood burning before her vision, that demands a change. A selfish need to hurt like they hurt, coiling within her out of the very desperation leaking into her words. She's shaking in his hold, hands gripping tightly the fabric around his abdomen, with a mind that refuses to leave the endless cycle it is on. It's a slip of the tongue, the accent she tries so hard to reduce to a lilt coming out stronger. "I pray yer kin dinna suffer. That they made it ta'safety." He came for the festival, she reminds herself. He came to visit family in the village that burns along with her farm. He's doing his damnest to make her feel better while shouldering the possibility of loss as well.
610It's her eyes that give her away. A look he's seen many times again and again by the lake, only intensifying with their connection over the years. Her hands on the sides of his neck, abandoning hold on his shirt, lashes fluttering into a half-closed haze as she leans up toward him. In that moment it doesn't matter to her if he has a bonny lass waiting back home for him or even a child around her age at this moment in time, or that rejection is a very potential reaction from it. None of it matters in the chaos whirling in her head other than feeling something, and he's there, and -- Twelve -- that's all that matters.
611 
612Powell06/13/2019
613He pauses, then nods, offering her a small, kind smile as he remembers his story. "Ah... aye," he murmurs back. He doesn't notice at first as she leans closer into him, seeking comfort, seeking warmth, preoccupied as he is with cleaning her and keeping her calm. "Thank ye. And, ye have me word, Nau. We'll go back an' look. Maybe some were able to hide. Maybe we can still--" But when his eyes meets hers once more, the highlander pauses. Recognizing her need, her want for a connection. The loneliness he first recognized in her eyes, even as a boy. His breath catches in his throat. 
614
615What. Are. You. Doing. He does not frown or flinch away as she leans up toward him, feeling her fingers upon his neck. The voice in his head berates him, listing every logical argument, every angry social rule, law, and taboo of time immemorial. She's barely of age! She's in a bad place, and you're taking advantage of her. Twelve above, she just lost everyone she loves!
616
617His eyes do not leave hers. You're not supposed to change history. You're only supposed to watch. To provide support. Comfort. This is insane. This is way crossing the line. For a few moments, he rests his forehead against hers. Keenly aware of how young she is. How dangerously close her lips are to his. Feeling her breath, her desperation and want, upon his skin.
618
619Childhood, ended. Innocence, ended. He leans back, then lies down beneath her on the grass, under the dark trees of the forest. Barely any starlight penetrating through the night, as they remained hidden, letting her stay on top of him. Ready to continue simply holding her, if she so chose. Or if she wanted more, asked for more, with her touch, with her lips. He watched her quietly, lovingly, sadly.
620
621This is Mist, he finally answered the doubts in his head.
622
623Besides, it's sort of poetic.
624 
625๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/13/2019
626His downward motion isn't something she follows. Sitting on his lap, there is only a moment of conflict amongst the storm raging inside of her before she moves. The confidence regarding her physical form is lacking, something not yet learned from years of experience in such things. Clumsy fingers tug at the ties of her tunic, both in a rush to remove it and keep it on at the same time. Because he's a stranger (he's not), he's someone she's distracting herself with (he's not), he's just an outlander she'll never see again (he's not). Such thoughts don't help matters much to convince her there's no need to feel bashful by revealing herself, tunic landing somewhere nearby with a fluid motion of her wrist.
627
628Wrists that rise to cross under her bosom, lost in the formative years that will fill out over time. Her curves and muscles will as well, and one day in the distant future, she'll be quite proud over her build. It leaves something to be desired on a personal sense, girls being their own worst critics in such things, and she takes a breath to refocus herself, trying to will away the flush on her cheeks. Two thoughts hit her at once -- the first being that her mother always swore men were visual creatures and that keeping herself covered isn't going to help her cause, the second being she's got no bloody clue how to please herself (hard to experiment when sharing a room with three brothers), so how the heck is she going to please him?
629It's not that she hasn't caught things before. Part of that sharing a room experience, she'd reckon. Her brow knits together and she lowers her hands to push down on Schezar's abdomen, lifting herself backwards to settle down by his knees. When she's caught a glimpse of her brothers being intimate with their hands or a pretty lass near the barn, it never seems to last that long or be that complicated. Nausicaa licks her bottom lip on reflex, pressing her palm between his legs with a curious touch. "Can you, uh..." A bit more pressure applied to test the waters. Quickly growing frustrated with her own hesitance, she reaches for waistband of his trousers, cheeks flaring red despite her best efforts to control the hue. "Lift yer-- your-- hips? A bit?"
630 
631Powell06/13/2019
632"Shh... it's okay, Nau. It's okay."
633
634He can't help but smile faintly at the sight of her. The mysterious woman he'd grown up knowing, with all of her mystique, her worldly experience and teasing confidence - here she was, all of that stripped away. Blossoming in her girlhood, her desire to see and feel the world beyond her hamlet. Her desperation and lonely sorrow on this night of fire and ash, and his answer: devoted love across space and time.
635
636The strange poetry was not lost on him, as he thought back to his own coming of age. In response to her request, feeling her curious touch on his crotch, instead, he slowly sits back up again, cupping her cheek tenderly with his hand. Slowly, calmly, he presses his lips to hers - tongue slipping past, exploring hers, suckling gently on her lower lip. Her first, real, adult kiss. 
637
638It's strange, at first, the lack of her pearlescent scales, and her horns. Then he realizes that this may be the only night he ever gets to see, and play, with her ears. So as their lips part, he leans in, kissing and suckling her earlobe wetly, lovingly. His fingers drift down to her petite chest, cupping one youthful breast. Squeezing her sensitive flesh, pinching and playing with her nipples between his deft fingers. He traces a line of kisses along her jawline, down her pale throat, until his lips reach her young bosom. 
639
640In the years since Carteneau, when they thought each other lost and gone forever, he's been with other women. He was even wed, like she was, in her ancient empire. And in the quiet moments after intimate lovemaking, or even just raw, animal fucking, a few told their stories. Expressed their regrets at being so young, at their first times being with men who just used them, and left.
641 
642Powell06/13/2019
643Was this why he was here now? To provide new, healing memories? He didn't know. All he knew was that, as he licked and suckled one petite little tit, then the other, that all he could give her now was this loving intimacy, this solace. "You're beautiful, love." The highlander is gentle, but relentless - he calmly, slowly pushes her down onto her back. Continuing to trace downward his line of wet kisses and nips to her skin, along her tummy, down and over her bellybutton.
644
645Little farmgirl. Her skirt does not slow him. Nor her underclothes. My fairy princess. Unlike her, without asking for permission, he uses his strength to lift her hips, stripping both away. Then continuing to kiss downward, over her mound, until his lips finally reach her cunny, her wet slit. For a full minute, he lovingly kisses, licks, molests her young pussy - tasting her juices, suckling her clit. He does not use his fingers yet, though - the night is young, they've barely begun. Hooking her knees over his shoulders, simply letting her ride his face for a little while.
646
647Then, finally - only after all that, that entire sustained assault - does he momentarily lean away from her. Only then does he shrug off his jacket and top, then, reaching down to his waistband and trousers, slowly stands and similarly discards the rest of his clothing - her original request.  Muscles rippling, form scarred from a lifetime of war, fully matured. He was not fully hard yet, keeping his own desire for her in check, taking on the role of teacher that night. But he turned back to her, offering a mild smile. He leans close over her, reaching his hand down again to gently cup her cheek, in the same loving gesture from before.
648He didn't know of the memories he might be replacing, the way time and space could blend in warped, unexpected ways. He didn't know of the anger and sorrow, the pain and tumultuous rage that might've suffused her original first time. All he knew, in that moment, on that night, amidst all the sorrow and loss and tragedy - that he wanted to make her feel loved. To know that she wasn't alone.
649
650That her knight would find her, across space and time.
651 
652๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/14/2019
653"Let go of me! I have to get to them!" She screams, thrashing as he pulls her away from the burning wreckage of her home, unable to break away from his larger and stronger form. The elezen grips her tightly, black hair falling into his eyes, and continues the backwards yanking towards some semblance of safety. He's not going to let her run to her death in some foolish effort to save a family that no longer draws in breath; her parents would not stop haunting him until the end of his days if he let her join in the inferno.
654
655Of all the parts on her body, she's never expected her ears of all things to remotely cause an immediate reaction, slightly lost in a daze from the kiss alone. It's nothing like the hesitant, shy one that took place near the apple tree in the spring, which she still feels bitter over since it took Xande two weeks to even look at her again. It's nothing like the uncertain way their lips barely brushed together, seeking for permission neither were sure how to give, yet it still causes immediate embarrassment to blossom in her chest. Because it feels right and amazing, and she's fairly certain she could drown in his mouth entirely.
656"Calm down, Nausicaa. Calm down." His voice doesn't waver likes hers does. Brown eyes harden, the need to quiet her becoming desperate. Because if she alerts the bandits to survivors, they'll come for them, and there is nothing he can do to fend them off. He's not a fighter; he's a baker's son with scholarly pursuits for his dreams. Trembling, calling upon strength he needs more than ever, he spins her into the tree, pressing her thrashing form chest-first against it. "Calm down," he begs. She doesn't. His eyes darken.
657
658It's a whimper, soft and uncertain, at the touches to her chest. She bites down on her knuckle when he travels lower, the immediate instinct to clench her legs barely suppressed, and she's certain that if her face isn't the color of a summer-ripe tomato already, it's there now. The whimper becomes a pitched cry and a near-sob as she shakes from the lashing of her lower region, the intense sensations something she's never fathomed in a thousand years. One hand driven by instinct moves to grip his hair, hips moving entirely on their own to chase the pleasure and withdraw when it feels like it is getting a bit too much.
659The tearing of fabric is a warning she never expected. A hand covers her mouth to cut off her angry hiss, doubling to catch her pained scream at the sudden sharp, raw intrusion that her body is unable to fully process. She's not prepared for it, nowhere near wet in the slightest, and the blood of her maidenhood is all that exists to serve as some form of lubrication. Tears prick her eyes with his violent lurching inside of her and for the briefest of moments, she's terrified she's going to throw up against his hand from the bile rising in her throat. It hurts, she wants to yell at him. To get him to stop. But... Twelve above, it hurts less than thinking of her family. Of her home. Of everything burning a stone's throw away.
660
661She's a mess, barely noticing when he pulls away to begin discarding his own attire, and she pushes herself up by her elbows to take in the sight of him. From the way his hair falls to the broadness of his shoulders, to the defined muscles down his abdomen, to-- wait. Hold on. If not for the hand on her cheek, her jaw might've dropped entirely. Eyes widen, refusing to look away from a certain part of his anatomy, and she's fairly certain that her heart is going to jump out of her throat from the intense nervousness flooding every bit of her body. "That's supposed to fit?" Mayhaps a crude way of asking, but she vocalizes it none the less, mind whirling.
662He turns her at her urging, feeling her cling to his shoulders the moment her back is against the tree. Her body is too tight, too tense for him to move with ease, and it is through sheer force that he continues to move inside of her, trying to work her looser. It's an uphill fight, one rapidly being lost due to his arousal getting the better of him, and he only lasts a few more thrusts before coming undone, pulling out of her to soil the tree with semen and blood. She's quiet when he looks at her, suddenly fearing the anger he expects to come, and is wholly surprised when it doesn't. Her voice is so soft that he almost doesn't hear it. Asking him if he's done. If he's satisfied. Something about that... he's not sure why, but it infuriates him. It's the end of their innocence, the death of their childhood, and the pain without him demands further sacrifice. Gripping her hair, he drags her down to the ground.
663
664"How'd you get this scar?" The follow up inquiry is an easier one. Squirming underneath him, the ravenette mimics some of his earlier motions, her focus moving to his chest. Ridged scar tissue at the side, fingers moving to ghost across it. She explores with a look of interest, tracing the many marks that weave a tale of his conquests. Battles he's fought and wars he's won, and adventures that could fill up multiple journals for others to read. It's a distraction she focuses on while her hands move to press against his pectorals, applying pressure at the heel in order to massage the muscles as deeply as she can. It's a thought that crosses her mind, getting him on his stomach later to work out the kinks on his back, because her gut is telling her he carries too much tension in his shoulders.
665He doesn't look at her in the morning. It'll be some time before either of them recover from that night. Her legs ache when they walk, coils of frustration from the lack of release curling hot within her belly, and they seek out survivors. Those who will begin the journey with them. In those early moons, the strain on their friendship nearly breaks them. It is after their first real victory, the moment that they have their vengenace, that they realize something more can come from this. That the world needs willing heroes to take up arms against injustice. And that they, blessed by the Mother's light, can bring about that change. The second time she lays with him, they are careful with each other. There is no anger and pain driving them forward. They get to be those children they were, bumbling through things properly, without death chasing their heels.
666
667"I... I want to make you feel good," she half-whispers, half-flounders with a look of concentration. Steeling herself, she musters a grin that does not hold any of the confidence she hopes it does, and winks up at the highlander. "I-If you wanna give me a little hint there, lad, I wouldn't be adverse to it."
668 
669Powell06/14/2019
670Schezar quietly revels as he hears her whimper. He glances up, drinking in the familiar sight he loves most - the moment when she bites down on her knuckle, trying to maintain control, trying not to scream out her agonized ecstasy. He lives for this, to leave her in a sodden, breathless mess, to feel her fingers tangle and grip his hair, the exquisite pain feeding his own hunger and desire for her. Even with as young as she was. Even with as young as he himself once was. As he begins to ease away, he licks her girlcum from his lips as she cries out, followed by her choked half-sob.
671
672Every scar tells a story, as she explores with her fingers. The claw and teeth marks here, from the Palace of the Dead. The jagged scar tissue there, from encounters with the Lucavi. Then, finally - faded burns from the day of victory, the liberation of Ala Mhigo. Aloud, he answers, "Been travelin' for a while, luv. Seen a few things." His shoulders indeed remain tense, coiled and ready to go from gentle lovemaking to brutal bloodshed at a moment's notice. Only years later, in her arms, will he be able to sleep peacefully, without one eye open.
673
674Then, noticing her wide-eyed, nervous stare at his member, he chuckles. "Aye, it'll fit. Slowly. No need t'rush." At least, a few of the 9 ilms will, he mentally amends. He'd wondered what he would do if they ever found each other again - just sit and talk? Leap into each other's arms, lost again in passion? He never imagined seeing her red-faced, virginal, trying to grin with a show of confidence. He can't help but chuckle softly in response to her wink.
675 
676Powell06/14/2019
677"Here's a hint that'll last ye a lifetime - there's not a man alive who won't love th' feel of yer lips an' tongue on his cock." Kneeling by her side, he touches his meat to her cheek, rubbing slowly, letting her breathe in his scent, his musk. "An' if they say otherwise, they're lying." He smiles ferally at her shy expression, embarrassed and bright red as a tomato. Precum oozes from his crown as he slowly grows more stiff from the touch of her skin.
678
679"Suckle on me tip. It's particularly sensitive. Little licks, kisses along me length... then... me balls in your mouth. Suck them too." As he speaks this lewd guidance, he reaches down with his fingers, gently squeezing the wet crevice between her legs. At last, he begins to slide in one long digit, then another, making a beckoning gesture to reach and touch her g-spot, while his thumb lovingly rubs her clit. "Deepthroat me. Let me fuck your tight, wet mouth, before I fuck yer lovely little cunt."
680
681Despite his words and movement, however, he is given pause again - feeling the long reach of his fingers brush against the thin, telltale barrier of her maidenhead. Ah, right. Just like Ethiriel, and Mina, all those years ago. Rather than force his way through, he simply smiles warmly again at her, withdrawing his fingers to focus on her clit. He leans down and kisses the top of her head gently, breathing in the scent of her hair.
682
683Control. He exhales, resisting the primal, animal urge to simply pin her down and have his way with her, rutting like a beast, uncaring for her pleasure. She's looking to him for teaching, for her first time. 
684
685So. Nice and slow. "It'll feel good for ye too, when ye touch yourself 'ere," he whispers, continuing to gently massage her tiny, sensitive nub. "Let me watch ye, later... watch as ye drink down my seed, while playin' with yourself. Fingerin' your folds, teasin' your sweet little clit."
686 
687๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/15/2019
688The urge to reach up and knock her knuckles against his forehead is so overwhelming that were it not for the immediate distraction of his member against her cheek, she would've done just that. Part of her wants to whine a bit over him putting it so crudely; another part of her agonizes over the surge of heat shooting straight down to her lower regions from it, accented by a finger pressing into her. Back straightening, breath catching, she squeezes her eyes at the intrusion, the experience foreign and alarming and horrifically amazing at the same time. Her hips rock on instinct, grinding against his hand searching for something she can't quite put her own finger on. It's an immediate, aggravated sound that follows the loss of penetration, though it does a wonderful job of spurring her on to attempt following his instructions.
689
690One thing can be said for growing up in the countryside where sights, scents, and tastes aren't always the most appealing -- it does wonders to mute the gag reflex. She isn't slow or tentative about it, either; she dives right in, raising one hand to grip his right him and the other to pump the parts of his shaft that her mouth isn't able to immediately take in. Saliva proves to be a wonderful lubrication, mingling with the heady taste of precum on her tongue, and she closes her eyes to focus fully on the bobbing motion of her head, her tongue lavishing the tip with extra care. Small circles that grow outward in a spiral, little flicks up and down or left to right, and suckling directly from the source lead. She releases him with a wet 'pop' noise, taking a deep breath through her temporarily freed mouth, and wraps her lips around his member from the side while working downward.
691It's a thought that crosses her mind before she sets it into place. Even if it is on the embarrassing side, she's pretty certain there's not many more shades her face can take, so what's wrong with another? Her hand trembles as she flicks her clit a few times to test the sensation of it, ghosting the nub alongside his, and against the ilms of him she whimpers from it. It's not what she plans to do for long, instead moving deeper in to feel how wet she is. How aroused and hot her body is. Coating her fingers in her own juices, she moves the hand back upwards and wraps it around him in full, stroking more rapidly while moving her tongue flatly across the seam of his scrotum. She angles her head to the side, taking his sac fully into her mouth, and hums directly to his flesh, letting him feel the vibrations from her throat.
692
693The rhythm is something she picks up quickly enough, timing every rotation of her thumb across the head to her tongue moving up the seam. The warmth of her mouth disappears for a moment with the shift of attention, taking his length back in while letting her hands explore more of his body. The muscles of his inner thighs, the curve of his back, the fullness of his hips -- it's a tapestry she's intensely curious of, something she has no idea she spent years learning of in another time entirely. Memories that have yet to fill her mind, of river banks and dances on lakes, of being tangled in each other until the moon lets the sun rule the heavens again, of gentle moments and fire that can put elementals to shame.
694 
695Powell06/15/2019
696His intake of breath is sharp, then slow. Rewarding her with a low, guttural groan of approval and pleasure at her ministrations, then gradually easing his own hands back. He licks his lips, watching her dive in with zero hesitation, feeling her tongue, then her fingers, slick with her own juices as she strokes him. All of thirteen summers, and she's already a natural, dangerously eroding his self-control with the sight of her pleasuring herself, at the same time. He grinds his tip to the back of her throat, once, before she releases him with deep breath. Then, the slick suction of her lips along his length, the vibrations from her throat to his sack, leaves him quivering and trembling. His fingers tangle slowly in her damp hair as he marvels quietly, their sweat mingling, his hips slowly and deliberately pumping in and out of her hot little mouth.
697
698In the back of his mind, he wonders - who met who, first? Who taught who, first? The countless hours they spent together at the lake - in that future era, did she remember how all of this began? Was the sorrow of her old life collapsing already intertwined with his own timeline, intertwined with the sorrow of losing her? It felt real. She felt real. Her hands curiously exploring his body as she hungrily, eagerly sucked him off - trying to solve the mystery he presented. I want to tell you everything. Every story, every struggle, in the years they were ripped apart. I'm sorry for hurting you. For not healing up faster... for not working harder to track you down. To find you again.
699Instead, however - feeling his blood quicken, watching her fellate him nonstop, humming into his flesh as she fingered herself - all of it threatens to bring him to wild, hot climax. So, placing his hands on her shoulders, he stops her. Sitting upright, sliding his cock out of her mouth with another wet pop, then lifting her up bodily into his lap. He presses another kiss to her lips, warm, hungry, letting their tongues dance. His hands slide down to her ass, squeezing gently as he holds her - keeping her lifted up slightly, his length rubbing slowly against her entrance. His tip just barely beginning to part her slick folds, but going no further. Feeling her juices drench his muscled legs. 
700
701He knows what is to come next - the blood, the pain, how careful he has to be. How he has to hold her, until the shock and ache passes. He whispers a single question. "Ready?"
702 
703๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/15/2019
704"A-Ahh..." The questioning lilt, following how her entire body seems to tense at the intrusion larger than his fingers, answers louder than her voice could. No, of course she's not. She's a wisp of a girl trying to find something to hold on to in a night of utter turmoil, throwing herself further down the road to adulthood. Still maturing, still growing, not ready at all for this sort of thing.
705
706(Had he himself been ready the first time they laid together? When their lips met in the first, real adult kissed shared between them, and she drew him into the lake, had she been unfair to him by crossing that line? Had she taken something from him that he would have preferred to been different? Even with the obvious love between them, had it been too soon for them? Even if by his family's standards he had become a man, should she have waited and seen how things unfolded after the years?)
707
708Even so, she never regretted it. Not a single moment of their time together. Every happy moment outweighed the bitter ones.
709
710Clamping her teeth down on the juncture of his neck and shoulder, she forces herself onto him. Not slow like she should. No, not gently at all. She throws her weight into it, her body threatening to split in half from the violent intrusion of her own making. Teeth sink down into his skin until she relents, her hands finding perch on his back in the mean time. Crescent moon nail marks left behind in the effort to grip something and ease her through the self-inflicted torment. She's too tight, too hot, too tense for it, but that doesn't stop her from rolling her hips on instinct, doing her best to sheathe all of him inside of her.
711It hurts. It's excruciating. She won't deny that. What bothers her is that a part of her likes it. Likes the rawness of it all. Likes how it aches and makes her throb, and she isn't sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. One thing she does know is that she can't get enough of his mouth, chasing away any doubts as she focuses her attention to on his lips, his tongue, his teeth. Breathing with him, her soft cries lost inside of him. It's intoxicating.
712 
713Powell06/16/2019
714Okay. Nice and slow. Ease her into it, as a considerate lover should. She was young, he was her first. Hum a healing mantra to dull the pain, share his aether with her, until it passes. And then...
715
716And then...
717
718Then he feels her straddle him, abruptly and roughly force herself onto him, her petite frame shaking and spasming with waves of shock and pleasure. Another deep, bass groan escapes him as he feels the desperate clamp of her bite near his neck, feels her teeth break skin, draw blood. He exults in it, gasping sharply as he enjoys the sudden, exquisite sting, punctuated by her tense sobs. Only a moment's worth of surprise passes through the highlander's mind, before the next thought overwhelms him: she was so wonderfully fucking tight. Hot, wet, her cum and blood drenching his full length, hilted completely inside of her, stretching her youthful, virginal flesh. He whispers, his own voice ragged with electric rapture. "...oh... oh, fuck."
719
720And gods help him, he loved every single second of it. He wanted this night to never end. Everything that felt so wrong, so deliciously taboo and sinful, all of that inhibition demolished in an instant. As she presses her lips to his, feels her suckle his tongue, kiss and whimper into him over and over with each powerful roll of their hips, he feeds on her desperation and sorrow. His hands squeeze her rear tightly as she rides him, and on impulse, he slaps one pale asscheek, before gripping tightly again.
721 
722Powell06/16/2019
723Centuries from now, when she orders him to fuck her in a filthy women's restroom, spreading her cunny for him atop an ivory throne, he'll recognize and continue to love the same animal energy in her. Even after a shared lifetime of danger and adventure across worlds and space and time itself, even after the life-changing experience of becoming parents together. Sinners brought together by fate and chance. Did it begin when he was a runt of a boy? It didn't matter. Did it begin when she was a wisp of a girl? It didn't matter. All that mattered that night, in this moment, was control. And she'd just made him lose it, once more.
724
725He vaguely remembered wanting to ease her ache, with a healing mantra. Maybe later. He knows she is going to be exquisitely sore in the morning, barely able to walk. Right now, right now as she continued to kiss him desperately, he moves his muscled form again - overpowering her younger, petite midlander body. Forcing her flat onto her back, onto the dirt and grass. He still takes a moment's consideration to link his hands with hers as he leans over her, letting their fingers intertwine. As their eyes meet, he whispers aloud. "I will... always... be your Sche."
726
727He does not explain what it means. Instead, he continues to piston into her, faster and faster, amidst renewed kisses and licks to her lips, her jawline, her throat. Little nips to her flesh, drenched in sweat, as her petite, modest tits bounce with his rough pounding of her tight little twat. All of thirteen summers, and she wanted him to fuck her brains out, never mind the pain of deflowering, to help her forget the horrors of this night. He happily obliged. He was her knight, after all. They were each other's sin, they fed on each other's sin. On this night, and all the nights to come, centuries hence.
728 
729๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/16/2019
730If she could form words, she'd ask him what he meant by the whisper that falls from his lips as their fingers intertwine. If she could form words, she'd be doing something other than making noises that will leave her an embarrassed mess in the days to come, the sounds peeling from her throat pitched with pleasure and pain and sheer ecstasy. Her body protests only the slightest bit, slick with a mixture fluids already, legs lifting on instinct to wrap around the highlander's hips and draw him in as close as he can physically get.
731
732Is it supposed to feel like this? As if her entire body is filled to the brim and in wonderfully agony, desperate pain chased away by delicious pleasure? As if every nerve in her body is aware of itself, brought to hyperfocus to the place between her legs? She's never given it a lot of thought, what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman, because she always figured that sort of thing just clicked into place one day and some sort of secret became glaringly obvious. Does everyone get so lost in it, bringing them so close to the sky that it feels possible to reach out and touch the stars? Or is it a mixture of the grief eating away at her and the need to feel something, anything, beyond that, even if it is beyond her scope of knowing?
733In later years, she'll be able to find those answers, and accept certain things about her sexuality after getting to explore it. That she likes it when she can push someone past the point of their control, playing the role of willful temptress and make them snap. That she likes the feeling of being pressed against a surface with someone on top of her, knowing she can get them into such a state. That she likes how wild she can drive someone, finding the buttons to push that send them over the edge time and time again. It never bores her, and if she has to admit it, she's a bit on the voracious side, getting lost in the moment time and time again. Traces of shame that mark her tonight will fade away, replaced by an eagerness to dive into any situation presented.
734
735She's not sure how her body has enough energy to keep moving with him, but it does. Clutching to him for dear life, sobbing brokenly against him from the oversensitivity that begins to kick in after her body comes undone one, twice, thrice -- four times, counting the tongue lashing that undid her in less than a minute. There's no control over her pleasure, and while she hopes that is something she can learn to get a handle on later on, she never does. It's intense, excrutiating in itself, and she has no choice except ride along with it, burying her face against his shoulder to try to block the scream that escapes her. A scream of the name he's given her, a scream for Ethan.
736 
737Powell06/16/2019
738Another growl escapes him as she squirms and keens underneath. A feral groan of pleasure as her legs lock him in place, pulling him closer, tighter into her squeezing heat, slick with her blood and juices. His tip kisses her cervix one more time, and as he feels her climax rock her slim little body, he at last releases together with her, adding his own cum to the mix. "Gods... Nau... nnngh!"
739
740Boiling hot jets, ropes of his sticky seed flood into her, warming her from within. The sheer volume of it spilling messily from her slit. The rough violence of his thrusts almost seem to distend her belly, just a tiny bit, before he begins to slow. Eventually an immortal woman, god-empress, and a very mortal, lowborn man. He pants, out of breath, holding her close. Fingers tangling in the ravenette's damp locks, showering her face with kisses, even as he remains motionless, stiff and cockwarming inside of her.
741
742He quietly delights in every noise she vocalizes. It does not bother him to hear her scream that name into his shoulder - he's an adventurer. He's been on more than one job that necessitated caution and disguise. One day, he himself will learn where it came from -  about souls echoing across worlds. 
743
744But for now, he leans close, kissing away her tears. "You're amazin', luv. An' beautiful." Later, he'll help her wash off in the river, in spite of her youthful embarrassment, her mortified state. A rainbow lily, in bloom.
745
746For now, he hums a quiet monk mantra, suffused with healing aether, to help dull her pain. A clan melody to soothe her, even as far from home as he is, across the centuries.
747 
748๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/16/2019
749In the quiet hours before dawn breaks, she finally falls asleep. Too sore to move properly, too drained to function, and too satisfied to find it in her to roll away from his chest, which ends up becoming her pillow. The beating of his heart and warmth he exudes is comforting to her, penetrating deeply with the comfort she craves at the moment. A mind that is blissfully blank for a short period lets her slip off into dreams without fire and ash, replacing those visions instead with the feeling of being so fully that she's worried her stomach might not be able to handle it.
750
751(Something she later admits, after a season apart due to an expedition into parts uncharted, is that nothing has ever come close to his cock. The way it fills her up so perfectly is something she wouldn't exchange for anything.)
752
753He'll hear or feel the footsteps announcing the arrival of another before the slumbering girl will. A flare of astral energy, red fabric swishing around her ankles, and a furious look paint a very different aspect of the woman he once knew so intimately and fondly. 
754
755"You are not to intervene or change things," the empress hisses while gesturing widely to her younger self, lost to dreams for some time still. "Do you consider fucking her to not be intervening?"
756 
757Powell06/16/2019
758He tenses at the sound of approaching footsteps, getting ready to defend both of them. The sight of the empress makes him blink, then relax again, despite her livid expression. He looks up at her au ri features, then down again at her younger self, peaceful and asleep in his arms. Her head against his chest as she listens to his heartbeat. "Erm... aye. Sorry 'bout that," he answers genuinely, contritely. 
759
760One brings shadow, one brings light.
761
762On impulse, he reaches down to the young girl's face, moving a stray lock of raven-dark hair from her brow, and tucking it behind her ear. "Everythin' happened so fast on this day, one after th' other. I've only time-traveled a couple of times before. An' there's never really a roadmap to these things." Like the time he had to save himself from getting murdered by robots. That was a trip.
763
764Two-toned echoes, tumbling through time.
765
766He looks up at her again, studying her features. Her ancient eyes. Even despite her regal bearing, even despite her age and the power she radiated, he murmurs again softly. Seeing through to the old sorrow, hidden in her lavender gaze. "Your mum an' dad, your brothers... yer friends in your village. I'm sorry I couldn't save them. Even if I wasn't supposed to." He looks down again at her younger self, keeping his murmur low as she stirs, for fear of waking her. "I'm sorry for all th' pain an' loss ye endured this night." Part of the mystery he'd wondered about for so long as a boy, truths finally revealed.
767
768Threescore wasted, ten cast aside.
769
770There was that voice again, those same words. As if whispered across a great distance, a sea of stars. Real or imagined, he didn't know. With a momentary frown, he pushes it to the back of his head, then looks back up at her again. He didn't know she was a Warrior of Light, chosen by the mothercrystal. He didn't know the great destiny she and others were to face.
771
772Four-fold knowing, no end in sight.
773All he knew, at least at that point in time, was that he was a lowborn creature of aether and instinct. And the overwhelming instinct to bring her solace, physical and emotional, to respond to her loneliness and need, had won out that night. "Please, forgive me. I swore to ye, me service an' knighthood. An' I'll try to do a better job of it. If ye'll still 'ave me."
774
775He had no preset destiny. He forged and cut his own path, without gods. And maybe that's what made him so useful, and dangerous.
776 
777๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/16/2019
778“No.”
779
780There is fire and there is ice, both battling for dominance in her ancient eyes. Traces of loneliness that she tries to hide within the coldness of her anger. “You speak of vows and knighthood, and at the very first instance of agony, you break. You are not strong enough to endure these memories if that is all it takes to break down your protective strength.” The pulse of astral energy lashes out, crackling at the ground nearby, but the girl curling inward does not wake, though she does murmur something in her sleep that is difficult to hear.
781
782What changed to lead her from the little farm child to the starry-eyed woman leading an empire, to the hate-filled empress that stands before him? Then another change, to the girl at the lakeside who smiled up at him with love in her eyes? In the glimpse of a dream, letting them know they still existed even when their memories were lost due to the Archon’s spell, a reunion that mostly has escaped her mind due to the nature of it?
783She moves forward, heels leaving impressions on the dirt, and reaches out with one hand, a blade of starlight forming. “Move,” she instructs plainly. “This memory will end here. Once she is removed from it.” 
784
785Even to herself, she holds no sympathy.
786 
787Powell06/16/2019
788This was it, then. With a slow exhale of breath, he leans down - quietly kissing the young girl's brow, one final time. Covering her in the blanket of his jacket. Sorry, granddad. Sorry, Adanelle, and everyone.
789
790Then, he rises to his feet. He doesn't care that he's buck-naked, or facing down a seemingly omnipotent god-empress. Gritting his teeth, he plants himself between the farmgirl and her embittered future, fists curling into a ready stance. "Then ye'll 'ave to kill me, too," he answers, dark fire in his own eyes. "I'm just a man, aye. Do what ye will to me. I'll submit to yer judgment. I just wish I knew wha' happened to ye. Who or wha' hurt ye to mold ye into this. I'll fight them too."
791
792Sweat beads his brow. "But I won't let ye touch 'er! She's innocent. She's a part of you. Even if she's a part of you tha' ye want to erase an' murder! Ye'll 'ave to break me down to atoms before I let you 'urt her--"
793
794His defiant statement is cut short, his mouth angrily hanging open. At first, it appears to her that he's just slack-jawed and staring, like the lowborn mongrel he is. Then she notices the leaves in the air around them, also suspended and frozen. Birdsong in the air falls silent as time seems to slow to a halt.
795
796"Come on, your highness. Let the mortals live a little." The lighthearted voice is distorted, echoing, as if through a filter.
797
798The highlander's shadow in the dawn sunlight warps, distorts, and vanishes from the ground. From around a nearby tree, a figure emerges with a casual, lazy saunter - featureless, black as night, only shaped like a man. A mannequin made of ebon flames, with no face, strangely tossing up and down in its hand - was that an apple?
799"He's not weak. You just dumped him into a chaotic situation without explaining a damn thing. Zero context. 'WATCH AND PROVIDE SUPPORT ONLY' aren't exactly precise and rigid directives - that's why we draft formal contracts with clearly stipulated terms for these jobs, y'know?" He - it? - takes a sumptuous bite out of the fruit, then reveals a toothy grin - still teeth only, and nothing else in that void-black, featureless countenance. Nothing but a brief flash of-- long pink hair? Was it real, or did she imagine it again?
800
801"Besides," he gestures toward the two very naked hyur, "This sort of counts as support. Kinda. Doesn't it?" He then sighs, taking another bite of his apple, then dropping it to stand and stretch.
802
803"Look, if it's any consolation, he'll be dead in 37 years. No rebirths, no reincarnations. Unless you take his head now, I guess. But." The figure grins that demonic, dark grin again, only teeth in that abyssal head of his. No eyes, no face, momentary hints of long pink hair. Why pink, of all things?
804
805"You're curious, aren't you? You can feel it already. You wanted to test the mortal. Drown him in the depths of your despair. But instead, new memories are being born. You can remember both nights. Both timelines, side by side." He, it, whatever this T is - something far older than her Sche, far more ominous, seemingly of another world, takes a step forward. "Blending together in your brain. The hate for your husband drives you. Fuels you to seek strength. But." His voice drops to a tantalizing whisper.
806
807"You're curious. You also want to see what's going to happen, when you send this mortal man elsewhere along fate's skein."
808 
809Powell06/17/2019
810Then, he tosses his hands up in a shrug. "Or, y'know. Just fight and try to kill him now, instead of making use of him for your vengeance. For the retribution you crave. You'll probably win." A faint chuckle comes from the featureless face. "It'd be a spectacle, certainly."
811
812The road that we walk is lost in the Flood
813of Light, our clouds now raining tears of blood,
814But the winds that we send will seek fast, to tomorrow.
815 
816๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/17/2019
817She's not sure what part of it is the most alarming of it all -- the fact that the man so easily rose naked as the day he was born into a defensive position, how time began to slow to a crawl around them, or the intense urge to turn the other way and retreat from the scene when the shadow creature begins to address her. Something he says does stand out immediately, but it is something else that dawns upon her to address first, and she sighs heavily while letting the stardust weapon crumble from her hold.
818
819"There seems to be a misunderstanding," Nausicaa states plainly. "I have no intention of killing my younger self. If I were to do so, too much would be undone and twisted beyond recognition." How much would change because of it? So much good and so much bad, but the scales must not be tipped. It is not an overenflated sense of self importance in that regard; it is simply accepting that her life matters to enough people that it would change too much to remove it entirely.
820
821"The sheer amount of power it takes to send a person through time is not to be drawn upon lightly. I told him I would help, but not at the cost of the natural order of this star." Adverting her gaze, she lifts the fabric of her robe enough to begin pulling her skirt down, knowing the robe itself will cover her. Awkwardly, she moves towards the naked highlander and begins to fashion the fabric around him, doing her best not to look at him directly while doing so. Regardless of how... endowed and shapely he is, that is not where her interests need to lie.
822It's not much in the way of giving him modesty, covered in crimped white fabric that barely clothes what should be clothed, yet it makes it easier to look at him, and that is all she needs at the moment. Resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, she instead turns her focus directly to the otherworldly being, body language on the defensive side. "I saw no need to instruct beyond 'watch and provide support,' as these are recreations of my own memories. It is my hope that something in these will spark something in her, and if not, nothing will. Pain is a motivator that brings about change. I may not know him, but... but..." She looks at the frozen man, biting down on her lower lip. "...I do not mistrust him, and something about him makes me feel almost safe. That is not a feeling I will question."
823
824What she will question, and quickly at that, is two things. "What do you mean, speaking of his death thirty-seven summers from now?" The urge to recreate the sword is intense. "What are you, as well?"
825 
826Powell06/17/2019
827The being's mouth - still the only feature on its face - is shaped into a little 'o' of curious wonder as it listens to her explain. Then, it rears its head back and laughs, long and heartily. "We see, we see! We apologize for the misunderstanding!" Showing off another toothy grin, it looks around, seemingly fascinated by the surroundings. "A recreation. We see, we see. Good stuff. We like the apples here, they're very sweet."
828
829T's genial, friendlier tone would be reassuring - if it had come from anyone else. However, the empress realizes something even more unnerving as she wraps her skirt around Schezar's proudly hanging meat and veg - she's not hearing that voice through a distorted filter. In fact, it's not a single voice at all - it sounds like over a dozen voices, clustered together, speaking and laughing together in choral unison.  Some come and go, at times.
830
831"You're very conscientious, your highness. We like that. We remember what it was like to have a conscience." Nodding in a friendly manner - as friendly as an eyeless, grinning soul conglomerate can seem - Schezar's shadow plops down to sit on a nearby log. It listens and nods as she speaks of how the highlander makes her feel almost safe. "You're good people, Nau-sii-ca-a. We are curious, though - is pain the only motivator that can work? What about trust? Love? All the other emotions that motivate squishy, crunchy, tasty little mortals."
832
833Then, at her question, T tilts his head. It's a very odd gesture, coming from the nightmare being. Almost humanizing. "Oh, right. Well, he's 32 now. He's no Warrior of Light like you, chosen by the star, but he's still a decently trained aetherial conduit and warrior-of-something-not-Light." The creature sits up, grinning again. "We are bonded to him by random-chance-need. His heartbeat-smell and the little-peek we took at Alexander-Creator-Soul informs us that young little Sche dies fleshy and mortal, at the old-hyur-old age of 69. As all mortals eventually do, no?"
834The creature shrugs again. "Or he dies elsewhere, on another world, another story. Who can say for certain-- oh!" It snaps its fingers, as if suddenly realizing something. "You are absolutely correct. Too much aether used to manipulate time. Unworry, worry-not. We didn't freeze time here." It gestures around the little clearing, smiling horrifically - and birds drop from the trees above. Dead. Bits of leaves fall in the immediate area, rotted in an instant and disintegrated.
835
836"We just used a simple word-power-power-word. We like to call it the P-spell. It provides paralysis, Pblindness, and Pdeafness." It doesn't seem to know that those aren't actually words, and T gestures toward Schezar again. "We left your younger self alone because she was sleeping soundly like a babe. She is still dreaming sweetly and unharmed of fields-golden-lilies-rainbow. But our cordial-lovely-madly-in-love host here has just been holding his breath while we talked."
837
838The creature snaps its fingers. Schezar collapses to his knees, gasping for breath and making choking sounds, as the crushing force on his windpipe recedes, his eyesight and hearing returning. "Don't worry, he didn't hear or see a thing. Even though time wasn't actually frozen."
839
840The highlander sucks in air, hands groping at the dirt, trying to vocalize. "B... buh... wha... gghhhh..." Above him, the creature grins again, offering a friendly handshake to the raen woman. "We look forward to working with you, Nau-si-caa-Allag-Ruler. And devouring your enemies."
841
842At their feet, Schezar is confused by the empress' skirt that he is now wearing. "...what... th'...?"
843 
844Powell06/17/2019
845At her second question, the creature pauses, then laughs again - in that multifarious voice of legion. "We have had many names through the ages. At least, as far as we know. Or can remember--"
846
847The mouth suddenly speaks rapidly, one voice after the other. Each name is spoken by a different voice, male, female. Not in unison this time, but each one reciting his or her own name once, in rapid succssion. "Vesperia Cainale. Vasily Kirov. Merrill Damon. Harlan Brauer. Raraka Raka. Tourian K'soth. Emily Richter. Althea Elise Carroway. Kelda Rockfang. Callista Callowseed. Kain Ironstar--" The black flames of its form grow stronger and stronger, until it jerks and seems to reassert itself, silencing the tumult.
848
849When it speaks again, the voices are again in unison. "What do you think happens, Nausicaa, First Empress of Allag, when a Warrior of Light fails?" It rests its chin in one palm, seemingly regarding her with a pensive look. Or it would, if it had eyes. "Or when he or she thinks the system has failed? Light versus dark versus dark versus light. Is it the truth of the matter?" It rises from the log, fingers lacing together behind its back as it steps away. "We have been called voidsent. The Cloud of Darkness is called our sister-peer. Oh, the story is much more fascinating and complex than that." It stops under one of the trees, gazing upward.
850
851"Ascians must be hunted down and punished for their atrocities. For the horrors they inflicted on you and your family. But then, the Sin Eaters--" It pauses, shaking its head and chuckling. "We speak overmuch. You will see for yourself, soon enough. With your own eyes. And decide for yourself." It glances back again down at the ground. "Schezar, are you alive?"
852
853A pained groan of partly crushed lungs answers them. The creature grins. "Good! Next time, don't overreact. Empress Nausicaa is very delicious. Er. Nice. We meant nice." It bows politely toward the woman, in her raen body.
854 
855๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/17/2019
856One of the benefits of living beyond the coil a person is supposed to is reaching a point where they stop questioning the batshit things they encounter and just accepting it as it is. That said, the entity known as T is difficult to accept in any way, shape, or form, and she is nowhere near idiotic enough to press it, because having something like it on their side is better than having something like it against them.
857
858The inquiry asked, which she doesn't reply to, strikes a cord in her. 'What do you think happens when a Warrior of Light fails?' Something she has wondered time and time again. Why, after the catastrophic failure she directly led to, did the Mother not cast her aside? The end of Allag, the decline of their era, the death of millions... why did she continue to bless her with Light, when she brought them one step closer to Darkness?
859
860Ascians. Sin Eaters. Voidsent. Stories far more fascinating and complex. One name the stands out more than the others, with another that sounds oddly familiar in a way she cannot place.
861
862(Stealing away to the gardens of Glast Heim, sitting by the water for hours upon hours lost in her own little world with a sketch book. A white beanie and purple clothes, someone who appears and begins to speak to her. Cyan locks and red eyes, and a tongue that bites as fiercely as it soothes. A blue-haired woman in light armor who befriends what seems to be a wisp of a boy that suffered atrocities. The way her cheeks colored with warmth, holding secret affection for a man married to a woman she idolizes. Fuzzy ears from the twin who eventually creates a home she settles down in. Two little girls that grow into fine women long after her body is dust.)
863"I will take 'delicious' as a compliment from you." One eyebrow arching, she reaches up to rub her cheek, feeling the prismatic scale scratch across her palm gently. Another time, another place, a story to gaze upon. A question to answer. What happens when once chosen by Hydaelyn falls? What happens when a hero is unable to withstand the weight of Light, crumpling underneath the pressure of it? When one becomes something like that, a collaboration of multiple parts that speak as one?
864
865He'll die. One day, she knows that. The part of her that was the fairy of the lake knows it too, she wagers. It is the curse of mortality, along with the joy of it, and something like that... she misses it, in a way. But that is the price she paid for her husband's insanity. For failing him, as well, and letting him become a victim to a grander scheme. Had she known more then, perhaps-- no. There is no changing it now. There's not going back from what has happened.
866
867"Paralysis, pblindness, pdeafness. Are you alright?" Alive does not mean he's able to function. Sighing, she opens her mouth to speak, but the questioning 'umm?' from behind the highlander draws her attention. Messy-haired, coat-covered, and extremely confused, the thirteen-year-old blinks at her older self, the man protecting her, and the shadow creature with an expression of 'what the fuck is this shit' clearly visible.
868
869"..." The empress grits her teeth. It's not a complication, it's just a bit tedious, especially when her younger self points directly at T, lavender eyes widening. "That's bloody awesome!"
870 
871Powell06/17/2019
872"Finally. Someone who appreciates our munificence." Tourian, T, the union of souls grins its eyeless, toothy grin. Bowing low again, with a flourish, to the star-stealing girl of thirteen summers. On the ground at Nausicaa's feet is another faint little cough and wheeze. "T... please... go... and... stay... go."
873
874"You promised us we would feast on Vauthry's flesh, son of Cormac, son of Agrias, grandson of Gehrman, grandson of Lara. Thou blood of the princess, distant son of warrior-kings. Oh, every night upon night, we dream of it." The creature glances down again at the highlander on the ground, grinning its nightmare grin, licking its lips. "Soon-Norvrandt-soon. Don't forget." It walks toward Schez, dissolving, and the highlander's natural shadow reappears beneath the dawn sunlight.
875
876"I don't... even... know... hgghk... who tha' is... but m'sure... it'll be... horrifyin'." With a sigh, he glances up at the empress, seemingly mollified by the absence of her starlight blade. "I've been better. Admittedly." He glances over at her younger self as well, his expression softening at those wide lavender eyes. Reminded that in many ways, the hyur girl is still a child.
877
878"I don't... quite understand wha' this all was. I admit to... an' apologize for... not bein' th' sharpest knight. Or th' most well-trained." He sits up, facing the older raen. "Me trainin' mostly consisted of a heretic yellin' at me and knockin' me flat on me ass with her greatsword. But..." He coughs, wiping away tiny flecks of blood and shaking his head.
879"...I swore... I'd protect ye. Even if it 'as to be from yerself." His eyes do not leave hers. "Or yer own worst impulses. And I mean to keep doin' tha'. Ye can either tell it all to me straight, what we face in th' future an' wha' we 'ave to do. We can even write it out in a service contract, good an' proper." His gaze turns downward. "Or ye can keep yer secrets, an' keep puttin' me through these tests. Keep seein' and judgin' me by what I'll do, when faced with these horrors ye endured. I can respect either one. I just 'ave... one question."
880
881His gaze is upon her silken cloth, tied over his waist. "Why am I wearin' your skirt?"
882 
883๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/17/2019
884There are other emotions to call upon; those of sheer happiness and joy, of enveloped completely in a blanket of love. Pain, she's learned, works the best for sparking something within a person. Fear of it, knowing how loss can shape an entity, and the avoidance of falling into it. She holds her pain and joy in equal measure close to her heart, yes, but for this, she needs to push beyond that. The hardest moments often lead to the brightest, and in time, it all unfolds unto the culmination of her existence. 
885
886"Poor Vauthry," she feels herself murmur before the shadow creature fully vanishes, thoughts slowly straying from his suggestion and his words to instead focusing on the highlander's upper portion. Because looking lower threatens to break the composure she's so proud of. "You rose, bare as a babe from his mother's womb, to defend yourself and her. Do you think I would want to speak to you in such a state?" There's a scowl and a hint of color, soft pink near her nose. "If you do not want it, return it." 
887
888Protect her from herself. What a silly notion. (An accurate one, although silly.)
889
890The small girl she once was opens her mouth to speak, nothingness coming from her throat. She touches her lips on impulse, but when her hand passes right through her skin, the panic is obvious. It fades, as does she, her eyes closing before she vanishes entirely, the end of the memory. In it's place is merely warm light, soft and gentle, floating near the empress' hands. "There are no tests to be given here, boy. If full clarity is what you need, there is no reason to shroud it." The light rises, dispersing in the air around them, going to wherever it is needed.
891"There was a boy who loved me. There was a man who took me by the hand and wed me, and gave unto me two daughters." She advances on him, reaching up with a gloved hand to press a finger against his lips. "Then, I died. That man, driven insane due to forces outside our control, refused to accept that. He swore to do anything to help me, to bring me back, going as far as trapping my aether in crystal sleep, refusing to let me leave along the natural course of things."
892
893A similar sentiment. A different approach.
894
895Silken touch down his cheek, moving until she pushes up on his chin. "At his hands came the death of those born from our love. At his hands came the conquest of the world. At his hands came his own death, and once he was brought back by another, I, too, returned unto this world, through a mixture of science, magic, and... prayer." The word tastes nasty in the back of her throat, threatening to weigh down her tongue. "A miraculous feat, they claimed. To bring back the First Emperor and First Empress of the Allagan Empire. To do horrendous things in the name of our kingdom. To restore it to the height of glory. And, when discovering the limitations to his existence... to drown the world in darkness and destroy the last traces of light."
896
897Her hand drops to her side. "Earthen cries and crystal quakes. The end of an era, the beginning of a new. From crystal sleep, pulled by the hands of the Twelve, I rose from the waters of a lake, memories fractured and pieces missing. Now the new pieces are missing and through the pain of yester, I beckon to them. You beckon to them." A head tilt, ever so lightly to the side. "Memories of time long passed calling out to pieces of more recent ones lost to me, in hopes of causing a personal rejoining."
898 
899Powell06/17/2019
900He is alarmed, at first, as the young girl closes her eyes and vanishes. He opens his mouth to protest, but then his shadow whispers to him, a few faint notions. The highlander hesitates, then calms again. "...memories. Not actual time travel. Okay... okay--" He is quieted by the touch of her gloved finger to his lips, then his chin. He listened intently and hung on to her every word. Gods help him, her face, her form, was still Mist to him. Still his fairy of the lake. And the emotions inside him remained aflame.
901
902How many years have I waited for this moment?
903
904He whispers as she finishes. "Xande. An'... your daughters." He continues to study her expression as she lowers her hand back down. "Ye've suffered so much. And ye need all th' pieces of yerself back whole, together... reunited." Seemingly not noticing her resolute focus on his upper half, having been distracted by her momentary touch. He no longer questions wearing her skirt, though. 
905
906Her entire tale was fantastical... mythical. More than a little intimidating. But then, he recalls what his grandfather said to him, years ago, about becoming entangled in a myth. Playing his part. He still didn't quite understand fully what he could do, at what moment he would be needed most - he was a soldier. A warrior. Not of Light, like her - but of something else. Aloud, he answered, "Wha' would ye 'ave me bear witness to next?" He pauses, something occurring to him as he glances around the clearing. "It's only been a day, hasn't it?"
907
908Then, he pauses again, going over her tale in his head. He stops short, gaze still averted from her. Staring at the nearby trees with his third and final question. "He hurt... killed... your little girls?" 
909
910Become what you must.
911 
912๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/18/2019
913Only a day, she nods in time with the question. One single day in a sea of memories to dig through. The other one, though, is harder to answer, and her eyes cast away for the moment. A deep breath and set shoulders, and she moves her hand back up, this time cupping his cheek in full. A motion to mimic tenderness she cannot find within herself anymore.
914
915"Alysine broke. Lost in her grief, she did what she could to make it through the day, and he preyed on that weakness with whips and chains. An experiment to strengthen her essence with agony to the flesh. In the end, she could not handle the knowledge that her existence would be nothing more than this, and took her life away from him." One driven to suicide by her own father. The other, a worse fate. "Astraenne, condemned to the tower that our people viewed as a symbol of hope for the empire. Locked high within the Crystal Tower, time lost all meaning for her, and she withered. Those who were bound to her fled, elementals not wishing to be stuck with a master who lost her will to fight, to live. One remained; one who filled her lungs with water while she slept, freeing her from a coil she could not escape otherwise."
916
917Alysine and Sanary. Astraenne and Seyka. In the current time, they've reunited and begun to live their lives once more, the former beginning to pick up her old research and the later recently married to the boy who once perished at the hands of her father. Knowledge outside her scope, her own memories, all those belonging to the one currently crystallized, under the protective watch of the man's grandsire.
918Her touch disperses as the scenery changes. The memory takes shape, and perhaps out of a petty jab (she really did like that particular skirt), he finds himself standing in a fountain. Clothed, thankfully, because the last thing he needs is to wander the area without any form of modesty whatsoever. Marble pillars rise above him and flowers bloom in a magnificent, well-tended to garden, with hedges that seem to form a maze around. The center of it, where he stands, reveals a fountain with the head of a lion spitting water, and a shallow pool with crystals glittering in the bottom of it.
919
920Nearby, the bushes begin to rustle, and the sound of laughter carries. "Little flower, where are you?" Further rustling as the hedge is torn through, a mess of black hair popping out of it. The girl blinks, her bright purple eyes curious when they fall on the highlander, and she is quick to raise her finger to her lips. "Shh! Hidin' from mama!"
921 
922Powell06/18/2019
923His eyes widen, staring into her lavender gaze, as she tells him all of this. His lips work wordlessly for a few moments, and he is barely able to whisper in reply. "...oh, gods. Mist... Nau..." The pain in those ancient eyes of hers strikes him deep, and on impulse, he reaches up to clasp his fingers over her hand. "I--"
924
925But before he can finish, before he can tell her, the scene shifts. Her eyes, gone. Her skirt, gone - it was nice and comfy while it lasted. Made him tingle a bit. As he looks around, blinking and squinting, he-- why is it so cold? And wet? He glances down. Oh. Well, he probably deserved this. Just a bit. He's only ever seen this sort of ostentation in the riches of Ul'dahn and Ishgardian households, but the architecture - and the level of magitek present - seemed quite different.
926
927Before he can squint and further examine the crystals in the water, though, he pauses as he hears the giggle from the hedge - and the sight of black hair. As the little girl shushes him - her features, her dark hair and lavender eyes achingly familiar, he manages to weakly smile back and nod, holding up a finger to his own lips as well. Winking at her in confidence.
928
929"He preyed on that weakness with whips and chains. Agony to the flesh."
930
931"Locked high within the Crystal Tower, time lost all meaning for her, and she withered."
932
933His head spins, and he almost falls on his ass into the water, reeling. But he holds steady, maintaining his confident, friendly grin for the young lass - even as rage and sorrow and nausea rises in his mind.
934
935Do you begin to understand, now? Do you see now what her so-called Warriors of Light have wrought? What they are capable of? Become what you must.
936
937Slowly, carefully, trying not to splash, he extricates himself from the water. Ignoring the distant voice in his head, coming from across a sea of stars. Breathing slowly as he sits at the side of the fountain, looking around this little slice of Xande's empire.
938If history cannot be unwritten, then unwrite him. Undo him. Become what you must.
939
940He closes his eyes for a moment. Focus. Control. Inner peace. Not revenge. Not blind rage and hatred.
941
942Become the Warrior of Darkn--
943
944His eyes fly open. He distracts himself by looking over again at the little girl playing hide-and-seek, and he forces himself to smile kindly for her. He mouths, making as little sound as possible, "Hullo there. What's yer name, miss?"
945 
946๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/18/2019
947"Uhm. Mama calls me 'little flower,'" the child nods early, an all too proud look on her face. She grins a toothless grin and flails a bit, trying to climb out of the hedge she's somehow gotten herself trapped in. "But I'm Astra! Like the stars, shine shine!"
948
949The younger of the two princesses is the spitting image of her mother. Insisting that she doesn't need help, she continues to wiggle and flail until she is able to fall through, making a soft 'ohsh' noise as she faceplants. It's an immediate rise and brushing off period, and she waddles over to the much, much taller person. Poor thing barely reaches his knees. She looks no older then four or five, and by the dirt smudged on her face and her hands, she's been out playing for awhile.
950
951"Who're you?" The words blend together and she squints a bit, but immediately 'eeps' when she hears the same voice calling out from much closer. It's a quick decision as she pads behind the man, clutching his legs from behind, and makes a hissing noise. "Shh, shh! Invisible mode, activate!" Ah, if only it worked.
952
953White fabric floats around the corner before she does, her feet and legs bare as she walks at ease through the hedges. Her hair is bound in a loose braid behind her with whisps carelessly framing her face and bangles of gold attached at her wrists. It isn't the child she notices at first, but the man standing in front of the one trying so desperately to hide. Almost instantly her smile vanishes, a look of shock warring with utter confusion, and the question that can be expected is one that most would wonder if traversing a private garden in one's own castle; 'who are you?' 
954
955It's not what she asks.
956
957It's what she breathes more than anything. "Sche?"
958
959Elsewhere, the crystal pulses faintly. A flicker of light, that of a firefly, glowing slightly brighter.
960 
961Powell06/18/2019
962He continues to smile warmly for the little child. "Oh, that's a lovely name, dear-- ah, careful." He gets up to help her when she wiggles and falls through the hedge, but stops as she picks herself up instead, and waddles over. As she hides adorably behind his legs, the words echo heavily in his mind again.
963
964"One remained; one who filled her lungs with water while she slept, freeing her from a coil she could not escape otherwise."
965
966He gently combs his fingers through the little girl's hair, until her mother emerges. His heart tightens in his chest as their eyes fall upon each other again, lavender locking with violet. He mentally braces himself with a number of plans: make up a story. Pretend to be lost and ask for aid. Just plain run and hide. He's ready to do any one of these things, and keep a low profile.
967
968But when she half-breathes, half-whispers his name, that all collapses. "Nau... Mist."
969
970How many years have come and gone since that day?
971
972He gently disentangles himself from Astraenne's grasp - sorry, little one - and rushes toward her mother. She's beautiful with her bare feet, her braid, her golden bangles. A vision in white. Caution, propriety, all of it goes straight out the window as he takes her hands in his, gazing upon her hyur features.
973
974"Aye, it's me," he whispers back. "It's me." He almost - almost - leans close to kiss her, but at the last moment, thinks better of it with her daughter nearby. For the moment, he contents himself with holding her close. Already a tryst, already forbidden, and he does not fully understand the vagaries of time. What point she's at in the moments they've shared together, entwined together as their timelines are.
975
976All he knows is, she is the most beautiful woman he has ever known, and ever will know. Whether highmother to an empire, or his fairy princess by the lake.
977 
978๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/18/2019
979It doesn't make sense.
980
981She remembers closing her eyes, a warm and comfortable feeling around her. An elderly man there to stay with her, viewing glimpses and traces of things that happened at different points in the branches of time. Then she awoke to find her youngest daughter jumping into bed with her, and... and...? A maze, the garden, a whole life time that's long since passed her by. She didn't question it; she rushed after the girl, chasing her through the hedges with a heart threatening to burst. For a minute, just a minute, she'd allow herself to escape in the memory, to return to a time when everything in the world was right. Before it all became a mess of horrific circumstance.
982
983It doesn't make sense.
984
985Her hands are trembling before he takes them, breath threatening to catch between her tongue and her lungs, and all she can do is stare up at him. The urge to reach up and touch his cheeks, to throw her arms around him, to make sure he's real and there and not a fragmented dream she can barely recall at the moment nearly consumes her, if not for the pitched giggle from behind his legs. She steadies herself and glances down at the bubbly girl, who is in the middle of attempting an escape.
986
987A wink is all it takes for the child to begin scampering away. "If you dwaddle too long, little flower, mama's going to pick you up and take you inside."
988
989"Noooooo~!" Astraenne giggles madly as she turns and bolts, disappearing behind the hedge without another word. Because it's a game and she has to run, or she'll have to go in and eat all the icky veggies that Alysine pushes onto her plate, and that's terrible! No, no, no! Games are better to stay outside and play!
990Only when she can no longer feel the flare of her daughter's aether does she break her gaze from where she ran to, returning it to the russet-haired man. Her mouth opens and closes a few times wordlessly, soundlessly, floundering without being able to come up with anything at all. She bites down on her lower lip, gaze on the verge of pleading, tears prickling the corners of confused lavender orbs. "How are you here?"
991
992A dream. It's a dream within a crystal, isn't it? A memory unfolding for her? So how is he there?
993 
994Powell06/18/2019
995"There she goes again, reactivatin' invisible mode." Schezar chuckles, watching the little girl scamper away into the hedges. However, when her mother voices her confusion, and he sees the pleading expression on her face, his heart breaks once more. He leans close, strong arms embracing around her. Holding her as he did the last time they saw each other, at Carteneau. His lips brush against the corners of her eyes, kissing away her tears.
996
997"You brought me here. I mean, she did. I mean--"He shakes his head for a brief moment. "Her. Th' empress. You... she told me everythin'." He locks his eyes with hers again. "...all of it." All of this knowledge that threatened to break him. To birth something within him long-suppressed, long-waiting for its chance to come boiling to the surface. Fueled by love, and rage.
998
999"Tryphaniel the Unshod was the first of our kind. The first dark knight." Crysanth's voice was steady, relaxed, even as she knocked him screaming into the boulder, shattering the entire stone into pieces. Godsdamn it all, how was she wielding that blade with one single hand? That thing was too big to be called a sword. Too big, too thick, too heavy, and too rough, it was more like a large hunk of iron.
1000
1001Schezar groaned, picking himself up out of the snow as she continued to calmly tell her tale, pieces of rock falling out of his hair. "He caught a clergyman raping a child of the Brume. So Tryphaniel cut the cleric to pieces, and was put on trial for it." Hefting her weapon now with both hands, as her pupil prepared to defend himself again, the elezen smiled. "We draw on the power of our personal abyss, Schez. Our shadow, within each and every one of us. Just as Tryphaniel did, even after they stripped him of his knighthood. Never forget this."
1002
1003The highlander cupped Mist's cheek in his hand. There was so much he wanted, desperately needed to say to his beloved. So many years that had passed. "Mist, where are we? What is this time, this place? What day is this?"
1004 
1005๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/18/2019
1006All of it. The floundering continued. She squeezes her eyes shut and clamps down firmly upon her lower lip, shallowing the sound that escapes as half a whimper. Tears kissed from her eyes, a hand to her cheek. Traces of a dream that fragment with each passing day. A request to grow her flower. A ring on his finger.
1007
1008Right. Her Sche is married. She’s happy for him. Happy to know he found love after all the trials of his life. Happy he found someone who lights up the darkness. Happy that... that... happy for him, that’s all. Because he never deserves to feel alone in the world.
1009
1010She’s good at ignoring how her heart clenches. It’s been something she’s done for most of her life. Even if he knows, that doesn’t change anything; only makes her regret not telling him herself all those years ago. But a past she’s tried running from, in the end, she never thought would matter, or become what it is.
1011
1012“Today is...” Mist relents when the skin of her lip threatens to break, licking the teeth imprints on reflex. She straightens, afraid to get too comfortable with his touch, afraid to trust it too much. “...the hunt.” It is a slow dawning realization, lump forming. “The men will be leaving and my hus— my... the... Xande.” She swallows. “There is an attack. A maid lets them in. For some foolhardy revenge. They try— and fail— to leave a message.”
1013Why this day? It was the first moment she ever feared for her children, yes, but nothing came of it, did it? Why would her mind turn to this day, trying to make her see something?
1014
1015He’s so warm. So warm...
1016
1017Her hands find perch on his sides, grip stealing once the shaking passes. “There are plenty of guest rooms. A name, an intro is easy to fake, and if this is a memory, it won’t matter much. I— I... there’s so much, Sche. I don’t know where to...”
1018
1019A heartbeat. Right. And a curse. “I died. I think. ...I think I met your grandfather, too.”
1020 
1021Powell06/18/2019
1022He didn't like the sound of that hunt. Nor did he think it was going to end well for that maid. But as she continues, his expression darkens even further. "Y... you did. Aye. She said that ye... passed." He is unable to let go of her. Even if her daughter were to come back. Even if someone were to see them now. Even if this was just a reconstruction, a memory. "I should've been there. I should've done something... anything. I--"
1023
1024But then, the rest of her words catch up and register. His breath dies in his throat. "...w-wait. 'ang on. Granddad?" Always, she's seen him strong. Levelheaded. Passionate, even angry, and an awkward, sweet boy whom she watched grow up. Her awkward, sweet boy.
1025
1026This was the first time she saw tears, real tears, threaten his own eyes. "H-how? Years ago, granddad, he... I..." He looks away. Even as she watches the turmoil unfold on his face, the guilt and pain and regret, a different war is taking place within him. His mind and soul within her dream.
1027
1028"She wants herself to suffer and rage, seemingly. To be driven and strengthened by the laser focus of hatred. Hatred for her husband. At least, we think so."
1029
1030"But why? That's just..."
1031
1032"Or maybe there's just things that she feels she needs to relive. Things and clues, details she might've missed. They're horrible, painful things, which amuses us."
1033Schezar paced back and forth in the pitch blackness of his own mindscape, his own inner thoughts. Tourian sat nearby, sat on nothing, chin in his hand. Watching the highlander.
1034
1035"You're not going to save her or her daughters from suffering and dying over and over, you know."
1036
1037"Shut up."
1038
1039"We're just saying. She's allowing you, letting you be here with her, through all these horrible memories. You exist solely with her permission." His shadow stood, stretching. "As our song goes - cometh the hour of our reckoning, we will be ready. Cometh the man, who will fight beside me and be steady." Tourian pointed a finger at him in that ebon mindscape. "Cometh the angel, the messenger from hell we dreaded. Cometh the devil's disciples, so we must be ready."
1040
1041"Wot's tha', then? A prophecy?"
1042
1043"No, a song. Like we just told you. Are you going to fight beside her and be steady?"
1044
1045He breathes deep, forcing himself to be calm, as he looks back at her again. "You-- she ordered me not to intervene. Not t'interfere. Not to change anythin'. To only watch, observe... provide support, if needed." He touches a finger to her chin, keeping his eyes locked on hers.
1046
1047"But I reckon granddad would expect more. Tell me to man up. Mist, even if this is just a memory, a dream... wha' would ye 'ave me do?"
1048 
1049๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/19/2019
1050In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me.
1051
1052The dragon's aether overwhelms her entirely, pressing and pushing at the careful construction of her reanimated form. There is nothing she can do to keep it together any longer, and even as golden light surrounds them, she can feel herself slipping. So she does the only thing that is left -- tell them to do their best and that she believes in them. It's why that day at the Stump of Life she stirred Seyka's memories, it's why she's gone out of her way to help Sanary enhance her magical capabilities, it's why she's left the deed to her atelier for the man she wants so desperately to create a home for. Because, no matter how the story unfolds, the time for parting will inevitably come.
1053
1054Time spent at a beautiful lakeside before an Archon's spell, time spent among her daughters in another time, time spent taking up the mantle of Lightbringer once more to dedicate herself to the greater good, time spent seeing bits of the world she never thought she would, and time spent remembering in full a life she once lived brings her more happiness than it does pain, yet in the end, it is that happiness that leads to sorrow, and to rage she's not felt for centuries. A rage that manifests itself, causing a divide between them. She takes the pain and happiness; the empress takes the hatred and anger. Blaming her for not seeking further help. Blaming her for wasting away. Blaming her for being a fool.
1055It's not the wrong sentiment, she supposes. She is quite the fool, a card she favors heavily when doing readings for other among the flowers she carefully tends to near her workshop. If she could reach out and bring the man, his expression on his features that she's never seen, to the place deep within the Shroud that she calls home, to show him the comfortable life she's been working on for a few years now, what would he think? Five have passed by in the blink of an eye from her, and while the spell stole memories from her mind, it doesn't change that much for her. All those days she sat at the desk, parchment in front, quill in hand, writing letters to someone she couldn't remember the face of, placing them in bottles and setting them free in the lake that leads to the ocean, and into the great blue. To be written back by a stranger that would soon become important to her, even if he was never the one those words were ever meant for.
1056
1057There's a part of her that hates it, in a way. Hates that he's here with her right now. Not because of him -- Twelve above, no, not because of him at all, though she wants to cry and pound on his chest and yell at him and chase that expression away from his face -- but because it adds another regret to the pile that's formed within her heart. A regret for not telling him herself, all those years ago, more of herself. A fantastical story that defies the laws governing the world, surpassing them with magic and science and prayer. How many times did he subtly poke and pry and ask, and she only gave him half-answers and faint truths that never amounted to something this grand of scale?
1058Propriety be damned. She caves, hands sliding up his body in full, moving from his sides to his sides, outwards past his arms, along his shoulders and his neck, to hold his face between her palms. If someone happens along through the hedges, she'll find a way to explain it then and only then, and spare no thought to it until it arises. "I would have you talk," she stresses with a curl of her fingers, nails pressing momentarily against his cheeks, before straightening again. If memory serves her right (a joke that she'll probably snicker at later on), there is an hour until the hunt even begins, judging by the sun marking early morn.
1059
1060"It's been years, Sche. I thought you-- I thought you were dead," she whispers the last word of the sentence under her breath as if it were a curse. "You show up on the battlefield like that after years, and now you're here again after years." Her brows knit as her hands roam, past his ears to his hair, fingers threading and running through the russet strands. "Are you going to vanish and reappear in a few more years?"
1061
1062In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?
1063 
1064Powell06/19/2019
1065He was ready to follow her lead. To solve the mystery of her memories, look around for clues to bringing her back. Protect her and her little ones if need be, even if it was just an echo and recreation of a bad day. He was an adventurer. A Stormbreaker. He loved her, deeply, desperately, since he was a boy. And--
1066
1067And...
1068
1069And he was decidedly not ready for her hands upon him, sliding over him, exploring his arms, his shoulders. Broader than she remembers, muscles fully matured, at last. Carteneau was barely a few seconds - here, they had a fully realized dreamscape of memory, and maybe an hour. Highlander blood. Royal blood, a secret not yet fully known and understood by either of them. He felt like Allagan titanium beneath her touch. 
1070
1071His bravado is reduced to a mildly surprised, "Ah," and, instinctively to give her easier access to paw all over him, he sinks down to the ground beside the fountain. Letting her crawl on top of him, her palms on his face, her stare intent into his eyes. Propriety be damned, indeed. "I... I'd rather not vanish again, if I can 'elp it. I want to stay by yer side, Mist. If ye'll still 'ave me." He is unable to articulate any further for a little while, simply holding her, gazing at her.
1072He finally finds his voice again after a few moments. "And... s'true. I should've died at Carteneau." His hands rest at her hips. The temptation is strong to just pin her down and-- no, no, no. Her daughter is right there. Somewhere in the hedge. "After wha' I let th' Empire do to me. Caught me like th' amateur weakling tha' I was. After what I did to th' Alliance in their service. Killed all those people." The old ache returns, and he averts his gaze from her, ashamed. "Ye were righ', Mist. I should 'ave listened to you tha' day. I should 'ave stayed with ye at th' lake. I should never 'ave left."
1073
1074He stares at the base of the fountain, his expression unreadable. "But me sensei found me. Laleta. She trained with me granddad. Was a Fist of Rhalgr, jus' like him." The highlander exhales, reluctantly looking back at his fairy princess. Clad in the white silks of an empress. "She dragged me 'ome, barely alive. An' I spent th' next few years rehabilitatin'... retrainin'... learnin' new arts."
1075
1076He offers her a small smile. "It's been a long five years. There's been a lot of people. Good, decent people. Even with all th' hardship an' challenge." The Palace of the Dead, and his friends in the Harried Vow. Leaving Eorzea for Othard. Training Mana and Ash, co-founding his company with Ada. Rescuing Rosemary. Ivalice, Dun Scaith... almost dying himself. Being saved from bleeding to death himself, and--
1077"I... I don't want to lose you, ever."
1078
1079...oh... oh, no. His expression falters, and he flinches, eyes squeezing shut for a few moments, barely opening once or twice.
1080
1081"And... I know it's so soon, but... I know I'm yours. Schez, will you..."
1082
1083Please, no. Not here. Not now. He kept that locked away for a reason.
1084
1085"...will you marry me?"
1086
1087His gaze flickers toward his left hand. No ring on his finger, in this dreamscape. The same way he'd taken it off in the real world--
1088
1089"You never loved me!"
1090
1091No, she never said that. No, that's not true.
1092
1093"You USED me! I was always only just a replacement for HER!"
1094
1095That's a lie. No, those words are all in my head. She just vanished. She never said such cruel things. She just disappeared--
1096
1097His eyes fly open. His gaze averts again to the side, even as Mist keeps her palms on his cheeks.
1098
1099It's another few moments before his voice returns. "...an' I was wed. Like ye." His gaze drifts up again toward the fountain. "And it ended poorly. Like yours."
1100 
1101๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/19/2019
1102At one point, ten summers long since past, she prided herself in knowing his body well. How could she not? She'd spent another ten summers prior to that learning about him in that regard. From the time he became a man in his family's eyes at the age of thirteen to the day he vanished from her life at twenty-three, their relationship allowed her to do such things. Small fights and harsh words exchanged led to making up at night under the starlight, but he'd been different. Smaller, in many ways, less filled out. Proof of the changes she'd noticed, albeit briefly, upon the fields of Carteneau six summers past.
1103
1104Six years is not a short measure of time. She thought him dead; he most likely thought the same. Lives move on. There is no route to go beyond that, taking one of the many branching paths forward. Forever a forward motion, with the stars to guide her path to the Light, and the earth to guide his path toward the Dark.
1105
1106Sitting there, adjusting herself to get more comfortable on his lap, it feels like there's been no time at all. No, six years is not a short measure of time, but it feels like it, and the three before it, melt away entirely. Nearly a decade without him and sitting there in that moment, he's the same boy she used to point out stories of the constellations to, and listens whenever he weaves his own tales about his clan in return. Of all the adventures they'll one day have. One day when she can leave the lake, one day when the world opens to them.
1107"We've changed," it's the most simple, plain thing she can utter, and she does so with her hands returning from his hair, from his cheeks, from his shoulders down to his chest, resting splayed fingers across the muscles of his abdomen. If she were to lift his shirt, guide him to the ground onto his back, how many new marks would mar his skin? A sentiment to decide whether or not she wants to explore at a later time, in a place that is not too close to her home for comfort.
1108
1109"There are choices you made that I may not agree with... or like... but they are your choices, through and through, and I cannot fault you for them. There are many I have made in recent years, too, that you would find yourself disagreeing with." The scars of Carteneau linger within him, a constant reminder of a mistake that cost him, and many others, too much. Pain she was not there to soothe away. Even if his marriage ended poorly, she hopes beyond hope the woman brought him some small measure of happiness and comfort, and a place to find solace in the middle of the storm.
1110
1111Her hands dip. Feeling the muscles in his legs, in his inner thighs -- though she's careful not to linger there too long, fingertips ghosting back to his ribs, raising herself. The kiss she presses to his forehead is chaste, soft and innocent in nature, and when she pulls back, she's all smiles. "You've done well, Sche. You've done enough. You can rest sometimes, you know." There's laughter in her voice, light and melodic, and she winks up at him. "But if you're going to be peeking into my mind with me, then let's get you dressed for the part. I came from a large family, one that Xande only knows a small number of members from, and saying you are a cousin who has come to visit from the Far East will do enough to get you inside the palace proper."
1112 
1113Powell06/19/2019
1114Her voice, her lips light upon his brow - it soothes him. Banishes the specters he creates in his own head. Even as her fingers explore the rest of him, there's little arousal - instead, he is transported back, all those years ago, to those innocent days by the lake. Her laughter is the same from back then, as is her wink, and he allows himself to smile back again. "Thank you, luv," he murmurs softly. "You're righ'. We 'ave changed. We've been through too much, on our own roads. But I... want to learn about all th' choices ye made, too. Everythin' ye went through."
1115
1116I do remember loving you. And whatever you are now, alive, or not. Physical body or no. Fragmented soul or not. Disapproving empress' frown or not. I want to fall in love with you all over again. Every morning, when I wake up.
1117
1118He leaves the sentiment unsaid. "But fer now..." Carefully, taking her hand in his, he rises, helping them both to their feet. Smiling back at her.
1119
1120"Wha' about Kazuhiko, fer a name?" He glances around the fountain and the hedges again, wondering where little Astra was. "He was a decent bloke I met in th' Far East, back in our day."
1121 
1122๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/19/2019
1123"Kazuhiko it is." 
1124
1125Later, not too far into the future, in another shard entirely, they'll reunite. In the middle of a fight against a Sin Eater, literally falling from the sky, she'll flash him the same smile and wink that she is now, and be whole once more. Flesh and blood, corrupted aether forming crystalline scales over her skin, iridescent horns shimmering in the light from their weapons. Side by side for the first time in the physical realm, outside of dreams and memories, in so long. Then they'll have the time to talk about everything on their minds, to express sentiments they hold inside, and to figure out what paths they want to walk toward the future on.
1126
1127Along the path back, a pouty little girl chides her mother for taking too long, and ravenette is quick to scoop her up and nuzzle their cheeks together. She practically glows when messy kisses pepper her cheeks, carrying the small child the rest of the way. Astraenne seems quite content to make faces at the highlander during the walk, occasionally giggling and ducking away when he indulges her with one of his own, much to Mist's clear amusement.
1128
1129A scene easily replaced with a woodland path and a pig-tailed girl merrily riding her father's shoulders, with a little boy examining the nearby flora to learn about it.
1130In the hours that follow, she introduces him to two more important people in the memory unfolding around them. Alysine, the pony-tailed runt of a girl with her mother's hair and her father's eyes, who squints up at him in suspicion because he's bigger than she's ever going to be, and Bertha, a non-nonsense kitchen maid that is quick to immediately begin piling food high on a plate that seems impossibly capable of holding all of it. Recipes and tastes from an era long gone, with sweets full of spices that leave the tongue burning after swallowing.
1131
1132"Alysine and Astraenne are in their rooms. I was here," she explains between sips of honey mead with traces of, strangely enough, pumpkin in the back of it. "A celebration that occurs every year on this day of foundings, when we officially claimed this land to be our empire. It rose so quickly... in just a few years, this land became home." She leans closer, cupping her hand by his ear, as if sharing a secret. "Silvertear. The lake around the castle is Silvertear."
1133
1134She leans back, clapping her hands together. "Hard to believe, isn't it? But it's true, swearsies!"
1135 
1136Powell06/19/2019
1137https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crTa1BVJ6os
1138
1139A Warrior of Light, former empress, shining star eternal and bright, intertwining with a Warrior of Darkness, earthborn, doomed to die. Was this something either crystal ever knew, ever intended to happen? Were they meant to make war upon each other, not love?
1140
1141Who could say? Such musings were far beyond mortal ken. A mortal like Schezar, no - Kazuhiko, for the moment. Ignoring the memories in his own mind as he grinned, stuck his tongue out at the little girls, made himself look as stupid as possible with goofy faces for their amusement. Occasionally sticking fruit and veggies up his nose while their mother was distracted. Trying to ignore the pangs in his own heart.
1142
1143"I... I can never bear you children, because of what they did to me. Schez, I--"
1144
1145"It doesn't matter. Harue... I meant wha' I said. Yes, a thousand times yes."
1146
1147His role models were his own father, Cormac. His grandfather, Gehrman. Both devoted to the clan. Both full of booming laughter, strong, comforting hugs for their little ones. More than anything else, more than being a mighty warrior, he wanted to be like them. This was something he'd never said aloud to anyone... not even her. His fairy princess, sitting beside him right now, as they feasted on long-lost delights.
1148
1149He wanted this. More than anything else, he wanted to be a decent dad. He did what he could for Bisine, and the orphans at the Pearl - but their lives remained separate from his. They had to be, with all the dangers he chose to put himself in, for profit, for the stability of nations, for the unknown. Testing and learning beyond the limits of the star, of space and time. Though he smiles for them, the sight of both Alysine and Astraenne giggling in their mother's arms - and the foreknowledge of their fates - rends his heart more deeply than words can ever say.
1150YouTube
1151DarkRyuSamurai
11521st IGNITION (from Wild Arms 2)
1153
1154Later on, holding his own mug of mead, he listens to her, with a faintly thoughtful look. "But then, that has to be why you were tied to the lake." His gaze drifts toward a nearby window - his accent clean, clipped, precise. Even his demeanor and posture emulate Eastern discipline and mindfulness. Tradecraft was often part of the job. Glancing around before continuing, making sure they're alone, he murmurs, "Your spirit had to heal here. And I do believe it. Silverlake is - was your home." His eyes meet hers. "You were always here. We just met by pure chance." He tries to smile back at her, trying not to be too pensive. "More than a hundred Sharlayan scholars would kill for a glimpse of all this, I think."
1155 
1156๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/19/2019
1157Pure chance. Surprisingly, she likes the sound of it. That their meeting was not something ordained by the cosmos, that it happened merely because she crawled into the water looking for a flower out of reach and a little boy happened to be there to rescue her. Nothing more than that.
1158
1159The spicy cake finished (she makes a mental note to recreate the recipe with a different twist down the road), she glances up and lets her eyes roam across the ceiling, taking a mental route of the castle. The winding passages and the twists a person could take along the way. Were there more time and freedom within the scene, she'd take him everywhere. To the alcove in the library she spent too much time in, the other garden with the exotic flowers from eastern countries that Xande works on negotiating with regularly, and the secret passages underneath her bed leading to lengthy passages. 
1160
1161But she wants to show him her atelier more. The garden full of fruits and veggies she grows, the cauldron she synthesizes every day on, the forest paths that reveal nature's bounty to those passing through. The fishtank with her 'babies' and the waterfalls near her cottage, and the people who come to her for all sorts of things. Not all good, mind, but she receives more joy from suffering, and those that cheer her on or ask for help leave a longer impression than those who curse her for failing them in some way.
1162
1163Minutes pass by, light conversation of the people in the castle filling it up. It's a good distraction because she knows the moment it all begins, and begin it does when she trails off and closes her eyes -- because it begins with a scream.
1164"Three in the east hall. Two in the north. The guards intercept them," she explains as they begin to move. She knows where to be, knows that her children are safe despite the panic she once felt as this unfolded. "One guard is hurt. A surprise attack from five coming in through the second floor. Around this corridor, one of our men--"
1165
1166Blood. A guard curled up on the floor where he's fallen. Throat slit. She pauses. Eyes narrow in confusion. "Malinhort?" The name falls from her lips. "No... no. That's not right. He didn't die here. He just... was knocked out."
1167
1168Another scream. This time one that causes an immediate bolting action, no longer questioning the authetnicity of her own memory. "Astraenne! Alysine!" They were fine during this time. They were never hurt, never put out, never-- never touched in any of this. What changed? Could memories even change like this?
1169
1170The door to their room is easy enough to reach. She throws the door open, expecting the worst her mind can conjure up, and breaths deeply. Nothing. There's no one in the room, no one to scream. Untouched and unmaimed. Which meant one of two things; neither comforting.
1171
1172"Either I am not remembering this day correctly," Mist whispers, "or something is changing in this."
1173 
1174Powell06/19/2019
1175He loved every bit of meat, savored every moment of the spice cakes as they went down. Dream or not, memory or not, every sensation felt real. Tempted for a moment to stuff some of the cakes and exotic spices down his pocket to snack on later, before thinking better of it and behaving. His thoughts drifted back briefly to meeting her parents, and that night in the forest. Then, once the screams begin, he rises to follow her, his gray changshan robe barely making a sound against the seat.
1176
1177Once they find the corpse, he breaks out into a sprint after her as she rushes for her daughters' room. If things were changing, then the rules were changing, rapidly. He strides inside, one finger immediately rising to his ear - before belatedly remembering, no linkpearl, no homebase connection, no backup. "We'll find them," he answers her, trying to keep his tone as reassuring and level as possible.
1178
1179He investigates every corner, lifting and looking under the bed, even the furniture, opening their cabinets, their drawers, gaze sweeping up to the ceiling and walls. Checking for hidden passageways. "Do you remember anything else at all? Schedules, servants' habits, the people around you. Your hus-- the emperor." He glances toward her, his expression calm and sympathetic. Trying to be her steady bulwark, her port in the storm in all of this. Her home.
1180
1181"Anything that might give us a clue where to check next." He moves to a window, peering outside, looking both above and below. He leaves one last, disquieting suspicion unvoiced - that her memory of this day was faulty, or modified, and false to begin with. That what they were experiencing now might have been what actually, truly took place, all those centuries ago.
1182 
1183๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/20/2019
1184The events of the day unfolded rapidly in her mind's eye. Being in the kitchen munching on sweet cakes, hearing the scream, moving through the halls quickly to find the guard knocked out, moving to the throne room where people were gathering, and finding the leader of the intruding bandits. A message to the emperor of the false empire; blood for blood, flesh for flesh. Her daughters, safe and sound, in their rooms without knowing what happened far below their floors. 
1185
1186Varied schedules, the habits of servants, unusual people around, what Xande was doing at this time... none of it seemed out of place. Only the maid that let them in from the underground passage stood out, and only because she had been a new one hired mere days before, but she had been taken care of quickly. Because they needed to send a message in return for the attempts made that day. 
1187
1188"The western tower. I taught Alysine to take her sister there if anything ever happens. It isn't far from here, and along the wall is a tapestry. Lift the right side to find a block in the wall that does not match the colors of the others exactly." She takes his hands in hers when he is near, squeezing them tightly. "Take the hallway on the left. Up a flight of stairs, then head straight forward forward. You'll see an archway and crystal lanterns at the end of the hall. It leads to the tower, and before the archway is the tapestry."
1189
1190The throne room. She needs to be there, to make sure they aren't there. But the tower is just as likely. Two places to go, two people to search. "The wall there opens. A bunker, just in case something has ever happened, with an exit under the bed. The girls know to stay in there until mama-- until I come for them." 
1191
1192Come to think of it, Malinhort quit his post after this attack.
1193 
1194Powell06/20/2019
1195He nods in curt agreement as she squeezes his fingers. "If I find them, I'll protect them with my life. You have my word." Even if it were just a dream, a memory - it all still mattered deeply to her. He could see that plain in her eyes. On reflex, he leans close to brush his lips against hers - then stops at the last second. Instead, he lightly kisses her forehead, as chaste as she was earlier, in the garden. They still had to play the part. "Good luck, Mi-- Nau. Stay safe."
1196
1197With another small nod, he gently lets go of her hands, and steps out into the hall. Glancing in both directions, before heading west in a quick, efficient jog, making as little noise as possible. His training  and experience kicking in, he slowed at every corner, checking the ceiling and walls constantly for signs of disturbance, listening carefully. He wasn't sure yet if he could summon his armor or his sword here - he hadn't tried, yet. Gods willing, he wouldn't have to. But who could say for certain with dream logic? Hallway then stairs, lanterns and archway, then...
1198
1199Tapestry, tapestry... there. He did one more visual sweep of the hall before unlocking the bunker, trying to extend his chakra and aether to sense hidden threats as well, before unlocking the bunker. If he'd learned anything over the years, it was that there was no such thing as too paranoid. After carefully using the brick and stepping through, he made sure to pull on the wall and shut the path behind him again.
1200
1201As he neared what appeared to be the bed, he looked around and called out. "Aly-cat? Astra? Little flower? It's your uncle Kaz. Girls, are you here?"
1202
1203There was no time to really ponder about it, not in the heat of the moment, but he could start to see how founding an empire - and ruling as top dog - simply meant that everyone else would come gunning for you. Or mess with your head enough to make you think that, all the time. Just like you said, Grandma. No wonder you left that life behind.
1204 
1205๖ۣۜζ͜͡ Luna?06/20/2019
1206A quiet bunker, one of the many secrets of the castle, seems to be empty at first. No sound except his own voice. It's a flicker of light near the bed, red and white fabric slowly materializing, and the sinking of sheets that marks her emergence, eyes drifting shut with a sigh that does not tear itself free. "They are safe, they are well. In the quarters with servants who stand loyal to us through thick and thin, until the dark days a decade beyond this point."
1207
1208The empress winds a hand through her hair, eyes opening slowly. "She doesn't yet know why today is so important. Because her memories of the day are wrong. He saw to that, a way to... calm my hysteria. To bring me back to his bed when I no longer wished to be touched." Her head tilts ever so slightly to the side, a tight smile in place. "No rumors spread from it. No questions were asked. A mere alteration of the days events to soothe me, and by doing so, created the first rift that would carry on for longer than it ever should. Because instead of being my husband, he chose to be the emperor, through and through. To erase a problem through illusion because it would quicker and easier."
1209
1210A day of blood, of a message sent, and of another betrayal. The retaliation for those who launched the attack came swift and crushing, and no more were made. But in the days of the empire's youth, it wasn't as smooth sailing as many would believe.
1211
1212"This... I... and she," Nausicaa murmurs, "would prefer if you did not watch. Stay with me and wait."