fearlessly | (no subject)

[ even before she sees his face, it is his voice that she recognizes.

the sound of it hits her like a fist to the gut, and alisaie's rapier very nearly slips from her hand in shock. save for the scions already here, alisaie has grown rather used to not seeing familiar faces, and she certainly never expected that he.. that x'rhun might arrive here..

gods, how long has it been? her throat contracts. ]

-- Rhun?

[ agape, alisaie only just catches her rapier as it slides from her grip, her eyes wide, fixed on his face. he'll have to get used to that sand in his ears, it isn't going to go away. ]

Is it.. how - is it truly you?

Edited 2020-03-27 07:40 (UTC)

[ Some part of him had feared that Alisaie might not remember, that the time spent on El Nysa was truly some kind of wild dream that put memories in his head and scars upon his body. The instant his name - his name, excluding the tribal letter and all - escapes her mouth, he knows that she, too, remembers.

He is glad and heartbroken for her all at once, because remembering meant leaving loved ones behind, and Alisaie had loved the hardest of them all. ]

'Tis truly I. [ He spreads his arms, ready and waiting for a hug. ] Now come here. I have missed you something fierce.

[ she knows, in an instant, that it is him. x'rhun would have recognized her regardless - he was her mentor on the source, and so even if he had not recalled el nysa he would still have known her fondly - but she can see, in his face, in his body language, that he remembers everything, he remembers it all. there are so few people she can talk to about her time in el nysa, about all she learned and lived and endured there, about all she left behind. who she left behind. it is a silent grief that she has carried alone.

but now she feels it welling up in the quiet, gentle understanding in his eyes, overwhelming her in a warm crashing wave. his arms open, and alisaie does not hesitate to rush into them, her rapier dropped to the sands. she does not know why he is here, how he managed it, but right now it does not matter - he is warm and solid and real, not a dream or imagining, and it feel like a lifetime since she has seen him. hot tears prick her eyes, and she presses her face to the front of his coat, her hands tight in his cape. ]

I've missed you, too.

[ more than he knows, but then, he likely knows exactly how much. ]

[ How long has Alisaie carried the burden of her time spent on another world? How long has she suffered, alone in the knowledge that she has left an entire life behind? A home and a husband and many friends. Too long, most likely, and X’rhun could kick himself for not trying to find her sooner.

He vows to make up for it now, as she buries her face against his chest. His arms encircle her tightly, a silent vow that he will not let her go again.

They stand like that a while, the wind and sand forgotten even as it batters them both. When X’rhun finally eases away from the embrace, he still keeps his hands on her shoulders. Much as he does not like to show any sort of weakness to her, not when she relies on him so, his eyes are just as wet as hers when he looks down at her. Yes, there is no doubt that he knows just how much she might have missed him. ]

I imagine we have a lot of catching up to do, but mayhap the middle of a windy desert is not the place, hm?

[ it's not often that alisaie allows herself this sort of thing, and it has been.. decidedly difficult, being without affection, which is a struggle she had never really expected to experience. but she had learned a great deal about herself in el nysa, broken down walls and opened her heart and she'd grown so accustomed to the constant stream of physical affection that it isn't until now, when she feels how warm and solid x'rhun's arms are, when she smells his clothes, that she realizes how much she has missed real, warm touch. being close to another person. it feels like a great relief to connect with someone so important again, someone who can understand what she's been through better than anyone else here could. what they've been through.

keeping her emotions well schooled is no easy task, but alisaie has too much pride to break down sobbing in the middle of these bright sands (foreshadowing?? probably not), so once they part she gathers herself up, sucking in a deep, trembling breath. her eyes are wet and her face and ears are red but she holds on fast to her composure. ]

Aye. Let us not attract any more sin eaters than we already have.

[ she says, swiping quickly at her eyes, and ducking to lift her rapier from the sands, slipping it back into place on her hip. there. it's fine. everything's fine!! straightening her shoulders, she gestures ahead of them, and begins to walk. ]

But you had best believe that I want to hear absolutely everything.

[ For all that Alisaie does not like to show her deeper emotions to others, X'rhun has seen them an awful lot. Perhaps that's just a consequence of the life they were forced to live on El Nysa. Being told that everything you knew and loved was destroyed had a way of stripping a person bare, letting even closely guarded emotions drift to the surface.

Their time on that other world had changed the both of them, and he is so glad to have her here, real and solid and warm in his arms. More glad than he even thought possible. ]

I shall warn you now that I've nothing terribly exciting to tell.

[ He tugs his hood back up as they walk, for all the good it does him. Perhaps he ought to have grabbed a hat ere he left the city, but nothing they had to offer seemed a suitable replacement for his usual one. ]

It has been days, mayhap a week at best, since you collapsed at Ghimlyt.

[ it's too late for the hood now, he's just going to have to get used to sandy ears, like she has. at least he can fold his ears back and out of the wind! alisaie does not have that luxury, these ears catch everything!! ]

A week?

[ .. however often she's heard of these time differences between the first and the source, it never fails to feel jarring, the idea of it sitting in her stomach like a stone. it's unnatural. spooky. she shakes her head. ]

.. I suppose that would make sense. It has been several moons for me, now.

[ It's true, miqo'te ears are the superior ears. ]

Aye. Even having lived something similar before, the notion still baffles.

[ He has lived the course of an entire year, only to find himself back home where no time had passed at all. There is some comfort in knowing that Alisaie carries with her this incongruity as well, but he certainly didn't want for either of them to have to live though it again. ]

That said, I had hoped to reconnect with you at Ghimlyt, but I was too late to do so.

[ wow hey i didn't say that!!

she smiles thinly, and shrugs her shoulders, the tips of her ears pink with mild embarrassment. ]

.. I suppose you caught the tail end of that humiliating display, then.

[ she says wryly, and shakes her head. the irony of her collapse is certainly not lost on her, and she won't forget it - nor will she allow the exarch to forget it - and no matter how often x'rhun might have seen her prone or injured or sick, it does not get any easier. it makes her feel silly, to be so vulnerable. ]

Ah, well. What news from Ghimlyt, then?

[ he's the first she's seen from home, that did not arrive before her. ]

Would it make you feel better were I to say you collapsed with grace?

[ As if anyone can "collapse with grace", but he certainly wouldn't have thought of her falling unconscious through circumstances beyond her control as humiliating. ]

The Empire has withdrawn, for now, but 'tis only a matter of time ere they move again. Would that I could be there to lend a hand, but it seems that anyone too close to the Warrior of Light runs the risk of being snatched up by the Exarch in their stead.

Only marginally. And that is assuming I believed you.

[ not to call x'rhun a liar, but she certainly wouldn't put it past him to.. soften the blow to save her pride, but they both know she collapsed at a most inconvenient and ironic time.

anyway, alisaie sighs hard, shaking her head; it's clear enough that she's none too fond of the reminder. she's done goo work here, and honestly, she is happy to help in whatever ways she can, were they asked here for aid she would have risen to the call without hesitation, but that is not what has happened. being so far from home when eorzea is in need is a terribly helpless feeling. gd exarch. ]

So it would seem. Well, pleased as I am to see you, I am sorry that you too have been caught up in the flow.

Yes, well, perhaps it couldn't be helped. That Exarch fellow has terrible aim, doesn't he?

[ Not to mention a very poor sense of timing.

He's very sure that Alisaie had words for the man. X'rhun, for his part, had tried to be at least somewhat sympathetic - there was an entire world on the line, after all. ]

Might I suggest that our next family reunion be somewhere on our own star?

He certainly does.

[ she says, trying not to sound spiteful, but she sounds a little spiteful. regardless of the exarch's good intentions she will probably hold this grudge against him forever. she does not forgive. she does not forget.

also, the inn grows nearer! its spires draw close as they walk. ]

I should hope it would be, but I've hopeless little control over that, it would seem. Anyroad, we are nearly there now. I suspect you're hungry?

[ Ah, yes. There it is, that tell-tale hint of anger in her words. No wonder Alisaie parted from the Crystarium as she did. Perhaps the subject of the Exarch is one best left avoided.

Besides, now that she mentions it, he is quite hungry. As is the way of things, the instant he becomes aware, his stomach growls rather loudly. ]

Mayhap more than I realized. I hope it will not be too much trouble to have another mouth to feed.

[ x'rhun is such a smart man..

but she laughs now, because that growl is quite audible across the echoing sands, especially to their sensitive ears. it's been quite awhile since last she laughed. ]

We can manage. There may be some stew left over from last night. 'Tis leftovers, but honestly I think it tastes even better on the second day.

[ Leave it to his stomach to undo any lingering hopes of dignity he might have had, but it's worth it in the end to hear Alisaie laugh. From what little he has heard of this place, the inn in particular, it does not seem like there is much laughter to be found. ]

I am hardly one to be picky, especially now. Afterwards, though, I would very much like it if you'd show me around.

I don't see why not, but there is little enough to see around here.

[ the inn is rather a bleak and empty place, hardly fit for tourism, and wider amh araeng is.. not much better, really. mord souq is the liveliest place in this light-blasted desert, and it's full of kobolds tryna make you eat worms.

alisaie leads him to a wooden table. ]

But go on, rest your feet.

[ Yes, well, though this is far from X’rhun’s first jaunt across time and space, being in a new world - even one nine-tenths annihilated - means there are new things to see. Even if that new thing is a sprawling desert.

X’rhun does as he’s bid, slipping out of his cloak and shaking the sand from the folds in the fabric before he takes a seat. Once settled, he casts around the place. There is certainly a… prevailing mood, and somewhat knowing the inn’s purpose, it is no small wonder the place isn’t grimmer. The men and women who care for the inn’s tenants are likely to thank for that, and X’rhun finds himself admiring their courage. He’s better when faced with a foe he can fell with his blade, and to do what they do would put him out of his depth - or so he believes.

But if he is to stay here with Alisaie, which he absolutely plans to do, he’s going to have to learn. ]

I am not so old and frail a little walk across the desert has me longing for rest.

[ He says, already sitting down. ]

Is that so?

[ she watches while he sits, to see that he is comfortable, before she crosses past him toward an iron pot of stew. it's already warmed up from lunchtime, so it's easy enough for her to ladle a good helping into a bowl, sliding it onto the table with a heel of bread, before scooping herself a serving as well, and plopping a pitcher of water between them.

and at last, she drops down heavily on the bench across from his. bon appétit!! ]

Are you sure those bones of yours aren't a little old and creaky?

[ Sharing a meal with her is a little bittersweet. There should be a third member at this table, and a myriad of animals crowding around their feet, but instead it is only the two of them. That’s a blessing in itself, and not one he is quick to overlook, but he cannot help but being reminded of another time.

He waves his spoon at her, as if he’s trying to scold her. It doesn’t work terribly well, because even if as a mentor he can put his foot down, it’s a different story when he plays the part of a parent. ]

If there is any creaking around here, I assure you, it is not coming from me. This poor table, perhaps.

[ x'rhun isn't the only one feeling that keen absence, one alisaie has been feeling for quite some time now, reminded of a world that feels a lifetime away, like a fever dream behind them. honestly, sometimes she wonders if she had made the entire thing up, if it had not happened at all, but the memories are too real, too strong, stuck stubbornly to her heart. rhun's presence here stirs up that old pain, but gods, it is worth the feeling to have him here, to see his face, to hear his voice. ]

Are you so sure about that?

[ she teases with ease, her mouth curling in a sharp smile while she tears off a hunk of hard bread to dip into the stew's broth. ]

I could get you some ointment for those old knees of yours, if you like.

[ she got that ICY HOT HANDY!! this ungrateful daughter ]

Quite sure, thank you!

[ This child!!

Any attempt at indignance is lost in his smile – for as bittersweet as this is, it’s good for the both of them. He’d been worried sick about her, constantly kicking himself for not finding his way to her side sooner, and to see her grin and tease is like a weight off his heart. ]

You ought to be nicer to me, you know, since you’re stuck with me now.

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pls forgive my slowness, ff7r eats me alive daily

it's okay, i understand for it has also eaten my husband

it has spat me out at last..

we just finished tonight, what a wild ride

IT SURE WAS

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comes back to this TEN YEARS LATER!!

WHOMST