#Touched by infinity|Alphinaud Leveilleur

[galaxy-0f-muses]

@lights-flickering-flame asked: "Alphinaud... There's something I need to tell you before we make our way into the Holy See." She stops them before the gates and of ear shot of the guards. It's something she should've said even before they set foot into Coerthas. "I know you sensed something was off when we were last here and how some of the houses spoke to me. But the truth is I was once of a noble house." She took a moment to glance towards the gates. "I was at an age where I didn't get to learn about maintaining an estate. So, when my parents died. Everything sort of fell apart and my house fell. The church came and told me I needed to give up everything to them. I was homeless for a great deal of time before I'd gotten help at camp dragonhead. I haven't been back since that humiliating day. I wouldn't expect a friendly invitation from any of the other houses minus the Fortemps." Eliane lifts the hood on a cloak over her head. "Once we're in and somewhere we can chat. You can ask more questions. I just needed to warn you our reception might not be so great." She might be the warrior of light, but this failure of hers seems to still follow behind. -for Alphinaud!! No prompt!

The young Elezen had plenty on his mind at this moment. All the work they had done to get to this point. The enemies they had crossed, and the places they traveled to up until this point. Especially after what he would likely consider his biggest mess-up of all time. The wonder if this would even amount to anything, and if things would get any better than they were currently. It was a constant concern he had, even as he had found himself staring at the large building once he was halted.

It was also a halt for his mind, for the time being.

But she indeed had a point where he seemed somewhat aware that something had seemed to be off. Alphinaud simply figured that it wasn't his business at the time and that there had been more to be concerned about at the time. But the truth was a rather harsh reality check for him to be given now, of all times.

This. . . Would have been convenient to know before they were walking into the very place that had these underlying issues for her. They had cards to play against them that he didn't even realize they had until this moment. "I. . . See." One of his hands gripped for a moment, trying to think of what would be best to do in this moment. After all, this could end. . . Very poorly for them with the additional context.

"Allow me to do the majority of the talking for us, then." Perhaps they could get through this without them noticing too much, or using it as a card, if he was acting as the main force for them and the Scions as a group.

But he had many questions once this was all said and done.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

@lights-flickering-flame asked: "Whoa! Hey, I've got you -" -for Alphinaud There they go

To be fair, the other hadn't expected his body to react the way it did out of sheer relief that the scenario they were so concerned about was over. Perhaps he had been overworking himself, or the stress had simply built up to be some grand thing his body was taking on. But it was nothing compared to what she had to deal with up until this point.

"I'm quite fine, really." Just as quickly as he had found himself nearly on the ground, he was moving to get himself back upright properly. He knew full well that he was the least of the worries at the moment. "Are you alright? Do you need any healing?"

[galaxy-0f-muses]

@diverse-hearts asked: "Where have you been?" - Alphinuld / Alisaie Unprompted

Well, drat, she was busted.

"Oh. . . Just out for a walk." Alisaie smiled, hoping that it would be enough to convince her brother to not question her recent. . . Trip out. She had noticed that he seemed tired, so she went ahead and, while out on that little 'walk', might have. . . Killed a few things to be able to make something to help wake him up a bit.

The only reason she came back was because she may or may not have upset something a bit more dangerous- So she figured heading back was for the best. at least she got enough to last a while-

"What are you doing awake at this time of night yourself, hm?"

[galaxy-0f-muses]

@diverse-hearts asked: "Did you find what you were looking for?" - Alphy / Maika Unprompted

"I. . . Think so?" Was this the cheese that this was all about? The fact that they cleaned the entire place out over some cheese. Not because Brayflox needed help. Not because it was the right thing to do. . . Cheese.

She pulled herself back up with the wheel of cheese in her arms, confusion on her face. It was huge, and she was honestly having a bit of trouble keeping it up. "D-do we really need this much? I know this is what I was supposed to get, but this feels-" A bit much, indeed.

She was starting to buckle a bit under the weight of the damned thing. "I-I can't do it-. . . Too much- TOO MUCH CHEESE!" She ended up dropping it, and next thing she knew. . .

It was trying to roll away.

"NO!" She screeched, starting to go after it as best as she could-

[galaxy-0f-muses]

The Au Ra found herself, if anything, curious more than anything regarding the other. Very quiet and reserved, but willing to offer advice to those who need it. It made her wonder if he was going to be someone that she would come across again. . .

Ah, that wasn't worth thinking about at this moment, was it?

"Yes, of course. . . Have a good day." She silently nodded to the other, getting back up herself to look around and see where they may be another one for her to attune to since she was already doing it. . . Keeping her feet properly planted onto the ground this time, the woman teleported elsewhere, leaving the Elezen alone.

It took less time than she thought to get the rest of the locations and even found where the Conjurers Guild was and took it upon herself to begin the process of learning. She had always been told she had a high affinity for magic and the such, so she figured that this was a good place to begin. Hence her desire to go to Gridania over the other two city-states, even with her having had to pass through Limsa to get here.

"Don't apologize for making the mistake, learn from it. You won't get any better with magic like this without practicing and learning from the mistakes you make. And that goes for any kind of magic you try to learn." As Alphinaud spoke, he recalled back to some of the lessons he and his sister had learned back in Sharlayan. The biggest, and most important lesson that they had been taught, was that if they made a mistake that they would live from, then it was always key to learn from that mistake as to avoid making it again in the future.

Of course, this lesson wasn't be applied very well to Alphinaud's own actions, as he'd already told his sister that he wasn't going to be directly interacting with the Au Ra anymore, yet here he was. Doing just that again, as he taught her a lesson that he'd learned from something else as a whole.

"Now then, I aught to be off. I have a few more things that I need to take care of." And a couple more shards to attune to, not that he was stating that out loud. Recalling his own lack of wisdom, he didn't exactly need her following him. Not right then anyways.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

"Oh, Alphinaud!" She hadn't expected to see him here of all places, considering that she was fairly certain she had heard that he was supposed to be resting. But it was still nice to see the other nonetheless. After all, the holiday tended to be a commonly celebrated one, and she was not entirely sure if it was something he normally celebrated in Sharlayan. Since she didn't really have the time in the past to properly celebrate with him, this seemed like a good opportunity to try and understand not only him but some of the other Scions as well.

"That's the plan! I figured everyone else was busy, so it'd be a good time to try and get some things for everyone." Not to mention there was always something happening that she needed to help with. She never minded it too much, but she knew that the sooner she figured out how to solve the problems, the sooner everything would be smooth sailing for the rest of the celebration. "I don't mind helping out. It'd actually be pretty nice to be able to know what someone else plans on getting, so I don't get the same thing by accident."

@galaxy-0f-muses asked for Xmas Starter ~

"Hey! Are you going to the Starlight Celebrations?" He smiled as he ran over to catch up with Maika. He was supposed to be resting, but with the celebrations just around the corner, he felt like this was the perfect excuse to avoid the bed rest that his sister had been insisting he have for the last week or so. He was fine. She was just worrying over nothing.

"Oh and, can you maybe help me pick out a gift for the others? If I spend too much again...I'll be back on bed rest in no time...", he laughed weakly.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

He hated to say it, but it seems that he has been bested for the time being. She was right in every regard, and he knew pushing it anymore would lead to getting told off for now worrying about his own health. It seems that she was looking for a break, as well, so there was little reason to refuse at this rate. "Perhaps. . . Just for a minute. For both of our sakes."

The twin took a seat, letting out a breath as he tilted his head back to try and relax a little. His mind was still racing a million malms a minute, and there was plenty still on his mind outside of the newest round of chaos that has been thrown out into the open. The status of the others, figuring out what to do next, and the possible findings they may come across next. It was always something he had on his mind, trying to figure out the best course of action for himself and anyone else who may trust his judgment.

However, the comment she had stated had instantly gained his attention, his attention snapping to the other with wide, shocked eyes. "You had managed to sneak into Labyrinthos, of all places?!" He nearly couldn't believe his ears. He hadn't realized that was something that was possible until they snuck in themselves, but the possibility of it having been done by her in the past was a whole new thought entirely. "How in the Twelve did you manage that?"

"Mental fatigue can be as bad physical fatigue." She gestures to a nearby seat, keeping her eye on him to ensure he at least takes a seat. The mental tiredness was a feeling she'd grown overly familiar with. Though, she tends to hide it until it's too late. Well no. It's been a good chunk of her life honestly.

"I'm exhausted too." Admitting it to him might help him find some sort of comfort in knowing he wasn't alone. "We've all been through far too much hardship. More than any person should face in a lifetime. I bet you if you asked the others they'd share the same sentiment. Neither of us would be doing any good if we weren't feeling a bit better."

Though, she might as well give him a fun little reason to take a seat for a while. She's been known to have some interesting stories of her life. Eliane takes her seat and flags someone down to ask if they'd bring the two of them a hot chocolate. "Let us relax for a moment. I'll tell you about the time I got to visit Sharlayan when I was younger and 'accidentally' got myself into Labyrinthos when my father wasn't looking." She totally did it on purpose.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

She could say that, but he was still going to do so. After all, she was still considered a dear friend and ally. So there was always going to be a concern for her. If anything, he hated how he tended to be the one to be asked the question instead. He didn't see her get asked if she was alright often enough, and it always made him wonder just how okay she was overall. But. . . It tended to be something he didn't feel was his place to ask in the first place.

Not to mention. . . There was the attempt to make him rest, as he almost expected.

"It was little more than a simple mental barrier. I can continue-" He found himself surprised to hear the mild threat of his sister getting told about it. The primary 'threat' to being able to continue for one another more often than not. "There's no need to bring Alisaie into this, I assure you. She has enough to deal with as is." It would lead to. . . A lot that wasn't nessicary by any means. Not right now.

"You don't need to worry about me." She was already helping by bringing him back onto his feet. Ensuring he could stand on his own. Then, she folds her arms over her chest. It takes quite a bit to knock her down. The blessing of having dragon's blood flowing through her made it easier to withstand hits. But even that has its limits. Fortunately for her, it was one of those times.

"You should be concerned about yourself right now. Go rest. Even healers need to keep up their strength in order to help." Her healing skills are... very questionable... But being raised by a parent who had been a healer, she knew how important their rest was as well. "I'm more than fine. Really. It's nothing I can't handle. Go rest."

But if he's resistant. She's got trick up on her sleeve to make him go rest. "If you refuse, I could just tell your sister about this... Surely she knows a way to make you rest." She makes a playful grin.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

With a slow blink, she found herself looking over toward the other in surprise, lips parting for a moment. But then, she forced herself to sit back up, a hand on her back and the other on her head. It seems that her jump in realization made her fall right onto her butt. . . Tail twitching a tad in annoyance of the situation, she still found herself nodding toward the other, embarrassed.

Unable to look him in the eye, she responded, "O-oh, yes. . . That would be wise, wouldn't it?" Dianne let out a nervous chuckle, feeling defeated from what seemed to be a lack of common sense. She knew it was going to be hard to adjust, but she didn't think it'd be this bad. . .

Finally, she got up properly, wiping her clothes free of any debris from the teleport and fall. "I'll. . . Be more careful, from now on." If anything, she felt bad for seeming to be a annoyance to the other as often as she had been. "My apologies. . ."

Alphinaud, on the other hand, was more than used to the effect of simply just using the Aethernet to get from place to place in a city. Sharlyan had plenty of them around, which made for very easy travel at anytime of day or night. So, as he arrived back at the Aetheryte plaza, he couldn't help but notice the way that the Au Ra he'd met earlier was flat on her backside, staring up at the canopy above them. Had she fallen the moment she teleported?

Was she really so unused to the existence of an Aethernet? Or had she only ever used one in cursory fashion? He didn't know, and couldn't really tell. Part of him wanted to ask her if she was okay, but the rest of him also knew that he needed to attune to the rest to make traveling throughout the city easier on himself. . .

"You'll find that teleporting to an Aetheryte takes longer than using the Aethernet in any large city, and most larger cities are guaranteed to have an Aethernet system. If you have multiple stops in a city, it's worth being attuned to all of them within the city." A small tip for her, at the very least. A tip that she could share with future adventurers that she comes across to make them more useful to everyone else around here, and hopefully it would get the locals to stop complaining about their presence.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

While she initially didn't even notice the other, she noticed the fact that there was that similar notion of attunement happening, and her gaze traveled over to the source of it in light confusion. Ah, of course. . . They were new here too. Dianne had nearly forgotten about this.

But it allowed her to feel comfortable enough to do the same, reaching her hand out and allowing herself to attune to the shard of rock. . . The beautiful, large magic rock.

Once she felt the attunement to it properly hitting her, she found herself curious. Mindlessly, she allowed it to move to teleport her, expecting a moment for it to process before actually taking her back to the main one. Her eyes widened when she realized-

"EEK-" She squeaked before popping out of existence. That was a way to learn, she supposed-

As Alphinaud worked his way through the forest city, he couldn't help taking in the sights here and there as he worked at making sure that he wasn't missing anything that might serve as a good bargaining tool of some sort. He did have to negotiate a way to be able to find those Scions that his grandfather adored so dearly. Especially if he wanted to unite these city-states as one to fight back against Garlemald. Those individuals were going to have to act as the cornerstone to his goals.

Musing about these bits and pieces, he naturally went to use the Aethernet to attune and move back to one of the more central spots, when he spotted the Au Ra from earlier, staring at one of the shards in confusion. Not really saying much of anything, however, he stepped forward to go ahead and attune to the shard. This spot was going to be useful to him after all, and he'd rather have an easier time getting over to it.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

The elezen huffed, looking away from the other at the idea of doing the same thing as him if it came down to it. Just because she would've, did not change the situation and the issue that could befall them because of it. If she was new to the area like that, it could cause her to feel as if she could make a. . . Friend.

Something they didn't need right now.

"I shall get to work, then." She closed her eyes, taking a much longer way around than she would've wanted to otherwise, but felt it was for the best, as she would be heading toward where she needed to go anyway.

The Au Ra, while stunned for a short moment, was soon on the move, making sure to do everything that she was asked to do. Signing herself up to the Adventurer Guild, going to the market, and learning about aetherytes. While she knew of the large ones that was in the middle of the area, the little ones confused her quite a bit.

Eventually, there came a point where she could be seen, staring at the smaller rock in absolute confusion. Looking at her hand, she pursed her lips before the mutter under her breath, "So I just do the same thing as the larger one?. . . Really?. . ."

"Well, if it really bothers you so, dear sister, I can already say that I know you would have done the same thing overall, had it been you that was fully awoken by that Ixal attack." Alphinaud replied curtly, returning his sister's pointed look, before letting out a sigh of his own. They had better things to do than argue like this. Like going about to get a good look into how things have been here in this city-state before moving onto the next, as well as possibly checking in with the leader here.

"Come now, Alisaie, we ought to get started on our goals while we're here at least, yes? You had a few things you wanted to look into, and I had a couple tasks in mind myself." This stated, Alphinaud attempted to start heading up towards the city, taking care to try and avoid walking where he was easily visible to the Au Ra until they were already headed well within the city itself. Hopefully there would be some sort of twist or crowd to help keep their privacy overall.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

Ah, it had been about what the blonde had expected. A quick, simple response for someone who tended to be silent. It reminded her of a type of person back at home on the Steppe, so she already expected that was the most she would likely get out of him. So, she allowed herself to do a silent nod, before moving back to finish the conversation she was having with the man next to her.

Eventually, the carriage comes to a stop at their final destination. While the man seemed to stick around after, the Au Ra was quick to hop out of the carriage. Curiosity getting the better of her, having never quite seen an area like this before.

The sister Elezen, however, was looking at her brother with a continued, pointed look. She waited until they were off the carriage, the opposite side of the woman's offloading, before finally speaking up. ". . . Oh dear brother-" She spoke a tad sarcastically, eyes closed and arms crossed as she spoke, "What was it that we agreed on before we left again? Something about not speaking at anyone until we were absolutely certain in what we were doing?"

This made the elezen sigh. She swore, he was going to cause potential issues being so soft like this, especially right now.

Catching the look from his sister, he looked at her and gave her a look that said he knew she'd do the same if she had been the one to see someone almost falling over. It wasn't as if he was engaging in an hours long conversation with the young lady. And besides, he had a feeling that they were going to need to have a good relationship with an adventurer of some sort, since they have the most freedom in all the city-states.

Looking back over at the Au ra in question, Alphinaud smiled and nodded in response to her introducing herself. If there was any sort of saving grace that he had here, it was that while he would utter out a quick "A pleasure", he didn't exactly introduce himself in return. Still, he figured that she'd likely remember him later on. Afterall, you don't come across twice everyday.

[galaxy-0f-muses]

Alisaie had been hoping that they would be able to simply keep to themselves and not have to worry about others with the endeavor that they were here to do. To live up to the words and actions of their grandfather, to make Eorzea a better place for all those who need it. That was the reason they were here, but surely, the less interaction they have until they're ready, the better. After all, the last thing they needed was a distraction this early on.

The Elezen had hoped that her brother would keep to this agreement, but it seems that something as simple as a carriage bump was all that was needed to make this start to go downhill. Eyes cracking open, they glared over toward her twin, as if to silently say 'What the seven hells are you thinking?'. But she knew better than to say such things out loud. For now, at least.

The Au Ra, however, found herself looking at the other in slight surprise, more than aware of their silence up until this point. Lips parted in surprise for a moment, before she turned up a smile and nod at the other. "O-oh, yes, I'm alright. Thank you." She reassured the other as she found herself back on her seat proper.

The creatures, however. . . While most fled when the beasts had caused the reaction in the carriage, there was still one casually. . . Doing whatever it was doing. Should a creature like that really be drinking? She had no idea, truthfully- Maybe she was going insane. . .

Deciding against mentioning it in case that was true, she found herself looking back at the Elezen with a sheepish smile. "I-I don't believe I ever mentioned my name. I'm Dianne, it's a pleasure to meet you." She highly doubted she would get more of a reaction than what she had gotten earlier, but it was worth a shot at this point.

Yet another bump that would be able to rouse anyone that was perhaps hoping to get a chance at rest. The familiar feeling of the twin next to him, silent yet the presence was all too obvious at the same time. Two lookalike siblings were bound to be notable, after all. But yet, the presence of the others within the carriage were also all but unknown. The man and woman on the side across from them, nothing one would think too much of most of the time.

It seemed to rouse the woman on the other side, almost as if she was snapping out of a sort of daze that caused confusion and a lack of awareness. But then the man started to speak to her since he had tried to speak to the twins to no avail. But yet, while she was speaking to him, she was moreso noting. . . Something, that seemed to catch her interest near the twins. Nothing actually being there to most, but something she could still seem to see nonetheless.

The words of the area, something that a newly arrived person of Gridania should know about the people and what had happened since the calamity. She was taking interest, sure, but her interest had been on the nothingness next to them, and then the fighting that was going on outside soon after. A look of curiousity, interest even. As if it was something that she had never quite seen before. At least, not to this degree-

". . . Interesting." She Au Ra quietly muttered to herself, lips pursing at the fighting before she could feel the carriage start to speed off with them in it. The sudden movement seemed to cause her to practically fall out of her seat, letting out a quiet noise of temporary pain from the kind of landing she had gotten just from that in of itself. She knew it wasn't intentional, but. . . Ow. . .

Instead, her gaze went back to the others, getting back up and getting the reassurance that she needed that they were alright-

". . ." The smallest, quietest sigh slipped out of the young Elezen boy's mouth as the chocobo carriage hit another bump in the Twelveswood. Having been stirred from his sleep, he opened his eyes only just enough to be able to see what all was going on around him. The young woman, the older man, the moogles floating about the carriage causing trouble as they usually did. He knew that most weren't going to be able to see them, so he said nothing of their presence.

Of course, when the Ixal attacked the carriage, he was mildly concerned. It wasn't like the beastmen to attack so close to the larger city-states, yet he had heard of it having happened multiple times on their way to the Tweleveswood. He had to wonder what was allowing to push on closer and closer, outside of the Garleans also barking at their heels.

Ah, it was nothing for them to immediately worry about. He did however note the way that the young Au'ra had fallen over when the carriage jolted forwards. That brought him to being fully awake, and likely did the same for his sister, though he didn't pay much mind to that at the moment.

"You're alright there, yes?" He hadn't planned on speaking at all during the entire ride, but the natural concern about making sure a fellow member of the Source was okay just simply. Took over.