#and alisaie is the perfect target for said fun poking

[storms-path]

Day 28 – Bow

“We need to talk.”

Alisaie’s voice brooked no argument as she stood in front of Sanda, arms firmly crossed. Sanda looked up from her polishing, motioning for Alisaie to sit beside her. This was all the encouragement the young elezen needed as she flung herself with gusto into the offered chair. “I assume this is about my wayward sister,” said Sanda once she was certain Alisaie was good and settled.

“Well of course it is!” exclaimed Alisaie in a furious outburst. “Honestly, does she have NO sense of self-preservation whatsoever? You’d think she’d at least have enough awareness to not charge directly into danger without some support!” Sanda quietly swallowed the comment she was going to make regarding Alisaie’s own lack of forethought. “Ugh, how are we supposed to protect her when she’s malms ahead of us all!”

There was more to that final sentence than just physical distance, Sanda sensed. Most of the Scions had quietly accepted that Arashi was on a different level in terms of sheer might, but Alisaie, of course, took it as a challenge. A challenge she might have eventually met, had Arashi not rejoined with Ardbert and grown stronger still. To say nothing of the fact that she may be some reincarnation of Azeyma herself. It was all rather unfair, to say the least.

“And you want to know the worst thing?” Alisaie was still speaking, unheeding of Sanda’s musings. “The worst thing is, she’s just so bloody humble about it!” Alisaie was out of the chair now, pacing to and fro with uncontainable energy. “’Oh, sorry Alisaie! I’ll do better next time, Alisaie! I didn’t realise I was bleeding from a hundred bloody places, Alisaie!’ UGH!” Alisaie threw herself back into the chair with a huff. Sanda put her bow to one side. While she sympathised with Alisaie’s frustrations regarding Arashi’s headlong tendencies, there didn’t seem to be much point complaining about it to the Warrior of Light’s already-beleaguered sister.

“I know, I know, I should talk to her about this instead of bothering you.” Alisaie apparently could read Sanda’s mind now. “But every time I try and bring it up, she manages to change the subject on me! Did you know she and Lyse went and got married, or did she ‘forget’ to tell you too?” Sanda nodded non-committally, deciding to keep quiet the fact that she was the only guest at said wedding, nor that it had lasted all of five minutes before Lyse had carried her new wife away. Definitely shouldn’t mention I was the one who egged her on so much.

“So, let me guess, you wanted me to bring it up with her?” Sanda chose a much less inflammatory path of action, finally giving Alisaie the push she so desperately needed. They’d be here all day if she didn’t.

“Could you?” All of Alisaie’s anger was gone in a flash, visibly deflating the young woman. “I just can’t get her to see reason, and…” I don’t want her to get herself killed. The unspoken words hung in the air between them, darkening the already dingy room. Sanda nodded.

“I don’t know if I can get through to her, but I’ll try.” She tried not to sound like the hypocrite she was when she said it. Alisaie’s face immediately brightened, so the words had their intended effect at least.

“Thank you so much,” she said, showing a rare bit of humility. “I owe you one for this. Anything you need, just say the word. A Levellieur stands by her debts.” There were times that Sanda could barely tell Alphinaud and Alisaie were related from their actions, but that heartfelt sincerity shone through them both like a lighthouse in the dark. Sanda was reminded of the Scions’ stories of Louisoix, how his strength and ironclad determination saw Eorzea through its darkest hour. It was a humbling thing, to be subjected to that kind of earnestness.

So of course the best thing to do was to get recompense immediately and not have such a weight on her shoulders. “You want to repay me, you say?” Alisaie’s radiant smile dimmed a little as she realised she may have bitten off more than she could chew. Sanda smiled in turn, handing her the barely-worked bow and unfletched arrows. “Give me a hand with maintaining these, would you?”

It was worth accepting such an impossible task, Sanda thought, if it meant seeing the look of incredulity on Alisaie’s face. Sanda could see the protests forming on her lips, the exclamations that she didn’t know the first thing about bow maintenance, that she couldn’t work with wood to save her life, that surely there could be some other favour she could perform. But to her credit, no words passed from Alisaie’s tightly shut lips.

Sanda couldn’t help but laugh at the forced calm that Alisaie was desperately trying to project. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you the ropes.” Alisaie breathed a visible sigh of relief, looking much more ready to tackle the task at hand. “After all,” Sanda continued. “I’d like to make sure my arrows don’t wind up feathering my sister instead of my enemies.”

The look on Alisaie’s face was a picture Sanda would treasure for the rest of her life. It was well worth the furious rant she received in retaliation.