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steppeborne · 1 year

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Bloody Rascal

Setting: Limsa Lominsa

Rue'to is a Miqote, member of the Rogue's Guild. He belongs to @duskm0ther <3

“YOU LITTLE SHITE-”

Well someone’s making trouble.

The scuffle was loud enough to get half the guild’s attention. At least it seemed like it, judging from the group that was huddling about the doors to the infirmary. Being rogues, most did their best to hide their interest behind a thin veneer of aloofness and boredom. He didn’t particularly care though. For Rhue’to, everything that happened inside The Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss was his business. And the faint smell of blood that lingered in the air only peaked his interest in the situation.

“Alright, clear up everyone, we’re not making the doc’s job easier by blocking the door now are we?”

“THE BITCH BIT MY BLOODY FINGER OFF!”

The others stepped aside to give Rhue’to a better look at the situation. The man screaming, one of their members, was sitting on the floor clutching his hand to his chest. A trail of blood leading back into the infirmary. The chirurgeon knelt next to him, trying to heal him with magic, but from the amount of blood that kept on flowing out between the man’s fingers…Well, it seemed like he needed more.

Damn.

“C’mon, get the man up and into the infirmary to treat him properly-”

“You first.”

The bluntness caught him off guard. The normally soft spoken chirurgeon stared sternly at Rhue’to before nodding towards the infirmary.

“Alright, alright, I get it.

He stood up and stepped into the room, taking in the scene. To his surprise, the beds were all empty. Strange. Just the night before they’d rescued a whole ship worth of people. The lot of them had been kidnapped by pirates and, judging from the sorry look on their faces, they’d probably need a couple of days to fully recover. His eyes darted back to the door where everyone else was huddled. He recognized the faces of some of those they’d rescued the night before–

Then the growling.

He stopped in his tracks, all senses on alert as he took a second, hard look at the room.

The trail of blood led to one of the beds- or rather, the bundle of bloody blankets piled next to one of the beds, and the mean-looking glowing mutt that was protecting it.

“Well, never seen a carbuncle look so fucking pissed off.”

He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, but the thing seemed to get angrier. Fantastic. Amazing.

“C’mon, it’s fine, I promise. We don’t need the carby, no one here is gonna hurt you.”

Nothing. He could see a pair of eyes peeking from the blanket, a shaggy head of hair.

“Please, put the carbuncle away-” he’d taken a step forward, a mistake.

In an instant, his whole world was reduced to pain. Pain and a cacophony of screams, voices rising as his body flew across the room and into a neary shelf full of books and scrolls. Did something crack? Was it his skull?

Bloody hell-

He couldn't afford to pass out. He couldn’t. He could already hear them all, trying to rush into the room to rescue him, screaming curses and swears at the huddled shape. He could hear- a voice. Different from the rest but familiar. He’d heard those words before- Fuck. There was no time, there was no time.

“STAY PUT, THE LOT OF YOU FOR FUCKS SAKE! DON’T STEP IN”

There was silence. Sweet, sweet silence.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, assessing the situation again. He’d flown over 2 beds, impressive. His back was against the wall, a whole shelf of books now broken on the floor. He felt one hell of a headache coming on, but his arms and legs were seemingly able to get him up. That was all he needed. Again, he looked over at the shape and the carbuncle. Whoever that was, was very, very scared.

…Thank fuck…

Bugger me…Llymlaen, I swear, help me remember how to do this and I swear I wont visit Baderon for a whole season…

[ hurt? you hurt? ]

It had been so long since he’d spoken a word of the Xaela’s language. Honestly, he was amazed he could remember something other than swear words and childish insults. He looked intently at the bundled up shape, trying to gauge their silence.

[ hurt? ] he tried again

[ n-no… ]

Jackpot.

[ scared? I am friedly. Fried? Friend- ] Gods it had been too many years.

[ You’re fucking pirates. ]

He knew what that meant alright. The shape pulled in more tightly, though rather than looking like a snake rearing up for an attack, it looked more like a scared child, cowering from a monster under a blanket. A blanket covered in blood, but that was besides the point. He knelt down, keeping his distance still, but trying to be as non-threatening as he could.

[ No. We…] shit. What was the word Tadan used, he couldn’t remember. And the coming headache was not helping. [ We thieves. We take from pirates. Save you! You safe! ]

All he got this time was silence. It was rough to gauge whether or not it was out of disbelief, fear, or something else. So not knowing what else to do, he filled in the silence.

[ We dont hurt you. We help. Promise.] He took his index finger and dragged it over his chest, drawing an X over his heart, smiling softly. [ I promise Nhaama, no hurt you. ]

Silence again, though this time the bundle stirred. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of dark purple scales, dark brown skin…and puffy red eyes.

[ Name Rhue’to. You? ]

Oh she’s just a kid.

[ …Ka-aylu…Ka-aylu of the Geneq ]

—---------------------------------------------------------

It took a couple more minutes of coercing the young xaela, but eventually it worked. Ka-aylu promised not to attack anyone else, allowing the chirurgeon to properly treat the now fingerless man as well as everyone else they’d rescued the night before. The bloody carbuncle had to stick around but, true to his word, no one else was hurt. The boy ( not a girl, the xaela had corrected Rhue’to ) simply stayed on a bed, bundled up and away from everyone else. The chirurgeon insisted on treating Rhue’to’s wounds as well, seeing as he’d been blasted across the room with arcane magic, and he didn’t fight it.

Though once he felt well enough…well, he couldn’t bring himself to just leave. Seeing as he was the only one who could somewhat understand him, he stuck around to try and coax the young lizard out of his cocoon.

It turned out it wasn’t too hard. Despite everything that’d happened, he seemed like the talkative type. So even if he couldn’t quite keep up with the conversations, Rhue’to did his best to try and keep up.

But by the twelve, he really considered giving Tadan a call. It wouldn’t hurt to get a refresher on the Xaela language. Not to mention, he missed the little rascal.

#writing #ffxiv arr #ffxiv a realm reborn #wol #warrior of light #this is very much the beginning of kay's story in eorzea!

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eledhrim · 3 years

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🍻🎉 https://youtu.be/RwyKQ_j7Vew

NOT U COMIN UP WITH THAT SNAKE BIRTHDAY SHIT ON MY BIRTHDAY *clutches carby mount*

#every year this u never learn the lesson old man!!!!#answered #birbday #nordx

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dragons-bones · 4 years

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FFXIV: Quantum Shenanigans

Or, Baby ‘Buncles Break Physics (and Mom)

A/N: IT’S DONE AND JUST IN TIME.

Rating: T Word Count: 4009 Warnings: Mild spoilers for 5.1 MSQ and the Chronicles of the New Era side story Sorrow of Werlyt Cross-posted to AO3

“This is an abomination,” Nero snarled, flipping from what little Synnove and Krile had managed to put together of the Arch Ultima to the ones on the ravaged Ruby Weapon on a tablet. He was sitting at a heavy iron table in one of the Ironworks’s myriad workshops, fidgeting back and forth in one of the wheeled chairs Biggs had welded together on a whim one day, the chair swaying half an ilm side to side. “Absolutely repulsive. Of course the VIIth is involved somehow, that legion has always been full of lunatics.”

He was already ducking out of the way of Synnove’s hand, making to smack him upside the head for the pun, but it left him open to Cid’s hard flick against his temple. Nero yelped at the sting and pointed accusatorily at the other Garlean, yelling, “Hypocrite!”

Dancing Heron, knitting a shawl in the corner of the lab, pointedly cleared her throat.

The trio of scientists glanced over at her and then back at the tablet, subsiding into mostly-good behavior—for the time being.

Nero poked at one of the diagrams on the screen with a ferocious scowl, pinching his fingers together and then flicking them wide to expand the tiny line of code to magnification by five. He held up the tablet, nose practically against the screen as he stared at the close up of part of the recovered code from the Ruby Weapon, his eyes squinting half closed and tracking back and forth as he processed it. “Ah,” he finally said after long moments, “there it is.”

Both Synnove and Cid leaned closer—Synnove over Nero’s left shoulder, Cid over the right—and Nero pulled his head back to give them room, pointing at a small section on the screen with his pinkie finger.

“With most the Weapon melted slag and what remains of the code a scrambled nightmare, it’s hard to tell precisely what swiving nonsense they’ve wrought with my schematics of the original Ultima Weapon, but that isn’t anything either the Allagans had or what I added,” said the former tribune, voice grim.

Cid drummed his fingers on the worktable as he stared at the glowing code. “That looks eerily similar to what we managed to recover of Aulus mal Asina’s unique brand of horror,” he said. “Reversed, of course, since it certainly doesn’t seem like the Ruby Weapon’s oversoul system was ever intended for the pilot to survive.”

“Well, in order to implant the memory of an individual, one has to extract it from somewhere,” drawled Synnove. “But it’s similar to the Ultima Weapon’s coding for absorbing primals, as well. So: did the VIIth manage to get their hands on mal Asina’s research; did they reverse engineer Nero’s notes; or did they come up with it independently? None of these options are particularly comforting.”

(Over in the corner, next to Heron, Tyr suddenly jerked awake from his doze, a small *hic!* escaping him at the same time as his eyes crossed. Heron paused in her knitting and peered down at him, raising her eyebrows.)

“Either way, the results are revolting,” Nero said with palpable disgust. “Forcibly downloading and uploading souls at a whim, who would condone such a thing?”

“You would!” Cid and Synnove snapped in unison.

“The Praetorium,” Synnove said, jabbing Nero in the kidney with her finger. He yelped and jammed his elbow into her stomach, or tried to, as Synnove was already dancing out of range as she continued: “I distinctly recall you waxing poetic about adding mine and my sisters’ power to the Ultima Weapon!”

(Tyr reared up from his loaf shape to sit on his hindlegs; Heron, leaning over him, jerked back in surprise. The topaz carbuncle stared down at his stomach and carefully poked it with one paw.

Poke. Poke poke poke. Pooooooooke.

A deeply perturbed little nya? escaped him as he did.)

Nero paused and set down the tablet, then pressed his forefinger against his lips as he searched his memory. “…So I did,” he said at last, grudgingly. “Not my finest moment, descending into full on megalomaniacal mad scientist stereotype.”

“That implies you ever rose from the state in the first place,” Cid muttered. And then wheezed out a curse while doubling over and clutching at his stomach; Nero had taken advantage of Cid’s momentary distraction to ram his bony elbow into the other Garlean’s abdomen.

A ball of shimmering copper wool-and-silk yarn bounced off the side of Nero’s head. Synnove cackled and plucked the ball out of the air, and, without looking, threw it back to Heron. Nero, meanwhile, grumbled wordlessly, but tucked his elbows in and folded his arms across his chest.

(As Heron dropped the yarn back into her bag of sundries, Tyr slowly lowered his front paws to the floor to properly sit, blinking slowly as he did. He looked up at Heron and let out a quiet, very bewildered maow.)

“I am ruthless, not cruel,” Nero growled. “The Ultima Weapon absorbs entities in whole, yes, and I cannot say what happens to those entities while they are held within Ultima. But this?” He gestured to the tablet. “This is—this is using people as little more than batteries, in the most disgusting, agonizing way possible, likely for no other reason that I can discern except that it was likely the easiest way to—to do whatever the sodding hells it is the Legion wants to do. For all the shite I give the pair of you about your standard of ethics, I do have standards, and this is still a gross perversion of science and an unconscionable lack of morality.”

Silence settled on the workshop. Synnove, Cid, and Heron all just looked at Nero with various shades of bemusement.

Nero shifted uneasily, flicking his gaze from Cid, to Synnove, to Heron, and back to Cid to repeat the cycle. Finally. “…What?”

“I’m impressed, Nero,” Cid said. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth and he leaned back against the workbench to look at Nero with shrewd blue eyes. “You’ve actually matured. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Bathe in ceruleum, Garlond.”

“Choke on a lug wrench, Scaeva.”

HI MOMMY!

Synnove shrieked and jumped a fulm in the air, clutching her chest. Nero shoved his chair back to get away from the flailing Highlander, so quickly he rolled over his own toes, and he made a garbled, choked off sound of wordless agony. Cid didn’t have time to get out of the way himself and ended up taking the backrest of the chair into his already abused stomach, knocking the wind from him with another wheeze. Heron did not drop her needles, despite also jumping, but only because a lifetime of friendship with Rereha had trained her otherwise. Tyr jumped to all four feet with a thud!, fur bristling as his gaze darted around the room for a possible threat.

All five gazes swung around to one of the other iron tables in the workshop, the one upon which Synnove had unceremoniously dropped her gear when she and Heron and Tyr had arrived.

Poking out of Synnove’s ubiquitous hip pouch, the flap still buckled shut so that their faintly iridescent heads were forced to stick out from opposite sides, ears twitching in delight and dark eyes huge with glee and utterly heedless of the minor chaos they had wrecked upon the workshop, were Amandina and Roksana.

“What in the—girls, where did you even come from?!” Synnove said, scurrying over to them. She undid the buckle and, now with room to move, the twins tumbled out of the bag with high-pitched giggles.

Hi Mommy hi Mommy hi Mommy hi Mommy hi Mommy, they chanted continuously, leaping into her arms and snuggling close, their six tails between wriggling frantically.

“Synnove,” Cid said, still breathless as he forced himself to stand upright with a wince, “I know you can be more than a little single-minded when you’re on a tear, but surely even you should have noticed two baby carbuncles that have stuffed themselves into one of your pouches.

“This is the one with the void storage metafold,” Synnove hissed, turning around. She was supporting the twins’ chests with her hands and the rest of their bodies along her forearms; Amandina was in her right hand, Roksana in the left. Amandina gently headbutted Synnove’s chin, while Roksana looked around the workshop excitedly.

Cid’s face went blank in the manner that usually preceded him asking a question he would wish he had not in fact asked at all once he had the answer: “…Void storage metafold?”

“Yes,” Synnove said primly, bouncing the twins in her arms. They giggled. “It’s based on the one Khebi built for Carby, though the structure’s internal area is only about three square fulms instead of…whatever nightmare area Carby’s is. All you have to do to make one is calculate the Cartesian coordinates in four dimensions rather than three, then fold the aether along the proper axes and—”

Cid’s eyes were becoming suspiciously glassy.

“—Nero, kick him.”

Nero, using his non-injured foot, immediately did so in Cid’s shin while wearing a gleefully malicious grin. Cid shouted.

“Such an example to set,” Heron said, deadpan.

“Girls?”

The carbunclets chittered together, When Mommy is being petty, we should use it as an example of poor behavior and not emulate it!

“Good girls!”

Amandina and Roksana cheered.

(Wish Mama would take her own advice, Tyr grumbled. Heron made a sympathetic noise and patted him on the head.)

“What the hells was that even for?” Cid said, leaning back up against the work table to pick up his leg and rub his injured shin.

“Your eyes glazed over as I went on a brief aetherology tangent!” Synnove bellowed. (The twins made oooooooo Uncle Cid’s in trouble~ noises.) “I will not have it! You might be an engineering protoyping savant, but your aetherology theory is shite! You have lived in Eorzea for fifteen bloody years, learn some!”

“Your grand idea for overcoming the first line of aetheric defenses of the Crystal Tower was to throw a bloody rock at it.”

“It has been four years, are you ever going to stop harping about that?”

“No!” Nero and Synnove snapped in unison.

“Tangent!” Heron bellowed.

Nero and Synnove grumbled but settled. Cid began the motion of a particularly rude gesture, stopped, and looked at the twins. The twins blinked at him curiously. Cid dropped his hand and crossed his arms with a scowl.

“In any event,” Synnove said, “I left the twins with Khebi and Rere to babysit—stop looking at me like that, you two, Halulu was supervising—and teleported to Revenant’s Toll directly from my office.”

Now she twisted her wrists to turn the carbunclets around to face herself, and Synnove’s expression morphed into exasperated affection as the babies beamed at her. “I waved to you!” she said to them. “You waved back! How did you two get here?!”

We missed you, Mommy! said Amandina.

So, we decided to come find you! said Roksana.

And we tunneled! the black pearl carbuncle peeped excitedly, puffing out her chest in pride.

Yeah! the white pearl carbuncle said, mirroring her sister.

Synnove’s expression melted into faint confusion. The workshop was quiet for a few moments as they all stared at the twins in various degrees of bafflement.

“…Tunneled?” said Synnove, at last.

Yeah! From Elder Cousin!

To your hip pouch!

Synnove’s face blanked. Nero went white, jaw sagging open. Cid’s eyes widened to practically the size of teacup saucers.

Heron and Tyr exchanged bewildered looks.

“Before I say anything else,” said Nero, voice faint as he turned to look at Heron, “is ‘Elder Cousin’ who I think it is?”

“If you mean A’khebica’s Carby,” Heron said slowly, “then yes.”

“Shite,” Nero hissed.

(The twins gasped and covered their mouths with their paws. Bad word!)

“Carby’s a good boy,” Synnove said automatically, the tone of someone who had made the argument before and likely would again. “He’s strange, but he’s a good boy.”

Cid looked at her incredulously. “Just last week you were screaming about having to rummage in his void storage again for your aether chalk and how he was gnawing on your shoulder in retaliation!”

“Carby is not a good boy, Carby is halfway between a constructor-kit outer entity and an unshackled artificial intelligence.”

“He’s not that bad.”

“Yes he is!” Cid and Nero snapped in unison.

“At least Carby understands ethics,” Heron muttered under her breath. Tyr snickered next to her. Then, louder, Heron said: “Tangent.”

“Fine,” Synnove hissed. She closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose slowly; she held the breath for a few heartbeats, then let it out for the same count. When she opened her eyes, she immediately focused on the girls blinking up at her. “You tunneled. From Carby’s void storage metafold to the one in my hip pouch.”

Yes! the girls said.

We got a bit mixed up at first, though, Roksana said, ears drooping.

Yeah, said Amandina. We almost ended up in Tyr instead.

Tyr boofed, flabbergasted, his ears pricked completely upright in shock. That was YOU?

Synnove twitched.

Often as they had traveled through Azys Lla, the quartet of Warriors of Light had come across Allagan nodes glitching, five thousand years of constant functionality having degraded their circuits and systems. One type of cascading error turned the nodes’ vocalizations into a mess of garbled static, the pitch changing mid-word from high and piercing to low and growling, or vice versa. Listening to them had frequently led to the group gritting their teeth as the sounds dug into their minds and scratched like broken orchestrions.

Heron, Nero, Cid, Tyr, and the twins watched the visual equivalent of that noise happen on Synnove’s face. And in the case of Nero and Cid, it was occurring on their own faces, too.

“How?” Synnove said eventually, voice tight with tension.

Amandina and Roksana looked at one another. Amandina flicked an ear, the movement briefly iridizing the black fur on the appendage into deep purple. Roksana shrugged her shoulders, her own white fur momentarily shifting blue and then back. They looked back up at their mama.

We…pushed?

“Pushed.”

Well, first we accessed Elder Cousin’s metafold! Amandina said.

(Nero made a strangled noise of utter horror. Cid slowly slid down the side of the worktable to sit on the floor, knees bent and staring into the middle distance.)

Then we had to orient ourselves, said Roksana. That took a little bit. Elder Cousin’s metafold is very big!

We found Auntie Rere, too, Amandina whispered conspiratorially. We were playing hide and seek earlier. Elder Cousin said he had helped her.

Synnove closed her eyes and bit down on her lip, a snorting snicker briefly escaping her before she regained her self-control. Heron didn’t even bother to maintain the illusion of dignity, merely threw back her head and laughed from deep in her belly; Tyr, meanwhile, simply laid down on the floor and sighed heavily, covering his head with his paws. Nero made another horrified noise. Cid just wheezed.

Elder Cousin helped us, too! He told us about [subspatial aetheric sympathy tension paths].

Synnove froze. Her golden bronze skin had developed a worrying grey cast to it. “Say that again,” she breathed.

Roksana blinked. What? [Subspatial aetheric sympathy tension paths]?

The method by which all of Synnove’s carbuncles communicated with the people they and their mama generally liked wasn’t actual speaking, not with vocal cords and aspirated sounds to form words. Instead, they matched their aetheric harmonics with those of the individuals around them, with the end result being that the combination of the sounds they made, the body language they used, and the intent they held were “translated” into something the Spoken mind translated as “speech.” Most people initially found it odd, but quickly adapted.

This, however, wasn’t that.

Whatever Roksana had tried to tell her mama had…blanked. The concept was too big, too alien, too what the absolute swiving fuck for a meat brain in three dimensions to comprehend without shutting down as a defensive tactic to preserve sanity. But the little carbunclet still spoke, and whatever it was she had said had been further translated into a strange and obvious two-toned overlay of something that wasn’t quite right, but close enough.

Very slowly, Synnove turned her head to look at Nero, practically frothing at the mouth and his hands curled into claws as he grasped at air, and Cid, now aggressively cuddling a wrench he had gotten from one of his pockets like it was a comfort object. Deliberately, with precise enunciation, the arcanist said, “Please tell me I am not the only one who is hearing that harmonic as an approximation and not whatever it is my child is actually saying.”

“I know what those words mean individually,” Cid said. His grip on his wrench was white-knuckled. “I may even know what those words mean together. I am not ready to accept that. And I am most assuredly not ready to know whatever it is they are actually attempting to convey.”

“Blargle,” Nero agreed.

Synnove looked back at the twins. “Continue,” she said. The corner of her left eye kept spasming.

Sooooooo, Amandina began, once we knew where to go and how to sense the other metafolds based on Elder Cousin’s metafold—

“They sensed it?!” Nero yelled, outrage finally returning his ability to use vocabulary. He pushed himself upright and staggered over to Synnove and the twins, raking his hands through his hair. “How in the hells are they able to sense similarly constructed aetheric metafolds when each one is a distinct pocket dimension?!” He suddenly leaned down so he was nose to nose with the twins, frowning severely and blue eyes glimmering with suspicion. In a quieter, but no less manic tone of voice: “How in the hells are you able to sense similarly constructed aetheric metafolds when each one is a distinct pocket dimension?”

Dunno, Uncle Nero, Amandina chirped, wiggling her ears, her fur iridizing back and forth between black and purple once more.

Just can! said Roksana. She reached out and very carefully booped his nose.

Nero’s eyes crossed, staring at the white pearl carbunclet’s paw. He drew back with a huff—but booped her nose in turn, and then Amandina’s. The twins peeped happily.

“And then you pushed,” Cid said from his place on the floor.

Yeah!

It was easy!

It tickled!

And then we were here!

Synnove gazed sightlessly at the far wall, green eyes huge and unblinking. She untwisted her wrists and tucked the girls up against her chest, where they snuggled close. “My babies had a conversation about aetherospatial metaphysics with Carby,” she said in disbelief. “While they were inside his metafold.”

“Before they broke the laws of everything we know about physics and aetherophysics and quantum mechanics and traveled through space-time because they missed you,” Cid helpfully added.

“Congratulations,” Nero said icily. “You have mothered two more constructor-kit outer entities. If the fabric of reality unravels any time soon, I am blaming you.”

Yaaaaaaaaaaay! the twins cheered. The air popped and a bright light flashed between them, and suddenly aetheric confetti in a rainbow of pearlescent hues floated through the air, the pieces dissipating as they landed.

Synnove dropped her gaze to her youngest carbuncles, amused exasperation briefly flitting across her features once more. Nero and Cid also looked at the carbunclets, though without the amusement on their parts. Then the three scientists looked at one another.

And, finally, the hysterical yelling commenced.

Heron let them go at it for a while, finishing up her shawl and casting on a new one with the pretty copper wool-and-silk she had earlier thrown at Nero. After nearly a full bell of non-stop shouting, Biggs and Wedge arrived to investigate, and were dragged into the hysteria once they parsed through the trio talking over one another.

She did not even pretend to understand anything. There was quite a bit about aetherophysics and aetherology that she had picked up simply from knowing Synnove for so many years, but this was far beyond her ken. A few phrases stood out of the verbal melee (“quantum tunneling,” “Keltgeim’s absolutely ludicrous fringe theory about particles,” “aetheric entanglement”), but otherwise it was all Allagan to her.

At the two bell mark, however, with no sign of any of them slowing down, the Hellsguard decided it was time to call in reinforcements.

“Go get Jessie, please,” Heron quietly said to Tyr, “and tell her to bring the hose.”

Tyr boofed, amused. Yes, Aunt Heron! He stood and trotted for the workshop door, disappearing around it with a flick of his tails. The twins waved after him.

Heron eyed the group of frantically yelling nerds and reached up to her linkpearl cuff. She tapped a specific ‘pearl and leaned back in her chair as she waited for the other end to pick up.

A soft click echoed in her ear, and a familiar warm tenor came over the line. “Good afternoon, Heron,” said Aymeric. “What trouble has Synnove gotten into now?”

She probably should start calling her baby sister’s beau for reasons other than ‘come pick her up,’ but today was not that day. “She’s involved in a five-way discussion here at the Ironworks about theoretical physics that may not in fact be as theoretical as previously thought,” she said. “Please come pick her up.”

“Quite a lively discussion, then, as I can hear it,” the Lord Commander said drily. “On a scale of, created a more efficient theorem, to, about to write an “in response to” article rebutting a Thavnairian mathematician, just how manic is she?”

Heron hummed thoughtfully and turned to look over at the yelling scientists. Synnove was alternating with keeping Amandina and Roksana tucked close to her chest and gesticulating wildly with her hands with the twins still in her grasp, the babies going wheeeeeeee! every time with the later. Nero was pulling at his hair and so wild-eyed that she was becoming mildly concerned his eyes would actually pop from his head; her Echo was softly pinging in the way that meant Nero had lost his grasp on Eorzean Common somewhere in his tirade and had slid back into Garlean. Cid had his face in his hands, only raising his head to shout something in incomprehensible technobabble before dropping it back into his palms. Biggs and Wedge weren’t even coherent, with Wedge’s hands flailing so hard they were blurring.

But they all, each and every one but very especially Synnove, had a spark in their eyes that she well knew was going to mean trouble for someone in the near future. Hopefully just Jessie and Thubyrgeim.

“Once she’s calmed down?” Heron said into the linkpearl. “She’ll be at, rewriting the laws of reality.”

Something clattered on the other end of the line—a teacup, more than likely—and Aymeric swore softly, then sighed heavily. “Give me half a bell and I’ll be there to take her home.”

“Thank you,” said Heron cheerfully. “See you soon! Oh, and bring a towel.”

“Ah, hells. At least you warned me this time.” The ‘pearl line closed with a click.

And that was when Jessie entered the workshop, a firehouse braced at her hip. She waved to Heron, and the Hellsguard grabbed her knitting sundries bag and loped for the door.

The twins looked over, pricking their ears, then exchanged a glance. They nodded, and proceeded to wiggle free of Synnove, who was so deep in argument that she didn’t notice her hands emptying. Amandina landed lightly on her feet, but Roksana hit the floor with a soft plop! Her sister grabbed her scruff in her teeth and helped yank Roksana upright, and then the pair were scrambling for the safety of Heron, who scooped them up outside the shop door and dropped the carbunclets into her yarn bag.

With no collateral to worry about, Jessie turned on the hose.

#final fantasy xiv #spoilers #ffxiv spoilers #nero scaeva #cid garlond #oc: synnove greywolfe #oc: dancing heron #synnove's carbuncles #aymeric de borel #aymeric x wol #aymeric x synnove #also yes synnove's hip pouch is basically a bag of holding just with weight limitations #dt's writing

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mythriteshah · 4 years

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A Spot of Revelry, Pt. 2

Beneath the Ruby Sea, the Regalia’s submersible was approaching the Dive. Everyone was prepared to carry out their task, though Lilina was anxious to commence with the fun part of becoming a Summoner, clutching her new soul crystal in hand.

“This is Head Secretary Yuanji,” she whispered over the linkpearl. “Miss Shiro and I have made off with one of their trinkets, and have commenced the diversion. We’re already leading them southward, away from the Kojin’s vault. You may begin insertion.”

“Take us up, little mammet – we’re here!” Sarielle ordered. As they made their ascent, Rhaegos landed atop the rocks looming over the isle, while Himmeya found a small landing out of view from wandering eyes. She kept her griffin there and climbed the wall, looking up to Rhaegos, who was scanning the area: the Red Kojin were growling and barking orders at each other, weapons at the ready as they took paths around the isle to pursue the intruders. The way was now clear save for a few sentries, and his first victim was an unwary swordsman. Jumping from his elevated position, Rhaegos would land on top of the Kojin sentry, knocking him out instantly. He slowly made his way to the center, where Jaanavar’s Vision was beginning to surface. Two more Red sentries armed with daggers attempted to ambush the Vizier, only to be met with a wind-imbued fist to the face of one, and a swift kick to the other, sending them both flying into a rock face and incapacitating them.

“Nice form, sir!” Himmeya grinned.

“Comes with the territory,” he coolly replied. The submersible finally reached the surface, and out from the hatch jumped Meriri, Sarielle, Lilina, and Thiji. The Jaanavar’s Vision then took back to the depths after closing the hatch to maintain stealth.

“Rhaegos, this show’s yours now,” Thiji spoke.

“Right,” the Au Ra said as he cracked his knuckles. “Miss Himmeya, you take care of anyone who gets past me. Miss Sarielle’s got the heals and the power of time, so when they start to swarm, slow ‘em down.”

“Understood,” the green-haired Elezen acknowledged.

“Miss Meriri, disarm them with your arrows. If they have any spellcasters, they’re priority targets,” he ordered.

“Aye!” Meriri stated. “These arrows are blunted, too, so a nice hit between the eyes’ll knock em on their shelled bottoms if need be!”

“Let Lord Thiji and Miss Lilina rest and conserve their strength for now; they��ll need it for the vault,” Rhaegos pointed out as he advanced. With the plan now in motion and the diversionary tactic in place, it was finally time for the mission to begin in earnest. Their push through the isle was relatively easy, occasionally taking fire from Red sentries who struck at them with volleys of water. Though they were trying to prevent the Mythrite Sultan from engaging in combat, he had no time for holdups.

The gems on his robes and turban were beginning to glow as he walked out of cover. As the sentries prepared to conjure another water spell, the aether gathering within the gems shot out from his robe in bluish-white beams, freezing their weapons, and eventually their entire bodies. The sight left everyone – including Rhaegos – utterly amazed and confused as they followed Thiji up the isle…

“How’d ye do that, My Sultan?” inquired Meriri.

“The Gemweave,” he answered. “This particular robe was woven with materials conducive to aetherial manipulation; they travel through the robe like a conduit and is focused into the gems, allowing me to cast spells without somatic involvement.”

“Ye could’ve just said ‘Black Mage shenanigans’ and I’d still believe ye, milord, but I won’t question it!” Meriri commented.

Meanwhile, on the southern portion of the Kojin’s stronghold, Shiro and Yuanji were fleeing from the bulk of the Reds. With quick hand gestures, Yuanji jumped over an incoming water blast and slapped the ground with her palm, disturbing the earth beneath her and turning it into a large patch of mud, slowing down the horde.

“Get back here, thieves…!” roared a Red marine, struggling to get through the disturbed earth. “You will not get away with this!”

“But we are, as you can see!” Yuanji yelled back as she stormed ahead. With the enemy thus distracted, the main host was able to enjoy a simple push through the Air of the Opulent, taking down a few striped rays that were straggling. Yuanji and Shiro kept retreating until they reached a dead end, where they came upon a stockpile of goods and other miscellaneous trinkets. “The dead end at the southernmost area, as Lord Thiji planned. Shall we, old friend?”

Shiro nodded and handed a small glass orb to the Head Secretary before they hid themselves away from view. Before too long, the Red Kojin would swarm the area, searching high and low for the intruders.

“They’re here somewhere! The Mist Queen could not have gotten far!” spoke a Red Marine.

The preceding area now secure, it was time to begin the next phase. Thiji and Lilina entered the vault and arrived within the Blessed Treasury. They immediately noticed the large altar on the far side of the area, lined with gold, trinkets, and all sorts of curiosities. Submerged pedestals served as stepping stones leading to a platform in the center of the large pond; a faded scar could be seen, dividing the platform into two lengthwise halves.

“Welcome to the Pool of Tribute, Miss Lilina,” the Mythrite Sultan greeted. “’Twas here I and several others encountered the Lord of the Revel, albeit brief. And it is in this area full of water and lightning-aspected aether that you shall take your first steps into becoming a full-fledged Summoner.”

“I am ready to receive your teachings, my lord!” Lilina anxiously replied with a bow. “What must I do?”

“Simple: make your way to the center platform. I will then commence the Austerities of Revelry and call forth a scintilla of Lord Susanoo’s power, more commonly known as an Egi. You are to face this manifestation and conquer it. Doing so will absorb and merge its aether with yours, allowing you to call it forth and bind it to your will via the soul crystal.”

“Understood!” Lilina acknowledged. She slowly began to make her way towards the center, eager to get started.

“I will offer you guidance your battle unfolds. I would aid you in defeating the Egi, but I do not wish to run the risk of collecting its energies,” he further explained.

“Not to worry, my lord! I’ve no intention of failing you or the Regalia!” she reassured. Once she was in position, Thiji unveiled his own soul crystal, stretching out an arm as he focused inward, shifting his aetherial balance. The crashing of water and dancing thunder coursed through his body; his soul crystal would begin to glow in response. At this time, Lilina would summon her Topaz Carbuncle to aid her in the battle, giving it a gentle pat on the head as it appeared.

After a short moment, something would begin to emerge in front of Lilina. In a small flash, a bluish aetherial being wreathed in water and lightning energy appeared, brandishing a blade no longer than its form.

“The avatar of the Lord of the Revel has been drawn into the material plane, and the Austerities of Revelry is complete,” Thiji declared. “The rest is up to you now, Miss Lilina: defeat the Egi and claim its power for your own.”

“Let’s do it, Carby!” cried Lilina as she gave the order to charge. The Egi engaged her pet, and thus was battle joined. Lilina’s Carbuncle leapt into the air to strike at the avatar, but the Egi showed its speed by moving to the right, avoiding the attack. Its blade then began to crackle with electric energy… “Carby! Incoming!”

The distinct sound of laughter came from Susanoo-Egi as it rose the blade in the air, calling down a column of thunder to strike at the Carbuncle. It was able to dodge the incoming bolts by curling into a ball and rolling about the arena. With the Egi’s attention thus diverted, Lilina readied her spell, using her quill to draw aetherial shapes in the air.

The Egi managed to catch Carbuncle with a lightning strike, temporarily immobilizing it. However, enough time was bought so that Liliana could finish her spellcast, sending a large orb of unaspected aether towards her foe.

“Have some Ruinga!” she cried as her spell hit the Egi center mass. While the Egi was still reeling from the attack, she sent a wave of restorative aether to Carbuncle, curing it of its paralysis as it fell back to her side.

“So far, so good…” the Mythrite Sultan said in his mind. Meanwhile, outside the vault, Rhaegos and his crew had the perimeter secure. While they set up posts around the Air of the Opulent, Meriri noticed what appeared to be smoke rising from the south.

“Oi, what do ye think that is?” she asked.

“That’s gotta be Miss Shiro and Miss Yuanji,” Himmeya replied. “She’s called the ‘Mist Queen’ for a reason; getting out of her domain is difficult. With her on our side, we shouldn’t have to worry overmuch.”

“Should we go and assist Lord Thiji and Miss Lilina, then?” Sarielle thought aloud.

“As good of an idea that sounds,” Rhaegos started, “we can’t interfere with the ritual. All we can do now is stand watch.”

Back inside the treasure vault, the Egi had recovered from Lilina’s attack, and decided to change tactics. Raising its free hand, several dark clouds appeared along the outskirts of the arena, teeming with electricity.

“Whoa! What’s this?!” Lilina gasped. The clouds were beginning to charge up for a powerful attack, which gave the cue to get out of the way. She dove to the left just as pillars of lightning shot across the pool in a cross-shaped pattern, while Carbuncle dodged in the opposite direction. After the attack, the clouds faded, and Susanoo-Egi returned to the fray with sword raised. As Carbuncle charged their foe to draw its attention, Lilina watched the clouds part. Small trails of water and lightning-aspected energies danced in the air, which caused her soul crystal to react.

“My Sultan!” she spoke. “The crystal is glowing!”

“It’s responding to the aethertrails left behind by the Lord of the Revel,” he explained. “Attune yourself to them and you will be one step closer to mastering Susanoo’s power.”

Without hesitation, she rushed over to the far side of the arena, stretching out a hand to attune herself to the aethertrail, but was stopped short by a wayward lightning strike.

“Whoa! Carby, Glittering Topaz!” ordered Lilina. Her pet nodded, its body glowing for a brief moment before channeling its power to the ruby on its head to erect an aetheric bulwark around Lilina’s form, absorbing the lightning strikes with ease as she successfully attuned herself to the first aethertrail. “All right – two more to go!” she said to herself as she hurried to the opposite side. The Egi took notice of what Lilina was attempting to do, and was making its best efforts to stop her, but Carbuncle was putting up an exceptional defensive effort, keeping it away from its master, and with the barrier still present, its lightning attacks proved ineffective as she was able to attune to the second aethertrail with no issues. The excitement of mastering this power was beginning to get to Lilina, as she happily made her way to the final aethertrail, which laid behind the Egi on the far side of the arena, confident that the barrier would hold.

“Almost…!” Lilina uttered as she began to fuse her own aether with the final trail. Just as it seemed like she would be victorious, her concentration would be broken as rocks began to rise from around her and her Carbuncle, encasing them in a stone gaol.

“Ama-no-Iwato…” Thiji thought. Three blue chains sprouted from Susanoo-Egi’s free hand, linking themselves to the earthen prisons that housed Lilina and Carbuncle, as well as the empty third prison. It rotated them around the center of the arena in a triangle formation. Lilina and her Carbuncle were helpless, unable to do anything to break out from within, as the stones began to glow, preparing to unleash The Sealed Gate.

Thiji, sensing trouble, quickly opened his Blissful Grimoire and prepared to retaliate. He would prepare a spell powerful enough to shatter the Ama-no-Iwato in one strike. The Mythrite Sultan would not enjoy this honor, however, as he heard footsteps approaching from the entrance.

“Don’t waste your energy, My Sultan! We got this!” shouted a voice. Two Lalafell women zoomed past Lord Thiji in the blink of an eye – one with black hair, and one with strawberry-blonde hair and platinum-blonde highlights. The black-haired Lalafell sprung into the air with her Mythrite pugil stick, while the other one hopped over the pedestals to enter the arena. The strawberry-blonde blasted the center stone with a fire spell, destroying it and freeing Lilina, while the black-haired lass chucked her weapon straight through the gaol to the right, shattering it. Unfortunately, it was the dummy.

“Sisters! You came!” Lilina cheered. Her older sisters, the strawberry-blonde Lelena, and the black-haired Luluma, had come to her side.

“And you didn’t invite us?!” Lelena scolded. “We would have loved to see our baby sister become a Summoner!”

“Miss Yuanji told us about the whole thing before she set off for the isle, so we took the Vigil to get over here after suiting up,” Luluma explained. “Mamai is always watching over her Angels – may she know eternal peace in Nald’thal’s realm.”

As they spoke, the remaining stone prison exploded, and the Carbuncle was gone without a trace.

“Aww, there goes your Carbuncle…!” Lelena groaned.

“Hold on!” Lilina exclaimed. She slapped the pages of her book and stretched out her palm as a bright sigil appeared around it for a brief moment. Out from below, Lilina’s Topaz Carbuncle returned and struck at Susanoo-Egi from below! “I was able to recall Carby before the gaol exploded! Swiftcast is so handy!”

“Miss Lilina, the final aethertrail,” reminded Thiji. Lilina nodded and hurried over, her sisters covering her back while she attuned to the final aethertrail. Luluma dodging a few lightning bolts and then struck Susanoo-Egi, knocking it back towards the far end of the arena and briefly stunning it, while Carbuncle ran to the opposite end and curled into a ball, rolling across the pool to gather speed, the resulting acceleration causing aquaplaning to take effect. Lilina had finished preparing a fire spell to cast underneath the charging Carbuncle, causing a tiny explosion of steam to propel it upwards to smack the Egi with enough force to send it plummeting into the waters below. The aethertrail was thus extracted, and Lilina’s attunement was complete. The sisters cheered and began conversing among themselves as they started to leave the arena. Thiji gave a nod of approval and would begin to turn around and leave, but something caught his eye. With a double take, he looked to the far side of the arena and noticed that the aether stored in blade was beginning to stir. It began to levitate from its resting spot for a few brief moments before shooting into the heavens. Just as Lilina and her sisters would step out of the arena, a large thud was heard that shook the earth, with enough magnitude for it to be felt from beyond the vault.

“What was that…?” Sarielle questioned.

“Oh, shit…” Rhaegos murmured as he turned to the door to the vault.

“Intruders have breached our treasure vault!” cried a Red marine in the distance, taking notice of the tremors. “Alert our main force and protect Lord Susanoo!”

Before he could get too far, an arrow would find its mark on the Red Kojin’s forehead, knocking him on his shelled back.

“Welp, there goes the neighborhood…” Meriri sighed.

“They still have yalms of mist to go through!” said Yuanji as she appeared behind them. “Miss Shiro has stayed behind to maintain the ninjutsu.”

“Good, because until they leave the vault, our work here’s not done,” Rhaegos replied as he took to a combat stance.

Back at the Pool of Tribute, Lilina and her sisters turned around and immediately took notice of the large blade that had pierced the waters. The surrounding atmosphere changed as well, with overcast clouds and rain suspended in midair. The waters began to stir as the Egi had transformed into a larger variant of itself, towering over the arena by yalms.

“This one doesn’t seem as large as I remember…” Thiji pondered. “Two of the three sacred treasures are also missing…”

“How the heck are we going to stop that?!” Lelena shrieked. The enlarged Egi took the blade in its hand and began to raise it over its head. The Topaz Carbuncle ran over towards the shadow of the blade, turning back to Lilina and pointing upwards with a paw.

“Carby’s got our answer, I think!” Lilina commented. “Sis, let’s do the Cryotic Feedback!”

“You want me to use Subzero now?!” she immediately questioned.

“Trust me! We can’t let that sword touch the pool!” Lilina replied as she went over to Carbuncle’s side. With grimoire in hand, she readied herself for Lelena’s ice attack. Luluma attempted to stall for time with repeated strikes at the enhanced Egi, but it proved to give little effect as it shook off her strikes with relative ease. Lelena finished conjuring enough ice energy to blast a large ray of frost at Lilina’s grimoire, which absorbed its energies into a barrier formed around the tome. Luluma, who had did all she could to buy time, landed back onto the arena and sighed.

“Here it comes, girls,” she warned. With the spell complete, Lilina rose her grimoire high in the air, meeting Susanoo-Egi’s blade head-on. The sisters screamed in fright from the resounding clash, with Lilina’s plan actually proving to have some effect at holding back the sword.

“I am genuinely astounded and frightened right now!” Lilina informed everyone. As she continued to hold back the blade, miniature lightning orbs formed around the arena, slowly making their way towards Lilina in an effort to shake her off. Her Carbuncle took note of this, and began touching each one, which caused a small fulguration. The resulting release of electric energy would take its toll on the Carbuncle, however, as it felt its strength waning. “Come on… Come on…!” Lilina grunted with effort. Once the barrier was broken from the sheer force of the clash, the energy stored from Lelena’s attack had shot out, causing a blast of ice-aspected energy sufficient enough to force back the blade. This feedback sent Lilina skidding across the waters, her grimoire landing beside her. Her sisters hurried to her side to get her on her feet as the Egi was recovering from the attack.

“Darnit! That wasn’t enough to beat it?!” spoke Lelena.

“Lilina’s Carbuncle can’t hold out any longer, either…” Luluma spoke with concern. With no other options, Lilina approached the shadow of the blade once more, but something about her was different. Lelena pointed out the shift in aetheric balance within Lilina’s body, and her soul crystal had begun to respond to this change. Luluma watched in anticipation as the Egi begun to lower the blade back down again. Just as it would finally hit home, a flash of lightning crashed down upon Lilina’s form, and holding the Egi’s blade back was another aetherial sword identical to it. Lilina’s form had changed slightly as well, with the distinguishable helmet and plumage on her head. She laughed victoriously as she held back the blade with ease.

“Attendeth me, my sisters!” she called.

“Wait, what does she mean by that?” Lelena asked.

“She want us to do another team attack,” answered Luluma.

“Then let’s invent a new one!” Lelena cheered as she prepared the Triplecast spell. Luluma got into position as her older sister sent three thunder orbs at her, knocking them overhead as they spiraled into the side of the Egi’s sword, significantly weakening it. Lilina used this opportunity to strike back, knocking the blade out of its hands and disarming the Egi. Her own aetherial sword then touched the residual lightning energies from Lelena’s spell, wreathing the length of the blade with its power before chucking it at the reeling Egi, landing right in its torso before erupting in a pillar of bluish-violet energy.

The scintilla of Susanoo’s power had begun to lose its form, letting out a roar before finally dispersing back into the aetherial sea, the atmosphere returning to normal signifying its defeat. Lelena and Luluma heaved a sigh of relief while Lilina fell on her bottom, exhausted from the effort. She looked over to Carbuncle, who was slowly approaching its master. With a smile, Lilina petted its head and stated that it will be missed dearly. With an Egi of her own now obtained, there would be little reason to keep Carbuncle under her employ. The Carbuncle nodded and gave Liliana a hug before being called back into the aether.

“Congratulations, Lilina,” said Thiji. “You are now officially a Summoner, and a practitioner of Susanoo’s power – a Master of Revelry.”

“Thank you, My Sultan. I could not have done it without your guidance and the help of my sisters!” Lilina replied as she got back to her feet.

“A question, My Sultan,” Lelena interjected. “What was that spike in power that Lilina had during the second clash? Was that the Trance thing?”

“Correct,” Thiji confirmed. “In addition to bending eikons to their will, Summoners are also able to invoke the powers and personalities of said eikon by entering a Trance. When enough of an eikon’s aether is attuned, they are capable of assuming this form change for a brief period of time. With practice, however, they can uphold this Trance longer and more deftly – and even call forth a simulacrum of the primal itself as a result.”

“Then as the first to obtain Lord Susanoo’s power, I shall dub it… the Reveler Trance!” declared Lilina.

“Now we just need to get out of the isle…” Luluma pondered. “The Red Kojin are definitely not happy to learn that we’ve stolen into their vault, so they’ll send everything they’ve got at us.”

“No problem, Luluma!” Lelena assured. “I think we’ll be just fine!”

“Indeed we shall, ladies. Miss Lilina, pray lead the way,” said the Mythrite Sultan. With an enthusiastic nod, she hopped and skipped her way out of the arena, exiting the vault. Meanwhile, the Red Kojin’s main force had finally caught up with Rhaegos’s team.

“We fear not those who trespass upon our sacred vault! Least of all you, Demon of the Steppe!” taunted the Red Kojin’s commander. Rhaegos smirked and crossed his arms, taking a step forward.

“Be thankful we’re not here to kill you, or you’d soon learn to fear me,” the Au Ra coolly retorted. “But if you’re so eager, then step on up. I can’t promise anything, though.”

The commander gave the order to charge. Everyone prepared for the Red’s onslaught as they drew closer and closer. Just as battle was about to be joined, however, the doors to the vault burst open, and hearty laughter was heard from within. The Red Kojin coasted to a stop, murmuring amongst themselves…

“The Kami of the sacred treasures…?”

“Lord Susanoo…?”

“Has He awakened once more?”

Himmeya and the others heaved a sigh of relief as Rhaegos turned his gaze toward the vault. Out from the doors came Lilina, assuming the Reveler Trance once more, brandishing her aetherial weapon in the air with a wide grin on her face, with Susanoo-Egi in tow. She was followed by her sisters and Thiji, who had approached the Red Kojin’s forces.

“What… what omen is this?” gasped the Commander. Everyone on the isle was amazed at what they beheld. With another spot of laughter, lightning danced around her being, frightening the Kojin and their pet rays.

“Behold, shelled ones!” boomed Lilina. “These children of man hath come to pay tribute! They sought not to abscond from ye who hath made us whole, but to offer respect to the banquet, and as thanks, have blessed them with a power none hath dared to hold! Thus, the test is passed, and the feast hath ended! Pray let these children of man free in the name of the divine!”

“If what you say is true, blessed one of Lord Susanoo,” began the Red Commander, “then we thank you for this test, and shall obey your words.”

Thiji beckoned the others over and fell in behind him, walking with Lilina out of the isle as the Kojin parted the way for them.

“So, does this mean that Miss Lilina’s gettin’ a promotion, milord?” Meriri thought aloud. The only response she received was laughter from everyone but Thiji, who was shaking his head.

“Wait, wasn’t Miss Shiro with us?” Sarielle said as she looked around for any sign of the shinobi.

“Don’t concern yourself, Miss Sarielle,” Yuanji replied. “We’ve already planned out for this; before this operation began, Miss Shiro went into the vault and took the Yasakani-no-Magatama and the Yata-no-Kagami, leaving the Ame-no-Murakumo alone. She volunteered to stay behind and put them back in their proper resting place after our success!”

“That explains why the Lord of the Revel himself didn’t appear, and the Egi was considerably weaker when the sword awakened!” Lelena deducted. “Wow, the Regalia’s just full of geniuses! I may have to become a Summoner myself if we can have more exciting adventures like this!”

“I am certain we can strike a deal with the Immortal Flames when the time comes,” Thiji said.

“Well, I call dibs on Shiva-Egi!” Lelena decreed. “And no one can say otherwise!”

With another bout of laughter, Thiji, Lelena, and her sisters took off on Mamai’s Vigil docked on the southern cliff face, while the remaining team boarded Jaanavar’s Vision, returning to their respective branches. An Arcanist no more, Lilina Lina was ready to serve the Regalia with her newfound powers over the reveling chaos that was Lord Susanoo, setting her apart from the numerous other Summoners within Eorzea and beyond.

“I am Lilina Lina, and in revelry do I rejoice!”

(Credit and thanks to @minstrels-ink and @tsubi-uru for the pictures!)

#thiji higuri #Higuri Regalia #short story #FFXIV #ffxiv heavensward #FFXIV A Realm Reborn #lalafell master race #Lalafell #ffxiv susano #susano ex #ffxiv summoner #Susano-Egi #trance #Checkmate #Summoners

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theflyingcircus384 · 5 years

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My trusty triumph 11.5:1 custom grind cams, flat slide Edelbrock carbys. Ran a 13.6 1/4 mile with a slipping clutch. Loved that bike

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rainydaydriversclub · 6 years

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HKS turbo kit for the toyota 4K-C engine. intercooled blow through carby setup with a beefed up clutch and bolt on piping.

#id buy the shit out of this if it was for sale

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syngigeim · 6 years

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#26 - Not a Weapon

TW: Violence (and implied gore)

“Should have gotten a new base, old man!” Aubinaux shouted down the cave. There they were, the old crew that he swore he would never see again. Captian Kelthort, damn that old bastard, strode up with a grin.

“There he is! There’s our butcher. Though I wonder, how it is you heard of us?”

“Cut the bullshite,” Aubin said, readying his axe. “You’re targeting adventurers now for your kidnappings. I would think you’d want to go for targets that aren’t so willing to fight back.”

“Just as our butcher learned off of us, so did we learn off of him,” Kelthort said. “But of course you know all about that.”

Aye. A mix of a noxious brew, slipped into the drink to make one more pliable. Oft did Aubinaux recall being forced to drink that stuff while the crew decided to “break” him in. He felt himself recoil at the memories. And an intrusive thought slipped in, echoing with old words, If only you weren’t such a bastard, we wouldn’t have to do this to ye. Focus! Focus!

But just seeing them all here, with their taunts and their smirks and-

No! Let Syngigeim rescue Mariko first! Hold yourself together!

Aubinaux gripped his axe tighter, gotta figure out a way to make him talk. “You didn’t think that the Admiral or the Guilds wouldn’t notice adventurers going missing?”

“They didn’t for a good while. Just gotta corner one alone poking in whatever sights of the city they think is good. Or just lure them with coin and work. And then bam, you have another person that no one is going to miss.” Kelthort laughed. “I get even more of a kick with the menfolk. Women tend to be more cautious but men? They’re never cautious, never thinking! It does a heart good to see their faces twist in fear!”

There! There he spotted a blue carbuncle. It was rushing off towards one of the caves with a key in hand. Just a bit longer. Hold your rage in check.

“I see you butcher! I see how your hands are gripping that axe. Our greatest weapon, a man who lusts only for battle! You who slaughtered many for our sake!”

“It was for your sake! Yours and your crews! You are the ones who made me into your ‘butcher!’ Who treated me as a dog!”

“Says the ‘dog’ who stowed away on our ship! You knew what you were getting into. And we know who’s really the one at fault here.”

An arrow flew mere ilms past the captian’s head. A warning shot. Mariko was released and so seemed to be many many other adventurers who were beginning to start to fight the crewmates with any weapon they could get their hands on.

“I’ve heard enough talk like that for ages,” Mariko said, notching another arrow and aiming for the Captian.

“He’s mine!” Aubinaux shouted at Mariko, who just nodded and turned to help in the pandemonium. Kolthort drew his cutlass and rushed at Aubinaux. Either he had gotten too old, or Aubinaux had gotten better at fighting, because his movements seemed so slow now. Aubinaux easily moved his axe up to deflect the blow. The Roegadyn tried to twist his arm around but he was too off balance. Aubinaux struck his side, carving his axe through his shirt and deep through the flesh. Kolthort let out a pained cry and then attempted to stab Aubinaux’s gut but a carbuncle ran up into him, knocking the man over.

“Thanks Carby!” Aubinaux heard Syngigeim say as she ran over to pet her carbuncle. “Well, the Arcanist Guild would love to arrest this man for slavery but I imagine the sentencing would be the same if you wish to deliver the justice yourself.”

He looked over at his old captain. The man who inflicted every torture he could think upon Aubinaux. He deserved to pay. Aubinaux rose his axe up high across his head and carved into the side of his head.

“Right. Died in the scuffle,” Syngigeim said matter-of-factly. She then shouted out, “Capture the rest. Yellowjackets will want them in for questioning.”

“You heard the lady!” Mariko shouted out, loosing an arrow in a crew member’s shoulder. The adventurers had won, the crew was panicking and was either being captured or already dead.

He thought he would feel happier about this day. He instead felt nothing.

“Thanks for coming after me you two,” Mariko said walking up to Aubinaux and Syngigeim. “Especially you Syngi! I know fighting isn’t your thing at all!”

“And now my hands are bloodied aren’t they?” she said with half a laugh. “Well, every Arcanist knows we live in a pirate port town and things happen. I mean, self-defense you know?”

“Self-defense...” Aubinaux muttered.

“You okay there, Aubina-” the words halted in Mariko’s mouth as he suddenly clutched his head. Oh was he suddenly walking in Aubinaux’s memories? And wait, Syngigeim was suddenly doubled over as well! She had the Echo too?!

Aubinaux knelt down beside Mariko. He looked unsteady on his feet. And ill. Was that what he always looked like when seeing other visions? He saw Mariko’s eyes seemingly refocus on Aubinaux’s face. “And here I thought my adolescence was hell.”

Aubinaux shook his head. “I was older than I seemed. 18 summers old, the time when you should be starting out a life on your own. Elezen just age like that.”

So it was those memories in which he walked in. The one where in a dare to prove himself, he snuck aboard a pirate vessel but got caught. Instead of going quietly, he flew into a rage. And in doing so slew some of the crew members. He was forcibly made into a pirate that day and for six years, he was their rabid dog. Until the dog finally saw an opportunity to run free from its leash.

“Aubinaux, you did what you could back then. Trust me, that you aren’t the only one who does what they have to to survive,” Mariko said. “It was self-defense when you fought back.”

“Tell that to those that I slew in their service,” Aubinaux said.

“Aubinaux Larsoniet, you are more than just a butcher or a dog! And I’m the wrong person to tell you this, but you can’t beat yourself up for more than what you are. You have got to be kinder and by the gods, I will at least show you how!” Mariko said, suddenly hugging him.

“Uh, can you not with the hugging, I kinda get bad memories with physical closeness,” Aubinaux quickly said.

“OH! Right right right, sorry.” Mariko quickly moved himself off of Aubinaux at that. “Didn’t comprehend fully, sorry.”

Aubinaux coughed and said “Your point is taken and I will uh, at the very least, try to be better.”

“Well then! I think everything’s all settled here!” Syngigeim suddenly said. “I’m just going to get these potions over to the Arcanist Guild for evidence while you two go and make sure every adventurer is safe and hand the pirates over to the authorities.” She suddenly grabbed a box and headed out of the cave.

“Let’s meet up later Syngi!” Mariko shouted after her.

“Right. Everyone, uh, let’s get these guys over to the Yellowjackets and then we’ll all break for drinks! Okay?” Aubinaux shouted at the adventurers who had tied up and bound the men behind them. A hearty “Huzzah!” was the response.

On their way back, Mariko said to Aubinaux “So you haven’t seen your parents in six years?”

“No.”

“Then go see them then! They’ve spent six years probably thinking you were dead! When you aren’t! You must go!”

“I mean I- I still can’t see them after what I have-”

“If they are good parents, they should still love you!”

Damn it. Mariko was right “Alright. Stay within the Drowning Wrench okay? Balderon will look after ya, in case anyone wants to jump you.”

“Of course!”

He didn’t visit them at all before because he felt it was his mistake. That he didn’t deserve them. But he did, didn’t he? He wondered what stew his mother was going to make tonight...

#FFxivWrite2018 #aubinaux larsonient #mariko zuriko #syngigeim usynlonwyn #Me shouting at this fic #END NEATLY DAMN YOU

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lesliebadena · 4 years

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indiedarlingdujour-blog · 5 years

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D – Type

You don’t really need to say anything else, not even Jaguar – just D-Type – and everyone knows what you’re talking about.

"Terribly British Day" Parkes, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Wikipedia — Manufacturer = Jaguar Cars Production = 1954–1957 Body and chassis Class= Sports racing car Body style = Roadster

Predecessor = Jaguar C-Type Successor = Jaguar E-Type

The Jaguar D-Type is a sports racing car produced by Jaguar Cars Ltd. between 1954 and 1957. Although it shares the basic straight-6 XK engine and many of its mechanical components with the C-Type, its aviation industry influenced structure was radically different. Innovative monocoque construction and an aeronautical approach to aerodynamic efficiency brought aviation technology to competition car design

Engine displacement began at 3.4 litres, was enlarged to 3.8 L in 1957, and reduced to 3.0 L in 1958 when Le Mans rules limited engines for sports racing cars to that maximum. Jaguar D-Types won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1955, 1956 and 1957. After Jaguar temporarily retired from racing as a factory team, the company offered the remaining unfinished D-Types as XKSS versions whose extra road-going equipment made them eligible for production sports car races in America. In 1957 25 of these cars were in various stages of completion when a factory fire destroyed nine of them.

Total D-Type production is thought to have included 18 factory team cars, 53 customer cars, and 16 XKSS versions.

Posted by Jungle Jack Movements (ferroequinologist) all righ on 2018-04-11 07:05:58

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dragons-bones · 4 years

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6 for the end of year meme?

6. What’s your favourite piece of dialogue you wrote this year?

Dialogue is my ABSOLUTE MOST FAVORITE THING EVER TO WRITE, so here’s a fucking LIST. :3

Pearls of Wisdom:

Rereha threw open the doors to Aymeric’s office, shite-eating grin firmly plastered on her face as she skipped inside, and sang out, “Congratulations! It’s twins!”

“Twin carbuncles!” Synnove cheered. “I had to infuse them at the same time, so they each contain levin and water aether, but the black pearl absorbs levin more readily, and the white pearl more water.”

“So,” Aymeric said hesitantly, a hint of relief in his voice, “you aren’t pregnant, then?”

“What?” said Synnove, rearing back with a frown. “No! Why would—” She went from confused to unamused in a heartbeat and turned her head to level a poisonous glare on a certain lalafell. “REREHA.”

(And here’s a read more because this is gonna get L O N G)

-------

Retrouvailles:

Eventually, she regained enough energy to prop her chin on his sternum. Aymeric lifted his head to meet her gaze as he kept petting her, a questioning noise in his throat that became alarm when he saw the wide grin on her face that usually meant trouble.

“I have,” she said, enunciating clearly, “three more new dresses.”

Aymeric let his head fall back against the desk with a thunk. “Are you trying to kill me, woman?” he groaned, halfway to laughter despite himself. “Take me to dinner before you continue debauching me!”

“That was a perfectly mutual debauchment,” she said primly, “but I’ll grant you that sustenance will be necessary. The Bismarck, or would you prefer to try that new Thavnairian café that I was waxing rhapsodic about over the linkpearl last sennight?”

“The Bismarck,” he said, wrapping one arm around her waist and carefully leveraging them both upright with the other. “I want a steak. Medium rare.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have the oysters?” Synnove said with a smug leer, wrapping her arms around his torso to snuggle closer, and giggled when he swatted her hip in reprimand.

“Brat,” Aymeric said, impossibly fond.

“Your brat,” she said in turn, tilting her head to kiss him.

-------

Quantum Shenanigans:

“This is an abomination,” Nero snarled, flipping from what little Synnove and Krile had managed to put together of the Arch Ultima on a tablet to the ones of the ravaged Ruby Weapon on a tablet. He was sitting at a heavy iron table in one of the Ironworks’s myriad workshops, fidgeting back and forth in one of the wheeled chairs Biggs had welded together on a whim one day, the chair swaying half an ilm side to side. “Absolutely repulsive. Of course, the VIIth is involved somehow, that legion has always been full of lunatics.”

“Either way, the results are revolting,” Nero said with palpable disgust. “Forcibly downloading and uploading souls at a whim, who would condone such a thing?”

“You would!” Cid and Synnove snapped in unison.

...

Nero shifted uneasily, flicking his gaze from Cid, to Synnove, to Heron, and back to Cid to repeat the cycle. Finally. “…What?”

“Bathe in ceruleum, Garlond.”

“Choke on a lug wrench, Scaeva.”

Cid’s face went blank in the manner that usually preceded him asking a question he would wish he had not in fact asked at all once he had the answer: “…Void storage metafold?”

Cid’s eyes were becoming suspiciously glassy.

“—Nero, kick him.”

Nero, using his non-injured foot, immediately did so in Cid’s shin while wearing a gleefully malicious grin. Cid shouted.

“Carby’s a good boy,” Synnove said automatically, the tone of someone who had made the argument before and likely would again. “He’s strange, but he’s a good boy.”

“Carby is not a good boy, Carby is halfway between a constructor-kit outer entity and an unshackled artificial intelligence.”

“He’s not that bad.”

“Yes he is!” Cid and Nero snapped in unison.

“What the hells was that even for?” Cid said, leaning back up against the work table to pick up his leg and rub his injured shin.

“Your grand idea for overcoming the first line of aetheric defenses of the Crystal Tower was to throw a bloody rock at it.”

“It has been four years, are you ever going to stop harping about that?”

“No!” Nero and Synnove snapped in unison.

“Blargle,” Nero agreed.

“Congratulations,” Nero said icily. “You have mothered two more constructor-kit outer entities. If the fabric of reality unravels any time soon, I am blaming you.”

-------

A Drop of Birch:

Aymeric shook his head, fascinated and astonished and awed all at once. “Sewing her own scarf and hat, and making her own syrup, as perfect as anything produced by the finest chefs in Ishgard,” he said. “She’s truly a remarkable individual, and that persistence will serve her well in bridging the divide between man and dragon.”

There was a very peculiar, familiar gleam in Synnove’s eyes as she sat up, vibrating with excitement. She opened her mouth—

Aymeric pointed his spoon at her and said, in the strict tones of the Lord Commander, “We are still not adopting her.”

“Aymeric!” His ladylove’s voice was pure affronted whining.

“No.”

“But—”

-------

“Signs”:

Tataru pointed at her fellow pinkette now. “I want to know what that hand sign you’re always using is,” she said, only the faintest slur present in her voice.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that, honey,” said Rere, lifting her mug to take a deep glugging pull. “There are so many I use to trash talk or gossip with, after all.”

Tataru forced herself upright, bracing herself on her elbows, and held her hands in front of her face, wiggling her fingers. Thancred propped his chin on his hand, raising his eyebrow. “Oh, I think I know the one,” he drawled. “That has to be one of the lewd ones.”

Rereha paused and tapped her chin. “Sometimes,” she said, finally. “Mostly, however, he’s a gremlin.”

At this, she held up her closed fist, then extended her forefinger and pinky as far to the sides as she could, the rough approximation of the round body and wide, pointed ears of the chattering voidsent.

Alakhai walked by at that moment, heading for Dawn’s Respite, while she carried a dozing Alphinaud piggyback. “Talking about yourself, Rere?” she said, eyebrows raised as she caught sight of the lalafell’s hand.

“Queen of the gremlins, that’s me!” Rereha cheered, throwing her hands up, and sending Thancred and Tataru into fresh peals of laughter.

--------

“The Lady of the Manor”:

(“You can misbehave after you’re married,” Da would have said at the end of such a lecture, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, while Mama threw up her hands in defeat.)

“You have dined me,” Synnove said, setting her glass down on the low table, emerald eyes locked on his. “You have wined me. You have treated me to fascinating conversations about the history of Ishgard and your own family—and I mean that genuinely, dearheart. I’ve enjoyed every moment of tonight.”

He grinned at her and did not bother to hide the pride that puffed his chest.

“But there is one thing I would like to do tonight, especially since Alakhai is babysitting the carbuncles and we’re not likely to be…interrupted.” She propped her chin on her fist. “A tradition perhaps not conducive with those of Ishgard—or, well, Ishgard’s high society.”

“And what would that be, my love?”

“I want to make out with you like we’re a pair of teenagers.”

-------

“A Cruel Arcanist’s Thesis”:

“Cidolfus Garlond,” Synnove said, still looking up at the G-Warrior, her voice full of malice, “did you refurbish an Allagan warmachina and not invite me over to the Ironworks to help?”

Cid froze mid-sentence, eyes widening as the full scope of what he had done—or, better to say, had failed to do—finally registered. Silence descended on the group as they all turned to look at first Synnove, practically radiating affronted rage, and then Cid, gone paler than his shirt; the Warriors of Light watched in anticipation, the Ascian hunters in mild confusion. Rereha took out a bag of candied nuts from her pocket, opening it and shoving a handful into her mouth, chewing as she watched.

“Um,” said the engineer, gaze darting around frantically. “Happy nameday?”

“You sit on a throne of lies, my nameday is next moon and you know it,” Synnove said, pivoting on her heel to look at him. Galette yawned, finally waking up from her nap, looking around in confusion. She paused when she saw her mama’s expression, ears going back, and immediately hopped down, bounding over to Alakhai and pawing at her knees. The Xaela bent over and scooped the carbuncle up into her arms, letting the construct flop around her shoulders with a dramatic huff.

“Cid,” Heron said gently, reaching towards Synnove, “I will give you five seconds.”

Cid bolted. Synnove lunged forward, but was halted by Heron clamping down on Synnove’s shoulders. Heron’s arms noticeably noticed tensed as she held her sister in place, while the arcanist screeched in rage as she struggled against the Hellsguard’s sturdy grip.

And then, after five seconds, Heron let Synnove go.

Synnove tore after Cid, hollering at the top of her lungs, “DID YOU LET NERO IN ON THIS? I SWEAR TO THAL IF SCAEVA GOT HIS HANDS IN ITS GUTS BEFORE I COULD—”

“I DID NOT LET NERO ANYWHERE NEAR THE ALLAGAN WARMACHINA!”

“WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU, YOU LYING LIAR WHO LIES?”

“IT’S NOT RED!”

“Fuck no,” said an aghast Rereha, “I’m gonna die at the age of forty-five of combined liver failure and heart attack with my face buried between the thighs of a high-class courtesan after drinking twice my volume in Bacchus wine and coming sixteen times the night before.”

A beat of silence.

Two.

Three.

The former Black Wolf closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose before he slowly let the breath out again in a heavy, sighing gust. “I had to say something,” he muttered, tired and resigned. “I knew better and I had to say something regardless.”

“Surely,” Gaius said, mild exasperation in his tone, “there are better ways of assuring oneself of the physical health of one’s scientist friends than this?”

The Hellsguard turned and arched an unimpressed eyebrow as she stared down at the former legatus. “You say that,” she said, “as if you yourself haven’t staged false emergencies to get your own flock of nerds to exercise and acquire fresh air.”

Gaius growled something in Garlean under his breath that sounded an awful lot like, Nero talks too much.

-------

“They Grow Up So Fast”:

“Do you mean Ehll Tou?” he said. He barely held back the relieved laugh.

“YES!” she wailed again, still face down against his shoulder. “Hautdilong came by and said it had been days since Ehll Tou had gone to the Churning Mists to share her sandwiches with her friends and she should have been back and he was worried and I was worried and so I went to Zenith to find her and deliver the hammer Arvide made for her and one of her friends said she wasn’t ready to be seen and what did that even mean—”

Aymeric ran a firm hand up and down her spine and murmured, “Sweetheart, breathe.”

Synnove sucked in a deep breath and let it out again, shakily. “—and I gave the hammer to Ehll Tou’s friend to deliver but I wasn’t going to leave until I saw Ehll Tou myself and then Arvide and Haudtilong arrived because Hautdilong had gotten so worried and then Ehll Tou finally came and she was BI-I-I-I-I-I-G.” The last word came out as one of those heaving, hiccupping sobs, drawing it out to multiple syllables.

He fished a handkerchief from his pocket and pulled away just enough to offer it to his lady. “Blow,” he said, fond.

-------

“Breaking Point”:

“I AM YOUR DAUGHTER, NOT AN INVESTMENT!”

-------

“Strings and Things”:

Lucia tapped the Watch commander’s shin reprovingly with her foot beneath the table. Hilda tapped back. Lucia nudged her more firmly. Hilda responded in kind.

“Ladies,” Heron said drily, glancing over her cards, “before you get involved in a game of footsie, please recall my legs take up most of the room here and I am not keen to be caught up in one of your public displays of affection. Again.”

Hilda sniffed in disdain, though Lucia at least had the decency to look abashed as the two resettled back to their card game.

“Buggering shite,” Hilda growled, reaching for the deck. “Ruthless, vicious, definitely cheating—”

“It’s why you love me,” Lucia quipped.

-------

“Arcane Diagnostics”:

“Synnove, have you seen my WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS.”

Synnove didn’t look up from peering through her magnifying glass. “No, Cid, I have not seen your what in the Seven Hells.”

“Fuck you,” Cid said with only a touch of heat. “What the hells have you done to my garage?”

“All right, first, it’s not your garage—”

“It’s Jessie’s, yes, I know, get new material.”

“—and second I have done nothing to it except commandeer it for my use.”

“Then explain the use.”

“I would like to remind you,” Cid said, in the sickeningly saccharine tone of someone about to savor some serious schadenfreude, “that A’khebica designed Carby to be self-programming.”

--------

“Points of Light”:

“I’m sorry, but that’s definitely a dick.”

“For fuck’s sake, Rereha.”

“Listen, if you want me to be more descriptive, I can tell you whose dick I think it is.”

Heron moaned in pain, covering her face with her hands. Alakhai started cackling, quiet and whispery. Synnove reached over Alakhai to whack Rereha with her pillow, but the lalafell quickly ducked into her bedroll with her own strident cackle to avoid being hit.

“You’re my little sister!” Heron said from behind her hands. “Stop putting those images in my head!”

“Aye,” said Heron, voice only a little slurred. “And who needs a perfect world, anyhow? That’s boring. Just have a couple of sisters at your side—or brothers if that’s how that turn about the sun goes—and things will turn out just fine.”

-------

“A Languorous Start”:

“We weren’t exactly quiet last night, my lady,” he drawled against her temple, “either here or in my office.”

“If anyone was loitering that close to your office or your rooms,” she said imperiously, “then they were being voyeuristic busybodies and should have minded their own business, or gotten laid elsewhere.”

-------

“Fedarloh Fulltouch Chalk”:

Somehow, Synnove’s expression became even stonier. “You have ten seconds to give me my chalk.”

“Or what?”

“Or I tell Aunt Angharad.”

Neither Synnove, Halulu, nor Nero blinked, but between one moment and the next, Rereha was holding out a small wooden box, right beneath Synnove’s nose. The Highlander stared down at it, eyes crossing to bring it into focus.

“How does she not break bones more often?” Nero said as he chewed the last of the popcorn.

“We’re fairly certain Hydaelyn likes her best,” Synnove said, absently petting the box containing her chalk and actually crooning wordlessly to it for a moment. Then she frowned, brow furrowing, and glanced up to stare at Nero with narrowed green eyes. “Where did you come from?”

“I arrived about when you were chasing Rereha around your office like a particularly demented game of cat and mouse,” Nero said, brushing his hands clean.

“…That didn’t actually answer the question I asked, but I’ll allow it.”

Synnove opened the box and removed a single piece of chalk, still unused, took three strides to stand in front of him, and shoved the chalk beneath his nose. “Smell it,” she said imperiously.

He looked askance at her, but knew better, and took a derisive sniff. He did not sneeze, and at that realization, his eyebrows ticked upwards.

“Touch it,” Halulu said.

Nero touched the stick of chalk with a single finger, and Synnove used the opportunity to hand it over to him. His eyebrows raised further when she did so.

“Kiss it,” Synnove said.

“I beg your pardon—”

“Kiss it,” both arcanists hissed, auras of palpable malevolence flaring to life around them. A knife suddenly glinted in Halulu’s hand.

Wide-eyed, and definitely knowing better, he obeyed.

“That,” said Halulu, in her usual cheerful tone of voice, knife vanished to whatever metafold pocket it was normally stored within, as he drew away with a moue of distaste, “is the motherlode.”

“It is,” Synnove said dreamily, “the best chalk produced anywhere on this star. Ever.”

“It’s rarely breaks.”

“It leaves almost no dust behind.”

“It writes so smoothly, like with ink on paper.”

“It’s impossible to write a false theorem with it!” Synnove gushed, then paused. “…All right, that one’s bullshite. But. It is absolutely much more fun to write out the latest drivel produced by Radz-at-Han when it’s time to poke holes in all their research.”

“Who’s your dealer?” he said waspishly.

“That is privileged information,” she said primly, crossing her arms, chalk box still in hand.

He glared venomously at her, teeth audibly grinding, before suddenly grinning, vicious and pleased and knowing. “Shall I tell Rammbroes you said hello when I pay him a visit? The Sons are currently the only organization operating outside the Sharlayan homeland that isn’t on the Forum’s shite-list.”

-------

“Decisive Battle”:

“You rebuilt and refurbished an Allagan warmachina AND DIDN’T INVITE US!” Synnove bellowed.

“The nerve!” Nero said, waving a wrench for emphasis.

“The audacity!”

“The betrayal!”

“Oh my gods, I will throw you both over a cliff,” Cid said, rubbing his temples.

“And, truly, Garlond,” said Nero, “I cannot believe you passed on the opportunity to enact poetic justice and use the VIIth’s own tricks against them by means of deploying a primal-infused weapon against their forces.”

“No, no, that is a trap,” Cid growled, jabbing a finger into Nero’s chest. “Not when the basis of their work is partially your research. I am not falling for your false flattery.”

Nero sniffed and smacked the other Garlean’s hand away. “Please, their synthetic auracite system is an abomination, even you could do better with the original Ultima Weapon’s blueprints on hand.”

Cid’s face turned a fascinating shade of red as he gaped at Nero, hands flexing in the manner of someone who desperately wanted to strangle the person before them. Synnove muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, Point to Nero.

“…Your carbuncles are terrifying instruments of wanton violence and destruction,” Nero said, staring at Ivar, “which speaks volumes about your actual levels of relative sanity and inherit bloodthirstiness.”

Synnove put her hand over her heart. “That is the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” she said, genuinely touched.

“I hope the next explosion you set off burns away your eyebrows and at least ten ilms of hair.”

“I hope the next time you get Thavnairian, the kitchen serves you the spice demon bowl and not the spice wuss one.”

-------

“Worst Case Scenario”:

Finally, Lucia came to Synnove’s room. Unsurprisingly, Aymeric had gone there straightaway, and when she arrived, the man was sitting as close as possible to Synnove’s bedside, holding her hand so that he could press his lips against her knuckles as Synnove slept, his other hand gently stroking her hair. Ivar was curled up on Synnove’s feet, but he raised his head as Lucia came into the room and, like his sister, chirped hello.

Lucia gave his ears a scratch before going to stand beside Aymeric, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He sighed deeply and murmured, “We put so much on them and expect even more, and then to see them laid low…”

“They well knew the risks of the adventurers’ path,” she said softly, “and it speaks of their courage and conviction that they have never faltered, even when the path forward is difficult. They will get through this, with the help of each other, and us, and all the rest of their friends.”

-------

“Mothers and Daughters”:

The arcanist shook her head to clear it of cobwebs, and warmly smiled at the woman. “Oh, no harm done, I always get lost in my head when I’m deeply involved in mathematics,” she said, to which Dulia-Chai sighed in relief while her ears relaxed. Synnove tilted her head and grinned a little wider. “Would you like to join me?”

Dulia-Chai smiled in return. “I would like that very much, thank you. I have my own work to be doing today while Chai-Nuzz is at the old Stoneworks offices, and I find it easier to stay focused when I am with like-minded individuals.”

Synnove laughed and leaned over to shove aside her grimoires so that they only covered a little less than half the table, rather than three-fourths. “Far less likely to be bothered here than at the Parlor, too, I imagine,” she drawled.

The miqo’te rolled her eyes as she slid onto the bench, setting down her things, opening a ledger and her folio, and beginning to spread out papers before her. “Heavens forfend that a woman enjoys some tea and biscuits in the sunshine while she balances the books!”

-------

“Stormsong”:

When the lalafell came to a stop before him, he grudgingly said, “Lieutenant Reha.”

“Ooooh, that’s Captain Reha now, Sergeant,” Rereha said, just shy of cackling.

Valdeaulin nearly dropped his pen. “Dear good gods, why do they keep promoting you?” he said in disbelief.

“Mostly to make me someone else’s problem,” she chirped, easily hopping up onto a stack of crates next to him. The dragonet in her arms croaked reproachfully as it was jostled, but she merely patted it on the head and continued, “I think the plan is to get me high enough that it forces Grand Marshal Brookstone to retire already. I am also, apparently, quite good at getting the job done even if it means someone goes prematurely grey from shock, mortification, or both.”

“That sounds like a quote,” he said.

Rereha held a finger up to her lips in a ‘shush’ gesture, smirking, and waggled her eyebrows.

-------

The Color of Home:

Synnove turned around once more and frowned herself as she took in his expression. “What’s wrong, love?”

There was no use lying. “Is something different with you?”

The frown turned into a playful smirk, amusement sparking in her eyes. “Darling, do I need to be a hypocrite?” she said, leaning back against the counter and crossing her arms, one eyebrow ticking upward.

“Considering how often I’m one regarding your own sleep and work habits, ‘tis only fair.”

Synnove laughed, his favorite sound in all the world, and said, “You work too long and too hard sometimes, my Aymeric. But, yes, I’ll grant you this: there is something different. Can you tell me what it is?” Her tone was light and lilting and dripping with mischief.

----

End of the Year Writer Meme! (Number 2 still left!)

#anonymous #dt answers things #meme stuff #ty for the ask!

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