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trashasaurusrex · 2 years ago

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Sick of the Silence (an FFXIV Lin one shot story)

I wrote this in one day and it made me appreciate writers of all kinds much much more. I am bad with words xD

Was brainstorming some backstory stuff for FF!Lin, and ended up writing all of this. It involves Lindsey dealing with her powers, getting more Questions, and has a bit of fluff at the end. This takes place during the events of Stormblood. Enjoy!

(Story under the break)

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Silent, cold, and dark was the night, and its sky covered all of Gyr Abania. The stars glittered along the dark sheet, telling stories of old heroes and legends with each formation they presented. In the center of it all, Menphina’s half-moon shined brightly, clouds draping over it gently like sheer fabric. Underneath this display lies a Hyur woman gazing up above to the deity’s symbol, contemplating several happenings in recent days. More importantly, her struggles with her aether. She stood tall with her conventional, but dashing, red mage uniform, representing the almost forgotten art and its lost champions. Her hair was neatly tied back with only a few strands escaping the red band. Her lips were covered with a scarlett rouge red paint, and her eyes shined in between the shades of her eyeshadow. Despite the situation with the Resistance and Garlemald, she found ways to include her normal hobbies in her schedule, including makeup. Alas, it wasn’t enough to get her to stop thinking about recent events.

Lindsey McKales, the Hyur woman, stood with crossed arms just outside of Rhalgr’s Reach on top of a high cliff that looked down at the Fringes. She looked up at the moon’s glow with wonder and questioning. Why? Why does this get worse, now? This…curse? Surely, Bluma had helped her figure this out in the Shroud, and yet, here she was. A theory in the young woman’s mind was that due to her aetheric abilities getting stronger, the void magics within her would swell. And, strangely, the phases of the moon would affect her condition, sometimes greatly.

The "curse" in question? Many summers ago, Lindsey had gained a strange, dangerous power that was quite similar to that of a voidsent's. It would alter her body and form, making her vulnerable to the void's influence. It also granted her great power, having her take on an altered form of a wolf. Monstrous, dark, and deadly, she had no choice but to hide it. Bluma, one of her closest friends, helped her control any urges she might have had and taught her how to balance her aetherial magicks and retain control. Due to Lindsey's frivolous nature, she took advantage of her progress and turned by herself, occasionally, to better understand her new form. But ever since joining the Resistance, she no longer had that kind of privilege.

Irritated, Lindsey looked down and shook her head with a growl, her lips curling up to form a snarl. “You had to make this even more difficult, didn’t you?” She looked back up to the moon. The bright figure reflected in Lindsey’s intense eyes, almost to say something, and yet, no answer was given directly. Lindsey waited for some sort of sign, then groaned when the land stayed silent. “Well! Guess I’m not gettin’ an answer anytime soon. I’ll find out, eventually.” With a defeated shrug, she made her way down the rocks and back to Rhalgr’s Reach, hopefully to something non-devastating or stressful. On her walk back, she couldn’t help but replay the events of the other night.

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Alone in the Barber, Lindsey administered a few of her concoctions to her bruises and scars from a previous battle. She hissed at the scrapes that were fresher as she applied the medicine. With a raised brow, she looked up to see if anybody had heard her pained vocals. Luckily, no one was around just yet. Unsure of how many people were out, she decided to get up and check to see how many folks were still awake, and walk off any of the pain she had felt while she did so. She raised herself off the bed, sheathed her rapier and made her way to the center of Rhalgr’s Reach. As she looked around, she spotted a good amount of her allies conversing with one another. Being part of the rebellion was a good thing, she thought, and it was this that allowed her to meet a few people who would prove to be lifelong friends. However, it was a true test of her abilities and character.

She recognized a few of the people still wandering, one of them being Ariale Albilon, a new friend she had made shortly after joining the Resistance. Lindsey thought about walking over to say hello, however, she decided against it soon after. Ari was already suspicious of Lindsey’s strange behavior, and seemed to have more questions every time they met up. Intelligent, inquisitive, and perceptive, she would have to know about Lindsey’s curse someday, whether it be through careful observation or straight from Lindsey’s mouth. She wasn’t quite ready to explain it all just yet, though. Hells, she hardly even knew how to explain it, other than saying, ‘I turn into a freaky dog at night.’ Lindsey smacked her lips together and made a slight grimace, then swiftly made herself scarce to avoid any questions.

She slipped into the shadows, away from any curious eyes, and looked around to make sure no one had followed. She spared a few moments to make sure she was in the clear. As soon as she felt ready, she continued her walk around the base, making sure to stay under the shade. Suddenly, she stopped. Slowly creeping up her spine, a chill sent shivers through her body. A strange presence was nearby and she couldn’t tell what it was. All she could do was sense it. She calmly stood in the dark, eyes darting back and forth. She lifted her head up slowly and listened for any odd sounds, eyes still looking for anything suspicious. Unable to find any clues through this, she closed her eyes and took in the air surrounding her trying to pick up a scent, and lo, she did. It was foul, and quite familiar. A type of familiar that made the hairs raise on her arms. With her curiosity heightened, and a sense of danger on the side, she decided to investigate the situation further. She took one last look at the area before walking off to find a trail.

The moon that night was full, so it lightened the land beautifully. Lindsey couldn’t help but appreciate the natural lighting while she walked out of the base. As Lindsey moved away from Rhalgr’s Reach, the presence she had felt grew much stronger, and her body started to feel heavy. She muttered to herself in an annoyed, breathy voice, “what the fuck is this thing?” Her answer would come after following the now very clear trail of aether it, whatever it was, had left. She walked nonchalantly as she followed the trail. However, the closer she got, the more it began to fade away. Realizing she didn’t have much time, she began to run alongside the path, following it all the way to Schism, a landmark in Gyr Abania. She ran up to the stairs of the temple, and took a moment to observe her surroundings, including Schism. The scent was unmistakable, at this point; whatever she was following was waiting inside. She ran up the steps and into the temple, only stopping once she was completely inside. Then, she let herself tread slower. The steps of her boots sounded throughout the temple, the heels causing a ‘clack’ to echo with every step. Her eyes wandered all over the structure, and met with the entryway to the next room as she approached it. Her body felt even heavier, and yet, she still walked on. Her feet were suddenly harder to lift, even for her. Without warning, she felt the tip of her shoe hit a stack of broken tiles on the floor, and nearly tripped and fell. “Fuck, fuck!” She regained her balance and stepped over the broken tiles. At this point, she was losing her patience.

She adjusted her posture, and looked down the path that led deeper into the temple. She exclaimed, “Hey! Might as well show yourself, now! The only way outta here is through me!” Her voice echoed throughout the temple, alarming anything that was in it. “Or, I guess if you can use, like, aether, you’re fine…” she said in a quieter tone. She groaned and continued walking into the temple, the light from outside becoming dimmer and dimmer as the shadows enveloped her path. Lindsey treaded carefully through the darkened entryway and made her way down a small flight of stairs. Small cracks in the ceiling allowed some light to seep in, just enough to lighten parts of the path. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard nearby. Slow, gentle footsteps that sounded like they were coming from the path straight ahead. She stopped to look for anything odd, and placed her hand on the handle of her rapier. Her head turned to every corner of the room, yet nothing could be seen. Slowly, she started to feel a light brush against her neck, light enough to send shivers down her body.

“LINDSEY…”

As clear as day, she heard someone call her name. Something. It was as if the thing was right next to her ear. She quickly turned her body towards the presence and unsheathed her weapon. “Listen, I don’t like doing this sneaky shite, alright? Get out and show yourself already!” She responded aggressively. The entity which called her was nowhere to be found, though its presence was still there. She swayed her sword left and right as she looked for the voice’s owner. She turned back to the path up ahead, and her eyes widened at the sight.

A dark figure, covered in shadows, stood calmly in the middle of the path. The face couldn’t be seen, if there even was a face to be seen. Some sort of black liquid oozed off of the figure, fully visible to Lindsey’s eyes. They kept their head low, and their posture was slouched. Lindsey’s brows furrowed as she approached the figure. “I dunno why you were in Reach, but I can suggest some more scenic places that aren’t in the middle o-” Her voice cut off. Her body was completely anchored by a dark, powerful force. She dropped to her knees and lost the grip she had on her weapon, letting it fall to the floor. “W-what?!” The dark figure watched Lindsey as she struggled, and slowly raised their hand to reach out for her. They began walking towards her, slowly but surely. Their voice was much less clear, now, and they began to whisper to her.

“…succumb…

…Strength…cannot…

…lost…”

A dark cloud began to envelop Lindsey, weighing her down even more than before. She felt her throat fill with a warm, foul liquid, much like how it did the first time she transformed. She coughed and gagged, and spat out a tar-like substance onto the floor, leaving a small puddle of it in front of herself. With all her strength, she tried to raise herself from the ground. Whatever this thing was, it was making her want to transform.

“This is…mine. I…control this!” She tried to shout at the figure with a weakened, raspy voice. She looked up to the figure with anger and determination, but couldn’t keep herself up that much longer.

“I’m sorry…

…I cannot…”

As the last words of the entity were whispered, Lindsey’s vision faded to black.

The dawn of a new day appeared, and its rays of light shined through the cracks in the temple’s ceiling. Slowly, one gently shined on the Hyur’s cheek, greeting her warmly after the haunting ordeal from the night before. Today’s a new day, little mortal. Wake up and rise from your slumber…

The sun’s warm rays began to shine into her eyes, tempting the woman to open them and finally wake. Or, simply turn to avoid the light. She groaned, and did exactly that. Once her body was turned over, her face landed on a warm, wet spot on the ground. Extremely fatigued, but still curious, Lindsey rose her head to see what she rested her face on. It was black. She quickly picked herself up and moved away from the spot, realizing that it was the puddle she made from the previous night. The previous night, she remembered. She looked up to the spot where the mysterious figure had stood. There seemed to be no trace of them whatsoever. Lindsey furrowed her brows, puzzled by the situation. “Aw, gods dammit! Did I…crash here?” She groaned. She rubbed her chin with her sleeve, hoping to rid her face of any drool she might have had. When she looked at her arm, however, she saw black ink smeared on the red fabric of her outfit. Her mouth was covered in the black substance, meaning this attempt at the transformation was…a bit more violent than usual. It was troubling.

“Ugh…I’m sure I made someone worry. Well…how should the story go this time…?” Her voice trailed off, and she began to hum to herself a silly tune. She made her way out of the temple and back to Rhalgr’s Reach. Strangely enough, she found a broken bottle on the ground, most likely for alcohol. From there, she knew what to say to anyone who was curious about her whereabouts. The rest is history.

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The night sky still covered the land with darkness, yet the moon and the stars shined light where needed. Lindsey continued her walk back to Rhalgr’s Reach, replaying the memory in her head over and over. Something about that individual seemed familiar, and yet, she couldn’t quite put a finger on it. She was glad that she was able to lie to everyone and label her wanderings as a “drunken adventure.” However, a lie can only last for so long.

Lindsey confidently strolled into the base with an exaggerated swagger. She waved to anybody she recognized and flirtatiously blew a few kisses to the women she liked. After her greetings, she made her way northeast of Rhalgr’s Reach, where a calm waterfall flowed down the rocks. Waiting by the waterfall was a blue-haired, blue-eyed viera with freckles that peppered her face like the stars do the sky. She stood near the rocks to hide from any wandering eyes. Lindsey approached her with a flirtatious smirk, hoping to butter her up before the conversation started.

“Hey, Bluieee! Did you miss meee?”

The viera, Bluma, looked up at her friend with a smile. She chortled, and nodded. “You were only gone for a few moments.”

“Yeah, well, those few moments were like, super torturous, right?”

“I was finally able to do my research during those quiet moments.” She chuckled teasingly.

Lindsey’s mouth hung agape. She scoffed at the comment, and placed her hands on her hips. “Alright, then I’ll just leave. And take my sweet bee-hind with me!” She turned around and began walking away. “Enjoy your books, four-eyes!”

Bluma giggled. “But you wanted to talk, not I.”

The red mage froze in her tracks. She slowly turned back around to look at her friend. “Ohhh, right…glad you remembered.” She looked at Bluma with a goofy smile on her face, and walked back to her. She nodded at the viera, happy to have her company.

Bluma nodded, and pulled over a small satchel hanging on her side to bring out a journal. Lindsey watched as she did this, a little confused as to why she was seemingly preparing to write something.

“Hey, are you gonna record everything I say?!”

“Nooo, I wanted to show you something after you said your part.”

Lindsey paused. For a moment, she wanted to continue questioning, but she shook her head and got back on track. “Um, right, whatever. Anyways! Listen, remember that night where I was uh, ‘drunk?’”

“Mhm.” The viera nodded attentively.

“Ok, so like…you know that was a whole round of buffalo shite, right?”

“Um…well…” Bluma lifted her hand to her mouth, hesitant on commenting any further.

“Just say it.”

“Y-yes, though…I don’t think anyone else suspects anything.”

Lindsey slumped her shoulders and rolled her eyes. “Uuuugh…it seems like nothing can get past you.”

Bluma shook her head. “No, no, it was just intuition that time.”

“Well, can you, like…stop being so intuition-y?” She jabbed Bluma’s forehead with her sharp, pink nail. “You don’t have to know everything that I do!”

Bluma rubbed her forehead, where Lindsey had left a slight mark. “But if you didn’t want me to know this, then why did you want to tell me?”

“I didn’t! I just knew that YOU knew!”

“I’m sorry! I’m just…”

An awkward silence came between them, both unsure of how to continue the conversation. Bluma took a moment to look at the cover of her journal, debating on whether or not she should even bring up her findings. With a deep breath, she brushed through the pages, and looked up at Lindsey with a smile. “If it’s alright, may I show you my piece?”

Lindsey looked at Bluma, surprised. She felt bad about her little outburst, but was happy that Blu didn’t lose interest in the conversation. “Um…sure, go ahead.”

Bluma smiled and sat on the ground, patting a spot next to her for Lindsey to sit. The red mage perked up, and made her way to the spot next to Bluma, plopping down eagerly. Bluma nodded and began to turn through her journal to find a specific page. She landed on a section about white and black magic, specifically how it’s used by Red Mages. “Look at this! What we hypothesized was close after all!” Lindsey looked closely at the pages. A drawing of a blonde girl with her hair red at the tips was on one page, with several notes taken near it.

Lindsey paused for a moment. “Umm…what am I looking at here?”

Bluma eagerly nodded. “I might have found a connection to your condition. You see, this girl, I believe her name was Arya, suffered from a condition where if she practiced her magicks too often, or over-exerted herself, she would lose control and become hostile to just about anyone. In this case, however, a separate entity was fighting for control over her.” She looked back up at Lindsey with worrisome eyes. “Do you think that might be the case for you?”

Lindsey blinked, trying to process the new knowledge Bluma had brought up. “Uhhhh…” She paused to think to herself for a moment. “It’s…complicated. Sometimes, I feel like it’s something working against me, but sometimes, it’s like…”

Bluma watched Lindsey explain, attentive to every detail.

“Like…it’s just me. The only downside is like, I get insanely hungry…and tired.”

“Hungry is right.” Bluma couldn’t help but giggle. “Though, I suppose that’s similar to the voidsents’ need to feast on living aether…” She turned back to the pages and continued to read what she had written. “There used to be mages that would ingest the blood of voidsent for powers beyond our imagination. So, I suppose this isn’t entirely new.”

“Hmm…so somebody decided to mix their loot with my drink, did they?”

Bluma shrugged. “I doubt that, but maybe that concept can lead us to different cases.”

“I guess…”

Another pause came between them, this time, much more relaxed. Lindsey turned the pages and found more notes about the topic throughout them. She was impressed, and a bit flattered that even after all this time, Bluma was still interested in helping her. She stopped on a page filled with only writing and looked back to Bluma. “Um…hey, Blu? How did you get all of this stuff in the first place?”

Bluma looked up at Lindsey, unsure of how to answer. Then, she smiled softly, and gently placed her index finger over her lips. “You don’t have to know everything I do. I have my ways.” She winked slyly.

Lindsey’s eyes widened. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the callback. “Touche.”

Bluma giggled. She placed the journal on the ground in between them, just in case Lindsey wanted to flip through the pages a bit more. “Anyroad, feel free to browse my research any time! Especially if it can give you peace of mind.”

“Um…thanks.”

Bluma looked at Lindsey with a warm smile, and nodded approvingly. “My pleasure.”

“Right…um, Blu?”

Bluma looked up at her friend, a brow slightly raised due to her curiosity. “Yes?”

“Look, uh…you do a lot. I don’t want my stupid shite to clog that brain of yours. You’re fun to be around when we’re not talking about dramatic stuff. That’s why I was a little pissed that you figured that out so easily.”

The viera looked on, slightly surprised.

“Stop worrying so much! Maybe you’ll stop gettin’ those little spots on your face if ya do.” Lindsey lightly pinched a small zit on the side of Bluma’s face. Bluma’s eyes widened. She gently placed her hand where Lindsey had spotted the small bit of acne. Obviously, she was embarrassed that she didn’t notice that sooner. She shrugged, looking up at her close friend with admiration.

“I just want you well, is all. Genuinely, you’re…quite possibly the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. Ferocious appetite and all…” Bluma shrugged, and revealed a slight blush that covered her freckled cheeks. She looked at Lindsey with glittering eyes, almost as dazzling as the night sky above.

Lindsey didn’t know how to respond. All she could do was stare. Her heart was pounding faster, and she could feel her cheeks warming up more and more. Her eyes twitched as she tried to comprehend what she was feeling. All that she could form with words was:

“I’m sorry.”

Lindsey got up hastily from her spot and started to make her way out. “Well! Thanks for the help. I’ll sleep on some of that and decide on what to do with it later. For now, I wanna dream about something that’s not associated with whatever the fuck is threatening us at the moment.” She turned back to her friend with a sly smirk. “You should rest that pretty little head of yours as well.”

Bluma was taken aback by the response, and a bit unsure if Lindsey had taken what she had said positively. Nonetheless, she nodded and rose up with her journal and notes in hand. “You’re right. It is a bit late.”

“But, seriously, thanks for the extra stuff, Blu. Not everybody has that level of dedication.” Lindsey replied with a nervous smile.

“You’re welcome. I hope you rest well, Lin.” Bluma said softly. She waved, and watched her friend walk off to her tent.

Just moments ago, Lindsey was attempting to ask a deity about her cursed lycanthropy, which was only met with silence. Turns out, there were answers. She was just looking in the wrong direction.

Thank you for reading! <3

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