#godanmit i want a dress too

[eternalfirebeast]

Pretend the ghost of Etulia lives at the bottom of the sea of black tears; Then this might make sense.

[little-birdseeker]

Rebirth

((Continuation of this story!))

Tik tok. Tik tok.

Silence. Sunshine in her room. Morning again?

Heavy footsteps. Knock knock. A sigh. Creaking door. Stomp stomp. Clink clank. A bearded face. Friend? Foe? Friend. Yes, a friend.

“Sorry, hope i didn’t wake ya.” A deep voice. Friendly voice. Clink Clank.

When did he visit her room the last time? Must have been a while. But still, everytime he came here, he was reminded that this girl loved the color red, or maybe even obsessed by it. But in any case, that was not the problem right now.

Wickid made a few steps towards the partition partition, which separated him from the small cats bed, where he put down his sword and shield, before sitting down. Finally, some good earned rest. “So…”, he said, followed by a deep sigh. “Azura told me about’cha. You… didn’t ate much the last days, did ya? Looks a bit untouched, if ya ask me. Like the rolanberry juice…”

Another deep sigh.

He waited a bit, but the room remained silent. Well, Azura had told him that she was worried sick about her, but this… if someone had told him that this once so cheerful little girl would end up in such a dreadful state, he wouldn’t have believed them. Ever. But… now, here he. Trying to do at least something for her… so he broke the silence once again.

“So… ‘m not good at this, why do i… godanmit! Ya know what? Listen, Isabelle. Well, i hope you are listening. Just, eh… yeah, i brought a story for you. You like stories, right? Zura told me many times, and ya have a lotta books here, right? So, eh… yeah, a story. Hmmm… where to start…?”

For a moment, the room became silent again. Tik tok. Tik tok. Then, the story began.

“There was… eh… no, that’s not how stories begin, right? It was something like… ah, yeah. Once upon a time, there was a man, a young man, living with his friends in a… in a village within the Shrouds. Far away from home, as the… no, an empire had taken over his homelands. The adults took care of him and the other kids, as many of them had left their family behind, or even worse, had seen them die. But they rarely cried, as they cared for each other as if they were brothers. Time flew, and as they grew older, they started adventuring the nearby forest, armed with swords, spears, bows… you know, all kinds of weapons. Some were talented enough to learn use magic, and one was even interested in studying the art of the thaumaturges, in Ul’dah. Just like you did. And, well… they fought against the monsters, protected the village, went hunting with the villagers… you know, the usual. Helping each other, and those who had raised them.”

Tik tok.

His voice. A calming voice. A deep voice. A caring voice. Just listening was… nice.

The forest. She had been there. Did she meet any of them? Talked to them?

A peaceful life. Why wasn’t hers as peaceful? Why did life hurt so much?

Tik tok. 

“A few years after the group was renowned in the region. Helped anyone in need and gave a part of their hard earned money to the adults, that had raised them. And even though they weren’t registered as adventurers… they still kinda counted as those. But one day… yeah, one day, they had a fateful battle against a giant morbol. And, eh… hm...  Do you know them? Those... tentacle plants with a giant mouth and the worst breath ever? They are… urgh. You know, even if you don’t get hit by their breath, your clothes will smell horrible for days, i can tell you, and if you get hit… well, one of your dresses might just… dissolve, i guess. But… eh… you’ll get knocked out yourself pretty hard, even if you do hold your breath. Many people also might just die a few minutes later.”

“Bloody bastards!”, Wickid mumbled into his beard, before he continued. “Well, w- eh, they fought against a giant morbol, and… one of them got hit by its terrible breath. And… even though they managed to kill it, with a fire crystal, their friend… didn’t made it.”

Tik tok. Tik tok.

“Oh. Oh no!” A little gasp went through the room. The poor man. His friends. They… they didn’t deserve this! They must have worked very hard! Like her! And now… now what? Life wasn’t fair!

Now, the cat sat near the partition, too. Hidden in her fluffy blanket. Eager to hear more.

Tik tok. Tik tok.

“So… we- eh, they burried him. Alone. Somewhere in the swamp. Gave him a proper goodbye. And… well, stopped being adventurer. It… it was time to live a… a less dangerous life. So they left, taking some of their old friends with them, to start a new life somewhere else. Ventured to Thanalan. Made a camp there. Took in more refugees. Protected them, as good as they could.”

Tik tok.

Sniff.

Tik tok.

Did… did she hear a sniff there? From him? “Wiiickid? Is… is everything alriiight?” Her voice was thin, but you could hear her worries. He… normally he wasn’t like this, was he? “Did you knooow the man?”

“...hmm. Yeah. Yeah, know him. Know him very well.”

“Oh… i’m sorry… i didn’t…” A sigh. Silence.

Tik tok.

Sniff.

“I hooope he is okay right know.”

“Oh, he is, in general. Can tell you that.”

“Oh, yay! I’m glad to heeear that! And… and his friiiends? Are they okay as weeell?”

Tik tok. Tik tok.

Sniff.

“Wiiickid…?”

“...rried.”

“Eh… whaaat did you-” “Burried. I said they are burried.”

Tik tok.

“...oh. I… that… sorry”, Isabelle mumbled, trying to curl herself up again in the blanket. “So… he…?”

“Is the only one left.”

“That’s… that’s teeerrible! I wanna… Can i… But i can’t…”

A deep sigh could heared from the pile of pillows and the blanket the cat had burried herself in.

“But you saaaid he is allright, didn’t you?”

“...yeah. Yeah, he is. He found some good friends, who helped him after all that has happened.”

“Oh? Some friends… like you?”

“Hm? Can’t tell if we are friends. Kinda hard to befriend yourself, right?”

Tik tok. Tik tok.

Befriend… yourself? What? So that story… he had talked about himself? The grand protector? Azuras husband? The one who looks after her while she learns to control her magic even better? And… and he had to live through such awful things? And he was still here? And he was so strong, and she so weak. And… and…

Tears in her eyes. On her blanket. Everywhere. And a sudden urge. An urge to hug someone.

Thump. Footsteps. Tap tap tap.

There she was. The red cat. Cheeks wet from tears. Her hair was a mess, again. In her undies she always slept in, still one of the pillows in her hand, she stood there, before she fell onto her knees and clang to Wickid, while she cryed heavily.

“Wiiiiiickid!”, she cried. “I didnnoooow! Im so sooooorry!”

“It’s okay. Nothing you wanna talk about everyday, eh?”

“Budit wasso so awfulor you! Anyou still knewhat todo anare here aneverything sfine for you, while i… while i… i've kiiilled her! Iaaana! I’ve kiiilled her!”

Tik tok. Soft strokes over the cats head. Tik tok.

“Isabelle. It was not you fault.” “But… but i-” “No! Isabelle. We… She…” Wickid let of a deep sigh. Where to start? Why he? Why not Azura? Was he really the right person to talk with Isabelle about all that…?

“So, Iana… when i was carrying her, i already felt that something was... odd. As it turned out, the aether her body should have had was just… gone. Completely. And… you said something ‘bout a voidsend, right? So… it seems like that creature had taken all of Ianas aether while living in her body.”

“And when i kiiilled that monster, i killed her too!”

“No, Isa! She wouldn’t have been able to talk to you again in that case. No, more like… if you hadn’t killed that voidsend, Iana would had to watch it walk as her through the world an’ do horrible things. The moment the voidsend had taken over, Ianas fate was sealed, and you… you didn’t kill her. You saved her. Saved her from a miserable fate.”

Tik tok. Tik tok.

“But… if i hadn’t come to Kugane, or hadn’t left home, i-” “Isabelle!”

The girl immediately stopped talking. She didn’t expect Wickid to say her name in such a harsh voice.

“Isabelle”, he repeated. “You wanna tell me all of your journey, all the days here in the free company, the time you’ve spent with Azura, Niyu, Tatara, and all the others… you wanna tell me that all of that might have been wrong?”

“I.... I…”, she stammered, not sure what to say.

“You know… everyone makes mistakes. Like… maybe your way of leavin’ your home wasn’t the best way. But ya already know that much, don’tcha? But do you really think all of this is ya fault, and yours alone? Do you really think Iana hasn’t done any mistakes? Are you really that naive?”

Tik tok. Tik tok.

No. Nooo, she wasn’t! But also… she knew. She knew, he was right. So right. And it hurt. So very much. So so so so much! Why, Iana? Why? Why did you let a voidsend help you…?

“I’m… i’m not!”, Isabelle mumbled.

Tik tok. Sniff sniff. Tik tok.

“You know… griefing is okay. Takes some time to heal, i know, and it won’t get better quickly. But… but don’t do what i did. Like taking the blame all for yourself, and refuse to accept the reality. Took me years, you know? Years… Don’t repeat my mistakes.”

“But… but what am i supposed to dooo now?”

“I’m afraid that’s something you have to figure out yourself. But… i you don’t find an answer yourself… Maybe you can think of what your sister would have wanted you to do.”

“What… what Iaaana had wanted me to do…?”

Tik tok.

Iana… she had been proud of her, right? Of the brave little sister, who had seen the world, who had learned to use magic, who had achieved so much. And not of the whiny one, who blamed herself for everything and wanted to hide from everyone. So… now that Iana wasn’t anymore… she had to be the big sister now, right? She had to be responsible, right? And as the responsible one… what had to be done…?

Tik tok.

“...Wickid, were iiis Iana now? Eh, i mean, her booody…”

“Hm…. Golan took care of it, i think. No, don’t look at me like that, he didn’t dispose her, she is safe. Cause we all thought you might want to say goodbye properly.”

“So… she still needs a fuuuneral… and our parents…?”

“Know nothing, as far as i know.”

Isabelle nodded slowly. So… those things had to be taken care of. By her. And nobody else.

Iana deserved a proper funeral! She… she had to do one! The best! Here, in Kugane! Or… more like Shirogane. And after that… she shuddered, as she thought of her telling her parents about all of his. But… but she had to do it. No running away. She had to be brave! A brave woman! For… for Iana!

Tik tok. Tik tok. Tik tok.

“...thank you, Wickid!”, Isabelle said, after clinging to the highlander for some more time. But he didn’t respond. Instead, she could hear a slight snorring from him, as his chest rose and fell slowly. Only now, as she stopped clinging to him, she realised his outfit - his armor, he only wore for battles, together with his blade and shield, which he had placed beside him. Which meant… he must have headed to her first when he came home this morning. He must have been so tired after staying awake all night, and still… he had taken his time to talk to her, instead of going to bed! 

A faint smile appeared on Isabelles face - the first smile for days - when she realized, what he had done for her. She placed the pillow she had taken from her bed under his head, and brought him one of her red blankets, which she put gently over the sleeping man. He had earned his rest, and Isa wanted to be sure he could enjoy it.

She slipped into one of her simple dresses as quiet as she could. Azura had told her about Wickid’s sleeping habits, so he shouldn’t wake up that easily, but still… no risks allowed! Quietly she sneaked past him, took a sip from the still delicious rolanberry juice, and left her room. It was morning. It was time for breakfast, and after that… new responsibilities were waiting for her!