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zoozvie · 4 months ago

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‘I hit you with my surfboard and fell on/for you’

❀ Levi Ackerman/Mermaid Original Character

❀ content: modern/fantasy au, meet-cute, interspecies awkwardness, nonbinary Hange, language barrier, Levi is awkward, fluffy flirting with their eyes, no smut or plot, possible part 2

❀ wc 3.2k — Read it on Ao3! Do not repost.

❀❀ The last thing Levi expected was to encounter another person in the water after wiping out, on the private cove that came along with their rented beach house. Less so, someone with fins.

.First Meeting.

The sun beat down on Levi’s covered shoulders as he turned to watch his friends mess around on the shore. Their weekend getaway to the coast was made to distract everyone from their obligations and catch up on each other's lives, even after Levi pointed out that they couldn’t say much about themselves if they weren’t allowed to talk about their jobs. Hange countered that Levi would be the only person with that problem since he didn’t do anything besides work, much to everyone else’s amusement.

Currently, Levi floated atop his board a healthy distance away from the sandy beach. It wasn’t his first decision to swim in the ocean with who-knows-what and how-many germs, but it was made for him when Hange started kicking up sand as they tried to sabotage Miche in a race of who could build the best castle faster. Levi quickly scurried off from under his shady umbrella before sand got uncomfortably in his trunks to find an extra board from Erwin’s truck.

Children, both of them.

Beach day wasn’t the worst idea, he supposed. It was predicted to be a record high today, for this time of year, the humidity making everyone sweat through their few layers of clothes. Regardless, the cold ocean splash felt nice through his wet shirt, washing off the branding rays of sunlight. Or it would if Levi was doing more than lazily kicking to steer himself in wide circles gently.

A wave crashing further out drew his attention, or should he say the giant splash within the wave was more noticeable. Erwin surfaced with his board, smiling, and swimming closer to Levi.

“I’m going to head in for a break, want anything to drink when I get back?” Erwin asked.

Levi always appreciated Erwin’s calmness, he knew not to push Levi into doing anything like forcing him to have fun on their escapades. Of the four of them, Hange was the most exhausting to be around. Miche fell second only because he sometimes joined Hange in their antics, although he was the least talkative. Erwin was a respectful, gentlemanly, charming bastard. Levi knew from experience how masochistic it is to argue with the witty man, which is part of the reason why he was grateful they both butt heads enough when they were younger to learn when to back off.

Everyone knew how to get on his damn nerves.

Levi sighed and said, “I’ll take one of the shitty margaritas Hange made.”

Erwin chuckled, “Which kind?”

“Whichever wouldn’t kill me. I’ll be up there in a minute.”

“Alright, be careful surfing alone.” Erwin departed with powerful front strokes to pull him into shore. Easier done by Erwin than a normal fucking person, as usual.

Levi watched as after Erwin went past the other two, presumably telling them what he was doing, Hange scooped up and chucked two fistfuls of sand at Mike’s structure before taking off. Miche reacted quickly by chasing after them, throwing them over his shoulder, and rubbing in his revenge with a few good stomps to their sand… whatever that was supposed to be, before carrying them in the direction Erwin went.

As dumb and overbearing and annoying as they all can be, they’re good people.

Yeah, Levi hums. They’re good friends.

The incoming tide splashed against his side as Levi looked back out into the open water. The cabin was only a short walk from the beach they currently occupied, the cove beautiful and private forming into a crescent shape connecting to the vast open sea. He wouldn’t admit it but Hange did good planning this getaway, or should he say Erwin’s planning and Hange blowing up their group chat with links and ideas they’ve been holding onto for years. Levi’s staycation idea didn’t make the cut, obviously, but he did sneak in an old book he was able to read early in the morning before anyone else woke up.

Might as well swim, if I’m out here. Levi set his gaze on the waves in front of him waiting patiently before he found what he was looking for. He turned around with his board, now facing the shore. He remembered how to do this, right? It’s been a while but the muscle memory caught up with him as he pushed forward, steadily increasing the heavy paddles of his arms. His center of gravity felt a little unsteady as he forced himself to stand, but he made it well enough as the wave began to roll with his board gliding along the side. The old but familiar exhilaration filled Levi as he started riding the wave. A rare smile grew on his face, and with no one around to see his success, suddenly he was 9 again. It was almost like if he looked over to the shore his mother would be there, her beach shoes in her hand, and a large sun hat covering her head as she waved for Levi to see her. To let him know she was there, watching him, waiting for him to beach his board and run with her to get sweet treats to cool off from the summer sun.

His mind strayed for seconds, but it was long enough to not expect the bottom of his board to knock into what must be a huge rock, uplifting and tipping over immediately. Landing with a huge splash that sucked water up his nose, Levi twisted with the water pushing at him from all sides, thankfully he ended up facing upright. His bleary eyes opened slightly to make sure he didn't run into anything as he pulled himself to the surface. Breeching with a gasp and sputtering out the water that got in his mouth, Fuck, he thought. Didn’t realize how close to the shallows I got.

He was left slightly disoriented but felt his board shoot out of the water through the strap connecting it to his ankle. Struggling to keep himself afloat while his lungs and eyes burned from the salt water, he turned to see it oddly hold its position sticking straight up in the air. Levi didn’t have much time to wonder before he saw fingers wrap around one side of the board to tilt it back down to float in the water beside them. A feminine face poking out of the water met his gaze after she must have, impressively, caught his board before it landed on her, cocking her head to the side.

The last thing Levi expected was to encounter another person after wiping out, on the private cove that came along with their rented beach house. Regardless, Levi still found it difficult to swim, his muscles suddenly feeling exhausted.

“Sorry.” He choked out before the burn from the salt water flared up at the back of his throat. Throwing him into a coughing fit he tried to direct away from the person swimming in front of him. His nose burned and tears came out of his eyes as he flailed his limbs.

Light splashing met his ears between breaths of coughing his body convulsed out of him. A warm, really warm, hand lightly wrapped around his bicep before pulling him gently in a direction. His surfboard floated in front of him and he immediately latched onto it, pulling his upper body to lean over the board, Levi focused now on fully clearing his airways. With his body working in survival mode, he didn’t notice the hand that held onto him never left. It began to slowly move across Levi’s back, a comforting gesture as his upper body slowed its involuntary constricting.

It felt like forever before his coughing finally stopped and he rubbed at his face, pathetically wiping the tears and saliva away. His throat didn’t cease its burning but with a few swallows he managed to slightly tilt his head towards the person beside him, uttering a broken “Thank you.”

She didn’t respond, and after a few seconds Levi awkwardly turned to look at her. She floated so quietly he would have forgotten she was there if she wasn’t touching him. Although her hair was wet, it was one of the brightest orange he’d ever seen, framing her face and eyes that were incredibly wide. Her eyes matched her hair in striking appearance, but Levi couldn’t exactly pick out what colors they were, like a kaleidoscope of warm-tone colors. They drew Levi’s attention the most with how strange they were. Beautiful like the reefs of coral that gathered in the clear shallow waters he used to play in.

No, that’s incredibly weird. Levi steeled himself to focus, moving on quickly to seem like he had composure after nearly dying in front of a stranger. His throat felt incredibly raw from the salt, and he made a few strange noises as he stumbled with what he should say.

Settling on, “I didn’t know there were… other people out here.” The silent question behind his statement was left unanswered again, but her hand was removed from his back. They both began to move forward resting on the surfboard like a buoy, in the direction of the beach. Levi’s mind and body felt sluggish as he stumbled to lightly kick his feet to help propel them to shore, but he wasn’t sure it was helping much. Looking ahead, his friends hadn’t come back yet and Levi was grateful no one else witnessed his accident, but he also sort of wished someone else was there to navigate this new interaction.

As they moved slowly through the water, likely due to his exhaustion, his eyes looked over to watch the stranger he was barely a foot away from. This time he was surprised to see she was watching him as well.

Her hands climbed further onto the board as she leaned her weight to rest like he was, pulling her shoulders to sit up out of the water. Her lips curved into a slight smile like he was amusing, and Levi felt a bit flustered. He was not used to receiving so much direct attention.

His eyes followed the length of her hair down her neck, the ends of it curling in the water, when all train of thought stopped upon seeing she didn’t have any bathing suit straps. Catching his eyes on her shoulders made her smile grow, and she leaned slightly in his direction.

Levi’s snapped his gaze back up to her face, trying to be respectful. But warmth flooded the tips of his ears unwillingly when a sliver of cleavage caught his sight moments before.

“Uh, you… huh…” he bumbled, stupidly. Some people skinny dip, he knew, but everything about this situation was way too weird for him to deal with right now. Her smiling face didn’t help, but her only response was to reach up and push her hair away from her ear.

Only then did Levi start to connect the dots.

In place of normal rounded, lobed ears, hers were more elven and narrow. A few spiny points that were darker orange at the tips stretched higher than where human ears ended, with webbing connecting the points. It almost resembled a fish’s fin. Is this a prosthetic? Levi couldn’t wrap his mind around what he was looking at. He could have sworn he saw it twitch when he stared long enough.

A prominent splash came from behind them, shaking Levi out of his thoughts. He looked at her face again, and she slowly nodded toward the noise. It wasn’t the biggest surprise, given all the other context clues he had, but it still felt surreal to see a long, wide tail floating near the top of the water behind them connecting to the base of her, yep shirtless, back.

Wide navigational fins stretched out from the sides of her hips at the top of her tail just out of reach from his side, and the fluke fanned out in a Y shape that rounded like a circle, floating delicately like lace in the water.

“Oh.” was all Levi could mutter.

At his simple response, her shoulders bounced in a silent laugh. Her tail disrupted the surface of the water again as she slipped underneath the surfboard, coming up on the other side after twisting on her back so they faced each other, her tail stretched long enough to float beside Levi. He didn’t give in to the temptation to stare openly, much less to touch the appendage, not wanting to offend her. They surely had huge cultural differences and Levi wasn’t ready to tread that water yet. Lest he drown again.

With her in front of him now, he could see the more obvious things he was too distracted for earlier. Her ears, of course, were one, but looking more closely he could see that the length of her pointed nails weren’t just for show. Probably useful in hunting other(?) fish to eat. Was she technically a fish or a mammal? Maybe some sort of hybrid? Hange would have a field day. Levi groaned in his head. Her fingers had the smallest amount of webbing between them, and her tail's coloring stretched along the sides of her more human torso to cover the bottom of her chest.

They’ve floated close enough that Levi is able to bend his knees to walk slowly up the shore. In silence before he gave one more attempt at breaking the awkwardness, “Do you understand me? Or English, I guess.”

Her face held no indication she understood what he was asking until he tapped his surfboard impatiently. She closed her eyes tightly, opening them only to raise her head and let out a couple of sharp clicks, similar to a dolphin, before reaching under and tapping the bottom of the board just as he did.

Damn, He clicked his tongue out of habit but froze when her eyes widened and leaned toward him expectantly. He noticed her ears tilted forward at the noise, like how a dog or cat's would rotate. She was full of microexpressions he didn’t yet understand.

“Uh, sorry,” he stumbled, but a splash of water landing over his back made him sputter. When he looked he only saw the fin of her tail swaying innocently in the water.

He looked back at her with a blank expression. “...Really?”

Her lips curled into a cheeky smile, thoroughly amused. And he laughed through his nose when she seemed to lose interest and started tracing the lines of his surfboard with her finger.

She’s really…. Levi met her gaze once again. Her eyes glittered almost like there were stars in them.

Pretty.

Erwin is the first to see her. The group of three stumble back around the tree line already changed into their regular clothes and carrying supplies to begin a bonfire where they will have dinner. Why they must cook food over a fire when renting a perfectly good cabin is because ‘it’s part of the vacation experience,’ as Hange put it. Miche is mostly doing the heavy lifting since Erwin is graciously holding Hange up as they stumble around – pre-gamed as shit – and unsteadily holding two glasses of their mixed concoction.

Erwin’s face remains passive, studying the stranger floating beside his best friend while Hange and Miche freeze before they can crash into him.

Levi became so distracted by Hange’s gasp that he nearly missed the mermaid’s exit. She dipped below the water’s surface without a sound, flexibly bending to the side so she could turn around and swim the opposite way. The brush of her tail against his bare leg sent a shock through him, a lot softer than the sharp scales he expected. He looked behind him again, but the crystal blue water gave nothing to indicate anything… anyone was close by.

He could feel the dehydration headache rearing up fast.

“Levi! Who the hell was that?” Hange’s feet slapped against the wet sand when they ran over to him. It shook him out of his daze, urging him to stand properly with his surfboard out of the water. He cringed at Hange’s loud hollering and attempted to bee-line to where the truck was parked to put everything away.

“Are you alright?” Erwin asked, calmly walking over with Miche behind him.

Levi scoffed at his tone, “I’m fine.” He wanted to flee before Miche could add to the load of overbearing.

“But - but where are you going?” Hange called after him.

“Inside. To rinse off.” Levi didn’t spare any of them a second glance before retreating down the path they came from. Hange kicked sand in Levi’s direction along with their ‘hmph!’

Not able to see anything abnormal in the water, Miche finished bringing his supplies to the picnic bench near the brush and campfire pit. “It doesn’t make sense that someone could swim underwater to the outside of this cove without us seeing them come up for air. But I don’t think all of us could have imagined it.”

Erwin nodded, gesturing for Hange to sit down before they made a mess of their drinks while he cracked open a beer. “Give him time. Levi’s the type to sit with his feelings and only share after he’s processed what happened. I’m sure he knows he can’t ignore talking about it when he returns.”

Miche hummed in agreement and everyone’s energy thankfully calmed enough to continue their dinner with small conversations.

An old notebook was in Levi's hand when he came back, tossing it in Hange’s lap before they could even make a sound. His friends stared at him curiously, patiently waiting for him to speak first.

He sighed, rubbing his palms on his thighs, “I wiped out after I caught a wave, she helped me get my bearings and swam me back to shore.” A long pause. “I think I fell ‘cause I hit her.” Hange snorted a laugh.

“So she was just swimming around here?” Erwin asked carefully.

Levi grabbed his drink and sat down nonchalantly on his own chair, “Half-fish or something. She had a tail.” He was never one to bullshit around. “Felt real enough.”

“You felt it?!” Hange scrambled to sit up further, almost tipping over their camp chair.

“Yeah. Well…not really,” Levi gestured to the notebook gripped between Hange’s fingers. “Get your questions in order and then ask me stuff.” Hange ripped open the page and began furiously writing.

“But you’re alright?” Miche asked Levi.

“Sure. Saltwater sucks, I’m more hungry than anything.” he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion.

Erwin reached over to turn the forks over the fire. “We can help with that.”

“Thanks.” he hummed. The camping lights flickered to life as the sky grew darker around them. As Hange’s theoretical chattering filled the gaps between everyone’s conversation, Levi looked over his shoulder towards the ocean.

The sun was almost making its full descent. Burning just above the water now, the vibrant orange, red, and yellow connected firmly on the horizon line with the brilliant blue of the sea. He wasn’t much into art, but the contrast was mesmerizing. At the sound of waves crashing in the distance, energy thrummed to life inside his chest. A pull to join them. Something he hadn’t felt in years.

dividers by saradika-graphics

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tiny-cloud-of-flowers · 10 months ago

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Xeno Femslash February Day 1: Beginning (Lora/Aline)

Following a lead discovered by Haze, Lora travels to the small hamlet of Torigoth in search of her mother, Rynea. Although she is shocked to find the village left in ruins, she is determined to find survivors - and manages to find a Driver hidden in the nearby forest. (2360 words) Takes place near the beginning of Torna ~ The Golden Country. This piece was written for the “Beginning” prompt of the Xeno Femslash February event.

My friend @artificervaldi is running an event/prompt list for this month, aaand.. well, I wanted to have a go at writing some selfship pieces for some of the prompts, so this is my piece for the first one! I hope that this is alright ^-^

(Anyone is welcome to comment on and/or reblog my work if they want to, as long as my DNI is respected!)

Tag list and document transcript under the readmore:

Document transcript:

Travelling with the lord of Aletta himself was a vastly new experience to Lora - as was the might of the Blade he had resonated with. Everything was so different, from the decoration of the inter-Titan transport to his refreshing and light-hearted banter. It was quite clear that Jin was unsure of how to see the situation, but Haze's confidence in the lead she had found was granting her Driver the strength and the hope that she dared to let build up in herself. She found herself enjoying Addam's demeanour, even if Mythra's standoffish nature made for a stark contrast - yet even she had her moments of more genuine appreciation.

When the party, as they could perhaps now be termed, landed on the grass of Gormott, Lora was amazed by the Titan's rolling plains and verdant scenery. Despite the drizzle drifting down from skies above, the wide-open views felt no less dreary; if anything, the plant life seemed almost more invigorated for the water. It was not cold, but neither was it humid - a clear freshness punctuated the air and put a spring in everyone's steps as they made their way to their destination. At times, there were a few tense moments of keeping watch for Ardainian or Coeian forces potentially skirmishing over resources, but these groups were not a strong presence in the local vicinity. Everything felt that little bit new and exciting.

It was only as Torigoth came closer, and the mists of rain had risen into stormclouds as dark as the plumes of extinguished flame-smoke, that the tone of the mission plummeted completely.

Lora found herself gripped by worry that dived headfirst into panic once she realised what had happened, fears rising almost as strongly as if she had stumbled upon her birthplace torn to shreds. Her pace picked up into a sprint as she flew along the path leading to the razed hamlet, not slowing even as she passed through the thick stone walls and further along the path and forwards into what should have been a lively and calm village square but was instead now.. no more than a mere clearing amidst piles of blackened timber and burnt remnants of buildings. There were glimpses of fallen townsfolk, here and there in the chaos; these were peaceful farmers whose lives had been gluttonously cut short by looters.

"Oh, no.."

"Here, too?" Addam wondered aloud from behind her, staring grimly at the carnage wrought before him. "Gormott's an attractive target, but this? Whoever did this.. clearly had no compassion or respect for the people they killed.."

Mythra seemed decidedly less affected by the scene, even if she was frowning slightly as she examined it. "Whether it was Malos, or someone else. Either way, clearly they're all toast."

This casual dismissal earned her a chiding look from her Driver. "Mythra.."

Meanwhile, Jin had become keenly aware of how distraught his own Driver had become, despite her face not being visible from where he was standing. Mythra had reminded Milton before that Drivers and Blades were one in body and soul, and in that moment it certainly did feel as though some of her distress was tangibly adding to his concern.

"Lora.." he began, wondering whether to approach her.

There was a moment's pause before she spoke up. "It's.. It's okay." she then said, mustering up what levity she could. "Mother.. could have run away somewhere safe.."

Her words held little hope or confidence, and everyone would likely have settled into an uncomfortable silence had that silence not been punctured by the sound of armoured footsteps running up to the group.

"You there! A moment, if such may be spared!"

All attention gladly turned from the destruction, the party looked over to one side to see a very tall figure approaching from a side path. They were dressed in quite extravagant white and golden armour, with a long cape and skirt that came down to above their knees, plus silver gauntlet-like gloves and greaves - all of which combined to make an impressive first impression. They were also almost completely soaked through, as could be seen from how much their hair was dripping pitch-black from the rain.

"Might I presume thee to be travellers?" they continued to ask as they ran, stopping upon getting close enough to speak without having to call out.

Haze had been standing closest, and so was primed to step forward to address the stranger while they stopped to catch their breath, crosier in hand. "Are you okay? What happened here?"

In response, they simply shook their head, though it was more in a dismissive way than a negative answer. "Pray be not concerned as to my status. 'Tis that of my Driver for which I would deign to seek thine aid."

"So you're a Blade, then.." Lora mused - but at the sound of her voice, he frowned. He looked up after a moment only to find himself locking eyes with her - and his brow furrowed even more fiercely at the sight.

"Art thou not Lady-?" Then his voice caught in his throat, and he had to take another moment to reassess the situation. This caused Lora and Haze to glance between each other confusedly.

Mythra, on the other hand, was eyeing up the Blade with an unusual amount of interest, looking over the gleaming gold of their armour and the blue sword-shaped Core Crystal set in their chest. "Sure don't see Blades like you in places like this.. Who's your Driver, the lord of Gormott or something?"

"Do not jest so, lest thou receivest the wrong impression. Her name is Aline - a woman of Gormott, whose hair and height art alike to yours save in length." they explained. "She is dressed in verdant green, which may yet aid in her concealment from my view.. I bid her flee for safety at first sight of the brigands responsible for this travesty, yet she is wont to fear all conflict, and mine endeavours in dealing with such scoundrels hath left me wholly unknowing of her location."

The party listened carefully to his description, committing the details to memory. Addam was keen to take charge, his expression more serious than Lora had seen it since first meeting him.

"Right then." he declared as they finished. "A blonde Gormotti girl wearing green. Don't worry, my good fellow - we'll do what we can to find her."

"Full glad am I to hear this." replied the Blade, before pausing as if remembering something. "Ah! Pray forgive my discourtesy. Mine urgency did prevent the proper introductions; you all may address me as Avalon."

"It's good to meet you." Lora said quickly, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere. "I'm thinking that- since there are a few of us, we could split off into pairs to cover more ground. Maybe.. Jin, would you mind staying with Avalon?"

The ice-element Blade, who had clearly been rather taken by their attire, frowned slightly. "..Not outright, but will you and Haze be alright on your own?"

"Yes, don't worry." she insisted. "If anything happens, or you find Aline or anyone else, come back here to the square. I saw that the forest here encroaches on the village quite a bit, so.. if Haze and I look through there, you can check over the immediate area, and then Addam and Mythra can search in the fields to the north. Sound like a plan?"

Everyone quickly gave their assent, and set off to search for the girl.

==========

The rain had not relented, splashing down in heavy raindrops through the towering trees overhead. Haze and Lora were quickly but carefully picking their way through the drenched forest, expressions tense with apprehension. Neither woman was familiar with the flora or fauna of the Titan, and it also had not been clear whether Avalon was able to successfully rout all of the brigands, so the pair kept close together in order to observe without drawing too much attention to themselves. It was a tricky and tentative situation, searching for someone they had never even seen in an environment where she would be almost perfectly-camouflaged.

Trying as she might to concentrate, Lora's mind was racing too quickly to let her focus properly. The way in which Avalon had faltered at the sight and sound of her was unsettling, and most unexpected - yet the more she dwelled on the moment, the more she wondered if it could have meant something. It had been far too long since she last saw her mother, and.. the thought suddenly came to her that it was possible the two could share some resemblance. Which, of course, meant that Avalon was familiar with her. ..She didn't quite know how to feel about that, let alone right in this moment.

Meanwhile, Haze was looking around nervously, but finding the details of her surroundings difficult to discern in the driving storm. "My lady, do you think we should call out for her?"

"I think so." Lora replied. "Avalon said she might be scared, so if she's hiding, it might not be easy to find her ourselves. Besides, we don't want to startle her.."

The Blade gave a dutiful nod, and opened her mouth to cry Aline's name - but it was then that Lora's attention was caught once again, and she failed to hear it.

The trailing ends of a long grey scarf were fluttering in the wind that had just picked up, and their sudden movement drew her gaze to spy a startling peridot gleam just above where they began. As quickly as she had glimpsed it, it fled from view behind a tree whose bark almost shone in the low light from being so rain-saturated.

"Lady Lora? Is everything alright?"

Haze had now stepped into her field of view, her golden eyes examining Lora's own with some concern.

"Wait there a moment, Haze. I think someone else is here.."

As carefully as if she were approaching a sleeping Pippito, Lora kept her sights set on the scarf tails that were even now still just about visible from around the back of the tree trunk, and stepped forward slowly to investigate.

"We're not here to hurt you, if that's what you're worried about." she said to the tree trunk after a moment. "Avalon sent us.."

This seemed to have been the right thing to say, as a hand slowly crept its way around the side of the tree. Following it was the face of a shy young woman, whose drenched blonde hair was poking out from under her grey hood that had pockets for feline Gormotti ears. She was wearing a rustic sort of dress with light, puffy sleeves - and a green skirt and bodice, just as Avalon had implied. Her face was frozen by worry, wet with what could have been rainfall or tears, and her eyes seemed to catch what little light there was in the forest to shimmer with brimming anxiety.

Lora couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief from having found who she was looking for, but she could tell that the young woman was very shaken, and so maintained as gentle a kindness as possible.

"Hello there; my name is Lora. It's alright - I promise you don't need to be scared of us."

"Ah! I'm sorry!" she replied suddenly. "Um, I- I'm Aline.. And I think I might already know a bit about you, Lora.."

This remark caused Lora to blink in confusion as Aline nervously drew back from the soaking tree bark. She noticed that her heart was racing, and had to place her hand over her chest to try and settle it. Meanwhile, Haze had crept up behind her Driver, giving a gentle smile and wave that seemed to ease Aline's worries somewhat.

"My name is Haze." she said softly, after seeing her relax a bit. "I'm really glad we found you, Aline. You're not injured or anything, are you?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you. But- thank you for asking." she stated. "Sorry, I'm not.. normally this anxious, I promise.."

"Oh, please don't worry about that!" Lora exclaimed, almost sheepishly, to try and reassure her. "You'll be safe with us now, that I can assure you. Avalon is, too, in case you were worried - they'll be pleased to see you again, I'm sure."

This remark made Aline's eyes widen. "I didn't want to just leave them alone! But they insisted on this being safer, and.. I-I don't know whether anyone else managed to get out.."

Tears began to well up in her bright green eyes once again, and she raised a soaking-wet hand to unsuccessfully try to dry them. Lora felt a rush of intense pity for her, and quickly tried to sift through her things for a not-yet-completely-soaked handkerchief to use. She had meant to offer it to her, but Aline could do instead was blink as she felt the soft fabric on her face, and her eyes instinctively darted away in every direction to avoid being faced with Lora's.

"Thank you very much-!", she squeaked, causing Lora herself to feel slightly mortified. Why had she done that? She stopped herself and pulled backwards, taking in Aline's expression in full - and then realised the answer, as the fearful aura clouding her had now finally vanished. Haze, meanwhile, couldn't help but chuckle at the kind and instinctive gesture; it was clear that Lora had been worried about her wellbeing, on top of everything else going through her mind. Above them, the rain also began to ease slightly.

There was still a blanket of worry hanging over the three as they decided to make their way back, and each was bracing for a difficult scenario upon their return to the others. Even so, the fact that Haze and Lora had found at least two survivors of Torigoth felt like it had to be something - and that feeling that dared to feel positive was persistent in its slowly-rising nature. With Aline's wealth of experience as guidance, they found a straightforward path back out through the forest, returning to the ruined- but, at least, no longer smouldering - remnants of Torigoth.

And thus, girl met girl.

#heart of the void #creations from the void #selfshipping #this post is okay for anyone to reblog as long as my DNI is respected #love: knight of the people (lora)#selfship: to fight for what matters (lora/aline)#(or at least the beginnings of it - since this is how the two met!)#self‑insert: hope without courage (aline)#and also featuring #friend: shattered light (avalon)#who is my OC for this game! I.. tried. when it came to their speech patterns.#friend: windfall memories (haze)#plus others but to less of an extent #platonic F/Os #of gods and titans (xenoblade chronicles)#some of the dialogue here is directly taken from when I rendered a part of this in the past #I probably could have added those images back in actually.. but oh well #if you see them in there after the fact then that's what I have done!

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