#oc: theodaux

[windupnamazu]

eyes on me

ffxivwrite2021 #30 (finale!): abstracted

⮞ nyneve, theo, majj, and lunya/g'raha. 1820 words. ⮞ during the 7th astral era/crystal tower quests, with some references to last year's sway prompt ⮞ lunya's friends are so excited to support g'raha tia's pursuit of her, they couldn't even tell you. but they tell g'raha.

abstracted: not giving attention to what is happening around you because you are thinking about something else.

Though Saint Coinach's Find was bursting to the brim with scholarly, serious types, the times Rammbroes indulged in a little merriment were widely appreciated by both the Sons and their hired guards, even if that usually just meant having some drinks and maybe telling stories around the fire.

This was different, and G'raha soaked it all in—tonight, someone had wheedled Ninira into making little orbs of astral fire to hang in the air, illuminating the whole camp like a lantern-lined festival. As the bonfire crackled to life between all the tents, drinks were carted down out from crates and snacks handed out by the dozen thanks to the skilled hands of some of the adventurers. Instruments were broken out by the musically-inclined, the rich hum of strings and woodwinds and the rhythmic and discordant thump of feet on the earth rising into the night. These kinds of parties were born of Eorzean cheer—back home, they tended to be catalogued instead of enacted, as general Sharlayan attitude dictated, but scholars who came from beyond the Motherland had these things ingrained in them.

"Hellooooo." A tanned hand darted in front of his face. "Earth to G'raha Tia."

He heard nothing, though, fixated on the twirling form of the girl by the bonfire. Lunya had silently disappeared from his side early on in the evening, back when the musicians were just plinking out notes and seeing what they knew. At first he assumed that she went to find one of her siblings; Einar was particularly evasive during nights when more than three people congregated in the same place and was nowhere in sight, but Zaya showed up to sit by the impromptu band of the night and provide extra percussion with their own stomps. He preoccupied himself with chatting up some of the other adventurers and nursing a cup of warmwine while wondering where she'd run off to, eventually getting so antsy that Serella had taken one knowing look at him and sent him off to sit down somewhere and relax.

It was only when the music was at its fullest and there was a rallying whoop! from the fire that he saw her again.

Clad in a flowing red dress brighter than the sanguine hue of his own eye, Lunya was dancing. He had no idea what style it was, or even the genre of the song, but she'd taken the music and claimed it as her own, looking like a miniature sun beneath the moonlight, swathed in the gold and crimson of the fire and the astral spheres above. Her grin was clear as day even all the way over on the steps where he was sitting and watching her, light on her feet as she wove free steps together and beckoned others to join her. For someone so small, she had such a big presence, drawing in anyone who crossed her path with her energy and light.

G'raha sighed, absently unwrapping his cookie to take a bite from it.

Then someone sat on his tail.

"AUGH—" His yowl ended in bewilderment as he swiveled around to face the bastard who injured him, finding himself nose to nose with another Miqo'te, this one grinning from ear to ear and his pupils completely expanded, trading blue-violet for a green reflection. "Uh, Majj?"

"Sorry," Majj chirped, and helpfully pushed himself up a little so G'raha could pull his tail out from under his leg.

"G'rahaaaaa!" Plopping herself down on his other side, Nyneve shoved her very pointy elbow into his shoulder. "I was trying to get your attention for ages, didn't you know it's against Sharlayan law to ignore another Archon when she's talking to you—"

Majj, the most physically affectionate of all the adventurers on the expedition team, bumped his head to G'raha's and pointed out, "Shtola said that wasn't true."

"Majj, honey, darling, sweetie, gravy," Nyneve sighed, "I'm trying to ease him into the conversation."

"By threatening him with Sharlayan law?" Theo asked incredulously. He didn't bother to squeeze onto the step with them, content with kneeling behind G'raha and placing a firm hand on Nyneve and Majj's heads as if to physically ground them into behaving.

G'raha's head spun, the fire and Lunya's incandescent dance burning lights into his vision even as he looked back and forth between his friends. "You have my apologies," he told them. "I didn't mean to ignore you—I was just lost in thought."

The trio exchanged Looks, and Nyneve leaned closer to him than she already was.

"Is that so?" she asked, looking like the definition of shite-eating. "Y'know, a wittle birdy told me you have a crushy-wushy on our star." At his baffled expression she quickly added, "It's me. I'm the little birdy. And Reese. And, um, Rjoli. Aaaand Laurelis, and ahaha, okay, so I may not have figured it out myself, but that's besides the point. So, are you in love with Lunya orrrrr, like—?"

G'raha dropped his cookie. It bounced off the toe of his boot and down the stairs to the crystallized earth, where it was promptly scooped up by a seagull and ferried away, never to be seen again.

"Twelve preserve, I did not think you would ask him like that," Theo groaned and handed G'raha another cookie before he could even process that his first one was stolen, which he obediently ate. "My friend, you have all the subtlety of a stone to the face."

Majj tilted his head. "But… the Risin' Stones are west from here?"

"No, no, no, Majj, you're thinking of southerly," Nyneve said, leaning toward their friend over G'raha's lap and getting his nose full of powder blue hair. "What Theo means is that he's as fluffy and comfy as a rock, which is to say not at all."

If Theo was actually in sight and maybe less of the motherly kind of person he was, he might have given G'raha a long-suffering look just then. G'raha wondered if Nyneve's Archon marks were actually real and if it was true that he wasn't snuggly. Somehow, the thought struck a blow to his confidence.

"ANYWAY," Nyneve declared. "If you like our little hop-hop—"

"Our what?"

"Because she's small and white and bouncy like a bunny," Majj explained to Theo, even though it didn't make the nickname much better. "I don't know what sounds bunnies make."

"IF," Nyneve said louder, "You like our Lunya, our littlest bestest friend, well. Uh. We can't really threaten you or anything because we like you and think you're good for each other and she's an adult who can make her own choices and could kick your ass into next week."

G'raha found himself nodding in agreement, a besotted little sigh slipping from him as he stole a glance at the girl in question. "She could, yes."

"We just wanted to know if we were right." There went Nyneve's pointy elbow again. Seriously, did she know about them? If she ever found herself swordless she could just use herself to stab someone instead. "Not that we had any doubts, mind. You look at her like a guy who's never seen the sun before—like, ah, how did Hanami put it… like she hangs the moon in the night."

"I'm not that obvious," he said defensively, and then he stumbled to catch himself. "I—I don't even know what you speak of, to be quite honest."

Majj gripped him by the shoulder, pushing until G'raha slowly swiveled back to look at him.

"That's chocobo shite," the dragon knight said, the most serious G'raha had ever seen him, "And you know that."

"I—" G'raha swallowed, looking to Nyneve, who glared at him, and then up at Theo, who couldn't quite make eye contact with him. Well, shit. He buried his face in his hands. "Okay, yes, it is. Yes, I'm… I'm quite fond of Lunya."

"You have a crushy-wushy," Nyneve said intensely, the words completely mismatched with the mature sound of her voice.

Theo came around the side then and knelt before them, his expression soft like a painting of a saint. "We are worried," he said gently, like speaking to a wounded animal. "Lunya may be an adult, but she is one of ours, and we look after her as she looks after us. G'raha, I must apologize for us butting into your personal matters in this way, but—what are your plans? When all of this is over, will you return to Sharlayan without saying anything?"

"Raha!" a delightfully familiar voice called as a ringing filled his ears at the thought of saying goodbye to Lunya.

"You do not have to answer now," Theo promised, standing up and stepping to the side. "But think on it. You could always stay."

"Raha!" Lunya called again as she got closer with her hand outstretched to him, just him, a brilliant lodestar in the dark of the night that urged him to fall, forward and for her, her gravity heavy and light all at once. "Come on, don't tell me you're embarrassed about dancing with me now!"

Her luminous eyes flickered to Nyneve and Majj's faces for a moment, an unreadable emotion in them that had them both giggling hysterically, at which she looked away, expression obscured by the firelight flickering over her face from behind. G'raha felt his heart skip a beat over the music.

"Well? Go on then, loverboy!" Nyneve jeered as she slammed a hand to his back, jolting him upright. She and Majj giddily made a shooing motion at him when he turned back to glare at them, laughing the whole while, his indignation soothed by Theo smiling at him with an encouraging nod.

A small hand found his own. Lunya beamed up at him when he looked at her, her bangs ruffled with exertion and sweat, her chest rising and falling heavily with each deep breath she took to keep herself steady, and all the while as beautiful as ever.

"You've been sitting alone for too long!" she told him, voice sweet like summer and light as the tinkle of bells as she brought him back to the dancing crowd. It wasn't just the scholars enjoying the music—the rest of her adventurer friends had joined in, everywhere between fully letting loose and simply swaying in time together. "Look, no scaffolding to fall off of this time!"

No, he didn't think he would mind much at all if he were to stay, if Lunya's magic never ceased, if he woke up every day to the sun and the moon in his hands just like this. Dipping down so he could speak for her ears alone, he said softly, "Thank you for the opportunity, my dearest friend."

Lunya didn't respond, but her open-bite grin and the radiant warmth in her eyes as she pulled him into a jig that he nor anyone else knew none of the steps to said everything he needed to hear.

[windupnamazu]

love is all there is!

[windupnamazu]

warriors of light need vacations too!

[windupnamazu]

✧; spectacular /spectacles!

[windupnamazu]

Move right now, shall we raise the level now? Are you ready to make some noise?

[windupnamazu]

OF LIGHT, OF DARKNESS; f o u r t e e n warriors ||

[windupnamazu]

[arr] first meeting » found family [shb]

[windupnamazu]

💋 What traits do they like in other people? What traits do they not like? + 🎪 What would their favorite ride at an amusement park be? (for lunya and whoever else you'd like!)

[OC QUESTIONS - accepting!] [answered]

i answered these for my arr wol quartet!!! 

💋: lunya looks for compassion and empathy in other people first, and not just through big acts like donating to an orphanage - are they willing to give up small things like taking less food at dinner so others can eat more? how well can they read others’ hurt? are they willing to apologize first? is it something they do naturally or because they want to be kind, or is it because they just want to look good in front of others? acting out of your own self-interest is the worst possible thing you could do when you meet her for the first time, and it’ll soil her impression of you from the get-go. she also cant stand people who hoard their wealth, or think that being born into money means they’re worth more than others

shes also fascinated by people who are knowledgable and passionate about their interests, and gets along well with anyone willing to share stories with her or has a friendly, competitive spirit that can drive them both forward.   

🎪: shes actually the person who sits at a table waiting with everyones bags and pays for everyones overpriced gift shop souvenirs sdnsnfdnds if she had to go on a ride she would love ferris wheels (they make her feel tall!) 

lunya is more of a carnival games girl i think! shes the kind of person who would somehow beat a rigged game and walk away with a giant plushie she’d have to carry around for the rest of the day. she’d also be one of those people at a test of strength who would break the bell.

my other three kids below the cut!!

💋: majj is used to being left behind, so he really appreciates people who are patient with his clinginess and can regularly express affection for him. he doesnt talk about it often but he really values people who are more level-headed than he is, because he knows hes too impulsive and wild, and he also knows it wouldnt work too well if he was with someone too similar to him.

he has issues with gridania as a whole and wouldnt date anyone from the citystate, and would probably not get along with gridanians in general unless they explicitly say they dont approve of its traditions either.

🎪: he would love love love drop towers and pendulum rides and rollercoasters with REALLY steep drops! the boy just lives on the edge and genuinely thinks he has nine lives to spare. he’s horrible at carnival games and they’d have to put a ban on him after almost taking someone’s eye out with a dart

💋: nyneve… is the kind of person who would fall in “love” with anyone who is remotely nice to her. or just anyone, in general, considering her most infamous pursuit was estinien. if she actually put thought into what she wants from a partner instead of chasing down every attractive guy she sees, she would want someone who appreciates and can keep up with all her eccentricities. she doesnt want to date anyone who doesnt have a spark to match hers. 

🎪: nyneve would go on EVERY RIDE, even the baby ones, and she would love every single one. she and majj would line up for kart races with a bunch of kids and they’d squabble over who won for an hour, even if the answer is “neither of them.” she would probably have a soft spot for carousels though, cause theyre very romantic and cute.

💋: theo wants a BIG, STRONG HUSBAND who can LIFT LIVESTOCK and also recite 24-stanza love poems to him and knit baby socks. hes the team mom and likes taking care of others, but hes old enough to be a Functioning Adult who can take care of himself and would want to be with someone who is the same. he wouldnt want to be smothered or be with anyone who sees his gentle nature as some kind of weakness.

🎪: theo likes... the chew chew train at disneyland? oh god wait i just looked it up and they got rid of it, i change my mind, he likes the winnie the pooh ride now (thats probably still around right???) hes too old and delicate to enjoy anything faster than that sdnndfsnfsd but the others could force him to go on the scary rollercoasters with them and the whole time his face would be like this

[windupnamazu]

prompt 21: crunch

[ ffxivwrite2019 : cold snap ]  [ previous prompts ]

Lunya Lanya was not built for cold weather, much less snow. 

She grumbled as Majj dislodged her from yet another snowbank, the dragoon chuckling as he lifted her as easily as he would a sack of popotoes. 

“You didn’t haf’ta take on leves ‘ere.” He grinned toothily at her, the points of his fangs glinting under Coerthas’ frosty sunlight. “Thought you didn’t like apples anyhow.”

“I like them!” Lunya exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “I just don’t like snow!”

Majj shrugged as he hooked her basket onto Ube’s saddle and pulled up a new one for her from Bentu’s bag, slipping his chocobo one of their apples as a reward for his patience. 

The vintners of Ul’dah had recently got into a mirror apple kick and demand was high enough for the Brugaire Consortium to reach out for help gathering them. It was easy coin - which was the only reason Lunya was out here in Coerthas’ perpetual winter, trudging behind her friend and thinking about shoving her hatchet into his head every time he laughed at her misery.

On good days, Majj was a great friend, his liveliness and charisma lightening up the party’s mood. On bad days, he was a menace, and Lunya was really feeling that today.

Just as she started thinking that Majj couldn’t possibly do anything worse than mock her by wearing only a thin coat out in the cold, he walked over a ledge and plummeted into Witchdrop.

Lunya yelped and set down her basket - because Majj had done stupider things in the months since they started adventuring together and lived and she would be damned before letting a paycheck slip away from her for anything - before she darted over to the edge of the cliff. At first glance, she thought the Miqo’te had splattered across the ravine floor, but thankfully it was just the apples unceremoniously scattered around for the banemites to eat. Instead, the Keeper dangled halfway down the cliff face, the back of his coat caught on a jagged spike sticking out of the wall while he looked like a scolded kitten.  

The Lalafell sighed, more out of exasperation than relief. “Majj, are you okay?” 

“S’alrigh’,” came the muffled response, and Lunya looked around for a way down, her hand to her linkpearl to page the other two members of their party. He probably smacked his head on the way down, and if not then Nyneve could have a good laugh at his expense. “D...dunworry... ‘bout me. I’ll jus', ah, eh. Juuuuuuuump—“

“You will do no such thing!” Lunya shouted, Nyneve mumbling an ‘ow!’ in her ear as their paladin answered the call. “Nyneve, Majj fell in Witchdrop!” She gathered Ube and Bentu’s reins in hand - the last thing she needed was for one of them to jump in after her idiot companion.

“Is he dead?” Nyneve asked curiously. Lunya heard Theodaux splutter in worry somewhere near her and the screeching of chairs pushing back on brick floors.

Lunya glanced back into the ravine. Majj seemed to have regained his senses - though just how much was questionable, as he started testing how strong the spike he was attached to was, looking an awful lot like a worm on a fishhook. “Unfortunately, not yet.”

“No, no, no, watch,” Majj called up to her. “Cats always land on their feet. I can do it.”

He couldn’t see her face, but Lunya frowned anyway. “H’lios said that Miqo’te aren’t cats and Y’shtola called Thancred a bad word for suggesting it.”

“I’ve been on this crystal three years longer than Lios!” Majj scoffed, crossing his arms as the wind gently swayed him side to side. It was a ridiculous sight. “That’s three thousand two hundred 'nd eighty-five more fish I’ve eaten than 'e has! I know what I’m talkin’ about!”

He didn’t say anything about Y’shtola though, which was wise. Privately, Lunya thought that the ones that grew up around other Miqo’te would probably know best, but what did she know?

“Listen, kid—” Majj started.

“I’m nineteen.”

“—I said it ‘ffectionately. I’m the Azure Dragoon—”

“You got your soul stone just last week.”

“—and I’m going to— hang on, Lu, step back.”

With a shake of her head, Lunya did as he asked, crossing her arms with a huff.

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

A torrent of wind exploded from Witchdrop, sending snow and apples flying skyward. Majj burst out of the ravine with it, twirling through the air with all the grace of a wind elemental. Lunya was almost impressed until she realized he had conjured a gust so sharp it managed to cut all the apples in the air in half.

“Majj!” she wailed. “The levemete asked for whole apples!” Their chocobos, in contrast, quarked in delight as they snatched up apple slices in their beaks. As Majj landed next to Lunya, coat in tatters and covered entirely in snow but still laughing gleefully, footsteps crunched behind them in the snow.

“Oh, he’s fine,” Nyneve said disappointedly. “Not even bleedin’ or anything. Let’s go back, Theo, it’s freezing out here.”

“Is it?” their white mage wondered as they wandered back down the path to Camp Dragonhead. “It’s rather balmy for Coerthas.” 

Majj at least had the decency to scratch the back of his neck in shame as Lunya levelled a glare at him, the sound of the apples hitting the snow as discordant as the sound of coins not meeting her hands. “Uh, I didn’t mean to do that part. You’ll... split the pay for yours with me, ‘ight?”

“Shut up before I push you back into the ravine.”