#tish ffxiv oc: Zas

[cinlat]

Shout out to these ladies @tishinada @rainofaugustsith and Lyria for another successful hunt. The Great Hunt this time. Taking down dragon’s with the power of friendship....and brute force. A LOT of brute force.

Anyway, we decided to get out “fisherman’s picture” with our price and the cute little cat who sent us after the man eating dragon.

[cinlat]

Ahhhh I love these three so much 🥰

Junelezen 7: friends

For someone who is reserved and expects people to judge her for her rather humble origins, etc., Zas has a lot of good friends. But none are as close as her young protege’ Salix (Miqo’te belonging to @cinlat) who she met and adopted when she found him in the Shroud, being overwhelmed by Ixali.

(Zas and Salix when they first met)

Then these two introverts were adopted in turn by an extremely extroverted Lalafell, Koko (belonging to @kunoichi-ume), who wandered up while they were fishing one day and adopted them (to their utter bafflement). Now they both would do anything to rescue her from the trouble that seems to trail after her constantly (not that that would have anything to do with her impulsiveness or enthusiasm lol.) (Story by cinlat about adapting to their boisterous friend)

(shortly after they met Koko, in the FC chamber they shared)

When she met Salix, she had just picked up the bow for the first time herself, having previously fought as a marauder for several years, and he was struggling with his father’s lance. Salix turned out to have a knack for healing with herbs (a really sweet story Cinlat wrote about this discovery) and with Zas’s encouragement, he took up conjury. Healing suited the quiet shy young man much better.

(Later after Salix took up conjury while Zas was dabbling with machinist)

Koko, on the other hand, was trying to conquer thaumaturgy, a choice complicated by the fact she lacked the patience to sit and study books for any length of time. Impulsively, she picked up Salix’s abandoned lance one day when the other two were out (story by @kunoichi-ume), and they found her in the midst of much (unintentional) destruction, having found the weapon that truly suited her. Out of self-defense, they made sure she got proper training, lol.

(Koko’s accidental prank lol)

(screenshots by Cinlat)

The three of them are inseparable. The other two might be happier with a little less excitement than life with Koko brings them (story by cinlat). But they wouldn’t trade life with her for anything

(Salix finding Koko a less hair-raising costume to wear lol)

(screenshots by Cinlat)

[cinlat]

I’m a little late posting these, but here’s to @tishinada @rainofaugustsith and friends for finishing out the Four Lords Questline

[cinlat]

Shout out to @kunoichi-ume​ and @tishinada​ for letting me borrow Koko and Zas!

Word Count: 702 Characters: Salix Tia @kunoichi-ume​ Koko and @tishinada​ Zastelar

Tonberry Trauma

Few places were safer than the downstairs room that Salix shared with whoever happened to stop by Zas's house. The walls were thick and well guarded from the Coerthan cold, and no one dared encroach upon the house of the famed Warrior of Light. 

These were the things young Salix Tia, fledgling scholar and adventurer, told himself each night when he ascended the latter to his nest of blankets on the top bunk. He was brave for his part, but more importantly, he was safe. Besides, Zastelar's room was directly at the bottom of the stairs. She'd hear any threat and act long before him.

As it happened on the night in question, Salix lacked the energy to climb into his preferred bed. He'd been training all day, and Eros drove him harder than Selene. Koko, the rambunctious lalafell lass who usually claimed the bottom bunk, was in the Shroud learning a new skill. She wouldn't be back for weeks. So, Salix slumped onto her mattress and let exhaustion sing its sweet lullaby. As he drifted to sleep, Salix pondered briefly on how quiet the house was without Koko. He realized on the brink of slumber that he missed her noise, and hoped she'd return soon.

***

What happened next is largely debated to this day. Zastelar, with her keen elezen ears, woke the most horrendous keening. It likened unto that of the dying shrieks of ghouls and turned her blood to ice. Grabbing her bow, the brave warrior dashed from her room in naught sleep shirt and shorts, heart hammering with dread when she realized where the sound had originated. 

Zastelar burst through the door where her protege slept, then stopped short of stumbling over a wayward...Tonberry. It stood in the middle of the room, head tilted back. To Zastelar's knowledge, the curse on the Tonberries had been lifted. Salix had aided in the process off freeing the poor creatures himself. The lance attached to this particular visitor registered a heartbeat later, and so Zastelar's bow made its appearance. 

A glance around the room showed no sign of blood, so the creature had not harmed Salix. But neither was he in either of the beds. The Tonberry turned towards Zas and spoke in Eorzean. "What's his problem?"

"Koko?" The name wrenched itself from Zastelar's lips, and her arrow lowered. Only then did the bard look up to where the Koko-like Tonberry pointed.

***

Salix had always been a silly boy. Skittish and shy, constantly lecturing about being quiet and scaring the fishes. But when Koko raced home to show her best friend the new outfit she'd won, she had expected more grins and less…mortal terror.

Though he was hard to see against the shadows, Salix clung to the ceiling by his claws and only the gods knew what else. Huffing, Koko removed her helmet. "Well, that's just rude. I worked hard for this stuff. It's the perfect protection against the cold up here and loose enough that I can move. Why are you acting like such a damn fool?"

The light flicked on, and Zas came to stand beside Koko. Sighing, the bard rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Come down, boy. 'Tis only our mischievous lalafellan."

Salix did so, keeping a wary eye on the domed head tucked under Koko's arm. His bare feet touched the floor, and the young miqo'te rubbed the back of his neck. "Apologies, lass. You gave me a start, is all."

"Was that gods awful sound you?" Zas asked before she could stop herself.

Salix flushed darker and took a step away. "I've got history with the likes of them." He jutted his chin towards Koko, then blanched a paler shade of grey. "Tonberries, I mean. I didn't expect to find one standing next to my bed."

"My bed," Koko pointed out, still huffy about how dreadful her reveal had gone. 

Salix dipped his head. "Fair enough. I'll make it up to you." Maybe he'd buy her a new costume to obsess over. Something not reminiscent of murderous beasties. Something cute and befitting of her salt and bubbles personality. 

A sardonic laugh bubbled up Salix's throat then. Only an hour ago, he'd missed the little terror.

A few days later, Salix proposed a new costume idea to his spunky friend. Thankfully, she agreed.

[cinlat]

Had the lovely pleasure of carrying on the Four Lords quest line with @tishinada and @rainofaugustsith

Of course Fynta acted like an absolute idiot. But, it secretly why Rigel and Zas tolerate love her.

[cinlat]

Running The Dying Gasp with the FC. I’m only tagging the people I know won’t mind, but if any of the rest of you in this shot want to be tagged, let me know!

@rainofaugustsith and @tishinada

[cinlat]

I love Zas so much. Everything about her.

Forget character flaws: What is your character's best trait? What is something that they are proud of, no matter how small? Are they currently working on something to improve themselves/their life?

Ah, thank you!

Zas is my Duskwight bard, a former merc.

Zas's best trait is her fierce defensiveness of her friends, particularly her young protege', Salix (a miqo'te healer belonging to @cinlat) and their young friend, Koko (a lalafellan lancer belonging to @kunoichi-ume).

She's particularly proud of the Duskwight history, literature, and music she's recovered and is trying to make available to other Duskwights again. Better not to ask how she accessed private Ul'dahn collections or the restricted sections of Sharlayan libraries where most material was locked away as "treasures", lol.

Related to that, she practices constantly so she can do justice to Duskwight music when she gets the chance to perform those songs, hoping to remind people that Duskwights were, and are, more than just "bandits".

Thank you!

[cinlat]

Mistakes were made...but we survived another couple of rounds against the four lords. Always a pleasure running with you ladies @tishinada and @rainofaugustsith

[cinlat]

OC Kiss Week: 2023

Shout out to @tishinada​ for her continued trust in me with her lovely characters. This is going back to the early days with Salix and Zas. Look at these babies.

Kiss Type: Platonic Word Count: 416 Fandom: ffxiv

To the outside observer, it would appear only as if a young couple had stopped for the night. One lounged while the other prepared a hearty stew, stirring the pot in silence. It was by design so that no one would know that the young apprentice was, in fact, alone.

It had started with an unnatural shiver, the sort that clawed its way into Zastelar’s bones and wouldn’t let go. The fever had begun later, but the stubborn Elezen hadn’t wanted to burden her new protégé. For his part, Salix had smelled the change before he’d seen it. A sort of rot that tickled his sinuses. He’d assumed it was the stagnant waters surrounding this part of the forest. Only once Zas had declared that they would camp early and slipped into an uneasy sleep did he sense the real danger.

Salix’s mother had not neglected his medicinal training simply because he was a boy. In fact, she’d spent more time on this subject than with his sisters. She knew he’d face the wilds on his own, one day, and wanted her son to be prepared. Salix could gather fever-reducing herbs and muscle-easing roots—in the Thanalan desert.

Here, in the close forests of Gridania, he could only hope that the similarities were enough.

Ladling the broth into a bowl, Salix crept over to his fitful teacher. Her brown skin had gone ashy under a sheen of sweat. He eased her head into his lap so that it would be at the appropriate angle. Salix was well enough out of his element as is, he didn’t want to drown his mentor in the process.

A furrow appeared on Zas’s brow as Salix pulled down on her chin. She didn’t fight the bitter taste, nor did she drink greedily. Salix was a patient friend, willing to wait as long as Zas needed to regain her strength. Willing to protect her so long as he could.

With the bowl half empty, Salix set it on the carpet of moss that cushioned their respite. He’d heard stories as a boy, his sisters tittering on about true love’s kiss and how it could break evil spells. He didn’t know if it was true, but leaned down to press his lips gently to Zastellar’s forehead. She hummed a name he didn’t recognize, then slipped deeper into slumber with a shaky sigh. And so, Salix sat like that until morning, with mentor's head cradled in his lap and a prayer on his lips.

[cinlat]

Sitting in Zas’s garden for a cup of tea this morning.

with @tishinada and @kunoichi-ume

[cinlat]

Who’s Your Daddy?

Word Count: 1,396 Thanks to @tishinada​ for letting me borrow Zas for this harrowing moment! And to @dimigex​ and @kunoichi-ume​ for encouraging my nonsense!

Isashi sipped her tea, reveling in the peace of a world where no one needed her to fix anything. The company house’s proprietor was a talented craftsman and could always be found in the lower levels tinkering with something new. His wife had recently gotten the itch to redecorate again, making it the third time in as many moons that Isashi had walked into the building and wondered if she had the right place. Add that with the myriad of other talents within the company, and Isashi had a haven where her laziness wouldn’t be noticed.

“How does it feel being back in Ul’dah?” Zas asked the young miqo male who’d accompanied her as of late. 

Isashi took another sip and surveyed the boy over the rim of her cup. He couldn’t be long into manhood, with full cheeks and not a scrap of hair on his chin. There was a wide-eyed innocence to him that had likely tugged at the older adventurer’s heart. From what little Isashi had heard, Zas had rescued the boy from a band of Ixali somewhere in the Shroud, and the two had become inseparable. 

Salix, as Isashi had been introduced when she joined the duo in front of the hearth, nodded with enough enthusiasm to bobble his ears. “It feels…right.” His dark eyes sparkled as his chest expanded in a deep inhale. “It smells right.”

“Will you tell us of your family?” Isashi asked, settling into the plush cushions of the common room. Their company house wasn’t large, but well furnished and inviting.  

Salix’s midnight skin darkened around his ears in what Isashi assumed was a blush. The youth didn’t appear to be fond of any sort of attention, looking to Zas for rescue that the older adventurer refused to give. Likely, the elezen archer had been working on teaching her young ward to stand on his own. Though, if Isashi had to put gil on it, she’d guess Zas had done her fair share of interventions for him too. The woman was as hard a fighter as Isashi had ever met, but with the soft center that she herself lacked.

Digging in his jacket, Salix produced a small, wooden figure that looked like it might be a gladiator once there was more than a head and torso carved from the block. “It’s big,” the boy said, talking more to the figure than Isashi. A small knife followed, then a cloth draped across his lap much like his mentor usually did. “I’m the youngest of ten, the first nine were girls, and—”

“Bloody hells, that sounds like a right nightmare. Heya, Sashi.” Kirin trumped up the stairs, shaking sawdust from his pants with each step. The former pirate went straight to the bar and made himself comfortable next to the ingredients for his favorite mixed drink.

Isashi watched Kirin in silence, waiting to see if the miqo’te had any other pearls of wisdom to share, then motioned for Salix to continue. The boy swallowed, keeping his eyes on the older male while he spoke. “It, uh, it wasn’t bad, most of the time.” He shrugged and went back to his whittling. “It was family.”

Kirin leaned over the bar, banging around with his back to the rest while he searched for a mixing flask. He wasn’t a member of their free company, but he and Isashi had been friends since close to Salix’s age. So long as he helped when the owner requested it, Kirin was allowed to stop by to shelter from whatever storm plagued him. 

“Did you have a favorite sister?” Zas asked as she worked on the strings of her bow.

There was a marked difference in Salix’s responses to the elezen than to anyone else. He straightened in his chair, ears flicking forward. “Osi was only four months older than me. We played together until she was old enough to hunt, but she was always kind.”

“What of your mother?” Isashi was curious about the sole woman in the tribe bearing a boy. Did she protect him from the pecking of older sisters, or did she train him to leave the village from an early age?

Isashi knew of traditional Miqo’te tribes. Matriarchal societies allowed a single male to sire children until they were done with him. Then, he moved on, and the women resumed their normal routine while raising the next generation. 

A note of sadness entered Salix’s tone, and he cradled the figure closer to his chest. “Her name is C'seife. I look like her, not a hint of my dad in me, according to her.” Salix looked up, mouth open to add more, when Kirin opted to rejoin the conversation that he hadn’t been invited to.

“I once knew a lass by the name of C'seife.” Kirin turned around and propped his elbows on the bar, sipping contentedly from his glass. “Ain’t thought o’her in years. Met her in Ul’dah shortly after leaving me crew.”

Kirin’s head tipped to one side as he studied the boy. “Come t’ think of it, she looked a might like you, boy. Dark on dark, with eyes as big as the moon.” He sighed dreamily and took another sip. “That was a night to remember. Ain’t met another like her since, this would’a been, well shit, twenty years back?”

Isashi saw Zas’s brows raise a hair before hers followed. Salix’s mouth snapped shut with the click of his fangs. The only one among them to not grasp the implications of Kirin’s boast was the man himself. That struck midway through his next drink and sent the prized mixture sputtering in a fan before him. Thankfully, Isashi was out of range.

Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, Kirin’s eyes narrowed at Salix, who appeared to be rooted to his seat. “Nah,” Kirin half growled, then his ears dipped. “Unless…but that—” He shook his head and glared at the poor boy frozen in place

“How old are you, Salix?” Isashi asked, softening her tone for fear that the lad might bolt if anything moved too quickly. His answer was muttered, but there was no denying that the dates matched. Isashi turned a scrutinizing gaze upon her long-time friend. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Kirin, whose ruddy complexion had darkened substantially, rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, can we all just admit that we’re more surprised this hasn’t come up sooner?”

“You can’t be—” Salix blurted in an uncharacteristic shout. His jaw hung open, eyes wide with either horror or hope. “My father was killed in the Shroud. He—he was pale with red hair. A renowned warrior. He—” Salix ran out of steam, then sank back into his seat. 

Isashi let the boy process in his own way while she continued to stare at Kirin. She’d always loved the pale blue streaks distinguishing Kirin’s green hair, though she’d never give the man more to preen over than he already did. That same blue dominated most of Salix’s close-cropped style. It was the only resemblance that Isashi could find until the boy looked up at the man who might have truly fathered him. “Do you think?”

Kirin shrugged and swirled his drink. “I’ve known a lot o’ women, me boy. Yer mother very well could’a been one of 'em. Now that I see ye better, there’s no doubting that ye’ve got her eyes. She was a hell’ov’a hunter. We met in the Saphire Market.” Kirin looked into his drink, then sighed and set it on the bar. “What say I buy ye a proper brew, lad?”

And then Isashi saw it. The smile that exploded into existence brightened Salix's features in an almost mischievous way. The crinkle around his eyes turned him from gangly youth into dashing rogue. “Bloody hells,” she breathed, catching Zas’s startled expression. The bard had seen it too, having known Kirin long enough to rebuff his flirtations. While Kirin’s smile was sly and seductive, Salix’s was joyous and pure, but their shape was the same. 

Isashi needed no other proof. Her bastard of a friend, the man who’d slept with her husband years before they’d met, who irritated her to madness, the same man who’d cared for her through Haurchefant’s death, then gotten himself abducted by his own pirate crew, that man was now a father. “May the gods help us.”

[cinlat]

Isashi is so little compared to y'all! 😂. Also the lvl 90 bard great is a nicer color. I've lost mine over the years and just never purchased more. So I decided to stay classic. I think the lvl 90 gear is a light purple? It's softer for sure.

Ran into @cinlat​‘s OC while my daughter and I were meeting up in Ul’dah. Got a shot of all of them as bards, lol:

Also, lvl 50 bard quest complete. Still deciding what I think of the shirt that went with it, but Cinlat and I could match now, lol:

Well, except I have a glamour on the rest of the Choral gear, lol.

[cinlat]

Zas and Fynta met up for some long overdo tea and a bit of goofing around. Thanks for hanging with me @tishinada

[cinlat]

Shout out to @tishinada for helping up teach our youngest (Fennic) How to tank tonight. We started off with Zas, but it was too much to resist bringing in Kass to back up her Lala companions. My husband decided to make a new character, his is the little Lala Lancer aptly named Weeboy Jenkins.

[cinlat]

I love the amount of interest in my adorkable cat boy. Zas belongs to @tishinada​ and Koko to @kunoichi-ume​ and of course thank you @dimigex​ for the ask. This was meant to be a fluffy February bro moment, but then my month got busy and I never finished it.

Salix was born into a traditional, matriarchal miqo clan. He is the youngest in the village, with ten half sisters...older sisters. Knowing that when his son came of age, he’d have to leave the village, Salix’s father returned for him. He planned to teach Salix how to be a proper adventurer, but was killed early into their travels. Soon after, Salix met Zastellar, a veteran adventurer already and willing to apprentice him. They aren’t sure when they picked up Koko. She showed up one day and kind of never left, but they love her. He’s a shy boy with a VERY healthy respect for the female gender and is easily intimidated by them, but once his loyalty has been won, he never lets go.

The Shroud felt like home. Salix inhaled the fragrant air, smiling at the nostalgia that came with the scent of moss and wet foliage. The steady rhythm of Zastelar’s axe against the tree provided a metronome for which Salix marked the time. 

In his hands, a beady eye took shape. The creatures were small and ugly, but Salix thought their personalities made up for what their stature lacked. They were tricksters, pranking travelers who ventured too far into their sacred territory.

Salix had come across one a year back. The beady eye had stolen his pack and led him on a trek through overgrowth so thick that not even Zas’s trusted machete could carve a way. Eventually, Kokogu had spied the wayward bag in one of the upper branches of a massive oak. Salix had never been more grateful that he was an adept climber.

“Damn your warty arse to the abyss.” Salix glanced up, though finding the source of the profanity wouldn’t have been difficult. Not far away, the Lalafellen lass’s lasted spell had rebounded and singed the ground next to her shoes. Her face turned ruddy, and Salix watched Koko heave a deep breath and ready her stance again. 

Kokogu had been perfecting the same spell for the last three weeks with varying results. Once, she’d managed to form a perfect sphere of fire and death. Another time, she nearly burned down the entire Free Company house. Zas later suggested keeping less reliable spells to open spaces where kindling wasn’t readily available. Salix wasn’t sure the Black Shroud counted as that, but he didn’t interfere.

A spot of dark wood appeared on the toy in Salix’s hands. He blinked at it, then up into the sky at the same moment another drop of water landed between his eyes. Salix tucked his knife and the incomplete toy away and stood, one hand held out. In seconds, a single drop multiplied into a light drizzle. 

Kokogu paused her tirade with one foot still aloft and the tuft of grass she’d chosen to assault went unmolested. Amethyst eyes brightened as they turned to the sky, then towards Salix. “Think it’ll rain? Like, really rain?”

Salix sniffed the air, noting the heaviness that had drowned out the cool breeze from moments before. “I think—” A gust of cold air shoved at Salix’s back hard enough that he had to abandon his perch in the tree or risk being tossed from it. Landing on the balls of his feet next to Koko, Salix tipped his face into the rain and tried not to show the same excitement that Koko so openly expressed.

From further into the trees, Zastelar’s axe stalled. She appeared a moment later, one hand gripping the brim of her hat as if afraid the wind might steal it. “It’s time to go.” 

Though Zas held no objection to the rain apart from the standard concern for her equipment, Salix had begun to suspect that the thunder lazily rolling towards them from the east unnerved the otherwise unshakable Elezen. He hadn’t built up the courage to ask, and didn’t dare breathe a word of his suspicion to Koko.

[cinlat]

Yes! I love it. Also there are some denim shorts that are pretty cheap from the masked rose in the Golden saucer (I think, I'll have to double check). Summer something, or spring? It involves a season. Haha. But that looks fantastic on her.

As much as I love Zas’s nautical outfit for fishing, I decided she needs an option more in line with how others dress for the ocean fishing expeditions.

Her favorite outfit (art by my extremely talented DIL:

So…half my morning was spent trying to come up with something that suited her and could be dyed purple without spending half my gil, lol. The Ala Mhigan Gown was fairly easy choice (and a popular one with the fishing crowd.) But I didn’t want to go with bikini bottoms and short shorts are hard to come by without spending a *lot* of money, even if you’ve got fairly high crafting skills. I found one pair that kind of looked like comfortable cargo shorts, but even dyed to match, I didn’t think the style fit with the top. Then I went through the pants in my glamour chest and realized that the Pagos gaskins that @cinlat​ gave me when I first started the game could be dyed and the style looked pretty good with the top.

So, her new fishing gear:

I want sandals that suit the outfit better, but these will do for now.