Bit of a short one this time. But oh well, have some more drabble things.
I do deeply appreciate those of you that have reviewed. I only half feel I deserve them, since I am not exactly writing a proper fic, but they do so much to motivate me.
IMPORTANT: One of you asked to see what Aerys looks like! She's gone through a few hairstyles, but I'll work on that. It's apparently very annoying to try and link things on here.
XIV
Aerys dodged, but not quickly enough. The edge of Titan's massive fist caught her squarely against the mouth, knocking out several teeth and slinging her across the field. She rolled several times, gasping as her last tumble sent her out over empty air. A wildly swung hand managed to catch the rocky edge. For a breathtaking moment, she was suspended in time, the only thing keeping her from death her trembling fingers. And then she swung herself up over the edge, her knees giving out and sending her to the ground the moment she was up. Nerves tingled along her skin as she spat blood. It sizzled when it hit the rocks.
Aerys had lost count of how many times she had been called to stow away Titan, Garuda, and Ifrit over the years. It became less difficult each time, but today was an exception. Today she had taken a rather heavy blow. That hadn't happened since the first time she fought Titan. The hulking primal stood where he last was, staring her down with a fierce, toothy grin. Watching her try to recover herself with unspoken taunts in his eyes. He remembered their past encounters each time as well as she. Sometimes, Aerys wondered if he did not enjoy their little skirmishes. The pair of them made odd friends.
Distraction was her weakness today. Her mind was muddled, thoughts scattering and clumping into nonsensical bundles. It felt like loss. It felt like forgetting. But Titan was not a being that felt sympathy; he spared her no quarter. Chunks of earth, dripping in yellow-hot lava, whizzed by her head as she rolled to the side. Aerys spat blood again, running her tongue over the empty spaces where her teeth once were.
I don't have time for this. She charged, and forced herself to become lost in the battle instead of her mind.
XIV
When she dragged herself back to Fortemps' Manor, Alphinaud was nowhere to be found. Y'shtola frowned at her blood spattered appearance, but did not comment. A strange little barb poked at her heart at that. I am fine, but the asking of it would not hurt either.
Tataru was also notably absent. Ignoring the way Y'shtola turned her head away, Aerys approached the Mi'qote. "Y'shtola. Where have they gone?" Some of her words were airy and slurred. Her teeth had not finished regrowing; it would be another hour at least. Y'shtola's eyes fixed upon Aerys' bloodied mouth as she replied, "The two of them have gone to Cloudtop. I would advise against bothering them." Steely grey eyes flitted up to meet narrowing purple, "You have shaken him. I had thought you to be of better self-control than that."
Aerys' tail whipped in agitation, but she sighed. "Yes. So did I."
XIV
It would be some weeks before Aerys and Alphinaud spoke properly again. With the chaos that ensued as a result of the Archbishop's death, there was little time to interact outside of the constraints of duty.
Riding into Ishgard on Midgardsormr's back in broad daylight had not helped matters very much.
Her connection to the ancient dragon had been credited, at least in part, to her heritage. Hydaelyn's Warrior of Light, and kin on top of it all? Of course the old god would take an interest in her. Pride had been her feeling in the moment. Midgardsormr had come to her aid, and his words were the first step in peace between man and dragon. It had become quickly apparent that not everyone felt the same. Of all the half-wondering, suspicious looks she had received after that, strangely none of them bothered her more than Aymeric's.
She really needed to talk to him again as well.
Instead here she sat, worrying her lower lip on the roof of the Archbishop's citadel. There was precious little to stop her in terms of guards; she had killed the most of them the last time she visited and the rest were of no trouble to avoid. The wind was blisteringly cold, but she hardly noticed. Here, no one was watching her. Here, she would not be found.
An obsession, she thought mildly. Something in my blood. If I can't have him, I'll simply keep spiralling downwards into this madness until I take him.
It had been immeasurably difficult for her to face friends and strangers alike without an awareness of Alphinaud's support and affection to hold her up. For as little as she claimed to care about what the people thought of her, their wary eyes and doubtful whispers began to chip away at her.
For what was she here if not him? Who was she if he was not hers?
Ridiculous.
Aerys leaned back until she was flat against the cold stones. The sky was a stormy grey, as was normal for Ishgard, but the occasional patch of blue wormed its way in. It was oddly quiet, this high up. If not for the near constant winds, it would feel like she was the only one in the world.
Sitting on a tower of ghosts.
She sighed and slung an arm across her eyes, the sharp points of her horns pressing into her skin. The situation with Alphinaud was a delicate struggle. Part of her acknowledged she was not being rational, reasonable, or fair. The other part felt like it was coming apart if she did not do something.
Who was I when I first came to Eorzea? A green adventurer with just enough fire in her heart to blaze a trail for those in my wake.
A shudder ran down the length of her spine.
And now I am an inferno. And now I cannot stop.
Light footsteps echoed through the air, and her ears twitched. She didn't bother to move. A certain nausea had crept up her throat, because she knew those footsteps and she really did not feel of a sane mind to deal with Alphinaud right now.
He came anyway, and stopped just beside her. It was surprising that he had sought her. More still that he knew where to look.
"I have no idea how you managed to make it all the way up here without someone noticing you. I feel I've hid around just about every corner in the entire citadel after that little journey." Aerys moved her arm away from her eyes just enough to squint up at him. "Well, you know how it is," she said, "After you've snuck into nearly every establishment you're not supposed to be in in the entire continent, it starts to get easy."
She replaced her arm and Alphinaud snorted. She could practically hear him roll his eyes as he lowered himself to sit beside her. "We are not all accomplished rogues, my lady." The title, spoken in a soft hush that had no business on a blustery tower top with no one else around to hear it sent her heart into a pleased little flutter. Aerys couldn't think of a single intelligent thing to say, and so she didn't say anything.
"You disappear a lot nowadays, it seems." Alphinaud said quietly after a long moment of silence. He wasn't wrong. She had been away more often than not. After her last confrontation with Titan, she hadn't returned to the Manor for three days. Aerys devoted herself to furthering their mission in Ishgard and thought of nothing else.
Or tried to.
After that, she had made use of the hospitality of those in Falcon's Nest and Moghome, or anywhere else that would allow her to stay the night. In the second week, she had stepped into the Forgotten Knight looking for Tataru only to see Alphinaud with Rielle, Sidurgu nowhere in sight.
The soft, shy smile on the young girl's lips and the answering redness in Alphinaud's cheeks had sent her from the tavern at a dead run. If there was an explosion of aether in the air that startled everyone in the area, well, it wasn't entirely her fault.
Jealous of a girl half your age, she thought scathingly.
Alphinaud's fingers, colder than she would have liked, brushed her arm. "Aerys?"
"I'm sorry," she said, sitting up and folding her arms over her knees. "It hasn't been easy. Just necessary." She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her face. Once again she thought about how very unprepared she was for this conversation. The earring she had never seen him remove glinted in a spot of rare sunlight as he tilted his head.
"Avoiding me for an entire month was necessary?" There was vague irritation in his voice, and Aerys had turned her head to glare half-heartedly at him before she realized she wanted to. "You had company in my absence, I am sure." Alphinaud's face heated up immediately, and Aerys cursed herself internally. Now was not the time to get into a one-sided little spat about Rielle. If she were being rational, the girl would be a better choice for Alphinaud anyway.
But rational was so hard to achieve nowadays.
"It...is not what you think." Alphinaud muttered, turning to stare at the stones on his other side. "It was...it is not what you think. I promise." The fact he felt the need to reassure her was comforting. Aerys felt herself deflating the longer she tried to stay offended.
"Fine. Maybe it wasn't as necessary as I thought, then."
Alphinaud rolled up onto the tips of his toes, crouching next to her. She met his eyes and found herself unable to look away. "Do not avoid me anymore, my lady. Please? I...have not felt quite right without you."
The tips of his ears were pink. She had nearly forgotten that happened whenever he blushed. It occurred to her that missing someone could become a habit. Aerys leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.
"Alright. At least until the next time we mess something up."
He smiled, and it lit up his eyes. "We, my lady? I do believe that I have done a splendid job so far." Aerys couldn't stop her own smile from coming, and she leaned in to kiss him properly this time.
XIV