Disclaimer: I do not own FFXIV nor Heavensward, or several of the characters mentioned in this story, or the FC featured.


In the snow peak mountains came eight, each upon their chocobos. Halfway down the mountain came the sights of Ishgard's towers, only a gray lining of them could be seen, winds were picking up and even their thickest coats could not keep them warm enough.

"We're not that far," Bach shouted over the winds.

"Can we run it?" Disco yelled back, she was rearing to go, wanting a hearth to warm her spirits.

"Unless you want your mount to slide you to your death!"

If only they could fly here, Ragnar stayed in the middle of them all, his eagerness to rush to Idyllshire the first moment of stepping into Coerthas becoming more and more apparent. For a whole week and a half they have been traveling, they camped at the usual stops or rested at the nearest tavern, though through all that, Ragnar hardly got any rest himself. His hunger and fatigue were nothing compared to the unending worry.

He held his reigns taut, his nails digging into the leather as far as they could.

Idyllshire was a long way to ask for a certain man but it was the only hope he had to save her. With each passing day, however, he felt less of that hope and more of that fear.

"We'll find her," Aisling reassured him, the Elezen was always there when needed. He was a reliable person, eager to aid his fellow friends. Ragnar could understand the sentiment but the more of Aisling's reassurances reached him, the less he felt they were true.

Their chocobos dredged through the growing snow, limbs barely making it above the height. Already they were growing weary.

"They need to rest," Rhel'ir warned them,"they're being pushed too far!"

Soon enough, the hazardous trek down to the main road ended and they were free to run to the gates.

-...-

The Forgotten Knight was full as usual.

After the opening of the gates, more and more were entering to conduct trade though the most frequent travelers were adventurers. They took a table at the corner of the Forgotten Knight, not wanting to be disturbed nor cause any in the tavern. Drinks were passed and at the sight of his own, Ragnar gently pushed it away.

"Hey, you, drink up, you need to relax yourself," Pax encouraged him, he dragged it closer to him. "C'mon."

"I can't, not right now-"

"You hadn't been eating either," Rhel'ir pointed out.

Ragnar stared at his food- a simple popoto soup. "...Valencia loved this."

"Just eat," Bach said, she slurped at her soup,"it's an order, look at yourself, you're looking paler."

"No doubt we will have to fight whoever took her," Disco added from her spot by the fire- she was bundled up in blankets next to Wolfie, they were huddled on a bench. "Can't fight on an empty stomach."

The goading from his friends finally drove him to pick up a spoon. Slowly, he ate, thinking back to when he first met them. It was after the Calamity that he met them when he was one of the refugees from a village in Gridania. They were a ragtag team back then, only of five that grew and grew over the years, attracting wayward adventurers and slowly becoming one of the defenders of Eorzea.

He owed the Company for showing him that life could be reforged.

Along the way of their adventures came a mission to free captured Au Ra from the Garleans in Mor Dhona. Among them was Valencia, her old name forsaken to forget the past- he found her first in the back of the prison, huddled there, her legs broken. He cured her as best he could at the time and nursed her back to health, and soon they grew close.

She was still shy, hesitant to join him on his outings but she did love his stories.

He lost everything since the Calamity and all he had left was the Company and who was most precious to him.

"She'll be safe, the dead aren't useful as much as the living," Wolfie pointed out,"that's usually how it goes. You'll have a chance. We all will to get her back."

Ragnar nodded as he picked up even more of the soup with his spoon.

Aisling had returned, he sat down next to Ragnar, telling him,"I spoke to a couple people here and there...they said they had indeed seen the Hyurr, he passed by here yesterday with a cart and chocobo. He went straight for the airships and headed for Falcon's Nest."

"Thank you, Aisling," Ragnar uttered, he brought the bowl to his lips and drank away.

"See? There's hope for her-"

"Can we leave yet?" Ragnar inquired, he was growing eager. Surely if the man were to head to Falcon's Nest, he would head to one of two places- the Sea of Clouds or Dravania. "Did they say anywhere else he went? Any direction?"

"That was all they said...just Falcon's Nest. Besides, airships are closed at this hour, we must wait-"

"Why not use our mounts?"

"The storms are too strong for them."

Ragnar got up, he waited too long for this. "I need to turn in..."

He walked away, each of them watching him leave.

"Max," Bach murmured,"watch him."

-...-

Ragnar sat there in his room upon the bed, in his hand was the small bone whistle. He heard stories of those birds the Vanu Vanu flew, how they soared through the skies unchallenged by any weather the Primal unleashed. He felt the grooves of the holes, he felt the mouthpiece with his thumb. He could bypass the storm and search further into the lands.

He saved her once, he could do it again.

He wanted to see her smile once more.

Slowly, he got up and went to the window, opening it with a bit of difficulty. Placing it to his lips, he blew into the whistle, trying to find the tune to play. He kept going at it, hoping that the bird would fly by so that he could leave and find Valencia even faster until a hand grabbed the whistle away and he turned.

Max was there, holding it as he examined it closely.

"So this is what Disco has been searching for all this time. You've taken it back when that Hyurr was there, didn't you?" Max asked, his scrutinizing gaze held that look whenever he solved a puzzle- that realization and interest. "Suppose he knew you took it."

"No...it can't be," Ragnar murmured. "Max, I hadn't properly spoke of this before, not to anyone."

"Not even Valencia?"

"Not even her," he tried to take it back from Max but he refused to hand it over. "...I was one of the first to fight Bismark when he was revived, actually. Remember I went away for a month? It wasn't for reflection, it was to fight Bismark the second time. It started as reflection but when I arrived in Idyllshire, the Hyurr, Marcel, approached me. He knew of my exploits and our Company but the Primal had to be taken down immediately."

"The man enlisted you then?"

"Yes. Unfortunately for his party, they didn't have the Echo, and Alphinaud sent word to do the work quickly as well so I had no choice. I didn't tell anyone about my arrangements and...I myself heard the rumors of these birds that the Vanu Vanu flew. I wanted my try at it. The fight went as accordingly, there were a few mishaps but I did my best to keep everyone alive."

Ragnar went to pull up a chair by the window, he needed to sit down as he took slow breaths.

"It was when Bismak made the skies yellow as gold, when the whirlwind came at the last moment that his team were unsuspecting of it. They were each flung except me and Marcel, one by one they flew, I saw the man screaming out each of their names as he lost them. Soon, the skies cleared and in my hands, somehow, was that whistle. It must have been in the confusion I picked it up on accident...

"Marcel blamed me for what had happened, that I wasn't careful enough nor willing to bother to help the others, to warn of Bismark's dangers. He tried to kill me up there as Cid flew us back to the Sea of Clouds. I was at the edge, you see...and he was about to bring his axe down upon me. I blasted him in the face with Broil and in his own keening I got up and pushed him over the edge...I thought I killed him that day..."

Max nodded as he listened intently, without hesitation, he handed the whistle back to Ragnar, offering it to him. He quietly told him,"And you held it all this time. Do you not feel guilt for what you have done?"

"...before, no, I didn't give a single damn, but now that he has taken what is mine I feel nothing but regret, fear," Ragnar confessed, he waved Max's hand away. "...give it to someone else, I do not want to look at it."

"If I tried, it may bring about the truth to someone, take it back and keep it secret. It's best that the rest of the Company doesn't know of this, not yet," Max advised him,"worry not about me. I only came here on Bach's orders to ensure that you don't run off and do something dangerous. It's enough as it is that we have to find Valencia."

He dropped the whistle into Ragnar's lap.

"As Bach said, you need the right song to summon the bird, so I won't worry about you going anywhere," he gave a pat to Ragnar's shoulder,"you need to get yourself together though, Ragnar...when you feel that you can, tell the truth, but just don't let the rest of them learn later on. Should they witness you killing someone and it's not out of self-defense, who knows what they might see you as."

"Understandable, thank you, Max," Ragnar said, sighing out of relief.

He had never been able to confess this to anyone, not once had he uttered the truth to anyone.

Max turned around and headed for the door, his long, blue tail swishing with gentleness.

He strode out of the room, he emerged back into the tavern's main hall and traversed to the corner where the Company sat. They were back to drinking once more, Disco back at it again with the flagon, though it was strong Ishgardian grog. She swayed to and fro, singing at the top of her lungs with her words slurred.

Max shook his head as he sat next to Bach and was given ale by a maid.

"He won't be skipping off if that's what you're wondering," Max reported to her.

She was staring at the map, trying to predict where Valencia would end up being at. "Good work, Max. Now that that is settled, we must- would you get a room!?"

In the corner of Max's eye was Pax getting at it with one of the Elezen maids. He seemed to bring about a gaggle of girls every time they were in a tavern, at this Disco sang something about his libido. Kagami got up, taking Pax by the collar, along with the servant.

"Alright, someone's had too much to drink," Kagami said,"let's bring the show elsewhere before you scar the locals, Pax."

The two didn't seem to keep their hands off one another and, as Kagmi herded them, Pax had gotten mixed up in his drunken stupor. He formulated the wrong idea from Kagami and thrust himself from Kagmi's grasp.

"You trying to steal my girl!?" Pax shouted, his demeanor changing. He took a swing at Kagami's face and caused him and the maid to collapse.

At this, Aisling spat out his drink upon Bach to which the Lalafell screamed,"Why must everyone do this to me!?" as Rhel'ir's mouth dropped open and then began to laugh.

The maid scrambled to her feet and fled out of the tavern.

"I just wanted to put you away!" Kagami exclaimed, he spring up and punched Pax back in the jaw, something snapped.

Bach turned and saw that the two men were now fighting one another, she hopped down and tried to stop the fight but instead she was punted off to the side and into the shelf that held the myriad of bottled liquors and wine, aged to perfection. She screeched as the entire tavern grew silent at the broken glasses.

Wolfie let out a gasp as Rhel'ir got up, trying to get Bach yet what truly broke the silence was Disco's laughter that roared throughout the entire room.

"GUARDS!" Bellowed a barkeep over Disco,"GUARDS! ARREST THESE TROUBLEMAKERS!"

"Nuh...nah," Bach murmured as she was being picked up by Rhel'ir. "Hm, huh, nuh...a million gil from each of you...for kicking your leader into a shelf...take you to court..."

The fight died down as five knights from one of the tables came charging to the two, holding them by their shoulders and pulling them apart.

Within seconds, the two were clapped in irons and led out, the silence falling back save for Disco's consistent giggles.