A/N: this was written back in march 2022 about a month after finishing endwalker with some minimal edits last made in august 2022 and will not be revised anymore.

Major spoilers for Endwalker! this is an au about hermes instead being an ascian. my wol in this fic is trans masc going by he/him. terms in regards to his genitalia are inter-changable, if you're not comfortable with that, please don't proceed with reading this fic.

Final Fantasy XIV belongs to Square Enix

Enjoy!

A grueling headache wrapped around the brunette miqo'te as he began to stir. He had to slow his movements as he sat up on whatever he was laying on. Where was he again?

"Tis would seem you finally awoke, my mockingbird."

Ah right.

After Fandaniel's declaration that the Telophoroi will seek to resume and recreate The Final Days on current Etherys, that same night he decided upon himself to "borrow" Navir for a while; no one being the wiser. What is it that Fandaniel had planned? Seven hells, like he has any idea at all.

And yet.

That voice sounds all too familiar. Fandaniel had yet to reveal even himself to those at the Royal Menagerie, and still, even when the brunette looks up to face him, the ascian's face is still obstructed from view.

"Worry not, for even Lord Zenos isn't aware of your presence here. Well, not like we're in Garlemald just yet, but he won't be interrupting us anytime soon." Should Navir be glad or worried that said person wasn't present? What could Fandaniel possibly wanted from him at this point if the miqo'te was at his mercy?

"You should be glad to be right here by my side once more, Navir. Or does Emilius sound most familiar to you in my voice?" the brunette's breath hitches, seeing the other man lower his hood and the ascian glyph from his face disappearing, revealing dark hair and striking green eyes.

He can feel his very soul cry out in wanting and yearning for the other. A name whispers out to him to repeat it.

"Hermes…"

He can't tell if his smile was gentle or mocking, yet Navir almost didn't care as vague memories filled him. Those same green eyes smiling over something he had said. Flashes of their physical contact while they were alone as he yearned for more. The way he spent hours of sleepless nights concocting some sort of item to give the other man a gift.

The memory of one final conversation before never seeing each other again.

Yet…yet the miqo'te knew deep down they weren't his memories; these were Azem's memories, Emilius' memories.

So why does he still yearn for the touch from Fandaniel?

"I can see the confusion on your face, my dearest mockingbird." He steps ever closer to the bed the other was sitting on. The performer can feel his own tail bristle slightly; perhaps both out of slight fear and mostly confusion. His miqo'te features makes him far easy for several to read his emotions and Hermes was no different.

"'Just where have you been all this time?' I can read from your face alone. Did you miss me quite so, Azem? Seems like you didn't at first until perhaps Hades revealed to you some insight back in Amaurot?"

"N–"

"No?" the taller man looks down and ponders for a moment before looking back at the brunette, "How disappointing for you to have forgotten… Nevertheless, I'd be glad to remind you, if that's what you want for yourself."

Something about that sentence seemed to make Navir's heart skip a beat. He knows, he's fully aware that he shouldn't be here, being at the mercy of another ascian during a moment of weakness. He hates it and in his mind he should hate it. His heart however, tells him otherwise; he listens to the gentle words and lack of demand from the other. Honeyed words in his ears as Fandaniel was literally giving him the choice of whether to accept or deny him at this moment.

How could he even say no? Navir's been through so much pain already; from seeing one of his more innocent loves die right in front of him, a ferocious crush become a wyrm, one he pushed away due to his own trauma from those experiences. And a relationship he noticed far too late he was being taken advantage of for his naivety. The ferocious words exchanged like poison in the heat of battle before finally saying enough was enough, never speaking to each other since.

What a lonely life he leads.

Perhaps…at least for just this night, his (Azem's) old love can give him that passion and adoration he's denied himself of for the last few months; stretching out his arms as a way for permission for the other to approach.

"Take me…help me remember why I fell in love with you."

Once again he's met with another smile; for once, the brunette can tell it's genuine through and through. The taller man approaches, deciding instead to take the miqo'te in his arms as he settles onto the large bed with the smaller on his lap. "I'll be sure for you to fully remember this, my love."

Their lips crash as they get a feel for each other; trying to remember what the taste of each other's mouths were like. Navir felt the taste of caramel so intoxicating, his mind almost immediately became a haze. He want–no, he needs more. He craved it as he let the ascian explore the warm cavern with his tongue. Hermes in return tasted the linger of apples and pastry from the other; of course, just typical of Emilius to consume. What does take Hermes by surprise however, is the soft rumbling coming from the other. Was that purring?

"Nice to see there's more to your feline traits than just your appearance," the dark haired man chuckles when he pulls away a bit, resulting in the miqo'te to pout a little from the comment, "Tis merely a jest. Such wonderful new traits you ended up with in this life. I must wonder how much of your old traits have carried on in your current body however."

Confusion fills Navir's face before a low groan emits from him as he tries to lower his voice when the other reaches to bite down on his ear. "Don't stifle your lovely voice, my mockingbird. I wish to hear every sound, soft and loud, that you make because of me." He can only nod, stopping himself from biting his lip he hadn't realized he'd been doing. The brunette can feel the other resume immediately after; nipping and applying pressure to his furred ear as he begins to let out a melody of whines and soft moans. When was the last time someone's done this to him if at all? He doesn't remember anyone even thinking that his ears could possibly be his most sensitive spot and not immediately assuming it to be his tail.

His growing mewls crescendo as he felt Fandaniel remove the vest and every now and again pulling away to remove the necklaces off him, fully revealing his broad torso filled with several scars; the most prominent of course being the two at the bottom of his chest with clear incisions to his breast. Hermes lets his hands roam before tracing the scars with his fingers, bringing a shiver to the man sitting on him. The ascian pulls his mouth away from the brunette's ears as he brings it back to meet the others lips, eating up Navir's gasps and moans he lets out from every small ministration being done to him.

Was he always this sensitive? The brunette tried to think back on it, but his answer was no. No, even in his most intimate and rough nights, some nights playing up acting as a complete whore back in his selling days; no one's immediately made him feel this drunk off his body sensitivity before till now. He doesn't even register when his hips start to move to get a feel for the other's growing erection between their clothes.

"Eager now are we?" The brunette doesn't even hesitate to nod his head in response, gasping as the taller man moves his hips in return to meet with his clothed sex while his mouth leans in to bite down just near his collarbone. His body practically jolts when he lets out a sweetened moan; legs closing around as he starts to feel the soiling of his own undergarments seeping into his shorts. Fandaniel gives an amused look. "Did you reach your climax already? I haven't even directly touched or penetrated you and I see the look of pleasured bliss all over your face. My, you were truly so pent up and no one's ever made you feel the way I do?" The brunette doesn't agree or outright deny Fandaniel's claims, only just coming down from his sexual high as his eyes have become fogged with desire. "Honestly, how wonderful to know that my touch has imprinted on you long past your original life and that your body immediately remembered such contact."

"Please…" he says in a quiet tone. "I need more. Make me remember your touch. Make me forget everything outside this room… Make me remember, Hermes."

Now how can he say no to such a request?

"Certainly, my love," the words make the miqo'te shiver as the taller man quickly starts removing the rest of his beloved's clothing; smirking and taking immediate note of the large soaked patch of the brunette's smallcloth. Finally laying the other on the bed, the ascian takes time to relish at the sight of the smaller man's figure; face flushed and heated as Hermes' eyes gaze lower to see the scarred body of the man. Soon his eyes follow the noticeable treasure trail leading down to the miqo'te's now soaking cunt; the smaller's clit being rather larger than normal. A most beautiful sight for his eyes to drink. Hermes can see his dearest love start to squirm a bit from boring his eyes at the other's figure, the sudden feeling of exposure as he lays everything bare. Surely, the ascian would not want to think about how many times and how many people have seen Azem's bare body. Body that only he should be allowed to see.

"Q-quit looking at me so directly…" the brunette whines, though his voice comes out soft and full of need. Perhaps to say that Navir even relished in the way Hermes was staring at him.

"Why do you say such a thing? Did you say the same about others who took you or did you simply let them run their filthy hands on you?" Navir immediately falls silent knowing the answer. The dark haired ascian gives a look of satisfaction before going down the other's body with a trail of kisses. "Worry not, I'll be sure to make you forget about all of them."

He can hear a soft "please" in response to that. How many experiences did Navir endure where he wasn't happy about the way others used or slept with him? How many were so rough with him that they ended up hurting him? If Hermes only knew who did that to his precious Azem, he would've gone and dealt with them himself after he made his lover feel the pleasure he's been needing for so long.

His mind immediately comes back to the present feeling the soft, gentle kisses Hermes started to place on the miqo'te's individual scars. His face once again dusted in a light red from how gentle the other was being to him. Soft mewls once again escape him with each kiss and nip right after. The brunette's voice grew little by little with each nip to more sensitive areas, especially near his chest. He eventually holds back his voice a bit, trying to stifle his bit of giggling when the taller man kisses from his stomach to closer to his hips, causing the ascian to look up in question before offering a smile, "It would seem you react a bit differently the lower I go as well. You always did say you were a bit ticklish, weren't you?"

Navir nods. Right Emiliu–wait no, he always mentioned it to Hermes, didn't he?

His thoughts soon dissipate feeling the other's breath on his sex, causing for his own to hitch on the feeling. The brunette can feel his own heat shooting straight down to his dick from just the subtle movements alone. Hermes seems rather curious than anything however as he removes his gloves, his hands bare as his thumb and index finger make experimental touches to the other's clit.

"A–ah fuck…" Navir breathes out as he leans closer to the touch, yet Fandaniel just as quickly pulls back.

"Quite the colorful language you seem to have now, Azem."

"Sorry…"

"Don't be, love," the larger man lifts his head to look up at his lover, "I quite enjoy you being open with your emotions. Now, show me all you have to offer and let yourself react naturally without holding yourself back, alright Emilius?"

Na–no, Emilius ends up nodding in response as he lets his legs spread out more. "Take me and fill me as much to your heart's content. Make me forget, my dearest Hermes, to the point all I can think about is you and how I much I don't want you to stop fucking me…"

Well that's quite the bold statement if any. Yet, Hermes could say no to such a statement and such a challenge. Would they be able to last the entire night or will Emilius eventually give in not even halfway? Then again, Azem wasn't one to give up on his challenges once he made his word.

And he'll make sure Azem keeps to that word still even now.

The ascian doesn't hesitate any longer as his mouth reaches the other's bottom lips, taking time to map and recognize every crevice and fold. Azem can't help but let out moans much louder than previously. A melody in the taller man's ears as he switches between wanting to penetrate with his tongue to going just a bit back up to suck on the other's dick. He can taste the remains of the brunette's juices of his previous orgasm; all the more willing to bring him to his next.

The dark haired man can feel the slight trembles as the other's moans go up a bit higher in pitch. Legs are shaking as the signs of another orgasm are close. It doesn't stop Hermes, on the contrary, he becomes more relenting as he continues to lick and suck. His precious Azem starts to whine, trying to form words about his impending climax before the ascian's mouth is met with the other's sweet juices.

Emilius can feel his own body rack, trembling at the intensity of his orgasm as he could only let out a silent scream. His back arches during those few moments until he hits the bed again, catching as much of his breath as he can while his mind is fuzzy trying to still process the pleasure. Fuck, when he did last have such an intense orgasm? Ah, who knows or cares, only his wonderful Hermes could ever make him feel like this and they're far from finished. The thought of more pleasure from his lover makes him smile. Hermes of course takes notice, though rather than question it, he leans forward to give the other a light kiss, smiling as he hears the other afterward let out a gentle laugh.

"I love you, my dearest Emilius."

The words immediately make the brunette melt. The ring of those same words said from others' mouths are blurred from his mind. From Hermes though, it feels like a sweet song lifting him off his feet and blanketing him in warmth.

He doesn't think he's felt more safe.

"I love you too, my beloved Hermes."

Their lips meet once more in a steady cadence. As much as Emilius craves more than the feathery weight of their kisses, he's aware that patience will grant him his reward. Of course, ultimately it does as Hermes pulls away, only to finally remove the rest of his robes and completely show himself bare. Emilius has to hold back from his mouth watering just looking at the other's length. Yet his restraint only takes him so far as he moves towards Hermes, hand eagar as he wraps his fingers around the other's dick.

Hermes gasps and lets out a quiet grunt. His beloved was all too excited clearly to explore him. Who can blame him? They haven't seen each other for far far too long. It was only natural for Emilius to explore and remember the other's body. Meanwhile, Azem goes ahead with leaning his face closer, his tongue running against the tip and getting a small taste of pre. After a few experimental licks, he finally decides upon taking the tip with his mouth, his tongue continuing to experiment and explore the other's dick. Little by little, he starts to take more inches. The brunette makes it over halfway before stopping once he felt the cock hit the back of his throat. He lets out a hum before starting to bob his head with the miqo'te's teeth just barely grazing the foreskin. For having long fangs, Hermes is pleasantly surprised that the other uses them so well to make sure they don't scrape harshly.

This goes on for a few moments; the sound of sucking and some light choking here and there as Azem experiments with how much more he can fit the other's length into his mouth. Hermes runs a hand through the other's hair, eventually removing the hair tie and letting Azem's hair cascade past his shoulders. He gives soft words to the other over how well he's doing. Eventually though, he does give the other man pause, causing Emilius to look up in confusion still with the other's dick more than halfway down his throat. Hermes has to refrain from pointing out how erotic the sight looks. "As much as I would want you to keep going, I'd prefer to finally take you for myself, love."

A hum vibrates onto the dark haired man's shaft, earning him a chuckle as Azem eagerly pulls away with a 'pop' and settles himself laying his back on the bed with anticipation. Hermes rummages through his robes in the meantime till he finds the vial of oil he was searching for. It makes Emilius' heart flutter at the thought of Hermes being prepared for him. He can't help but sit back up to pepper the man in kisses. A soft laugh escapes Hermes as he opens the vial and douses his dick with it till every inch is covered.

"Alright, my love. Lay back down and relax yourself." He's given an eager nod from the miqo'te as he does as instructed.

Azem immediately feels the tip make contact with his folds before slowly penetrating through his entrance. A sigh escapes him before being replaced by soft moans the more Hermes keeps going. He lets out a blissful sigh once the taller man was all the way in; the feeling of fullness already satisfying him. "Ah…hah–it's a perfect fit, Hermes~"

The dark haired man gives the brunette a smile. His hand reaches to run near his hips. Oh how he wishes Azem could bear him a child; though more than likely with how many he's been with and what they might've done to him, he's probably been unable to. To have such thoughts of a normal life…how he would wish for such a thing more than anything with Emilius. Though at least for now, he'll have Emilius all to himself.

Below him he can hear the brunette whine a little out of impatience as he had yet to even move. He chuckles; it's best to indulge him than keep him waiting before he starts complaining. Slowly, he pulls out until just the tip was left in before suddenly ramming inside. Hermes looks down, witnessing Azem arch his back as he lets out a silent scream, hands reaching the sheets under him to grab onto. In return, the taller man grabs a firm hold on the smaller's hips as he starts to repeat the hard thrusting into the other's cunt. Azem gasps, moans cut off with each harsh thrust as he lifts his legs enough to wrap around his beloved. "A–ah, Hermes, I-I need–hnn–more, please~"

The miqo'te is given a smile before a proper pace is finally being set in place. Moans of content escape his lips and he wraps his legs a bit tighter, occasionally calling for the other's name as Hermes drifts between the speed of his thrusts. One hand starts to roam, mapping the brunette's chest down to his stomach as the other tightens on his hip. Emilius no doubt knows that'll leave a bruise but that's for the morning to worry about.

"Ha-hah…ah, fuck, Hermes…" strings of curses follow by the other's name is all that escapes from the brunette's lips the more they keep going. A loud moan, bordering on a scream escapes him as Hermes pounds right into a sensitive area indicated by tightness of the brunette's walls and the way his body shook from it. "A–Fuck–my love, I need moreeeee!"

The dark haired man indulges even further as Hermes grabs the brunette and pulls him closer. He has a firm grip, signaling that they're getting close. The brunette can feel the heat pooling in his abdomen as he tightens his legs around the other while he wraps his arms around Hermes to cling onto. His nails start to dig deep into Hermes' back, starting to break skin in the process in the throes of pleasure.

"Hermes, ah–fuck, p-please! Come inside me, I w-want–hgnn–to feel you in me–ah!"

Their rhythm starts to break as they erratically meet their thrusts at odd times. Both of them drowning in the heat of their pleasures. Hermes shows it in his movement while Azem cries out in whatever words escape from his mouth. The brunette's walls only tighten his grip on the other's dick as he moans in higher octave.

"Fuck–! Hermes hurry I–I'm about to–ah–"

He grips tightly on the taller man's back, his sharpened nails practically digging into the skin as his vision goes white. Hermes has a firm hold feeling his partner shake and occasionally spasm from his intense orgasm. Despite feeling the pain of the nails, he ignores it just to see the look of blissful pleasure on Azem's face as he rides his orgasm for what feels like hours.

The brunette's body goes from spasms to shaking as he finally starts to come down from his orgasmic high. His eyes look glossed over and distant as he tries to recover. Yet he felt his hips being held and guided again, realizing his lover wasn't done reaching his own orgasm. "A-ah–Hermes you're close, aren't you? Please-hn…come inside me."

Hermes kept on with his rhythmless pace, his groaning as his only warning before he started to fill up his lover. Azem in return throws his head back once in a loud moan feeling the hot seed spill inside him, giving him such pleasure.

The brunette only relaxed for a few moments after the orgasm before starting a slow grind again, the sounds of squelching from his cunt being filled with semen now obvious the more he moves. His partner groans in response as he had only come from his orgasmic high only to be met with his dick being pleasured once more. "Love–ah, please, give me more. You promised w-we would have–hah–the whole night together–hgnnn."

The dark haired man chuckles in response, grabbing the other by his lower cheeks as he starts to guide him on his thrusts, making the miqo'te let out loud moans once more.

"You're absolutely right, my mockingbird, and I'll make sure this becomes a night you'll never forget. It'll become ingrained into your very soul."

–

The light of the morning hits Navir's face, causing him to groan as he's disturbed from his slumber. It takes him a bit to open his eyes, yet when he tries to stretch, he feels a sting of ache hit his lower back, causing him to curl up until the pain subsides.

He finally takes his time to take a look at his surroundings; all too familiar warm colored tiles and plush bed he's laying in as the window shows a bright blue sky and dried landscape in the distance.

He was back in Ala Mhigan Quarter.

As he tries to move, his tail bristles; the combined dry, crusted and wet, sticky feeling is present between his legs. His mind wanders to recall last night and–ah, that's right.

"Hermes…" the whispering of his name is faint, afraid if he says it any louder, the ascian will immediately appear before him again. Yet…all the same, he wanted nothing more than for him to come back and hold him in his arms.

But it wasn't Navir that he actually wanted, was it?

The brunette does his best to stand, he can feel the numbness of his legs and the pain shooting down his back as he powers on to reach the bathroom.

He wastes no time turning on the cool water of the shower and letting it run. Stepping in, his body immediately shivers, his tail stiff as he reacts to how much he dislikes the water when he doesn't mentally prepare himself first before going in.

He looks down at himself, seeing just a bit of his marked body from the night before. Following, he wastes no time in having his hands travel down, taking the time to rinse the ascian's spent along his legs upwards. The miqo'te grunts as he reaches his folds and lets his fingers penetrate his entrance. He's immediately met with the all too familiar feeling of semen inside his walls as he uses his fingers to dig as much of it out as he can, less he wants a mess to seep through his smallclothes onto his shorts. Even if no one wasn't going to notice due to the dark color of his clothes, the feeling of it would make Navir feel unpleasant for the rest of the day.

He chuckles a little at the thought, though the sniffling of his nose told a different story. He rushes more in pulling out more cum from his inner walls as his emotions start to catch up to him, trying his best to not think more about last night until he was actually cleaned up and physically refreshed.

Yet all he could think of was the beautiful smile on Hermes' face as he gave bites and kisses all over Navir's body, plunging himself deep into the miqo'te. Another sniffle escapes him as he quickly grabs for whatever bottles the shower contained to wash and clean himself as fast as possible.

The way the ascian took care of him, relentlessly monopolized on parts of Navir that made the brunette almost instantly submit to him. To say no other man has pleasured him in all the right places no matter how many times he's slept with them was an understatement. The fact Hermes managed to do that and more…Navir doesn't know if he should be thankful that the other made him feel like he was in endless bliss. Yet…did he really do that all for him or not? He…surely doesn't resemble the other's beloved, he's certain and yet…the brunette was seen as him the entire night.

Finally rinsing off the last of the soapy water off his body, he shut off the water, grabbing a towel from the rack off to the side outside the shower stall to dry himself off. He makes his way over to the bathroom mirror to look over himself to finally see the full extent of the marks all over his body. The miqo'te gasped a little, seeing reds and purples that had bloomed all around his neck and collarbone going down to his chest and down to his inner thighs. Bite marks are also present around his neck and his chest; his body hair doing a poor job at hiding everything. His lips still a bit swollen from the relentless kisses and bites at each other's lips in the heat of their passionate lovemaking.

He recalls oh so many times how he requested previous partners to be harsh with him; to not worry about his smaller size as he knew how well his body could handle it given worse experiences he's had. Yet, every time they held back and never left him completely satisfied in their nights of passion. Hermes however did far beyond that and a warmth surrounded the brunette at the thought. Yet, it didn't make the red tint of his nose and the sniffle calm in the slightest. In fact the more he looked at himself, the tears brimming his eyes started to overfill and fall. Wrapping the towel around himself he makes his way over to the bed, a loud sniffle escaping him upon seeing his clothes from the night before neatly folded at the end of the bed.

He goes to crawl back under the covers, finally letting himself sob as he curls up feeling his heart shatter, taking in the reality of what happened last night. He let Hermes in some way into his life, back into Azem's life. Yet Navir knows full well he could never be Azem no matter how much Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus implied it as such back in the First. He's not some ancient being that others missed so much, hells Navir doesn't even know how the ancient acted or what he actually looked like. Despite it…they all see the same color soul between him and Azem. Is that all Hermes really saw in him?

"My dearest mockingbird, why do you let out such pained cries?"

The brunette lets out a gasp as he attempts to sit, only to lay back down again as his ears lower and he hisses from the dull pain present on his lower back. The ascian a few feet away quickly rushes to his side, gently pulling the miqo'te closer to him once he's on the bed and runs a hand through the soft brunette locks.

Navir can feel his body immediately give into the gentle touches, despite how much his mind was on edge. He wanted so badly for this moment to be frozen in time, where it was just him and Hermes sharing an intimate moment like this. Yet, he kept thinking back to his thoughts from earlier, only for his tail to show signs of it bristling as he grew more on edge.

"Please, let me hear your words. I wish to know what ails you and help you as best as I am able to, Az–"

"Don't call me that."

Hermes' eyes widen, the dreaded silence fills the bedroom as he focuses on the brunette's body language. The way he immediately got stiffer, his ears going flat and tail bristling as he slowly sat up. To see the look of anger when the miqo'te finally turns to face him, eyes red and puffy and nose red from however long he was crying or holding back his cries. Yet to have such angered and fierce eyes piercing right at him was an expression not at all expected.

"Don't you call me Azem. Not again. Is that all who you see when you look at me, Fandaniel? I…" a shuttered sigh escapes Navir's lips.

"I felt my very soul last night yearning for you. Perhaps a small remnant of Azem remains in me, I don't know. But…what I do know is despite that, I know nothing about him; how he looked or how he acted. You can't just look at me and expect that your Azem will just simply come back to you. Just last night you were proclaiming to kill everyone, including yourself with the Final Days. Did you just only want me to be Azem so you can have him die with you when the time comes?"

Navir's ears lowered the moment he finished; he actually felt bad saying the rest of those words. Gods, he wants the man to see reason, but death isn't an answer. It should never be.

The look on Hermes' eyes told Navir all he needed. The shock and confusion being told those words. Like he saw a moment of clarity in those tired eyes. It got Navir to think…if Zodiark is indeed a primal…wouldn't it make Hermes just as tempered as any other by primal influence?

He doesn't have another second to think on it further as Hermes shoves him back down onto the bed. His hands hold a tight grip on the miqo'te's wrists to hold him down as he moves on top of his body. The brunette silently curses remembering he's clearly vulnerable still with no single article of clothing on his body as Hermes leans in closer. Navir flinched from the grip as he could only look at Hermes face to face. Yet instead of being greeted with a threat, he feels the ascian's lips meet him in a gentle dance, in which the brunette immediately returns the kiss in longing. His body betrays his hidden emotions; thinking over his selfish desires of keeping Hermes with him where they can live their lives alone together…well, once Hermes can call Navir by his name.

Tears can't help but well up once the ascian pulls away and gives him an unreadable expression. "He left me…he never told me. I was left alone…and I'm not about to have you leave me anytime soon, even if it means dragging you to death with me."

Before Navir can get another word out, a portal opens behind Fandaniel. Not even looking back at the miqo'te, he releases him and makes his way to leave. The brunette was too dumbfounded in his emotions to call out for him again.

Before he could even curl up and cry once more, a knock wraps at the door. "Navir, are you awake? The Alliance wishes to speak with you but we can wait until you're ready."

The familiar voice of a teenage girl brings him back to current reality, tear stained and still bare, he calls out in reply. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be over there."

He had to…he had to save Hermes. He had to save him and make sure somehow, someway, he can bring him back with at least most of himself still intact in the process.