As soon as she dismounted herself from Yoshia, she gave him a pat, and a rub - to display her gratitude towards the bird. He cooed, almost in understanding of her pain.
Before her stood Vesper Bay, yet unlike the many times she'd been there before - it rained relentlessly. Her hair was soaked in the salty tears of the sky, and she bore the pain like a heavy weight in her heart - she had no more tears to let loose, just the sky displaying the sadness she felt within her heart. A big loss, but she had far bigger missions to tend to. And for now, for the last time - she would see to the corpses of people she'd heard and seen every time she walked by to head for the Solar.
This time, these voices she took for granted never will be there, and the Waking Sands no longer felt like home.
As she walked to the Waking Sands, she counted the corpses laid outside of the building.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and there was one she didn't even lay her eyes upon but acknowledged very well, Noraxia.
"... You left a little too far from home," she whispered, and carried all the rest, before Noraxia. Carrying her, and to even look at her was something she herself couldn't do. In this sense, X'ranmaia could accept her weakness - she was emotional, and she felt a certain attachment to the Sylphs. They were a very talkative bunch of critters, and they were beautiful to watch.
Little Solace will feel quieter, without Noraxia.
The journey to the Church didn't take her long, being completely attuned with Camp Drybone's aetheryte helped, although it pained her to give Vesper Bay a short, one last look.
I will soon return, she thought.
She held a hand to her heart when she walked up to the sight of the church, and she looked at Eluned. Eluned had a pained voice, his eyes never meeting X'ranmaia's with his cloak over his eyes, and the rain seemingly blowing it only to make it harder - yet Eluned stood with determination before the dead body in front of him, hardly wavering even with the brutal wind.
"You must pray at the Mark of the Warden, X'ranmaia," he said, and this was something X'ranmaia could do, all for the acknowledgement of the gods, so that her comrades would somehow be laid to a peaceful rest.
She summoned Yoshia, once again and looked at him with regret, "I'm sorry to trouble you so much for a while now. You're still a new bird."
He didn't show any understanding, but simply let her mount herself, cooing in an attempt to comfort the disgruntled adventurer.
Past the Amal'jaa encampment, and the ruins near the church, and the sprites that glowed in the night, with the heavy rain hardly wavering the saddened archer, Yoshia stopped right before a large rock, at the end of the road.
"So this is it."
X'ranmaia dismounted herself from the chocobo, giving him a comforting pet and rub, before she walked to the rock, looking at it with her pale blue eyes, and rubbing the cool surface with her right hand.
Let them rest, let them know that the Waking Sands will prevail. Give them peace, and let their bones find eternal reconciliation with you.
She kneeled before the rock, thunder accompanying the hawks in the air, flying even in the storm, while she prayed in silence, and for once - she allowed herself to soak in the signs of faith that she often lacked. X'ranmaia let the rain be the substitute to her tears, and while the gods remained silent, she stood, and thanked them in her heart, for listening to her prayers.