Simmering Embers
As the Scions returned, they found not a city filled with hope, but one that had been set aflame by those who would suffer not the leadership of one they viewed as a scheming kinslayer.
With another missing friend having returned to them, they scoured the city in search of the people who clung to the lies that they viewed as truth, and would even step over the bodies of innocent children to see their order restored.
Peace, she had come to learn, was something fragile. It needed to be nurtured and kept safe, like a newborn baby, and any misstep could spell its doom and turn former friends into bitter enemies.
Sometimes it was out of sheer greed, jealousy, or lust for power, as they had seen with the history of a thousand years ago. And other times it was simply the fear of change; change of the status quo that had served as the rock in the raging sea.
And as she watched those of the perpetrators that had survived the battle being taken away in chains, S'eni could only wonder what was going on in the minds of these men and women.
Shifting her gaze away from them, it landed on Aymeric who, despite his wounds, had nevertheless risked his life to save the lives of those that had been held hostage and was now speaking to the people, rich and poor alike, that had gathered here. At his side stood Lucia, subtly watching out in case his wounds would start acting up and ready to intervene on his behalf should it be necessary.
Amidst the crowd, one person stood out the most to her. A young Elezen girl whose life had nearly been lost if not for the timely arrival of Vidofnir.
A dragon saving the life of an Ishgardian; it was an image that she was sure no one would forget so soon.
"That was too close for comfort," S'eni said, turning her head to look at the approaching Y'shtola.
"Indeed it was," the other woman agreed. "I confess I was just about to try and teleport the girl away before Vidofnir arrived. Thank the Twelve I didn't."
"Yeah. I doubt she would have appreciated being spit out of the Lifestream in the middle of nowhere, as naked as on her nameday." A grin formed on her lips at the glare that her friend sent her.
"I won't be living this one down all too soon, will I?" Y'shtola asked with a sigh.
"Give it a few more weeks," she replied with a chuckle.
The other Miqo'te simply shook her head at that. A moment passed and the expression on her face turned into a thoughtful frown, making S'eni drop her grin.
"What is it?"
"It's about Thancred," Y'shtola said. "Now that you have spent some time with him, tell me...does he seem different to you?"
"You mean aside from the obvious?" She tapped the spot under her left eye, the same that Thancred was covering due to an injury that he took. At the other Miqo'te's nod, S'eni crossed her arms and pursed her lips in thought.
She had noticed that something was different about him, and not just the injury or the more rugged look from his time in the wilderness. No, it was something deeper than that, hidden from the naked-eyed but still there. And while she couldn't see it, she could feel it.
"Yeah. I can't really put it into words, but..."
"So you sense it too," her friend said. "It's a subtle change. I didn't notice it at first myself, but upon closer examination, I could see it: his aetheric flow has been irreparably disrupted."
S'eni frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Simply put, Thancred may no longer be able to manipulate aether," Y'shtola explained and she felt her eyes widen in shock at this revelation. But now that she had said it, it started to make sense.
"That would explain why he decided to stay where he was instead of heading towards the next Aetheryte once he was healed."
"Yes. He would have had to rely entirely on traditional means of travel. And when he learned that a nearby beast tribe was planning on summoning a primal it might have seemed more sensible for him to wait." The other Miqo'te rubbed her chin thoughtfully, before raising a finger. "But this is still nothing more than speculation. Please, don't tell anyone until I have managed to gather further proof."
"Don't worry, I won't," S'eni promised and turned her head into the direction Thancred had left in earlier, her frown deepening. "I suppose now is the waiting game?"
"I'm afraid so, and possibly at the worst time if Vidofnir's warnings are to be taken seriously."
"Hm." After the dragon had appeared in their time of need, she had swiftly presented them with tidings from her father, that Nidhogg's shade had sung to his horde before taking off to skies unknown. Sooner or later, he would strike, and with the current civil unrest in Ishgard, S'eni wasn't sure if they would be prepared for it.
And that was on top of their recent encounter with their newest adversaries.
"Mark our faces well, Warrior of Light. We are the Warriors of Darkness, walkers of a different path. And we shall meet again."
There is always something, S'eni thought to herself. Sometimes it felt like whenever they took a step forward they also took two steps back. A sigh escaped her before facing her friend again. "What are you going to do now?"
"I will join Krile and assist her in the search for Minfilia. She may have charmed Master Matoya for now, but who can say how long that will last," Y'shtola said with a shrug, a hint of amusement returning to her voice.
"Alright," she replied, feeling the corners of her lips quirk upward. "Just contact me if you need any help."
Her friend returned the expression. "Don't worry, I will make sure to call upon you should she have any chores left she wishes to push on us."
They both chuckled at that.
"Stay safe," S'eni said.
"You too."
After watching Y'shtola walk away, she remained a little while longer, before leaving as well into the direction of her next destination, the Brume.
She had managed to get a glimpse of the situation earlier today when they had confronted the one that had set the fires, the smell of burned wood and ash hanging in the air.
Now seeing it all revealed the full scale of the damage, and even now, well into the evening, the fires were still going. While the situation was under control now, it was still far from over.
By Azeyma... S'eni thought and raised a hand to her face to shield herself a little from the heat wafting towards her.
It didn't take long for her to find the person she was seeking, standing in front of a house that had completely burned to the ground, her voice echoing even over the sounds of people rushing about to salvage what was still salvageable.
"Hilda!" she called out as she approached the woman. Upon hearing her name called, Hilda turned her head in S'eni's direction.
After a moment of surprise, the half Elezen gave two of her men further instructions, then walked up to meet her. "If it isn't the woman of the hour. Here to lend a hand?"
"I am," S'eni replied.
Hilda's face was covered in dirt and her eyebrows were drawn in a clear sign of fatigue. A relieved sigh escaped her. "Good. There are still fires to the west that need to be put out. Aymeric sent some of his knights to help, but everyone is starting to get tired and the entire area is just kindlin'," the other woman said. "Havin' the hero of Ishgard herself help might raise their spirits enough to see this through."
Palming her fist, S'eni nodded. "Tell me what I should do."
"Grab those buckets over there, fill them with water and haul them over as quickly as possible!" Hilda pointed at the buckets in question in front of the nearby well connected to the cities water system, then into the direction the other two had left to.
Doing as she was told, she had just made it past Hilda when the other woman's voice made her stop for a brief moment.
"And once this is over, the first round's on me!"
"Let's not count the Chocobos before they're hatched!" S'eni replied and started to run.
A drink sure sounds nice right about now, S'eni thought as she stepped through the lower entryway of the Forgotten Knight. The first thing she noticed was the people. There were far more than usual that had decided to take shelter here, some sitting at the counter eating the free meals that Gilbrillont offered the poorest of the poor, while others were sitting huddled together on the floor and giving one another some comfort in these trying times.
Many of them had lost everything today.
It had still taken well into the evening until the last fire had been put out and...it didn't look good. Once the dust had settled there would be a lot that needed to be reconstructed and she could only hope that it would happen as quickly as possible.
Wiping the sweat off her brow, S'eni walked past the people and up the stairs, trying and failing to suppress the twinge inside her chest.
A sigh escaped her at the sight. It was downright packed, filled with people that were either looking for a stiff drink to try and relieve themselves of the stress this day had brought, or simply drowning their sorrows.
Looking around, S'eni found Gilbrillont tending to one of the latter, a young Hyur who clearly has had too much, whom he was helping up into one of the free rooms. She raised her hand when his eyes landed on her for a brief moment and the Elezen nodded towards the bar.
She walked over to one of the empty spots and waited for his return a few minutes later.
"You look like you just walked through one of the seven hells," he commented as he took his usual place behind the counter.
"Feel like it too." And smelled like it as well, if her nose wasn't playing tricks on her.
"Then I suppose you want something to drink." A little frown formed on the Elezen's features. "Please, just don't overdo it like some of these poor souls."
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to," she assured him.
"So what will it be?"
S'eni pondered her options for a moment, tapping her foot on the ground. "Give me...something hard."
With a nod, Gilbrillont turned around and pulled out a bottle from behind him, pouring some of its contents into a glass that he placed in front of her. "Limited refills on that," he said, shaking the bottle a little.
"Alright alright," she replied, her lips curling into a little smirk as she took the glass. "Oh, yeah, Hilda said to put it on her tab."
The half Elezen had been downright exhausted by the end and had told her to have a drink on her own.
"You helped a lot of people today, so it's on the house," he said, placing the bottle back.
"Won't say no to that," S'eni murmured while Gilbrillont was going to attend another customer, turning around on her heel and raising the glass to her lips to take the first sip.
The effect was almost instantaneous, hitting her like a one ilm punch straight to the face and creating a pleasant buzz at the edge of her mind. Exhaling deeply, she felt some of the tension leave her body and started to look around if there was still a place left where she could sit down.
As her eyes roamed the tavern, S'eni spotted a familiar face sitting at the very back and her eyebrows rose in surprise.
It was Thancred. She thought he had already left for the Rising Stones, but here he was, having a drink. Noticing that he was being looked at, he turned his head and focused on her with his uncovered eye before waving her over.
"I take it Tataru convinced you to stay a little longer?" she asked upon arriving at his table.
"She wouldn't take no for an answer," he replied, an amused smirk forming on his lips. "She certainly has become quite headstrong in my absence, hasn't she?"
S'eni chuckled. "That she has. Picked up some tricks around here too."
"I'm sure." Thancred pointed at the empty space in front of him. "Have a seat."
"So you decided to come here?" she asked while sitting down.
"The place came highly recommended. Though I suppose on any regular day it's much less dreary," he said, taking a sip from his mug.
"Yeah." She took another sip as well. "Today wasn't exactly a regular day."
"I certainly didn't expect my return to proper civilization like this. But then again, I might not be sitting here at all if not for your efforts. Ishgard sure has become more welcoming."
"Yes. You should've been here when we first arrived. The weather wasn't the only thing that was frosty," S'eni said.
"I wish I was..." both frowned at his words, and an awkward silence settled itself over them as they stared into their drinks. After a moment of listening to the sounds around them, she let her eyes flicker over to her friend, taking in his features.
Despite being unkempt and unshaven, the longer hair and stubble on his chin didn't take away from his natural handsomeness, and she was pretty sure many easily impressed maidens would be drawn to him even more by his grizzled looks. But there was definitely something different about him, and not just what Y'shtola had told her earlier.
He seemed...older, or perhaps that was the wrong way to put it. It felt like some of that rogue-ish charm that always surrounded him had given way to a seriousness that was almost out of character for him.
That night in Ul'dah had left its marks on all of them.
"I assume you're enjoying the view with the way you're staring?" he asked her all of a sudden, raising his gaze to look at her.
Well, not all of his charm was gone, at least.
"Don't flatter yourself too much," she shot back, hiding the smile forming on her lips behind her glass.
With a chuckle, Thancred took another sip from his mug. "So what is it? You look like you have some questions on your mind."
Her smile faded and she waited a moment before asking, "Are you alright?"
He cocked his eyebrow. "If this is about my eye, I can assure you I had plenty of time to compensate for my injury."
"Yeah, I saw. You held your own pretty well earlier."
"And you, from what I can tell, have only improved," Thancred pointed out. "I have never seen techniques like that before from the Pugilists in Ul'dah. Monks clearly are on a whole different level. Watch out, if Yda sees them she will undoubtedly want you to teach her."
A little laugh escaped her at the mental image and she couldn't help but smile fondly. The times the two of them had spent training at the Waking Sands seemed so long ago now.
"Who knows?" S'eni shrugged. "I might actually do so."
Widargelt would surely be thrilled to have another disciple join their ranks."Of course we need to find her and Papalymo first, but don't worry. As soon as I return to the Rising Stones, Riol and I will try to see if we can find their tracks." he raised his mug to his lips and emptied the rest with one large gulp before placing it on the table with a satisfied sound. "And on that note, I should probably be on my way."
"Are you sure?" she asked with a frown as he got up. "It's getting late."
"Very. I got ample rest and Revenant's Toll isn't too far away after all." Reaching into his pocket, Thranced placed a few Gil on the table and gave her a little wave before starting to walk off.
Her frown deepened and her eyes came to rest on the coins in front of her. If what Y'shtola had said about him was true, then he would have to walk the entire way, and no way was he as rested as he claimed after the day they had.
Making up her mind, she nodded to herself.
"Thancred," S'eni called out to him and her ears picked up the sound of him turning around. Reaching into her bag, she pulled something out and tossed it towards him.
"Gysahl greens?" he wondered out loud.
"There's a black Chocobo at the stables. Just tell them I sent you and they'll show you to him." Crossing one leg over the other, she turned her head to look at him. "His name is Zack and he'll get you to Revenant's Toll faster than you can imagine."
Thancred stared at her for a moment, his face an unreadable mask, before his lips curled into a smirk. "Finally got one of your own?"
"He was a present, but yes. Don't worry, he'll find his way back to me."
"Well, how could I refuse such an offer?"
"You can't. Say hello to the others from me," S'eni said and raised her glass.
"Will do." With a chuckle, Thancred tossed the greens into the air and caught them, then turned around and left with a wave of his hand.
She watched for a moment as he climbed the stairs before returning to drinking, taking her sweet time and letting the liquor do its work in relieving the stress of the day. Once she was done, S'eni placed the glass on the table and rose to her feet.
I should get some sleep, she thought and started to leave as well.
She took a deep breath as she stepped outside. The smell of burning wood and ash still hung in the air, serving as a silent reminder of what had happened today.
Tomorrow, she knew, would be another day of struggle for the people of Ishgard, threatened by enemies from within and without as they tirelessly worked towards the future.
And all she and her friends could do was to be vigilant and support them as best as they could.