A Much Deserved Break
The Crystarium was abuzz as S'eni walked across the Exedra, watching the people go to and fro, some chatting while taking their time, while others were in a hurry like busy bees keeping the nest intact. It was a sight she had come to know quite well in the past.
For a while it hadn't looked like the people of Norvrandt would ever have the luxury of just...living their lives, she supposed. But now, with the bright blue sky crowning above the city, they could finally do just that. No Light to cover up this beautiful sight and the last remaining Sin Eaters hardly posing a threat, their population growing thinner by the day.
Yes, now the people of the First could really live.
She raised her hand in greeting as one of the workers from the Crystalline Mean she had encountered in the past called out to her as he passed, holding a box no doubt filled with materials for the next project.
S'eni chuckled. It was good to be back.
It might have just been a week, but with all the errands she had to do back home, it felt way longer than that, and she was eager to see her friends again. Especially a certain someone...
...who just so happened to come walking out of the Trivium, holding a stack of tomes in her hands.
Eyebrows rising in unison with the corners of her lips, she began to make her way over to Y'shtola, who was facing away from her. She followed her lover as she headed across the Exedra and into the direction of the Pendants, making sure to be as silent as a Ceourl stalking its prey while she crossed the distance between them.
She had just managed to sneak up right behind Y'shtola, raised her arms—
"I'd suggest you consider the consequences before continuing," the other Miqo'te said.
—and stopped in her tracks. With a pout forming on her face, she dropped her arms again. "Really should've taken Yugiri up on her offer for training," S'eni muttered.
"And you really think that would have saved you?" Y'shtola slowly turned around.
"Given me a better chance for sure." She offered her a smile, which her lover returned.
"Welcome back. I confess I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."
"Well, I promised, didn't I?" S'eni shrugged. "And with things as they are back home I thought I would take the chance and actually enjoy Norvrandt as a simple traveler."
"That might actually not be—"
"Wark!"
Turning at the same time, they both spotted a streak of black bounding towards them, expertly dodging and jumping any person that might be in the way. Y'shtola only managed to widen her eyes before she found herself tackled to the ground with a face full of black feathers as its owner eagerly rubbed his head against it.
S'eni didn't even bother to hide her grin as Y'shtola tried and failed to get away from Zack's affections. "Aww, he missed you."
"I can—" Y'shtola blew some feathers away from her mouth, "—tell. A little help, perhaps?"
Snickering, she patted Zack's back. "Come on, big guy. Give her some space to properly say hello."
"Kweh!" After one final rubbing of feathers upon her face, her Chocobo stepped back to give Y'shtola the space she needed. The other Miqo'te glared at him for a moment, but only sighed and shook her head when she received a questioning head tilt in return.
"It honestly shouldn't surprise me that you brought him along this time," Y'shtola said and took S'eni's offered hand.
"With Norvrandt free of the Light I thought it was the perfect time for that. Besides, I really missed him," she replied while pulling her up. Once Y'shtola was back on her feet, she leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips before adding, "But not as much as I missed you..."
Her lover was surprised for a second, then chuckled. "Is that so? Then I'm sure you won't mind helping me pick up these books. Seeing as it was your feathery companion that made me drop them in the first place."
Said companion had already walked off a bit again, looking at everything with a natural curiosity.
"What are those for anyway?" S'eni asked as they began picking them up.
"Since you left, we have been looking for a way to send us home, as G'raha Tia's initial plan clearly didn't work out as intended. On my end, I have returned to Rak'tika to see if there might be something of help involving the Ronkan Empire. I actually only returned to the Crystarium yesterday myself," Y'shtola explained.
"Hmm. I see."
After they had picked up the books, they began heading towards the Pendants, earning themselves a few curious looks as the black Chocobo idly followed them.
"So, what are the tidings from the Source? I take it Tataru and the others are well?"
Shifting the books in her arms a little, S'eni nodded. "Yeah. She already knew you guys were alright from Feo Ul. She also told me how things were going at the front. So far the Imperials are keeping to themselves, a few smaller-scale skirmishes here and there, but no large commitment of forces."
"And the Black Rose?"
"Hasn't seen any use yet, thank the gods," she said. "Though I guess even if it did, it wouldn't cause the world to plunge into chaos. Still, I'd rather not see it used at all."
"A small relief, if nothing else," Y'shtola said.
"On a happier note, you'll be delighted to know that Y'mhitra is relieved to hear you're doing alright and that Master Matoya is still as surly as ever." She then smirked. "Oh, and somehow Tataru and Krile managed to find a certain Dragoon and employ his aid."
Y'shtola let out a little scoff. "I wonder how they managed that with how elusive he has been in the past."
"Who knows with Tataru involved?" Their friend could be very scary at times.
Arriving at the Pendants, they brought the books up into Y'shtola's room before leaving the building again.
"I..." S'eni began once they stepped outside, moving over to the waiting Chocobo to stroke his warm plumage. "...also spoke to F'lhammin."
The frown on Y'shtola's face was audible. "How did she take it?"
"Better than expected to be honest. I think deep down she knew even before I told her. Afterwards, we went to the Church of Saint Adama Landama to visit the grave of Minfilia's father. We buried a gem that always meant a lot to Minfilia in it so that a part of her could be with him again." A hand came of rest on her shoulder and she pulled hers away from Zack to place it on top of it.
"I'm sure she would have loved that."
"Yeah," S'eni sighed and smiled, giving Y'shtola's hand a squeeze before turning around. "She would have."
The sound of fast-approaching footsteps made their ears perk up and they turned to see none other than Ryne running towards them.
"Oh, S'eni!" the girl exclaimed when she spotted her and slowed down. "I should have known it was you when I heard about it."
S'eni shared a look with Y'shtola, then asked, "About what?"
"That a Chocobo with black feathers has been seen around Crystarium and—whoa!" Noticing that he was being talked about, Zack was almost instantly in Ryne's face with his round black eyes causing her to back away.
S'eni had to resist a laugh as she placed her hand at the back of her hip and tried to sound as stern as possible. "Zack, that is Ryne. She's a friend. Now give her some space."
"Kweh. Kweh!" He immediately stepped back and stood up straight, but didn't let the girl out of his sight.
"Ryne, this is Zack."
"H-Hello." Careful as to not startle him, even though it wasn't really needed, Ryne reached her hand out and gently stroked him. A little chuckle made its way past her lips when he released a sound of enjoyment at her touch. "I've only rarely seen Chocobos while Thancred and I were traveling, and never a black one."
"There's lots of different colored ones on the Source. Black ones are special because they have the ability to fly. Then there's Red ones..."
"What about them?" Ryne asked, noticing the tone in S'eni's tone changing.
But instead of answering, her eyes took on a faraway look as if she was reliving something she would rather not. So Y'shtola spoke up instead.
"Has your and Thancred's venture into the Empty yielded anything yet?" the other Miqo'te asked.
"Not yet." Ryne shook her head and looked at Y'shtola. "But I know there is something out there. I can feel it."
Hearing that exchange pulled S'eni out of her thoughts. "You went into the Empty?" she asked.
"Yes. With the Light gone, it isn't dangerous anymore, so Thancred and I have been exploring a bit. I want to try and restore it." Ryne gave Zack one last pat before fully turning towards them, a frown on her face. "I just don't know how if I'm being honest."
"If there's anything we can do, just ask!" S'eni looked at her lover, who nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Ryne said, her smile returning. "For now we've come back to stock up on some supplies. Thancred told me to relax a bit, then I heard about Zack here."
"That means you're free, right?"
"Yes." The girl tilted her head a little. "Why?"
"Then why don't we do something together. Just the three of us—"
"Wark!"
"Yes, you too! So what do you say?"
Ryne seemed unsure for a moment, but eventually nodded. "I'd love to!"
"Shtola?" S'eni smiled.
"Hmm, I had originally planned on focusing on my research, but I suppose I can postpone it for later," Y'shtola said and mirrored the expression.
"Great!" she pumped her fist in excitement. That excitement quickly gave way to perplexion though, as she actually had no idea what they could actually do. Ryne too seemed equally stumped.
Thankfully, Y'shtola wasn't. "I might have a suggestion, if you are willing to go beyond the Crystarium."
"Sure. I'm all ears," S'eni said.
The other Miqo'te's smile grew.
A soft moan escaped S'eni as she lowered herself into the hot water, her eyes fluttering closed while the tension, that she didn't even realize she had been feeling, was washed away by this warm embrace, leaving only relaxed muscles in its wake.
Gods, this was good.
"I can't believe I've walked past this place without ever knowing what it was," she hummed and let herself sink in a little further. A little ripple from next to her made her open her eyes again to see a delicate foot dipped in the water and she followed the leg all the way up to look at Y'shtola, her body hidden by a white towel.
"I came across it once while on my own travels, but dismissed it at the time. I take it, you approve?"
"I certainly do." The towel landed on the ground next to S'eni's and Y'shtola slowly slipped into the water, offering her a nice view. "Very much so, in fact."
"Oh, hush you," her lover said before releasing an appreciative sigh.
She tilted her head back to let it come to rest on the edge and looked up at the bright sunny sky. "Now a nice glass of wine and it would be perfect."
"Is that...what people do in a place like this?" she heard Ryne ask and shifted her gaze towards the girl. She stood a few steps away from them, her hand holding tightly onto her own towel and looking around shyly.
"Only if you want to fall asleep and almost drown," Y'shtola quipped.
"And that's why you always bathe in good company," S'eni replied with a smile before turning her attention back to Ryne, who hasn't moved at all. "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"It's, uhm..." licking her lips once, Ryne averted her eyes. "I've...never bathed with someone before. Thancred always made sure I had my privacy..."
Ah, so that's what it was.
"Don't worry, Ryne, we're all girls here. You don't have anything we haven't seen before. Besides, it's only us in here."
And indeed it was, since apparently today was a rather slow day for the Clearmelt bathhouse. But she certainly wouldn't complain about it.
Taking a deep breath, Ryne nodded and began to remove the towel. Covering herself with an arm as best as she could, she dropped the towel and slid into the water, only removing it until she was properly submerged.
"There, better isn't it?" S'eni giggled. "No need to be shy."
"I'm sorry. I suppose I'm still very bad at interacting with people."
A frown formed on her face as she watched Ryne stare into the water, being once more reminded how the girl never really had a childhood. Years trapped in Eulmore and then always being on the road with Thancred had seen to that.
Moving over, she put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Hey, don't worry about it," S'eni said in a warm tone. "No one expects you to be a social butterfly from the word go."
"Indeed," Y'shtola agreed, offering Ryne a small smile. "You are still young and have more than enough time to grow into who you want to be."
"See? Sage advice as befitting of Master Matoya." She grinned at the audible huff from Y'shtola and watched the corners of Ryne's lips curling up.
"Thank you." The girl sighed through her nose and began to visibly relax.
"No need." S'eni affectionately leaned her forehead against the side of Ryne's head before pulling back and returning to her initial spot. A comfortable silence began to set in and she closed her eyes once more, idly listening to the patter of the springs as they worked their pleasant magic on her.
After a while, Ryne's voice broke through the silence, barely above a whisper and filled with relaxation. "This really is nice..."
She hummed in agreement.
"I wish we could do things like these more often."
"Why don't we then?" S'eni asked. Cracking an eye open, she saw Ryne looking at her with a questioning look in those big eyes. "How long will Thancred and you be in the Empty?"
"A few days. Maybe a week."
"Then when you're back, we'll do something again. Let's ask Alisaie to join us as well." She glanced over at Y'shtola. "What do you think?"
"That you have already made up your mind and it would be pointless to fight it," her lover simply said.
"See? So what do you say?"
Much like earlier, the girl seemed to be unsure at first, but was quickly won over and chuckled. "Sure! I'll let Alisaie know when we're passing through Amh Araeng."
With a sound of approval, S'eni closed her eye again, her mind swiftly returning to that relaxed state that made her want to doze off just a little and she let her head come to rest on top of Y'shtola's shoulder.
Maybe just a little...
"Wark!"
"I told you to wait outside!" S'eni sat up, leaning over the edge of the hotspring, motioning with her hand to leave. Zack came closer. "Shoo! Shoo!"
Next to her, Y'shtola just giggled into her fist.
Obligatory Hotspring Episode! I swore to myself I would have at least one chapter like this when I started this.
Oh and Zack's back. *clap**clap**clap*