Meeting the Family
Ah, The Enterprise. Safe to say it took quite a while to find her, but eventually we did. And while my memories still hadn't come back, just seeing her was balm for my soul.
But the old girl had taken quite the beating during the Calamity and she was in no shape to get to the Howling Eye, so we stopped in Gridania once more to get all the necessary repairs done.
That took quite a while too…
Nothing's ever easy, eh?
Gridania. Known for its leather- and woodwork, as well as its policy of living in harmony with the Black Shroud, or Twelveswood as the locals call it. A mosaic of beautiful waterways and wooden buildings you would find nowhere else in the world.
One couldn't help but stop to take it all in.
That was—
S'eni released a weary sigh and flopped down on a nearby bench.
—if you weren't sent all across Eorzea again.
After their adventures in Coerthas, which had taken a great many twists and turns but also earned them new friends, Alphinaud, Cid, and herself had found the Enterprise and brought her back here.
But that was where the good news had ended, as the old airship was in further need of repairs. Which wouldn't have been bad by itself, if not for their need to find a corrupted crystal that was just right to dispel Garuda's barrier.
Her first stop had been in Thanalan, which included exposing herself to the energies of a cluster of corrupted crystals, and turned out to be a huge waste of time, as that particular crystal would only strengthen the barrier.
She swore she would have some serious words with Hahasako if she grew a second tail due to this.
The second stop was La Noscea, which saw her facing off against a siren on the dreaded Isles of Umbra. Also a waste of time. Well, perhaps not entirely. She was sure to have saved some lives by chasing away that siren, so there was at least that.
After that, she was sent back here to hunt a spriggan that had eaten what she was after.
By the time she had finally gotten the crystal, S'eni realized that she had travelled one big circle. It must have reflected very openly on her face, as Alphinaud and Cid shared a sympathetic look before telling her to take it easy while they handled the rest.
Closing her eyes, she listened to the ripple of the stream passing underneath the walkway she was sitting on, letting it soothe her aching spirits.
Maybe she should just rent herself a room at The Roost and take a long, hot bath?
Yes, that sounded absolutely delightful right now. But she also didn't want to get up from her seat, as it was quite comfortable.
What a dilemma.
Her ears twitched when steps resounded on the wood underneath her feet, and S'eni cracked a curious eye open when the person in question walked past her. She was just about to lazily close it once more when a glimpse of white hair and tan skin caught her by surprise.
Jumping to her feet, S'eni called out. "Y'shtola!"
But she was already realizing her mistake even before the woman in front of her had fully turned around. This wasn't Y'shtola.
"Ah—I'm sorry!" she said immediately, embarrassment clear in her voice. "I mistook you for a friend of mine and—"
Whatever she wanted to say came to an abrupt stop as a pair of mint green eyes, almost glowing in the light, came into contact with her own.
Just like hers.
The other miqo'te tilted her head, a questioning look on her head. "You know my sister?"
Hearing her speak was enough to get S'eni out of her stupor. She nodded. "Yeah, I d—wait, sister!?"
"Yes, Shtola is my older sister."
S'eni blinked at the other woman. She didn't know why she was surprised; Miqo'te families always tended to be on the larger side, so why should Y'shtola be an exception?
But the family resemblance was clear as day, so no wonder she had mistaken them. But now that she was getting a good look at her, S'eni could spot the differences.
Her nose, for starters, was different. Her skin was also slightly fairer than Y'shtola's, and she wore her hair in a different style.
After another awkward pause, Y'shtola's sister spoke up again. "...I'm assuming she never told you about me then?"
"I...no." S'eni shook her head. "No, she didn't."
"Typical Shtola..." A sigh escaped the other woman. "I'm sorry, but I'm on my way to a meeting. If you would like to talk, then we can meet later at the Carline Canopy. Let's say in two bells' time?"
"Sounds good," she replied and found a smile forming on her face.
Giving her a nod, Y'shtola's sister turned on her heel and continued on her way.
That was...interesting, S'eni thought as she sat back down. The smile on her face turned into a worried frown as her thoughts drifted towards Y'shtola, whose fate she wasn't sure of, and couldn't shake the feeling that she had just made a terrible mistake.
The Carline Canopy was Gridania's biggest tavern, famous for its glass stained windows that illuminated the large wooden room in various colors as the sun's rays shone through them, giving it a soothing quality that was topped off by the sound of the nearby waterwheel.
S'eni was sitting at one of the many tables, throwing the hammer she was holding into the air and catching it.
After her run-in with Y'shtola's sister earlier, she couldn't bring herself to relax and quickly found herself aimlessly wandering around town. Her feet had carried her over to the building that housed the carpenters guild and, since she needed something to keep her mind off things, had decided to give it a try now. Which was in no way at all related to how she had embarrassed herself at Camp Dragonhead.
Turned out, she had quite a knack for it.
S'eni put the hammer back into her pocket and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. Was she being stood up?
Might actually be for the better, she thought. That way she could at least avoid having to lie through her teeth. But she couldn't help but feel curious. This was Y'shtola's sister after all...
Just as she was thinking this, the woman in question was walking right through the front door. She looked around for a moment before spotting S'eni and walking towards her.
"I'm very sorry, I got held up by one of my colleagues," she said and sat down opposite of her. She raised a hand and waved one of the waiters over. "The usual, please."
"Frequenting the place, I see," S'eni pointed out.
"I suppose I do," the other woman replied with a chuckle. "I hope you didn't have to wait long?"
"Not like I had much to do."
"I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, to be honest—Ah, I just realized we haven't even introduced ourselves," she said. "I'm Y'mhitra."
"I'm S'eni. And I apologize in advance if I don't remember your name the first time." Though oddly enough she has been getting better about it. Maybe one of the perks of the Echo?
"That's alright," Y'mhitra said. "Then that must mean you're the new member of the Scions that Shtola mentioned."
S'eni's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "She wrote you about me?"
"Actually," Y'mhitra said, stopping for a moment to receive her glass and thank the waiter. "I write her, and occasionally she writes me back to placate my worries. Shtola never writes me out of her own volition. But the last one I received did mention that the Scions received an exceptional new member as part of telling me to stop worrying about her. And that said member was a fellow Seeker of the Sun."
Chuckling, she nodded. "Yes, that sounds like her."
"So tell me, what is she up to?"
There it was, the moment that she had been dreading ever since she had met her earlier. Feeling her tail stiffening, S'eni leaned back and crossed her legs to hide it.
"I haven't been in contact with her for a while," she replied, eyes avoiding the other woman's.
It wasn't a lie per se. The last time she had seen her had been after the battle with Titan. It was also what gave her the faint hope that Y'shtola was alright, as she had sent S'eni ahead to report back to Minfilia.
"I see," was all Y'mhitra said, taking a sip from her glass. Her eyes widened as if realizing something and for a second she thought she had been found out. "Oh! Would you like to have something to drink as well?"
"I'm good," S'eni replied with a small smile and a shake of her head, breathing an internal sigh of relief. After a moment of silence, she decided to change the subject and satisfy a bit of her curiosity at the same time. "But can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why is it that you don't have a tattoo?" she asked, pointing at her neck. "Y'shtola and the others have one."
"That's simple. I'm not an Archon." Seeing the confused look on her face, Y'mhitra continued. "Anyone that has reached a certain degree of expertise and made a great contribution to one's chosen subject is granted the title of Archon."
"Huh..." So that meant that Y'shtola, Papalymo, Urianger, Thancred, and even Yda were all experts in one subject or another. It...kind of made her feel dumb all of a sudden. "And what's your subject?"
"I'm part of a group called the Sons of Saint Coinach. We made it our goal to uncover the secrets of the Allagan Empire."
"So you're ah, what's the term, an archaeologist?"
"That's right. Many of my colleagues are currently in Mor Dhona. I was meeting with some of them earlier to exchange our findings."
"And you're not with them?"
"Let's just say I'm pursuing my own research right now," Y'mhitra replied with a little smile.
"Hm. You know, I've been around a lot of ruins myself recently. I'm helping a military historian on my off time."
"Oh?" The other woman tilted her head. "It's quite fascinating, isn't it?"
"I found it quite enlightening." In more than one way, as these sights of great battles had served to open the chakras within her. "But it's also a bit sad, knowing what happened there."
Shaking her head, S'eni forced a smile to keep her dark mood at bay. "So I'm guessing being a scholar is the family occupation?"
Y'mhitra let out a little laugh. "Yes, every single one of us. Our youngest sister only recently finished her apprenticeship."
"Eager to join her older siblings, I take it?"
"Jhimei has always been a bundle of energy, and I'm sure she will put that to good use in her own pursuit of knowledge." The other miqo'te looked at her with curiosity in her eyes. "And what about you?"
"I'm afraid there's not a lot to tell there. I'm one of sixteen siblings, most of which are fishermen, and I just so happened to become an adventurer."
"Oh please, there has to be a bit more than that," Y'mhitra said.
"Perhaps. But an adventurer needs a bit of an air of mystery, don't you think?" S'eni asked and sent her a little wink that made the other woman chuckle.
"I suppose you're right," she conceded.
S'eni was about to reply when she spotted Alphinaud hurriedly making his way towards them.
"S'eni," he said as he stopped next to her. His eyes fell on Y'mhitra, before landing on her again. "Pardon the interruption, but Cid is finished with the preparations."
"I'll be right there," she told him. Looking at the other miqo'te, she shrugged. "Duty calls."
"Don't let me keep you. Perhaps we can do this again some time. We could even try to drag my sister here too," Y'mhitra offered.
"Yeah..." S'eni replied, forcing another smile. She raised her hand in parting and turned around to follow Alphinaud when Y'mhitra's voice made her halt in her tracks.
"Here!" Pulling something out of her pocket, the other woman tossed it over to S'eni, who moved her arm to catch it.
A small bag.
"Could you give that to her when you see her?"
"I will," she promised with a nod, before leaving.
As Alphinaud and her made their way to where Cid was waiting, S'eni felt her fingers tighten around the bag, her knuckles turning white.
She just hoped she could keep that promise.
Well, it's not Friday but I still managed to post some.
So a little fun fact, in the German dialogue, Y'mhitra talks like U'odh with the whike stretched r thing he has going on, which I find kinda funny.
Hope you enjoy the little XV easter egg there too. See ya.