Snowy Reunions
The fight against Garuda was as fierce as expected, but what we didn't expect was for her to rise again after being struck down by our warrior. But that wasn't even the worst of it when Gaius himself appeared, bringing with him his newest weapon, Ultima. Blasted Nero! I hate to admit it, but he outdid himself with restoring this ancient war machine.
It did short work out of Garuda and her summoned brethren, leaving us no choice but to flee.
But not all was lost and upon returning to the Waking Sands we were reunited with two missing friends. And that was not the only reunion to happen, either.
Five years ago, Coerthas had been renowned for its lush pastures, perfect for the breeding of Chocobos that had been one of the Holy See's most prosperous industries. But all of that changed during the Calamity, when the flow of aether had been disrupted, turning the once green highlands into the frosty tundra it was today.
The freeze, as the locals called it, had killed whole herds of black sheep and Chocobos, leaving the entire populace destitute and the Holy See in an economical crisis that the nation was slow to recover.
To S'eni and her two companions though—
"Sooooooooo coooooooolllldddd," Yda groaned, hugging herself.
-it was just damned cold.
"I agree," Y'shtola chimed in, ears resting flat against her head to protect them from the cold wind. "I don't enjoy the cold."
"Wasting time lounging around Costa del Sol sounds so much more appealing now, doesn't it?" S'eni asked her friend with a teasing grin.
"Very much."
"And you were here for days you say?" Yda asked, trying as best as she could to keep her teeth from chattering.
"You get used to it...Eventually." Though today seemed to be especially cold, with the harsh wind from the northern mountains only adding to it.
But despite freezing, S'eni couldn't help but feel elated. When Alphinaud, Cid, and herself had returned to the Waking Sands, it was like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders upon seeing Yda, followed by another wave of relief when she learned that Y'shtola was alright as well.
From there, their group had returned to Coerthas to find information on their friends and possibly formulate a plan from there. What they didn't expect was to find additional information about two of Cid's engineers, Biggs and Wedge, who had escaped the Garlean clutches and were apparently on the run.
Deciding it was best to search for them separately, S'eni had eventually found the Lalafel of the two hiding underneath a bridge, shivering and looking worse for wear. After she had brought him to Monument Tower, where he could rest and warm himself at the fire, she immediately headed back out to keep looking for the Roegadyn.
That's where she had caught up with Yda and Y'shtola, and together they were making their way towards Whitebrim, where Biggs might have possibly fled to.
"I don't think I want to get used to it," Yda replied.
"If we had the time we could have gone to Camp Dragonhead. I'm friends with the knight in charge there," S'eni said. After their brief conversation, the two of them had struck up a friendship real fast as they worked together to clear Lord Francel's name of these false charges against him. "I'm sure he would have lent us some warm coats."
"Ooooh, that sounds so good. Maybe Biggs headed there!?"
"Let's just focus on finding Biggs," Y'shtola then said, effectively ending the conversation.
After a bit of silence that was only broken by the wind and the sound of the snow crunching under their shoes, Yda let out a frustrated groan.
"That's it!" she exclaimed, halting in her tracks. Upon turning to face her, S'eni and Y'shtola watched as she started to do squats. The two of them shared a look.
"What are you doing?" Y'shtola asked.
"Can't you see?" Yda asked right back. "I'm warming myself."
"We don't have time for that!"
"And we won't be any good to Biggs if we're frozen stiff!"
"Say something!" Y'shtola looked at S'eni, eyebrows drawn in annoyance.
"Well..." she replied with a small smile and a shrug. "She isn't wrong."
The other Miqo'te released a sigh before turning to look at Yda once more. "I'm starting to realize how Papalymo must feel."
"There there," S'eni said, giving her friend a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"We really can't afford any—" both of their ears shot up at the same time. "Did you hear that too?"
"Yeah." Shouting. Still a good distance away, but unmistakable. Looking at one another, they nodded and started to sprint into the direction of the voices.
"Wha—Hey, wait!" Yda called out, all but stumbling forward as she tried to dash after them mid squat.
Following the sound, they soon found the person they were looking for, surrounded by a squad of Garlean troops. From the look of things, the Roegadyn was in no mood to come quietly.
Careful not to be caught, the three of them hid behind a rock formation behind the Garleans.
"Our orders are to take you back, dead or alive! Which will it be, engineer?" S'eni could hear the squad leader say.
"Why don't you come and find out, tin-head?!"
"This isn't good!" Yda said, peeking out from behind the rocks. "We have to do something now!"
"Yda is right. He will die if we don't do something."
"Three archers and one pugilist," S'eni counted. "Yda, you take the one on the left, I'll take the two on the right."
The other woman made an affirmative sound.
"Then I will take care of the leader," Y'shtola said.
"On three. One...two...three!" Simultaneously, Yda and S'eni jumped out of hiding and dashed towards the group of soldiers. Their approach didn't go unnoticed, and the soldiers all turned around to see what the noise was.
"He's not alone! Kill them all!" the squad leader shouted, but it was already too late. Jumping high into the air, S'eni dove down leg first into one of the archers, slamming her foot right into the soldier's face and sending her sprawling into the snow, knocked out.
She had barely touched the ground, before whirling around and punching the other soldier's chest three times in rapid succession, knocking the wind out of him and leaving him open for a palm strike that sent him flying backwards.
"S'eni, behind you!" Glancing behind her, she spotted the squad leader as he was about to strike her when all of a sudden a rock hit him in the side of the head, cracking his helmet and hurling him against the rock wall next to them. He didn't get up again.
S'eni looked over to Yda, who had made short work of the archer on her end, and gave her a thumbs up that the other woman answered in kind. She then turned her attention to Biggs, who breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks. And not a minute too soon," he said.
"Are you well enough to walk?" Y'shtola asked, her wand still glowing faintly with aether as she approached.
"Yeah." Biggs nodded but immediately started to slump down. S'eni stepped forward to help steady him.
"Easy there," she said with a smile.
"He's been out in the cold for too long," Y'shtola observed.
"Then let's get him to Monument Tower. Wedge is already waiting there, and I'm sure Cid won't be long."
At the mention of Cid's name, Biggs looked at her in startled surprise but didn't say anything.
"Cid will be so happy to see Biggs and Wedge again! Aww, I love reunions!" Yda said, walking up to Biggs and steadying his left.
S'eni's ears caught another sound in the distance, causing them to shoot up to hear better. Y'shtola's did the same.
"What's wrong?" Yda asked.
"It seems our battle didn't go unnoticed," Y'shtola said.
Soldiers, fast approaching, as well as the telltale sound of...
"Vanguards? Seriously?!" S'eni looked at Biggs. "What did you two do?"
The Roegadyn only chuckled in response.
"Let's better make haste then."
By the time they had made it back to Monument Tower, the four of them had been thoroughly frozen and were all but jumping at the offered blankets.
The reunion between the three engineers was about as heart-warming as expected, and S'eni couldn't help the smile as they proudly proclaimed that Garlond Ironworks was back in business.
But not everything was all cheer, as Minfilia and the others were still in need of rescue. For now, though, they would rest.
S'eni looked over to the three men, who were huddled together and adamantly whispering to one another, no doubt discussing possible plans for their task ahead. Her gaze then turned towards Yda, all rolled up in her blanket and having fallen asleep not too long ago.
"She's been through a lot recently," she said to Y'shtola as she sat down next to her, blanket tight around her shoulders.
"We all have been," the other Miqo'te replied. "But Yda is strong. She won't be so easily defeated. And knowing that there's still hope for the others gives her strength."
"Tell me though," she continued after a moment of silence. "How have you been?"
"After I returned to the Waking Sands, I didn't know what to do. So I did as Noraxia told me and took shelter in the church of Saint Adama Landama," S'eni said. "I...helped put the others to rest. It was the least I could do since I wasn't there to protect them."
"It wasn't your fault. None of us foresaw this attack, so don't blame yourself," Y'shtola said.
"I know," S'eni said, locking eyes with her friend, who sent her a small smile. As cherry pink came to rest upon mint green, she remembered something. "Oh!"
Hand moving into the inside of her jacket, she reached into the pocket she reserved for items she wanted to make sure not to lose and pulled out the bag that she had been given not too long ago. She inspected it for a moment, making sure that it was still intact, then held it out towards Y'shtola.
"While we were preparing for the battle with Garuda I met a certain someone," she told her.
"So you have met Mhitra," Y'shtola noted, taking the offered bag and looking at it. "And what embarrassing family story did she tell you?"
S'eni chuckled and shook her head. "I promise you no stories were being swapped, though it seems your younger sister wishes you would write more often."
"Duly noted. Excuse me for a moment." The other Miqo'te rose to her feet and walked over to Abelie, the Elezen woman who had provided them with their blankets. They exchanged a few words, before heading up the stairs together, leaving S'eni to wonder what that was all about.
Her confusion only lasted a few minutes, as soon enough Y'shtola returned with two steaming cups in her hands.
"Thanks," she said as her friend handed her one of them before sitting back down. Raising the cup to her lips, S'eni took a sip, closing her eyes as the fruity and spicy aroma enveloped her mouth, before flowing down her throat and spreading warmth throughout her whole body.
An appreciative sigh made its way past her lips.
"You know, I promised your sister I would give this to you when I saw you again." Closing her eyes, she smiled. "I'm...glad I could keep it."
"I'm glad you're alright too," Y'shtola replied, nursing her cup in her hands. "When I returned to the Waking Sands and only found Yda, I feared the worst."
With a sigh she shook her head and took a sip of her tea, savoring the taste for a moment before swallowing. "I threw myself into finding out what happened, in hopes I could find information on you and the others. If I had known it was as simple as asking Mhitra I might have written her for once."
S'eni let out a little laugh. "Something to consider for the future."
"Perhaps," Y'shtola replied with a small smile.
S'eni turned her gaze towards Cid and the others, who were still deep in discussion, their eyebrows furrowed in thought.
"We'll get the others back. I promise," she said.
"Already making promises again?" Y'shtola asked with a hint of amusement.
"One I intend on keeping," S'eni replied with a smile and held a cup out towards her friend's. "Let's show the Garleans they picked a fight with the wrong people."
The other Miqo'te looked at her for a moment, before smiling and clanking their cups together. "Indeed."
A comfortable silence set over them while they drank their tea. S'eni found her eyes drawn to the flames in front of them and she listened to a concert of murmurs and light snoring.
Taking a sip, she found herself frowning as a question arose in the back of her mind.
If Minfilia, Tataru, Urianger and Papalymo were at the Castrum, then—
Where in the seven hells is Thancred?