Above the clouds
After conquering the perilous mountain path, the four companions had arrived at the peak of Sohm Al. Awaiting them was a string of pearl-like islands, floating above a sea of clouds; a domain in which dragon and man once lived in harmony that no mortal had stepped foot on for a thousand years.
Yet it was there, on this seemingly final step of their journey, that they found themselves struggling. By accident, they encountered a particular creature that, despite initial wariness, would assist them in reaching the great wyrm Hraesvelgr.
All it took was the help of distant kin from deep within the Black Shroud.
The sound of a multitude of tiny wings flapping pervaded the air, accompanied by the excited chattering of high-pitched voices that belonged to the citizens of Moghome as they conversed with one another and the group of outsiders that had gathered here.
Sitting a little further away from the hustle and bustle, S'eni let out a chuckle as she watched Kuplo Kopp almost dance around the air in barely contained excitement. Next to him stood Kan-E-Senna, a polite smile on her face.
To think there would be a village of Moogles up here, surprises never ceased to happen.
Dipping her hand into the bag at her side, she pulled out the newly repaired horn that would allow them to call Hraesvelgr. One step closer, she thought.
They had come pretty far in a relatively short amount of time. Now all that remained was to talk with the great wyrm and, hopefully, convince him to help in ending this war. The alternative, well—
S'eni raised her gaze and looked over to Estinien, who stood far apart from the rest of them, arms crossed in front of his chest.
—she supposed he would like the alternative above all.
Shaking her head, S'eni put the horn away and rose to her feet. She looked back over to the others, where the Elder Seedseer was just saying her farewells to Chieftain Moglin. A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered her encounter with the summoned King Moogle Mog; they looked way too much alike.
Or maybe that was just her.
She walked over to Moghan, who had kindly offered to be their guide. In exchange for being allowed to live here, Hraesvelgr had asked the Moogles to keep watch over the old fortress that resided in his domain and served as a meeting place with the great wyrm.
He jumped a little when she approached him, still a little nervous about having all of them run errands for the village to keep them busy. "Well, uh...I'm sure you're eager to be on your way!" he said, hovering from side to side and making his pom pom sway a little. "Oh, did I mention your friend is looking for you, kupo? If not: Alphinaud is waiting for you! I'll just be outside, stretching my wings!"
Without even giving her a chance to respond, Moghan zipped past her and out of the cave. She did a little shrug, before turning to see what Alphinaud wanted. She found him talking with Ysayle.
"Ah, S'eni."
"You wanted to talk?"
"Yes. As best as I can tell, we have all we need for our trip to Zenith, so we shouldn't linger any longer," Alphinaud said. "And the Elder Seedseer and her retinue will be traveling back to Gridania, it would be rude to not give them our thanks before we go our separate ways."
"I agree."
Smiling, he inclined his head. "Shall we then?"
They walked over to Kan-E-Senna and Kuplo Kopp as they were taking their leave. Seeing their approach, the Padjal raised her hand to tell her personal guards to stop for a moment.
"Alphinaud, S'eni," she said. "I humbly thank you for this most enlightening experience. Were it not for you, the existence of these Moogles might never have been revealed to us."
After saying these words, the Elder Seedseer gave them a respectful bow.
"It's us who should be thankful, Elder Seer. If not for your diplomacy, they might have never chosen to reveal themselves to us," Alphinaud replied and, ever the little diplomat that he was, bowed in return before turning towards Kuplo Kopp. "And it was your presence that ultimately won us their trust. It must have taken a large amount of courage to leave the Twelveswood, and we are glad you did."
"It was my pleasure, kupo!" their furry little friend replied, doing a cute little mid-air jump his kind was somehow able to do. "I've made so many new friends, and have so fantastic tales to tell my kinsmoogles back home."
"And it is home that we must return to now," Kan-E-Senna said, her gaze moving between Ysayle, Alphinaud, and S'eni. "May you ever walk in the light of the Crystal, my friends."
Alphinaud nodded. "Safe journey, Elder Seedseer. We must be on our way as well. Hraesvelgr awaits."
Their respective groups turned towards the exit and started to walk. S'eni too was about to follow, when Kan-E-Senna's voice made her stop.
"S'eni, a word if you please?"
"Of course," she replied.
"Please keep an eye on your companion, Ser Estinien—" her gaze moved over to the Azure Dragoon, having quietly headed over to the exit by his lonesome. "I sense a great storm of anguish raging beneath that stoic facade."
S'eni frowned. So she had noticed it too. "I will."
The Padjal gave her a firm nod before turning to leave with her escort.
S'eni lingered for a moment longer, before too leaving the village to join her companions waiting outside.
"Are you all ready, kupo?"
"We are," Alphinaud replied.
"Alright. First things first, we need to make for Asah. Oh...and watch out for rampaging dragons. Hm." He tilted his head a little. "Maybe that should have been the first thing..."
A sigh passed her lips.
As it turned out, Moghan had not been kidding when he warned them about the dragons, as they had been ambushed twice on their journey, and even he seemed to be surprised by the sheer ferocity they were showing. In the end, they had all but made it safely to the ruins of Asah, but that was sadly where the good news ended.
No sooner than they had arrived, their furry little guide looked up and scanned the sky before telling them, much to their frustration, that with the winds howling as they were, it would be nigh impossible to reach out to Hraesvelgr.
So with no other option left to them, their group decided to set up camp in a clearing southeast of the great wyrm's palace to wait until the wind died down.
S'eni was just returning to their chosen campsite after having been urged by Estinien to make sure that Alphinaud was going to be alright while he was gathering firewood, as the young Elezen seemed to be distracted and nightfall was fast approaching.
"I see I was right to worry about the boy's safety," he said after she told him about the beasts she had slain, crossing his arms in front of his armored chest. "Once he returns we can see to our supper."
Estinien turned his head to look towards Ysayle, who was attending to a pot not far from them, filling it with ingredients for a stew.
It didn't take long for Alphinaud to return with a sizable amount of firewood, and soon enough a fire was lit and their stew cooking. As their supper was cooking, the last of the daylight gave way to the night, revealing to them the beautiful sea of stars, looking even more magnificent than that time in Ishgard.
The stew itself was simple, yet very filling, just the right thing after a hard day of travel.
Once they were all done, the five of them had huddled close to the fire, listening to the crackling sounds it made and letting its warmth shield them from the chilly winds of the Churning Mists, sharing a quiet conversation before deciding to call it a night.
But as her companions all drifted off into sleep one by one, S'eni found herself still wide awake, staring into the dancing flames. She knew she should be resting as well, but there was a storm raging inside her mind just like the winds howling around them.
After a while of just lying around, she pushed herself off the ground and, making sure she didn't disturb any of the others, walked away from camp.
Her feet carried her northward and up a hill that overlooked the entire area to the south. Sitting down at the edge, she pulled a knee up against her chest and simply watched. Stretching out before her were the islands floating next to Eorzea's highest mountain, connected to each other like an intricate necklace made of rock and shaped by the ages. Spread out across them were the ruins of history past, standing silent witness to all that had happened over a thousand years ago.
It was like Estinien had said earlier, how can one deny that man and dragon once lived together in peace when all around them were the remains of that time.
To be amongst the first people to lay eyes on them after so long was truly humbling in a way. Her thoughts turned to her more scholarly-minded friends and she tried to envision each of their reactions. Thancred would most likely act rather blasé; Yda would be excited after an initial moment of surprise; Papalymo would look upon it with his usual calmness and Y'shtola...would try to uncover every secret the Churning Mists had to offer.
A fond smile formed on her lips as she imagined her friend going around, interrogating the Moogles and most likely not even hesitating to ask Hraesvelgr some questions if she was here.
Twelve, she missed her. All of them, really, but Y'shtola she missed the most. Part of her wished she hadn't listened to her and remained with them. But when she remembered the look in her friend's mint green eyes, she knew that she wouldn't have let her; would have knocked her out if need be.
Because if there was one thing that Y'shtola Rhul was, it was stubborn.
Just be alright, Shtola... S'eni called out in her mind, hoping that her friend could somehow hear her, wherever she was.
The sound of something snapping pulled her out of her musing and she immediately shot to her feet, whirled around, and raised her fists, ready to strike. But instead of one of the local monsters or dragons, she found none other than Ysayle standing there, her pale skin and white hair almost glowing in the moonlight.
With a relieved sigh, S'eni dropped her arms and relaxed.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing Ysayle said. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's fine," she replied. "I should be the one apologizing for waking you."
"Don't be. We all have things keeping us awake at night." The Elezen woman walked over to S'eni, joining her as she sat back down. A moment of silence passed between them before Ysayle continued. "What troubles you?"
"Lamenting on the past, I suppose."
"Do you wish to talk about it?"
She chuckled, shaking her head. "That's alright. I have more than enough ears to talk to about my worries, I don't need to add another pair."
Placing her palms on the grassy ground, she leaned back a little and looked out at the vast landscape in front of her once more.
"It's amazing, isn't it?"
"Yes. And to think it was the love between a dragon and an Elezen, and the sacrifice she made, that created this. It feels a little unreal."
"Does it now?" Ysayle asked, an amused tone emerging in her voice. "As much as unlikely alliances are part of history, so are tales of great love."
"Hm. I guess? Can't say it's something I'm awfully familiar with."
"Have you never been in love?"
"Going all in with the personal questions, aren't we?" S'eni asked, the corners of her lips quirking upward. She raised her hand when the other woman was about to reply, telling her that it was fine. "Let's just say I've got experience, and none of it lasted long."
It certainly wasn't the kind of love that made her want to spend the rest of her life with them.
"I see. But I suppose that's alright. Love is a strange and powerful thing. Sometimes we find it quickly, and sometimes it takes us years or even decades to find."
"Like Hraesvelgr and Shiva?"
"Yes." The Elezen woman nodded, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.
"Speaking from experience?"
That got a chuckle out of her. "I'm afraid my experiences are rather similar to yours."
"Ah, and here I was hoping for some wise counsel," S'eni said jokingly. "Guess that's just part of the Echo as well."
They shared a laugh at that before falling silent once more and simply staring out into the distance. After a while, Ysayle got back up and looked at her.
"We should return to camp. It's getting late and an important day awaits us tomorrow, my friend."
"Yeah, you're right," she said, rising to her feet as well.
By the time they had returned, what little fire had been left had died, leaving only a few glowing embers in their wake. After bidding Ysayle good night, S'eni laid down on the grassy ground and stared up at the stars above them, letting their glow calm down the last vestiges of the storm inside her mind.
When the fatigue started to finally set in and her eyes started to drift shut, she felt her mind return to what Ysayle had said.
Love, huh? Were her last thoughts before her consciousness faded and she slipped into a pleasant dream where she was greeted by a pair of striking, mint eyes.
Hm hm hm. Gotta work that ship tag, don't I?