Slow and Steady

"Good! Yes, very good!" Y'shtola's voice echoed through the room.

S'eni hissed in return, her teeth pressed together and her eyes slammed shut in an effort to ignore the burning pain in her limbs. Fists tightening around the handles she was gripping, she pushed herself up, bringing her body into an upright position so that her feet touched the ground. With shaking arms and quick shallow breaths, she held herself in place like this, feeling sweat run down both sides of her face.

"Now, try to put some weight on your legs," Krile said from next to the other Miqo'te. "Just a bit. Easy does it."

"Easy...does...it," she repeated after her, loosening her grip a little bit so that more pressure was put on her legs. Another hiss escaped S'eni as the muscles in her legs screamed out, but she pushed it away and firmly dug her heels into the ground. A few seconds passed, and she exhaled, opening her eyes to look down at herself. Her face brightened and she turned her head towards Y'shtola and Krile.

She released a happy little laugh...that immediately turned into a yelp when her legs gave out and she dropped on her butt. The other two were at her side in an instant, but S'eni just chuckled and wiped away the sweat from her brow. "That didn't turn out as intended."

"Maybe not, but I'd say you're making amazing progress," Krile said.

"Not amazing enough, apparently," S'eni said, slinging her arm over Y'shtola's shoulder to let herself be helped back up and placed into her wheelchair. She raised her hand when the Lalafel made to reply and added, "I know, I know. Slow and steady wins the race."

Krile grinned at that, because she had been repeating that line ever since S'eni had woken up.

"Certainly makes me envy you guys," she said to Y'shtola. "You were able to move again after a couple of days after you returned to your bodies."

"Those were also rather extraordinary circumstances compared to yours. We hadn't nearly gotten ourselves killed in a duel to the death," her lover replied dryly. "What our bodies went through could hardly compare with that."

"Guilty as charged," she admitted.

"Be that is it may, if you keep this up you might be able to take some steps soon," Krile said.

"Ah yes, like a grown-up toddler." A towel hit her straight in the face, making her jerk back. Grabbing it, she wiped the rest of the sweat covering it off, then sent a little glare towards Y'shtola amidst Krile's giggling. The other Miqo'te just raised a brow. S'eni just handed her the towel and gestured towards the apparatus meant to help her stand. "Shall we try again?"

Her next couple of tries fared little better, though this time she managed to lower herself back on the wheelchair on her own. And while her limbs were screaming and her muscles burning through the entire process, they felt absolutely alive. Krile was right, she was making progress. Slowly, but surely.

The telltale chime of a linkpearl went through the chamber and the Lalafel's hands went into her pocket. Pulling it out, she put it into her ear and pressed down on it. "Yes?"

Krile's face grew into a huge smile at whatever was being said on the other end. S'eni had to strain her ears a bit, but even then all she could make out was that it was Thancred. Looks like he's back, she thought.

He had been away for a few weeks, something about an errand he had to run. She didn't really press the others about it since she was occupied with getting better, and she very much doubted it was anything he couldn't handle anyway. Still, maybe she should pay him back for that nice meal by buying him one in turn?

"Alright. See you soon," Krile said and finished the call. "Looks like we are all done for the day. Why don't you get yourself washed up, S'eni?"

"Yeah, I think I'll do just that," she replied, looking down at her now sweat-stained shirt.

"Let us get you there, then," Y'shtola said, stepping up behind the wheelchair and starting to push it towards the door. As they left the room, pale eyes briefly met with large light blue ones, and they shared a subtle nod that went unnoticed by S'eni.

Getting cleaned up had, thankfully, also become a bit easier in the meantime, though she still needed some assistance. After washing off the sweat and soaking a little bit to soothe her aching muscles, they left the guest bath and made their way down the hallway where they ran into a smiling Ameliance. "Ah, there you are. Good."

"That we are." S'eni cocked a brow. "Did you need us for something?"

The smile on the Elezen's face grew. "You have visitors."

"Visitors?" she blinked once, twice, the confusion in her voice quite evident.

"Yes, and they are quite eager to see you," Ameliance replied and turned around, silently bidding them to follow.

"Shtola? Do you know anything about this?" she asked, looking up at her lover who held a mysterious smile and began wheeling her after the lady of the house. Yes, she absolutely did know about this.

One of the servants awaited them at the double doors leading to the main hall, briefly bowing his head to them as they approached before reaching out to the door handles. They had just opened a gap when, all of a sudden, a tiny, furry form burst through and launched itself at S'eni. "S'ENI!"

She threw her arms up reflexively, barely managing to catch her would-be 'assaulter' and keep herself from getting a face full of Loporrit. Large eyes stared into her own, brimming with unbridled joy, while tiny arms tried to make a grab for her. It was Growingway!

"Whoa! Hey there," she greeted him amidst the rapid strings of words coming from her furry little, struggling very much to keep him at bay. "Yes, I missed you too. Could—ngh—Could you slow down a little?"

Growingway's large ears went rigid, and his hands went to his cheek as realization dawned on his face. "Oh no! I'm sorry, S'eni! I didn't know what came over me!"

"Don't worry," she chuckled and lowered him so that he could jump to the ground. "No harm done."

With a smile, she looked at Growingway. She hadn't seen much of the Loporrits since waking up. The majority of them were all busy on the moon, now that they, too, had to find a new purpose. Only a few were hanging around Sharlayan, but he had not been one of those.

Her brows furrowed suddenly. Now that she was having a good look at him, she saw that he wasn't wearing the Loporrits' usual outfit. Instead, he was wearing a brightly patterned shirt that—

S'eni's eyes widened.

—one would see people wear around the Cieldaleas...

Her heart jumped when Ameliance spoke up, a giggle preceding her words. "My my, someone was certainly eager to see you. But it would not do to leave your other guests waiting."

S'eni's fingers dug into the wheelchair's armrests, heartbeat quickening as she was being wheeled through the door and into the main hall. A small group of people were waiting inside. Familiar faces all, some of which she hadn't seen in a while. Y'mhitra and Count Edmont, who were both conversing with Thancred, but also Lyse and Yugiri had come by. But it was really the two Miqo'te that stood in the center of this gathering that drew her attention and filled her with a mixture of joy and dread that made her body seize up. Their clothes were quite a bit warmer than what they would usually wear, but there was little mistaking them regardless.

It was her sisters; S'neena and S'aria.

Upon noticing their entrance, all eyes turned towards them. Conversation ceased and in fact, all sound seemed to leave the room, but maybe it was also just her heartbeat deafening her to everything. She watched S'neena's eyes widen and slowly step forward, coming to a stop just a few paces away from them.

Her sister eyed her up and down, the look in her eyes growing from initial shock to sadness. It was a familiar one. One that she had seen so many times back when their father had grown sick. Seeing it now directed to herself was breaking her heart twice over.

"Eni..." S'neena said.

"Neena, I—" she was suddenly cut off by her sister bridging the last distance between them and gathering her in a hug. S'eni went rigid, but it only lasted until a sob went through her sister and she returned the hug. Stroking her back softly, she breathed out. "It's alright, Neena. I'm alright."

S'eni didn't say anything further, letting her sister get it all out instead. Once she had calmed down again, S'neena released her and leaned back up to wipe the last of her tears away. Then, quite suddenly, anger flashed behind her eyes and she punched her upper arm.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed, hand shooting to her arm. "What was that for!?"

"That was for not telling us that you are the famous champion of Eorzea!"

"I-I didn't want to worry you all!"

"And a fat lot of good that did!"

"Hmpf, she's right, you know?" her other sister said while coming over, shaking her head. "And on top of that, we also had to learn that you saved the world!"

"Aria...how?" she looked between both of them, before settling her gaze on Thancred. He held up his hands with a smile.

"It was all Y'shtola's idea. She thought it would cheer you up to see some familiar faces," he explained.

"And we are all glad for it," Count Edmont said, stepping forward. "When Emmanellain told us what had transpired, we were all greatly worried about you. Not a day went by when you were not in our prayers. To say that we were relieved upon news of your awakening is an understatement, and it does me good to see you at last."

"Cou—Edmont..." With a warm look on his face, he reached out a fatherly hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"You look good. When Shtola wrote to me after your arrival, I knew something serious must have happened, but she didn't go into detail," Y'mhitra said. The corners of her lips rose into a tiny smirk that matched the dryness that entered her voice. "Now if only she would have deigned to tell me you were awake before your friend came to pick me up."

Y'shtola just rolled her eyes, and S'eni chuckled. Her eyes then shifted over to the last two coming over to join them. "Lyse! Yugiri!"

Leaning down, Lyse gathered her in a hug while Yugiri offered her a bow. The former smiled. "You scared us good, Eni. But I knew you would get back up sooner or later."

"Well, not truly up just yet," she replied and patted the wheelchair. "But I'm slowly getting there."

"Good. You still need to teach me that technique, after all."

"Hoo boy." They both laughed.

"Lord Hien sends you his well-wishes and once more his gratitude for all you have done," Yugiri said, a hand held above her heart. "I, too, wish to thank you, and offer you any assistance I can to aid your recovery."

"Come on now, don't be so formal." S'eni patted her arm, earning a small smile from the Au Ra in return. With a nod, she looked at all of her gathered friends. "So, how was your journey here?"

"Oh oh! I've seen so many trees." Growingway spoke up, rubbing his cheeks in that adorable way that seemed to just come naturally to Lopporits. "All kinds of them."

"I'll say," Thancred said in an exasperated tone, shaking his head. "It was especially bad when we arrived at your village. We had to comb the entire island for him."

"At least it made for a fun game for the kids," S'neena giggled and a round of chuckles went through the group as Growingway grabbed his ears and used them to cover his face. Following that were various stories from her friends, things she had missed while she had been unconscious. As she listened to them, she briefly looked up to find Y'shtola's eyes and sent her a grateful look.

A few hours later, after everyone had eaten and rested from the journey, S'eni found herself in the Leveilleur estate's garden, her wheelchair pushed by S'aria while S'neena walked slightly ahead. With eyes wide from amazement, her younger sister took in the vicinity. As they made a stop near the fountain in the center of it, she turned around with a huge smile on her face.

"This place is so beautiful." A sudden breeze made S'neena shiver. "But so cold!"

"And you were warned about it," S'aria threw in, picking at the fabric of the poncho she was wearing compared to their sister's sweater.

"It's not even the coldest place I've been to," S'eni chuckled.

"Really?" S'aria cocked a brow. "Hard to imagine if I'm being honest."

"Oh yes. There's Coerthas, for example. That is the land Edmont hails from. It's been trapped in perpetual winter for years because of an aetheric shift. And then there's Garlemald." This time it was her turn to shiver. "Now that is cold."

"Amazing..." S'neena said. "To think such places existed."

Heh, if only you knew... she thought, but decided against mentioning venturing to a parallel world or the very edge of the universe. No need to overwhelm them just yet.

"It's incredible, really." Her sister began to look about again. "You've seen so many places, and met so many people. Even a nobleman is among your friends!"

"He's a good man. Helped me and my friends when things were looking pretty bad." An understatement if there ever was one. "Just...don't take everything he writes about me in his memoirs at face value. He paints a far more heroic image than reality."

"Oh?" An amused twinkle entered S'neena's eyes, and she folded her hands behind her back. "Now I really have to ask him for a copy later."

S'eni sighed, covering her face with her hand as S'neena giggled and turned on her heel. She could already picture her reading it to the entire village. But she supposed she could only blame herself for that. And who knew what the two had already heard on their way here? Maybe...

"So, uh, did you manage to see some of Eorzea before coming here?"

"Oh yes. Well, we arrived in Limsa Lominsa. It was far bigger than I expected! But nothing compared to Ul'dah. Hard to imagine people could survive in a place so bereft of water..."

They continued on their walk, accompanied by S'neena's recollection of what they saw during their journey, with the occasional explanation from S'eni about anything she was knowledgeable about. All the while, she couldn't help but notice that S'aria grew a little quiet over the course of their conversation, choosing to instead take in the scenery a bit. This continued until something seemed to catch her younger sister's eye.

"Hey, look over there. A lizard!" S'neena pointed ahead. "Aww, it looks adorable!"

Looking to where she was pointing, S'eni's eyebrows rose when she saw the tiny, pink eft seated atop a finely trimmed shrub. Its round eyes were staring blankly ahead, though the aura of adventure around the little fella was unmistakable. She simply shook her head, at this point she honestly wasn't surprised anymore. At least it wasn't that bird...

Her sister jogged over to get a closer look, leaving the two of them behind. Now that S'neena wasn't there, the silence radiating from S'aria was even more obvious, and while part of her wished to ask what the matter was, she knew to not push her. Luckily, it didn't take long for her to speak up.

"You know..." S'aria said while they watched S'neena hold out her hand for the lizard to climb onto. "Back when you left, I resented you for it. Papa had just died and you decided to sneak out of the village overnight. While we were all still reeling from it all, you were off chasing your dreams."

"I'm sorry, Aria. I never meant to hurt anyone."

"Well, you did. And that's a fact." A note of bitterness entered S'aria's voice, but she sighed and shook her head, dispelling it once more. "Over time, though, I realized that I was actually deeply envious of you. You were brave enough to venture out into the unknown, while I never thought beyond our home. And you became so much stronger for it."

Silence returned, wrapping tightly around the two of them in a way that almost drowned out the sounds of delight coming from their sister. She never had suspected that S'aria had felt that way. Back when Y'shtola and her had visited, she had greeted them like everyone else did. Had these words been bubbling beneath the surface this entire time?

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for," she said after a few moments. "When nobody knew what to do, you were trying your best to fix what was wrong with Papa."

"And it wasn't enough." The bitterness returned.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you are weak. People call me the Warrior of Light, but the sad truth is that being a hero doesn't mean I can save everyone. Far too often, my strength wasn't enough, and people died. Some even that I came to deeply care for. But I continue regardless, for those I lost, and for those I can yet save." She looked up to find her older sister's eyes. "Same like you haven't stopped being a healer after Papa died. And that same strength that made you continue on brought you here, too."

The corners of her lips rose into a smile. S'aria was surprised for a few seconds, before mirroring it. She chuckled. "Who are you and what did you do with my sister? The Eni I know would never be this wise."

"She grew up. Just a little," she said, holding up her hand with a little gap between her thumb and index finger. "And began surrounding herself with scholarly types."

"So it seems." S'aria laughed and the tension dissipated completely. She looked over to S'neena, who was twisting herself a little as the amphibious adventurer began to take an interest in her hair. "If Papa were still alive he'd be proud of you."

"No. He'd be proud of both of us," S'eni replied.

"I don't know about that. In these past years since he died, I feel like most of what I've done was to deliver babies and help with all the little aches our mothers are starting to have. A good thing, I suppose, but I frankly doubt I'll ever be able to treat a sickness such as his."

"Maybe not from the books you have back home. But Sharlayan is the most knowledgeable place in the world. And, as Shtola would heartily attest to, there is more than one way to have an adventure." Their eyes found each other again and she winked. S'eni then nodded towards S'neena. "Now come, let's separate those two before she gets the idea to adopt that Ambystoma."

"An Ambys-what?"

"Long story. I'll tell you about it some other time."

She'll have ample opportunity to do so after all.

So in retrospect, I should probably have included her older sister far earlier than the flashback, but I also hadn't really thought of her back when I wrote that visit to S'eni's village. You see, the prominent ones among her siblings are actually all my retainers in game lol, and S'aria was created as a result of needed another one. Oh well, maybe something to eventually go back to one day.