synthneon | FF PSL | ❝ for those we can yet save. ❞

[ Rhalgr's Reach is oddly quiet for a place named after the god of destruction.

Alkaid sits atop the Bloodstorm arch, eyes turned towards the sky. Gone are the heavy but lightly colored furs of the snows of Corethas. Instead, they have been replaced by light clothing that is far more breathable. Her dark colored hair has started to grow out, even if the pink in it remains. Her feet dangle off the edge and her hands between her legs as she simply stares up at the stars.

Gyr Abania. A region torn apart by war instilled by the Empire. Fear, hatred, people lacking the strength to continue on. It reminds her of the Isghardians even if their pain and will manifest so very differently. She will not say that one has suffered more, for the people have experienced it differently even if the cause might be the same. Loss of homes, loved ones, lives changed by a foe that seems unbeatable. Yet, she and her sister put the Black Wolf of the Empire to bed. Surely, whoever torments this region should be no different.

Even so... she finds herself staring up to the sky. Her gaze moves from one row of stars to the next. There is no seeking of answers or even thoughts that swirl in her mind. Simply a longing for what lies heavensward. ]

[ It is quiet here... Almost too quiet for K'thisru's liking. Ishgard wasn't loud, not exactly, but when she and her sister left to come to Gyr Abania, it was just beginning to come back to a bustling sort of life following the conclusion of the war that had stretched on for far too long.

There is life here in Rhalgr's Reach, but it is a different sort. There are similarities to Foundation and the Pillars, of course, and it is all too easy for her to see how both this place and the one she has recently left have been touched by war.

They helped in Ishgard, and she is confident that they will be able to help here as well, even though she can't help but feel a little tired after the journey and so soon after helping bring an end to Ishgard's war.

Nevertheless, her steps lead her high up off the ground, navigating steps and ledges until she reaches the place where her sister sits and watches the sky and the stars. Wondering if she should interrupt her, or rather stand back and silently watch, she stays where she is, her own gaze alternating between glancing at the sky and looking back at her sister.

Finally, after a few moments, she moves so that she is standing beside her sister, and she clears her throat to announce herself. ]

It's nice up here. [ And yet she still finds herself missing the soaring spires of Ishgard and the comfortable atmosphere of the Forgotten Knight. ]

[ Alkaid glances up at her sister and gives a gentle smile. A hand lifts from her lap and pats the ground beside her. She'd prefer if K'thisru would sit with her than stand awkwardly. There is no expectation for her sister to ever stand around. In fact, it stands out to her that she does. Usually her sister is far more... direct. ]

It's away from everyone. [ She nods and turns her gaze back up to the sky. ] I think I became too accustomed with the quiet from Ishgard.

[ As well as many other things.

Alkaid sighs and closes her eyes. She does her best not to really say what -- who -- she misses. ]

We're both usually out and about with the camps and seeing how people are. What brings you up here?

[ Exactly why she stood back and waited, rather than just approach her sister without hesitation, she doesn't know. She has never worried overly much about bothering her, but something caused her hesitation. Still, she doesn't miss how Alkaid pats the ground in invitation, and so she moves to sit beside her. ]

It is. Away from everyone, and you can hear yourself think. [ Never mind that of the two of them, Alkaid is the more thoughtful one, more given over to moments of reflection.

But at the moment, K'thisru feels like doing a little reflecting of her own. ]

I wish that we could have stayed in Ishgard a little while longer. [ She doesn't mind admitting that; duty and responsibility brought them here, but Ishgard has begun to feel like a sort of home to her, even if she doesn't have the same sort of attachment to it that her sister does. ]

I did a little of that, but it was getting too loud for me. [ She idly toys with a corner of the tome she carries with her as she considers the rest of her answer. ]

And I wanted to see how you were doing. [ She's certain that Alkaid would have remained in Ishgard if she could have, because she also grew fond of the place and of a certain Lord Commander turned Speaker. ]

Edited 2021-12-29 04:16 (UTC)

If only it was thinking I have been occupying myself with.

[ One might think that is all she might do as the Warrior of Light. Thinking more on what must be done, what should be done. The next step in their plans or how to help people best. Instead, she has simply been looking at the stars and feeling. The feelings of missing her newfound home, of longing for the man who asked her to marry him. Somehow it has managed to take hold and been more of a focus than the worries of the people in Rhalgr's Reach once night descended.

She glances at the tome then raises h er gaze back to her sister. ]

I miss home, Thisru. [ She smiles sadly then. ] I don't regret coming here and aiding the people who might need us. I can never tell someone no if they ask for my help, you know that. Even if part of me desperately wishes to say 'no' and be selfish for once.

[ She looks down to her hands then. Her fingers unhook from the half glove she wears to reveal her engagement ring. It rolls gently on her finger as she turns it here and there. It feels as if half of her will always be in Ishgard. ]

What do you think of everything that has happened? Coming here, and then seeing what the people struggle with. About... Lyse.

Edited 2021-12-30 01:34 (UTC)

[ That admission just makes her worry about her sister more, and she scoots over a little closer because she just wants to be next to her. ]

Well, if you want to talk about it, you know that I'll listen.

[ She wants to know what her sister is thinking and feeling, and she wants to help her with it too, if she can. Of course she knows a little about how she feels, perhaps even more than just a little. The Warrior of Light has clear responsibilities and duties, but that is not all the two of them are. And while K'thisru might be (for the moment) unattached, Alkaid certainly is not. She can only imagine how much her sister must be missing Ishgard and the man she left waiting there for her: the man who very clearly loves her and wants to start a family with her. ]

I know you do; I miss it too. [ She already knows that she could make a home for herself in the place they've recently left, and she hopes that their paths will lead them back there one day. ] Not as much as you do, I'm sure, but-

[ She shakes her head. ] Well, the good thing is, there are two of us.

[ She smiles at her sister, holding out a hand, intending to give her a fond squeeze. ] You could return to Ishgard, and I can help Alisaie and Lyse here.

[ She frowns a little at the mention of Lyse's name, but she carries on regardless. ]

Alphinaud is here as well, and Raubahn. [ She ought to use his proper title, but no one will overhear them up here.

When Alkaid reveals the engagement ring that she now wears, K'thisru glances down at it with an equally fond sort of smile. ] It really is a beautiful ring, and it suits you.

[ And Aymeric, of course, as the one who chose it. ]

I think that it all moved so quickly, but isn't that how things seem to work? As for the people here, I do want to help them.

Lyse... [ She frowns and shakes her head again. ] She should have told us. If not her, then surely one of the Scions could have. Even a partial explanation is better than no explanation at all.

[ Her eyes close before she leans over and rests her head against K'thisru's shoulder. A small sigh follows. ]

Is there much to say other than 'I miss it.'

[ There is always a pang when she sees those who are married or obviously a couple together. She can only imagine it will grow the longer they are embroiled in the fight in Gry Abania. ]

We both know that they will need both of us. Simple things as I want can't take thr forefront when we are in the middle of a war. This war is against man... not dragons.

[ The ring twists on her finger at the compliment. ]

I was in Gridania when Papalymo and Yda found me. They eventually offered to take me to the Scions. All that time, and Lyse never once told me she... [ Then, an angry sigh. ] Any of them should of told us. She should have! How can I trust what they are hiding now? How is it fair they ask us to risk our lives day in and day our doe their causes and their struggles but they refused to tell us?!

[ Her hands clench. ] she recruited me but had the audacity to lie to me the whole time!

[ She doesn't move, remaining as still as possible, but she moves one arm over so that she can wrap it around her sister and hold on tightly. ]

I'm sorry, Lantaa.

[ She can't know everything her sister feels, but she can at least imagine that she feels incomplete and most certainly lonely without Aymeric at her side. ]

I would just as soon have you here with me, but not if you're unhappy and missing- Well, everything. There are other healers, you know.

[ Privately, she believes no one is a better healer than her sister, but what she wants more than anything is for her to be happy, and she clearly isn't right now. ]

I'll give whatever explanations I have to, but you could just quietly leave while everyone is distracted with other things. We'll be all right, Lantaa.

[ Her expression shifts again to one more thoughtful and pensive as her sister vents her anger about what Lyse and the Scions decided to do. ]

It isn't right. They should not have kept that a secret from us, and especially not from you. [ Shaking her head, K'thisru frowns. ] I don't know if I can trust her either, not after this. Work alongside her? Maybe. Trust her again?

[ She isn't sure. ]

Do you ever think that we should have joined with another order?

[ Her weight leans into her sister's hold. Usually, it is the other way around. There is no complaining or the fact being pointed out. Just a measure of exhaustion that may not simply be physical. ]

We both know it isn't because I'm a healer, Thisru. It's because we are the Warriors of Light. We're not just us anymore. We're a status, a figure, heroes. We can't just go running off if we feel like it now.

[ Her tail bristles slightly. ] I'm not sure I want to forgive her. Not yet. Not when she parades around these people and tells them how they should be without a consideration of the place she left behind. I understand not knowing, but how childish can one be after a we have seen so far...?

[ After the people they've lost. ]

The Scions would have found us regardless. We have the Echo and the Blessing of Light.

[ It usually is the other way around, yes, but K'thisru knows she will always be there for her sister to lean on if she needs her. And now it seems as though she does, so she does not shy away from doing her part. ]

But is it running off? The war in Ishgard might have ended, but that doesn't mean that there is no work left there to do or ways that you can help. I am certain that Aymeric would be grateful for any assistance you could offer, both in the city and elsewhere.

[ If the situation were different, she would have tipped Alkaid a wink, but neither of them are really in a jesting mood right now, so she refrains. ]

I'm not sure I do either. I think she'll have to stop her parading around and learn a little, if she can. [ Fine words coming from her, she thinks, because she knows full well that she is every bit as reckless as Lyse seems to be. But she's not the one telling people how to feel or act. ]

She has some lessons she has to learn. [ Like she has had to learn, and a few others of their number such as Alphinaud. ]

I suppose so, but I still wonder how things might have looked if we'd taken another path.

It would seem that way. One of the Warriors of Light abandoning the cause in Gry Abania to deal with the plights in Ishgard? These people do not care about the lands to the north and what their struggle has been. They care about the struggle here, at home, in front of them. The fact their lives have been uprooted, that the Empire has stolen their homes, that their kin joins the Empire with feeling there is no other recourse.

And... I very much doubt Aymeric would approve of me abandoning duty.

[ In fact, she is very certain that he would not. While thrilled to see her? He may question why she had left the fight simply to spend time with him. ]

Ah, I remember saying something similar about you, at one point. Look at how you've grown! [ She reaches up to gently poke her sister in the cheek. ] I think it was around the time we had met NOAH outside the Crystal Tower...

[ A shrug and a sigh is let out regardless of the fun currently had. ]

More Primals around, perhaps. Who knows what the Black Wolf would have done had we not stopped the Ultima Weapon...

I know, but- [ She bites her lip, a look of unhappiness caused by the fact that there is no solution to this present problem coming to her face. Part of her wants to insist that Alkaid return to Ishgard, but there's another part of her that knows it is something that cannot happen, for the reasons that have already been said. ]

I know that you would not be happy having done something like that, and of course, Aymeric would have questions for you as well. [ And in the end, no one would be truly happy.

But then, as if struck by a certain burst of inspiration, K'thisru briefly removes her arm from where she placed it around her sister, and she resolutely clasps one hand around her fist in a determined gesture. ]

We'll have to help the Ala Mhigans to the best of our ability, putting the threat to rest for good and if we can, bringing balance back to this place.

[ It is all a tall order, which she knows full well, even though they have only been present here for a short time. The struggle that they have been dealing with is no small matter, and although her words are resolute, she knows it will be some time before everything is set to rights, if it is at all. They could still fail in their efforts, but they could also get back up and keep trying.

At Alkaid's poke, K'thisru laughs, but it sounds more like a giggle, something she would have done when she was younger. ]

Everyone has to grow up sometime, don't they? If I could do it, then Lyse has a good chance too. [ She pauses then, thinking back to that encounter. ]

That was some time ago now.

[ She falls silent then for a moment or two, pondering how things might have been different and how bad they could have been. ]

🦅 gyr abania — chapter one.

a time of quietness before the revolution.

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