· CALL ME OUT (WINTER/HOLIDAYS) ·

[hobbitholmes]

❄️ WINTER & HOLIDAYS

here we come a-caroling
among the leaves so green
here we come a wand'ring
so fair to BE SEEN

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5.0+ spoilers!!

[acoldwind]

[ The matter of returning the Scions home to the Source is indeed a pressing conundrum and, naturally, the Warrior of Darkness has plenty that she could be doing even here around Norvrandt, but Sarangerel has faith that the combined brilliant minds of G'raha, Urianger, and Y'shtola will figure something out. She has to. She has to believe that. With Krile, Matoya, and everyone else in Eorzea working on the problem too, it's only a matter of time. Right?

Well… of course she is still plagued by worry if she stands still for too long, but in spite of herself, there’s one thing that upsets her more when she lets her mind wander. Her thoughts always race to G'raha Tia. Once the Scions can be returned home, she'll have less cause to come to the First and will indubitably be incredibly occupied with the war with Garlemald and the chaos that Emet-Selch left in his wake. She foresees visiting with G'raha becoming a… much more infrequent event and truth be told, she hates to think of that. She left him alone in the Crystal Tower once before; she's not eager to do it again.

It’s silly. She knows that. He's far from alone here in the Crystarium. The people of Norvrandt love him and look up to him. Seven hells, he even has a daughter (granddaughter? She forgets how old he actually is) here now and Sarangerel knows Lyna will continue to care for him as the only family she’s ever had. He’s not alone at all and the balance between light and darkness has returned to this Shard. Finally, the fruits of his labors can be enjoyed in a world with warm, not overbearing, sunshine and comforting, star-studded nighttime.

So why, then, is she so concerned about leaving the First, potentially for a long while if not forever? Sarangerel stares down at the clumps of Lakeland flowers she’s gathered in hand, frowning rather deeply at them. She ought to be doing something more productive with her time, she supposes, but instead she agreed to chaperone a gaggle of young flower enthusiasts from The Crystarium. The children have just returned with their spoils and have already run off ahead back to play, waving farewell to Saran before they disappear out of sight, leaving the Auri woman to wonder for a moment at what the best use of the flowers they gave to her as "payment" for her bodyguard services would be. Even now, when she looks up at the dazzling blue spire stretching towards the heavens, towering above them all, she thinks only of G'raha and how he sleeps within, undisturbed, in her own time, back in Eorzea.

With a deep, slightly forlorn sigh, she begins her long walk to the Dossal Gate. Once there, the guard permits her entry, though they both know the Exarch hasn't sent for her lately. The heavy door groans as it's opened and she passes through, yet somehow Saran is greeted with quite the sight inside The Ocular: the Crystal Exarch snoozing quietly on the steps, surrounded by old tomes, one open in his lap, head propped on a fist, elbow leaning on a knee. Apparently he's in so deep a sleep that he doesn’t even flinch at the doors shutting behind her.

He must be exhausted. His long journey away from the Crystal Tower and his abduction by Emet-Selch no doubt took a toll, and yet she can't remember him ever stopping to take a well-deserved long rest. Instead, he plunged right back into trying to learn the reverse of the summoning spell he used to accidentally pull the Scions here.

Sarangerel smiles softly, sympathetically, her heartstrings pulled on mercilessly at this discovery. As quietly as she can, she approaches and stoops over the sleeping Miqo'te. She plucks two of the small lavender-colored flowers from her bouquet and gently tucks them by their stems into his hair, just by his ear. ]

Exarch…

[ She croons softly. When he doesn't react, she tries again, a bit more firmly this time. ]

G'raha.

i am so sorry how late this is, but now i'm on my weekend!

[crystallinedreams]

[ His journey has been that of a tireless long one. A plan so desperate that surely only those at the brink of destruction would be mad--and intelligent enough--to see it through. Who was he, the keeper of the Crystal Tower, to turn back their requests when they had showed such technological leaps? Not even the Allagans dared to traverse time and space. It was not only that. There was the smallest hint of selfishness in his agreement to take the task. If he could save his hero, the star he used to set his path? Then, all else would be worth it in the end. Even if she might never see him the same way he saw her. She was the guiding force and path in the world. His death would be far worth it--or so he thought. It is rather hard to consider such an option after the lengths the woman he has quietly loved for centuries saved his life.

Instead, now, his eyes turned to rectifying his largest mistake in summoning Sarangerel to the First: The Scions. He must find a way to send them home to their bodies and with her. There is some small part of him that longs to return to the Source with her. While it will not be the Source he knew? He can only imagine that the years worth of wisdom and knowledge he has obtained could be beneficial to his younger self. A way to uphold a promise made to an Allagan princess and to travel with the woman he loves--although it may not be as much of a secret as he had once thought. Regardless of his own wishes, however, he must see the Scions home first.

His ears twitch slightly in his slumber as she places the flowers behind one ear. The exhaustion keeps him asleep despite her calling the name he most often goes by now. Then, his ears twitch once more at the sound of his real name. The tired old ruby eyes open, blinking at first as he raises his head to see might be calling to him.

Truth be told, he hardly expected to see Sarangerel leaning in front of him with a bouquet of flowers.

G'raha startles, both arms extending out behind him to catch his momentum on the small set of stairs in the Ocular. A maddening blush takes his face before he coughs in an attempt to conduct himself as the old man he is. His crystal hand raises to his mouth as he clears his throat. Little good it does him as one can partially see through it. ]

A-ah, Sarangerel! W-what a surprise. I had not expected you back to the Crystarium for some time... [ Although he had certainly hoped. He clears his throat once more before sitting properly and forcing the embarrassed smile down. ] Tell me, is there something you need? Someway I might be of service?

[ Why else would the famed Warrior of Light and now Darkness come to visit him? ]