SEASWEPT.

{;EVENT STARTER @theseaswept​}

“Hey Faaaarissss….” Memo called out as she approached again, rather sheepishly. “I know I said I’d get us some food, but, this is all I could find…”

In Memo’s arms were… coconuts. Many coconuts. Why-can’t-she-hold-all-these-drupes levels of coconuts. She really did do her best to find easily edible fruits and veggies first, but she came upon a stash of these, and… well, food is food, right?

“…Do you have anything to open them with?”

“You’re back a lot quicker’n I thought you’d be.” It was spoken with a laugh; he should’ve expected as much, to be fair, because it wasn’t exactly like foraging for supplies seemed like it would be the easiest task. The laugh was cut short, though, by the revelation of many lovely bunches of coconuts.

Faris stared.

“I’ve -- got a sword?”

It was true enough. He had Excalibur with him, at the very least. A blade was a blade, and while Faris couldn’t exactly say he was well-versed in the chopping of coconuts --

“I oft hear that this place is supposed to be familiar to folks, reminiscent of a time period only just gone by…”

“…but I hardly recognize it at all. Why is everything so… neon?”

“Much as I’m used to the concept of ancient civilizations bein’ more advanced than we currently are--”

Maria had no idea where Faris was, or how long she would likely take to get to her house. Well, no, that’s not entirely true; she technically could have actually asked her that via text, but there’s no need to get technical here. She didn’t, that was that, and she then had to try and predict Faris’s arrival time and line it up nicely with the tea she wanted to brew.

She failed completely, by the way, just in case you thought I’d leave you in suspense here. But in fairness to the Old Hunter, it was her cat’s fault. She had jumped up onto a ledge and convinced herself of the notion that she was now stuck forever (”just jump down, you silly thing”) and needed Maria’s help and if she didn’t get it immediately then by god she’s going to scream and she’s going scream loudly.

Maria was just about to grab the cat when the knocks were heard, and Faris’s feeling was right. In fact, Maria made use of her limited Quickening ability to get there even quicker, already opening the door even as the fog was still fading at her feet.

Now, Maria was never one to consider herself affectionate or overly sentimental or, really, wanting to get very physically close to someone. But if Faris were not an exception, there would never be one. So naturally, the first thing she did was wordlessly step forward and hug her.

Not overly tight, not especially awkward, definitely lasting longer than one would greet an acquaintance with. She stepped back, hands still on Faris’s shoulders, attempting to ignore the strange feeling that doing that gave her with much unsuccess.

“It’s very nice to see you again.”

“You got here quicker than I expected. The tea isn’t ready yet. You can thank Vivian for that.”

Faris was not used to hugs. Pirates weren’t exactly a hugging bunch, and, well, neither was she. Might’ve been when she was a young lad, but not exactly so much now. Maria had never struck her as the hugging sort, either. Needless to say, when the door was opened, Faris had not expected to suddenly be met with a face right in Maria’s chest.

“Oh,” mumbled Faris, master of articulation and elegance as ever.

She had no time to do much more processing than that -- if you looked none too carefully you probably could have seen the buffering symbol over her head -- before Maria had stepped away again.

“Lovely as ever to see you, too.”

“Must say, though, can’t imagine it’s any comparison to your feelin’s.” Because while of course it was a joy to see Maria (and Faris still couldn’t quite pinpoint just what that joy was, fool that she was), it had only been what felt like a matter of days to Faris. It had been months for Maria.

She’d rushed a little bit to get over here nevertheless. She wasn’t going to admit that.

“--no, I can’t say that I have.”

What, did something about him look informative? Faris couldn’t stop the snort that rose in his throat, his arms crossed over his chest. This lad definitely looked like he could hold his own, but as innocent as his questions were Faris knew better than to trust like that. With no sign of his men here, so no crew to captain, he felt wildly out of his element; wildly like he couldn’t just believe anything anyone passing by happened to say.

“‘Byleth’, was it? Not the sorta name that rings any bells to me, I’m afraid.”

     “It seems not.”

     “I, too, am also not pleased about the events happening.      I presume you also have important business at home.”

“To say the least. A ship’s in need of her captain, after all.”

And Syldra, dear Syldra...

If they’d done anything to you…

An unfinished thought that didn’t make it to text. There was nothing that she could do to ‘them.’ She didn’t even know who they were. And that was… far too protective, wasn’t it? She wasn’t Faris’s knight in shining armour, nor should she be. Faris is more than capable enough of taking care of herself.

No, she wasn’t going to introspect about that train of thought further, thank you for asking.

[—>]: It helps. [—>]: Thank you.

She never felt like she came across well over text (but if you asked Crow, she was exactly the same) but that felt especially true now. So she was relieved when Faris had, well, invited herself over to Maria’s place—

Oh. Right. She should clear that up immediately.

[—>]: I have a new place. It’s in Archimedes ward this time. [—>]: I’ll send you the address. And a photo. It will be impossible to miss. There will be tea.

Quick, awkwardly formal, and without even actually answering Faris’s question of if she was available or not.

It helps. Those two words themselves were enough for a little smile to creep onto Faris’ lips, the sudden frenzied beating of her heart still a sensation she wasn’t used to nor really able to put her finger on the reason for. Never thought she’d believe that a miserable attempt to figure out texting would have proven itself a valuable method in, uh, proving her own identity or some such, as you do.

--Oh? Her brows raised. A new place, hm? She really had missed quite a bit, then. That was enough for a pang of guilt to hit her again, though she did her best to try to brush it off. Missing out on things -- was just something far more personal than it should’ve been, after all. What was a couple of months when Faris had had a sister that she’d forgotten about and missed out on sharing a childhood with for the majority of her life?

... still too much, that was what.

Well, the mention of the address and tea was more than enough for Faris to know that, whether or not Maria had answered the question directly, she certainly was available -- or else about to free up her entire schedule just to catch up on things. She doubted it was the latter, really, though it did bring forth another little amused huff.

[TEXT] suppose i’ll be seein you in a moment, then

                                                                 *

Or, well, more than a moment, but who was watching the technicalities? Not Faris. She was too busy watching her phone to make sure she was on the right track, but certainly nothing on it called The Technicalities.

Maria’s new place was certainly -- different, than the last. Still, Faris had been to Crow’s, so at this point she was certain that no house anyone showed her that they lived in would possibly phase her ever again. That was a plus.

so he wished to remain and stand his ground against them? it was of little bother to sephiroth whether this stranger did just that or had turned and ran really. what was one more kill upon a pile of so many others? the question the young man posed too was of a comical sort too really, this world little more than a temporary farce; a timeline from a world he was not truly connected to. the only figures in this world that one could even come close to musing his care for, were ones already long dead in his ‘true’ world after all. their lost lives would be of no great consequence, no matter the weight they unknowingly placed upon what was left of his heart. 

“ whether this world stays or dies, it is of little importance to me. i desire only to see the result. to see what fate lies in store for spirale and its puppets. “ came his reply, his masamune raised before he quickly charged forward, meeting the smaller blade with his own massive sword. the sounds of steel clattered, sparks bursting from the point of impact as sephiroth performed eight consistent slashes, speed & strength serving him successfully as he cut through the air with no effort at all. the strength of his whole self returned, this was merely a simplistic exercise of basic skill, but his opponent did his best to match. 

“ clinging to this world is hopeless. if it is not erased by NULL’s hand, then soon enough another will finish the job. “ 

The sound of steel against steel echoed out; Faris’ teeth gritted tightly together as he tried to maintain some level of balance and control, though for all his attempts he knew he was outmatched. Still, he’d been outmatched before, hadn’t he? It hadn’t stopped him then, and it wouldn’t stop him now. His knuckles grew white, his grip on Excalibur’s hilt tightening.

“Clingin’ to any world’s never been hopeless.”

Sure -- maybe it was a fool’s errand, to care about something that he currently was in no place to protect. Had he ever been any place to protect what he cared about? That was debatable, but far be it for Faris to opt to not just charge in when he thought he had a chance at saving something dear to him. He’d been like that at home and he’d been like that here... would keep being like that here.

“‘s more excitin’ to help it all play out longer, isn’t it?”

Faris hadn’t the faintest how long this man had been in the city, but whether or not the city would be erased -- he didn’t really find himself believing it possible. When he’d been here for the first time the whole city had fallen into disarray, had changed entirely... and after all of that, it still pulled itself back from the brink. Maybe it was foolish for him to think that could continue to happen time and time again, but -- it seemed like it could. It seemed like there was always a reason to hope. Even back home, that had been proven time and time again.

“There’s really nothing that would have you wanting to spend more time here? I kinda pity you, then.”

Being out of his element wasn’t the time for cockiness, but Faris couldn’t stop the little smirk that spread onto his face.

for the little time it took between the blade cutting through the air to then slice away a piece of flesh, one might only have been able to blink. mere microseconds did it take for the expert hand to conduct such monumental carnage, the slightest movement a damning display of brutality but composed with an almost graceful and swift fluidity. sure enough, his victim fell and thus did the angel regather themselves; arm falling as his head turned towards the source of the interruption. not that they distracted him from his killing blow, however. 

“ another pawn to these island players, are you? or have you come only to save those that might risk their lives in pursuit of their tepid wants? “ he need not point his sword at the approaching stranger, the brief flashing lights of the distant meteors gliding over the alleyway allowing only the bare minimum of their appearance to bloom beyond the darkness; a masculine frame just notable beyond the dancing shadows. but it was never much in the way of importance who or even what might march his way, after all they were only ever prey. 

“ unfortunately you have arrived only a second too late. their blood still runs warm, but there is no saving those who have doomed themselves to their demise. “ several of the null’s shades drifted into view, but upon inspecting the handiwork done by their supposed ally, they carried on vanishing like smoke through a dark passageway. leaving behind sephiroth to lift his sword and angle it towards the newcomer. “ is your life truly worth the sacrifice for the masters of this game? you exist within a cage, do you not desire freedom from this land? “ // @theseaswept​

He had watched the world be torn apart too many times before. Not only back home -- and oh, Faris couldn’t let himself forget the pit that had formed in his stomach at the thought of having lost Lenna forever to the void -- but here in Spirale, too; something like this was a terrifying sight, but not something Faris hadn’t seen before. He would have preferred to not see Ofiuco in pain, and if he was not already a Warrior of Light and so determined to save his home, wherever that may be, that may have very well been a tipping point.

But he had so much here, too. It hurt, for certain, that he couldn’t have both home and Spirale, because he didn’t want to give things up from either. If his crew, and Lenna and the others, could all be here and be happy... but, to go home, Faris wouldn’t want to lose Maria. He’d lost time already, time that he swore he hadn’t, but months had passed and he found himself returning only shortly before the city tore itself apart again.

So long as he was here, Faris would protect his home to his last breath.

(Maybe he’d come to regret that. Ask again later, ask the wise Ball Of Eights might say.)

Because at first glance, it seemed like he might have been equally matched with whoever this was. Faris’ grip on Excalibur tightened. “I wouldn’t call it a pawn,” he replied, his voice firm. “Ain’t really much for the theatrics of actin’ like I’m some sorta hero, either, I’m afraid. I’m just here to do what I think is right.”

Whoever this was, they must have meant business. And if they had sided with NULL--no matter. Faris had fought worse foes, hadn’t he? (Don’t get too cocky. Don’t get too reckless.)

“I see no need for ‘freedom’.”

“Much as I’d like to go home, I’m not ‘boutta risk the chance of being erased -- especially not while there are things in this city important to me. If it comes at the cost of my life, so be it.”

Excalibur was held out in turn; a pitiful little sight beside the blade of this stranger.

The only thing a proper sense of time gave Maria was an average ability to predict the weather. Wanting to estimate the weather warranted knowing what season it was, after all. But aside from that, there was no proper sense of time in the Nightmare, necessary or otherwise, and there was little need for her to track the calendar in the city in the past either.

But if you asked her right now, she could, without a shadow of a doubt, tell you near exactly how long it’d been since she spoke to Faris Scherwiz.

In the grand scheme of things? It hadn’t been long at all. But there’s a lot of context, you see. Faris was one of the few friends she’s ever truly made, so losing that kinship was unusually difficult. She counted Crow as a friend of course, but Crow was always here, and there was that whole Crow killed her thing that Maria had to come to terms with in that time.

(She was still coming to terms with it.)

Suffice to say, these last near-three months felt like much longer to Lady Maria.

The texts came in while Maria was refilling her cats food dishes, and she decided that checking the texts afterwards was a good idea. When she opened up her phone, though, and took a few extra moments to double, triple, quadruple check that she was reading the screen correctly, she felt like an idiot for risking it.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty and all that, but what if she only had those couple minutes to respond? She would’ve had even more to never forgive herself for, that’s for certain.

TO: Faris Scherwiz FROM: Lady Maria

[—>]: It’s been long.

She was originally going to say ‘long enough’ but worried that would give the wrong impression.

[—>]: It’s not your fault. [—>]: Are you the same?

She didn’t have a plan for if Faris said no.

The replies came in sooner than Faris had expected, and yet still managed somehow to feel like an eternity. If being away for the time she had had suddenly put her more in touch with her feelings or whatever, she definitely wasn’t about to admit to it. Still, Faris couldn’t stop herself from grinning (albeit sadder than she would have liked) once the texts finally popped in.

Would it have been better to have given Maria a call? Well, probably. But Faris would rather keep the initial reunion as simple as possible and if she was already acting like this just over text she would have hated to see herself had she opted to have it be verbal instead. They could meet up later and see just how messy they became then if they felt like it.

[TEXT] i’d certainly hope so [TEXT] if they’ve gone and done anything with me, I’M not aware of it

But she understood the worry. Faris had been in the city long enough before leaving to understand the ins and outs of it; she knew that people could be taken away just to return differently, though such a thing had never quite affected her. She pursed her lips in thought for a moment but dispelled the thoughts with a shake of her head.

No need to mull about circumstances that hadn’t come to pass, after all.

[TEXT] same memory as ever, just suddenly it’s 3 months later [TEXT] and “e.,” if that helps ease your worries any

... weird, wasn’t it, to jump right back into making sure Maria was comfortable? Well, no, not weird, but... maybe Maria wasn’t even worrying. Could just be clarifying the truth of the matter, after all. Faris gave an amused little huff.

Really gone and jumped to conclusions there, eh?

Faris had gone to sleep one night in a city full of snow.

Awakening to there no longer being snow wasn’t so strange, in theory; what was strange was finding herself once more waking up by the hole in the centre of Spirale, once more being treated like she was new to the city. But she had been here before. She had been here just yesterday, hadn’t she?

Only when she glanced at her phone, only when the car pulled up to an apartment complex that was most certainly not the house she had been in before, did she realize otherwise.

It wasn’t January.

Three months had passed in the blink of an eye. Three months where -- she hadn’t gone home, had she? Everything felt the same. There were no new memories from home, and yet three months had come and gone in Spirale.

What came next was a little too rushed. She didn’t even bother heading up to her new housing; she could explore the apartment later. For now, she just kept herself to the lobby, her phone held tightly in her hands.

She seemed to be in one piece. Still had everything important to her. It was like nothing had happened at all, but clearly something had. There was only one thing she was still missing.

Perhaps the most important thing of all.

Her name was still in Faris’ phone.

TO: Lady Maria FROM: Faris Scherwiz

     “i appreciate the sentiment, but it is fine. i was a king… once. i hid that i was a woman during my rule because of the expectations of the time, but there’s no need to do that any longer. it’s more that i’m unaccustomed to being treated as a normal person might, if anything.”

“Oh?”

Hid that she was a woman...

“If Crow invited you, she must think you something special.” Or maybe she remembered Maria bringing Faris up at one point and caught on before even Maria herself had. “I wouldn’t have declined her either. And I didn’t, seeing that I am here…”

“I’m sure Crow wouldn’t mind you visiting any other time you felt stuck indoors, either. If she does, I’ll let you in myself. The gates have learned to open for me.”

Maria handed off the drink, holding on to it for a short moment longer than necessary. It was to make sure Faris had a proper hold of it, you see, and for no reason other than that did her hand subconsciously follow Faris’s as she pulled hers back.

“I was just making sure you recognized it,” she joked back… hardly a joke, really, but she did her best. “I’m not surprised you think so. Dresses…”

She lifted her glass to take a drink, giving Faris one quick wink while she did.

“…terrible things. Suits, much better, much easier to be the second best looking in the room.”

"Aye, well, I don’t doubt that. Pirate captain and dragged into bein’ saviour of this world and that world all at the age of twenty? I’d say that’s a little special.” Not what Maria had meant, and certainly not how Crow would see Faris -- especially given the Faris of Spirale wasn’t really capable of all that much -- but Faris gave a laugh and a little wink to Maria nonetheless. Faris was not the winking type. Why was she winking? The world may never know.

(That was a lie. The world totally knew. It was Faris who didn’t know. ‘Pirate captain and saviour of the realm, age twenty’ was not the same as ‘privy to her own gayness’.)

Faris took hold of the drink, as one is wont to do with drinks, because otherwise they would fall to the ground, and that would be a waste of a good drink. Or a bad one.

“I’ll drink to that.” Faris raised her glass in turn, giving Maria a nod before taking a sip of her own. “Awful! Imagine having a perfectly good anything else available and saying to yourself, ‘no, today I think I shall wear a dress.’ Can’t fathom it.”

... sec... second best...?

“Don’t tell Crow, it’s her party -- but I’d say you’re first best lookin’.”