#berrybloom

Idk where the idea came from but honestly I like it dbsnfbbsbdb

Ishgard really doesn’t deserve this. Smashing her boot into a dragon’s snout, Carnation does her best to channel her frustration. She could die at any moment. Dragon fire is scorching the air; claws have rent the stone and armor around her. Ishgardian knights scream both insults and in pain. This is their life; one thousand years of endless war.

It’s stupid to be here. It’s stupid to risk their necks and burn their lives away for a nation that left them to the Garleans. “So stupid,” Carnation hisses and flips back to dodge another dragon downed by the cannons. Yet here they are, because Alphinaud believes this will win Ishgard back to the Alliance. Even Carnation cannot stretch her idealism that far.

But she won’t abandon these people now. Iceheart’s damage to Ishgard’s wards leaves the most vulnerable open to dragon fire and death. She swipes blood from her gloves and dashes for the next dragon she sees.

It takes affront to the kick she slams into the join of its shoulder. Carnation dodges a snap of its huge jaw and then lunges in. A series of hard, fast blows to its throat make the beast stagger. Carnation twists and her armored foot crushes the dragon’s head aside. It collapses and she hops backward. Her blood is singing in her veins.

The prickle on the back of her neck is as clear as words screamed in her ears. Carnation flings herself to the left. Claws smash into the stones where she should have been. She rolls, absorbing the momentum and then pops back to her feet. This dragon is the biggest yet and she swallows. She flexes her hands out and then back in. “Come and get me!”

The dragon hisses, clicking something deep in its throat. Carnation shifts her feet.

The air whistles, screeches. A blur, all blue and sharp points, impacts on the dragon’s neck. It roars for only a moment and then the lance plunges deep enough. The dragon spits sparks as it collapses into a heap. Dead in a single blow.

Carnation salutes the dragoon as they straighten up. “Nice aim!”

The dragoon salutes back. “Thank you, warrior of light.” She frees her lance and looks back to the sky. Quickly, she leaps back to the higher points of the tower. A sleek, furred tail bluer than her armor trails behind her.

“I didn’t know Ishgard let Miqo’te into their dragoons.” Carnation loses sight of her on the battlements and shakes her head. There’s work to be done.

“He comes! Vishap is making his approach!”

Carnation grimaces as she sees the massive shape land upon the Steps. Now’s the time for the hero and here she is. With a centering breath, she lets herself open like a flower in the morn. Energy circles her limbs, building into a thrum felt by all around. She shouts a challenge and charges for the dragon.

~~

Vishap lies dead; another dragon lieutenant eliminated. Ishgard is safe for another day. She still has a home to return to. 

Helmet removed, J’alia guzzles water from a skein. Her limbs tremble from the exertion. Her aether feels like bare sparks holding her together. She swallows and sits on a stone displaced, but still useful. Her eyes move over the people grouped here and there on the Steps. Many are being tended by chirurgeons. A good handful more are the adventurers that came from the Eorzean Alliance.

One stands taller than the rest. The warrior of light is impossible to miss. Her height, her ears, her very being draw the eyes. J’alia studies her from this safe distance as she talks with her fellows. Despite the blood on her, despite the hours of fighting, despite striking the final blow against Vishap, she still smiles genuinely.

She looks like she has two dozen tales to share. If only there was time. Eorzea and its adventurers and its hero have their freedom.

J’alia has her home to defend. She stands as she sees her captain call. She turns from the warrior of light and puts her thoughts back where they should be. Ishgard needs her.