#cevi

Cevi knew as soon as she opened the door what had happened. She lives out in the depths of the South Shroud, where she had only received fellow adventurers as guests by invitation of one of her family members. Never once had anyone spoke of inviting this small, terrified Auri girl.

No, she knew her from elsewhere. She had seen her in paintings her daughter made. Paintings of this girl- Olivia- smiling, laughing, her with her daughter. Cevi had always wished to meet this girl in person. She supposed it was about time.

“Miss- ah… Miss…” Olivia trembled, clutching a stack of envelopes in her hands. 

“Cevi,” her voice was kind, soft. This child had clearly seen too many unkind things as of late. “My daughter sent me paintings of you, dearie. Olivia, yes?”

The girl nodded. Cevi invited her in. 

“Come find a seat, darling. Would you like some cocoa?” Cevi led her into her living room. It was a small room, but it had plenty of worn seats to choose from. It was clear how well used this room was, it had been the home of hundreds of gatherings.

Cevi only wished it could have been a joyous gathering this time. 

Olivia nodded, and Cevi was off to her kitchen. When she returned, Olivia was still standing in the room, her eyes scanning the room nervously. Cevi set a mug of hot cocoa on the table, remembering a painting of Aki’s in which Olivia and some tall Elezen man drank hot cocoa with each other. She hoped to bring some joy to Olivia’s day, but given the circumstances, she wondered if that was possible.

“Have a seat, hun.” Cevi motioned to the couch. Olivia nodded, sitting on the center cushion. Cevi sat beside her. She placed her hand overtop Olivia’s shaking hands and nodded.

“Well… Um,” Olivia shook her head. “I’m so sorry, I wanted to stop her!”

Cevi nodded. “It’s okay, Olivia. Nobody blames you, least of all I.”

“But, she- twelve, she did it to save me,” Olivia burst into tears. She furiously wiped at her face with her arms. No sooner did she dry her eyes than did fresh tears flood anew. Cevi pulled her into a hug, which Olivia gratefully accepted.

Cevi let her thoughts run as she gently “shhh”ed the crying girl, slowly patting her back. How much Olivia reminded her of Aki… And how this girl still breathes due to Aki’s sacrifice. She was unimaginably proud, as heartbreaking as it was.

“It should have been me- It was aiming for me! But Haurchefant, he shielded me- and his shield was too weak, Aki pushed him out of the way and took the blow herself- I’m so sorry- So, so sorry!” 

Cevi whispered gentle reassurances, holding her until her last tear was spent, and then some. When Olivia relaxed, Cevi let her go, leaving just an arm around her shoulder. A comforting weight, she hoped. This girl needed it.

“Take a sip, darling.” Cevi motioned at the cooling cup of cocoa. “You wouldn’t like it as much when it’s cold. But we have plenty of fire crystals, I will reheat it as many times as we need.”

“You’re too kind,” Olivia said before taking a sip. “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, my dear,” She said with a smile. “I see why my daughter chose you for a friend. You’re a wonderful girl, you know that?”

Olivia paused, but nodded slowly. Her eyes were glassy and red rimmed, but she wore a small smile. Forced, Cevi assumed. She wanted to turn it into a real one.

“You know, my daughter sent me lots of paintings,” she started, grabbing her own cocoa. She stirred it before taking a sip. “She wasn’t much for writing, though I tried teaching her. That, I’m sure you knew.”

Olivia nodded. “She didn’t tell me she painted until she showed me a painting of you. It is…” she paused, shaking her head. “was one of her favorites.”

Cevi frowned. “You know, dear, she is still with us, yes?”

Olivia nodded slowly, unsure. As though that was something people said but she never truly believed.

“She’s here right now, I’m certain.” Cevi gestured to a dusty chair. It was clear it hadn’t been sat in for months. It was smaller than the others, a comfortable size for someone of Aki’s height.. “That was hers. I’m sure she is there right now, watching over you. Over us. We needn’t talk about her as though she’s truly gone.”

Olivia nodded. “She said she would be a star.”

Cevi smiled. “The brightest star around, I’m sure of it. That girl loves her astrology.” Cevi chuckled.

Olivia broke a true smile. “She does. She would always tell me about the constellations, and how they came to be.”

Cevi laughed. “I taught her most of them! She was so terribly upset her first family didn’t, and I wasn’t going to let that be!”

Olivia nodded. “That’s good of you to have taken her in. She told me you were so good to her.”

Cevi felt her heart lift, like a burden had been lifted off her. “That makes me happy to hear.”

The two sat in silence for a few moments, soaking in the emotions as they sipped their cocoa. Olivia grabbed the almost forgotten envelopes from beside her on the couch and passed one to Cevi. “This was from Aki. I promised her I would deliver these- I have some for the others, too.”

Cevi nodded, taking her envelope and setting it on the coffee table. She would open it when Olivia left. For now, she had a child to take care of. “Thank you, dearie. Why don’t you stay tonight? You can meet the others when they return from their sparring. I can break the news, if you like.”

“That’s your call,” Olivia said. “You know them better than I do.”

Cevi nodded. “Let me take this burden from you, this time,” She took the rest of the envelopes from Olivia. “Come, stay the night with us. You can take Aki’s room, I think she would prefer that to her old lady sleeping in her bed.”

Olivia took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you for your endless kindness, ma’am.”