30 Day WoL Challenge 20: Laugh
It had taken her an entire bell to find Eirkâa Demau in the maze that was Kugane. When she finally did, she had to fight back the urge to scream. She wasnât sure her voice would carry that far, anyway.
He was really high up. Worse, he was waving at her. âCome on! You have to see this view!â
She stared up at himâfifty feet above the ground, arm wrapped lazily around a support beam and tail coiled around his perch like a drop from that height wouldnât kill him, Echo or no. â...Youâre bloody joking, aye?â
He flashed his fangs in a grin she could see from where she stood. âThe climbâs not as hard as it looks, I promise!â
She eyed the decorative molding that wrapped around the spire, which he must have used to make his way up. Some of it had his claw marks in it. âYouâre mad.â
âAm not! Come on!â
Honestly, sheâd done stupider things in the heat of the moment, and she could probably use her magic to float back down if she lost her grip. And if the view of the city from above was as lovely as he said, it would probably be worth seeing at least once. Sighing, she summoned Garuda-egi and started to climb.
She made it roughly ten feet off the ground before she started regretting her life choices. She made it twenty before she started really regretting her life choices, starting with leaving the Shroud and going through every one that had led her here, in Kugane, trying to climb up the side of Shiokaze Hostelry in the middle of the night. Bloody...swivinâ hells...my arms are killinâ me, Eirs, how do you do this every day?!
A clawed hand reached down and pulled her to a ledge. âHere.â
She immediately flicked his ear. âThis had better be the kind of view people write poems over, mate.â
âSee for yourself!â
The rest of the climb went much easier when she had help. After another small eternity of aching muscles and suffering, she and Eirkâa sat together near the top of the tower, him leaning against her with his tail curled loosely against her back. It was comfortable here, in the silence.
And the city spread out below them, still brilliant with its lanterns in the darkness. Words failed her.
â...You were right.â
âSee?â
She elbowed him. âWait until Gan gets back from the Steppes and sees this. Weâll never see her at ground level again!â She couldnât help the giggle that escaped her at the thought; the third member of their squad was exactly the sort of person whoâd never stick to the streets if she could jump from roof to roof instead. It was how she and Eirkâa had became friends.
Eirkâa chuckled. âShe was the one who showed me!â
âShe didnât. Are you saying someone actually beat you in your quest to be the first to climb every tall thing in Eorzea?!â She was laughing even as she spoke; it was increasingly difficult to retrain her natural squeaks. Sound carried.
He sighed, ears drooping exaggeratedly. âShe did. While I was dealing with Hancock.â
Apparently, there was someone even Eirkâaâs Echo-granted gift of empathy didnât make it any easier to deal with. This time she didnât stifle her laughter, and it rang out across Kugane.












