#ffxivwrites2020

|| FFXIV write - 2020

|| Prompt #20 - Free Day! - Mind Games

|| Modern AU 

|| Featuring @whitherliliesbloom​, @ancientechos​, @heirsofdiscord​;; Illya, Alphinaud, Laurelis, Haurchefant, Arianna, Emet-Selch, Moth’ir, Thancred, Hien, and Kirishimi

|| 928 words

|| What’s a little game among friends?

|| Now with art by @rosepinkwol​ found here!

“Okay, enough squabbling! We need to get to the bottom of this!” Alphinaud demands the attention of the room. The lights begin to flicker but it deters him none. “We’ve already lost some of our dearest friends to these fiends... We cannot allow ourselves to blame aimlessly!” 

“To be fair,” Hien interjects, standing close to Kirishimi. “Thancred wasn’t keeping his story straight. We had evidence against him and he has been known for being shady.” 

Kirishimi nodded in agreement, although the action had still left her feeling sad. He was full of too many inconsistencies. One moment he had mentioned tailing Moth’ir while doing their rounds, then five seconds later he was at the reactor. Nothing of his added up and their friends paid the price. He simply couldn’t be left alone. 

“You are all still incredibly wrong.” Moth’ir stated, arms crossed and exchanging a look around the room. 

“It was put to a vote, Moth’ir.” Alphinaud lowered his head, shuffling an ilm closer to Illya. “I am deeply sorry-” 

“Save it.” Moth’ir dismissed the young elezen with a wave of his hand. 

This time Laurelis, standing off to the side as she was, leaned forward and offered a tiny smile. “We’re running out of time. Let’s get back to our rounds and go from there, okay?” 

Illya nodded. “We’ve still a lot to accomplish but we can make it.” 

“Optimistic as always.” Alphinaud smiled to the lalafellin woman with a touch of warmth in his voice. 

- - - 

The meeting was dismissed and all in attendance departed. Hien and Kiri took to working on electrical panels, finding safety in groups was the best decision. But the whole ordeal had left her feeling shaken. Among them, one of their friends, was intentionally sabotaging their chances of survival. Blood laced the hands of someone she once laughed with and it unnerved her. 

Had Thancred truly been one of them? A part of her had hoped it was, then at least his removal would not have been for nothing. But it still left her stomach sour as she connected colored cables. Hien busied himself with his own devices, glancing up and giving her comforting smile beneath fading lights. 

Emet-Selch had been removed at the very first sign of trouble. His words were like eels; he couldn’t be trusted as he laughed at them for thinking too much. The majority ruled him guilty and that had been that. Yet Arianna was left alone because of this, treading the shadows in silence as she worked without company. 

Kiri treaded the space between Hien and herself, drawing close enough to lean against the table he was working at. “What if-” She began softly, a hushed whisper so no one would over hear her. “What if I were the killer? Would you kick me?” 

To this inquiry, green eyes lift from his panel, his eyebrows shooting up. “Oh? Are you confessing to me?” He mused and pulled her close. “Any other confessions? Spill them all.” 

She hummed with a giggle but shook her head. “Certainly not! But could you do it?” 

“I would be heartbroken.” 

“So you would?” 

“You wouldn’t be the woman I love if you were murdering people, now would you?” 

“Fair.” 

Briefly they shared a kiss. There was something urgent about it this time. The drive to survive and live and thrive. Hien’s hands at her waist were tightly knotted against her red outfit, lifting her onto the table for a more advantageous angle. 

His lips parted from hers reluctantly, both breathless as they shared a silent moment. 

“And what if it were me?” Hien questioned now, brushing back silver hair from Kiri’s cheek. 

She laughed and drew her arms around his neck to pull him back for more attention. “Somethin’ kinda spicy ‘bout it. Not murderin’ people but... ya’know. Evil Hien.” 

They both laughed, helpless against the need to share another desperate kiss. 

And then the door to their secluded room opened. Both tore away from one another in a flurry of motion, Kiri smothering out wrinkles in her attire while Hien cleared his throat. 

In the doorway stood Illya, lilac bambi eyes wide. “Am I interrupting?” 

“N-Not at all!” Hien stammered with flushed cheeks. “Have you seen the others?” 

Illya smiled and walked into the room further with no real direction in mind. “Yes. I believe we’ve won.” She announced with a softness in her voice and eyes bright. 

Kiri leaned forward, hands to her knees, excitement riddled on her face. “Really? So Thancred must’a really been one of ‘em? And Emet-Selch too! That’s perfect! I bet he was so irritated when we got him in the first round-” 

Both Hien and Illya simply stared at Kiri however while she spoke. They wore smiles on their faces, but after a second look, Kiri’s brows drew together. They weren’t quite normal. Not the familiar grin Hien would often wear. Or the sunshine bright smile from Illya she had grown so accustomed to seeing. 

“Wait-” 

“I’m sorry, Kiri.” Hien moved closer, snatching at her wrist. 

“Wait-!!” 

“No one suspected a thing.” Illya commented and laughed musically. 

Hien chuckled in return as he drew Kiri once more to his chest. “Kind of spicy, isn’t it?”  

- - - 

Dead Chat 

Emet-Selch: What a bunch of idiots. 

Thancred: THEY KICKED ME?! I’M STILL???? 

Moth’ir: Thanny, you were stumbling a lot on your story... 

Ari: I’m sorry, Emet... 

Laurelis: ILLYA AND HIEN BETRAYED US ALL

Alphinaud: She intentionally saved me for last! How very clever... 

Knowing that Lyrin’a, Idristan and Vaelanys were home safe and relatively unharmed had done much for both Marius’ mood and determination. Their wounds, their hurts were not anything that they wouldn’t recover from, even if some of the mental damage would take longer to heal. They’d all been there, they’d all watched him die right in front of them and though he meant more to some then others, it couldn’t have been easy on any of them. Hells, every time Marius killed, he thought the next would be easier but becoming inured to taking life was not so easy. The point was, they’d all survived Thorn in one fashion or another. 

The former archmage had managed to sit up in bed, turn, place Ghost’s feet upon the floor. Flexing the muscles of Ghost’s legs, he heaved himself to his feet... and instantly crashed into the wall next to the bed, winding up in an undignified tangle of limbs on the floor, giving an awkward squawk of a yelp.

“Marius? Are you okay??” a familiar voice called, one hand parting the curtain to reveal Teagan’s concerned features. She was the one on watch at the moment, tasked with keeping an eye on the body in the room next to his. His body. The one with the gaping wound in his throat, the body that he’d died in. Okuni was suspicious of it because it had not yet given in to rigor mortis - and Marius had to admit that it was strange. He knew a thing or two about death and that body should be nearly impossible to manipulate by now. What in all the Seven Hells had Thorn done to him?

“I’m fine, Teagan,” he replied with a grunt, straightening out his legs. One arm landed on the bed and he pulled himself up into a sitting position again, though still on the floor. The blonde hovered worriedly, knowing there was little she could do to help him - that much touch was out of the question. Marius looked up at her, peered at her through Ghost’s silvery eyes. “Really, I’m fine. I promise. I just need to get to my feet.”

“Okay,” she said reluctantly, but then aimed a cheery smile at him. “Just remember, I have a cream puff with your name on it, if you need incentive!” she chirped, before withdrawing, the curtain falling into place again. 

He kept his groan to himself. He hadn’t eaten in days and although Ghost’s body did not require food to survive, the mage missed the physical act of eating and sensation of something tasty and sweet badly. It was good incentive, as incentives went. 

Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward with another grunt, one hand fisting in the sheets, the other pressed against the wall. Stand, stand, stand. Push yourself up, Marius. It took him a good few moments, and when he was finished he was sweat-sheened and panting, but eventually he claimed success, leaning back against the wall, shaky as a new colt. On Ghost’s feet. It was so strange to pilot a body that wasn’t his own. He felt... loose inside of it, as if it was as ill-fitted to his spirit as a cheap suit might have been. With a laugh that wasn’t entirely humorous, he considered how Ghost might’ve viewed the comparison - dimly, to be sure.

He couldn’t stop there though. He needed to see it. To see his body - and yet, inwardly, he shrank away from the prospect. It wasn’t as if he was afraid of the dead - he was the Advocate of the Covenant of Ash and he and Death were well-acquainted on such terms. It would, however, well and truly confirm to him that he was, in fact, deceased. Adrift in the Fog. Dangerously unanchored.

He couldn’t focus on that. His and Ghost’s situation was precarious, all the more reason for him to figure out how to walk, literally, in Ghost’s shoes. How to run, how to weave the Fog, how to reap. He’d look at his body another day, a thought that he considered might be felt a few times before he could muster the strength to go into that room, to look down at himself, so still and cold. 

One step at a time.  

Mingxia drew a long, shuddering breath as she looked out the window in the Fortemps Manor.  Today was one of the nicer days.  The sun was shining and the air was crisp.  If she could feel her legs, she’d have gotten up to go for a walk, but alas, today, her legs might as well not have been there.  The only way she knew she still had them was because she could see them. 

isekai!serafina au. haurchefant has a crush. takes place in ARR (2.0).  

“i came here on a wish, actually.” 

she sits across from him, pale hands cradling a cup of his own hot chocolate.

“i’m sure you’ve heard a tale like this before, many times...”  bashfully, her eyes dip to the floor, avoiding his forever curious gaze. unlike his countrymen, he is far more fervent in his interest of outsiders, a quirk that earned him a familiar notoriety. perhaps that was why she chose to look away, because of his prying--for surely she couldn’t be unfamiliar with attention, for her looks alone could draw the attention of an entire room.

“true that may be, each have their own story, which i’m all the more blessed to hear for myself.” he beckons to her with an open hand. her tall-eared kind was rare in these parts, surely her tale had something different.

“what sort of wish was it that brought you all the way to coerthas?”

something tells him she’s a long way from home--the sparkle of awe in her grey-blue hues, the slight gape that parted her petal lips--the more he looked for an answer, the more content he was to keep guessing.

her gaze ventures downwards towards her reflection in the cocoa, but only for a few seconds.

“i was sheltered for a very long time. it was just me and my mother--” serafina halts herself, swallows, then continues. it still doesn’t sit right to talk about her this way, but this is the truth, plain and simple. but she struggles with maintaining a crisp and clear professional aura expected of someone in her position--like the pages of an open book flipping to the right chapter without a finger as a guide. she doesn’t think her judgment is always the best, so divulging about her past, as white of a lie as she can paint it, isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

“--it’s not that we didn’t get along, but i wanted to see more of everything. i read and read, but it’s nothing like actually being there. i ventured from home, and things happened...” vague as it was, referring to those life-changing events merely as ‘things’ would have felt odd to the clumsy-footed dancer she had begun as, to the clueless girl thrust into a brave new world.

“...and now here i am--with you.” a bit more direct that she’d intended, but she hides her embarrassment with the sweetest of smiles, a smile she knows and wears well, all the while clutching the mug higher to her lips.

“ah--thank you, again, for this...” the smile wears off in a tremble of a giggle right before her tongue touches the drink, casting a gaze in his direction before taking a sip of the cooled-down cocoa.

he’s frozen from across the table, mouth hanging and eyes starlit. he stays frozen while he watches her sip, then eagerly gulp at the sweet drink which he’d so thoroughly prepared, an even sweeter hum of contentment punctuating at the last drop. 

The long wooden table, embellished with fanciful carvings and rolled feet, positively groaned under the weight of the food and drink it held. Sumptuous and savory, the scents that wafted to Khalil’s nose made his stomach rumble. There were roasted hens, glistening with crispy skin, a once-spitted clove-studded whole hog arranged on a platter with a whole apple in it’s mouth, juicy, thick aldgoat steaks and steaming meat pies. Chive-dotted potato salads, sweet potatoes with brandy and brown sugar syrup, bread-crumb stuffings and dolmas wrapped in grape leaves and gleaming with brushed olive oil. And that wasn’t to even begin with the desserts, flaky, crunchy baklava, lemon meringue topped with soft, cloudy egg-white peaks, an entire three-tier cake with rolanberries and blueberries and strawberries all, and what looked like some sort of custard tart with fairie apples and more.

Estinien Wyrmblood/Euphemie de Dansereau 

People watching while volunteering at the Firmament--or rather, person watching.

content warning: NSFW (blowjob, vaginal sex)

|| FFXIV write - 2020 || Prompt  - Free Day - Remembrance  || Post ShB  || Wol x Hien || 724 || References to Girl with No Name & Welcome Back 

|| Hien feels nostalgic for days spent in his youth

I remember the days of Summer We were so close together

It’s during these quiet evenings that he finds himself lost. There’s a sense of longing welling inside his chest, bittersweet and touched with sorrow. Nostalgia for days long since passed. When he still saw the world through the innocent eyes of a child. Everything seemed mystic and vibrant back then. Days that left his heart hammering in his chest as he ran the fields of Yanxia, unaware of the eyes that constantly kept him. 

A wind picks up off the river, he can hear the water lapping against the piers as he walks closer. The very same river he had grown up on; that he could see from his window every morning and every night. Even now, inhaling deep, he is reminded again of those lost days. Many of his memories are here on this river. Catching fireflies with his mother while his father and Gosetsu spoke with words he had yet to understand. Spoken terms such as ‘rebellion’, or ‘war’ do not exist in the vocabulary of a child. At least it wasn’t supposed to. He remembers vaguely questioning his mother, prodding her for answers as to why his father wears a scowl, but is easily distracted when she kneels down and opens her hands to him. Tiny but bright; a firefly sat on her palm. Free to fly off, the small insect drifts off and rejoins the cluster overhead. 

“Like a tiny star, it should be free.” Mina had spoken so softly back then. Recalling her words now, all these years later, still brings a sting to his eyes. 

The same such creatures now reside over the river as he approaches, their glow faint but familiar. Living stars. Free to follow the wind wherever she went. He descends the stairs, his attention ever focused on their messages spoken to one another with light. There’s sadness in knowing that these fireflies are a millionth generation of the ones his mother had last seen. A cruel reminder of times passage. 

The scent of the river rises, filling his senses now that he is but yalms from her current. He inhales deep, drinking in the familiarity of his homeland. But the river brings with it memories of darker days. Of pouring rain and gunshots echoing against stone. It is a distant memory, this one. Cloudy... As if a dream. But it exists; the churning of his stomach and the images beneath his eyelids attest to it. 

There is a girl in these forgotten moments that he tries to recall, but feels as though he’s grasping at water. There, but never tangible enough to hold. If he could only see her face when he closed tight his eyes; it would give his foggy memory some clarity. But with every attempt to catch her, he sees only glimpses. Brief seconds in his childhood where he stood side by side with her; laughed with her; or simply watched her as the wind off the river swept her moonlight hair like the boughs of the trees. 

“Hien?” 

Torn from his remembrance by the name he uses now, not Shun as the memories had been so full of, he drags his eyes away from dancing fireflies that set the rivers surface sparkling in the night. The visage awaiting his response however leaves him slack jawed. 

A memory overlays the current scene. The girl with her pale starspun hair standing at the edge of the pier. He remembers this with startling clarity that leaves him a bit breathless. The ghost he had searched for as a child; a girl stealing from the Garleans very own stockpile and had them soiling their trousers in belief that a spirit plagued their ships. 

The girl with no name. 

But just as mist clears, so did the memory. It was replaced now with the here and now of the moment. The very real sound of the river singing her constant tune; of fireflies dancing and haloing her. A few of these starlight bugs sat upon her raised hand, blinking in tune to his own racing heart. The bittersweet churning in his stomach is instantly eased as the woman before him offers a smile. So familiar and warm. 

It felt like home. 

|| FFXIV write - 2020

|| Prompt #25 - Wish

|| Modern AU - Heart Eater AU

|| wol x Hien

|| 1,713 words

|| References -  Devour 

|| In which a kitsune day dreams and wishes on falling stars

It’s the smell of the trees that bring her back. Longing for the innocence of days since passed. Laughter that fills her ears like music, children at the park playing beneath a glittering afternoon sun. 

She remembers their faces, the tiny little humans who shyly left treats at her shrine, wishing and praying for a game of tag with her. Clean mountain air would fill her lungs as she chased them into the woods, the symphony of giggles as she caught them one by one. Together they ran beneath skies of cerulean blue, so much movement, dancing, sprinting, jumping. Her paws would ache the day after, but she adored every moment of it. With only one human child left to find she hurried through the darkening woods, her nose to the fresh indentations of footprints in the dirt. It was growing late and their mothers had a tendency to worry.