#laaaaaate

He had seen all manner of festivals in his travels. Cooking festivals, horse races, livestock shows, and dozens of New Year's and summer celebration iterations. While the events were fun, the crowd and press of people were often too much. He much preferred simple one-on-one conversations rather than tracking multiple speakers at once. Gustafa often found himself unintentionally listening to other conversations nearby rather than focusing on the one he should be listening to. 

The musician had no plans to participate in Forget-Me-Not Valley’s fireworks show. The town here was smaller and quieter than others, but as he aged, the man enjoyed his peace more and more. Gustafa stood in his yurt, observing his collection of instruments. Which would be the best to usher in the warmth and freedom of summer? Timid knocks on the door broke Gustafa’s focus causing the man to frown in thought briefly. It wasn’t often he had visitors. Curious, he swung the door open, causing the new farmer to jump in surprise. 

“Hey, what’s up?” he pleasantly greeted. His interactions with you in the past month were brief. Gustafa couldn’t figure out why you might be on his doorstep, but he could sense the tension. Gustafa smiled gently as he patiently waited for you to collect yourself. He knew what it was like in a new place and was concerned about bothering neighbors. 

“U-um, would you like to watch the fireworks with me? I-I know it’s last minute, so if you have plans already, it’s fine.” 

Gustafa stood in shock for a moment. This wasn’t anything he had expected to be asked when he opened his door to find you. He meant to stay home and play instruments, only pausing to listen to the cracks and pops overhead before continuing. It wouldn’t hurt to participate, though, especially when you had worked up the courage to invite him. He stepped out of the yurt to your side, chirping,  “Yeah, sounds groovy!” 

He thought the fireworks would be it. After the show, you visited him more. You didn’t always talk; sometimes, you just stopped to listen as he played various instruments. He soon found himself waiting for you as he settled places to play. As you found him each time, excitement would surge through him. Thoughts of you begin to circle his mind, drowning out all other music. His attention focused on writing a song for you. Gustafa’s plans to leave the valley at summer’s end changed. Your song wasn’t finished, and he couldn’t leave without that done. 

The weather cooled as trees changed their colors. Gustafa’s hands felt beyond slick, tightly wrapped around his glass at the Bluebird Bar as he asked you to join him for stargazing. He hid his relief behind a wide smile as he led you from the bar. Holding your hand crossed his mind, but he quickly discarded the thought. What if you changed your mind about spending time with him when you felt how moist his hands were? As he played the final notes of your song, he wondered how much you remembered from the other parts. Did you piece together the message he carefully hid? 

It didn’t seem you had. Nothing changed in the following days. If anything, as autumn changed to winter, you began to visit him less. Doubt swallowed Gustafa, leaving him as desolate as the bleak winter landscape. You were friendly with so many in town. Why did he think there was something special with him over everyone else?

“Gustafa!” you caught him at his door after the Starlight Concert. “W-would you marry me?” 

NAME OF YOUR MUSE: Enambris Ravn’rose, nee Rosen’ash

ONE PICTURE YOU LIKE BEST OF YOUR MUSE’S FC:

I searched for months for an FC for Enambris that I actually liked for the character and never had any luck finding a face that fit, so this is about as close as I’ve gotten!

TWO HEADCANONS YOU HAVE FOR YOUR MUSE:

Enambris spends the majority of her time on the exciting pursuit of national bureaucracy and negotiations, which she finds horrifically boring. The woman is blunt, and as a result she has a particularly tense relationship with her contacts in Ul’dah’s Syndicate, which is not helped by the number of noise complaints generated by her organization’s headquarters, especially in recent days.

She has no scars or any other identifying marks - including freckles - except for a single scar on her face. Far from making her look flawless, her beauty is the sort that is haunting, rather than enthralling, occasionally to the point of distress.

THREE THINGS THAT YOUR MUSE LIKES DOING IN THEIR FREE TIME:

Physical Release - Enambris is completely hooked on adrenaline, and she gets that addiction-fed rush from intense physical activity, namely brawling and sex. Either is perfectly acceptable to her, but the latter is far more enjoyable when her husband is feeling particularly hot-blooded.

Reading - Quiet time is rare for the poor young woman, but when she can get it she prefers to spend that time in the reading nook of the home she shares with Derelict, reading by herself or listening to him read aloud to her, an activity both have come to enjoy.

Dancing - It’s no secret that Enambris can sing and dance, even so far as performing for audiences at clubs and events, but lately she’s enjoyed slipping away from her duties to patronize the Scarlet Pole, a little black-tie den in Kugane where the heavy opiate smoke and swanky music makes it impossible not to take to the dance floor.

SEVEN PEOPLE THAT YOUR MUSE LOVES/LIKES:

Derelict Ravn’rose - Enambris met him when his name was still Cerelik, nearly fourteen years ago, when she was just a girl looking to start a war. Derelict always says that she’s the death of him, but most people are unaware that he means it quite literally. Almost a decade and a half, three deaths and a couple of wars later, the two are now happily married. He’s dangerous, unpredictable, and endlessly shady, but Enambris never could stay away from him.

Belladonna Slater - Enambris’ first shield sister, Bella was reborn from a ritual to cleanse the soul-sickness from her previous incarnation Maidari. The two are still close sisters, and Enambris takes great pride in being the source of Bella’s biscuit addiction.

Caelric Spades - Her right hand in the Network and brother in arms, Enambris has become exceptionally fond of Ric as both a brother and friend. He keeps her honest with herself, and the two manage to occasionally share a brain.

Moebius - An advanced machine intelligence built by Caelric, Moebius has become very dear to Enambris. He’s clever, curious, and childlike, and Enambris finds herself terrified of what trauma lingers beneath his coding after his recovery from the clutches of Wilhasir.

Isuke Ejinn - Kind, quick, and endlessly optimistic, Isuke has endeared herself to Enambris like a little sister, and Enambris has become ferociously protective of her.

Raphael Delarue - Her first friend after leaving Ishgard behind in favor of wandering, Raphael and Enambris have a relationship that can only be described as “intense”, if only because “good” or “bad” are not even close to capable of summing up their strange history. Despite the turbulence and the strain that seems to have slowly sent them drifting apart, Enambris still thinks of Raphael as her dearest friend.

Moth Eitri - The result of an ancient megalomaniac’s insatiable curiosity, Moth has become the darling of nearly everyone in the Network, Enambris included. She thinks of the bug-girl as one of her own pack, and as such Enambris is also fiercely and furiously protective of Moth, as well as Moth’s infant daughter Bee, who is in her uncle’s care.

TWO THINGS YOUR MUSE REGRETS:

The Death of Eloise - A little more than three years ago, Enambris was a participant in an exorcism to rid the abyssal demon Alyris from Eloise Daemond, which didn’t go as planned. Both Eloise and Alyris were killed when the exorcism went awry, and eventually led to the rise of Elizabeth, the ashkin shade of Eloise responsible for the horribly mutated bloodbeasts. The silver lining to this is, of course, that Enambris gained a sister - Belladonna.

Blind Autumn - Enambris believes she was simply not strong enough for the battle that temporarily claimed her life, and permanently claimed the life of her then-fiance Crion. While she is happy with Derelict and their fates are too closely intertwined to have been parted, she bears guilt for what took place.

A PHOBIA YOUR MUSE HAS:

Isolation - Growing up in solitude left its mark, but not nearly as much as the time she spent in her own Purgatory. She still finds difficulty in rooms that are too empty or too quiet.

Read Chapter Ten on AO3

A long day's work would leave her nothing short of exhausted and in much need of de-stressing. Upon seeing a peculiar trail of ice flowers, she already knew who had put them there. There was only ever one person who ever gave her such gifts. The human followed them into the bathroom and as soon as she opened the door, her nose was given a pleasant surprise of perfume and roses. Especially when considering the bathroom was due for a good cleaning.