#mafrea

She couldn’t sleep, not after what happened tonight. In the moment, she couldn’t take the time to truly process what had happened to Catherina. Instead, she was at Mafrea’s side the instant he pulled away from what remained of the Netherseer and walked with him through the portal.

At that moment, there was nothing any of them could do. They had a mission and they had to continue to pursue what needed to be done.

They left the obsidian statue of Catherina behind in that Temple and Rosette had wrangled people together to assign them their respective missions: they had people to hunt and gather information about. The Redressers and Midnighters needed to focus on something -- and she gave that to them.

Afterwards, she looked for Mafrea but the Mage had made himself scarce. Their aetherlink was silent. She could find him if she hunted him...she could call over the linkshell; but she recognized his need for a moment alone and for privacy when she saw. She refrained from disturbing him for the time being...there was always tomorrow.

She paced the halls, restless and unable to focus on any one thing. Reports, her harpischord, reading and research...her mind was too busy. She couldn’t focus.

Rosette left the House, wandering the Beds and her feet took her down to the water. She stripped to her chemise and dove into the chilly water, swimming until it no longer felt cold and her arms burned. She pulled herself up onto one of the large rocks in the center, looking to the sky as she breathed in the night air, uncaring of the goosebumps that dappled her skin from the cold. She closed her eyes, falling into a mindset of reflection...and sending a soft prayer to the Twelve on Catherina’s behalf.

Prepping for Fairy Tale Maps Night! @aetherwatchsociety

More from the “Supply Run”.

Picture credits: @healeremeline

There has been a lot of travelling in my life, recently.

I’ve seen many new places -- new for me -- and many grand sights. Majestic trees that touch the sky, branches unfurled in a canopy that extends far and wide… Seas made of sand, with cascading hills of white coloured dunes… Stars that sit on the horizon, their twinkle matched in the snow that crunches under my feet… Caverns that howl from the wind, trickling water chiming in as the gust abades… Smiles and warm campfires and food shared.

While I deeply miss my family, there is something inside me that echoes with the need to experience these sights, but I do not know what it is. But there is a change coming and gone.

I was already returning to check in, as I wanted my family to worry as little as possible. With the news of Rosette’s home destroyed, and an argument had over the linkshell, my course was set. Returning back to see Emeline in such a state… Why did I leave? Why have I been gone? I felt trapped, looking through a glass wall, unable to reach those I love to provide any help, any care, watching them unravel.

The visions they saw were terrible, and all I could do was watch… watch… watch…

The lantern has guided us to a new place. There is so much more happening here beyond what I can see and understand. I hold the Moonlight Lantern. It guided us to save Jun, it guided us to this new place, and it has guided friends into being family, now. But it is also guiding us away, away, away, from the place I called home for near a year.

I will miss them. Gone they are not, but it is not the same as it was. The comfort of the ship is now in shadow. I only hope the one who carries my Moon and my Sun and my Heart will stay cast in the glow of this guiding lantern in this future that is still yet unclear.

I stand on the other side of this glass. If I cannot reach out and touch, at least I hope I can see my family heal.

---

Dear Kaiara,

Everything hurt, not right now but it did. I think I’m drunk.

A lot happened tonight. We fought Garleans. They were coming to attack with their horrible airships. A group of us boarded one of their vessels. We fought. It was hard. I got shot in the shoulder. Someone blew up a console. The blast was bad. We continued to the engines. We fought some more. I got on a turret. Someone tried to pull me off. They slashed my ankle. A blast ripped through the room we were in. It was bad. Arik and Jun went down, so did all the Garleans. Mafrea took Rosette, Yukiteru took Jun. I carried Arik. We got back to the medbay.

Our ship was bad. Crew I’ve never seen before where strewn everywhere, dead or dying. The med bay was full. Arik and Jun were seen to. I took Rosette from Mafrea. She didn’t want to let go. I promised her I’d put her next to him. He left. Katalin stopped me from going after him. Then Aster stopped breathing, Jun got worse, Maeze was blind but tried to help Jun. I was free to go after Mafrea. He had helped stabilize the engines. He came willingly. I kept my promise. Katalin healed me.

Aster died.

I went to the common room. I needed a drink, I’ve never needed a drink. Corsa’ir was at the bar and I’ve never been more thankful for that. A miqo’te was yelling about not wanting to be alliance cannon fodder. She said Garlean rule couldn’t be worse. I saw red. Corsa’ir told me no fighting. I don’t think I could even though I wanted to. Stupid girl. I will take tonight a thousand times over before living under Garlean rule again.

Never again.

Never again.

Hanging out with some FC mats  ´͈ ᵕ `͈

She didn’t move as she woke gradually, the weight of the blankets and the comforting presence beside her kept her from instantly waking as she normally did. Rose didn’t want to open her eyes as it would have disturbed the peace that cloaked her...but time waited for no one and she had a task to fulfill.

Slowly, her eyes opened to look at the Thaumaturge that slept on and she kept her breathing controlled. Both of them were fully dressed in comfortable clothes; Mafrea had clearly humored her need to not be alone tonight and let her sleep on when she had nodded off whilst they spoke. She knew he had been too tired to probably move from the bed either -- and it wasn’t the first time they had slept so close. Still, he was normally the first to wake and slip away at times like these. The fact that Rose was the first to wake? Clearly a testament of his need for rest.

Carefully, using every stealth tactic and maneuver she knew, she slipped out of bed. She kept her breathing even and slow, gathering her boots, hat, and her over tunic before slipped away from the small living area. She had to carefully move around the massive bookshelves and piles of books, some organized and stacked neatly while others had clearly toppled over from being discarded to the side when not needed. By the Twelve, she swore that his apartment was a like a damned tinder box.

Rose managed to slip out of the apartment, then descended down to the silent lobby of the Top Mast. The sun was just beginning to rise and no one was about, allowing her to focus on the aetheryte near the Observatory in the Beds, her intent to access the private collection of research books within the Vault.

The curtains flew open and sunlight hit Rosette square in the face. She made an angry noise, part whine and part frustrated sigh as she pulled the blankets over her head. “Seriously?!” Her indignant cry fell flat, sounding more like a raspy croak.

Apparently, the House believed she had rested long enough. “For fuck’s sake....worse than my mother...absolutely ridiculous...” She groused as she pushed the blankets off and sat up --

Only to promptly flop back with a hiss of pain as both her hamstrings seized in a nasty cramp. This wasn’t how she wanted to start her day; no, not at all. She just wanted to be able to rest and slowly get herself put back together. She pushed her heels down, gasping at the sharp pains of a double charlie horse began to slowly ebb. Leave it to the damned house to believe she couldn’t have a lazy, post-recovery day in bed.

Nearly two hours later she was bathed, dressed in clothes that she reserved for training, and wandered into the woods just beyond Gridania’s secure walls. She inhaled the forest’s air, just the faintest note of cold in it from the weather...but it was refreshing and she felt more like herself, save for some lingering aches and some fatigue. Away from the house, from the rest of the Redressers, Midnighters, and Circle...she could follow through with her plans. 

Even with the image of a disapproving frown in her mind, one from from a blond conjurer and one from a “thaumaturge”, she pulled the pair of claws from her belt and slipped her slender fingers into the leather gloves. She inhaled sharply, shuddering at the sensation of donning them -- like a key turning in a lock, the anticipation that coursed through her was like a hit of a drug.

Her heartbeat picked up and her very soul reacted to the specially crafted weapon, her aether rushing to the surface as she curled her fingers and the sharp tips sank into the heel of her palms. Blood dripped over the finely crafted aurum regis, the etchings beginning to glow and she grimaced as her body protested the aether usage -- too soon, too soon -- but Rosette grit her teeth. Muscles were meant to be worked to build strength; she had to get better with this. She had to build her reserves.

She began to go through her katas, palm thrusts, kicks, and carefully testing what she could do without straining herself. She pushed her aether into Silverlight, the claws glowing brightly to cast stark shadows in the small glade. Freedom. Adrenaline. Heat. Fire. Every nerve ending was alive. She was alive.

It wasn’t long, perhaps an hour? Give or take. Sweat soaked, pale, and a headache pounding behind her eyes...she pulled the claws off and dropped with them to the forest floor. She trembled, her legs feeling like rubber and her teeth chattered. “Shite...” She panted harshly as she gulped for air, reaching for the waterskin nearby and she greedily drank from it. Her lungs burned from the aether usage and the training, but she was beginning to catch her back as she collapsed back against the cool grass. She stared up at the sunlight dancing through the boughs, ignoring the sluggish ooze of blood from her palms.