#sche

You can really read so much into this line: Hal has taken care of many people over time, it’s just who he is. But Azune being “one of the latest and closest to home” makes it hit differently. He’s not just another person… he’s personal. A promise, a memory, and someone tied to loss all at once. That’s what makes it hurt. Because for Hal, this isn’t just about helping someone new, it’s about continuing something that never really got to have an ending. Every act of care carries that weight of what was lost, and what still matters. And maybe that’s why it feels so quiet and heavy at the same time… like love that never really had the chance to be spoken out loud, but still shapes everything he does.

“It’s queer to say it is the summer season, yet the snow and the cold lingers on here in Ishgard,” Akatsuki mused as if to herself. 

Serella wasn’t entirely sure she was speaking in jest or not. She was too busy frantically digging through her pack.

“S-s-s-sure…queer.” Serella managed through chattering teeth. “Why d-didn’t you r-r-r-remind me b-b-before we t-t-t-t-teleported?!”

Akatsuki turned to look at the Paladin, eyes widening in shock as though she had only just realized Serella had accepted her offered teleport…still in her swimsuit.

Akatsuki’s eyes widened in shock, and she moved to help, swiftly pulling a cloak from her pack, though draping it over the significantly taller woman only succeeded in covering her to her mid-thigh, and even then, only barely. Once Serella’s rapidly numbing hands managed to find her own cloak she just threw it over Akatsuki’s, desperate for any semblance of warmth.

“S-s-suppose it’s m-my fault.” Serella conceded, clutching the cloak shut against the howling wind outside. “I’m g-g-g-going b-back.”