Chapter Text
“You’re asking for refuge to Gormott?” The woman on the desk asked. She looked very tired. Nia couldn’t imagine that her job could be described as easy, especially with the new diplomatic tensions. “You’re an ex citizen, and this is your soulmate, also requesting to go?”
“Yep. And we need to leave quickly.” Nia rested her elbow on the desk, leaning over. She didn’t feel too good about being pushy with someone so obviously overworked, but she couldn’t see that they had any other choice. “As you can tell, we’re not really welcome on Indol.”
“Just be patient a moment, please,” she said with an exhausted looking smile, and Nia felt Mythra touch her arm.
“Please be nice,” Mythra mumbled. “This is our only shot and they’re not exactly going to start a witch hunt for us right this second. We’re fine with waiting.”
“But not waiting too long,” Nia said, although she reluctantly backed off from the desk a little. The woman at the desk turned to a computer, tapping away at the keyboard. Nia just forced herself to wait as patiently as she could.
“Ships run all day, Nia,” Mythra said gently, casting a look around the room before wrapping an arm around her waist. Nia was glad for the comfort, but it also set her on edge. Who knew who might be watching and judging? “We just need to be able to leave. That’s all.”
“I’ve found your details on file,” the woman at the desk said. “You should be able to get refuge, just take a seat over there and I’ll go sort this out.” Nia wanted to ask how long this was going to take, but she bit her tongue and sat down instead.
It was nerve wracking and she felt like her heart was going to leap out of her chest. She'd been living in fear for so long and she didn’t want to risk anything at this point. She had more to lose now than she’d ever had, what with Dromarch at her side and a fairly okay (well, it was dry) home and most importantly Mythra. If it was all taken away when she was so close...she didn’t know what she’d do.
“It’s gonna be fine,” Mythra said quietly. “You’re practically vibrating, before I ask how I know that you’re worried.”
“I just wish they’d hurry up and sort this out,” Nia mumbled. “Ugh… I hate waiting for things like this.”
“It’s fine,” Mythra said. “We have to wait, that’s just how it is. We can’t do anything to shorten the process, so the only thing you can do is try and stop worrying about it. We’re the closest we’ve ever been to just being okay. So all we have to do is wait, and things will turn out fine.”
It took almost an hour for the woman to finally return, holding a small sheaf of paperwork. Nia shot up out of her chair like it was electrified, and went right back to leaning over the desk. “So?”
“So,” the woman said with a sigh. “You should be fine. Show this to the Gormotti boat captain. If I were you, I wouldn’t show it to anyone Indoline who happens to be on board.”
“Thank you so much,” Mythra said, coming up behind her, and Nia knew without looking that she was shooting the woman with a vivid smile. “This means a lot. And I’m sorry if we’re a bit antsy. It’s a stressful situation. Thank you for being so quick and being so nice about it.”
“Not a problem,” said the woman, giving Nia a pointed look. Nia gave her a sheepish smile, then grabbed Mythra’s arm and pulled her out of the building. It was ten minutes’ walk to the docks from here- five minutes if they ran, though. And she was more than impatient enough to run.
“Slow down!” Mythra said, tugging on Nia’s hand after only a few moments. “Relax. Please. Just let go of my hand and we’ll take this normally. Just taking a stroll to the docks to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend who’s a salvager.” Reluctantly, Nia let go of Mythra’s hand. She knew why Mythra was worried, but she was worried about just the same things.
“Fine.” She slowed herself down, and they made their way to the docks in a tense, excited sort of silence. Nia had to resist the urge to break into a run again when the ships came into view, and she spied the one that was bound for Gormott. “Where are Rex and Pyra?”
“I’m sure they’ll be here in a moment,” Mythra said. Architect her voice was so gentle and understanding. What had she done to deserve someone like this? “They had stuff to pack, after all, and then they have to carry it all here, including all of Rex’s salvaging gear.”
“Mythra! Nia!” That was Pyra’s voice, and she was running towards them with her arms piled full of bags. Rex was a step behind her, carrying even more bags and wearing his full set of salvaging gear. Easier than carrying it, Nia supposed. “Are you okay? Can we leave?”
Nia waved the papers clutched in her hands. She’d taken a quick glance over them and they seemed standard enough, with lots of legal language and a few phrases that had obviously been changed to match Mythra’s situation. “We’re free to go,” she said with a grin. “Give me those bags and go buy your two tickets?”
“Great!” Pyra dumped her bags on the floor and pulled Mythra into a hug, then after a moment reached out an arm to drag Nia into it too. Nia was not a hugging person when anyone other than Mythra was involved, but she could make an exception for right now. She was too stressed to feel the joy that Pyra was obviously feeling right now, but she was getting pretty close.
Nia watched as the pair went off to buy their tickets, gathering the bags at her feet. Someone Indoline approached her and she felt her whole body freeze. “Are you going somewhere?” She asked. Her tone sounded friendly but Nia was immediately wary.
“Gormott,” she said shortly. “It’s all legal.” She glanced at Mythra, and at Rex, who was lingering a couple steps away. An idea popped into her head. “I’m going home with my soulmate.” She reached out, grabbing Rex’s arm and shooting him a ‘you better play along’ glare before turning a bright smile on the Indoline woman. Rex hesitated a moment before doing the same. “You can see our paperwork if you want.”
The woman considered it, looking between the two of them and then at Mythra, and shook her head. “The ship’s captain will check everything when you board. Have a safe journey…”
“Have a good day!” Rex called, tipping her a short wave and grinning brightly. The moment the woman was out of sight, Nia dropped his arm. “That was quick thinking. You did a good job getting her off our back, though I doubt she was here to refuse us anything.”
“Yeah, well, can’t be too safe, Shellhead.” Nia sniffed her hand, and wrinkled her nose. “Your suit smells like seaweed.”
Before Rex could defend himself over that accusation, Pyra came running back with two small pieces of paper in hand. “We had barely enough money. There’s a few small coins left, so I guess we can buy ourselves lunch on the boat. And we should probably get on board, it leaves in five minutes.”
From there, it was a mad rush to pick up all their bags and shepherd the cats onto the ship. By the time they were on, the ship was nearly ready to go, so they sat down in a hurry after showing all the tickets and documents. They got a strange look from the person checking the tickets, but nothing was said when they got to Mythra’s documents. Nia allowed herself to relax slightly. They were nearly there.
It was a full day and a half’s journey to Gormott, even with the tides as favourable as they were. Nia didn’t like being on a ship any more than she liked the thought of staring down into the cloud sea, but it was a little easier to rest in their overnight room when she was able to sleep curled up next to Mythra for the first time.
Her excitement reached its peak when Gormott finally came into view. Torigoth was visibly bustling, even though the sight of the Ardainian base put a bad taste in Nia’s mouth. Seeing the sun shining across the plains, breathing the air she knew was so much fresher than Gormott’s...it was an amazing feeling.
But even better was the feeling of stepping off the boat with luggage in one hand and Mythra’s hand tight in the other. They were free of the prejudice that had plagued them in Indol. They were free to be themselves. And, finally, Nia felt like she’d found the people and place where she could rebuild and have a happy life.