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It had been on a whim he had returned to Gridiania for some low-end job. The Twin Adders wanted a patient, experienced warrior; able to swoop in and help the new recruits if things went bad. They didn’t care who, but had requested Kafe specifically. Now, it was quite brave of them to ask the Warrior of Light to oversee something as simple as this, but Kafe needed a break from the Garlean front. Needed a breath of fresh air away from having to bleed on soil he had bled far too much on already.
So here he was, back in the comfort of the Black Shroud, tending to a bunch of greenhorn recruits who stared at him with far too much awe. Their eyes sparkled when he appeared in front of them, having heard stories blown far out of proportion. Kafe didn’t care for such things, but he was irked by their worshipping whispers. The gleam in their eyes was familiar and worrisome.
One in particular, a young seeker miqo’te with bright pink eyes and hair as dark as Kafe’s own, absolutely attached himself to the Warrior’s side.
The worst part was that he was actually much taller than Kafe, who was already quite short for a male miqo’te. But he tried not to let it bother him.
The small group consisted of Kafe, three of the new recruits and their captain; two miqo’te and an elezen, all young and bright-eyed. Their captain was an older hyur, wrinkles under his eyes from probably dealing with this group. Kafe humoured them as much as he could, but the incessant questions tired him out fairly quickly, and he retreated to the edge of their campsite they had jumbled together for the evening. Unfortunately, the miqo’te Kafe was trying most to avoid for his own sanity insisted on keeping him company.
“Ser Oubastet, have you finished your meal? There’s still some left over if you want?” Sparkling pink eyes stared intently at him, and Kafe stared back with his own tired mismatched pair. He was indeed a patient man, and to his credit, he wanted to do good more than anything else in the world. And he had said yes to this endeavor. After the continued hardened years battling for his life, Kafe preferred quiet and keeping to himself. His well-maintained patience was meeting the knife now.
“I am fine, thank you.” Kafe answered, going back to his bow and fixing the wire; making sure it was taut and ready if he was needed.
“Have I introduced myself? I’m called A’Bast! It’s such an honor to be working with you!” Chirped the miqo’te, going to sit beside Kafe. He put his lance into his lap, leisurely taking a whetstone to the blade.
Kafe turned his eyes but not his head, and then observed the way A’Bast was sharpening the lance. He reached out, taking the whetstone in a hand and the lance in his other. A’Bast looked shocked for a moment, the tip of his tail twitching.
“Your hands are all over the place. You need to be more fluid.” Kafe explained, giving the lance a few swipes before he handed it back. Grinning from ear to ear, A’Bast nodded.
“Thank you! I had no idea I was doing it so wrong this whole time. I guess my father wasn’t the seasoned warrior he said he was, haha!” He shrugged his shoulders. “You seem to know how to carry a lance! How does a bard such as yourself have the skill? Well, I’m honestly not surprised, you’re the Warrior of Light after all!” He went on, ears flicking as he eagerly kept the conversation going. He seemed to not be able to read the mood, oblivious to Kafe’s exhausted expression.
“I’m well-versed in many jobs. I’ve been trained under dragoons far better than I am.” Relenting, Kafe decided to go along, knowing A’Bast would just keep talking. It was getting late, so he would just leave once he was much too tired to keep going. That seemed to pique A’Bast’s interest tenfold, and his mouth turned into a large ‘O’.
“So you’ve even become a dragoon, then! Amazing!”
“Not really.”
“No, it is! Not many lancers go that far, honestly! I know so many in the guild who are content to stay where they are! What other jobs are you good at?”
Internally counting his soul crystals, which weren’t too many, Kafe leaned back. He put his bow to the side, tail twitching at certain memories.
“Machinist. Red Mage… Dark Knight.”
“Woooow… the Warrior of Light is really amazing, huh? So versatile!” A’Bast all but swooned, staring at Kafe with red cheeks. Glancing at him again, Kafe frowned. He could tell the young man was being absolutely genuine, but those were the types that were sometimes just as annoying by those who faked it. The admiration, the flattering, the unconditional adoration was all too much. And it grated Kafe something fierce.
A’Bast put away the whetstone, rummaging again in his bag. He brought out a piece of canvas with light scribbling and drawing all over it. Smoothing it out, he turned it around, trying to get the correct angle. Offering it over to Kafe, A’Bast laid it out on the other miqo’te’s knee. “Ser, the captain asked me to go over our plans for tomorrow. Seems he’s too nervous to ask you himself! Can’t say I blame him!”
Glancing at him, Kafe took the canvas and studied it. He was grateful for the drawings, but the words… He couldn’t read them. Could never read them.
Scrunching up his nose, he handed it back to A’Bast, saying in a low tone, “I can’t have an opinion, this is all on you. I’m sure you’ll all come out of it fine.”
Ears perked forwards as he tilted his head, A’Bast looked from him to the canvas, then back again. “Did you even read it? I know the captain has terrible handwriting, but ‘m sure you can’t pick out a few w--”
“I can’t… read it.” Kafe then mumbled, face flaring shamefully.
Eyes widening, A’Bast was quiet. But then he laughed. “The Warrior of Light can’t read? Aren’t you supposed to have traveled all over? And you can’t read common Eorzean? Oh, don’t feel bad about it, my ma couldn’t read either, but that never stopped her! She knew how to speak other languages, even Hingan!”
A’Bast’s words coiled in Kafe’s gut, making his stomach churn uncomfortably. Not knowing how to read had always been a crutch to him, having become a refugee far too early in his life. His mother had taught him a little before she had died, but that was many moons ago. Someone always read to him after that, be it landmarks or instructions or books. Being reminded of it was like a scab being picked over an eternal wound.
Standing up, Kafe brushed some loose grass from his coat, slinging his bow behind him and starting to walk off. A’Bast was about to stand, but Kafe stopped, staring behind him with an angry glint in his eyes.
“Please, that’s enough.” He saw the steady gaze A’Bast returned to him, and the other miqo’te now smiled knowingly. Shrugging, A’Bast stood, making his way back to his companions. “Sleep well, Ser Oubastet!”
Kafe watched him go join the others, their patrol captain cuffing him on the ears and pointing in Kafe’s direction. A’Bast only seemed to laugh, shrugging his shoulders again. Tail thrashing, Kafe retreated to his bedroll across the camp, propping his bow against the teeroots close by and flopping onto his side. He wasn’t good with kids.
====
Their mission had been simple; catch the group of bandits that were attacking the roads going from Old Gridania to the smaller settlements in the forest. They would hide in wait with a decoy wagon, then spring on the thieves and take them into custody. Simple. So they thought, until there were more than they realized there would be.
The only thing that went according to plan was the decoy, and when the bandits realized what it was, the small platoon of twin adders erupted from the forest, weapons ready. Kafe watched, eyes watching for any movement. He spied the glint of armor, and took his bow out, dropping from the tree he had been concealing himself in.
Already one of the young recruits was injured in the skirmish, holding her leg where an arrow had embedded itself. She was crying, the captain protecting her against four new enemy lancers. Kafe finally reached the ground, sliding across the dirt and letting his arrows fly. They thudded into non-lethal areas of the body, sending them falling to the ground in pain. The Twin Adder captain took this opportunity to them and bind their hands, Kafe getting the other ones.
“Ser Oubastet, A’Bast and Antelle are on the other side of the wagon! Please get to them, I’ll handle this!” The captain urged, going to the injured young woman’s side. He brushed the hair from her face, murmuring encouraging words. Kafe nodded, instantly going into a sprint to reach the carriage. He rounded it, seeing the miqo’te and elezen fighting off about five other bandits. A’Bast’s lance had broken in two, but it didn’t stop him from using both ends as a weapon. The elzen archer behind him seemed to be out of arrows, brandishing a dagger as their only defense. Kafe tore through an enemy to the two recruit’s side, and seeing the relief wash over their faces was worth it.
“Oh, am I glad to see you, Ser Oubastet! I know we were supposed to take them into custody, but me an Antelle killed a few of them accidentally, you see.” Rambled A’Bast, tail shaking and fluffed with alarm.
“Never mind that, the situation called for it.” Kafe hissed back, drawing his bow back and only threatening the bandits surrounding them. He could see the recognition on their faces when A’Bast had called his name.
A rogue with a mean looking scar down half her face stared at Kafe with wide eyes, her hands shaking so much it seemed like she would drop her blades. “Shite… shite shite! The Warrior o’ Light…! We gotta get outta here, no way we can deal with ‘im!”
She tossed a small ball into the air, which immediately exploded with a bright flash. Unfazed, Kafe lunged forwards, figuring this woman was their leader. He grabbed her arm, and he felt another presence beside him grab her other side, and the combined force of two people wrestled her to the ground. As the flash cleared Kafe saw A’Bast, with blood dripping from his forehead, struggling next to him to keep the woman pinned.
“Lemme go! Lemme go, ya bastards! I ain’t sittin’ in no Twin Adders cell all my life!” She snarled, getting a hand free and swiping at them with a small dagger she had apparently hidden. A’Bast jolted backwards, but Kafe flipping up his hand, grabbing the knife. The writhing woman stopped, caught in his glare as she started to let her body go lax.
“We aren’t gonna put you in prison just yet, lady!” A’Bast growled, though a grin had formed on his face. He glanced at Kafe, and they nodded in unison, beginning to tie her hands to transport her.
As everything quieted down, Kafe realized he still had the dagger clenched tightly in his fist. He splayed his fingers with a wince, watching the knife fall. His glove had been cut through, a wound dripping blood now in his palm. A hand suddenly grabbed his own, and Kafe looked up to see A’Bast. The miqo’te had a worried expression, taking out a bottle of potion and dripping some on the wound. Once cleaned, he wrapped it in clean gauze, tying it with a little bow. He only smiled once that was taken care of, looking back up at Kafe and grinning.
“Thank you, Ser, for coming to our aid.” He said, tail curled upwards in a pleased manner.
“That’s why I was here.” Kafe pointed out, frowning.
“Yeah, sure, but I was kinda… insensitive to you last night. Figured you’d leave me to get gutted. So, thanks for havin’ my back.” Shrugging his shoulders shyly, A’Bast took a step back. “I saw how you were lookin’ at all of us. I’m sorry if you got uncomfortable by our sparkly looks.”
“Everybody does that.” Kafe pointed out, flexing his injured hand. “I’m just never going to get used to it. I’m just one miqo’te.”
“Yes, but--”
Kafe held up a hand, flashing a small smile. “Thank you for apologizing. You can handle the rest, I’m sure?” He let out a soft chuckle when A’Bast nodded vigorously before turning away. The young miqo’te turned again, giving Kafe a dramatic wave.
“Maybe our paths will cross again, Ser Oubastet!”
Watching him go, Kafe’s tail swayed back and forth. “I wouldn’t mind that.” He said to himself, before trudging back into the woods alone.