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When Estinien walked into the Rising stones, he almost stopped in his tracks. Standing there, next to Tataru, was the warrior. Her back was to him, but he could still tell it was her. There was no mistaking the feeling of her after all. Though, her hair was shorter now, and her armor different. And somehow, she seemed to fill the room with a comforting presence. It had always been there, but now there was more of it in a way. Something he’d never voice was that he always somehow felt utterly safe at her side. And that was something unique to her.
One of her ears swiveled around at the sound of his footsteps even if she didn’t, so he decided to speak. Greet her. After all, the last he’d seen of her had been…
“Oh. You’re back,” he stated in a deadpan tone and nearly winced. That… wasn’t what he meant to say at all. Or how he wanted to say it.
He was mentally kicking himself, going over the different greeting he could have said instead, but she didn’t seem to care. She turned around to look at him, joy and life in her eyes, and smiled.
As if no time had passed, they spoke with one another about their respective adventures. She told him of a distant world, nearly devoured by the light they lived by. Of hope and loss. The different people who were familiar. She spoke of souls and smiled to herself as she also spoke of what became of the warriors of that world. It was a sad smile, and she said they had only been adventurers looking to make their way in the world. It went unsaid that she was just like them, and could easily fail as they had. All it took for either of them was an adventure gone wrong and their story would end.
It was funny. He’d used to think it so far beneath him to describe anything he did as an adventure. But now, he saw the appeal. The freedom that came from having no roots. And just what was taken from her when the title, ‘Warrior of light’ had been bestowed upon her. He’d gotten a taste of the lack of freedom, in exchange for the greater good, while working for the small devils at her side.
Suddenly, as he was about to speak about his own foray into the empire, she clutched her head in pain.
Worry entered his eyes as he took a step forward, “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes became unseeing, and she did end up nearly dropping to her knees under the weight of her vision. But he grabbed her arms and helped lower her down, so she wouldn’t hurt herself. All at once, the scene was too familiar for him.
~
The smoke above them was red from the fires burning around them all. The sounds of the dying and gun fire echoed through the dark. She was knelt on the ground, trying her best to rise. But she couldn’t. Even from his vantage point, he could see her struggling with the strange ailment that had befallen all her allies in the scions. She couldn’t even lift her head.
He had been so far away, destabilizing the empire’s forces from behind their lines. But then he’d heard of the final clash between the two most deadly people he knew, and there was a sudden tugging on his chest.
‘Go to her.’
He’d gotten this far in life listening to these strange hunches, and knew that here in the midst of the battle he dared not ignore it. He found himself wishing he had moved faster.
Despite how fast he jumped and ran, he could only watch as Zenos, a dead man by all accounts, lifted her head with a fist in her long hair, and slit her throat with an almost gentle draw of his blade against her skin. A grin, wholly evil and mocking, was directed at her as he spoke.
“Now, you match.”
Blood was pouring down her front and her eyes fluttered closed, and he didn’t know if it was due to the injury or whatever vision held her. It was only instinct that made him move into a jump and crash into Zenos, knocking him backwards. He hadn’t been expecting that, but there was no time to take satisfaction in catching him off guard. Rather, under the cover of the dust he’d managed to kick up, he dashed to her side before the prince could recover and cradled her to himself. He ran then, making his way toward their allies, and wished he’d still had wings.
~
He’d hardly even noticed Krile had also been swept along in the vision as well, so lost was he in his past. She was the first to come out of it, and shook her head to reorient herself. When Tataru asked if they were alright, she was the one who answered, as the warrior still was disoriented.
Estinien could feel a slight anger burning in him, not because they saw into his past, though that was rather off putting, but rather that they had no control over when it happened.
“Peer into my past, did you?” He said, almost bitter in his delivery. He crossed his arms and looked over to the warrior, checking them over though they hadn’t been in any danger.
She looked over at him, clearly not bothered by his attitude, have long since grown used to his ways. Instead, she nodded her singular nod, and began telling what she saw. It was odd to hear his perspective from another’s soul. And slightly alarming when she mentioned reliving his fights. She described his foes and even pointed out details he’d missed.
Krile, once the warrior stopped speaking, broke the silence once more, “Well, I didn’t quite relive the experience as you did, but I bore witness to it all.”
“I’m still not sure what I think of this gift of yours,” he said with resentment in his tone. And though he faced Krile when he spoke, it was obvious to all it had been directed at the warrior. He really didn’t know what to think of their gift, and now that he’d witnessed it’s potential to get them killed, it worried him.
His voice slightly softened then, as he wrestled his feelings toward the echo back into submission, “But no matter.”
They next spoke of Zenos, and to his surprise, her eyes hardened and she very nearly hissed it seemed. But then again, it shouldn’t have surprised him. Of course she would be upset hearing his name, he reasoned. Considering she thought she’d killed him, only to have his body come back and nearly kill her, her feelings were reasonable. Though, when her hand traveled up to the choker she wore, seemingly without realizing it, he had to fight the urge to pull her hand back down to her side. He knew that the fact they had matching scars from the same blade burned her.
He still wished he’d been quicker.
Krile and he continued speaking of the prince, and her own thoughts on the echo research they’d done. He could almost feel the warrior sink further in her head at the mention ascians. Her face darkened, not with anger, but with something that almost looked like grief. He wondered what had happened on that other world, to make her feel grief at the sound of their enemy’s name.
To pull her out of whatever thoughts she was having, he said, “It beggars belief, aye. But no more than a hero traversing the rift between worlds.”
He turned to look at her and crossed his arms. That caught her attention. She took a slight step back, and looked a little alarmed. He tilted his head toward her, as pointing out how outlandish her life was. A joke, by all accounts, and she settled back into her skin it seemed. She shook hear head and narrowed her eyes at him. Keeping his face straight, he continued on, returning to the conversation at hand.
Her tail was twitching behind her in what he knew was annoyance. No one seemed to pick up on his subtle humor, but that was one thing he liked about her. Not that he’d ever say that out loud. Though, she probably knew anyways. Just how she knew that she couldn’t retaliate in her usual way. Not inside the rising stones at least.
He continued with his report, and spoke of Gaius next. And he spoke true. He didn’t think he’d be an enemy going forward, though the doubt from the warrior could be felt in the air. Before her current adventure, she’d been a lot less jaded. She would have accepted her ally’s assessments of people because of the trust she held for them. But, as she’d learned, trust wasn’t something she could rely on singularly.
Part of him, the part that still held his past all too tightly, was proud of her. How she had shed her naivety. But the other part of him mourned for her. To have that faith in people torn out of her through her experiences would have hurt her. He risked a glance at her and found her staring at him, as if trying to see the truth of his words written on his face. She wanted to trust in him he realized, and that startled him.
He turned to face Krile once more, when she spoke of him staying. But he shook his head and declined. There were things he’d put on hold for them. And while he’d been proud to help once he’d committed to it, he did long for his freedom once more. And thankfully they let it go at that. Though, he had a feeling it was because they had the warrior back now that whatever had happened on that far away world was taken care of.
He turned to depart, but stopped in his tracks at what Krile said next.
“Thank you for your help then, Estinien. I see why Alphinaud admires you so.”
If he was a lesser man, he might have flushed a little at the praise. Though he felt it undeserved, it was a nice thought that one of the people he considered a friend might hold him with some fondness. As it was, he grunted in both acknowledgement and dismissal of her words and turned to face the warrior.
Her face was just as stoic as his, but there was a mischievous light in her eyes. She knew that he cared for Alphinaud, and could probably read his own feelings on the matter. So, with an expression unchanging, he said, “Farewell, my friend. See that you don’t make a habit of dozing off in battle.”
The barb was perhaps sharper than necessary, but it was softened by the soft worry his voice held. Something only meant for her to pick up on. She took it in stride, and her face scrunched up in a smile and a grimace both. It was an odd expression, but one that said everything it needed to. When they next met, he fully expected her to retaliate at some point. All in good fun of course. And it also said that she heard him, their comradery still intact despite so much time apart.
“Safe travels, Estinien. May we meet on the road again.” She said, her expression settling into a genuine smile this time as she bid him goodbye.
He nodded in return, and then took his leave, but hoped that they did cross paths.
One day.