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When Glenn returned to the remains of Shambhala, it was to see Ashe organising the ‘evacuation’ of the Agarthans. The stones waddled across the floor to some sort of special cases, where Ashe was responsible for making sure everyone fit in.
“So do you know where we’re going?” Glenn asked. Ashe jumped, stepping carefully around the Agarthans to approach Glenn and the relatively stone-free floor near him.
“I was thinking Faerghus, but ultimately, anywhere is better than here. There was a lot of damage done to Shambhala, it’s not a particularly great place to stay until something is rebuilt,” Ashe explained. Glenn accepted that response, and asked Ashe to grab a bedroll to put Ingrid down on for the moment.
“How tired is she?” Ashe asked. He had never really known her to be one to rest while there was work to be done.
“We pushed on Nemesis, she took out Cleobulus right from Nemesis’s own clutches, and we marched back here without staying long,” Glenn explained. Ashe gave her a second look over, taking the chance to admire her in one of her softer moments under the guise of making sure there were no malicious reasons for her exhaustion before returning to his work.
“Need a hand there, Ashe?” Glenn asked.
“Sure, but if Ingrid’s that tired, why aren’t you?” Ashe asked. Glenn shrugged, taking his seat and picking up a few cases to get started.
“My sword allows me to regenerate my endurance, and I’m told it has a greater effect on my family because of the Crest of Fraldarius. I only received it shortly before the Tragedy of Duscur, so I don’t fully understand it,” Glenn explained.
<Hey, our tribe may have made the Relics, but that was before I was born. And your sword isn’t even one of ours, it’s Nabatean work,> Aptura pointed out.
“Don’t worry, Aptura, I wasn’t blaming you. The years until you turned around certainly didn’t help, but I honestly doubt I’d have thought hard about it even if I made it out of Duscur,” Glenn assured him. Communicating with Agarthans lacked facial cues, but Glenn usually had an idea of what Aptura felt even now the pair were separated. Ashe allowed his eyes to cross over to Ingrid from time to time as they worked, and as he finished up a case, he noticed a stone moving over to her.
“What are you doing there?” Ashe asked. The stones nearest him parted quickly, the tension amongst them quite clear as Ashe picked up that one.
<I thought you could use some help,> it told him.
“That doesn’t mean you’re allowed to nestle yourself in Ingrid’s chest. It’s unfathomably rude, among other things,” Ashe said, the faintest hint of a snarl coming to his mouth.
“You OK, Ashe?” Glenn asked.
“This one tried to take over Ingrid,” Ashe said. Glenn took the offending Agarthan out of Ashe’s hand before he crushed it, and threw his other arm around him.
“The extraction apparatus still works, right? It wasn’t right, but it wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world,” Glenn assured him.
“Yeah, about that… it was one of the first things I checked once you left and Shambhala was left with me. It doesn’t work,” Ashe said. It was Glenn’s turn to have the errant Agarthan removed from his grasp before it was crushed. Glenn’s shouting came out in a constant, looping stream that, combined with the echoes Shambhala still created, meant that very few of his words were still clear. The gist, however, was.
<I didn’t know the extractor was broken! I thought I could just have Ingrid do a little boxing and leave her body once it was done!> the Agarthan cried out.
<Are you that foolish? Our people will face untold persecution for being the instigators of a war that changed the course of Fodlan forever. We can’t do anything that makes us untrustworthy, especially while we’re still defenceless stones!> Aptura called.
<I… I’m sorry…> the Agarthan whimpered. Ashe set them aside nearby to think about his actions, getting back to work while he, Glenn and Aptura contemplated the appropriate retribution.
“Ashe… I know you’ve been friends with Ingrid for a while. Were you two particularly close to one another?” Glenn asked. Ashe chuckled nervously.
“We shared a bit of common ground talking about food, chivalry and, once the war against our homeland begun, our morale. I do honestly think she’s pretty cute, and she has confessed to thinking the same,” Ashe admitted.
“Hm?” Glenn asked, pausing in his work.
“Well, with you gone, Ingrid needed someone else to get married to for the sake of Galatea. She was getting sick of her father’s suggestions on top of that. Ingrid did genuinely consider myself as one of her options,” Ashe elaborated. Glenn nodded- Galatea’s prosperity was not a factor he was exceptionally clear on before the Tragedy, and after their reunion, there were more important matters.
“Considered? What stopped you?” Glenn asked.
“With Lord Lonato disgraced for attacking Rhea and me not exactly being his heir, I wouldn’t have brought the sort of money and influence Ingrid needs in service of House Galatea. As much as she did like me, she preferred to keep our friendship platonic than press on in spite of that,” Ashe said. Glenn nodded satisfied, returning to working and talking at once.
“Well, I’m not sure how much Galatea in particular will be a factor now. This war will have put all of Faerghus into special needs. Ingrid was always the sort of girl to focus on that than on her love life,” Glenn said.
“As long as she’s happy. But if I ever wanted to put myself in the competition, I’d just tell her you didn’t mind the thought of her being taken over until you realised it wasn’t quickly reversible,” Ashe teased.
“You cheeky little bastard. I see I must not get complacent,” Glenn remarked, giving Ashe a firm but playful elbow.