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The usual voices of merchants selling their wares in the markets of the Crystarium were being briefly drowned out by the peel of laughter echoing from outside of the Pendants. Shoppers and sellers alike turned every so often to look in the direction of the inn, watching the small band of children chase around a white mage through the apple trees. Their attention was only stolen by the Exarch himself, doing his usual rounds from stall to stall. Bright red feline ears pricked at the sound of a familiar voice bellowing through her own laughter. The Exarch turned from Glynard mid-sentence in time to catch sight of the Warrior of Darkness tumbling to the ground, a gaggle of children clambering atop her.
"Fiends! Traitors! Foolish heroes, the lot of you!" she cried out, feigning a death rattle. "You will never defeat me!"
A small brown haired Hume raised his fist in the air, a long stick in his grip. Puffing out his chest and beaming wide, he shouted, excitedly tumbling over his words, "I'll run you through with my father's enchanted blade, monster! Th-They'll write songs about me!" He swiped at the air, whip whistling at the force, before moving to plunge downward into the mage's torso.
"Maya!" the Exarch called out before he could stop himself. The boy startled at the sound just as the Miqo'te under his heel rolled away and sprang to her feet. Her eyes flashed up the Wandering Stairs to catch the Exarch's for just a moment. His breath stuck in his throat as she gave him a cheeky wink.
"You are fearsome, paladin! Even the mighty Exarch believed me dead!" she crowed. He prayed she could not see his blush from where she was at her words. Thankfully, she was totally engrossed in her play, putting an arm up to cover her face with her sleeve and wiggling her eyebrows as menacingly as she could. It seemed to be effective, sending the group of kids back a few steps. "But it would mean nothing! Should your steel strike true, I would only be released from this mortal vessel and be reborn into a being more powerful than anything you could ever imagine!"
The Hume and several of the other children cowered before her, unsure of what to say. As Maya crept ever closer, a small Mystel girl broke the ranks of the group. With a cry of determination, she splashed Maya with the cold contents of a large flask.
The reaction was explosive and immediate.
The Miqo'te yelped in shock, tail and ears sticking up, puffed to a comical degree. There was a beat before the children began to laugh at her theatrics, some falling over themselves as her teeth chattered from the cold. She shook as much of the offending liquid off as she could, but her robes were drenched. Glancing around, Maya saw that the older folks in the vicinity had the good sense to look away, though some were covering their own snorts of laughter as they did so. Again, she looked up at the Exarch, but he was absolutely not above teasing her. He chuckled and mirrored her wink, delighting in the way she huffed dramatically at the sight. Oh, when she got her hands on him...!
Quivering, she turned to the Mystel and squeaked out, "Wh-Wh-What was that, Riqi?"
"Holy water!" the young Mystel chirped. "What else would I use against a demon?"
Even as Maya shivered, she could see the satisfaction in Riqi-Tio's eyes at her own ingenuity. So, swallowing her own pride down, the Warrior of Darkness collapsed in a heap on the grass. She moaned in half-faked agony, skin still bitingly cold, while haphazardly rummaging in her bag.
"Oh! Ohhh! You clever little beast! I am melting away! All that will be left of me is my bountiful treasures!"
At the last words, the white mage held aloft a large clear bag of sweets. Riqi-Tio snatched them up and beamed back at the group behind her. The rest of the children were watching the warrior in rapt attention, waiting with baited breath. With one final cough, Maya lay still, tongue lolling out of her mouth dramatically. As the kids cheered at last and split the spoils of their battle, the Exarch smiled at the display.
"She's a popular lass amongst the young ones," Glynard hummed, drawing the man's attention back. "The children practically drag her by the tail all around the Crystarium the minute she sets foot within the gates." The Galdjent set the glasses he was polishing down to take a good long look at the woman still laying prone on the ground. "She has a knack for child rearing, it seems."
"She had siblings," the Exarch replied, his words tumbling out of him before he could stop himself. His ears flattened against his head in embarrassment at the knowing look the bartender gave him. Well...since he was already caught out. "Ten of them, with herself square in the middle of the lot. I am more than certain she had plenty of practice with kits."
His excitement at sharing his accrued knowledge of her was short lived as Glynard's face fell sharply as understanding flickered in his gaze.
"'Had', huh?" the Galdjent mumbled, cursing softly. "Damn shame. Seems every hero worth their hide has lost more than they deserved to."
The Exarch swallowed down the lump in his throat, giving a short nod as he grimaced. Both of them watched as Maya at last sprang to her feet, arms wide and mouth open in joyous laughter. If G'raha could capture the sound, the moment of her free and open happiness, he would keep it tucked closely to his heart. Warmth coursed through him as he watched her bend down to scoop Riqi-Tio into her arms, tossing her up in the air for a few weightless moments of fun. Together, the two white haired healers looked as though they were family. Sisters...
Or mother and child, his traitorous mind supplied. How would she look, I wonder, with my--
No. None of that. There could be no thoughts of that when he had no idea where they stood with one another. They had talked and spent time with one another since the Tempest, since Amaurot, but there was a hesitancy about her. Something had shifted and she was clearly trying to counterbalance the shift. He would push and she would give what she could. She had trusted him as G'raha from before his sleep and had even come to trust him as the Exarch as well...
But she had trusted Emet-Selch, too.
Too soon, much too soon to entertain his childish dreams of romance. There was no denying how she had felt for the man, Ascian though he was. Impossible to ignore the memory of them laughing together, standing too close, whispering things he would never know. Even now, a part of Emet-Selch lingered in her, his mind thinking of her single golden eye, identical to the Ascian's. It would take time for her to heal from the loss.
He could wait. He had always waited. He was the Crystal Exarch, as immovable and unaffected as the tower he ruled. If the day never came, he would have to accept that she was not meant for him.
He would be okay.
...
Still, as he said his farewells to Glynard and approached the woman who held his heart, he felt a burst of yearning almost overcome him. The pair made a picturesque view, soft and sweet. It filled him with forbidden dreams and half-dead hopes that he would regret the minute he got a hold of himself again. Whenever it came to the Warrior of Darkness, he was stripped of all defenses.
The Miqo'te and Mystel finally noticed his approach and beamed at him, bright as twin suns. Mirrored white hair and disheveled tails, matching happiness painted across their faces, and an outpouring of joy to see him.
All he could do was smile in return.