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Overworked and underpaid as a Warrior of Light, Sai Tieria wouldn’t mind some help managing all her arduous daily tasks.
In fact, she’d definitely welcome it.
Of course, that depended on the condition that said help was not a pain in the rear end. Unfortunately, the mystery adventurer traipsing around her territory most definitely seemed to fit that description.
Yes, one could not deny that they were skilled and efficient, yet they seemed bent on leaving pointed and very snide messages in their wake for Sai to later discover.
Speaking of which — Sai picked up the newest one, quickly unrolling the slip of parchment, which was small enough to fit within her palm.
I suppose it’s about time the two of us meet.
Scrawled below was an address for an inn that Sai often frequented. There was no signature.
Her eyes narrowed. This could very well be an ambush — in her time as the Warrior, she had accumulated many enemies. But I won’t know unless I go.
And like that, it was decided.
Sai wasn’t known for being cautious, after all.
She hung around in the inn’s vicinity for a while, as there had been no timeframe on the note. At one point, it occurred to her that it could be a trick altogether, or perhaps the note had been left yesterday and there was no point in waiting now.
Maybe this hadn’t been the best of decisions. That thought came to her an hour too late, as usual; however, if nothing else, Sai was one to see matters through, even poorly-thought-out ones.
Thankfully (or not), she didn’t have to wait any longer. Suddenly, she felt herself tugged backwards roughly, and she stumbled slightly before regaining her balance and spinning around as she drew a dagger to point at her presumed assailant.
Instead, she found herself faced with an unfairly tall female Viera. Sai’s eyes widened as she took in the woman’s strikingly green eyes, plush lips, tanned skin and brunette locks that cascaded down her shoulders and framed her face.
Ah.
“Easy there,” she said mockingly. “I don’t bite. Not on our first meeting, at least.”
Sai kept staring until the woman’s voice broke her out of her thoughts again. “What, Miqo’te got your tongue?”
“Ugh, I- who even are you?” Sai demanded.
The woman smiled, spreading her hands in an uncanny imitation of Emet-Selch. “Why, the Warrior of Light, of course.”
“One of the Warriors of Light,” Sai corrected, shock morphing into irritation. “Also, it’s been an hour. You couldn’t have bothered showing up on time to your own meeting?”
“Actually—” Warrior 9.0 (yes, Sai knew that many other Warriors of Light) arched a single perfect eyebrow. “You showed up three hours late yourself. You’re one to talk about punctuality.”
“Oh, come on,” Sai protested, sticking her tongue out childishly. “You can’t expect someone to telepathically know that there’s a note waiting for them in a tavern they rarely visit!”
“Is that so? I would have thought you’d be a bit more… wild. Unhinged. Party all night, you know.”
“Oh, shut up,” Sai retorted. “I’m sorely overworked; with all my various duties, I’ve no time for partying. Surely you can understand.”
The woman’s lips quirked in an unreadable smile. “Anyways. Sai Tieria, isn’t it?” she asked- no, purred.
Sai narrowed her eyes, not even bothering to hide her suspicion.
The woman seemed to take the response as an affirmative to her own question, and the edges of her lips curved up. “So delightful to finally meet you, Sai. I’ve heard all about you.”
Oh, gods, how patronizing can her voice get? Sai wondered with a mix of admiration and very intense dislike. But two can play at that game.
“I couldn’t say the same for you. But tell me then… to whom do I owe the pleasure?” she inquired, tilting her head as if bored with the whole introductory charade.
The woman’s smirk only widened. “Hela Lesrekta, at your service,” she replied, her voice as smooth as- wait, no, Sai don’t go there.
“I come here to Radz-at-Han to do adventurer’s work, but I hail from afar,” she continued. “Are you a native?”
Finally, something sensible to discuss, thought Sai, who was the picture of sensibility. “Yes.” After a moment of consideration, she grit her teeth and allowed her duty to trump her irritation with the other. “Need I show you around sometime?”
“No need,” Hela answered silkily. “I’ve seen quite enough, thank you. Were you aware this country has drug elephants?”
With great effort, Sai kept a straight face. “They’re alchemists, actually, but yes. Once you get to know the Matanga, they can be quite companionable. You’ll find that they’re quite intellectual, too — I suspect a single one of them may have more braincells than my entire friend group combined, with the exception of two people.”
Hela scoffed.
“Nicer to spend time with than you, that is for sure,” Sai added.
In the blink of an eye, she found herself pinned against the rough stone wall of the alleyway, intense emerald-green eyes glaring down at her. “What was that?” Hela whispered, her voice dipping into something deeper, darker. “Say that again.”
Aaaaand my fate is sealed, Sai thought. I suppose one could suffer worse than being pinned against a wall by an incredibly infuriating but attractive woman.
Abruptly, they both turned towards the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps pounding on the cobblestone path. “Sai, where in the world have you—” Cagalli panted as she burst into the alleyway. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed and she turned to Hela. “Ugh, it’s you.”
Seizing the opportunity, Sai pushed the Viera off her. “ You’re the one she met?” she realized, the memory of Cagalli ranting about getting slammed against the wall by some ‘overly tall, stuck-up bunny woman’ surfacing in her mind.
“Yeah, that’s the one,” Cagalli muttered. “Hela. So do you do this every single time you meet someone new?” she inquired. “‘Cause I’ll be surprised if you still have normal friends.”
“So introductions were unnecessary, then, if Cagalli has already done the work for us,” Hela noted, ignoring the question and snide comment. “I take it you’re a friend of hers?” she asked Sai, jerking her head towards the newly arrived Au Ra.
“We frequently put each other in mortal danger and proceed to laugh at our tragic situation, but call it whatever you want,” Sai grumbled, glancing sideways.
“Don’t worry, any friend of hers is an enemy of mine.”
“Delightful. It seems we’re in agreement, then.”
And with that, Sai gained one more acquaintance to call when she was in the mood for mass destruction.