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The Scions of the Seventh Dawn were no more. On paper at least. Truth be told they were still working behind the scenes to keep Eorzea safe. Often they would use holidays as an excuse to get together and share reports, though seeing each other after long trips and adventures was by far the most exciting part.
On this occasion the excuse to see each other was Valentione’s Day. Several of their number were away, among them Krile and Estinian. Krile had unwillingly been dragged to a meeting as a representative of the Students of Baldesian, though she was planning to catch the end of the meal. Estinian however, had declined Tataru’s invitation with, as she put it, rather explosive distaste and impressively extensive swearing.
The main hall of the Baldesian Annex was decorated with colorful cloth and paper that had been cut into festive shapes. The long table, cleared of books and curios, was draped with a basic white tablecloth and trimmed with red lace weaved into heart patterns. Each chair had a handkerchief draped over it that was beautifully embroidered with each person’s name and a tribute to something about them.
As each person stepped through the door, they were heartily greeted by those that had arrived before, not in the least because each person brought a dish for the meal. Some had been handcooked and others looked to be purchased straight from a display window, inviting playful banter between them all.
There was much chattering as the scions shed their outerwear and weapons. The chill of winter near the sea pushed them to gather near a brazier stuffed with fire crystals to warm themselves.
Once everyone had settled into their chairs and served themselves with the delicious looking food, there was a knock at the door. Tataru frowned. “Who could that be? Nobody is supposed to be here today.” She hopped off her chair and hurried to the door.
The interruption had only captured the attention of the Warrior and Thancred. They shared a glance and pretended to be listening to their comrade’s chatter while keeping an ear out for Tataru. The Lala opened the door to see a haggard looking delivery moogle struggling to keep itself airborne.
“Delivery, Kupo!” It shouted tiredly, pulling a large bundle of parcels and letters out of its tiny satchel and practically thrusting them into Tataru’s arms.
“Oh! Oh dear. That is quite a lot. No I have them all. Thank you!” The moogle waved and musically popped out of view. She carefully took the items to a desk and began sorting them. Her face lit up as she gathered them again and turned to her friends. “Well, is there a better way to celebrate Valentione’s Day than Valentione’s letters?”
Everyone quieted as she walked to the table, pushing aside her plate to place everything there. She hopped into her chair and stacked them, smiling mischievously. She took in the gazes of her audience, some had hopeful smiles and others wore strained grins.
“Let’s see, where should I start?” She sorted them more for show than practicality and pulled out a large handful of letters.
“You are quite the popular one.” She teased, offering them to the Warrior. Shocked, they took them and examined them in confusion. Alisaie and G’raha stiffened slightly and flushed, but managed not to draw attention to themselves as Tataru continued on.
“Next we have Alphinaud.” She handed them over and then with a gleeful squeak she pulled out yet another for him.
“Who knew you’d become quite the charmer?” Alisaie teased, elbowing him in the ribs. He huffed in pain and indignation but wisely did not take her bait, instead slapping her shoulder with the letters.
Tataru smiled sweetly. “Oh Alisaie, you have some too! Don’t think I forgot about you!” Alphinaud failed to stifle a laugh and his twin glared a challenge at him as she took hers from the Lala.
While attention was on Alisaie, Thancred skillfully slid a letter with his name on it out of the pile and hastily slipped it into his pocket. The Warrior gave him a knowing grin and received a forced smile and threatening eyes. They shook their head and chuckled, returning their attention to Tataru and eating a bite of food.
A decorated package was next to be handed out. “This is for you Urianger!” The scholar’s face remained impassive but a slight flush colored his cheeks. He nodded in thanks and placed it near his half finished plate.
The Lala shuffled a few of the letters, reading the names. “For Thancred.” She offered to the thief, which he took and began idly flipping through them.
“G’raha.” She called out, passing a letter to the embarrassed seeker. He mumbled a thank you, stealing glances at the Warrior before settling back into his chair.
“And lastly, Y’shtola!” Tataru handed the final envelope to the confused Miqo.
“Who on earth could this be?” She muttered, slitting it open.
Alisaie eyed the secretary. “Did you not receive any? Or are you hiding them from us?” She teased.
Tataru grinned mischievously. “You’ll never know. One of the many perks of being the one who answers the door.” She laughed, making a face at the young Elezen.
They all set to opening their respective parcels. G’raha opened his, both happiness and disappointment written across his features. He smiled fondly as he read. “Apparently Lyna was informed of our customs here and wanted to send me a Valentione’s letter.” His ears drooped in thought. “I’ll have to send her a gift, if I can figure out how.” He muttered, rubbing his chin.
Alisaie apprehensively opened her singular letter, pulling out two pieces of paper. Her face lit up. “It’s from Ryne and Gaia!” Her voice bubbled with excitement and she nearly missed Alphinaud trying to sneak his letters into his bag. Her cry of outrage would have startled anyone within a malm’s radius if the group hadn’t been so used to it.
“It’s nothing Alisaie, really! Just let it be!” He held the letters out of her reach, but only just barely. She leaped over him and triumphantly snatched them from his grasp, reading off each name with relish. They were almost entirely from girls at the Studium who had gained an interest in him when he had returned to Sharlayan.
Y’shtola flicked one of her ears to avoid a bite of cake that had gotten thrown in the twins fight. She hummed thoughtfully as she read her letter. She startled slightly when Thancred jokingly asked who it was from. “Oh, it’s from Runar.” She smiled. “Feo Ul must have brought it with G’raha and Alisaie’s letters.” Her smile crooked mischievously, trying to take the attention off of herself. “Who might have sent you some?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, just a few old flames. The kind that never seem to give up.” He laughed, tossing the letters onto the table.
Idly, the Warrior noticed that the secreted letter was not among them, but they chose not to comment, instead flicking through their own mail. They were no strangers to fan mail, but it was still surprising to them to get mail from country leaders. They chuckled quietly as they recognized the last two letters to be from G’raha and Alisaie. Those two were secreted into the Warrior’s bag, to be read later in private.
The twins had finally began to settle, bickering quietly instead of outright brawling, allowing the Warrior to hear a slight sniffle. They turned to Urianger who had opened his package and was wiping his eyes. It was a new set of tarot cards, each edged in gold filigree and with stunningly beautiful artwork. A letter sat on top of them, nearly crushed by Urianger’s unsteady hand.
“Is aught wrong Urianger?” Y’shtola’s voice asked softly, reaching out to gently touch his shoulder, as if he were made of glass.
He looked up, smiling through the mist in his eyes. “Nay, all is well.” He turned back to the letter. “’Tis from Moenbryda’s parents.” He reverently stroked the cards, gathering them into his hands. The group went silent for a moment, those near Urianger offering him comforting touches before conversation slowly began to pick back up.
Tataru smiled happily from her chair, absolutely radiant at the amount of drama and gossip she’d been able to witness. She happily filled her plate again with the delicious food that had been nearly forgotten.
After eating, everyone lounged around, swapping stories about their latest adventures, and heckling each other about the letters. Thancred had brought a rather exotic bottle of wine and soon the festivities could be heard all the way to the markets.
Once everyone was sufficiently inebriated, the rogue slipped a letter to Urianger and whispered into the younger man’s ear, clapping an arm around his shoulder in a stiff hug. The tired astrologian leaned into the embrace, placing a hand on Thancred’s arm in a thank you.
Krile joined briefly after her meeting. Though she truly was stopping in just long enough to fill up a plate, eat it, and greet everyone before returning to her room and promptly falling asleep.
Late into the night they finally began to disperse. They all paired off to help each other stumble to their rooms (a trick they’d learned after a particularly rowdy night of celebrating), calling out their goodnights as they parted ways. The next morning most of them emerged late, nursing hangovers and ribbing each other about secrets that had been spilled with intoxicated. They gathered for one last hearty meal before they acknowledged that they all had to go their separate ways again.