Chapter Text
The sun over Thavnair had begun its descent towards the horizon by the time their investigation had concluded and the amra lassi had fully calmed their stomachs. Aether sickness was a strange feeling, one she could only compare to a hangover, but without the pleasant memories - or lack thereof - preceding it.
Eidin herself had only felt similarly violent aether sickness on a few previous occasions, each associated with fairly negative circumstances. The first, was was on the ship as she approached Eorzea for the first time - the chaotic density left in the Calamity's wake would be enough to throw even the most resilient of constitution on their ass if they weren't prepared. The most recent was when her body was made host to five Lightwardens' worth of Light-aspected aether during her time on the First. If it wasn't for Ardbert adding his patch of Azem's sundered soul to her own quilt, she wouldn't be here to reminisce on these events.
But she was here, and the elder half of the Scions - by physicality, at least - had already begun contemplating their next steps.
With few clues to lead them after their own separate investigations, she and her fellows congregated near Yedlihmad's aetheryte, faces knit in various pensive expressions. Estinien remains silent for the most part, giving blunt nods or shrugs in response to the other Scions' theorizing, and somewhere in the discussion, Eidin's own thoughts on the matter fail to escape her head, and they begin evolving internally. She's vaguely aware of Thancred, Urianger, and Estinien having their own discussion, but she ends up conversing with herself instead.
It's not one of her fellows that pulls her out moments later, but a feminine voice echoing in the distance. She blinks, hears it again - and turns towards the sound. She doesn't notice the others also turning to find the source of the accented voice - calling after their Warrior of Light by her full name - in this tiny seaside Thavnairian village.
"Oh, it is you!" The Raen woman smiles, closing the distance between them.
Eidin blinks, the corner of her mouth slowly turning up "...Koya?" and she feels a pang of guilt when the Au Ra beams at the recognition, placing a tender hand upon the Roegadyn's upper arm.
"...I had worried you had forgotten me." She breathes a laugh. Eidin's cheeks start to flush. No, she remembers all too well. "It's been ages! Where have you been?"
The other Scions' gazes bounce between the two women as they converse and reconnect, the conflict of the day left behind as this small window of their heroine's past opens before them. They put some distance between their now split group, and allow Eidin this moment. Urianger's head angles up, his index finger coming to rest on his chin. Thancred's expression blatantly shows his excitement. If you looked close enough, and for long enough, Estinien's usually cold and neutral face would crack by an amused lip twitch.
"T'would appear yonder mistress doth offer the briefest glimpse unto our vaunted heroine's shrouded history." Urianger says in a low, secretive tone. "Art thou arriving upon the selfsame conclusion as I?"
Thancred nods, an eyebrow cocking in response. "I've never seen her blush like that."
Estinien chuffs, crossing his arms and resting his weight on his left hip, but his gaze remains fixed on the interaction.
"Can you make out what they're saying?" Thancred asks after a few moments. The pair of women had switched languages sometime during their conversation.
Urianger shakes his head. "Nay. This dialect yet remaineth unfamiliar to mine comprehension. However, the root doth appear to heavily source from that of other Hannish tongues."
Estinien shrugs, and switches the hip that his weight is resting on. Thancred and Urianger both look at the dragoon, but are unable to infer whether or not he understands.
The Raen woman - Koya, Eidin had said - raises her hand to partially cover a giggle, and the setting sun reflects off of the band on one of her fingers.
"Married." Thancred nods, pursing his lips. "You don't think…?"
Urianger interrupts Thancred's theorizing and shakes his head in disagreement. "We hath borne witness to a surplus of Eidin's facets, sorely do I doubt a topic as significant as marriage would remaineth secret overlong." He shrugs. "Many of our Warrior of Light's actions speak contrary to the existence of marital bonds awaiting her return to Thavnair. Full well were we aware of her claim to hail not from any singular nation nor person prior to her adoption of our cause."
"What if she was running away?" Thancred adds after a pause, and Urianger shoots him a look of disapproval. "What?! We all have things we'd rather hide. I wouldn't be surprised if she had things she kept secret all this time." He circles his hand about its wrist. "Hells, we just learned her real name two days ago, and this woman knew it!"
"It was a fling." Estinien interjects, glaring at the bickering men. His cover blown, he briefly glances at the women, who are thankfully still enraptured with the others' conversation, and then looks back at his fellow Scions with a noncommittal shrug. "They were together for a time. Fifteen rains or so have passed since they last saw each other. Eidin's crew docked in a village north of Vanaspati for a season."
Thancred and Urianger, terrible at hiding their interest in Estinien's summary, instinctually lean toward him.
The dragoon closes his eyes tightly and sighs, whether he's reconsidering his translation, or something he heard caused a reaction, neither of his compatriots could tell. "She'll probably fill you in once they're done." He falls silent, leaving the others to wonder once again.
His head snaps towards the Raen woman a moment later - a reflex to a question he overheard - and meets the smaller woman's giddy gaze, nearly covered by her dark bangs. His eyes move up and to the left of her, to meet Eidin's very embarrassed face. The sky was already turning orange, and Eidin was no doubt coming to terms with how long they'd been chatting, leaving her fellow Scions to stand and wait for Hydaelyn knows how long.
Eidin mouths a 'Sorry!' to the men, which they appear to wave off in their own ways. Urianger fans some of his cards in front of his face to hide it, Thancred flicks his wrist noncommittally, and Estinien blinks slowly without looking away. She grimaces and turns back to the Raen, shaking her head in embarrassment. Koya's right hand comes up to cup the Roegadyn's cheek in comfort.
"So forward." Thancred whistles.
Estinien chuckles, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Careful what you comment. It reveals more about you than it does her."
Thancred snaps to look at the Elezen, confusion written plainly on his face. Urianger stifles a laugh, which makes the Hyur turn to him instead, his confusion intensifying threefold.
A few more silent minutes pass between the men as Eidin and Koya attempt to wrap up their reunion. With a heavy sigh, Eidin tucks the shorter woman's hair behind her horn, and places a gentle kiss on her forehead. Koya's hands rest on Eidin's upper arms, a contented and melancholy smile on her face as the Roegadyn pulls away.
"Write to me sometime!" Koya shouts as she takes her leave towards the docks, hoping to catch the last ferry to the island's north with the fruits of her day in Yedlihmad. "Or visit! My children would love to meet the Warrior of Light!"
Eidin's joyful expression masks her melancholic thoughts as she waves farewell to the Raen, walking back to meet up with her fellow Scions. "Apologies. I got…" She sighs forlornly. "…swept up in the past."
"No apologies necessary, my lady." Urianger shakes his head. "'Tis not often we are visited by the specters of our history, even less so are we afforded the chance to converse with them."
"That said…" Thancred interjects. "Not even an introduction, Eidin?" He crosses his arms, half-feigning disappointment. "I'm hurt."
Eidin raises, then furrows her brows. "I'd kept us for too long already, and she had to catch the last ship back to her village." She shakes her head, resting a hand on her hip. "I'd also like to keep some aspects of my past to myself, thank you very much."
Thancred scoffs a scoff somewhere between a scoff and a tut. "Not much left unsaid after all that." He shrugs, arms still crossed. "You may have more roots than a tree but that… looked different."
It's always Thancred who tries to peel her well-maintained layers away. Eidin exhales slowly, trying to collect herself. It didn't work. "What do you want to know? That we fucked? That we may have been in love? That I had't'leave her fer good early i'th mornin' 'cause my ship was 'bout t'shove off'n I would'a been left behind w'no gil t'my name?" Stress from being prodded allows her accent to bleed through. That's twice in as many days. "An'now she's got a steady textiles biz'n kids'n a wife tha'loves 'er an'..."
"Eidin, Eidin." Estinien approaches, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She catches herself at the dragoon's touch - uncharacteristically gentle for the air he usually exuded - and takes a slow breath in. "M'sorry." She exhales. "It was good seein' her, but it also brought back ol' wounds." She sighs. "I'm just glad she doesn't seem t'hate me after how I left'er. She didn't deserve that."
Thancred stiffens his posture with a heavy exhale. "I shouldn't have pressed the issue." The Hyur is very aware of the glare his fellow archon is burning into the back of his head. "I'm sorry."
Urianger steps forward, not-so-subtly colliding with Thancred's shoulder. "A joyous reunion was had by you both. That moment is of utmost import and I would loathe it to be tarnished by crass words and actions from a beloved companion."
Eidin smiles at Urianger's blatant attempt at moving on from the subject. Thancred shrugs, but is thankful the topic is being dropped.
"It was joyous." Eidin's smile softens, the blush from earlier returning to lightly dust her cheeks. "I'm glad she's happy, and I'll have to make good on that visit when we're done with these damn towers."
Estinien's hand, still on Eidin's shoulder, pats twice before he takes a step backwards. "Then let us return to the task at hand, shall we?"
Urianger nods, lifting a single finger. "Indeed. We were intended to pursue the Matanga you hath assisted with his fishmongering business in lieu of the local merchants, correct?" The Elezen turns to Eidin, the question directed at her.
Nodding, Eidin gestures in the direction she knows that Matsya had departed. "Matsya's village is to the northwest, 'bout halfway up the coast to the Great Work." Her Echo's additional perk continuously came in handy. If only she had known more about it when she was a pirate, she could've ruled the seas with Llymlaen's compass in her own head. "We should check in an' get the lore of the land before making our way up to the alchemists."
"Agreed." Thancred puts a fist in his hand, a show of determination. "Lets get moving, then. We're burning what little daylight we have left."
The four scions all look at varying heights of the sky, in the brief few moments where it's as red as their Red Mage's coat, and make their way to Akyaali.