featherfoot | PSL - Felih and Rihnn go to the First...

There’s a small hum of acknowledgement and agreement - the Exarch definitely knows something he’s not telling, and it’s infuriating. “He ought to leave his safe little tower once in a while to say hello. Only one person we met had ever seen him outside! And she was old!”

Okay, okay, he knows the man is frail and mostly crystal, and if he fell down the stairs he’d probably shatter into little pieces, but even so he should talk more to his people.

“...come to think of it... he didn’t sound like I expected after all those ‘calls’ of his.The voice I heard was... it sounded much younger, and I could hear how desperate he was to be heard. But the Exarch seems to find talking difficult. Maybe it was someone else after all...”

Felih blinks curiously over in P'rihnn's general direction for a bit, even if he can't actually see the man.

"Is that so...? So he sounded younger, and stronger, to you? The voice I heard always seemed so faint... like whispers trying to cross the void," he murmurs. "Growing stronger with each call, until I found my way here."

"I wonder if- well... if we truly both are Warriors of Light, then- then we exist, perhaps, on different reflections of the same shard, but where each of us was the respective reflection's Warrior... and things are developing differently in your own?"

Being well-mastered in the arcane arts and many aetherical studies, such topics and ideas are fun exercises for him, but he never expected to have to apply such wild, fantastical ideas to real life. "If that logic follows, then perhaps your own version of the 'Exarch' was trying to summon you- but yours must be someone stronger. Perhaps, in the crossing of rifts, we caught each other and I ended up dragging you here...?"

“Maybe... in which case, I need to get back. I still owe the Exarch a broken jaw for what he’s done. Then I’ll hear him out, assuming the crisis is the same.”

Thinking too much on the subject and the details of what ‘reflections’ might entail seems like a headache waiting to happen. P’rihnn will leave the theorising to someone more inclined - he can follow well enough, but he certainly isn’t the smart one out of the Scions.

“You said the Scions are fine, but they’re not. Not for me. Thancred, Y’shtola, Urianger...” There’s a splash as, out of a lack of anything else to punch, he slaps his fist against the water. “He took Alphinaud in the middle of enemy territory. Alisaie on a battlefield. He’s lucky I don’t plan to kill him, but that can change.”

"If my conjecture is right, I can only wonder why it is that your Exarch and mine are so different... yours, presumably stronger, and mine... feeble, and weak," Felih murmurs quietly, anxiously. Such thoughts of different reflections, of timelines and alternate universes, of infinite possibilities and the ever-looming terror that Felih will be the one to doom it all.

At least P'rihnn can distract him with talk of the Scions. He's already concerned enough as it is, listening as he goes and gets into nightclothes, before his tail bristles and puffs up.

"He took the twins?!" The way his voice sharpens is already sign enough of how distressed the mere thought makes him. "It's bad enough to steal away the other Scions- but the twins!"

Hearing Felih moving, P’rihnn hoists himself out of the bath, not bothered by water splashing everywhere and not concerned about modesty as he hunts for a towel to dry himself with. “The twins!” he confirms. “And guess who brought back Alphinaud’s soulless body? Gaius van Baelsar. I felt sick to my stomach...”

Towel found, P’rihnn starts to roughly dry himself off, tail lashing and splashing more water over the floor.

“I need to find a way back. I - I don’t... I don’t want to leave this place to suffer, but... I can’t just drop it all! Besides... the other reflection, if the Exarch was calling me too, it’s going to be for the same reason. Right?”

"Ah- Gaius...! Then, it must have happened at that time, for you..." Felih murmurs. "I was worried sick! That optimistic fool- going off to Garlemald on his own, even though I objected! We had a horrid fight- but hells, I was so relieved when Gaius returned him to us later on. Turns out he had stumbled upon the wreckage of the ship..."

He bites his lip. "I- no, I understand. We need to get you where you should be. You to yours, me here in mine. We have our own battles to fight," he says, walking over to the bathing area with a sigh, pouting as he has to use more conjury to clean up the mess of water P'rihnn has splashed everywhere.

"You're making a slipping hazard," comes the sigh.

“So don’t slip,” is P’rihnn’s suggestion, and he quite deliberately flicks his sodden tail again in Felih’s direction in an attempt to splash him. Does Felih really have to keep reprimanding him? He’s not a child! “It’s just a bit of water! Relax. We have bigger worries.”

So, it seems that their two reflections do mirror each other quite closely, but Felih’s Scions are safe. Is that because the Exarch isn’t as strong here? Could he only manage one?

“I wonder if the main difference between the reflections is him,” he suggests, as - not even completely dry yet - he starts seeking something to wear to bed. “We’re obviously different, me and you, but it sounds like things might have been on the same path anyway.”

Felih gives P'rihnn a look when the other flicks water at him, and stands up to go tidy up the mess of water he's dripped and splashed everywhere. It's extra conjury, but he'd rather keep things tidy than just leave them as is.

"It's dirty water, and we have to keep our chambers clean," Felih insists, the healer's tail swishing irritably. "Don't you know how important cleanliness is?"

But he sighs a little, finishing up the chore, before he gives a lazy stretch and pulls the curtains shut to keep out the endless light so they could at least get some sleep. Were it not for the clocks, he'd have no sense of time, in this strange world...

"I suppose. I just wonder what changed to make him different," he murmurs, "But we'll just have to keep at it for now. Where do we even begin, in this place? Sin Eaters seem to be the main concern, being light-tainted monsters akin to voidsent..."

“Yes. That’s why I just bathed.” Another flick of his tail as he clothes himself, though by this point it’s dry enough that his attempt to splash Felih again fails. It doesn’t bother him too much, and he flops himself onto the bed. The one, singular bed, that he has decided is absolutely his now.

P’rihnn gives an exaggerated stretch and yawn, and flops back.

“Not the faintest where to start, but maybe there’s someone who can point us in the right direction... maybe they have strongholds or something, and we can just take them out?” He sounds very doubtful on that, however, and then groans. “I’m hoping we don’t have to talk to the Exarch again. One conversation was enough.”

"You're ridiculous," Felih sighs as he sees P'rihnn's attempt to try and splash him again. Still, seeing him flop and sprawl over the bed makes him pout, and he goes over to join him, making a point to push him over a little.

"Make room. Looks like we need to share," he huffs, before staring up at the ceiling.

"I want to know more about him. Why and how he came here, how he's come to know of us- how he decided we were the best way to handle this crisis. How he even drew us here..." he murmurs, before rolling onto his side and curling up a little. "Remember that some of the guards mentioned the Eaters following 'leaders' of a sort? The Wardens? Mayhap we should go after them first."

“You can sleep on the bench,” P’rihnn says, but given that he immediately budges up to make room it’s obvious he’s saying it for the sake of annoying Felih. Thankfully, the bed seems large enough they can both sleep there without getting into a mess of limbs.

He closes his eyes, lying flat on his back. “The Wardens... finding out more would be a good idea. Like where they’re hiding, and how many there are. We’re gonna have more luck finding out about them than the Exarch, I bet.”

"Yes... with folk keeping such close eyes on Sin Eater movements, it ought to be much easier to track down those things," Felih says with a sigh. "Much easier than information about the Exarch. But perhaps we'll get lucky, along the way. Surely, there must be folk across the realm who have treated with him, or something..."

He still idly thwacks P'rihnn's leg with his fluffy tail, just to annoy him back for the endless sassing. At least the dark in the room is making it easier for him to let his tired body drift off...

"...nn. Should I set a carbuncle to guard?" he muses. "Or I could summon Holly again, too." Felih is apparently quite the paranoid sort.

“I won’t stop you,” P’rihnn answers, returning the light thwap with one of his own. “Why? You worried?”

They are in a strange world with strange enemies, so P’rihnn supposes it’s natural for Felih to be a little wary. However, nobody but the Exarch seems to know who they are, and he has the impression people come to the city all the time - a safe haven, they called it, right?

He nudges Felih with his elbow, though only gently. “You’ve got nothing to worry about! I am the Warrior of Light, the best bodyguard any Warrior of Light can hope for!” It’s not much of an effort to lighten the mood, but he’s trying!

"...I just don't know how much I trust any of this," Felih murmurs quietly, but P'rihnn's attempt to cheer him up does coax a smile onto his lips, even if it's weak.

"Though, I suppose you're right. Two Warriors of Light are better than one," he replies, relaxing just a little. Still, he does manifest a carbuncle- a huge golden topaz one easily the size of a coeurl, which gives a big stretch before it yips and goes to dutifully stand guard at the door to their chambers.

"Let's try to get some rest, and hopefully tomorrow we can... try hunting down more information about these Wardens."

(Unfortunately for P'rihnn, he will soon discover Felih is quite a cuddler in his sleep. Curling up close and cozy- or attempting to, anyway, subconscious as the motions are.)

After an uncomfortable night for P’rihnn, who really doesn’t enjoy cuddles from people he likes never mind people he’s only just met, the pair set to finding out more about the Wardens. P’rihnn supposes they could have asked the Exarch for more information, but he had no intention of speaking to him if he didn’t have to. Besides, he had a feeling that if the Exarch had wanted to stop them from going to fight the Warden, he would have.

People did try to dissuade them, but endless warnings were not enough for either of them, and soon enough he and Felih were on a long trek through Lakeland, following reports of gathering Sin Eaters near the border to... Amh Araeng, if he recalls the name correctly. It doesn’t take them long to find them.

“Shite!”

Somehow, he had managed to draw the attention of six of the damn things! At least he was prepared for a fight!

"You just wandered right into their midst, didn't you," comes Felih's mildly amused commentary as he rushes up from behind him, chakrams already out and glowing with aether. He sends them flying, already getting to work dancing, magic spiraling off of him as he moves and attacks.

He's very attentive, ears up and alert, and he's careful not to get in the way of P'rihnn's dancing either, trying to prevent any missteps that might get them tangled up. At the very least, these smaller Eaters were easy to cluster up, which means they were that much easier to attack at once.

"These things make my skin crawl the way Voidsent do," he growls, bristling as he lashes out and strikes another of the beings. "They just feel sickeningly wrong."

“Best way to get it done!” P’rihnn calls back, quickly recovering from that moment of surprise and twirling away from the group to get himself in a better position and allow Felih the chance to attack. They chased after him in their clear hunger, gathering together in a cluster for him to charge back in and dance in a flurry of blades.

Though it’s the same dance, and P’rihnn is sure they must have learned from the same source and in the same way, Felih’s movements seem rather more graceful than his own, even in combat. It’s almost distracting, but not enough for him to make short work of the lesser sin eaters, leaving them dissolving into light on the ground.

“It’s like...” he says, trying to place what they remind him of. “Like some sort of... like they’re porcelain, and insect-like at the same time... and they feel wrong.” Another one approaches swiftly, but P’rihnn doesn’t bat an eye as he slices it across the midsection. “And I can definitely feel something very wrong, and it’s close.”

Felih is curiously taking the occasional glance at P'rihnn, watching the way he moves- and though P'rihnn's dance is more grounded and forceful, he can tell they learned from the same place. If anything, it just reminds him of the fact that they're reflections, that they must have experienced so many things similarly, in their own respective worlds... It just makes him curious as to what made Felih Felih, and what made P'rihnn into P'rihnn.

"That's... the perfect way to describe it, actually," Felih says with a few pants as they take a brief pause after the first group dissipates into light. "Hollow and empty. Even voidsent seem more... alive, don't they, than Sin Eaters?"

With that, he starts to dart further into the Sin Eater nest, chakrams and magic flying freely as he takes on anything in his sight, determined to clear out the most resistance he can before they reach the Warden. The more they can take out now, the less he has to worry about reinforcements later...

“These are dead inside,” P’rihnn agrees, charging after Felih, picking off any additional Sin Eaters that rush them or come up from behind. They are getting closer, now, he’s certain... that same strange, oppressive feeling he gets from the bright sky above seems to be growing stronger, sitting heavily upon him.

It’s so close... soon enough, that feeling becomes almost unbearable, and he slows down. “Where is it...?” he asks, voice low. It’s absolutely close by, and Felih must feel it too.

As they get closer to the horrid source of corrupted aether Felih can sense, he gets quieter, his movements silent as he creeps and stalks through the rocky crags of the mountain, ears up and alert. It's so close, he can feel it, just like P'rihnn- and the moment he can pinpoint its source, he freezes.

"There," he breathes softly, eyes glued to an overhang of rock that leaves the area beneath in shadow.

It truly looks as monstrous as it feels... It's so close, and it has already sensed their intrusion, the creature thrashing across the mountainous undergrowth and stone towards them. The strange, chimaeric creature is already intent on slaughtering them, and Felih leaps aside to try and split its attention between P'rihnn and himself.

"It's huge!" comes his shout of shock, as he starts his assault with magic and chakrams alike. "Hells- it completely leveled the stone!"

The beast’s aether is so corrupted it feels as though the air itself is stagnating, to the point P’rihnn almost feels sick. However, he quickly moves, away from Felih, leaving it flailing as it tries to assault both at once. “We’ll be fine!” he shouts back, dancing away from the chains that swing dangerously towards his legs. “It’s as mindless as the rest, just bigger!”

At least, it seems to be a mindless brute! It throws itself around with all of its weight, alternating between using it’s gargantuan fists and swinging its hefty tail in an effort to beat them down. It’s faster than it looks, but still P’rihnn is able to dance away from it with ease, reacting both to his own senses and to the echo before it can deal too much damage.

This thing... every time it tries to strike them, it leaves craters in the rocky ground.

Fortunately, he is able to not only keep a distance between himself and it, as it is assaulted on both sides with their aetherically augmented dances and chakram blades, it doesn’t seem to know which of its prey it should devour first. If P’rihnn can hold its attention, it should give Felih an opening!

P'rihnn's shout snaps him out of his moment of anxiety, and he nods before leaping forward and getting to work. He's moving quickly, movements sharp and piercing, throwing the aether-infused blades over and over again as they slam spells right against the beast's body. It lets him poison it, weaken it, lets him slow it down as he works away at it.

He's never been so glad to be as swift as he is: with the beast leaving craters everywhere it strikes, it's crucial for him to be able to dodge and leap out of the way of such pummeling. Between the two of them, at least, it's much easier to handle. Mindless as it is, it cannot seem to decide which of them to focus on for long, and soon he spots an opening his partner makes for him.

Perfect!

He manages to send a chakram flying and blasting right into the back of the beast's skull, splitting the flesh before Felih recalls the weapon and launches the other one right at it.

"Go for its head!"

“Right!”

The beast’s deafening roar feels as though it shakes the ground nearly as much as its pounding fists, but P’rihnn doesn’t let it distract him. Its attention drawn away from him by Felih’s chakrams, he takes the opening, his own bladed chakrams slashing through flesh and bone with a sickening and unnatural cracking sound.

Between him and Felih’s assault on its skull, it can’t possibly keep the fight up much longer - had it been a regular beast and not this monstrous thing, it would surely have fallen already.

It’s getting weaker, P’rihnn is sure. Its blows were never accurate to begin with, split between two targets, but now it looks as though it’s not even making a token effort to aim.

Just one more good hit. One more good hit.

Felih channels everything he has into his chakrams, unleashing a blast and flurry of aether and blades, and with P'rihnn's attacks bolstering his, the beast falls. It roars and writhes and then starts to crack- and then bursts into a rush of light.

The blinding aether makes Felih flinch before he watches as the aether swirls around the two of them, as if it cannot decide which to seek. They'd heard that whoever slays a Lightwarden often becomes corrupted by the light it releases, but...

Felih's bristling and anxious, not sure what to expect. But if this is Light, then...

He reaches out with a hand and accepts some of the Light, feeling it rush into him, and... nothing happens. He feels fine. He looks down at his hands, and then looks himself over. It doesn't feel like he's being turned into an Eater.

"Huh. Are you feeling well, P'rihnn?" he calls over to his companion, confused.

Worn out and worried he might be, as the beast bursts into light and dissipates in the air, P’rihnn still takes a moment to celebrate victory, spinning his chakrams and stretching out his body before turning his attention to his ally. Is he well? He can certainly feel the aether, and the light was so visible, but... he frowns.

“I’m fine,” he confirms, but he knows why Felih is puzzled. “I... expected to be fine, after all I’ve - we’ve - already been through, but I still expected something more than this...” He had assumed it would be something not entirely unlike a Primal’s tempering, wondered whether the Echo would give him protection from the Light as well and whether it was their blessing that had caught the Exarch’s interest, so perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised, but... for the beast to simply be gone feels a little anti-climactic.

Is that all?

He sighs, and returns his chakrams to his hips, looking up to the bright sky that was a constant reminder how far he is from home. He does not expect what he sees - a strange, dark ripple in the otherwise unbroken light.

“Hey...” he says, still staring upwards, trying to direct Felih’s attention.

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