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

[featherfoot]

And it's not right.



P'rihnn is honestly not sure what happened. One moment he had been fighting Zenos - or rather, Elidibus in Zenos' skin - and the next he was here. He vaguely remembers being hit by a powerful headache and seeing Elidibus approach him as if for a decisive blow, but the voice that had called him didn't seem quite the same as before. Was this how it had been for the others? For the Scions? Did his body lie on the ground in the Ghimlyt Dark, soul torn away? And for this?

He looks around his surroundings, frown growing deeper and deeper as he realises he hasn't the slightest clue where he is. There is no place he knows with such dense, purple foliage... and the light shining down on him is strangely oppressive, though he can't say why.

Fortunately he can see a nearby structure, and what looks like it might be a path. He can vaguely make out something beyond the trees, too, so... that way, then. After checking to make sure he still has his chakrams, just in case, P'rihnn makes his way to the wooden structure, looking around him to see if he can spy someone he can question.

Comments

[featherfoot]

“How about I gently beat the answers out of him?” P’rihnn amends. “...I know, I know. But he’s asking a lot of us and giving nothing back.”

His tail flicks back and forth, tapping against the ground.

“When we get back to the Crystarium, maybe you should try and talk to him again. On your own. I think I’d just lose my temper... and it is you he wanted, not me.”

[seasoflight]

Felih gives another deep sigh, ears lowering.

"Yes. Perhaps I will," he says quietly. "If nothing else, to report that we killed a Lightwarden already. Perhaps he'll be more willing to share with us now that we've shown we're doing something?"

His tail swishes over the grass for a moment, before he stretches and slowly begins to stand. "...let's get heading back, then. At least they've still got aetherytes in this realm. I'm not in the mood to make the walk all the way back..."

[featherfoot]

P’rihnn stays where he is for just a few moments more, before nodding his agreement and getting to his feet. “Well, maybe when things calm down in the Crystarium. People must be losing their minds,” he says, before offering Felih a grin and holding out his fist. “Rest up, and visit the tower in the morning!”

[seasoflight]

Felih smiles and bumps P'rihnn's fist with his own, and nods. "Let's do that, then. We ought to check in on everyone..." And with that, they can make the jump back to their temporary abode, taking in the way the city is reacting to the sudden darkness, the night sky.

At least the children's awe helps warm his heart after a tiring day.

[featherfoot]

Despite clear confusion and a slight undercurrent of worry, the people of the Crystarium celebrated the arrival of night as P’rihnn hoped they would, and he was more than happy to join in the celebrations until finally the pair retired to bed. Not a single person yet had questioned their involvement in the matter - P’rihnn felt, as newcomers the very day before the night returned, that it was only a matter of time - but they all were in awe at their first time ever seeing the stars.

P’rihnn being just a little drunk meant he slept a bit easier, and when he awoke to knocking at the door, he found himself in a tangle of limbs atop Felih in their shared bed. ...they really should sort out another...

Untangling himself, P’rihnn quickly made himself decent before approaching the door, calling out a “who is it?” through a wide yawn.

It was the Manager of Suites, here to relay a request for them to meet again with the Exarch... a few words, and he was gone, leaving P’rihnn to turn back to Felih. “You still up for going alone?”

[seasoflight]

P'rihnn wasn't the only one celebrating: Felih had been drinking and dancing, putting on a show in the tavern and helping keep the festivities rolling well into the night. Song and dance are his specialty, taverns and stages his home, and he's happy for the chance to just relax and enjoy himself.

Come morning, though, he's a little groggy and still very sleepy, not a morning person despite being a Seeker. He'd been quite cozy and cuddled up to P'rihnn, and awoke when the other Seeker started to untangle himself, blinking blearily as he watches the other man answer the door.

After a few moments to mull it over, he says, "Yes, I can go. Though, part of me just wants to sleep another bell or two..." He gives a big stretch and a yawn, his tail arcing over his back as he stretches forward in the usual feline manner, before standing up and trying to wake himself more. He takes his time, leisurely grooming himself and getting dressed, eating some breakfast before he bunts at P'rihnn's shoulder.

"Well. I'm off, then. Are you staying in, or going to wander about some?"

[featherfoot]

“I’ll wander a bit. Get more food... maybe I’ll cook, later,” P’rihnn suggests, his tail waving leisurely behind him at the thought of cooking something good. “Something for our inevitable journey to wherever we need to be.” At least, to his relief, his gil was apparently perfectly valid currency even in the First.

He sits on the bench, strapping on his sandals.

“I’ll walk with you to the tower, then head to the markets. That fine by you?”

[seasoflight]

"Oh? You cook? I'll look forward to it, then," Felih says with a smile, relaxing as he finishes up his braid, tying it off with a ribbon before he takes a standing stretch. "That sounds good. Let's head on over, then. The first proper morning after the first proper night. It'll be nice not to have to deal with blinding light when we're trying to sleep."

With that, the mage is dressed and ready to go, preened and clean and at least ready to face the day. (As they leave, he swears he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in their room, but... it must have been his imagination.)

Off to the tower, and then Felih makes his way up the old path to the Ocular, remembering his summons, and hoping that this time he'll be able to get more information out of the reclusive Exarch.

[crystaltower]

The door is already wide open, and the Exarch in the very same spot he stood the last time Felih had entered his chambers. As his guest steps through, the doors swing closed behind him, and the Exarch greets him with a smile and a bow.

It would only take a few steps forward for Felih to find the barrier was still there.

“Felih. Thank you for your answering my summons...” He tilts his head. “Did your companion not wish to come?”

[seasoflight]

Felih reaches out and feels the barrier with his fingers, sighing softly and letting his ears fall when he realized he's still being shut out.

"Ah... he thought it would be better not to come. His temper, and all," Felih replies, before looking at the other man. "Must you truly still hide away back there? It's hard to trust someone I can't even really speak with face-to-face..."

[crystaltower]

“I have a great many reasons to keep my distance... most of them quite personal. Forgive me.” His voice, just as quiet and raspy as before, sounds flat - this is a statement rather than an apology. However, as a small concession, he does come a bit closer to the barrier, standing only a few yalms from Felih.

“I only mean to thank you both, for taking such decisive action so quickly, and returning the night to Lakeland.” His voice still sounds flat and emotionless, but he can’t quite find the energy to inject some feeling into it. “Before I had even given you any direction, no less.”

[seasoflight]

The man sounds like an automaton.

"You don't seem particularly pleased either way," Felih murmurs, still quite upset about the distance the man is insistent on keeping between them. "We learned what we could from the people here. Coupled with what you told us, we decided to go after the creatures' pack leaders. We hadn't expected that killing them would also return night... a happy accident, I suppose."

"Did you summon me here for empty thanks and some ushering off to the next beast to be killed?" Felih asks quietly. "I'm quite used to being pointed at threats, so just out with it, if that's the case."

[crystaltower]

“...no, I... wanted to see you.”

Wait, what is he saying? The Exarch shakes his head, and decides to simply discuss the matter at hand. He cannot be showing any kind of sentiment at this juncture - or at all.

“And my thanks are far from empty... your actions may have saved more lives than you realise. With Sin Eaters gathering in such numbers, it was all but certain they were about to fall upon a settlement in Lakeland, beyond my protection.” It seems that this time, Holminster Switch is not a concern.

[seasoflight]

"You- you did?" Felih murmurs, ears perking up curiously. He listens, tilting his head, and he hums.

"You just... seem quite tired, Exarch," he eventually decides to say. "I have to ask. Why me? Of all folk... There have been other Warriors of Light. Any of them would do, wouldn't they?"

[crystaltower]

The Exarch is quiet for a very long moment, debating whether to brush the question off or give a half-honest answer. “When it comes to achieving the seemingly impossible, I know of none more accomplished,” he eventually says. “Simply having the Blessing of Light will not be enough to see this work done.”

He gives a strained smile as Felih shows him some concern, but shakes his head to dismiss it.

[seasoflight]

That makes Felih's cheeks go dark for a moment. "...you- you think so? Truly? How did you even come to know of me? If even Raha has been forgotten..." The memory of which makes Felih falter once more, and Felih shifts and holds himself as he tries to rein in the emotion.

"I do not think I've done anything more noteworthy than other Warriors..."

[crystaltower]

Of course he’d been forgotten. He was just a nobody scholar who got tied to the tower by virtue of his bloodline, with no significant accomplishments or achievements to his name. Perhaps he would be remembered by the people of the Crystarium, but only as the nameless and faceless and questionably human founder of the city. The man in the tower.

“There are... things I have found within the tower,” he says, cautiously, considering his words. Perhaps he can make up a little for hurting Felih before? “From the Source. Records... memoirs... many of which focused on you, as though someone quite specifically collected them. There were other materials, of course, but those were most prominent.”

[seasoflight]

Felih listens, puts the pieces together, and despite himself, he feels the tears welling up in his eyes.

"He... Raha... he might have..." he murmurs quietly, heart aching and cheeks burning as he remembers the words G'raha imparted to him before sealing himself away.

The star by which I chart my course.

"Are you- to control this tower, you must... have Allagan blood," Felih murmurs quietly. "Could you- could you perhaps be his descendant...? Or- ah..." There's so much to wonder.

[crystaltower]

“I am most assuredly not a descendent of his,” the Exarch says, trying to ignore the dull ache in his chest. “Though perhaps those records were indeed left by him. I cannot say.”

A pause, and he tilts his head, giving another weak smile.

“...among the records I found were those of your passing.”

[seasoflight]

"But then- how is it that you control the tower...?" Felih asked, baffled, confused. The townsfolk said that the Tower appeared decades ago, and the Exarch with it- and the Tower must have come from the Source... but how far into the future? Was there any of the Allagan bloodline even left, with it thinning out with every generation?

But the last bit throws him off-guard, stunning him into freezing for a moment, before he sighs.

"Ah... so who killed me?" Felih asks quietly, faintly. He'd accepted long ago that he would not live long- it was only a matter of time, for adventurers like him.

[crystaltower]

“Not so much ‘who’ as ‘what’. The coming Calamity. The very Calamity I seek to prevent.” His smile is gone, and his grip tightens upon his staff. “You asked why you... it is not only because of your accomplishments. It seems somehow ‘right’ that the Calamity be undone by one of the many, many lives claimed. And...”

He looks to the side, not sure if he wants to see Felih’s face as he continues, thinking of his conversation with his Ascian prisoner the day before. He needs to give Felih some reason to trust him... something personal, and human, as he has avoided these past few cycles.

“Though I realise the stories and the person are not entirely the same, still I would like you to live... those stories were one of the few things to give me hope.”

Though his voice still sounds tired and flat, there is still a slight ripple of emotion in it that he has never quite been able to hold back. Gods... no matter how tired he is, and no matter how he tries to squash the emotion down, he still so dearly loves Felih.

[seasoflight]

"Oh," is Felih's soft, stunned answer. The first real hint of emotion he's heard from the Exarch, and it's about him? That he was a source of hope? His ears briefly tuck back against his hair, before he finds his voice again.

"So I am to undo the Calamity that, in another time, killed me," he murmurs, trying to come to terms with such a strange idea. "You traveled through time. An astonishing feat..."

A beat, and then Felih tries pressing at the barrier again. "Would you let me touch you? Not in any inappropriate way, of course, just- being closer lets me see just how fluid the crystal of your body is, and I've never seen such a marvel..."

[crystaltower]

“The Tower travelled through time,” the Exarch clarifies, not quite willing to reveal that he had done so personally. At the suggestion of Felih touching him, however, he takes a half-step back and shakes his head.

“...that, I must refuse. There is no healing this, and so it would only serve to sate your curiosity.”

[seasoflight]

Felih looks at the Exarch dubiously. There's just so much that doesn't make sense. The Exarch must have Allagan blood- and someone had to send this tower across time and space to reach where it currently is. If it isn't the Exarch, then he doesn't know who else could be! Besides, most of the Exarch's mysterious behavior leads him to doubt much of what he says.

"...I see," he murmurs, disappointed, before asking, "Why the barrier? Do you distrust me so?"

[crystaltower]

"...I do not like to even be seen, these days..." the Exarch admits. "No matter who it might be. I can only lower the barrier with a guarantee you will keep your distance."

He knows that he can not be recognised by voice or even by scent now, but physically closer carries the risk of emotionally closer, especially with someone as physical as Felih. He dares not risk it.