IC Inbox | noctiumrp

[voidgates]

« theartistalphinaudandhisass »

TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION

SUMMER ICARIAN ✦ FINAL FANTASY XIV (WoL OC)
RESIDENCE ✦ Residency
GEMBOND ✦ Ruby

"...ltros, what are you doing with that, put that down right now you little —"

INFO ✧ PERMISSIONS ✧ KINKLIST ✧ EXTRA

Comments

[unicornknight]

If there is any blame to be had, it must surely lay with me, for it is often said that a chocobo is wont to take after its trainer, and I have never been one to show restraint in my affections.

[ He chuckles softly, his expression one of fondness as he rubs Violetta's beak. She trills softly in the back of her throat, the nictitating membranes fluttering rapidly over her eyes. She clearly finds his touch quite relaxing.

He can only bear to watch Summer struggle for the briefest of moments before he leans forward to offer assistance. ]

Here, allow me to—

[ His fingers brush against her hands, and as he looks down into her face, he catches a glimpse of her eyes, and his breath catches in his throat. A familiar feeling of warmth bubbles within his chest, overwhelming in its intensity—Hydaelyn's love for all Her children wells within Summer's eyes, and he knows that shining radiance for the Blessing of Light, the gift bestowed upon Hydaelyn's Chosen.

Then she...

She is a Warrior of Light. There can be no doubt in his mind. But did he not recall how Summer said she would speak of 'her' Warrior to him?

His mind reels with a thousand questions, the foremost being... why would she conceal her identity from him? ]

I...

[ His large hands close over her own, unwilling to let them part. He cannot tear his gaze away from her face, and he suddenly finds himself at a loss for words.

How beautiful and radiant you are, my new-old friend. ]

[voidgates]

[It's in the moment he takes her hands that Summer realizes, cold and sudden, that she doesn't remember what the Haurchefant of her star looked like.

It's — it's not that she doesn't remember him. It's just that she doesn't remember him like this, flesh and blood and bone with hands big enough to swallow hers up. She doesn't remember that his fringe hangs a little heavier on one side than the other or that his eyes are a darker blue than Aymeric's, deep like the ocean he'd always longed to see. She doesn't remember if he smelled like feathers and soap and the barest hint of sweat. She doesn't remember that he was a man.

The Haurchefant of her star is a smear of blood marring the corner of a mouth. He's a broken shield, a promise of a smile. He's a painting hung over his unoccupied chair at Camp Dragonhead. He's the salt of Obsidian's silent tears and the never-satiated wondering of what might have been.

It's a boy holding her hands. It's a boy like she's a girl and he's alive and warm and so tall she'd have to crane her neck just to look at him, the bastard, so strong he could lift her and likely barely even feel it at all. And that's the moment she realizes that this isn't her Haurchefant the way that she isn't his Julien, and — and —

And that's not a bad thing.

Megumi asked her once if it hurt to be brought face to face with her friends and discover that they didn't know her. And of course it does, but — but somehow, it's better, too. Somehow it's a little like really seeing him for the very first time, with no legacy to obscure the man beneath. It's like stripping away all the trappings and titles people have awarded her over the years, and finding just Summer Icarian underneath.]

You're staring.

[There's a warmth in those words, faint and fleeting, like the first breath of spring across a Coerthan snowfield.]

Haurchefant...?

[unicornknight]

[ He has no notion of any of the thoughts swirling through her mind, and yet surely seeing him in the flesh must be dredging up painful memories, as they always do.

As they always have.

And yet, she still endeavors to greet him with a smile and pretend that she does not know him. To spare herself further pain? To avoid an awkward and tearful reunion?

Why?

He cannot fathom a suitable reason, in this moment, but he knows that Summer must have some reason for concealing her identity.

And so he decides to play along with her charade and pretend that he does not see the light of Hydaelyn's blessing shining in her eyes. He will greet her as a stranger, and he will endeavor to earn her friendship, without the expectation of a previous relationship lingering in the back of his mind.

Her voice, soft and gentle as a spring breeze, draws him out of his pensive thoughts. He blinks, then slowly shakes his head. Lips spread into a flirtatious grin as he quickly gathers his composure. ]

I... I was merely taken aback by your beauty! Your eyes are a most stunning shade of chartreuse, the likes of which I have never seen before. [ He tips his head lower, his grin growing a fraction wider. ] I feel as though I could lose myself in them were I to gaze for too long...

[ Nailed it! Just turn on the charm, and she'll never suspect that anything is amiss!

He deftly takes the drinks from her hands, straightening as he does so. Violetta hovers to one side, cocking her head at a querulous angle. ]

Now, as you were saying?

[voidgates]

[There's absolutely no possibility that Haurchefant is this shocked by the sight of her face. She knows this, rationally. And yet the way he offers the compliment to her in recovery is more than enough to make her face heat with abrupt fluster. It's one thing to flirt and be flirted with, giving as good as she gets. It's quite another to be showered in such praise having done nothing of her own to elicit it.]

First I've ever heard them called chartreuse.

[Almost instinctively, she pulls her voice into what is clearly an impression of someone else, letting it swoop low and deep with clipped consonants — a not-half-bad imitation of Aymeric and his cultured Ishgardian tones, if one were to figuratively squint a little.]

...Oh. Um. Oh! That's right. In the bag — there's greens for Violetta. Perhaps she'll find those more to her taste than my head.

[unicornknight]

[ You say that, Summer, but he is also married to Megumi, and he finds miqo'te features quite charming.

The sight of her blush causes his grin to grow marginally wider. She looks absolutely adorable with her cheeks brushed with pink, causing her facial markings to stand out all the more against her pale skin. ]

Mayhap it is because it is named for a type of liqueur which has found popularity among the Ishgardian elite? 'Tis rare to find it served outside Coerthas and parts of the Shroud.

[ He can't help but chuckle at her passingly fair imitation of Aymeric and his refined way of speaking. And it only serves to remind him that she must have spent a great deal of time in his presence as the Warrior of Light. His expression softens just a bit at the thought of them spending time with one another.

At the mention of greens, Violetta immediately eyezooms on Summer's bag. She dips her head low, nudging her beak against the bag and making a right nuisance of herself. ]

Ha! You said the magic word, and now you must deal with the consequences! [ He chuckles as Violetta continues trying to open the bag with her beak. ] Do not be afraid to push her back if she becomes too bothersome. She's sturdily built, she can take it.

[voidgates]

[She said HER face, Haurchefant, so the point still stands!!!]

Mm, have you found anything comparable around here? Mayhap you'll have to buy me one sometime, so that I might sample it. And so that we both can see how well it compares to my eyes.

[When in doubt, flirt right back. It's good enough to buy herself a moment — at least until Violette comes in and causes a blessed distraction of her own, aggressively nosing (beaking?) her way in to search for her treat.

Trying not to laugh, Summer makes a grab for the bag in an attempt to dislodge it from Violetta's attentions. It takes her two or three tries before she manages to do it, and does in fact have to resort to giving her head a shove, which soon turns into an affectionate round of petting with her hand nearly wrist-deep in feathers.]

She's so lovely. And she clearly adores you — it's wonderful to see, really.

[unicornknight]

[ Her face is also incredibly cute, but he's kinda stuck on her extremely gorgeous eyes right now, okay?! ]

There is a similar enough liquor that they brew in Primavera. Given the cultural preference for the color green, and the fact that the climate is amenable to growing a variety of herbs, it is something of a staple there. Mayhap we should go and sample a bottle at one of the local eateries?

[ Well, someone is trying to secure a second date, huh? And he's not even being the least bit subtle about it! Not that subtly was ever part of his playbook.

He tries to stifle a laugh behind his hand, watching as Violetta attempts to forcefully extricate some delicious green crunchies from Summer's bag. But the moment Summer begins to pet her, she relents, the feathers along her chest puffing slightly outward so that Summer's fingers can more easily comb through them. ]

Raised her from a chick, I did. Her egg was smaller than the others, and she would have been cast aside had I not snuck her out of the stables as a lad. I kept her hidden beneath my bed in the manor, and Stephanivien built an incubator to ensure that she would remain warm when I wasn't there to tend to her. It was at least three moons before anyone noticed, and by then she was strong and healthy enough that she could rejoin her flock at the stables!

[ It was mostly due to the fact that the Haillenarte children had suddenly taken an inordinate interest in the bastard son of House Fortemps that even Edmont began to suspect that mischief was afoot. And while he certainly couldn't condone keeping a chocobo chick in the manor, he had seemed strangely proud that Haurchefant had managed to rear a sickly chick for so long in secret. ]

She has been my constant companion ever since. She even reared several strong broods, and I gifted one of the hatchlings to a very dear friend of mine...

[ To the Warrior of Light, of course. ]