Here be my Inbox!

[imaglyphwitch]

Comments

[aetherweaver]

[He's not knocking it, it's neat!]

Oh, okay. And yeah, it is.

[He hustles inside and closes the door behind him, stamping off the snow as best he can. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a can, holding it out to Luz.]

These mushrooms were fresh when we canned them, so they should keep a good while.

[imaglyphwitch]

[Yeah it was!

Luz ushers him, making sure to try and hang up whatever he's wearing].

Oh, right, the mushrooms! Got to make sure my girlfriend doesn't seem them though.

Anyway! Go warm yourself by the fire! It's pretty cold out there!

[aetherweaver]

[He inclines his head slightly. Her girlfriend... doesn't like mushrooms? Huh.]

Sorry, if I'd known I would have brought something else.

[He hangs up his cloak and shakes his head, leaving his boots by the door as well. He quietly pads over and sits near the fire, tail curling around his side.]

Thank you, Luz. I appreciate it.

[imaglyphwitch]

No, it's fine. I said SHE doesn't like them, but she doesn't live here, after all! We all do! And I am definitely using them for stews!

[Luz makes sure to give the fire a good poke before going back into the kitchen. A few minutes later she comes out with the crostinis and two large cups of hot tea].

That good for you, or do you want something else?

[aetherweaver]

[He nods and smiles, patting the spot next to him. Sit with him, Luz!]

No, those look great. And thank you for the tea.

[He takes it gratefully and sips it.]

I never really liked tea before I went to Kugane... since that's practically all they drink.

[Not really, but it's extremely common.]

But I like it a lot now.

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz may be confusing Lexi with her friend Rose, though she imagined that Lexi wasn't too fond of Mushrooms either, for some reason. She did plunky down next to Nara'a].

Sure, of course! I've really taken a shine to it for most cold weather!

It was gradual for me too. Lysithea and Eda were the ones that really made me use it for breaking the ice!

[aetherweaver]

Yeah? It's been a while since then...

[He takes another sip of his tea, nodding.]

I'm just... glad that you're okay, Luz.

[imaglyphwitch]

You can say that again.

[Luz took a sip, then made a chuckle],

All right in some ways, sure. It's still Trench, so it can put its own stamp on you, one way or another.

[aetherweaver]

Well, yeah. Of course it can.

... I just don't want you to get hurt. You're my friend.

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz took a sip, and looked at her friend].

I don't want YOU to get hurt either. We're friends, aren't we?

[aetherweaver]

Well... yeah.

I just... I acted badly before. Even if I was corrupted, that's not an excuse.

[imaglyphwitch]

I'm just glad that you're better.

It might have been for the best. If I had stuck around, you might have really hurt me.

[aetherweaver]

Mhm.

[He looks down at his teacup. There are no answers in the teacup.]

I'm trying to never get that bad again...

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz gave him a curious look].

How do you think you'd be able to stop it?

[aetherweaver]

Well for one, I'm trying to keep an eye on my mental state in general. My emotions, in particular.

[imaglyphwitch]

[Luz looked a little reflective here].

Does that...help? I did the same thing, after I got corrupted. It's way harder than most people think.

[aetherweaver]

... All we can do is try, right?

[imaglyphwitch]

Well yeah, but I also use incense and meditation and stuff too.

Also helps that I have a girlfriend. It anchors me a little to have someone who's always in my corner. But I'm lucky. I've always had people who were trying to help me when things got bad.

Thinking of them helps too.

[aetherweaver]

I mostly use meditation techniques when I'm fighting. It takes a lot of focus to channel aether. I do use incense when it feels particularly bad...

[Now, at least. Before, he wasn't really caring.]

There's people who care about me as well. Though having a partner like that... I'd be worried about worrying them too much.

[imaglyphwitch]

So you're doing the best that you can.

[Luz hoped it was enough. She liked Nara'a, and she didn't want anything bad happening to him.

Though even Luz didn't know if these things were enough. She hardly knew it about her own struggles with corruption].

Oh, I do! All the time! It's kinda why I try not to jump so easily into things as I usually do. I'm trying to stay alive.

[aetherweaver]

Yeah, pretty much.

... Ah... well. That's kind of been my whole life - at least since I left home. I've been getting into a lot of trouble...

[imaglyphwitch]

Heh, guess we share that then.

You attract trouble or...do you sort of fall into it, like me?

[aetherweaver]

Kind of both? I sort of fell into being the Warrior of Light, which attracted more trouble, which I ended up falling into... it's sort of a cycle.

[imaglyphwitch]

Warrior of light? Really?

What does that entail?

Vague Shadowbringers spoilers

[aetherweaver]

It's... well, someone chosen by Hydaelyn to help the world. She's... sort of a goddess? It's complicated.

There were Warriors of Light that helped fight against the fall of the lesser moon Dalamud, but they disappeared during the battle and no one knows what happened to them. No one can even remember what they looked like. But... after I started helping people with big things like fighting Primals, they started calling me a Warrior of Light as well.