#Drahn

[windupiceheart]

New ocss, the first is a drahn who's a free citizen, the second is a mystel/viis who works under her

#ffxiv #ff14 #miqo'te #au ra #drahn #mystel #he looks more mystel than viis so I'm just tagging that one #aridina #keo-kestt #static art

[sapphy-dragon]

Tour of the realm day 37 (ShB spoilers)

after having made the long travel to the first, I find myself at the ever beautiful Crystarium, a place created by my dear friend to keep the surviving people of the first safe, I always Marvel at its crystalized glory! It's honestly nice to take a trip back to the first every now and then, catch up with the amazing people I met and friends I have made.

#ff14 #ffxiv #original character #ffxiv wol #au ra #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv gpose #ffxiv screenshots #gpose #gposers #Drahn

[caden-xiv]

shades i

THWACK.

Another splatter painted his ankles. The cuts stung, but the pain sloughed off him in waves, every loud throb in his head cleansing his worn body of any feeling. Eyes wide and teeth clenched, he pulled the makeshift implement free from his target, thin arms hoisting it over himself again. A drip of its pale, corrupted blood landed on his forehead and traveled down the bridge of his nose.

For the first time he vocalized his attack, letting out the loudest ragged roar his small body could manage. 

THWACK.

He brought the slab of pig iron down on the creature’s skull again and it warped strangely, bringing an end to its unnatural twitching and moaning. His hands burned, but once more the throb from his head wiped the sensation from him, even as he regarded his slashed and bruised palms.

He slowly stepped back from the corpse--which had already begun to decompose into twinkling aetheric stars--and watched it closely, his body shaking and breaths uneven and quick. He was too young to truly understand resentment, but watching this horrific, cruel thing become something so beautiful gave him basis for the sentiment, and his expression twisted, teeth bared and brow lowered. 

Blood squeezed between his tiny fingers as his hands knot into fists, and he shook further as his head lowered and shoulders tightened, an anger with no target left wracking his entire being.

He felt something touch his shoulder and the fury that possessed him suddenly fled, replaced by the fear that had driven him before. He whipped around and lifted his stained, clenched fists him front of himself, stumbling backwards through the sea of stars that his dead foe had left.

“Take it easy...” she mumbled. It was a tall woman, a Galdjen, with dark, greying hair and gleaming black armour that stood out against the overbearing light that streamed in from outside the farm shed. The silhouette of a massive blade peeked over her shoulder and below her leg. She gave him a once-over, her silvery gaze lingering on his shredded hands before looking into his own eyes.

Though fearful he returned the stare, his mouth drawn into a tight-lipped frown and fists still at the ready. He saw that her armour was stained, viciously painted with the pale blood of the light monsters, and let out a small exhalation in response to the realization.

“You’re the only one left, kid,” she whispered, her face easing with the words, “so we need to get you out of here. I’ll protect you.”

She extended an armoured hand. He hesitated, and then grasped it. Tears began to well at the base of his amber eyes.

#writing #shades #caden vargas #au ra #au ra xaela #drahn #drk #dark knight #ffxiv

[scrapchops]

sketchdump ffxiv edition

#viera #dyric #drahn #ffxiv #mortis #love my idiots #im gonna post the ship kids after this

[tsunael]

Not tagging these because they're old, scuffed and I want to redo them-- but ... I once tried to recreate the poses from Amano's concept art of the FF8 logo for fun and no profit. Looking at these again, you know that 'your wol finds a cheesy romance novel written about them' question going around? Well, I regret to inform you that this may be it lmao.

#gpose #FF8 isn't even my favorite I say while steeping my wolship in the squinoa bath over and over and over again #anyway so the novel is definitely in Vrandtic since they're a bit more infamous there #and idk they probably romanticize the hell out of the monarchy the drahns had going on so #or are just romanticizing the warrior of dankness and her bodyguard uwu !!! It's definitely one of /those/ bodice rippers. #yeah so anyway guys it's called the sorceress' knight-- BOOO 🍅🍅🍅🍅

[humblemooncat]

#MiqoMarch - Day 8, Wilderness

"Behold! The divine protector of Ronka! The great serpent of legend!"

The Rak'tika Greatwood not only has a banger of a bgm, but is definitely a wilderness in its own right. It's also home to one of my favorite NPCs, Quinfort. I'll make sure to protect the Great Serpent for ya, buddy.

I'd use the Great Serpent for tomorrow, since I love him dearly, but I have another I use far more often.

#Ki'to #Ki'to SS #MiqoMarch #Ki'to Vashai #I love one dork of a drahn #Quinfort is the best #Literally the only reason I opened up the Qitari quests #ffxiv oc #ffxiv wol #ffxiv

[ferrocyan]

with how naming conventions work for multiple races in the First the culture of this world seems to place a lot of importance on a person's geographical origin. mystels append it to their first name: lue(birthplace)-reeq(first name) chalah (surname), humes and elves have it in their surnames: ardbert hyll(hills)+fyst(soldier), taynor lak(lakeland)+plowe (while galdjent and drahns seem to have a noble house system)

how tragic is it that their world ends up losing 90% of its landmass in the Flood

#ffxiv

[ffxivxd]

After the Ronkan Empire fell, the Drahn were forced out of the forest and fled north. Here, the Drahn monarch at the time joined forces with Galdjent and worked together to best the Elves. The two races joined together to become the Kingdom of Voeburt.

#ff14 #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ffxivxd #final fantasy 14

[kicktwine]

for the ffxiv specbio stuff, do you headcanon the people on the First as having physically different traits from the people on the Source, or are they pretty one to one? and if so, were there any strange looks/social faux pas regarding the scions while on the First?

THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING ACTUALLY I think… that the species are all the same, mostly, but since they evolved/grew/colonized in/from different environments, there are definitely differences because of that. Like, say, dwarves not having any of the lalafells’ adaptations to sand, and instead having darkvision in their mining environments and more of a mole snout than a slit snout. Maybe being fuzzier overall. Or elves not having that split between duskwight (colorful, variant cave animal) and wildwood (forest animal). Heck there’s not a lot of elves at all, are there? Was their homeland just so concentrated that most of them were wiped? Another hard thing about this is the complete lack of knowledge we have of the regions before the Flood outside of Norvrandt! Or maybe just knowledge I have. Lol. I don’t have encyclopedia eorzea 2 or 3 just the first one… if anyone can hook me up with a First Lore Historian. I’d love to learn. Or with 50 bucks so I can grab the encyclopedia

And then, even, after the Flood, a lot of culture broke down in favor of communication and survival, so people just souped together. In short… ok. I think the First had a very fairytale vibe, so their designs should reflect that. I know drahn and galdjent have like a kingdom thing going on. There’s probably WAY less sea imagery and ocean features on roe in the first. More puppies than sea puppies, vaguely. More mountainy? Drahn I think are much more draconic than most Auri people, think fairytale dragon guys. They have the kind of customs that fairytale dragons and fae have, too, so it’s historically easy to say something odd to them and vice versa. Giants and dragons! I haven’t met a single elf except Ardbert’s friend. That’s an exaggeration but like no important npcs were elves. They seem very isolationist to me, very used to solo travel. Humes seem to have been mostly in kingdoms as well, like Ishgard, but less Catholic. They’re probably the most same. Garleans as a race of people do not exist on the First which is interesting. Ronso seem much more family-oriented, work-oriented, still cowboys, but very similar. I think the coeurl type hrothgar would be replaced with something else. Viis we know a lot about! They seem to be very similar as well, though I think just for fun for me, they’re Bigger. Like, taller, they’re isolated in a warm forest with plenty of prey and big magic energy. Viis big. Mystel I don’t know about, but they don’t SEEM to be desert cats, so I actually think. They don’t have undereye markings. Some of them have fold ears or domestic triangle cat ears rather than wild cat features. Familiar-like, not a lion pride — so they don’t have the same family structure miqote do either, it’s more like wolves where location and family are top tier. And Dwarves for sure have more mole than mouse features - thick claws on their toes and fingers, a little snoot, and very reflective eyes that are a bit sensitive to light. 

As for social faux pas… I think that Miqote, to show they’re unserious or apologetic, bunt or touch the other cat, lay down or sit next to them, put their tail on the other’s tail, something physical — and Mystel will lick their lips and look away and NOT touch, because further touching is To Fight. Ari FOR SURE tried to lean on and got smacked by Kai-Shirr and then smacked him back in betrayal. It took Alphy intervention to fix that. It is also way more common for humes to grumble and growl than it is for hyur (that’s bad manners. Imagine you bumped into someone at the store and they growled at you), so there was one point where Ryne actually (quietly like a kid swearing for the first time) grrrd at a monster and thancred had a whole 20 minutes of thinking to himself wether or not this was OK feral child behavior to let her keep doing or if he should tell her not to or. Or what. What do here. Is this OK. And lastly..,,, lalafellin alcohol is pretty strong, but their beer and mead taste great so it’s a popular party drink. dwarven alcohol is INCREDIBLY strong, it contains an ingredient mildly toxic to every other race except mord. You are SUPPOSED to, however you decide to do it, last a number of mugs (if you’re a bigger race, dilute the thing with soda or juice, you might get teased but it’s what you do). Some people were not aware of this and passed out after one mug, and got pitiful beards drawn on them (Urianger’s wispy stubble was quite silly to the rest of the party)

I’d love to compile more abt the First just in general. maybe my ideas would change with more info … anyways! Thank u for letting me drop a very large text bubble :]

#ffxiv #ask #vivinavina #shadowbringers spoilers #I like the first so much…….

[soleil-aelius]

Wolmeric Week Day 3: Alternate Universe

In the age before the First fell to Light, the mantle of Titania was held by the pixie Sigun Ose. They held a deep fondness for colourful lives of the Voeburtian people, but none more so than a young Drahn knight, Haimirich.

(This was 100% an excuse to recreate this gorgeous art by @/liridi)

previous days: 1 2

#wolmericweek #wolmericweek2023 #wolmeric #ffxiv #Aymeric #wolship #Heart and Sol #this took so long you don't even know #@me stop needing highly specific mods for all your ideas. On the bright side I now have an Au Ra version of Aymeric's head. #I'm sure that'll come in useful again /s #anyways Soleil's fae name means Sun and Speech which I'm choosing to interpret as 'One who speaks for the sun' #I don't know if the elves have any known naming conventions so /shrug

[windupiceheart]

The Flood

#ffxiv #ff14 #shadowbringers #au ra #drahn #static art #comic #oroden

[witchloversupreme]

So, I was thinking about Garlemald lore again, because I'm mentally ill and obsessed, and I had a kinda fucked up thought. Explaining it is gonna take some doing, so stay with me.

If the garlean historians are to be believed (and the Sharlayans agree (As seen in Encyclopaedea Eorzea 1), so they're likely correct), roughly 1500 years ago, the garlean people lived in Corvos alongside the G tribe, in a situation probably not dissimilar to the M and Ala Mhigo, with a sedentary tribe fairly peacefully sharing their territory with a nomadic one.

Okay, so, here's where shit gets a little bit tricky.

There is only the ONE race of Garleans (Unless you count Jullus and Cid as a different race for being Short Kings), unlike all the other species of humans, who have at least two (Midlanders/Highlanders, Xaela/Raen, Dunesfolk/Plainsfolk), and sometimes even three (Duskwights/Wildwood/Ishgardians, Hellsguard/Sea Wolves/Far Eastern). This implies a very, very small, and very specialized population. A population that could, very easily, be displaced by a larger, more powerful group, like (as the historians posit) a large tribe of Elezen from what would later become Bozja, who, very likely, were themselves, forced from their homelands by invading Roegadyn and Hrothgar. If this tribe was sufficiently large (and magically skilled) enough, they could have very easily expunged the proto-Garleans from Corvos and forced them northward.

The Garlean historians claim that this forced exodus pushed them all the way into north central Ilsabard, but this is incredibly unlikely, as no matter how devoted to a people's total annihilation a tribe may be, hounding them the entire distance from Fantasy Greece to Fantasy Siberia is more than a bit ridiculous. But I digress.

What is more likely is that the Garleans were forced more westward, nearer to proto-Werlyt, where they likely settled for a time, before expanding north into the mountains which cut the continent in half (it is still violently upsetting to me we don't have a full map of Ilsabard). A few centuries of relative peace followed, where the proto-Garleans expanded ever so slightly further north, before, once again, they lost a war, most likely one against Hyurs and Raen from either Proto-Werlyt or Proto-Thavnair, and lost their southerly territories.

With no other option but continue colonizing northward, the Garleans did exactly that, eventually founding "Garlemald", the city, a few decades later, and the rest is, quite literally, history.

Now, with that lore dump out of the way, we can get to the real meat of my thought.

Almost all evidence points towards the Garleans simply being another species of human, just like Hyurs, Elezen, and Au ra, and not a "created species", like the Ixal, and, therefore, they definitely had a mirror race on the other shards.

But where the fuck are they?

I have seen neither hide nor hair of a single Garlean, be it in the flesh, as a statue, or in a tomb in Amh Areng, Kholusia, Lakeland, or Rak'tika. There's absolutely nothing to show that the Garlean people existed on the First, which is very, very fucking strange, as even the Amalj'aa and Ixal (sort of) have mirrors on the First in the form of the Zun and the Amaro.

I can think of two answers to my question:

The Doylist answer, (which is much less interesting), is just that Square either forgot to make any Garlean NPCs for the first, or decided against depicting First!Garleans, possibly because the race both didn't have an equivalent from a previous FF game, like the Hrothgar/Ronso, or Elezen/Elves, nor were playable, like like the Au ra/Drahn, or, because the Garleans are the go-to "Bad Guy Race" and they didn't want to confuse players.

The Watsonian answer, (and the one I subscribe to), is that the First!Garleans are extinct, having been driven to the brink by The Flood and over the edge in the ensuing century of strife, alongside many, many other species and peoples.

#This is probably almost incomprehensible #It is five in the fucking morning for me #and I woke up from a dead sleep to goz this autism onto your timelines as if by Divine Mandate. #Anyway #I really hope we get more Garlemald lore in general #For being THE main (non-magical) bad guys of the setting #we really do know jack shit fuck all about their history and culture #And the crumbs Endwalker gave us really doesn't fucking cut it #ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #garlemald #Shadowbringers Spoilers (kind of) #Shadowbringers #Endwalker

[shadowbringors]

june 14, 2023 my pixie-turned-drahn oc, orchid mantis 🧚

#scribs #ffxiv #ffxivart #au ra

[scrapchops]

i also gotta add my very handsome drahn for y’alls viewing :)

he ended up on the source by accident, and he’s a bit fucked up by light, oops!

#xiv #au ra #drahn #ffxiv #mortis my beloved #mortis

[pinkafropuff]

The Distance Between Two Hands

There were times where she made sounds at him, though. That was new. Usually it took the form of a whistle or a coo- some noise at the back of her throat or a clicking noise that was (admittedly) rather charming. It was always when she was not close enough to touch, where she could not simply clear that throat to address him. He was so unprepared for it that he answered to them every time, like a well-trained amaro. Or, well, chocobo, as they were called on the Source. It was always to "tell" him something, or ask something that did not have an answer that he thought would satisfy her- though he could not help but indulge her. That was the Exarch’s problem. Indulgence.

“Bird?” She signed to him once, while in the ocular.

"Bird..?" He repeated, unable to help himself. "...ah, you mean the Amaro? They are comparable to the chocobos on the Source."

A nod. Then she just waited, expectantly. As though she could simply project her thoughts into his mind with that piercing stare of hers.

"The stablemaster will provide one to ferry you to your destination," he admitted. "If that is your question? I would not ask you to travel across the realm on foot." Did he have a proper script for this?

She moved her head a bit. Then she waved her hand, as if to say, so-so. Almost her question, but not quite. "Can I have one?" She chirped, and the sound was so startling that he almost moved back.

"I am sure some arrangements can be made, if that is what you wish, but the Crystarium may not have any to spare at the moment. Mayhaps sometime in the future."

Her face lit up with uncanny interest- so much that she lost it in him, turned, and left the Ocular just like that.

"Well," he said to the silence. "That was interesting." Not as interesting as he would have liked, but puzzling all the same... "..does she...like birds, perchance?" Maybe he should… make arrangements for that amaro, then?

…no, no, that might be a little. Well? It was basically an ordinary expense, wasn’t it? What good would it be to ferry her to and fro, with no transportation on her own? 

Hand hovering near his chin, he considered it for a long while- and came to a decision that would be best for both the people of the Crystarium and the Warrior herself. 

------

The Amaro Tamer stared at the scrap of paper for a mite too long; when he lowered his gaze to take in the diminutive stature of the Exarch, he began considering a number of questions, none of which he was sure of how to ask. As such the Exarch waited patiently, as he had given his request without much of a fuss.

“If there is nothing you can do, pay it no mind,” he said, “but I did think it was the least that the Crystarium could do, given the circumstance, as we have come to rely on her more than I had expected.”

“We do have a couple of chicks that are unclaimed this season,” was the response from the Zun, “don’t see why we can’t spare just the one.” Actually, he was rather pleased to do it. The Warrior of Darkness (or so he assumed she was) had already taken down not one, but two Lightwardens, and restored night to two different regions in Norvrandt. 

A smile fell light on the Exarch’s lips and he nodded, clearly pleased. “Thank you. Oh, and if you would, I would prefer you be discreet about its benefactor.”

An answered question. It was a well known secret that the Exarch knew these “mysterious heroes” from beyond, and that the most recent addition, a Drahn by the name of Aran, had given rise to a rarely-seen disposition in the Exarch. Where the caretaker of the Crystal Tower had largely been kind but withdrawn, he now shined with a barely-contained kind of delight- delight that was only tempered by his duties to the people, a people who had essentially crowned him king more than once, despite never knowing his true name. It was still evident that, in that barely concealed spring in his step, there was something about the Warrior that lay very close to his heart. The Amaro was simply the latest in a long line of things that belied that.

“Aye, I can do that,” he said with a shrug, and although he was not a gossip, considered who to pass the information along to. “Er, I mean, whatever you wish, my lord.”

----

It was a bad habit, he knew, but using the Ocular’s mirror to watch her adventures had become a balm to his loneliness at best and an uncontrollable addiction at worst. Despite this, he soothed the nagging voice in his mind by reasoning that it would not hurt to see the look on her face when she received her gift- heaven knew she needed it, given the somber nature of her arrival upon defeating the third Lightwarden, Titania. 

Yes, they had been lost. For so, so long now. And their screams- oh their screams- had pierced the heavens, even as she’d approached. Half-drowned she’d approached. Half-standing, she’d defeated them, and barely escaped becoming a fae queen by the blessing of Feo Ul- though the Exarch knew that would be the true outcome of the situation. 

“It wouldn’t do to lose our fateful hero that way,” he mused, the crystal of his right hand touching the mirror to direct its eye. 

Just one smile. The people they’d lost in the battle for Minfilia were worth something, after all, and the Lightwarden was proof of it. Vauthry and his ire had been stoked but they would survive. They had to survive. He would provide them everything they needed to heal- would, had, and would continue to, for as long as he was able- even when it twisted as his heart that he could not provide more.

 But this. Her hand outstretched for a small, black-feathered chick, her eyes welling up with tears. This was just for him. 

“The Exar- erm. I mean, the Crystarium wanted to thank you for all that you’ve done.” The trainer was saying. The Exarch himself pressed his lips into a thin line on the other side of the mirror, a bit displeased (but eternally forgiving) despite being concealed by the many layers of crystal sealing him off from visitors. 

She looked tired. They both were, now, of the same kind, separated by what felt like a thick chunk of glass, but was any number of distances that he would not cross. Could not, cross. Despite this, she held the chick with both hands, blubbering like a baby in both grief and happiness both, and pressed her lips to its little head.

“Gwee!” It cried, a pleased look on its face as Aran pressed her own close, her cheek and then her horn brushing against its delicate frame with what seemed to be the gentleness of a caress.

Oh, to be that amaro.

#ffxiv #fic #smth smth amaro #wolexarch #honestly i didn't edit this one yet but have at it #aran utar #honestly they're so....??? he's so????? #(pines after you pines after you pines after you) #that #anyway p great that #in the princess and the dragon #she holds and nuzzles him exactly like that #be like g'raha and keep hope in your heart #bc sometimes wishes do in fact come true ❤️

[sezja]

Febuwhump Day 13: "You weren't supposed to get hurt" Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV Characters/Ship: Jeryk Motplowe, Bekwyl; background WoLs from @lesenbyan Triggers/Content warnings: n/a

Bekwyl lies in the shade, curled up on his side, unwilling to move for fear the strange red drahn woman might come back and finish the job - that he's even alive at all must've just been an oversight. He's sure she thinks she finished him off; he's just glad she's wrong. That wicked axe of hers! Nothing like the glorified woodcutter's hatchet he's touting around.

He'd lain there waiting for her to take his bloody head off with it. Only when he'd opened his eyes, she was nowhere to be seen.

Thaffe and Jeryk, he thinks, guilty and terrified all at once.

What must've happened to his friends? He didn't hear any screaming. Maybe he'd heard the distant sound of a scuffle, somewhere far off - but that could just as easily be the coyotes scrapping over territory or food. He remembers how swiftly the axe-wielding woman had put him down - not even a sound out of her, like she hadn't even broken a sweat. Like she killed men like him every day.

What chance would Thaffe and Jeryk stand? They weren't even armed. Hells, Thaffe doesn't even have so much as his miner's kit on him. It's supposed to be Bekwyl's job to keep an eye out while they're working; he's supposed to keep the other two out of danger...

He'd been the first to notice the strangers creeping around the railyard, poking around at the old machinery. He'd told Thaffe and Jeryk to hide - and to stay hidden - while he circled around to the storehouses, trying to plan his angle of attack. There were six of them; Bekwyl can't remember ever seeing so many people wandering into the Hills of Amber all at once. Two men, strangely dressed. Three women, even more strangely dressed. And one girl.

And nearly every one of them, armed.

Not merchants. Too intent on the remnants of the trolley yard to be just passing through - and passing through to where?

He'd pondered his odds, knowing full well it was a lost cause; fighting people isn't like fighting the occasional gnome or knocker in the mines - and these people looked experienced, like they knew how to fight, how to kill. Maybe... maybe if he tried to distract them, got them to split up...

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the red woman had appeared. Bekwyl barely had enough time to draw his axe before she was on him like a force of nature, and in two mighty swings that didn't seem like they should be possible from such a small woman, she'd taken him down... and there she left him, presumably for dead. He gingerly feels at the worst of his injuries, prodding gingerly.

His fingers come back clean. No blood.

That doesn't seem possible. Surely she must've...

"There you are!" Bekwyl starts at the unexpected voice, half-anticipating the return of his attacker... but no, it's just Jeryk, looking a bit scuffed, but none the worse for wear. Cheery as ever. He kneels next to Bekwyl. "You're still in one piece, right? Why are you still laying there?"

Godsdamned idiot- "They could still be around! Get back into hiding!"

A quizzical look passes over Jeryk's face. Then he smiles again. "Oh. No, it's alright; it was all just a misunderstanding. They want to use the trolley, not steal parts from it. Thaffe's taking them back to Twine now - maybe they'll bring Magnus around."

"Did you hit your head?!" He tries to sit up, still shaking with nerves. "One of them tried to kill me!"

"Well, we did try to attack them without knowing their intentions, Bekwyl," Jeryk says, as if he's the one who can't fully grasp the situation. "You weren't supposed to get hurt; they just had questions about the trolley, that's all."

Gods, Jeryk. The strangers'd said the magic word - trolley - and suddenly they were the man's best friends.

Bekwyl prods at his aching head again, wondering if maybe she had cracked his skull and drained him of all sense. "What happened with you and Thaffe, then?"

"We fought too," Jeryk says, beaming, with more pride than his obvious defeat warrants. Bekwyl's never so much as seen Jeryk throw a punch. "Of course, if we'd known they were just after information on the trolley-"

"Why do they even-" Bekwyl shakes his aching head. "Never mind. Magnus'll never help them."

Jeryk stands, brushing off his coat. "He could," he says, in all his unquenchably boundless optimism. "You never know. Can you stand?" He offers a hand, and after a moment's stubborn reluctance, Bekwyl takes it, letting his friend haul him back to his feet.

He sways, dizzy - she might not've cracked his skull, but the woman had whacked him over the head with an axe. "Ugh-"

"There you go, you can lean on me," Jeryk says, wrapping one of Bekwyl's arms over his shoulders, supporting him, as they begin the walk back home. It galls Bekwyl not a little to need the support, from little Jeryk of all people - he's supposed to be the one keeping the others from harm - but he's already been fully humbled today; the last thing he needs is to fall off the tracks and finish what the red woman started.

He sighs. "So who are they, anyway?"

"I haven't the foggiest," Jeryk replies, unbothered. "They say they need to reach Nabaath Areng."

"Why?"

"They didn't say, but they do need the trolley to do it!"

"You're hopeless, you know that?"

Jeryk hums a little, smiling. "They're very kind, once you get to know them a little," he says, carefully maneuvering both of them over the gap between the tracks. "I hope Magnus takes a shine to them, as well; we might just see the trolley repaired after all, if he does."

"Is one of them going to pull a hunk of leonine out of their-"

"Who knows? One's a mage. Have you ever met a proper mage before?"

Gods, but his head hurts, and Jeryk's a headache unto himself, no matter how fond Bekwyl is of the odd little bastard. Why couldn't Thaffe have been the one to come looking for him; at least Thaffe might be able to give him a straight answer...

"What happened to you?"

The voice makes him look up. They've reached Twine, just in time to catch Kee-Satt of all people heading out - out to the mines, no doubt, on whatever secret errand had brought the Kholusian mystel all the way out to Twine...

Bekwyl's tongue ties itself in knots. "A... accident at the..." He clears his throat. "Accident at the railyard." He adds, "Good luck out there." Gods know the ronso miners won't spare the mystel half a kind word.

The man narrows suspicious violet eyes at him, and says nothing, stalking off with his head held high.

"'Good luck out there,'" Jeryk teases, grinning. "You should say something, you know."

"Say what? That he looks like a scrawny, shaved ronso? Shush, you." He untangles himself from Jeryk, and stalks home, nursing his wounded head and pride all at once.

#febuwhump #febuwhump2024 #febuwhumpday13 #my writing #twine boys #jeryk motplowe #bekwyl #I HAVE CLAIMED HIM AS MY OWN AND NO ONE WILL TAKE HIM FROM ME