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leejafythe · 10 months

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Dancer and the Lightwardens: Chapter 3

Alphinaud - first posted here

The amaro landed on the rocky beach of Kholusia, letting Leeja down off the back of one while Szem Djenmal stayed behind to look after the birds and told Leeja where to go to begin her search from Alphinaud. After doing some tasks for people (as she enjoyed doing so), she waited in the small tavern with a cup of water and sipped on it. When the door opened, her ears flicked upward. When the newcomer spoke, her tail wagged gently with happiness as she looked over at him. “And how is business, Mistress Theva?” “Oh, frenetic. Look, I have a new customer.” The woman behind the bar smiled and gestured toward Leeja. As he looked around, he noticed he miqo’te and gasped softly as he headed over to her. “‘Tis good to see you my friend.” He beamed at her as she stood, rushing over to pull him into a very tight hug. “Gods, it’s good to see you! You’ve no idea how worried we’ve been!” Leeja relaxed as Alphinaud hugged her back. He let go for a moment and put a small bag on the counter. “The barley seeds you wanted. They should produce a better harvest than the last.” Leeja sat back down and watched the exchange. “What, just like that? Oh, Alphinaud, you really are a dear.” Theva smiled warmly at him. “He’s always done what he can to help others. It’s why we love him.” Leeja grinned as a blush crept across his face. Theva left the two of them to catch up and went out to the storehouses.

“It seems an age since last we spoke. Not since the prisoner exchange in Doma and Yotstuyu.” He sat on a chair next to Leeja and got comfy. “Aye, ‘tis true. We had no idea what happened until Gaius returned with your unconscious body that had Alisaie in a tizzy.” Leeja sighed softly. “Oh I’m well aware. She made her feelings quite known when we met in the Crystarium.” Leeja chuckled and smiled. “I’m just glad you’re alive. So, tell me everything.” Leeja sat back in her chair and listened to him as he went through everything. “...In that sense, our involuntary journey here to the First was something of a boon. Together with the Exarch, we’ve developed a theory as to how the Rejoining will be.” Alphinaud. “Have you been in contact with Alisaie yet?” “No, I’m yet to go to see her,” Leeja sighed softly. “I am sure Urianger himself will cover the subject. But I can tell you the process requires both worlds – the Source and the First – be facing an existential threat. They are a menace that I would dearly love to remove, and not just to avert a calamity.” Leeja could see the determination in his eyes and offered him a smile. “Then shall we go and free the common folk from danger?” She stood and grinned at him. “If any solutions are to be found, I believe we can find them in Eulmore. So, lets go for an adventure.” Alphinaud chuckled and the pair left the tavern and headed toward Gate Town.

“What is this place?” Leeja looked at the vast amount of shacks that line the path heading into the city. “The gate up ahead is known as the ‘Open Arms,’ and Eulmore itself is beyond. This, meanwhile, is the aptly known Gatetown. The dwelling place of the many desperate souls hoping to be chosen to live in the city proper.” Alphinaud sighed, sounding slightly bitter. “You don’t approve?” Leeja raised an eyebrow. “I–” He was cut off by the sound of a horn, drawing everyones attention. Two jongerlers, one red, one blue, stood in the middle of the path. “Greetings ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention please!” One of them called. Leeja and Alphinaud watched as various people hurried over to them as the people seemed excited for whatever it was they were there for. “Greetings for our hopeful petiioners, one and all! Eulmore extends its warmest regards!” The one in red declared. They went on to explain that someone wanted fish and able to serve it for meals. Leeja looked at Alphinaud, completely confused. “Do you recall how I said Eulmore was a center of power and authority? Well, that is not the only reason for its fame. It is also known as the “city of final pleasures.” The noble and the wealthy who survived the Flood gathered here to live out the rest of their days in decadent abandon.” Leeja could sense his anger toward the city, and while she didn’t know much about it, she already hated the way it treated its citizens. “A poor man could sooner pass through the eye of a needle than Eulmore’s gates. The only way commonfolk can enter this perverted paradise is if they fulfil the whim of one of the privileged. And so they are picked over like market produce.” “That’s… Gods, it’s so easy to forget how lucky we are to have anything and then you see people living like this because they are desperate to have something .” Leeja folded her arms and continued to watch as someone finally got chosen. “Could have shown them my culinary skill, probably would have gotten us in there.” she grumbled quietly as she watched them begin to hand out what, to her eyes, looked like bread. “Meol is a foodstuff which Eulmore routinely doles out to the people of Gatetown, and apparently a staple for its citizens as well. Many here rely on it to survive in these times of scarcity. Yet the whole arrangement seems…” It was as if Alphinaud could read her mind. “It’s incredibly dodgy and it’s giving me the bad feelings. Also, meol. Is it bread?” Leeja wanted to examine it properly, purely from a culinarian standpoint. “Your guess is as good as mine, but you might be able to tell me a bit more for your time learning to cook?” Leeja chuckled, informing him of the exact same thought.

Once the commotion had died down Alphinaud encouraged Leeja to take a look around, an idea she kindly took him up on. As she looked around, she spoke to people as she did, wanting to learn their reasons for being there. “Gatetown is safe and meol is wonderful.” The woman she was speaking with seemed to be genuine in her praise for the place.

“Do you have a bit I can sample or even just take a look at? I’m curious about it myself and want to see if I can think of any culinary ways I can use it with.” Leeja could lie expertly. Lots of tips and tricks in her various training and her time growing up had made it easy to do.

“Oh do you dabble in cooking?” “I’m a fairly well-trained chef. Give me any ingredient in your stores and I can probably come up with a new way of using meol in it” she said. She had learned how the citizens were using meol the same way most nights so if she could, she’d write down a new recipe for them at the very least. “Do you have access to meats and things?” “No, meat goes off after a while as we’ve no way of storing it properly.” Leeja hummed in response as several ideas came to mind. “Give me some time, I’ll have something you can preserve your meats in and some new recipes for meol” she smiled warmly and took the chunk of meol from the woman. Several people heard her mention her plans and soon enough, talk around the community was filled with naught but excitement for her plans as she returned to Alphinaud. “Talk is rife that you’ve offered to help them out?” He raised an eyebrow at her as she grinned. “Best way to learn more about people is usually via food, that’s what I’ve discovered. They need a way to store meat when they’re able to get it so I have an idea on how they can do that. Fancy coming along while I discover a means of gathering materials?” “Always finding a way to help the commonfolk, guilty to a fault eh?” Leeja just shrugged. “If I can I will. Fancy tagging along? It shouldn’t take long.” Alphinaud nodded and followed along. It gave the two a chance to catch up along the way.

About a bell later and everything had been collected, crafted and they had even done a bit of hunting, giving Leeja a chance to gather leathers while butchering meat to place in the new ice chest she had built. With Alphinaud’s help they had discovered some herbs that would come in useful for the new recipe she had concocted. When the pair arrived back in Gatetown carrying the box, the residents made their way over. “You’re back! We were beginnin’ to wonder if you’d gotten hurt” came the voice of the initial woman she spoke to. “Oh no, nothing of the sort. I’m new to Kholusia and I had my friend here show me the best places to procure some items.” They placed the box down. “You’re welcome to come and take a look, I’ve built this chest for you to be able to store things such as vegetables, most fruits, meats and other temperature-controlled foods that need to be kept cold to stop them from rotting and going to waste. You can even store meol in it if you wish” Leeja smiled and lifted the lid. “I even went ahead and got you all some meat, as well some simple herbs and written down 3 new recipes for you to use meol for.” Excited chatter could be heard, and then some worried ones. “And how much are you going to charge us for? We don’t have a lot.” “Oh I’m doing this out of my kindness. I’ve heard from various people that food items were difficult to come by and to preserve so I thought of a way to help limit the loss.” “Bah. We don’t need the charity of some strangers.” A male, not much younger than Leeja, folded his arms and scoffed. Until an elderly woman flicked his ear. “Watch your mouth. This very kind young lady went out of her way to help the town when she didn’t need to.” The man grumbled out an apology and Leeja went about talking them through the recipes and what they would need.

When the sun had set and everyone had settled, Leeja and Alphinaud took their leave to stay in an abandoned house Alphinaud had taken up residence in. Whoever had lived there had left in what seemed to be a hurry, all the furniture had been left behind and most items looked to be untouched, even by Alphinaud. He had just taken to sleeping in one of the bedrooms. There was still a generator that had been well maintained and provided power to each of the rooms meaning Leeja had plenty of light to cook them both a meal without using meol. She didn’t trust the way it felt, smelt or tasted and while it might have been perfectly harmless, she didn’t want to take the risk. “I’m more than happy to cook, Leeja. You’ve done a lot today.” “I’m fine, Alphy, I promise. Besides, the sooner we eat the sooner we can get some well needed rest.” She flashed him a quick smile and took a seat as she left the food to cook in the oven. “Can I ask you something?” Leeja fiddled with her bracelet and chewed her lip a little. “I haven’t seen him, I’m sorry to say.” He knew the signs and knew exactly what she was going to ask. “Oh… Okay.” Leeja looked down and continued to fiddle with the bracelet. “I’ve no doubt he’s fine, Leeja. I know you’re worried.” He gave her a sympathetic smile. “It’s not that, it’s just I know where everyone else is and eve the Exarch doesn’t know where he is” She sighed softly and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to unload. Let’s eat and get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow.” Alphinaud nodded. They got to work finishing their meal and sat down to eat before going to bed.

When they woke, the chronometre on the wall informed them it was indeed morning. Leeja had, strangely, slept peacefully. She put it down to the exhaustion that rattled in her body as she stood, pulled on her boots and headed into the kitchen. Alphinaud was still sleeping it seemed, giving her a chance to make them both breakfast before they headed back to Eulmore and Gatetown. She hummed softly as she dug through her bag and found the last of the ingredients that she had left and set to work focusing on it. Thankfully, she also had the last of her tea supply and made both herself and Alphinaud a cup each as she heard the bedroom door open and the softness of his footsteps walking in her direction. “Good morning, Alphinaud!” “You’re certainly chipper today.” He chuckled and sat down as she placed a plate with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and sausages in front of him and a cup of tea sat off to the side. “I’m feeling good about today. Today is the day we get into Eulmore, don’t you agree?” She smiled warmly as Alphinaud dug into his breakfast. “Mmm! This is delicious!” Leeja grinned and sat down with her own plate. “I forget you’ve not really had a chance for my cooking, have you? Even in Dravania.” She dug into her own food and they ate in comfortable silence for a while. “So, what’s the plan for today?” “We need to meet with someone who will provide what we need and I’ll explain it on the way.” Leeja nodded and they both finished their breakfast, cleaned up and headed out toward Gatetown once more.

They spent their time studying and watching the citizens mill around, surrounding the jonglers when they appeared and mobbing the meol that was handed out. Alphinaud frowned, and Leeja could feel his disapproval. “You disapprove of Eulmore? Of these people’s way of life?” Alphinaud huffed softly before answering. “Disapprove...? It frustrates me, certainly. That is only part of it, though. The whole situation makes me uneasy. 'Tis difficult to make a final judgment without first seeing the city's inner workings. Mayhap it is that uncertainty which always makes me feel so ill at ease here.” He frowned and Leeja continued to watch him. “So, what do you suggest we do?” She asked, curious about his plan. “I am not so naive as to think there is some miraculous solution to all of this. Yet I cannot help but frown at the sight of hardworking villagers struggling to survive, even as the chosen few rejoice at being plucked from poverty by the hand of a capricious noble. There has to be a better way. I will not know for sure, however, until I have taken those long-delayed steps through Eulmore's gates. 'Tis fortunate that you arrived when you did, Leeja. I have been working on a scheme to insinuate myself into the city, and if all goes to plan, it should soon come to fruition.” He turned and looked at Leeja with a smile. “There is a beast tribe who makes its home in the seas surrounding the island. The Ondo, they are called, though you and I know them as Sahagin.” He went into detail with his plan to get into Eulmore with pearls and business dealings. It was certainly a plan, but she wouldn’t tell him she didn’t trust it to work.

What the pair didn’t expect to be told, however, was that someone had posed as Alphinaud’s assistant and taken the foodstuffs he was going to use as trade. “Alphy, he’s over there, I can see him.” Leeja’s voice was loud enough for him to hear and quiet enough for the mystel to be wholly unaware. Until they walked over to him from behind.

“There you are!” The mystel flinched in surprise, clearly not expecting to be caught. “The thief who claimed the harvest on my behalf. Hand it over.” Alphinaud was stern, but not overly angry. “Surely you’ve got a damn good reason as to why you’re thieving other peoples goods.” Leeja frowned and crossed her arms. “Forgive me, I just– I have to get into the city!” He fell to his knees in front of them, only for them to glance at each other in confusion. The boy went on to explain how he needed to get into the city because his friends had all gotten in. He was adamant that it was Eulmore or nothing. Alphinaud took pity and gave him the plan. “Kai-Shirr, don’t just rely on Eulmore. I understand its where all your friends are but there are safer places to be. Just be safe. If you get into trouble, reach out to Alphinaud and I, alright?” With a nod the mystel ran off leaving the two of them alone.

Something caught Alphinaud’s eye as they walked. “I can’t be sure but, I-I think someone’s in trouble! Come on, they need our help!” They broke into a sprint and made their way to the beach quickly. They knelt down and immediately cast healing spells to help with his injuries. “There, that should take care of the worst of them.” Leeja dug out a thick blanket and draped it over the man as he began to come round. “Easy, sir. Alphinaud can you sort a fire out?” “Of course. I’ll be as fast as I can.” He rushed off as the man became conscious once more. “Welcome back, we thought we lost you. Are you alright?” Leeja helped him sit up and wrapped the blanket around him once more. Alphinaud returned and lit the fire quickly, and they sat around it talking about what happened to the man, Tristol. ”They threw you over the edge? How in the hells did you not land on the rocks!?” “Don’t ask me. Luck, I suppose. Though if you hadn’t found me when you did, it wouldn’t have counted for much.” Tristol sighed. Eulmore was sounding more and more barbaric. And they both wanted to get in there. After leaving Tristol in the safety of the nearby village, where he handed his paintbrush to Alphinaud. They had their key into the city it seemed.

Bells after they had secured entry into the city, meeting their patrons - the Chais - and Alphinaud had sent Leeja on her way to explore the city to learn the layout and, as he had delightfully told her, “the shadows hold secrets. Listen to what they have to say is what Thancred would tell you.” She chuckled at him and nodded. She meled into the shadows and into crowded areas, listening to everything that was being said. It seemed that everyone was loyal to Vauthry. So very loyal and it didn’t sit right with her. Even when she actively spoke with peole they could only praise the man and his horrific punishments. She finally returned to Alphinaud and saw him in the middle of his artwork. “That looks gorgeous, Alphy.” “Ah, you’re back! What do you think of the city?” He smiled warmly at her as she began to talk about what she saw. The rest would be kept secret. “It sounds like you saw a great deal.” “Aye, I did. I saw enough to know that we shall do our best to stay on the good side of our patrons, but I believe we would not be foolish enough to act out and tarnish their good name.” Leeja smiled at Lady Chai who beamed. “You are correct, we would never act out.”

A scream above them made the room go silent. “I say, did that come from above us?” Leeja frowned for a moment, “It did. I hope whatever is happening, the person is safe.” She murmured, mostly to herself. Then Jonglei's appeared, claiming a malcontent had made their way into the city and were to be punished by Vauthry, and citizens were welcome to watch. With permission, Leeja and Alphinaud hurried over to the lift to see what was happening. As they ascended, Alphinaud noticed the trembling in Leeja’s hands as she flexed them into fists over and over. “I hope they’re okay. They should be fine. I hope.” She sighed and the doors pinged open. The room was already crowded as they pushed their way through to the front to see anything.

Just to see Kai-Shirr knelt on the ground, trembling from pain and a pool of blood growing quickly around him. They hurried over to him as Leeja grabbed some stray fabric from her bag and pushed down on the wound to try and slow the bleeding. Alphinaud began to heal it quickly. “What happened here?” “Who are these impudent louts? I do not recall requesting their presence.” Vauthry snapped at them. Alphinaud’s attention went from healing Kai-Shirr to lashing out at Vauthry instead. Kai-Shirr couldn’t follow up on the business proposals that Alphinaud had set up and as a result, he was being punished. It made Leeja’s blood boil with white hot rage. She focused on healing the damage caused by the knife while Alphinaud and Vauthry argued against each other. “Come on, let’s get out of here and tend to your wounds properly before I do something highly inappropriate.” She cast a dark glare toward Vauthry as they walked out.

Once the pair had seen Kai-Shirr to a safe location, gathered their things and boarded up the house once more, they made their way back to the amaro and left for the Crystarium. Both needed time to cool off and reflect on what happened. Both needed to report to the Exarch about what happened and that wouldn’t be easy to explain. “Alphinaud? You’re quieter than I am.” “Hm? Oh, my apologies. I’m just thinking about what we’re going to say to the Exarch. Leave that to me, though. You deserve to rest. I’ll see you in the morning. “I’m off to find your sister in the morning so I may not be around. Just make sure you rest, too.” Sh gave him a soft smile and they separated for the rest of the day. Leeja’s sleep would be fairly interrupted and she was no looking forward to it.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #leeja fythe #my writing #fan fic #alphinaud leveilleur #Shadowbringers #Kholusia #canon

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