DWC - February - Day 5 - Nostalgia
@daily-writing-challenge
TW: Death mentions for Aislinne
Notes: @jotaro-kuujo for Wulfric Ryder
It’s always been amazing to Aislinne how vibrant the sky can be in the savanna-like region of Thanalan. Though, in the Goblet, there’s plenty of colorful flora where she sits in the center plaza of Ul’dah’s residential area. Water flows into the pools from the multitude of fountains and some residents enjoy themselves or take time to cool themselves off in the pools. Aislinne, however, was here for a different reason.
She had recently sent a letter out to a member of the adventuring group she had been the head of as her previous self, thinking she’s spent long enough putting off reaching out to them. He responded back a few days later with a time and location they could meet in the Goblet. Aislinne sits on the ledge of the central fountain, waiting for her companion to show.
It isn’t long until he does. The tall, dark-skinned Ala Mhigan strolls into the plaza and scans the area. Likely looking for a Viera, she thinks to herself. She balls her fists to psyche herself up before approaching him from behind. “There’s our Silver Wulf,” she calls out as she stops a yalm behind him. “Or was it Silver Ryder? I could never decide which I liked the most.”
She watches him whip around to face her.. except he’s looking at his eye height, since she used to be just about as tall as he was. "Wh- Aislin--” He looks down to the source of her voice and is taken aback for a moment. “I’m terribly sorry - who are you, exactly? I was supposed to meet a friend here and- Wait who told you to call me that? Did she put you up to this?"
Aislinne shuffles nervously, “No, no. She-- I-- This isn’t some elaborate joke, Wulfric. This is... who I am now.” She opens her arms in a weak manner to show herself to him. “I am Aislinne.”
He remains silent for a moment, “Th-that-- No, I know what she looks like.” He pulls out the letter she had sent him and quickly skims over it again, “Your letter was convincing but she’s a blonde Viera girl, about this tall. You don’t exactly fit that description.” He takes a step back, “I don’t know what kind of prank you think you’re playing, but it’s not very funny.” He shakes his head at her, like a father scolding his daughter, “ Does she know you're doing this? Do you think she'd be happy to know you're sending letters to her friends pretending to be her?”
Aislinne rubs her face, “No this is-- agh, this was so much easier with Na’fisa when she saw my memories.” She plops back down on the fountain ledge. “Can we just.. sit here and talk? You can quiz me on anything! Things I’ve said, places we’ve been to, adventures we’ve had. I’ll know them all.” She gestures to Wulfric for him to join her, “And if you still don’t believe me after all of that, I need you to take a long look at me until you can see my memories and how this happened.”
He follows her to the ledge but paces a bit instead of sitting, “ "Well I'm intrigued to say the least. You know about The Echo, so there's virtually no way you don't know at least some of what you're talking about." Wulfric spends a few moments thinking, “Thancred! Do you know Th--” he stops himself short and scratches his head, “No, that man gets around too much, hm... How about Papaly--”
“Papalymo? I met him and Yda in the Twelveswood when I first became an adventurer in Gridania.” She leans back on her hands as she places them on the seat behind her and awaits his next question.
The older man crosses his arms, seemingly from a position of power, "Alright then, what of his opinion of Aislinne? Only someone who was around the two would know!" He smirks and Aislinne can tell there's more to come after this.
She thinks for a moment and reminisces about the Lalafellin Scion, "Well, he used to think of me as somewhat brutish, swinging around that gunblade. He would compare me to Yda in that regard, but I knew it didn't come from any malice. He knew he was in good hands." Aislinne chuckles and smiles a bit longingly, "I think he'd be surprised to hear that I studied with Krile and the Students of Baldesion for a short while. I look forward to telling him when we find him and Yda."
Wulfric seems to deflate a little. Maybe from feeling stumped or defeated. "That's fairly specific.. but you could be guessing or mayhap you heard it from someone who shouldn't be telling you these things." He eyes Aislinne suspiciously, examining her further while rubbing his chin. "Alright then, how about this? There's a story Aislinne had been too embarrassed to tell the others about."
Aislinne's eye twitches and she's taken aback for a moment, "Wh-where are you going with this Wulfr--"
"Hells, she even asked me to keep quiet about it," he continued. "Some time ago, Papalymo tasked us with aiding a Sylph from Little Solace. Just she and I. It was meant as a test of our perception and communication, though we weren't privy to that knowledge. We were chosen because we were like-minded: brutish and impulsive and tactless. What happened on that mission?"
Aislinne holds a hand at the side of her face, trying to hide from the embarrassing memories. She sighs with a defeated look, "We.. we were tasked to find the Sylph's pet 'Bunny'. Though this was our first time interacting with them, so we weren't used to their manner of speaking.. I, thinking it wasn't such a dangerous mission, decided to leave my gear and weapons behind. I thought the noise of metal clanking together would scare off a rabbit." A smile lights up her face with an embarrassed expression, "It took us all day, but we kept calling for it and the Sylph, Moxia, came to check on us. That's when a large, simple looking creature we know as a goobbue charged out of the thicket all excited. It... it scared me half to death and caused me to scream like a child." She chuckled lightly, "Then the Sylph flew up to the goobbue's face and flicked its forehead for going missing.. so as it turned out, 'Bunny' was a goobbue all along.."
Wulfric furrows his brow and pinches the bridge of his nose, “That’s... that’s exactly right.” He sighs and shakes his head, “This doesn’t make any sense.. there’s no way... You couldn’t have guessed all of that, but what you’re telling me is at least a little bit unusual.” He turns to face her directly, “How am I supposed to believe all of this?”
The Auri girl takes a deep breath, “Come and sit Wulfie. I’ve much to tell you, and you’ve much to take in.” She waits for the wizened Ala Mhigan to take a seat next to her before she begins telling him her story. She explains to him her previous self, how she was once two people, and that her previous self died and her soul became one with who she is now over the course of an hour.
Wulfric scratches his chin for a long moment, "That's a very tall tale, which isn't to say it's not true, but it is rather hard to believe." He turns more towards her, "And do you know how this could have happened? I haven't ever come across anything like that in any of my studies.."
Aislinne smiles, but looks a bit solemn, "I wish I could offer a more complete answer, Silver Wulf, truly. But all Krile and I can surmise is that this is how my Echo has manifested. When I die, my soul travels the lifestream to where it belongs next. We aren't certain what determines that either, or if it will always be someone I've met. As far as I know, it's the first time it has ever happened."
Her companion looks up and continues stroking his chin. "Well, it does have some interesting implications. I've heard of people returning from the dead in their own bodies, but to be able to move to an entirely different one is very strange. How do you decide which version of you is you if you remember being both people?"
Aislinne chuckles, "This has all seriously piqued your interest, huh?" She bumps him with her shoulder, "It is a bit difficult to place, but I think the best way to put it is.. I don't think of myself as either or, but rather.. something more. Someone that has both experiences and carries them -- learns from them."
He pauses for a few moments in silence. "That definitely is an interesting outlook. I can't imagine many people share that point of view, though I'm not sure many people have a chance to experience things quite in the same way..." He shrugs. "For what it's worth, I'm convinced. Strange things happen every day and I'd be a damned fool if I pretended I know all of it for certain. There are always new strange things to learn about." He looks off into the distance. "And above all else, it's good to have you still. However it is that you've made it back, I'm glad you did."
She smiles and stares off into the distance as well, "It is good to be back, Silver Ryder." She giggles again, "I'm still not certain which I like more." Aislinne leans back on the fountains ledge and stares into the bright blue sky, "And now that I am, I was thinking of pulling our group back together.. though I haven't been able to get ahold of our other Auri fellow.." She furrows her brow, "Well, he's always been somewhat of a drifter.. So instead.." She shuffles a bit nervously, "Do you... remember that tanned, pretty Miqo'te that helped us rescue Qiqi from the Garleans?"
He nods to her, “I remember. You’re thinking of brining her into our little party for good?”
Aislinne nods back, avoiding eye contact, “I am... though I still need to run it by her, and she may want her sister to join as well.
Her companion shrugs, “We could always use an extra pair of hands. We’re far from a Grand Company, so we’re not exactly swamped with applicants hoping to join us,” he laughed heartily. “If you’re worried she might not have what it takes, she’s free to test her skills against me.”
She smiles a bit longingly and digs her heel into the ground, “I don’t disagree that more hands would be good for us, but I do believe she has what it takes... it’s more that...” She clear her throat and says quickly and quietly, “I’d like to spend more time with her..”
Wulfric raises a thick eyebrow at her knowingly, “Oh? Is that right, now?” He grins at her.
Aislinne fidgets, realizing she’s not being subtle at all, “Y-yeah, that’s right.”
Her turns in his seat to face her, one knee on the ledge where they sit and leans in with a smirk, “So? What’s stopping you then?”
From inviting her or from spending time with her, she asks herself. “I’ll uh.. I’ll go ask her right now then!” She pushes herself up from the fountain and begins to walk off with a quickened pace. Wulfric watches her as she stops briefly and turns back to him, “Oh and... not a word of that story to her, hm?” He raises his hands in a gesture to her that seemingly says ‘You got this’ as she smiles nervously and gestures her goodbye before turning to leave again.
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