CUIRASS, Kit Tanthalos x fem reader
In which - Kit has ventured across the shattered sea to rescue you after being taken by the gales, kept a captive prisoner of the crone. But when she reaches the immemorial city, she realises quickly that you've changed since your last (and first) impromptu kiss.
"She's gotta be here, it just makes no sense." Elora questions, squinting her eyes as the sun gleams overhead, drying out everything in it's path. She was trying desperately to grasp onto some sort of hope, clinging onto the last ounce of optimism she had left.
Kit, however, was silently panicking. She wasn't one to be outright with her vulnerable emotions, and this whole thing had been very hard to process. First, she sneaks into your room and awakes you to say goodbye. She clambers atop your body and kisses you for the first time with no explanation - a wicked smile tampering on her lips as her face echoes the intricate shadows of the moonlight pouring through the open window. It was a perfect moment, but one she has since come to regret as if she hadn't awoken you, you wouldn't have followed her out into the night.
That's when you spotted the fog, and everything escalated. You were captured after a fair fight, one you fought well - but it still wasn't enough. You hated feeling like a damsel.
And Kit, well...she blamed herself completely. And she had missed you deeply, causing another version of herself to emerge afront this rag-tag group - a kit who was short tempered, jealous, and impatient. She had been captured by bone reavers, trolls, almost killed by sentient buildings, partially drowned, and - most recently - hacked in the arm by a cascading ninja star. Still, she told herself, it was all to get to you.
The immemorial city was not how they had imagined it. It was deserted, the population made entirely of sand granules. The only thing they had found of importance was a circular well, full of golden liquor - promising and false. Then, ahead of that, was a large door that was practically welded shut, and no matter how many times Kit and Elora tried it, it wouldn't budge.
"She should be here, I don't understand...I can sense it."
"She's in there. She has to be." It was the first thing Kit had actively said in minutes, and her throat had suddenly seemed to tense up.
Elora nodded, extremely sure of Kit's judgements. The girl might not have been the kindest to her over this past week, but she knew one thing was true: Kit knew you. And If anyone was to find you, it would be her.
Kit took a second to peer into the iridescent pool below her, trying to think of another way. The glitter in the liquid seemed to cascade and fold over itself, swirling around and creating patterns in the well. She had to admit, it looked beautiful.
"Kit," Elora calls out, grabbing the princess's attention, "We're in this together, remember that."
It takes a second for Kit to signal a tilt of the head back, and though her stoic nature wouldn't show it too much, she was glad to have Elora beside her. She felt a little like a sister, something she'd always wanted.
Their attention was snapped up in seconds as loud anchor chains shook the ground, the doors adjacent to them cranking slowly open. Kit could see a silhouette in the sliver of light, shrouded in smoke that would make anyone cough up - but not you. You stood there, looking heroic as ever as the smog cleared slowly from your complexion.
Kit and Elora exchanged confused glances.
An exillerating rush of relief fled through Kit's veins, with the realisation that you were really, truly alive. But something looked...off.
Your cheekbones were sunken into your face, and your ebony hair had certainly turned a significant shade darker. Your skin was tan and sun-stricken, as if you'd been left to fry for hours in the immemorial heat. You stood completely frigid, no emotion present on your face but a small grin playing at your lips. You looked equipped for battle: bow and arrow strapped securely to your back, a black leather jacket hugging your torso tightly in a way that almost looked uncomfortable.
Despite the oddities, Kit wasted no time in trying to leap towards you - determined after everything to reunite. But Elora had different ideas, grabbing her wrist tightly before she could get any closer. Kit was irritated by this, and looked back at the girl to break free - but there was something about Elora's uncertain expression that stopped her in her tracks.
"Y/n?" Elora called, your intense gaze breaking from to kit to focus on the future empress infront of you. It was then Kit realised that your hair had been chopped to just above your shoulders - a great contrast to your beautiful long waves that you cherished so greatly. you'd spend hours talking about how you'd never be able to let it all go, always excited to let the maid's children braid it for hours on end. That was when she knew - something is really fucking wrong.
"Elora Danan. Kit," you pronounce extremely formally, acknowledging them as if they are apart of your royal court.
Here's the catch: you would never know Elora Danan was Elora Danan. The last you knew of her, her name was Dove. At this, Kit's sword anchors forward, making a slicing sound as she pulls it from her sheath to wield in-front of her. Elora readies her hands to cast a spell - but you simply smile.
"Do come in, why don't you? I've missed you both."
"Y/n, I don't want to hurt you. I couldn't live with myself. So, please, just tell us what's going on." Kit finally mustered, finding it extremely difficult to face you in your condition.
"Well that would be a shame, since you travelled all this way just for me."
"Seriously? You get possessed and the only thing that remains is your half-witted sarcasm?" She complains, peering her eyes at the new you. It wasn't irrational to assume that the crone had taken you over - brainwashed you in some way. Because Elora knew damn well that if that was really you, you'd be sprinting to Kit.
"Possession. That's a funny assumption." You glare quizzically at Elora, focusing solely on her before turning to enter back through where you came from. "Now follow me before the doors close."
And soon you were sauntering back into the room, frigid as ever. Elora whipped her neck around to catch a glimpse of Kit's reaction.
Her face was stern, like nothing had fazed her - her jaw was clenched tightly, her knuckles whitening at the hilt of her sword. With her chin held up high, she turned to meet the girl's gaze, and that was when she saw it: the hurt in her eyes. No tears had to brim for Elora to understand what this meant for her - and that was when she got it.
Kit Tanthalos was undeniably, painfully in love with you.
"Are you coming in?" Kit asked, her voice sharp with emotion.
Kit nods, and wasting no time, follows you in past the metal and into the chamber.
It was illuminated by the yellow-gold tint from the well, the substance seeping through the floor under their feet. A blinding wall of light stood at the other side, coveted by a stone archway that seemingly lead into the unknown. You stood in the middle, facing Kit and Elora - just watching them look around in awe.
suddenly, shadows were cast upon the three of them as a figure emerged from the light, almost being created by the sun as she advanced toward them. It was a woman - wearing a gown doused in maroon red - her hair pinned up, and her makeup done. She lifted up the front of her skirt to step down onto the cobble, placing a comfortable hand on your shoulder. The sight made Kit shudder.
A seething anger burned inside of the princess, so deep she was ready to lunge at any moment...but she knew that wasn't smart. The woman just smiled - her teeth gleamingly white - she revelled in the scene before her, sensing Kit's uncontrollable anger. Her sly smile only grew as her hand trailed from the back of your shoulder to rest upon the dip in your waist.
"You're the crone?" Elora states in disbelief, looking the woman up and down. Meanwhile, Kit was only focused on your face - looking at Elora, no emotion behind your eyes.
"They told me you'd be smart."
"What did you do to her!" Kit exclaims, extending her sword further - now pointing threateningly at the crone, to which she raised an eyebrow.
"The light will tell you. All you have to do is take a look, princess. She's part of something bigger now, something better. Something the world is destined for."
She steps aside, giving the pair a clear view of the excruciating nothingness that was facing them. Elora had started making her way towards it already, the hypnotising nature taking a hold. Soon, it had kit in a grasp too, and the two of them slowly took a step in - engulfed in fiery gold.
Sparkling particles fly through the air, and they emerge from the luminance and fog to be met with...a party?
"What the hell is this?" Kit asks, more to herself than Elora - but she pipes up anyways, and it seems she is just as confused.
"I don't know where we are...this can't be real."
"It's our wedding, silly," Air says, popping up from out of the blue. He takes Elora's hand, and looks into her eyes for a moment. He looks real enough, but Kit can't believe that. She feels the enticement of this place - the florals, the orchestral music, the dancing...it's influencing the both of them in the wrong ways. And here's Airk 2.0, successfully making it worse.
And as if things couldn't get any more tantalising, here comes Kit's mother Sorsha - wasting no time in engulfing her daughter in a hug.
"You made it," She exclaims, pulling back from the embrace. Kit looks confused for a second, but her features melt into comfort as her mother places a hand on her cheek.
"I have to talk to you, actually," Airk whispers to Elora, with the flash of a smile. It's everything they had both ever wanted, but it felt...off. It felt wrong to be separated. They were in this together, as she said.
"Elora-" Kit called, reaching her hand out through the crowd as the red haired girl took one last look back in despair, before being yanked away.
"Let them chat, sweetheart - it's their wedding day. Besides, I want to speak with you too."
Kit nods slowly and perches herself next to her mother on a stone bench, intertwined with vines and pink rose petals.
"Kit...I'm proud of you for coming all this way. And I have to admit...I was wrong for what I did. I shouldn't have forced you into the mould of someone you weren't ever destined to be. You are meant to be out in the world - not the wife of a mediocre boy."
Kit chuckles at this - her mother wasn't one to insult, and when she did you knew she really meant it. This was one of those times.
Sorsha smiles, smoothing out the folds in her dress.
"And, if you must know, your 'well kept' secret isn't so well kept."
"What are you talking about?" Kit asks.
The mention of the name sends a twang of hurt to Kit's chest, though she's not sure why. She's sure she can remember something of you, but she hadn't seen you in so long...
"I saw you two dancing, the night before your wedding. And I knew. I mean, you were pretty terrible at hiding it, but...I saw how happy you were, and how beautiful the two of you looked. I accepted it."
Kit couldn't believe the words she was hearing. Acceptance and care from her mother was what she'd needed, all this time...and now, she had it in her grasp. But she couldn't shake the itch that there was something she needed to do, someone she needed to find. There was a thrumming anxiety in her chest she couldn't quite seem to place.
"She's just there, with the girls," Sorsha points towards a spot in the trees, where you sat against the bark, a circle of little girls around you. They each passed something around, until the last girl got up and placed the thing on your head - a beautifully woven flower crown. It fell lopsided on your hair, and so the girl spent another minute or so adjusting it for you.
One of the girls stood up and pointed in kit's direction, the girls erupting into mischievous giggles. You looked confused, and then, your gaze followed the group's all the way to Kit.
You couldn't help but smile as your cheeks went pink, the girls making fun of you with kissy noises - but you were only focused on her.
"Go. Tell her you love her, Kit." Sorsha said, noticing her daughter's dazed state. Kit rose to her feet, taking several steps in your direction as her mother got up to excuse herself. She was almost there, already dreaming about what she was going to say to you, how she was going to kiss you and spin you around, when a voice came booming through her ears.
It was her father's voice, no doubt.
She called back to him, quickly snapping out of the illusion.
Then he mentioned Elora Danan, and her eyes went wide. She turned in the complete opposite direction, pushing through crowds of people to get to her - yelling her name over and over until her throat hurt. She eventually made it to the spot Airk had pulled her to, and found that the crone was lying there instead, her tulle dress sprawled over the checkers of the picnic blanket.
You awoke swiftly with a sharp pain in your back. Your nails scratched unforgivingly at the stone floor, trying so desperately to steady yourself. A small Nelwyn sorcerer had arrived and thrown off the Gales, wrecking the Crone's plan as far as it was going. In your deep, unthinking state, you wished nothing but to serve your master, and so despite the pain, you managed to rise to your feet.
The scene playing out infront of you was astonishing: Elora Danan and the crone were battling with multicoloured magic, and the gales were spread out - the caged one battling your dearest Kit Tanthalos.
All you could hear was the sound of scraping metal as they battled on - and you knew your one goal. Killing her.
You sauntered towards the princess, sword at the ready, and swung, waiting for the blade to pierce flesh - but you were stopped by none other than Jade, who was determined to halt you in your tracks.
"We came all this way to save you! You have to be in there, y/n, we won't leave you!" She exclaims as she struggles to hold her strength against you. The clash of the weapons finally subsides as she is too weak to hold you back - resulting her imminent collapse. She stumbles back, caught off guard by your new found power, but instead of finishing her off you step right over her body, reaching for Kit.
You see she has killed one of the gales, and the sight of his body makes you even more furious. She almost doesn't see you coming but reflexes just at the last minute to catch your swing with her knife, which goes flying across the floor.
"Should've been your hand," you sneer, as she pulls out her sword from her sheath.
"I'm not going," She dodges a deathly blow, "to hurt y/n. No matter how hard you try to make me."
"We'll see."
Another driven blow comes towards her - everyone else occupied with their own battles. Your fight continues as you move through the room, backing up into the caves behind. The two of you end up away from everything else, secluded from the rest of the action. Kit's golden cuirass glimmers in the occasional spots of light bursting through from the magic - casting shadows against the crumbling rocks as the girls make concentrated noises of effort.
Kit is panting now, finding it hard to keep up - and though you wouldn't like to admit it, there was only so much the crone could do with your body before she wore it out.
You weren't sure if you were far enough from the battle, or if the crone had finally won...but it suddenly went quiet. Then came Kit's sniffles and pleads.
"Please, stop! I can't hurt you!"
"You never did win against me, Kit." You state, your swords clashing in the middle for the very last time. the metal screeches as Kit searches your eyes for some sign of you, a telling that you really were still there. Then, she had a quick witted Idea.
She swung her ankle into yours, quickly sending you to the floor. You hit your head, your vision instantly blacking out. The pain in your body seemed to amalgamate into one, and all you knew was that you felt as if you were burning.
Kit drops her sword immediately, and drops to her knees to examine you. Here's the thing: you could have been faking it. You could have stabbed her in the stomach just then, with how close she was. That was how much Kit trusted you.
"C'mon, y/n please," She whispered, hearing the collective footsteps of her party approaching. She cradled your head with her hand, making sure it wasn't sitting painfully against the rock. With the other she caressed your cheek, her thumb rubbing circles over your soft skin.
Your eyes remained cemented shut, but you knew something was happening - something important. because you see, the crone (circa three minutes ago) had been slaughtered by Elora Danan - this unconsciousness was more than just a slip, or an injury. It was life or death. And you weren't sure which was going to be handed to you.
"I came all this way to save you I- it can't be for nothing, I can't let it be for nothing. Alright? You hear me? You are gonna wake up, I swear to god," Kit sounded angry, and she looked it too, but the tears that spilled down her face and tapped lightly onto your nose said other wise. "You have to. Because this world doesn't work with only one of us in it."
The group kept focused on you, all looking down to peer at the person they had come all this way to save. And suddenly, it all made sense. Kit's dislikability all came down to this. She was in love.
"Please," she pleaded, biting her lip to stop herself from sobbing.
But your face remained that cold, dead likeness that they had always been. your now short, choppy hair stuck to your face and your hands were complied with limpness.
"I love you, just...please," she took a breath, "Please wake up."
Your eyes fluttered open suddenly, and extremely abruptly. The dark black of your irises gleamed as you searched Kit's face, a smile erupting on her lips through the tears. You'd never seen her so happy.
You took a breath, Kit lifting a hand from your face to grasp your hand.
"That was like the worst trip ever." You manage, in your raspy I-just-almost-died tone.
She laughs, her eyes still brimming with water - the sound making your heart jump.
You lift your weak arm to run a hand through her short hair.
"You found me," you gush.
"She damn near tore the world apart to do it." Jade remarks, standing there - arms crossed, smug look on her face. She had been waiting for a confession like this.
You just smile as she looks down at you so perfectly, so speechlessly, her hair falling over her eyes in such a precise manner that you were sure not even the most talented painter could capture her beauty.
You rest yourself up on your elbows, your nose just inches from hers.
"Let's get out of this hellhole." You say, fully intending on standing up - but Kit's expression says she has other ideas.
"Hell can wait," she remarks, before grabbing the collar of your jacket and kissing you harder and much messier than before. She needed this, to tell you everything through her lips, to explain just how much she missed you. It explained her worry, her hurt, and her love. Her in-fatuous, undeniable, irrevocable love.
She brought one arm around your waist, pulling you up to sit with your mouths still connected. You wrapped your arms around her neck, feeling cold metal beneath your elbows. You broke away to examine her body, covered in thick golden armour that excentuated her curves and made her look even more badass than she already had been.
"You look hotter than I remember, princess," you whisper onto her mouth, smiling through the comment. She just scoffs, mumbling a mocking 'shut up' before kissing you again, even deeper than last time.
"Ahem." Boorman announces, his fist over his mouth in a fake cough.
The two of you break apart, suddenly aware of the audience around you.
"Uhm, Sorry," you mutter, as Kit slowly rises to her feet, putting a hand around your waist to help you up too. She keeps her hand trained on your waist, afraid you're too vulnerable to walk - such a gentleman.
The group carries on, out of the room and back out into the wasteland that is the immemorial city.
You walk a few paces behind the others, your pace significantly slower. Kit catches your eyes wandering down her body, staring abruptly at the gold chainmail on her waist.
You raise an eyebrow at her.
"What?" she asks playfully. "I'm gonna take it off."
your expression remains sceptical.
"Just as soon as I figure out how."
