“Hmmm… both.” Presa smirked, the slightest hint of a purr in her voice. “And what about you? Or is that broadsword just for show?”
She followed Alvin up the stone stairs, easily keeping pace with him. The walkway opened up to a platform overlooking Xian Du and the river below, a warm breeze ruffling the magenta tips of her pink hair. Enjoying the sun on her skin, Presa stretched her arms over her head, loosening her muscles before she joined Alvin by the railing. She leaned her back against it, facing him.
The question didn’t surprise her. Inevitably the subject would have come up. It always did.
Presa looked Alvin over once more. Like his coat, he looked well-worn and travelled.
He had yet to give her a reason to lie to him.
Turning around to lean her arms against the rail and join Alvin in examining the river below, watchful for his reaction, Presa answered, “Ul’dah.”
“Nope, not just for show. Though it’s been a while since I’ve been in there. Can’t say I’m retired, exactly, but I’ve had other stuff taking up my time.”
It took some effort on Alvin’s part not to watch this Presa too closely. She would have fit as neatly in the curve of his shoulder as the one whose grave he’d left flowers on a few days ago, though her motions had the rich fluidity of a true feline bone structure.
It remained damnably difficult to make sure he was treating her as her own separate person. Fortunately, her answer gave him yet another point to add to that growing differential.
“Ul'dah,” he repeated carefully, catching the soft glottal stop. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it.” He met her eyes, and read nothing but truth there, so he gave her a piece of his own. “Which is pretty surprising. I’ve been almost everywhere on this side of the Schism, and a lot of places on the other. I guess I could’ve missed somewhere, though.” That seemed wildly unlikely.
That Alvin did not know of Ul'dah was less a surprise after Presa's foray into the First, but at least he had not accused her of lying outright. Even she had to acknowledge there were places yet unknown to her in Etheirys, however, her suspicion that she was not in the Source grew. Ul'dah was one of the major city-states of Eorzea after all, and an important hub for commerce to boot.
"The Schism?" The term rang with a similar familiarity as the Rift, perking Presa's pink ears at the name.


















