Its over!!!! I don't wanna look at how long ago I started this.
7.3 patch spoilers I'm pretty sure
Crafter/Gatherer end quest spoilers (kinda)
LalaxnonLala!NPC
Also posted on AO3
Mind the tags
Entering into Solution 9 was the same as it was the first time: bright, colorful and paradoxically deafening and quiet. …Well, not quite the same.
The first go 'round the city was a technological marvel giving a sense of wonder and curiosity. How did it all work? What influenced them to create such technology? How could it impact Tural or the greater world at large?
Now though, Koana isn't sure how to feel about it all. He is yet curious of how electrope truly works and what could become of it or creations similar to the ones made from it if given to not just his country but the star. But that sprig of inquisitiveness is stifled with the reminder of what electrope aided in doing — creating the endless: a system to where no one truly dies (nor truly lives), no desire to remember those who've passed on all sustained on the stolen lifeforces of those outside this bubble.
The thought has curbed his desire to learn, warring with himself if he should or leave it all well enough alone, because he knows himself just enough that he'll put his all into it. It almost kept him from returning at all, if it weren't for two very important things.
The first and more pressing is the situation his sister and nephew have found themselves in — the aforementioned endless no longer being of the past, but a now prevalent threat for the future. They are more than capable of handling it on their own he knows, especially so with the Warrior from Eorzea and his allies. It however did not sit right with him to remain in Tuliyollal, safe, whilst they risked their lives for the same thing as he — protecting their people.
The second reason walks beside him. Peddlestox was to come here upon Ropli's request to invite any merchants to his appreciation sale to further cement that the people of Alexandria were included. Given that he was already headed this way, he offered to escort her (much to the delight, he noted, of her adopted fathers). It was no hardship of his; he rather enjoyed her company. They had, on their way here in fact, talked at length on how to improve the inside of the train with the gobbie girl detailing what has been started already after all.
And well, maybe there was a third reason. He was still curious after all in how electrope created the things he saw.
Nevertheless they continued onwards to the Nexus Arcade, passing by the aetheryte, only to stop at the sound of his name. They turned and there was his sister along with his nephew, Xynal, and a rather familiar hyune… He wasn't able to scrutinize her further as Lamaty'i said, "This is my brother Koana and his girl friend Peddlestox."
"Wuk Lamat." He doesn't often use her name over the nickname they gave her except of course when he has to chastise her.
"What?" she asks, cheeky. "She is a girl and your friend."
Koana gives her a glare; she knew exactly what she did with her wording. He's not appreciative of hers or anyone else's attempts at pushing something that isn't even there. She's his friend first and foremost and he has no desire to hurt her given that he already knows she has a crush on him. He takes a deep breath to calm himself. Its a talk for a later time. He turns a suspicious gaze to the woman clad in yellow. "I take it this is not the Queen Sphene the reports were talking about."
"It is a long tale best not told here," Xynal says with a nod.
"We were on our way to the Mosaic, showing her around Alexandria. You are both welcome to join us," Gulool Ja invites.
Koana glances to his smaller companion. He may be here for his family but his duty is to her first. She nods. "Pssshk, is on way to CraftySpot."
And so they joined the small group. Peddlestox, he notes, opted to stay back with him and Xynal, letting his sister and Gulool Ja walk on ahead with this new Sphene as they explained and presented Solution 9 to her. It didn't take long for them to reach the Nexus Arcade and for the masked girl to wave and be on her way.
He waited, eyes trained on her, until she walked up to one of the merchants before he rejoined the group who also stopped. Wuk Lamat had a look of glee on her face, and, knowing what she likely would say and not in the mood to hear it he growled, "Not another word about it." The tone he uses is harsh, he knows. He doesn't like using it for her, doesn't like being her hurt, but sometimes, he concedes, it is necessary.
Her ears drooped, and the atmosphere took on a heavy tension as the other three looked on in various stages of curious confusion. Hesitantly, Gulool Ja now took the lead. Koana followed, tail lashing, trying to calm himself. Xynal hung back to walk beside him. "She only teases," he says lightly.
And the hhestarro knows this only, "If it were just myself affected I would be fine with it." But it's not just him. "She may not look it to others due to the mask, and she may not say anything, but it bothers her, hurts her, to be reminded." The rest of the walk to the Mosaic was quiet, only broken by Gulool Ja's soft narration to Sphene.
"There's an attack on the Nexus Arcade."
The fear that grips him at those words is both familiar and foreign. He's felt this way before. The first time due to Lamaty'i disappearing not long after she was brought home and the most recent had been when Bakool Ja Ja had her kidnapped. But it had yet to be transferred to another person, until now. And he struggles to understand why.
It's not because he feels responsible for her, though the guilt gnaws at him anyway since he brought her here. She's without her family, her chocobo and the pictomancy brush of hers underneath the assumption she'd be safe (at his own insistence no less).
And, though he hesitates to say, it isn't due to their friendship. It sounds wrong to even think it, true as it is. He remembers when Wawkesa kidnapped her, the realization and fear when he saw Lapis in the middle of Tuliyollal warking up a fuss — alone with an empty saddle. The thought that she was hurt — or worse. That paled in comparison to how he feels now.
He cannot breathe; he cannot think. Nothing else seems to matter until he sees her with his own eyes that she's alive and not…
Calm yourself. You are useless to her, to everyone, if you cannot think.
Koana shakes his head. He needs to focus and not be lost to blind panic. She and the people of Alexandria need him to be the Vow of Reason in all this chaos. He has to focus on the here and now and not on possible "what ifs".
Though his lungs burn, he doesn't slow. He's long lost the others in their attempts to stop the rampage of mechanical soldiers, each going their own way and helping who they can. He himself merely shoots and disables what he sees on his way to the Nexus, unwilling to direct people when he isn't sure where is even safe anymore. And he's glad that he didn't tell anyone to follow him, because the scene when he gets to his destination is literal explosions of spells, sparks and gunfire.
G'raha and Krile have their backs to one another covering as many civilians as they could in the small area. The ground around them is black in large patches (electrope could burn, who knew?) smelling of burnt ozone that raises his fur on end. Few but no small number of people are dead nearby and he can't bring himself to thoroughly check to see if the Moblin from across the salt (Goblin his mind corrects) is amongst them.
As it was, he forced himself join in with bullets and aether with the two Scions giving but a glance of acknowledgement. He wants to look and see if she is safe but as a Vow of Tuliyollal he must stand and be another wall in the line of defense. She also may be taking refuge here, and being another protector would add to her survival. Still, if he's wrong, if this choice of duty over personal matters ends up backfiring, her family will never forgive him. And he won't forgive himself.
There didn't seem to be an end to them. Either there were more than anyone bothered to count or, without anyone being able to spare a thought to look, the soldiers were merely deactivated only to reboot and come back online to fight once more. (He would not be surprised if that was the case.)
At some point the three of them — Krile, G’raha and himself — spread out and made a loose perimeter as a safe haven for people to run to, mostly to cover more ground and thus aid more people. He tried not to look to see if she was amongst the people here. He failed; he didn't see her, hoping she somehow got out, was safe. However…
Up against the dark pathways and buildings as she ran forward it was easy to see her with just a sliver from his peripheral as she is a stark contrast of white and light pink. An easy target his training provides. She isn't alone. Being pulled along by her is another lalafell — milala — just as bright and mor colorful and chasing after them is one of the soldiers. Who has a gun aimed towards —
All Reason has left him. He just acts. In one moment he's standing worries easing — he's found her; she's alive — the next he's crouched, his gun modified with his sights (and scope) aimed on the robot and then firing, leaving a gaping hole through their pursuer as it dropped deactivated before it could even shoot. If he felt fury it didn't even register.
Infact nothing else registered either. He doesn't remember hearing the clicks as mechanisms slot into place as he adjusted the weapon nor the recoil chamber firing the bullet. He doesn't remember seeing his target through the scope he attached nor does he feel the rightfully terrified thought he could have accidentally hit them. He doesn't even remember moving.
What did register at first was some kind of hum. Not too high pitched to be hurtful, but enough to be an annoyance. The next — lights, as if they're sharper, brighter than before rather than they had just been turned on. Several breaths and his heartbeat in his ears receding later he can hear his surroundings and — "Uplander ok?"
He still cannot get her to call him by name. He's not sure if it is due to distance or respect, though she is more than welcome to use it. "I am fine. Are you both alright?" he says when he calms his breathing. He distantly acknowledge their affirmative as he scans the area for more soldiers. There are none and its quiet. Perhaps everything has settled. Still he ushers them behind him where other Alexandrians have hidden away with plans forming to escort her back home himself.
He does not,in fact, end up escorting her back home. The Landsguard, and by extension her family, ended up taking her, and any Alexandrians who wished to flee, away. The clean up across the city had begun; Galool Ja removed and disabled all weapons the soldiers can use. For now the people of Alexandria are safe. And yet he does not feel accomplished. Just… lost. Koana sighed as he leaned over the balcony overlooking part of the neon city facing towards the Nexus Arcade.
Like before he is torn. He knows he's doing the right thing by staying. It's what his father would do. What he would want someone in his position to do. He's just… feeling off-kilter from the aftermath he supposes.
He hears footsteps behind him, right ear turning towards them, and as he looks behind him he sees his sister who looks just as troubled as he feels. Before he could ask what was wrong she says, "I'm sorry… about earlier. I just — I don't want you to miss out on something, someone that can make you happy." His anger over her teasing was long forgotten due to the past recent events so he was surprised when she brought it up. Perhaps it was bothering her all this time, and due to the excitement she had to bury it until things calmed.
"Lamaty'i as I've said there is nothing there." Her green eyes bore into his. He does not squirm under her gaze. He has no reason to. It is the truth.
"You know, for someone so smart you can be so stupid. It's very obvious to me she has a crush on you." And he knows she does. The gobbie girl was the one to tell him so herself. Moons ago. "And you like her back with how you've been acting around her!"
He turns to look at her fully, arms crossed. "And what of you and Sphene? You seem to like her well enough — both versions I should add." She stares at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"I — that's — I'm not the Vow of Reason!" "And? What do our titles have to do with this?" "Koana! We're not talking about me we're talking about you!" "I don't see why we cannot talk about your crush as well since we're having the conversation."
"There is nothing to talk about—" She stops abruptly as a thought comes to her and then she glares at him. And then growls at him for daring to look smug. "You did that on purpose." Oh yes he did. "You're horrible. I don't know what she sees in you." He doesn't know what she sees either. His head tilts as his sister fumes tail lashing, waiting her out. He doesn't have to wait long before she storms off in a huff, leaving him to his own thoughts. …As circular as they are.
Once things were settled and Lamaty'i healed, Ropli held his appreciation sale with merchants all across Tural coming to sell their goods. Enough so that they ended up extending the event an extra day to rotate out some stalls.
It was refreshing to see the people happy, excited after the underlying tension of Alexandria's struggles diminished. They would still be hounded by death as much as anyone, but at least they were coming around to the idea that it means to live life fully. And coming here, meeting new people and cultures hopefully will help with that. It at least seemed to be according to Wuk Lamat at any rate.
But, seeing his people’s open joy was not the reason he was here — not the sole one anyway. He hasn't seen his goblin friend for a while, mired into giving aid to Alexandria and keeping his sister on the healer’s order of bed rest as he was. She likely would be here, however. And so he donned his more casual wear to blend in and be less likely hounded.
He wove in and out of the droves of people, astounded that so many came. What did Ropli say to get this many? Once or twice he spotted one of the Scions, each looking for their own personal purchases. His sister, he notes to tease her for later, is with Sphene. Xynal, last he saw, was talking at length with Ropli as they walked around the busy lane. And then he spies a very familiar pink. It's not hers, but her brother's. Mayhaps he knows where she could be.
He follows the other lalafell through the crowd until it thins and they are past the market altogether and down to the beach. Here, he spies the whole family: her brother who is now with his hhestarro miqo’te husband and seeming to rant at how crowded the stalls were, her fathers, one lalafell one elezen, who likely walked over from where they sprawled in the sand to calm their son down, another elezen who seemed familiar yet he isn't sure how nor how he's tied to this family (perhaps a relative?) and there with her sister, the twin of their lalafellin brother is the goblin girl he was looking for. This time without the mask.
They were in the shallows splashing each other, laughing and he realizes two things then. The first is that he'd never heard her laugh like that before. Muffled giggles and the hissing of a snicker or two, but not this bubbly and boisterous sound. The second, is that not only does he want to hear it again, he wants hear it for the rest of the years that are yet to come. And it is at this point, he's come to an answer.
As he does, he's spotted, and waved over to join them. Peddlestox is the one to introduce him to her sister's fiancé — the other elezen man — and he stays with them until the evening where they all part ways.
He was present for all of it, spoke when he needed to and answered questions, but he was yet distracted. After all, what does he do now that he has an answer?
