I will, now and forever, absolutely love how muscular Urianger is canonically. Not an arch-typical little wisp healer in robes, but a large, muscular guy in the prettiest velvet dress.
I played an hour of the the patch this morning and have been thinking about her all day..... She is going to be Arsay's new best friend and she is also getting adopted.
A little bit of Severia x Nero writing that occurs during 6.55 setting up things for Dawntrail.
I wrote it for the prompt "return" sent to me by @gatheredfates for a single word fic drive, but decided to make a separate post for it as it got away from me a bit and then I decided to add a few screenshots.
Severia lay on her back on her bed in the Balsesion Annex and made herself comfortable. Beside her next to the pillow was her Cockwork Novus D*. A familiar voice came from inside it.
“Hullo, darling. Miss me?”
“Of course I miss you, silly boy.” Never mind that they had seen each other just that morning before she had teleported to Sharlayan to meet with Krile. “Did you get much work done without me there to distract you?”
“At the risk of being premature-”
“You? Never.”
Nero laughed. “You tease. Are you sure you can’t come back for the night?”
“Well, of course I could, but we’re headed out at first light for the Isle of Hamm and you know teleporting that kind of distance too often wears me out.”*
“I can think of a few ways to-”
“I want to avoid that!” she protested with a smile. “Anyway, tell me your news.”
“I think I’ve made a breakthrough,” Nero said, smugness oozing from his voice.
“So that puts you ahead of Cid?”
“I’m fairly certain this puts me months ahead of him in research,” Nero bragged. “He’s still struggling to work out the formula for-”
Severia interrupted before he got technical. It was far too late in the day for that. “Have you decided what you’re going to make him do when you win?”
Nero grinned to himself. Her complete faith in him was always a balm to his competitive spirit. “That is the hardest part of this contest.* I need an idea that is suitably embarrassing while also not technically harmful. But I’m sure it will come to me. Now. Your news.”
And so Severia told him all about meeting Wuk Lamat and what the enthusiastic Hrothgar had come to Sharlayan for. “I’d never considered going to the New World before. I haven’t exactly said I would go yet, but I can’t deny I’m tempted.”
“Indeed. From what I’ve read the continent of Tural is quite vast and diverse. There was some talk at one point among the Legati about what kind of resources would be necessary to mount an invasion.”
“Seriously? Garlemald wanted to invade Tural?”
“The Emperor wanted the whole world under him thumb. Of course that included Tural. It was on the roadmap for the future, but it didn’t get any farther than that before you Eorzean savages started giving us too much trouble.”
Nero’s tone was facetious and Severia knew when he spoke that way his tongue was firmly in his cheek so she took no offense. Their former positions on opposite sides of a war was something they often teased each other about. “Yes, how dare they. If only they’d rolled over and taken it you might have ended up lost in the jungles of Tural one day getting hacked to pieces by Mamool Ja.”
Nero scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. It would largely have been an aerial assault. I certainly wouldn’t have been trudging along in the dirt.”
“No, I imagine you would have been mowing down the natives in the Ultima Weapon or such like.”
“Possibly, possibly,” Nero conceded. “So what’s this excursion to the Isle about?”
“We’re all going on a hunt.”
“Again, we?”
“Er, me, Wuk Lamat, Erenville, G’raha and Krile. Wuk Lamat wants to see if I live up to Erenville’s stories.”
“She doubts you?”
“I don’t exactly cut the most imposing figure, you must admit.”
“I must admit nothing. You’re all the more intimidating for your adorable size.”
“Well, you have the benefit of having watched me fight a Primal the very first time you saw me. Also you’re biased.”
“I am only biased in how much your incredible talents made me love you.”
Severia closed her eyes and pulled her blanket up to her chin, smiling in contentment. “I love you too.”
“So when will you return?”
“Tomorrow.” It had been some time since they had been apart from each other for more than a day and she had gotten used to the luxury of it. With a pang she considered how long they might be separated if she went to Tural. The sense of loss that rose up inside her nearly took her breath away. “I’ll be home as soon as I can get away.”
“I look forward to it, with all my heart. Goodnight, darling.”
“Goodnight, Nero.”
The following evening Severia walked through the front door of the cottage she shared with Nero in a thoughtful mood. She had all but made up her mind to go to Tural. The prospect filled her with both elation and a dread that she could not reconcile. She wanted to go. She wanted to see new lands, meet new peoples, learn new histories and make new discoveries. But she didn’t want to leave home. Home. A word that had once held no appeal to her had lately become so precious.
Her ruminations were interrupted when Nero came tumbling down the stairs holding a large duffle bag in each hand.
“Oh, welcome home, darling.” Without putting down either bag, he gave her a quick kiss and then went to the kitchen and started searching through drawers and cabinets. Every so often he found an item he wanted and carefully tucked it away in one of the duffle bags, which was now bulging with odd corners and bumps.
Severia watched at a loss. “What are you doing?”
“Hmmmm? Packing.”
“How did you know?”
“How did I know that you were going to come home and tell me you’ve decided to go? Because I know you, love. It’s far too good an opportunity of doing all the things you like most to miss.”
“All right, fair. But you don’t have to pack for me.” Was he that eager to see her go? Was he looking forward to time uninterrupted for his work?
“I’m not,” said Nero, as he weighed two identical spatulas in his hands before picking one and packing it away. “This is all for me.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you going?”
Nero gave her the strained look he had when she was being a little slow. “To Tural.”
Severia sucked in a breath of surprise. “You mean…”
“I’m coming with you,” Nero said as if it were painfully obvious. He pointed at her with the rejected spatula. “You don’t honestly expect me to sit around at home once again twiddling my thumbs and waiting for your return while you’re out there having the adventure of a lifetime?”
“I didn’t… I just… I mean, that’s how-”
“That’s how it’s always been,” Nero finished for her and his brow furrowed in irritation for a moment before he released a sigh and relaxed it once more. He set the spatula back down on the counter and went to her, taking her hands in his. “But it doesn’t have to continue that way. Severia, I want to be at your side, you know that.”
“But your work… This contest with Cid…”
“Do you really think those things matter more to me?” He tipped her chin up so he could look in her eyes. Tears were gathering there. He hadn’t meant to make her cry. “Besides, the audacity of you going off on your own to explore an entire continent that may indeed be rife with monumental discoveries none but I are qualified to obtain! No true man of science could allow that.”
Severia laughed and flung her arms around his waist. “I’m so glad. Oh Nero, I wanted to go so much but I didn’t want to be away from you. You’ll really come with me?”
“Naturally. I look forward to sitting on the sidelines sipping refreshing tropical drinks while you slay all the beasties.”
“Absolutely not. You’d better pack your hammer because I won’t save you when you inevitably do something reckless and unleash some kind of great evil on the land. I’ll save everyone else, but not you.”
Nero gave her his best sad puppy dog look. “You don’t mean that.”
“No, I don’t mean it. But adventuring isn't all fun and games, you know. You are going to pull your weight.”
“Whatever you say, my love. Now, when do we leave?”
“Oh, not for weeks.”
“Hmmm. I’d better unpack the cast iron pans.” He released her and began rummaging again through the duffel bag.
Severia watched in astonishment as he pulled out an absurd number of cooking implements. “You’re bringing cast iron pans? Are you insane?”
“What? They’re excellent for cooking over an open fire.”
“This is too much stuff, Nero. I prefer to travel light.”
“Can’t you just put it all in your pocket dimension?”*
“Do you think I’m some kind of beast of burden?”
“Don’t be foolish. You know perfectly well anything that goes into that bag of yours is no burden at all.”
“Ugh. Fine! You win. As usual.”
Nero grinned and, still on his knees, pulled her into him for a kiss. “You love me.”
Severia sighed in surrender. “I adore you.”
Notes:
Nero turned the Clockwork Novus D into a long range communication device for he and Severia to use that is more secure and reliable than a linkpearl.
Teleporting large distances too often causes fatigue. A headcanon of mine developed for the sake of narrative pacing.
Nero and Cid have regular contests to see who can solve a specific problem first or make the better device fitted to a client's need. At this point they are tied for victories 11 to 11.
Severia's travel gear includes a pack with a relatively stable pocket dimension inside. A headcanon of mine to account for inventory space and a reference to this post.
