three wols, three underappreciated female npcs
“I... can’t fathom what you’re going through right now. But... I want you to know you still have worth. You haven’t lost everything. You can’t — not as long as there are people who believe in you. And... I do. I may not believe in myself, but I do believe in you.”
“...What reason have you?”
“You're my friend, dammit. That's the bare minimum I can do.”
“But you... just last night, you said you couldn't.”
“Well, hells take me if I don't try. When you need me... just call. And I'll come running. I don't know if I can help... but I can promise, I'll try.”
It wasn't intended to be a whole thing. Lucia had simply wanted to get some sparring practice in before the grand melee. It had only made sense for her to ask Mia, the most skilled with a sword among the Warriors of Light. Not that she thought she was the best (she had won multiple tournaments back at the Gladiators' Guild). Not that she wasn't aching for a chance to connect with another decorated defector from Garlemald. It didn't have to mean anything.
Two hours into the duel, with the two knights on a perfectly even keel and the entirety of Camp Dragonhead now surrounding them and cheering on the most intense swordfight any of them had ever seen, Mia is no longer able to convince herself it means nothing.
“By the kami... Lily, what have they done to you...?”
The voice feels familiar, but her mind is sluggish, atrophied, unable to connect the dots required to actually identify it. She can’t even fathom that this person might be here for some other purpose.
Who even is Lily...? Wasn’t that on the list of names she was cursing...?
She doesn't know and she's in no state to figure it out. The only sensations that can reach her is the absence of the manacles that have held her for too long and the glint of lanternlight upon alabaster scales.
happy birthday, @ubejamjar, my friend. i hope it's a good one. c: