Title: Calling
Author: マサラ Circle: うたかた日和。
Series: Tales of Zestiria Main characters: Sorey, Alisha, Mikleo, Rose, Edna Ships: Sorey/Alisha; Mikleo/Alisha; Mikleo/Edna (these are the author’s listed ships, but they’re all super light and can be taken platonically)
Content rating: G Warnings: None Pages: 36 Ease of reading: you don't even need to read | super easy | know some grammar first | tricky | advanced | this was really heckin hard
Summary:
This one’s actually made up of five short stories! Separated by ships, basically, so I’ll also break up the summary accordingly.
Story #1: Calling
This is set right after Alisha first becomes Sorey’s Squire, as she finds herself too tired to sleep after all the excitement that’s happened. She gets up for a drink of water, reflecting on how eerily quiet the inn is, when she’s suddenly grabbed from behind and screams.
Skip ahead a couple minutes and Sorey’s laughing at having spooked her, but he quickly apologizes when she acts miffed and admits he didn’t think he’d scare her that badly. Alisha, being Alisha, feels ashamed as a knight for scaring so easily and admits as much, but Sorey admits that he likes seeing a different side of her--a side that’s more relaxed, a “normal girl” instead of the Dignified Princess behavior he’s used to. She gets a bit flustered and starts to say that she’s concerned about her dignity as a knight, but Sorey interrupts and tells her “It’s not about dignity--because I know that who you are as a knight and princess has no bearing on the Alisha I want to know as a normal girl.”
She’s surprised at being thought of as a “normal girl.” Sorey suggests that, even if it’s just in front of himself and the others, she might enjoy letting her guard down more often. He mentions that he previously had a similar serious mindset, and once said out loud that he needs “to act more like a Shepherd,” which only made Mikleo angry. Alisha’s amused by the thought since it’s easy to picture.
Sorey asks her what she thinks of Mikleo and Lailah, since she saw them for the first time today. She fawns over them quite a bit, saying they’re as beautiful as she imagined, like angels, just like the tales she heard as a child depicted them... She really goes on and on about it, lol. Even Sorey finally cuts her off (”That’s too much praise, Alisha”).
She asks if all seraphim are as lovely as those two, to which he says no and explains that Gramps is an old man. They start talking about Elysia and Alisha’s surprised to learn that there were a lot of seraphim whom she couldn’t see. As honored as she feels to have been to their village, she also feels guilty for disrespecting them with the way she “ignored” them at the time. Sorey assures her that his family took no offense, and then offers that they go there together again one day so she can meet them all properly, as his Squire.
“And this time, I can introduce you to Gramps!”
She says she’s afraid of being a nuisance, but he promises that he and Mikleo will vouch for her.
And then they promise to return together via another pinky-swear, right in my feels, thanks
Story #2: Dreaming Girl
Alisha confronts Sorey and admits that she’s been wanting to try on his Shepherd’s mantle just once. She apologizes for being so selfish, since it is his gift and all, but he of course agrees and tells her she can wear it as much as she wants. She’s excited and grateful and promises to clean it after she’s done, but he tells her not to worry about it.
She tries it on, asking if she looks like a Shepherd now, and he tells her she looks fantastic and that it suits her--but he also points out that it’s pretty baggy on her, and can’t help laughing at the way the back drags on the ground. When it makes her self-conscious, Sorey just points out that she’s small and dainty--which makes her more self-conscious, and she tries to argue that she does in fact have some muscle on her. Sorey humors her and asks to see, so she lets him feel her arms while the two of them sit on his bed (in an aside comment, he’s impressed by how toned her arms are lol).
Naturally, that’s right when Mikleo walks in. He of course gets the wrong idea and starts yelling at Sorey, Alisha tries to explain that this was all her fault, and Sorey finally realizes what he’s implying and everyone’s just yelling and embarrassed.
"You’ve got it wrong, Mikleo!”
Story #3: Show some more!
Mikleo and Alisha are in a library, wondering when Sorey and the others will return from shopping, when she catches a glimpse of his circlet through his bangs. He explains that he’s always worn it since he was little, and when she asks if it’s a memento, he admits he doesn’t know since Gramps never told him anything about it. He just knows it’s important, so he always keeps it close. Alisha likens it to her armor, and they both agree they would like to know the truth one day.
She wonders why he always hides it behind his bangs, especially since it’s so pretty, and Mikleo admits that, as a guy, he thinks he’d be laughed at for wearing something girly. (whispers also his blush is the cutest thing)
“Important or not, you don’t think I’d be laughed at for wearing something made for a woman?”
Alisha decides to try and cheer him up by asking to see it, but he refuses, and they go back and forth a bit until she finally pushes his hair back herself to look at it. There’s an awkward pause as they both blush now, with Alisha realizing how much she’s encroached on his personal space--although he’s puzzled as to why she’s embarrassed.
Story #4: 3:00 snack for you
Edna pokes Mikleo and tells him to go make her some snacks since he’s not doing anything else.
“That’s not how you use an umbrella!”
He yells at her for half a page, ultimately telling her to go make it herself, but she says it’s too much trouble and that her cooking efforts aren’t super great, anyway. That surprises Mikleo, who points out that she just admitted in a rather roundabout way that his cooking is good--which annoys her, and she barks at him not to keep a lady waiting. He gives in, but not before sarcastically addressing her in an obnoxiously formal manner, which gets him smacked again.
Cut to later and he sets a dessert in front of her. She’s surprised that he can make something other than ice cream (he tells her it’s bad to have cold snacks all the time) and that it’s marron glacé. Mikleo awkwardly explains that he figured he should make her favorite dish to be sure she would actually eat it. Edna admits that it was a (surprisingly) clever idea and tries it--and tells him that even though he has a ways to go before he can compare with Eizen’s cooking, it’s still really good.
Mikleo: “As honest as ever, huh.” Edna: “Aren’t we both?”
Story #5: Wonder
Alisha bursts into Rose’s room and asks if she’s seen a notebook anywhere. Rose gets curious and wonders why she’s so distressed over it, and teases her by asking if there might be a picture of the person she likes in there. (Alisha’s hilarious response is just “Oh, be quiet! It’s nothing like that!”)
Alisha leaves and runs into Sorey, who happened to pick the book up earlier. Before Alisha can feel too relieved, Rose pops up and takes it from him, wondering again what’s inside it and admitting that she knows that Alisha’s been writing in it every night. After some curious-but-respectful prodding from Sorey, Alisha finally admits that she’s been keeping a diary of the party’s journey, and that she thought it would be embarrassing if someone read it.
But Sorey is excited and proudly shows her his Celestial Record, which he’s also been using as a diary on their journey.
“Here’s mine, too!”
Rose proposes that instead of Alisha writing about everyone else on her own, they all pitch in on the writing effort and eventually exchange diaries. She starts thinking of good titles that would sell (”A Record of the Lord Shepherd and His Party”), and Sorey points out that she’s going to make Mikleo mad again. (the “again” made me laugh, ngl)
This cheers Alisha up and she thanks them both, saying she’s looking forward to seeing everyone’s diary after the journey’s over. Rose teases her some more, saying she’ll want to sneak peeks at her diary from now on; when Sorey says that he will, too, Alisha objects and confuses him, while Rose seems to catch on to something she isn’t saying.
Impressions:
I love this art style!! It’s so clean and pretty and expressive! And looks better than some of the official artwork if I’m being totally honest, lol. The stories are super cute, and even though it’s SorAli focused, I really like the screentime that other characters/relationships get. The way each ship is kept pretty light so you can take them as either shippy or platonic is pretty neat, too.
The first story is adorable with Sorey being his usual supportive self, + yassss more Elysia family talk, even if it makes me sad for several reasons :C
The second story is so cute I could die. It’s just so wholesome and precious and happy and I love?? these two?? so much??? I would take a bullet for their relationship it’s so pure
I wish the Mikleo/Alisha one had been longer!! I do have what few MikAli doujinshi exist, sans the lone R18 one which appears to have been lost to time, so I can’t really complain BUT STILL Also I am 110% accepting the headcanon that he hides his circlet because he’s embarrassed by it. (first impressions: he wore it openly as a kid because he didn’t realize/care it was “girly,” and then cared as a teenager because Awkward Years, and then got over it after meeting Muse 👀 )
The Mikleo/Edna one is cute! I don’t actively ship it, but I can get behind it, albeit more so as an epilogue thing. (I do have a few doujinshi for them, since they’re more back-and-forth tsundere humor than real “romance,” which I can definitely appreciate.) Otherwise their grudging friendship is ridiculously cute and I love it.
Sorey and Alisha stood out the most in the fifth story, imo. (ngl I am really hard-pressed in finding accurate fan depictions of Rose; I’ve seen some good ones in gen-based and Rose/Dezel doujinshi, but in Sorey/Alisha and even the few Sorey/Rose ones I’ve come across, she tends to be... ehhhnotsogood.) It was still a cute three-way friendship to show off, though! gimme those double Squire AUs pls
