— nostalgia ,
FINN !!
the lotus festival brings back a lot of memories, not all of them good.
well, most of them are good, or they should be good, but somehow the good memories hurt more than the bad now. it’s all a reminder of what feels like another life now: when the lucinier name meant something, when it was easy to smile and he was full of pride and enthusiasm.
lotus campus is a familiar stomping ground for him, a lotus academy student in his teen years. when he’s in the hall itself, he takes it in, and can’t help but recall the past years: him laughing with his academy friends, him seeing how charming he could be in one night, dancing with anyone that wanted to, and how beautiful yura looked year after year on this day in particular.
he’s only really here because ziyu paid him a lot of gold to accompany her, though chances are he would’ve ended up coming even if it was just vivian begging him to.
finn is afraid to face his memories, and he is afraid to face those he knew before he lost the war, but he has been enough of a coward in recent years at vivian’s expense. ziyu is paying him, and he owes it to his sister to at least attempt to be the brother she deserves and that he robbed her of for the past year.
it takes him time to find an opening to leave ziyu’s side; she has many duties to attend to and finn doesn’t want to cause any trouble by skipping out on her in the middle of a meeting. he is keenly aware, however, of the passage of time, and that he is late to meeting vivian where he agreed. thankfully, he’s free to leave before long, and he hurriedly heads to where he’s supposed to meet his sister.
she looks worried. he can’t blame her, but it still saddens him. she really thinks he would leave her hanging when he told her he wouldn’t again? he supposes it’s too soon to entirely mend the trust he broke between them, but he likes to think it’s improving, and that tonight might aid in that healing.
“vivian,” he calls to her, and he smiles softly. “sorry i’m late. turns out being an unofficial bodyguard at the lotus festival is a busier job than i anticipated.”
it feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders when she hears her brother’s familiar voice, her shoulders dropping and her posture straightening up, just barely noticeable to the untrained eye. but her brother has always known her well, and even if she doesn’t consciously think about it, he surely recognizes the signs of nervousness in her posture alone.
“finn!” she calls out in response, her expression brightening just at the sight of him. the reassurance that she really hadn’t been waiting for nothing, that he hadn’t forgotten about her or left her again, feels so good in that moment that she takes a few steps forward quickly to latch onto his arm. she hadn’t really thought that he was going to forget about her, not this time, but at the same time, there had still been a niggling seed of doubt deep down that had whispered about how easy it would be for him just to not show up again.
“it’s okay,” she says, the words coming out more easily and genuinely than she had thought they might, beaming up at him. there’s something very nostalgic about the fact that they are at the lotus academy for a festival, something that reminds her of better days before their territory had been ripped away by war. “you’re here now and that’s what matters. i fully intend on dragging you around everywhere,” her grin is seemingly irrepressible, eyes bright with excitement, and she tugs on his arm to lead him towards where they can at least get some food.
“what do you want to start with?” she questions, hoping for something from him so that they can actually both enjoy the festival.











