She didn’t
know how she died. Fran wanted to believe it was because the memory of the pain
was too much to bear. Auron remembered his death, but the viera didn’t know if
it was a common thing among unsent. And the fact that Chuami thought she couldn’t
enter the Farplane because it denied her entrance only broke her heart.
Without a
word, Fran pulled Chuami into a hug. It was by far the most maternal gesture
she ever had with the young woman since they have met. Since Chuami entered her
life, Fran did her best to be more of a mentor than a mother. The archer didn’t
want to replace anyone and she thought her mentor role would help Auron and his
daughter to reconnect properly.
Little did
she care if the sadness she felt was due to the pyreflies and it was them who
pushed her into this sudden demonstration of affection. However, Fran knew one
thing for sure: she didn’t want them to use Chuami’s unsent condition for
revenge. They were going to protect someone dear to both of them. Not avenge
anyone.
Although
the thought was very tempting when she replayed Auron’s death in her mind.
“Does your father know?”
Chuami had been holding it together. Talking about the accident felt like walking a tightrope. As long as she didn’t allow the details to come back to her, she could keep steady; as long as she kept herself detached enough, the sounds and the images stayed distant, like pictures on a sphere monitor. But as soon as Fran reached out for her, the floodgates burst and the viera didn’t need to pull her forward; Chuami fell into her arms as naturally as if Fran had been her own mother; and if her own mother had been the hugging type.
For a while, she tried to control her sobs against Fran’s shoulder. Crying was a rare occurrence for her, and it never failed to make her angry with herself.
“Sorry, Fran. Sorry.”
She pulled back, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.
“Uh… no. At least, I haven’t told him. I don’t know if he can… tell. I didn’t know he was… until he told me. I can’t let it happen to him again, Fran, you know? Not when I can stop it. If she’s back, then… he’ll go to her, and what? They’ll get themselves locked in an eternal battle where the loser comes right back? He’s done enough for Spira. I can do it. I can get there first, and I can… fix it.”
[text:mamab] … wow. WOW. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TELL HIM THAT. DOES DAD NEED TO KNOW THIS SHIT? DOES HE? i don’t have the G to pay for the therapy im about to need
[Text]: Chuami, a woman has every right to lead in the bedroom. If not all the time. Men are a little clueless about what we want and need. But we know what they want and crave for.
[Text]: A variety in the positions is important to keep the couple healthy. If sex becomes a routine, then you’re doing it wrong.
[text:mamabun] DO WE?! I DON’T! I HAVE NO IDEA
[text:mamabun] IS THIS GOOD OR BAD
[text:mamabun] AM I DEFECTIVE OR JUST… NOT A SINNER
[text:mamab] … wow. WOW. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TELL HIM THAT. DOES DAD NEED TO KNOW THIS SHIT? DOES HE? i don’t have the G to pay for the therapy im about to need
[Text]: There is no such thing as being too old to want another. Trust me. I am speaking from experience.
[Text]: But I do understand that the message somehow offended you.
[Text]: He does not mind people to know about us. But he does not want the world to know what we do behind closed doors.
[text:mamabun] I DON’T WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU DO BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
[text:mamabun] WHY CAN’T YOU HAVE CONSENSUAL SEX IN THE MISSIONARY POSITION LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE
[text:mamab] … wow. WOW. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TELL HIM THAT. DOES DAD NEED TO KNOW THIS SHIT? DOES HE? i don’t have the G to pay for the therapy im about to need
[text]: My deepest apologies. I was certain I had Auron’s number.
[text]: My nails are treacherous.
[text]: Do you need to talk about it?
[text:mamabun] I’M SPEECHLESS
[text:mamabun] YOU GUYS ARE TOO OLD TO BE TEXTING SHIT LIKE THAT
[text:mamabun] I THOUGHT THE FIRE WENT OUT AT LIKE 30
[text:mamab] … wow. WOW. WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TELL HIM THAT. DOES DAD NEED TO KNOW THIS SHIT? DOES HE? i don’t have the G to pay for the therapy im about to need
When Auron
told her the truth, showed her the truth, she was affected by pyreflies. She
still remembered how little control she had over her feelings as the floating
lights swirled around her and stripped her emotions bare as well as gave her
others that weren’t her own. It wasn’t like when the Mist burned her and yet,
it felt the same. No control. No filter.
Now, in a
small room near the Moonflow, the distant sounds of happiness filling the air,
Fran could analyze what her heart was telling her.
Surprise.
Disbelief. Worry.
She watched
Chuami apologized over and over, but truly, what could she do about it? From
her point of view, it was unnatural, yes. But could she push Chuami away and
treat her like a monster?
Slowly, she
got closer to the young woman and, without hesitation, her hand reached for
Chuami’s cheek with kindness. Immediately, the pyreflies animated under her
touch, almost craving it, and the viera was suddenly filled with sadness.
“What
happened?” was all she asked as her thumb softly caress Chuami’s cheek.
Her first instinct was to pull back from Fran’s hand – but it was only uncertainty, and not on a conscious level, but from her very make-up. It wasn’t normal for pyreflies to resonate with anything but themselves; so they immediately perceived the Viera as a threat, before Chuami’s thoughts overrode them.
She did not pull away. She only sighed, looked anywhere but up, and eventually – eventually met Fran’s eye once more.
“I… I was five or six, I’m not sure. My mother had a salvage ship. It’s a pretty standard story… Sin attacked and left me an orphan. I was supposed to die too, but…”
But what? She didn’t know for herself how she had managed to hang on; how was she supposed to explain it to another?
“But I didn’t, for some reason. I mean, I… I guess I died in the explosion. I guess I drowned, after that. But it didn’t kill me, and I washed up back on Bikanel.
“It’s been so long… I don’t know what it’s like to not be like this. So, it never seems like a big deal to me. Hahah… that’s crazy, isn’t it?
“I don’t like to think about why the Farplane didn’t let me in. What I do know is, I can be useful like this.”
Ships, friends, family mostly. But it changes so much on my end. I never have the time to keep it updated. Good luck! XD
Me neither, but I’m starting to think it might be good just to keep my own shit together?! Like, if I have summaries of stuff going on… HUH. ur on it mama b
It was
uncommon to see Fran shocked and Chuami just told her many things that, alone,
would put her in such a state in only a few sentences. Viera were usually a
subtle race, but at that moment, anyone could read Fran’s face.
She
remembered her trip to Zanarkand again. Auron took her there to see the truth
about himself. He couldn’t tell her. He had to show her. And she did. Yunalesca
striking his younger self was still vivid in her mind. She had nightmares about
it too, although she never told him about them. Then he explained what he
was after she asked him what he was.
It took her
an incredible amount of time to speak again as all sorts of emotions rushed in
at the same time. She loved Chuami as if she was family. Part of it was because
she was Auron’s long lost daughter, but really, the young woman held most of
the credits for how Fran felt about her. So when the pieces fell together…
“You are an unsent,” she said as neutral as
possible, unsure about how she felt about the situation.
Chuami blinked in confusion; then it slowly dawned on her that she had just told Fran something of grave importance as if it were a throwaway piece of trivia. How had she felt, when she found out about Auron? It never occurred to her that others might feel that same way about her, and so she spoke of her Unsent status as if it were a minor inconvenience.
“Ah… of course… you didn’t… you didn’t know that…”
With a heavy sigh, she looked out of the window for a moment, then back at Fran.
“I’m sorry. I… it was so long ago that I forget. I know how weird that sounds, but… I feel more like I had an accident that left me sick, not like I… well, you know. I didn’t mean to just drop that on you like that. I’m sorry.”
sovereignarchive 