[h2][center][color=#F97FCA]P[/color][color=#ED78C9]h[/color][color=#E171C9]i[/color][color=#D56AC9]a[/color] [color=#BE5CC8]&[/color] [color=#A64FC8]C[/color][color=#9B48C8]o[/color][color=#8F41C7]r[/color][color=#833AC7]i[/color][color=#7733C7]n[/color][/center] [/h2] [hr] [color=lightgray] Phia had stopped so suddenly in the middle of the market that anyone behind her nearly walked into her. Her amber eyes widened as she spread her arms wide, trying to block as much of the path as she could from those coming and going. [color=F97FCA]“Move,”[/color] she demanded, stepping forward. [color=F97FCA]“Move from the path. All of you. Now, please.”[/color] A few people turned at once, startled by the urgency in her voice. Someone cursed under their breath, and another reached for the knife at their belt. But Phia did not yet explain. She instead hurried ahead, waving people aside. [color=F97FCA]“Do not stand there. She is coming through.”[/color] Only then did the cause of the alarm become clear. A mother duck waddled out from between two market stalls, her long line of fluffy ducklings waddling after her. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/arAJLdu.png[/img] [/center] [i][color=#FFB6C1]“Is she serious?”[/color][/i] someone muttered. A drunk man near the fish stall scoffed. [color=gray]“Oi, what gives you the right to start a hold up, lass? …You’re not even from here, are ye?”[/color] Phia’s eyes stayed fixed on the tiny ducklings wobbling across the stones. [color=F97FCA]“Because her babies are very small.”[/color] The mother duck quacked as she passed his boot. The heavy thud of plate-mail washed over the now hushed crowd as the seasoned war veteran made his way towards the center of the commotion. [color=#6C2DC7][i]Of course it’s you.[/i][/color] He thought to himself. Nearing the make-shift duck crossing, Corin gave the ornery drunken man a firm pat. A gentle warning, but a warning none the less. He observed the sight before him, the cute waddling line of ducks passing by as their mother gave a resounding quack, assuredly thinking she owned the market square in no small thanks to Phia’s intervention. [color=#6C2DC7]”Well hello again, Phia. It would seem you are up to no small task, as per usual. Protecting the little ones from harm?”[/color] He gave the small ducks a wave as they marched about on their journey. As weird as it would seem, he appreciated that facet about her. It gave him a reason to treat her like an ally rather than someone to be wary about. Phia beamed immediately at the sound of Corin’s voice. She hurried up to him without hesitation, her steps eager. [color=F97FCA]“Hello friend Corin.” [/color] She greeted him softly and warmly as she planted her feet into his personal space. [color=F97FCA]“They needed my help.” [/color] She explained simply. Corin looked past her and pointed at the row of ducks wandering off. [color=#6C2DC7]”Do they...still need your help?”[/color] He wondered how long the little ones would last without their guiding light. But that guiding light was now standing inches away from him. He did not move, nor seem perturbed by it, he just treated it as the way things were. [color=#6C2DC7]”Or must a mother eventually let her little ones run off on their own?”[/color] Phia looked over at the ducks as they made their way downhill toward a small pond. [color=F97FCA] “The ducks have found their destination. They do not need our help.”[/color] She informed Corin. She watched, waiting for them to arrive at the water, then she clasped her hands together and smiled as she watched each of them lower into the pond. Her attention returned squarely on Corin, and she asked, [color=F97FCA] “And did you find what you needed at the shops?”[/color] Corin, reaching into his bag, showed her the fruits of his labor. A whopping assortment of metal, bolts, rivets, and a various assorted pile of bits and bobs that would make little sense to her. A glimmer of intrigue filled Phia’s eyes as she got on her tiptoes to examine the items as they gleamed in the sunlight. [color=F97FCA] “Ooo.”[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/OCBXTct.png[/img][/center] [color=#6C2DC7]”Just some arts and crafts for a possible workaround for our fancy little gizmos.”[/color] He discreetly motioned to his collarbone, where the peak of his gem would be poking out. Phia’s gaze locked on the gem, and her brows lifted with understanding before he moved his tunic back up to hide it. [color=#6C2DC7]“You all had some lovely ideas, so I wanted to try and see if I could bring one of them to life.”[/color] Corin tied up the bag and tossed it back over his shoulder. [color=#6C2DC7]“What exactly have you been up to aside from being a herald of nature’s finest critters?”[/color] [color=F97FCA] “I took a bath, and I helped Tommy take a bath too… Wanna smell?”[/color] Phia offered a lock of her hair toward him with a pleasant smile. Corin looked a little shocked at first, but took the lock and leaned down to give it a quick whiff. [color=#6C2DC7]”Oh!”[/color] The scent was rather pleasing, like fresh daisies. [color=#6C2DC7]”You certainly did clean up well. You smell lovely, Phia!”[/color] Corin took a moment to smell the back of his own hand, as if wondering if he too already began to stink, but he didn’t seem to smell. Phia also leaned in to smell his hand, albeit uninvited. She nodded approvingly. [color=#6C2DC7]”Well it would seem the both of us are free for the last little stretch of time before we head to this perilous island. What exactly do you propose we do with our free time?”[/color] [color=F97FCA] “I propose we go look for pretty seashells.”[/color] Phia suggested. She looked into the distance toward the ocean, her hair dancing in the breeze behind her. [color=F97FCA] “The water smells nice. The beach is a long walk from my home… Do you live near the water, Corin?”[/color] He took paces with her towards the beach, the quest for seashells now on their mind. [color=#6C2DC7]”The water does smell nice. The sea can be…quite salty to the back of your throat but it carries a nice aroma.”[/color] Making their way towards the edge of the docks, and slowly traversing over some dirt paths, Corin had taken the time to admire more of the scenery during this small jaunt of theirs. This was actually a rather serene place if you didn’t account for the literal pirate’s den just a few dozen feet behind them. [color=#6C2DC7]”My hometown was rather landlocked. You would need to make a long trip to see the water. My family managed it once, my wife-”[/color] He stopped. How long had it been since he talked about her? Days? Weeks? Months? He almost pushed the topic out of every conversation subconsciously, not wanting to re-open old wounds. Corin hardly knew why it had suddenly slipped out, but he certainly found it shocking - like a sudden wall stopped him from moving forward. He shook his head and continued as if nothing had happened. [color=#6C2DC7]”My family managed the trip once, we saved up all of our money. Our daughter loved it.”[/color] He suddenly spoke softly, as if the very mention of them would shatter their memory. Phia’s smile faded a little when his voice changed. She tilted her head dramatically, watching him closely. [color=F97FCA]“You are sad.”[/color] Her brows knit together with sudden understanding as she assumed, [color=F97FCA] “Because the flying beast fell before you could travel to them? ”[/color] She skipped a little ahead of him, turning to walk backwards so they spoke. If only that were the half of it. [color=#6C2DC7]”No no, Phia. They were gone long before the flying beast fell.”[/color] He carried the words so casually, not even trying to correct the proper use of the term “ship”. [color=#6C2DC7]”They were taken from me during the Mourning. I am not sure how you may refer to it – but that giant flash of magic that happened back some years ago that wiped out the nation of Cyre? I was away on a mission…they did not make it.”[/color] As they approached the beachfront, he felt his footsteps get heavier. Not on purpose. But like a physical weight was pushing onto him. [color=#6C2DC7]”I do not mean to bring your spirits down. It just suddenly hit me that it’s been almost…what? 5 years already? Hard to believe it, when it feels like it was yesterday.”[/color] Corin looked up, seeing the graceful druid walking backwards with the determination to listen to him speak. He couldn’t help but crack a half smile. Phia’s steps slowed, and her feet came to a stop in the sand as she stared at Corin. Then her eyes grew glassy with tears. [color=F97FCA]“Oh.”[/color] She looked down for a moment, as if searching the sand for the right words. Then, suddenly and without much warning, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him more tightly than one should do to a stranger. Phia hugged him like she meant to hold the broken pieces of him together by force if she had to. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oYJkmGh.png[/img] [/center] [color=F97FCA]“I am sorry, Corin,”[/color] she murmured against his shirt. [color=F97FCA]“I was taught the dead do not leave the path. We only stop seeing their feet beside ours.”[/color] Her voice trembled, but she kept speaking. [color=F97FCA]“They walk in step with us. In the wind. In the trees. In the bones under the earth. In the stars when they are watching us…”[/color] At last, she loosened her arms enough to look up at him. [color=F97FCA]“I lost my first family, too. But… I do not remember them.”[/color] Her brows knit together. [color=F97FCA]“Sometimes I wish I could… I think there is a hole in my heart where they remain anyway.”[/color] She gave him a small, sad smile. [color=F97FCA]“But then I found new family. Menzai. The Oruna. Maybe others now.”[/color] Her hand pressed gently over her chest. [color=F97FCA]“They did not fill the hole.”[/color] Phia sniffled, then reached for his hand with both of hers. [color=F97FCA] “But it made it smaller.”[/color] She smiled up at him. [color=F97FCA]“So… if you do not have family beside you now, I will be your family… Maybe I can make your hole smaller.”[/color] The sudden embrace certainly caught him by surprise. Corin lifted his arms, unsure of what to do with them as she chose to snuggle up to him. Then she buried her face into his shirt, and something snapped in his chest. [color=#6C2DC7]”Phia…”[/color] The words touched his heart. She was right, in a way his family was never truly gone, but there were still those he could yet be with. A second family to make the void less of a void, and more of a soft yearning. [color=#6C2DC7]”You do me a great honor by offering me such things.”[/color] It was when she loosened her arms that he finally returned the hug, looking down at her with a much less somber face. [color=#6C2DC7]”Allow me to offer you the same. If there is anything you should need, I will make your hole smaller as well, then.”[/color] He wondered if it was a blessing or a curse that she did not remember her first family – but either way she still knew. She still carried that pain. Here he was wallowing when she was still this beacon of sunshine despite it all. He could learn a thing or two from Phia. [color=#6C2DC7]”Or at least. I will try.”[/color] He took his hands and held the sides of her cheeks, an oddly intimate gesture that he often did back home when his wife or daughter needed someone to comfort them. His thumbs brushed against her ears while the two shared that soft moment. [color=#6C2DC7]”How fortunate I was to stumble upon this funny little group of adventurers. I think such fortune deserves commemoration in the form of seashells. Or do you wish to try and crush my ribs a little more?”[/color] He said half-jokingly. Between getting his ribs crushed against a tree limb and crushed between her arms–there was a clear winner here. Phia’s lips curled into a pleased little smile as she leaned into his hands without hesitation, nuzzling against his palms as if this was a normal reaction. [color=F97FCA]“Do not worry,”[/color] she said with complete seriousness. [color=F97FCA]“If I wanted to crush your ribs, you would know.”[/color] Then her eyes brightened again. [color=F97FCA]“But it is seashell time now.”[/color] And just like that, she slipped away and crouched down into the sand, fingers already combing eagerly through it. Corin felt a brief pause at that mild threat, but coming from her it was more so a declaration rather than sharing intent to actually crush his ribs. [color=#6C2DC7]”I suppose the same goes for me – let us not crush ribs and instead find some shells. Do you have any particular ones you like?”[/color] He took his place a few feet to her side, sifting through the sand and taking his time to find a few particular ones that looked pretty in the sunlight. [color=F97FCA]“I like the pretty and shiny ones.”[/color] Phia informed him as she selected a light blue one. It glimmered under the sunlight before him as she held it up toward his eyes. Spending a few minutes, Corin had not much to show initially. A few peach colored shells, a single black colored shell, and a few ones with bumps and holes in it. Corin frowned at the initial findings, making his way towards Phia and presenting his smaller findings. [color=#6C2DC7]”Not much here yet. I imagine you’re looking for something far more sparkly.”[/color] Phia was already sitting cross-legged in the sand by the time he returned. Around her sat an intimidating mountain of seashells she'd gathered in his absence. She looked up at Corin, studied the shells in his hands for a long moment, then her face lit up. [color=F97FCA]“These are good.”[/color] She reached out to accept them and specifically pocketed the ones he had found in her pouch.[color=F97FCA]“I can make you trinkets to adorn your shiny armor.” [/color] Her eyes drifted over the gemstones set into his equipment with obvious fascination. [color=F97FCA]“I like looking at the shiny gems you wear.”[/color] She unearthed a rather large rock caked with dirt from the sand with both hands and proudly set it next to her seashells. [color=F97FCA]“I collect shiny things too.”[/color] Phia gestured to some of the little charms and jewels hanging from parts of her clothing. [color=F97FCA]“Back home I have a whole cave full of them.”[/color] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/H0Od12w.png[/img] [/center] Corin took the time to look between his spoils and hers. Clearly she had a knack for this. Still, she saw value in them and that’s what mattered. His fingers tapped against the shiny gems adorning his necklace, the faint magic within them humming to life as he tapped the amethyst, citrine, and diamond. [color=#6C2DC7]”These ones are extra special. They represent the things I’ve lost, and what I vowed in order to stop them from being lost again.”[/color] He took a moment and lifted one of her charms that she showed off, nodding in approval. Phia’s eyes widened as the gems hummed, her attention locking onto them with wonder. [color=#6C2DC7]”A whole cave, huh? I think that’s rather impressive. I only have these few. But it sounds like you’ll be giving me some more. I don’t mind in the slightest, but I’d personally rather wear them like you do. On my regular clothes. So people other than those I fight can see them.”[/color] Looking through the seashells, he scanned over them with his eyes, not daring to disturb her precarious setup. [color=#6C2DC7]”What do you think best suits me? I feel so out of water here. Your fashion sense is a lot better than mine!”[/color] Corin chuckled before knocking against his platemail with a resounding few clunky knocks. She sifted through the shells, then held up a pale, large one with soft purple streaks. [color=F97FCA]“This one. It feels like you.”[/color] She smiled proudly. Corin nodded at her pick, finding it rather suitable to his usual style. [color=#6C2DC7]”You have a good eye. What do you think? Necklace? Wristlet? I think it would make a nice ring but that might take too much time…”[/color] Corin thought about how it might look, and asked her an honest question. [color=#6C2DC7]”Perhaps a wristlet would be nice?”[/color] [color=F97FCA]“A wristlet is good,”[/color] Phia decided after a pause. [color=F97FCA]“Then when you swing your sword, it will remember you are not only made for fighting.”[/color] Those words froze him again. Corin looked at her, such an innocent creature in the world, even if she had those random spouts of profound capability. She seemed so…well founded. Twice had she spoken such revealing words about him and twice she had caught him off guard–a feat not many can hold. [sub][color=#6C2DC7]”Yeah. Not only made for fighting.”[/color] [/sub] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ri6CaBE.png[/img][/center] [/color]