Izurich

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

--Artimis - High Seas--

Heavy, much too heavy, she wasn't built for this. While no one was perfect - not even the gods - brawn was undoubtedly where Eve was most imperfect, one could even argue she was defective considering even a Kirin of her size, the feline Red Mage, could noticeably better handle tasks requiring feats of strength. Was this a sign from the heavens that she should consider training with one of the martial-minded Kirins? A matter to ponder later, but right here, right now, she had to do something; with each second ticking by, her grip on the electrocuted, rattled, and exhausted blond was slipping.

Cast a spell? She is the group's premiere offensive spellcaster so might as well play to her talents. An aeromantic blast to propel his form toward the ship would be the most obvious solution.

However, Esben was nowhere in a good shape, how severe were his wounds? Did the Sollan already have one foot in the grave? If so, she needed to adjust the power of the spell, too little and he'd simply fall back into the sea, too much and what'd arrive at the deck would be a corpse.

So many calculations to make, factors to consider, all requiring time that she didn't have-!

-and then the Kirin's very own dragon slayer and dashing heroine made the decision for her as the former propelled them toward the latter, already swinging on a rope, ready to catch them... or to be more specific, one of them. "Tch...!" Now that the die had been cast, the last thing she should do was sabotage it. Fully believing that it'd work, Eve released her hold on Esben's arm, leaving him - somewhat literally - in Robin's arms.

And she made it, of course she would. Robin was a folk hero for a reason after all.

For her part, Eve landed back on the ship just as Valon returned to his. "..." As a dragoon, traitor or no, he should know what'd be coming next, aye? There was a reason why Edren employed his kind, not warships, to hunt dragons. If he had forgotten, then she'd gladly remind him.

Etherous power was already coursing through Eve's body as the tell-tale signs of the distinctive prismatic aura shimmered from her petite frame. Proudclad's Tragedy shall claim another!

...?! Then her gaze widened upon identifying just who was on the turncoat's armored shoulder.

What is the matter, Grayscale? She's already dead, go, do it! Vaporize them, unleash Megaflare!

If she was, then why would Valon bother going out of his way to rescue her? Could it be-...

Thinking does not suit you, you are a weapon, act like one. Simply imagine as you turn these arrogant fools into dust, imagine the pleasure. They're the enemy, they deserve no quarter, no mercy. Hesitate not, Grayscale, ...do it.

"I-..."

”I have to wonder if that would be honoring your mother’s wishes, to exterminate all the others like you. It would be a different matter if they were mindless weapons capable of nothing but mass destruction.”

”Wear it, break it, ponder upon it, throw it in the sea. Do something with it. What I need from you, is to be more than just a weapon.”

"That's right, I-..."

”Are you such an exception that giving such mercy to the others is unthinkable?”

”Don't swear to me. Swear it to yourself.”

"I swore."

"No, I will not."

--2 Days Later, Drana Asnaeu - Costa del Sol--

"Aaah..." Eve droned out an unamused, tired groan at the group of... what were they supposed to be anyway? Guards, mercenaries, random thugs? They dressed fancy and talked firmly, yet politely, so... guards...? Whatever they were, after what Valon, Siren, and their cronies tried to pull a few days ago, Eve had little patience left for people accosting the team.

She, amongst individuals such as Izayoi, knew very well how vexing being hounded was, though the subject being Neve out of all people did slightly take her by surprise. I suppose she's such a precious healer that they want her all to themselves, whoever these Grovemasters are.

Eve's red eyes shifted awkwardly when the head guard called for more of their numbers. Some part of her wanted to quip something along the lines of "I wouldn't do that if I were you", while subtly angling her head toward Izayoi, but another part of her realized that inhospitable as they were, they were still Neve's people.

Fortunately, the ever-reliable Esben had come up with a more... one could say, diplomatic approach than whatever Eve or Izayoi could come up with. After his introduction, one of the guards glanced at the black-clad mage amongst the Kirin and Eve simply just shrugged in response, "what he said" would be an apt phrase to illustrate the gesture.

Though she wasn't sure if picking Rudolf as his "chaperone" was the right move, maybe someone more native to his homeland would do better, such as Elian-... hmm, nevermind, Rudolf would do.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

-A Day Before Arrival…-

After they were clear of the battle, clear of the Valheimer pursuers, and after he’d been checked over and cleared by Neve and Miina, the deck had had enough time to dry from the deluge forced over it that a still-weary Esben had no real complaints about laying on it and leaning against—indeed, leaning somewhat over—a tarpaulin-covered cargo hatch. As the sea itself was rather calm, he had little to worry about the spray coming up by the railing, but he still decided to seat himself a ways back from it. Taking some time to relax after they’d all gotten themselves patched together, it wouldn’t do at all to go and get himself drenched a second time.

When next he opened his eyes, it was because he felt someone or something jostling him. Not roughly, so it was unlikely to be one of Bikke’s sailors, but he still had to wonder why one of the others had decided to come and disturb him. He’d not been gone long, he knew it, he still felt tired to his bones—

The moon was high in the sky. High enough that it was likely midnight.

Moreover, he was looking at the sky, not draped over the cargo hatch.

He could feel the weight of a blanket on his body.

”Hmm?”

Curious. Even moreso once he realized he wasn’t quite looking straight up, which was the same moment he felt another small shift of a roll of fabric just under his head. He tilted his head back as much as he could, gradually making out, where she sat just next to him, the pale grey hair and red eyes of the one who’d managed to wake him. Something that he was beginning to imagine was not as intentional as he’d first assumed.

”Eve?”

After the whole ordeal with Siren, Eve had a first-hand experience at what would those imperial scum do to her mind had she failed to escape, a brainwashed creature no more different than a blindly loyal attack dog, a living weapon as they created her to be. On the other hand, her aquatic sister was veritably sapient so Eve wouldn't dismiss the possibility of reversing whatever mental conditioning imposed upon her. Alas, complications arose and if she had to decide between recovering Valheim's loyalist - indoctrinated she might be - or a Kirin, then it wasn't a choice.

...and that Kirin turned out to be less asleep than she thought.

"..." To be honest, she didn't expect the blond to stir as even she could feel drowsy when exhausted, and what he did was no walk in the park. However, now that he’s already awake...

"I figured you may need some form of covering against the cold open sea air." The Demi-Bahamut explained in her usual matter-of-fact manner, but this time, Esben would be one of those few keen enough to detect that she had something more to say, though regardless of whatever else going on in her gray-haired head, Eve continued after a short pause, "Why did you do it?"

Then another pause, tenser this time, if a certain Edrenian monster hunter was here, he might feel a shiver of morbid deja vu, "The Kirins would stand to lose more without you than me."

He probably should have expected that she wouldn't be entirely pleased by his decision to dive down and help her, although for her to immediately jump to that topic just after waking him up was a small surprise. ”Worrying over me still?” he mumbled after a couple seconds, closing his eyes with a small smile as he let her question stand unanswered for the moment. He shifted slightly, pushing against the deck to settle his head and neck further back on the makeshift pillow.

One hand reached out from the blanket, absentmindedly toying with the downturned flap of leather next to his head from the top of one of the dragon-girl's boots as he stared once more to the sky. Unlike before, however, this time he could keep both the stars and Eve's face in his view. ”What kind of answer are you looking for, Eve?” he asked after his pause, his eyes turning just slightly to focus on her. ”It wasn't a single-reason sort of decision.”

Was it that unusual to be concerned about one's comrades? Perhaps Esben couldn’t see anything erroneous with his decision and thus from his perspective, there'd be no cause for concern. What he said next certainly lent credence to this hypothesis.

"Then elaborate those reasons, so I can see how you thought what you did was worth the risk."

”The ‘risk’ was quite a bit different than what ended up happening,” was his first protesting reply. Between Miina's lightning and Izayoi's splitting the sea around them, his expectations had been dashed and drowned faster than the crew might be if the ship had been sunk. ”But, for starters—if they were able to take you and turn you against us, that would be an added difficulty. Not many of us have much way of dealing with you if that should happen, and none of them would find it an easy thing to try and put down someone that used to be one of their allies, turned against them unwillingly."

He ceased playing with the leather, instead counting down the reasons as he named them, thumb brushing over his phalanges. ”Beyond that, you have information on us, that if they were able to turn you would give them even more of an advantage against us than they already have. Trying to make sure that doesn't happen is a tactically sound decision with those all in mind, ja?” He paused at three reasons, one eyebrow raised.

”You weren't just a subject in my plan, anyways. I knew that my usefulness would be very limited against her underwater. The goal was to get her to let go of you, and keep her occupied long enough for you to get back in the fight. Given the chance for you to actually fight back after that, rather than being surprised like you were, I figured the risk to me would be negligible in comparison to the benefit.”

Though the beginning of the conversation felt more akin to an interrogation, the more the 'interrogatee' elaborated his points, the constricting atmosphere gradually returned to the calm sea breeze Esben was napping under mere moments ago.

"..." Part of the Pseudolon still had that irrational desire to continue scolding Esben, just so he wouldn't pull something like this again, but said aspect was fighting a losing battle against her pragmatic logic; it certainly didn't help that Esben was a more competent orator than the guilt-wracked Rudolf, the SEED just knew what to say. Whether those had truly been his plans or not at that very moment, she didn't have the grounds to doubt him, they just made too much sense.

"Fair, and you didn't have the benefit of foresight to know that Miina and Izayoi were going to do what they did either." Eve acquiesced, utterly "defeated" by his arguments. It seemed she had underestimated how much Valheim would have gained by recovering her, enough to put her value on par with the group's premiere strategist, sentimental bonds notwithstanding. "...And now that we have a white mage with us, I assume you also thought any wounds could be reversed as long as you survived, no?"

Truthfully, that hadn’t even been part of his consideration, though he doubted answering that question honestly would do anything to make Eve any happier about the entire situation. Instead, he swept past it entirely as his brow furrowed. ”I’m not entirely sure if you’re still unsatisfied, or if you’re too satisfied with those answers.” He returned to lazily flicking the flap of leather by his head. ”Which is it, do you think?”

Now that was a... confusing question to say the least. At this point, though she had been made aware of this 'riddler' side of the SEED Agent, she hadn't gotten used to it, if she’d ever. Eve supposed there was a good reason why he was the spy and she was the weapon, "I'm unsatisfied because I no longer have the grounds to discourage you from repeating something like this in the future." The Pseudolon answered promptly, "But on the other hand, I'm also satisfied by your explanations, you answered in a straightforward manner without beating around the bush as if you have something to hide, unlike-..."

The white-haired chimera abruptly stopped herself as a brief silence fell over them, then she made a small silent sigh, "The subject matter is concluded, you've made your case and I accepted.""

”Eve.”

He reached up, twirling a lock of her hair that had fallen forwards around his finger as he continued to look up at her. Without a doubt, this had to be an entirely new situation for her—travelling and working with the entire group was novel enough compared to her previous experiences, from what he’d gathered. He could understand entirely if she didn’t even have a framework for navigating whatever reaction she was having that fell beyond the logical framework she understood. ”If there’s more that you want to say, even if it’s being mad at me for diving in, just go ahead and say it. I won’t mind, and there’s nothing wrong with caring about something more than the mission.”

He smiled, tugging very lightly on the hair he’d twirled around his finger.

”You certainly seemed concerned when you yelled my name down there, you know.”

The demi-Bahamut fully expected they'd be going their separate ways now, he needed to resume his interrupted rest after all. However, it'd seem the blond had something more to say, else, why would he do something that'd require her presence such as twirling her hair? From her side, she simply needed an explanation that'd outweigh the risks he took by trying to engage the Faux Leviathan where she was at her most dangerous. He did, that should suffice, or at least it should be from her side, but just like the espionage specialist he was, Esben's thirst for information was quite insatiable indeed, to the point where he was searching for something that wasn't there.

"There's nothing more relevant to say, I already gave you the benefit of the doubt by allowing you to explain yourself instead of an immediate accusation," Eve elaborated, if there was any modicum of annoyance at having to repeat herself, twas' so utterly untraceable one might just consider it not existing, "I care about you, else, we wouldn't even be having this conversation in the first place." Esben should be one of the Kirins able to understand her thought process, was he expecting her to exhibit some other reaction?

"I couldn't notice your presence as Siren was clouding my mind, and when I did, the first thing I saw was you being constricted by her while a lightning bolt clearly meant to harm her was electrocuting you both." She let her words hang in the air for a moment, just so Esben could properly visualize being in her shoes, "How else would I react?" But that moment had passed and Eve wasn't the sort to wallow in her emotions, their enemies certainly wouldn't relent just to give them the chance to brood and stew.

"Do you expect me to throw a tantrum or be engulfed with tears? Are you mistaking me for an infant?"

”Perhaps I should start, if this is your serious reaction.” He released the hair, his hand falling back down, leaving Eve free to stand up if she chose. ”But I don’t think I can expect you to follow when most people never do. I’ve always figured it was simple, but maybe I’m wrong.” As tired as he suddenly sounded, as tired as he felt, he’d at least made some progress towards his goal, whether Eve realized it or not.

At the very least, he was of the firm opinion that voicing such things was better than looking for the logical, rational response every time and leaving all the rest unsaid for it.

She had been nothing but serious, it'd be in poor taste to jest about such matters, at least according to her, she was sure a few of these sea ruffians were eccentric enough to do so. "Bear in mind that I'm not exactly a good representative of the average Sollan behavior." Eve reminded him, just in case. If she had a coin every time someone found her off-putting, then she should have enough funds to amass an army large enough to face Valheim head-on.

He could hear the creaking of the rigging and the mast somewhere nearby, above them. Probably Miina, out climbing at night again, not close enough to bother over. ”Stay with me for the night, would you?” he asked, breaking the silence that had fallen after he’d last spoken as he rolled his eyes back and tilted his head to look on Eve once more. ”I already almost lost my favourite pillow once today, after all. How well do you think I’d be able to rest if you walked off now?”

Judging by how exhausted Esben suddenly became, more than he already was, it was about time for her to go... at least until he stopped beating around the bush and expressed his desire for her company; if it was indeed his intention, why didn't he just say so from the very beginning? "Sure." The scaled girl was just about to sit down beside him until that quip of his, even she wasn't socially inept enough to not discern the slightly indirect request.

Though her face remained impassive, her right hand was already performing a flourish, conjuring a minor gust of wind, just strong enough to lift Esben's upper body a bit so she could slide her legs underneath it, only after that, the aeromancy gradually lost its power, cradling the blond back down to rest on her lap, "So I see, this is the true reason why you took such a risk, am I nothing more than a mere pillow to you?" She murmured... before curling a small, subtle smirk.

Could it be? Was she… joking?

”Every reason I’ve given you is true!” Esben protested quietly. The joke was obvious, but he still had some bit of dignity to maintain. Especially after how much of it he felt he’d lost, between their own allies shredding his plan apart and one of them giving him an extra bruise and broken rib as everything was wrapping up. At least it was clear enough that she did, at last, grasp his point. ”And there’s more beyond them. It’s not like I’ve ever heard you complain about this, either.”

Closing her eyes, Eve placed her right hand on Esben's scalp while her left was rested against his collarbone, then the SEED would feel comfortable, soothing warmth emanating from those two points before her fingers began gently massaging his skin, "The last time I lost someone dear to me, it didn't end well for everyone involved so... it'll be in your best interest to stay alive, hmm? Or..."

She leaned in slightly, her already quiet voice waning down into a soft whisper, "I might just burn the world in my sorrow~"

And there was the bit of scolding he’d been waiting for. ”Well, I’ll keep trying to make sure we don’t have to lose anybody,” he reassured her. As much as he was prepared to lose any of them in a moment if it should prove necessary, he’d spend just as much energy looking for ways out of such a situation as steeling himself for it.

Of course, given how a couple of times now they’d just managed to scrape by, it may well be that if they lost anybody then Eve wouldn’t have to bother making good on her dramatic little claim. Perhaps getting the information they’d gained from Cid to his and Éliane’s superiors, at least, could help avoid that possibility...

Ah, now’s not the time to worry about that.

He reached up to Eve, pulling the gloves off of her hands and setting them down on the deck. ”I like the stars out here,” he said after a moment, looking past Eve again up at the sky. ”There’s too much light in the cities to see more than a fraction of what’s actually up there.”

Whether to Esben's surprise or lack thereof, aside from the shift in texture from fabric to skin, the warmth emanating from the now-gloveless 'masseuse''s hands remained similar, courtesy of their supernatural nature, the simplest and most harmless display of pyromancy. Meanwhile, her eyes followed his gaze toward the night sky, stars reflected in her ruby irises, "The sentiment is mutual." She concurred, "After all, the sky is where the Dragon-King reigns."

Out on the water, away from any major cities, the cosmos was about as open to their view as it ever could be. The only things that could make it better would be binoculars, a spyglass, or a proper telescope. ”Hmm.” Now was a better time than any to answer a fresh curiosity.

”Eve, do you know how your eyesight compares to the rest of ours? Given everything, I can’t imagine it’s exactly baseline.”

The Artificial Primal continued gazing up at her patron's domain until Esben proposed a curious question, "It's hard for me to say as I've scarcely compared myself to others about this," But now it had been brought up, her mind began digging up any relevant past memories, if any, "Perhaps, which would align with the fact that dragons tend to possess keen vision to survey the vast expanse below them, but again, I do not know with absolute certainty. At the very least, none of my senses are defective."

Esben nodded, pointing up at a trio of particularly bright stars above them. ”Right there, Himstus’s belt,” he declared; given the nature of her ‘upbringing,’ he didn’t know if she’d know all the constellations as he did, but at least between his words and gesture she should be able to find exactly what he meant. ”If you look a little below it, you should see the stars that make his sword, ja? Tell me what you see.”

As directed, Eve focused her gaze toward the specific constellation. So that particular collection of stellar bodies is called 'Himstus' Belt', curious, perhaps due to its shape? After locating a pattern that bore the rough silhouette of a 'sword', she began observing them, "I see that not all of the stars are made equal. The one at the center shimmers more than its compatriots, and then even amongst the latter, some are brighter while others are dimmer."

Esben squinted up. ”Shimmers?” It was clear he wanted some sort of further explanation. He’d long since known the central star was actually a nebula, but to determine whether or not that was what Eve was getting at would need some more detail. ”And how many dimmer ones do you count?” He could resolve a few more dim stars himself, looking indirectly—if she could count even more than him looking straight at them, that would be proof enough how far beyond her eyesight was.

"Hmm.. aye, the center one is fuzzier than the others, perhaps because it appears to be composed of multiple dim stars clustered close to each other." Eve elaborated, as best as she could from someone lacking any particular astronomical knowledge, "I count..." She paused, her pupils performing minute movements while her mind tallied up the numbers, "Twelve, by my estimation, but it's quite difficult to tell how many exactly."

An entire dozen?

He laughed quietly, closing his eyes with a shake of his head. If her count was good, then she really was able to pick out details that any of the rest of them would need at least a spyglass for. Doubly so, picking out that the middle star of Himstus’s blade wasn’t a singular star at all. ”Would you be interested in working at an observatory, after we’ve all saved the world?” he asked, half in jest. ”With eyes like yours behind a proper telescope, there’s no telling what we may discover.”

Was it really that impressive? If so, this revelation had just confirmed that she indeed possessed the eyes of a dragon. Though she had been functioning just fine so far without this knowledge, now that she was aware, she could inform the others should a situation arise where such a boon could prove useful. "Perhaps, I can't say for sure, there'll be many possible paths I can take, including astronomy." Eve wasn't really that keen on dwelling on the what-ifs, especially if those required them succeeding at this monumental task first; it wouldn't take a strategist like Esben to understand which one should take priority.

Much as he may have liked to stay awake talking about the stars all night, after the day’s exertions, even with the quick healing he’d gotten from Neve and Miina, he felt tired enough he’d probably struggle just to get his eyes open again. ”Do try not to get surprised like that again, will you?” It was, of course, an impossible request—about as much so as if she had given in and asked Esben not to risk his life in the future, whether for her, any of the rest, or just in general. ”The shock was bad enough, I don’t want to see what might happen if Galahad or Elly move to help without knowing I’m in the line of fire.”

"..." The artificial dragoons were distracting her, they were facing the Leviathan Pseudolon where she was at her strongest, despite several such excuses she could pull, one undeniable fact remained, Siren capitalized on her lack of awareness and abducted her. It was inarguably a blunder on Eve's part, impossible request it might be, if foolproof prevention was out of the question, then the next best thing was to mitigate the odds of it happening again, learn from one's mistakes and all that. "We must keep improving, the odds are already stacked against us as it is, the last thing we need is indolence, for the price of negligence is steep indeed." One didn't need to search far for an example, the Kirin's own samurai would more than suffice.

"I do not know how the future will unfold, but I know one thing for certain, I won't rest until we complete our mission or die trying."

”Mmm?” There were any number of things that could be said to that, most all in the realm of ‘not how I meant that’ or ‘focus on something other than that for now,’ neither were likely to have much impact. ”Suit yourself. It might make morning come all too quickly, but rest sounds like a good idea to me.” He really didn’t have the energy to try and get his eyes back open. Remarkable. Hopefully drowsing off on the deck again wouldn’t be a problem. With little else to do or the strength to try and do it, he simply crossed his arms, his head lolling over and falling deeper into Eve’s lap as he relaxed entirely.

Ah, it'd seem Esben's little attempt at appearing as less exhausted than he actually was finally caught up to him, the Skaellan was utterly spent after all. Eve presumed he was holding out until she'd give him a lap pillow and then once that's secured, he'd gradually let lethargy take him, at the same time using it as an excuse to maintain his position. What a devious scheme, as expected from an agent of subterfuge. "For you." She couldn't resist one last quip just before he drifted off into slumber. For her part, Eve simply stayed there, her gaze tilting back up toward the aether.

Maybe someday, once this was all over, she could go on a journey to reach the stars herself...

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Wew, a whole ass dead week, eh?

I'll probably post sometime in the next week then, if Click/Izu/Irradiant are still dead.

@ERode

I've informed that MeliKron wouldn't (couldn't) be participating in the execution scene. 😒 You senile old duke, you.

SPIRITUM

--Rassvet - Tanker Crash Site--

"..." When Kalina fished out what was inside the box Gerard gave her, the motivation behind Ivan's actions was no longer a matter of speculation. Amongst the Barghests and even the WARDEN corps as a whole, it could be said that Valerie was one of the more empathetic ones; her vow to not let her mutations define her certainly played a major part in her personal mission to not end up like... well, Morden, and WARDENs like him.

However, even the Nephilim had her limits, while she'd rather die than turning into an unfeeling weapon of mass destruction, she wouldn't call herself a compassionate pacifist either. In the end, she was a soldier and her job would inevitably involve deaths, both suffering and causing them. This... Ivan, this two-faced conman was attempting to pilfer essential war assets for his own gain. Even disregarding Mylo's gift for his daughter, the man was a parasitic vermin; he was an enemy of the state and the people, and while he technically wasn't a combatant, Valerie couldn't shake off the thought that a leech like him would be better off dead.

...and it seemed Kalina had the exact same idea.

"Good riddance."

Should she feel bad? ...no, no she shouldn't, parasites like Ivan were like gut worms, the world could only be better off without them in it.

With Kalina handling the "evidence", Valerie decided to assist Gerard and the others with recovering the stolen supplies. Meanwhile, she heard something about Collette producing her own mist? Now that was unheard of; nature produced mist and people manipulated what was already there, that's how it usually goes, but Rassvet was but a small country in a big, big world, a world full of wondrous and terrible things both, her... self being a good example. In other words, Valerie was intrigued, yet unsurprised.

"Maybe the little spatial anomaly you endured in that ship did something to your genes, who knows, but I won't be surprised if it's the case. Mist storms don't exactly obey the "rules" of nature." The white-haired WARDEN gave her two-cents with a shrug before turning at Gerard, "I mean... don't get me wrong, I'm not being pessimistic for the hell of it, but I do expect we'll encounter more problems later, when that time comes, we do as we usually do: adapt, improvise, and overcome. We're WARDENs, squad, not politicians."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

--Artimis - High Seas--

Alike yet unique, each of the Pseudolons had their own share of abilities in addition to mastery over the element their patron was associated with; Grayscale, as the scion of the Dragon-King, first amongst the Primals, reigned over all the elements on top of her distinct non-elemental destruction composed of raw mana, meanwhile, Siren, just like her namesake, could beguile all but the most cold-hearted individuals. The former presented harm in the most literal manner, while the latter hid her malice behind sweet temptations and deceitful affection.

...and twas' a most depraved power indeed.

"Mnngh..." Though absolutely nothing in Eve's current circumstances would suggest she was in the mood for a kiss, her asexual orientation notwithstanding, the Pseudolon found herself melting under Siren's embrace. At point-blank range, the full potency of Siren's supernatural allure was overwhelming her body and mind, more like a puppet on strings being forced to act against its will. Her consciousness was drifting away, in but a moment, she wouldn't even be cognizant enough to care-

"?!!-..."

-and then Siren suddenly stopped, just within inches of pacifying her sister for good. A silent gasp left through her breathless lips, her body jerking as jolts of stinging pain rushed up her spine. It only took a single glance at her ribcage to find the tip of a dagger poking through, liquid ether coating the metal before it mixed with seawater. "...!" Swiftly, her lengthy tail instinctively wrapped around Esben's torso and arms, squeezing at him like an anaconda as she released Eve and turned to face him, staring at the Skaelan dead in his eyes.

"...~" Though the Leviathan Pseudolon muttered not a word in response, the grin she bore on her face spoke of rage and desire in equal measure. Whatever response she had for the SEED's meddling in her mission, he could rest assured that it wouldn't be conducive for his health, physical and mental.

However, before any of them could do anything else, a bolt of lightning struck from above, traveling through the one remaining hydra-esque aquatic limb as it swiftly homed into the blue-haired Pseudolon... and due to the physical contact, Esben as well. To make matters worse, it came from the Red Mage who had her prowess elevated by the Faye Diva's song, resulting in a not insignificant amount of pain.

"Aaaaagh!!-..."

As he was literally electrocuted while fully submerged in the sea, Esben would find it extremely difficult to control his breaths, perhaps even impossible, and to pour saltwater on the wound, Siren's deafening wail of agony rattled his skull like a battering ram. Even as the Faux Leviathan herself was on the verge of losing consciousness from her injuries, the fact remained that her tail was still wrapped fast around him.

Esben might ask himself, was this all worth it, trading his life to save a weapon of the enemy? Surely pragmatism would dictate that in a conflict between powers of asymmetrical strength, a strategist would be far more valuable than a war dog, and SEEDs should be nothing but pragmatic.

So... why?

"ESBEN!!"

That was also the question that Eve had running in her mind, even as she clumsily reached out her hand to grab Esben's arm...

...before the very sea was split apart around them.

She didn't know why, nor how, but whoever forced Bahamut's domain into Leviathan's territory would have her gratitude, but before that, she had to capitalize on this chance and fly off toward the sky, storm-wracked as it might be currently, twas’ still a better place to be than this thalassic abyss.

First, she wrapped all ten of fingers and both palms around the agent's lower arm, then booted the limp Siren off his body as she sank into the yawning abyss, and finally-

"H-...heavy!"

-struggled to compensate for his weight with her meager strength, desperately flapping wings barely able to maintain their altitude, let alone gaining some; meanwhile, the parted ocean was already closing in on them. By Bahamut, of all the things she had that was accurate to the young girl she appeared as, why must it be brawn?!

One could say it was the price she had to pay for her sheer talent at wielding all manner of elemental powers or perhaps it was the consequence of being prematurely released from the facility, whatever the case, she could really appreciate some help right now!

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

--Artimis - High Seas--

After the Kirins' very own Faye Bard neutralized the Siren's song, it became painfully clear that the traitor Valon needed her melodies as a crutch to compensate for the sorry excuse of "dragoons" he brought. When faced against the unadulterated might of King Leonhart's task force, they couldn't compare. One by one with little gaps in-between, their numbers fell to around half he started with.

"Tch...!" Freed from the mind-dulling malady, Eve managed to conjure a mighty gust of wind in time to clash against the faux dragoon's volley, throwing the projectiles off course. If it wasn't for Ciradyl, she might very well have her wings clipped.

As the hostile airship began to descend upon them, the Pseudolon quirked an eyebrow, then for a moment, the fellow traitors of their respective homeland gazed upon one another; the Edrenian dragoon and the Valheimr dragoness, both serving the enemy, both treacherous turncoats, "..." and yet, through her silent gaze, the latter sent a clear message to the former...

Only one of them would live to see tomorrow's sunrise.

After the unforeseen dismantling of Proudclad, these Valheimr scum must have known that airships wouldn't spare them from Bahamut's wrath. Last time, the Revenant kept them busy enough to save the desert-bound vessel, but this time, what was stopping her? Him and those pathetic excuses of dragoons-...

Thunders raged and rain poured as a mysterious vortex rocked the pirate vessel.

Ah, right. They had another.

"Leviathan...!!" Eve growled as the hydrophilic hydra reared its heads, all four of them, as a cascade of events all occurred in one fell swoop.

Nearby, the pair of former foes were about to be swallowed into the naga's throat and drowned in her abyssal belly, only for the exiled swordsman to come plunging down upon its aquatic scalp with such force, the ether-fueled construct lost its cohesion and spilled out like a shattered water bucket. Though wet, cold, and uncomfortable, it was a much better fate than being pulled into the abyss.

However, Bahamut's Pseudolon wasn't so fortunate, in fact, as Siren's two other heads spewed water jets out of their maws, washing over the deck and throwing men overboard, it quickly became clear what her true intentions were. Including the one that Rudolf had just slain, they were nothing more than distractions...

...while she reserved a single limb to snap its jaws shut around her 'sibling' and dragged her off the ship, away from the skies where the Dragon King reigned, and into her thalassic domain.

"...?!!!!" Now suddenly and utterly abducted into Leviathan's empire, Eve flailed her limbs and flapped her wings to no avail. Though she needed not to breathe as a true Sollan would, it didn't particularly mean she was a capable swimmer, quite the opposite, she was terrible at it. After all, there really wasn't much incentive to learn swimming when one could fly, yet at this very moment, Eve wished she had.

The roaring hurricane and cacophony of battle became a distant muffle as she was completely submerged, helplessly pulled, tossed, and turned... until she came face-to-face with the smirking visage of none other than Siren herself, her 'kin', a fellow abomination of the natural order.

Now that they had laid upon one another with their very own eyes, Eve couldn't help but notice how she looked more like a person than what her other 'heads' implied. Swiftly, Ciradyl's inquiries and Galahad's counsel came to her mind. Floating before her might not be the mindless monster she had assumed the Pseudo-Leviathan to be, but... there was no proof yet, so....

Please be a mindless creature, please be a mindless creature...

"Ah...~ so you're Grayscale, you're so much more adorable than I thought, ...sister, fufu~"

By the Dragon King, why?!

"You've been a naughty girl, haven't you? Poor Grayscale, misguided and deceived, but worry not, dear sister, I'm here to bring you back~"

Gritting her teeth, numerous thoughts ran in Eve's mind, but one reigned above all; she had to convince her brainwashed kin to see the error of her ways, recognize that Valheim was simply using her as a weapon, to be used and disposed whenever they saw fit, and - Bahamut willing - sway her allegiance to the Kirins. It might be a pointless endeavor, but after the promise she made to the azure dragoon, she'd be damned if she wouldn't at least try.

Thus, "Sire-" Eve opened her lips-... "Mmmph?!!" Only to find them being locked shut by Siren's own!

"Hmmgh?!!" Utterly confused and bewildered by the very much unsanctioned kiss, Eve's instincts took over as she saw the gesture as a threat. Ether swiftly built up throughout her body as Grayscale aimed to make like an electric eel and gave Siren a good shock, just to get her off if nothing else.

But then, "N-... nngh..." the flow stopped, despite her intentions, her body refused to cooperate as she twitched limply in Siren's embrace.

Soon after, her mind followed as everything became a blur...

And nothing ceased to matter except to just close her eyes...

So the ocean can put her to sleep...

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ciradyl's benevolent aria flowed from her instrument and vocal cords, pushing back against the Siren's lure. As the white-haired Bard's melodies soothed her comrades' ears, they'd find their auditory afflictions swiftly washed away, their instincts no longer dulled. Indeed, as long as the Ospreyan Diva could continue her performance uninterrupted, her audience needed not fear the temptress of the sea.

However, below the surface, it was a different matter altogether.

Down here, Ciradyl's song faltered against the Siren's, resulting in the full force of her melodious malady to still affect the only Kirin unfortunate enough to invade her domain.

But, no, he must not falter, he had a mission to accomplish, to silence her beautifully discordant notes! And yet, for all of the umbral powers his 'patron' granted him, Rudolf was still very much a creature of the land, possessing neither gills, nor fins. He might be - despite what his father thought of him - a talented and experienced swordsman, but here in the depths, with the clumsiness of his land-suited limbs, how could he even hope to chase down the elusive chimeric siren?

As the scaled humanoid glided gracefully through the water as if it's naught but air, the creature would eventually pass the monster hunter, and perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but Rudolf could swear that for an iota of a moment, it-... she opened her left eye in a reverse-wink at the young man while her lips curled a smirk. The sight was breathtaking, just like the turbulent water he's submerged in.

Perhaps there was a reason why sirens had such infamy amongst men of the sea, with but a smile and a song, they could lure others into embracing their own deaths, drowning in the depths with naught but a mesmerized smile.

Though stout enough to deflect even The Revenant's mythical blade, Svalinn could only afford to buy time, time that his comrades could use to take care of the threat, but right here, right now, he was by his lonesome, facing against a foe who didn't even seem interested to engage him. Like a particularly malicious orca, she could simply swim circles around the land dweller until the ocean itself would take him. After all, unlike him, she had all the time in the world...

...or at least until a certain traitor dragoon's voice pierced through the sea from above.

Nigh-instantly, she proceeded to stop singing and moving, was this his chance?

"Aah~ fufu~" Although the wide smile and sultry giggle that followed didn't exactly instill much confidence...

Up above, as if on cue, after Valon's enunciation, rain began to fall as thunders raged, quickly rising in intensity until a veritable downpour had blanketed the area, dousing Kirins, pirates, and Valheimrs alike as if they were harbingers of oceanic calamity.

Down below, before Rudolf's very eyes, the water began to ebb and flow unnaturally, in fact, he could even feel it as raging currents pulled against his form. Here, the years he spent practicing footwork and martial stances meant absolutely nothing as he was helplessly dragged along. Like debris caught by a tornado, he spent the next few moments being tossed and turned round-and-round the blue-haired Pseudolon, so close yet so far.

As for the rest of the Kirins, the source of the aquatic rumblings finally revealed herself with an ear-shattering roar as four gigantic water constructs in the shape of a naga's head rose from the depths, one at each cardinal direction.

...and Rudolf too, the young Sollan - drenched, out of breath, and dazed - was tossed way up into the air in the wake of Siren's transformation.

The False Empress of the Sea wasted no time as each of her heads began assaulting the Kirins and pirates. Two swooped in with their maw open to devour and swallow her enemies into her thalassic belly, while the other two belched a deluge to sweep them overboard!

Monster Hunter 1x1 or Small Group

I've played the original Monster Hunter on the PS2, then World: Iceborne until completion.

I played a bit of Rise too.

That said, I'm interested to give this a shot.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

--Artimis - High Seas--

After five nights of (mostly) peaceful sailing, perhaps it was about time the ever-fickle hands of fate dealt them another hand, however, after Hien's escape, Proudclad's destruction, and the confrontation with the Revenant, only the utterly naive wouldn't believe the empire to not be a routine nuisance. Thus, sharing Galahad's sentiments, Eve was concerned, yet expectant when another one of those flying ships reared up its ugly hull. With a flex of her gloved fingers, the Pseudolon harnessed her enmity for the villainous empire to spur the ether flowing in her veins, like a swordsman brandishing his blade, she was ready.

Then the enemy came, like meteors, they struck from above.

"..." Apparently, the rogue sentient weapon wouldn't be only the traitor on board the Scurvy Fishman that day, for this... other dragoon, the one leading his cohort of machine-clad soldiers, had history with the Kirins' own dragonslayer. Ah, one of those then, a former ally who cast aside their honor, dignity, and integrity to side with the oppressors, just like a certain Faye crime lord. What did Valheim promise him? Money, power? The typical trappings of the greedy and the treacherous.

Galahad and Ciradyl might have advised her about reserving compassion and empathy even to those who stood against them... However, Valon's nonchalant tone, complete lack of remorse, and most importantly, that infuriating smug mug of his. There were no doubts about it, he willingly served Valheim; twas’ decided, there shall be no quarters reserved for him, nor his men.

"Capture me...?" The False-Dragon snarled under her breath, "I'll sooner burn you and your paymasters to ashes before you can even so much as touch a lock of my hair!" She raised her right hand, fingers poised to release a bolt of azure lightning at Valon-

-only to freeze in place.

As the entrancing voice flowed through the air, Eve felt a shiver running up her spine. This... presence, much more potent and clear than the vague impression she got from The Revenant. There was no mistaking it...

One of her kin was here.

Kin... Pseudolon... Ocean...

"LEVIATHAN!!" Eve roared like a bull seeing red. She promptly discarded her cloak then sprouted her wings, about to take off and search the sea surface for the accursed siren of the deep. "Tch!!" Unfortunately, mere moments after she took to the air, Valon's lackeys were competent enough to identify one of their main objectives and a group of them immediately began accosting her, soaring with jets of flame to try and incapacitate the Bahamut Pseudolon with their axe-rifle fire.

"Rrrrgh!!" Justifiably irked, Eve pivoted her target to take care of these buzzing insects first. What followed suit would be a veritable aerial dogfight as Eve weaved and swerved away from their projectiles as best as she could while returning fire via launching lightning bolts from her hands. As testament to the potency of her elemental magic, a single good hit was enough to put a False Dragoon out of commission, either lethally shocking the soldier themself or sabotaging their jetpacks, causing the volatile gadget to careen uncontrollably.

And yet, even if she did manage to dispatch two or three of the hostiles, Eve found herself missing more bolts than she should and simultaneously, having a harder time dodging than usual, even though she was supposed to be a scion of Bahamut, Dragon Emperor of the Sky!

This... Etrodamned melody-!!

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

After a month plus of inactivity, I think it'll not be nosy to poke Lunar and ask how they're doing.

So, @LunarParadox, how you doin'?