Yadira Bladesinger & Shiri Yuyakori
The woman’s eyes widened in recognition. “Bladesinger, yes, of course! My sister has told me about you. Oh, I’m sorry.” She folded her arms into the loose sleeves of her dress and bowed politely, as was common in Nagahoro. “My name is Yuyakori Jun. My sister is Yuyakori Shiri. You two were friends, yes? She lives in this village too, in case you want to see her.”
"You're Shiri's sister? Well I'll be hanged, she told us she still had family, I never imagined I'd run into you on the street, let alone in your home town." She placed her hands on her hips as she eyed the young woman up and down. She was the spitting image of her sister. "Oh, come on now, no need for the formalities." Taking notice of the woman's greeting and apology meant for someone who was offended, she waved her hand and waved off the gesture. "And of course! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't drop in and say hello. Gods, how long has it been, what's she up to these days? Fighting bandits, training disciples, and what have you?"
“Well, uhm…” The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with nervous fingers. “She has been struggling. The time she spent fighting the cult was very hard on her. But I shouldn’t talk behind her back. Our house is on the edge of the village, not far from here. I’ll show you the way.”
With Yadira’s approval, Jun led the way down the winding street that passed between the squat wooden houses. The nearby villagers threw some curious looks at the tall foreign woman, but otherwise went about their own business. Yadira followed the woman through the streets ignoring the looks she got from the people and keeping close on her tail. It was not the first she had been passed a glance. Her choice of attire and the paint on her face was enough to make anyone stare.
Soon they arrived at the outskirts of the town, where Jun gestured at a house much like the others. “My family lives here, but Shiri has been staying as a guest. We will see if she’s home.”
Before Jun could open the door, Shiri opened it from the other side, striding out in a hurry but stopping abruptly to avoid a collision. “Oh, sorry,” she reflexively said in Nagahoric at the sight of her sister. When her eyes landed on the warrior right behind, her mind ground to a halt for a moment. “Ya- Yadira?”
"Shiri! Gods above! It's good to see you!" The woman crossed the threshold of the house and clasped her friend's shoulders with a grin on her face big enough to rival a child in a sweets shop. "You look well. Your sister tells me you've been struggling?" She had seemed well enough, well at least as well as she remembered. "I can't imagine anything bothering you that much, but what do I know?" She patted Shiri's shoulder as she let out a slight chuckle.
Shiri blinked at her old friend. Her sober mind was too sluggish to be dealing with unexpected developments like this. "Oh, uhm, hey. You look good as well," she stammered. That part was true; there was something comforting about seeing Yadira looking as lively as always. She looked to Jun, wondering how much she had mentioned, but her sister's polite smile didn't betray much, as usual. "I… my situation is a bit complicated. But you, how did you get here? Did you get the letter too?"
"Well I had been seeking work among other things when I ran into your sister." Yadira had been on the road for months taking on odd jobs, almost like a mercenary. The difference between her and a mercenary was that with renowned status, she didn't have to revert to the criminal life she escaped from. The downside of always being mobile was being the last one to hear of anything. "I just so happened to be here by chance and, wait what letter?" She trailed off in thought about catching up her former comrade of her whereabouts and deeds, but the mention of a letter brought her to a halt. "I've not received anything, what's it about?"
“Ah, I should have figured.” The knowledge that Yadira had been out and about doing her usual heroics made Shiri feel self-conscious about her own lack of productivity, but it was also comforting to know that the rest of the world hadn’t collapsed along with her. “Thing is, I got a letter from Gideon. I’m sure he sent you one as well, but I guess you’re hard to find.” She fished the envelope from the inner pocket of her jacket and held it out. “I suggest you have a look for yourself.”
"Gideon?" She took the paper from Shiri and read it over. "Ha! Is that what he's worried over? Some imposters claiming to be our old enemy?" Of course her little conversation with the person she was all too convinced was an imposter. There was not even a chance she would consider the cult they had worked tirelessly to defeat would be back. "Gideon can't be serious, and even if, wait." She read the note again and stopped at something that struck her interest. "It says he had a run in with one who exploded in his face."
There was no way he could have had the same encounter, let alone the same event happen. "Shiri, did someone visit you and ask you about yourself?" She wasn't entirely sold on the notion that their old enemy had returned, but if her theory was correct, then everyone of her former comrades could have had the same experience. She would admit that something was not right, but for them to return, it was unthinkable.
Yadira’s question gave Shiri a sinking feeling. “Yes, and he also exploded, just like Gideon says. You’ve had the same experience then?” It was easy to speculate that it must have happened to more than just the two of them, and Yadira’s reaction seemed to confirm that. “I don’t know if our true enemy has returned, but this is definitely something we shouldn’t take lightly. I was just planning to travel to Bradena in search of the others.”
"Even you? How is this possible?" Yadira's look of disbelief said it all. Confusion, shock, frustration, anger. Yadira felt it all. If all of this was true then that would mean they found some way to break the seal. "But Eskel made sure they wouldn't come back." She was hoping to put her weapon down for good, she was hoping to find a new purpose in life. It looked like that would have to wait, yet for all of her zeal to combat an old enemy, she truly wished she would have been done. Calling it quits now would be to spit in her fallen comrade's face and forsake everything they fought for. She would be damned if the world ended because she chose to do nothing. "Let's go."
“Wait, hold on,” Jun interjected in Nagahoric, stepping in and grabbing Shiri’s sleeve. “You’re going out to fight, in your current state?”
Shiri sighed as she eyed her poor sister. She had already been preparing for this conversation. “Yes. I don’t like it but I have to do something about this,” she answered in the same language.
“But, Shiri…” Her voice cracked a little. “You’re going to come back even worse. If you come back at all."
Shiri gently pulled her sleeve from Jun's grasp. “I know. But our family won’t be safe if the cult is back. I'll shoulder this burden so the rest of you don't have to. That's always been my fate.”
Jun took a step back, looking dejected. She knew what it looked like when Shiri had made up her mind, so thankfully she didn’t seem inclined to arguing. “Fine, I understand.”
On a whim, Shiri stepped in and embraced her sister. It wasn’t a conventional thing to do in Nagahoro, but the Casperian culture had rubbed off on her. "Don't worry about me," she said softly. "Yadira will have my back."
Jun froze at first, then hesitantly embraced her sister in return. "I'll try not to worry. But I'll still pray for you."
The two of them shared a quiet moment before parting. Then Shiri stepped out the door with a determined sigh. “Yes, let’s go.”
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