Errant Star Sundries, Radz-at-Han ~ A Nervous Winter Afternoon
Perspective: Noémie Clement
"W-well...t-thank you, Noeimich... Noem... See you!"
The red cheeks of the girl across from me were readily visibly against the pale skin she shared with her sisters, one that seemed to be untouched by the sorching sun that graced Thavnair. Indeed, it was the first time I had seen my childhood friend like this, unbalanced, flustered, and otherwise at a loss for how to handle a situation. She was ever the optimist, and despite her eccentricities remained composed in the direst of situations.
Except for this one.
I never poked too far into her other life of being a peacekeeper from the shadows and I could never imagine the horrors she must have faced in the line of duty. But apprently, none were as so horrific or shocking enough as what I just did to her: confess my love for her.
I could only catch a glimpse of her smile and the rapid glint of her dark red hair before the cloud of dust obscured by vision. It was one of her family's secret techniques, allowing her to not just vanish, but move somewhere quickly. That she could do it despite a compromised composure and several crates in her hand was rather impressive.
"I'm surprised that even in that state she can still use ninjutsu," I sighed. My shoulders slumped a bit, but I didn't feel sad. I felt rather relieved. From the corner of my eye, there was another figure, sharing the same face and horns of Chiaki, but stood much taller and with her hair a white as snow. Fuyuki, had been watching, listening the entire time I poured my heart out to her older sister.
"We were trained well, to say the least," Fuyuki replied, smiling softly as she looked to me. "How are you?"
I shrugged half-heartedly. "Hmm, give me a bit and I'll be curled up in a ball crying my eyes out."
"I figured," Fuyuki replied. I could see a complicated expression on her face, but I wasn't given much time to ponder over it as a man's voice approached us from behind.
"About that...get out of here."
I turned around to see my boss, Quentin, hands on his hips and looking rather smug at both of us. Given that none of us were making any effort to hide it, and Chiaki's high-pitched voice being very, very easy to pick out, it should have been no surprise that he was listening.
"You said you've got about five minutes before you start curling up, right?" Quentin asked. I grimaced. I wasn't being literal when I said five minutes or curled up in a ball, but my boss simply laughed. "When that happens, you shouldn't be here. C'mon, I can handle the shop"
"Really, boss?" I replied, a bit skeptical. Sure, I wouldn't be feeling all too good, but it wasn't like it was going to impact me. Too much. Maybe. Eventually, I groaned looked to the floor in defeat. Chiaki was usually the last of our major clients to show up at the end of the day.
I heard Quentin chuckle and looked up to him as he spoke again. "Thought so. Get outta here. Clear your head."
Despite the brusque gesture for me to go away, there was a warm smile on Quentin's face. But there was little time to ponder it as Fuyuki grabbed my wrist and dragged me out of the shop.
"Alright then, come with me. I know a good place," the shorter girl said, looking side to side down the streets before pulling me along again.
"Not too far, I still want to be back to close up," I replied, following along.
"Eh, don't worry. I know a shortcut." Fuyuki turned her head back to me with a puzzling grin. I looked around. We were in an alley, with a dead end. How was this a shortcut, let alone a path to anywhere?
"What do you mean by a shortcu-?!"
---
I had no time to complete my question. The world seemed to be pulled away from me, or rather, I was being dragged along. The feeling was unlike that of the teleport spell, except instead fulling like I was being pulled by an Aetheryte, it was Fuyuki's own force that guided me along. But that begged the question: what was guiding her?
With with a sudden and abrupt stop, my feet found solid ground again. How long I was in a teleported state I really couldn't tell, but what was immediately apparent was the distance. The walls of Han loomed in the distance, and tiny specs floated across the horizon, that being the trade ships sailing oblivious to our own journey.
"This is..." I muttered in astonishment. I turned around in circles, taking stock of where I was. Next to the paved path I stood on were roughly hewn rocks, jutting out into the sea where waves crashed violently against them. Towards the setting sun was a stretch of sand, shimmering in resplendent amber before being stopped suddenly by a line of trees. A beach full of memories from my childhood, spent playing with the Fuyo sisters.
"Yep. We haven't been here for a long while..." Fuyuki said, hopping off the paved path and onto the rocks, deftly hopping between the uneven surface.
"No...not since we were kids..." I replied, following parallel along the paved path. "Why...?"
Fuyuki stopped suddenly, perching on on leg at the apex of the rock she landed on, pivoting to look at me with a tilted head. "Wrong place? We can always try some place else. I just thought a bit of shared nostalgia would be better than some dark corner somewhere.
After some thought, I replied, "I suppose...well, you're not wrong." My reply was satisfactory, and we continued to slowly walk our own paths. I glanced over to Fuyuki, who seemed to be hopping along absentmindedly from the tips of each rock effortlessly.
A few more silent steps later, I looked over to the sea. First, a sigh, then a laugh as I said. "I have good memories of this place."
"Hehe...that's good," Fuyuki replied. "I have a hard time keeping mine straight..."
I raised my eyebrows and frowned, shaking my head. For someone as keen as her, I thought her memory would be more complete. The again...she did in effect run from home. Maybe she blacked out those memories. I shook my head again, as a familiar sight caught my eyes. I pointed at a trio of rocks, forming an otherwise innocuous triangle. "I remember...Chiaki slipping on the rocks, and her tail getting stuck."
Fuyuki stopped hopping, balancing on a single foot to look at where I was pointing. "Then Natsu-neesama was telling her that we'd have to cut it off," she replied with a laugh.
"I know, that was so mean!" I laughed in return. "Chiaki really believed her and started crying."
"You know Ane-ue scolded Natsu-neesama a lot after that." Fuyuki said, crossing her arms and making the stern expression that her eldest sister Haruna was well-known for. "Even if our tails can grow back it still hurts! - she said."
"I can image..." With a sigh I trailed off, walking to the edge of the path and sitting down, letting my spry legs reach out and rest atop the rocks. "Ne, Haruna also made you do lot of swimming drills here too, right?"
Fuyuki nodded and hopped from the rock she was balanced on over to my side in a single swift jump, moving faster than what my eyes could track. "Yep. All of it shinobi training in disguise."
"Do you resent her for that?" I asked, looking up to her.
"Not at all," Fuyuki replied as she sat down next me, leaning back and wrapping her tail around her waist as she looked out to the water. "Besides, she was the one who helped me reach Eorzea after all.
I nodded in silence, looking out across the water. In the distance, I could see merchant ships pass each other in their usual hurried pace. I held out my hand in front as if my palm would magically form a wall barring their passage. Unsurprisingly, the blots in the distance continued irreverently, passing from one side of my palm to the other. Oblivious to my own turmoil, they sallied forth, the same way the world will even after what had happened at the shop.
A tired sigh escaped my lips from the revelation, followed by the shake of the head. My eyes lowered as my question finally broke the silence between and my best friend beside me.
"...Fuyu-chi...when you used your magic cards...did you...what did they say?"
From the corner of my eye, I could see Fuyuki reach up and pinch the bridge of her nose as she spoke. "Well, one interpretation would have been... 'minor misfortune in the immediate future'"
"Urgh...so you knew..." I groaned, pulling my legs in.
"I don't think the cards were necessary in the first place," Fuyuki promptly responded. "In the end...I just wanted you to go through the motions."
Nodding slowly, I drew my kness into my chest, my words barely making it past my legs. "And...I appreciate it, Fuyuki... I...I appreciate it..." I mumbled.
My breaths started to get more and more shaky as I buried my head into my knees. Unbidden, the tears started to block my vision until I could no longer keep them open. Sobs interrupted my weak breaths, themselves hidden behind my curled up form.
On my shoulder, I felt what was like a awkwarly-shaped rod rubbing against it. Undoubtedly it was one of Fuyuki's horns brushing against me. A quiet reminder that she was still there, and one that persistesed even though it would eventually slow down and be just Fuyuki resting against my shoulder.
Without any further input, I felt my tears dry up and my breathing returned to normal. Slowly I let go of my legs, letting them once more stretch out in front of me. "...I think...I think I'm good now," I whispered.
"You sure...?" Fuyuki asked, standing up.
"No," I replied, getting to my feet and dusting off the back of my pants. "But I have to get back to the shop."
Fuyuki chucked and grinned as she grabbed my wrist again. "Alrighty~!" She exclaimed as the wind started to pick up around us. The wind started to pick up around us as she prepared her 'shortcut', that mystery spell again. I braced myself for that pulling of being pulled along, as the wind reached its peak, I could hear my best friend shout -
"Hold on a bit and here...we...go-!"
---
Once more, I felt that rough sensation of being dragged along. How long it lasted, I couldn't tell, and was probably better not knowing. But the next moment where I was fully lucid, I found myself standing at the front entrance of the Errant Star.
The shutters were already closed and the outside stands brought inside; indeed Quentin had done much of the work of closing up the shop. However, there still seemed to be a few more things to move around, as evidenced by the crate that he was carrying as Fuyuki and I stepped into the shop.
"Well! I have some good news for you, Noemi!" Quentin said even though his back was turned as she set down the crate.
Fuyuki raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. "That attitude doesn't sound like good news," the white-hair girl said, with a hint of amusement in her voice and expression.
"Listen to what I have to say first!" Quentine replied, dusting off his hands before turning around. He matched the wry expression of amusement as raise a single finger on each hand. "Chiaki...came back!"
"...eh?" A scoff of disbelief escaped both my and Fuyuki's lips as she looked at each other.
"...that still doesn't sound like good news," I responded, adding, "Did I forget something in her orde-"
"Let me finish, girls," Quentin said, cutting me off, though he still retained that mad sense of amusement. "Chiaki came back, red as the sands still and said...she wanted to talk about about Noemi's...'proposal'."
It was very obvious that Quentin's faux dramatic pauses were for humour, but after crying found myself too drained to respond with anything but snark. "I asked her out, not proposed."
"Her words, not mine." Quentin replied, raising his hands defensively before dropping the act. "But...she wants to talk to you again, apologize, try again, and, well..."
It was Fuyuki's turn to be exasperated. "...well...?!"
She cut herself off after that and ran out," Quentin said with a shrug.
Fuyuki sighed and nodded before her white glowing eyes grew wide with shock. "Hold up. She -ran- out of the shop?!" she almost shouted. "As in...you saw her...with her own to feet...as in..." In disbelief, Fuyuki made the motion of running in place.
A wide grin spread across Quentin's face as he nodded in affirmation. I stood, rather dumbstruck. Chiaki was able to use her ninjustu earlier despite carrying that crate. That she -didn't- do so again...
"So...!" Quentin shouted, shaking me out of my state of shock. "You still got a shot. Anyways. I'll finish up closing shop. You have something more important."
Quentin pointed at me, then to the front door with a wink before picking up the crate he was carrying earlier. Still processing my sudden turn in fortune, if it was a turn for the good, I barely nodded. I felt a little pressure on my shoulder, and I looked to my side to see Fuyuki smiling up to me. I had opened my mouth to ask Fuyuki for guidance, but Quentin had to sneak in one last quip as she walked into the storeroom.
"And for the record...I knew."
"You knew -what-?" I shouted back, but Quentin had already disappeared out of sight. I glanced over to Fuyuki who caught my gaze and immediately looked away, gritting her teeth with an expression telling me she was thinking very deeply on what to say next. "W-what does he mean by that? Hold on...I...I figured Fuyu-chi would know about me and Chiaki but...oh..."
My voice trailed off as realization hit me. Was it really that obvious? It must have been. That means...everyone...
"Urgh...bloody hell..." I groaned, a defeated sigh slipping past my two hands that were rubbing against my face in frustration. This was all to much to take in at once within an hour, but...one step at a time. It took another sigh to calm myself down and let go of my face, and as my arms fell to my side, Fuyuki put her hand on my shoulder again.
"Fuyu-chi? L-let's go..." I weakly stammered.
Fuyuki nodded with a gently smile on her face. The wind started to swirl around me as Fuyuki spoke up. "We can take that shortcut again, make it all go faster."
I shook my head again with a weak smile. Fuyuki smiled as well and nodded in understanding, much to my surprise and the wind around me died down quickly.
"No..." I replied, my voice sound a bit more more confident. "As much as I do want to have it be done with...I think for something like this...there's no shortcuts."
