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year 5, quarter 3
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The skies were bright blue that day in Rabanastre. Ashe smiled half hardheartedly as she watched the procession of Narbradian officials entering the main gates. Today was the day where she'd meet the man she was intended to betroth. How long she had she spent arguing with her father that she wanted to marry for love. Archadia was not focused on them; it was Rozzaria that they were concerned with. They would leave Dalmasca alone she was sure of it if they just stayed out of the way . Her father gave a sad sigh every time she brought this up. Eventually she understood the circumstances and agreed despite her heart's desires.
The skies were bright blue as she waited for her fiance. It had been three months since the engagement and Ashe had barely five minutes with Rasler between all the formalities that came with two nations aligning. Rasler his name was, Lord Rasler future King of Dalmasca. She twisted the engagement ring on her finger as she waited on the balcony. Was this what was really necessary for them to survive the oncoming war between Archadia and Rozzaria? "Lady Ashelia," a voice called from behind her. Ashe turned and faced her future husband for the first time.
The skies were bright blue the day of their widely proclaimed wedding. A marriage one forged in alliance now also bound in love filled the streets of Rabanastre with hope. A hope that she too shared with Nabradia. After meeting Rasler she had slowly but surely fell in love with him through all the diplomacy and aristocracy that surrounded their union, and Ashe believed fully that he had loved her as well. Was he not the one who spurned her love of Chocobos. And was he not the one who also spurned her love of the simple way of life. How many times had they snuck out since the original betrothal to find one another and disguise their-selves as commoner It was more than a treaty now. It was bond that would link them throughout the rest of their lives.
The skies were dark grey the day that the funeral took place. This was it. The disillusion of her only fantasy. She should never have let him go to protect Nalbina. It was a futile effort if the rest of Nabradia had fallen. Only a few weeks after she had worn her wedding gown was she forced to wear the traditional funeral attire. A death that left her scarred and more immediately hostile than she had been before.
How many time since then had Rasler appeared before her in spirit? How many times would she continue to dream this same sequence of events over and over?
Ashe awoke suddenly from the nightmares that plagued her nightly. The neon glow of the signs outside pierced through the sheer curtains lighting her bed in a strange bluish green. In the haze, the last remnant of Rasler's visage remained before she blinked both him and the dream away. A long sigh escaped her as she stared at the spot feeling the familiar ache that accompanied almost every waking.
Rolling over she was surprised to see that it was still night. She had passed out almost as soon as she had reached the hotel that afternoon. Ashe was losing hope with each passing day. Still the fire of her hatred for the Empire spurned her forward. How long had she been traveling now in search of anything. Of her companions. Of the Sun Cryst. Of answers. This world was so strange. One day she'd be passing through humble farmlands and the next she would end up in a city like this so robust and technology forward. When she asked if this was all powered by nethicite, the hotel owner had just given her a quizzical look before handing her key to her.
The thought of going back to endless cycle of her dreams caused Ashe to dress. She didn't know what for but the thought of dwelling in her memories was too much for her. She had no trust in any she had met, so grabbing the Treaty Blade Ashe left her room to explore the night.
Even as the moon hung overhead, Ashe was surprised to find the city still awake and bustling. Even more surprising was the lack of looks at her or her sword that had plagued her constantly in the other cities she had traveled. Perhaps, they had more important things to worry about here than a lone girl with a sword. At first she had some trouble with the guard at the city's entrance over it, but with enough gil their eyes had been averted to it holstered on her back. The small coin purse she had been given for weeding out some beasts from a farmer's land, was tied about her waist and was considerably thinner than it had been when she had entered the gates.
It was as though her feet had a mind of their own since the one in her head was preoccupied with doubt. She found herself on a street with far less people than the main road. The signs still blazed in that electric light that she was slowly growing accustomed to. One in particular seemed to be calling her name almost as if the spirit of a certain thief was compelling her. Hadn't he told her that if one wanted to get away from it all for a while that was the place to go and wasn't that what she was looking to do tonight?
The pub was moderately crowded, but Ashe found it was easy enough to navigate through the bodies. She found a couple of empty seats right next to the bar and claimed one for herself. Within moments a stout and portly man came over, "Ah a new face, what'll it be, Miss?" Ashe had to think. She hadn't really consumed much alcohol only having had some wine occasionally the most being a couple glasses at her wedding fete. "Uh," she started looking past the man to the shelves. "Something to help forget."
The bartender laughed as if it wasn't the first time he had heard that and walked away. When he returned, he had two glasses in his hand filled with a light brown liquid and a couple cubes of ice. "One's on me," he said before walking to the gaggle of customers that had formed further down the bar. She looked at it hesitantly before gulping down the first in one go. That had been a mistake. It tasted and felt like fire going down her throat and cause her to shudder as it hit her stomach. Still she could tell there was a slight sweetness to it. She didn't know if she wanted to continue after that but the thought of lying in that room all alone convinced her to stay put. After recovering and her stomach settling, she more tentatively sipped on the second glass. It still felt like fire but as she let it slide across her tongue the flavors began to blossom as well. A heavy sigh escaped her as she gingerly sipped this second concoction waiting for the promised levity to come.
Post by Caius Dragelion on Sept 3, 2018 12:18:31 GMT -6
The City Of Sonora. Caius had only heard rumors of it. But he had been told that it was a heavily advanced civilization, a far cry from what he had grown accustomed to in the last year and a half that he had spent in this world. Caius had intended to come here sooner or later... If only to see if it was what he had imagined. A world where everything was as it had been before he had come here. He had rented a caravan for the long trip, deciding that while he was out here, perhaps he would find work in reaches of the world that he had yet to see.
It was everything that he had imagined, and more.
To see cars moving through the streets again. To see roads, power lines, technology abound. It was actually overwhelming at first... To the point that Caius realized one of the main reasons he had refrained from coming here right out of the gate... He had been afraid of change. Afraid to go back to something akin to his old world when he had spent so much time with far less and far simpler. Would he be able to adjust? Worse, would he be able to ever go back? It seemed he would have to learn to balance it, as he knew that he would be returning. To know the lay of the land far better than ever before... It was something that travelers had likely done many times. Now it was his turn. But for now... He would revel in the familiarity of it all... Albeit with some frustration over the sodding cold. The tundras were a bit of an adjustment but they were a change he would get used to.
Of course he knew nothing of the city that he had found himself in. The neon lights were alien to him as he did his best to recall that time more than a year ago where this had been the norm. Every new thing startled him and made him jolt or almost draw his blade. Nothing was familiar to him anymore. None of it was. These were alien lands to him now, even if at one point these sorts of things would have been second nature. Many times he considered just leaving, and being centred in the more simpler lands for the rest of his life. But if he were to take on the biggest of challenges, and the biggest of jobs, and better himself... This was a challenge he needed to undertake. This was not something he could ignore. This was not something that Caius could run away from.
But the act of adjusting had taken so much energy out of him. Eventually night had fallen and he had found himself in a pub. Weary, exhausted... Caius just wanted to sleep. But the idea of a drink burning his throat and numbing his senses appealed to him more. He was exhausted, but the culture shock was stressing. It was like returning to the world he had yearned for, for so long... And yet it wasn't at the same time.
It was like the golden carrot had been dangled in front of his face but once he had grabbed it, it was not the golden carrot at all. It wasn't long before the mercenary was situated on a stool and had a drink in his hand. Nearby, he could hear someone stating they wanted to forget. His head perked up lightly as he turned to look toward them, watching them hesitantly ducker down one drink, and after some clear repulsion, ducker down another. He recognized the clear feelings, the clear emotions... They were his own not all that long ago.
He knew what he had needed but had never gotten. Perhaps he could ensure at least someone got it.
"Sometimes..." He trailed off as he would look toward the woman in question. "When people are in pain, speaking of it alleviates it a little. I've heard that sometimes people just need to talk, hear their voices heard and know they don't have to hold it all in by themselves."
Caius was not the most socially accustomed of men, this was very clear. He had spent much of his life before the Glaives alone, and had not had a chance to become fully socially accustomed before he had been spirited away from that life. Perhaps if he had just had more time...
"I am horrible at wording these things, but... If you need to talk, I will be here. Your pain does not need to be suffered alone."
The bar was becoming surprisingly more comfortable as Ashe continued on the second drink, whiskey as the bartender called it. She felt as though she could trust the man. Something about his demeanor reminded her of her father's when they shared their moments alone away from the worries of a kingdom caught in the middle of a war not their own. Moments not between a king and the future queen of Dalmasca, but between a loving father and daughter. Ashe could feel the swelling of her eyes at the memories flooding her but instead of allowing herself the display of emotion, she took a hard swig of her drink to focus on that burning sensation instead.
Her comfort was broken as a man began talking to her. She closed her eyes and sighed as he spoke. Was it not obvious she had wanted to be here alone and unperturbed. "Your pity is neither warranted or wanted," she began swinging her head to face the man a few bar stools down. Normally this would been where she stopped, but a little voice nagged her to keep talking to the man. Was she really this lonely that she would respond to some random heckler? "Our pain is each ours to bear alone. It's neither my responsibility to bear the weight of yours or yours mine." She thought that would be that but the slightly sad look the bartender gave her as he put down another drink in front of her reminded her once again of her father. Would her father condone the way she was speaking to this stranger. Her compassion had fallen away as the realities of her world had begun to crumble. Just for tonight, she'd allow a little bit to be shown: for her father. She sighed taking a sip of her new drink, "But if you feel you must prattle, then let me not be the one to stop you of your desire."
Sod, she was a noble, wasn’t she? He knew that tone and that air quite well. He'd spent much of his life doing jobs and hunts for nobles... And then spent a year or so of his life protecting royalty. Or well, mainly doing missions but being protective of them too. So he knew this air well. He knew the attitude well. He almost missed it. Almost. Caius squinted a moment at her answer but before long he simply returned back to his calm small smile. Despite her rebuking him, he didn’t give her the same harshness. Perhaps a failure to greet hostility with hostility was both a strength and a weakness for him. At the same time she couldn’t seem to decide whether she wanted his company or not.
“It’s not my responsibility to you, nor do you have any to me and my issues” He spoke. “But back in my world, the living hell it had become, everyone had problems. Things they kept to themselves and let it fester. Didn’t help anyone. Only made it a far worse hell than the demons ever could.
I am not here out of responsibility… I am simply offering. I do not offer pity. I offer an ear and an attempt to understand, if you think it might ease you any.”
But with that, he shrugged his shoulders. Caius knew when he was, seemingly for the most part, unwanted. “I’d rather not be a burden to you if that is what I have become though” He would add. “I genuinely hope that things improve for you in time, and the world sees fit to grace you with a smile again."
Caius would take a sip from his drink at that. He wanted to help. His eyes made that clear. But what point was there in trying to help if he was simply burdening her? If she wanted to be alone, he'd respect her wishes.
The man continued to talk even after Ashe had dismissed him and his worried unneeded concern. She guess she had taken her insult of prattling at face value and had decided to do as such. Ashe scoffed as she turned to him. She didn't really understand why she was about to listen to the man, but she felt off. The cold indifference that usually made her leave had somehow been replace with a warmth that spread not only on the inside of her body, but also across her skin. Where had this compassion for a stranger come from?
"Hell," the word passed from her lips as she couldn't stop herself from remembering. She had seen what had become of Nabudis. The necrohol that the Mist had spurned there. And if not a place than a feeling. Hell was when she had heard news of Rasler. News of her father. News of Dalmasca's subjugation. "I know my fair share of Hell; what do you know if it?"
"A queen unable to reclaim her kingdom has no use for a smile," she mused finishing her drink quicker than she could think. She waved the bartender away when he came to pour another. It was already happening. She could feel the drinks taking their actions through her blood. How did Balthier continue to pound these down one after another. Ashe didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry over her own inability to change her fate. She took all her emotions and directed them into the conversation. "Experience thus far would lead me to believe you hail not from Ivalice or here if you talk of your world?" Ashe signaled the bartender to bring the man another drink. Maybe if she listened to his problems she could forget her own at least until the promised forgetfulness washed over her.
Caius had given her full opportunity to just dismiss him and go back to moping by herself if she really wanted to. But she had kept talking, so that told him that at least in some measure, she wanted him there, so he just nodded his head and let her talk. Caius was a storyteller, and enjoyed listening to stories himself too, so he would stare at her, eyes to hers, the entire time as he listened intently. His only breaks were to take a quick drink while he listened. It helped he enjoyed this kind of thing, and had it hardwired into him to begin with due to the military nature of the Kingsglaive. Not to mention his own instincts from his years as a hunter. Listen well, listen closely and listen intently. Never leave yourself open to attack.
"I know my fair share of Hell; what do you know if it?" the woman stated, and Caius gave a calm, bittersweet smile in response. He didn't respond for the time being, it seemed to be a rhetorical question. While Caius was not the best socially, he at least knew what that was.
"A queen unable to reclaim her kingdom has no use for a smile," she continued, and Caius nodded his head in turn. It had been short, if you didn't include her pauses, but he had listened with very little interruption. Well, that would explain it. She had been a Queen at one point somewhere. It seemed her kingdom had been overtaken... Something he knew a bit about, considering he had once been a resident of Insomnia. He didn't think it his place to speak right now, though. If she wanted to talk, he was happy to oblige her. He had promised a listening ear, after all. And Caius was a man that kept his promises.
"Experience thus far would lead me to believe you hail not from Ivalice or here if you talk of your world?"
Caius stared for a few moments, blinking a few times as he hadn't realized at first she was asking him an actual question this time. When it hit him, he let out a slightly open-mouthed "Oh!" as he would straighten himself. This was the first time he'd shown anything but that calm smile during this conversation, but Her Highness had caught him completely off-guard. She wanted to know about him and his world? Well, that was a surprise... He supposed he could oblige, if it made her feel any better. He did like to tell stories, after all.
Nodding his head, the mercenary would take a moment to consider where to start. This wasn't really a story he'd told. But then again, people didn't tend to ask. He was just a mercenary, a sellsword. Someone that people saw once for hiring and once the transaction was complete he generally never saw them again. Nobody usually cared about where he came from or what he had gone through. They only cared if he was good with a sword. Taking a long drink from his tankard, he would take a deep breath as he began to recount, trying his best to keep it short as she had with hers, though he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it near as short.
"Hell. I think that's a pretty good word for it" Caius would begin. "Imagine a world kind of like this city. Where the technology is more advanced, where people have all the conveniences in the world at their disposal. At a glance, that sounds great.
Now imagine that all going away. Imagine a world where the sun never rises. Demons rise from the ground everywhere that it is dark, and with the sun no longer rising... Every moment is a moment that you may have to fight to survive. Resources are low, people are bitter and irritable all the time and don't think much to help each other unless it's to contribute to the powering of the city or for them to get a share of resources. Every settlement in the known world has had it's denizens either driven out or killed by those demons, and they continue to march in different shapes and sizes, slaughtering, killing, I even hear that many of those demons used to be people and the rumour is those people were taken by the demons and turned into even more of them as their numbers seem to grow by the day. Every single day is a constant struggle to keep what little light we have going, from going out. The last remnants of humanity had one final stronghold to keep what light we had going, and if that went out... Well, the demons are strongest in the dark. We wouldn't stand a chance. Survival was the name of the game, whether that was keeping the city lit, finding food or other resources... Or trying to survive out in the wild against some of the most horrible monsters imaginable.
You'd think that this would drive humanity together, but while it was there to an extent out of necessity in that stronghold... That wasn't always the case. Many kept out of the city and formed groups of looters who waylaid people looking for supplies. They kidnapped people to coerce their families into giving them any resources or food they had, they killed without prejudice, and would strongarm people into joining their ranks with threat to their lives or that of their families."
Caius' grip on the glass tightened and for a moment it seemed as though it might shatter. It was a rare show of any real sort of emotion from him, but the looters were a sore spot for him. He had been one of those looters. Not by choice. But by the very strongarming he'd just spoken of. And when his father and he tried to get out...
But his grip soon calmed as he held himself together well. His expression never once changed, and the glass might have been the only indication that his emotions had changed at all.
"I think the most hellish thing about it was... It was all because one asshole decided to literally unleash a scourge on our star. One that destroyed the dawn, and made these demons come out. And we couldn't do a damn thing about it. We kept being told to wait for this "Chosen King" to show up and liberate us, and free our star from it's scourge or whatever. One year, no Chosen King. Two years, no Chosen King. Three years, four years, five years... Nothing. Six years, seven years, eight... And we're told the same old story as we continue to just barely hold on. The people meant to lead us keep telling us the same old shit, and every year that sense of hopelessness continued on. Every year, more people resorted to stealing, looting, killing... Every year, it became harder and harder to survive as the demons just seemed to get stronger. No matter how strong I became in order to survive, it was a neverending nightmare as the demons just continued to outclass myself and others. And every year, the monster in man continued to worsen as people gave in to their basest instincts and became more and more selfish, cruel and murderous.
Desperation can do some shit to a man, after all.
Eventually, our "Chosen King" did come. And he did everything that they said he would. He did deliver us, and I was one of the people that pledged myself to that cause. How could I not?
This had been my hell since I was maybe 11 years old. I'd lived alone and struggling to survive since I was 13 thanks to what this hell did to people. I wanted it to end.
And it did.
But of course, with that level of damage... Comes consequences. We were still rebuilding and trying to work our way out of the hell that our world had become when I was brought here. For what reason, I don't know. What I do know is that after ten years of hell, I had found my purpose for something besides survival. And now I'm here and that's gone. And once again, I couldn't do a damn thing about it. And believe me, I've tried."
He gave that bittersweet smile again.
"But... I'll find something again. Life keeps throwing shit at me, that's no lie. But I've found that life's about overcoming it and bettering yourself."
He didn't mention he'd almost taken his life in his darkest moments after losing that purpose and a year spent trying desperately to get it back. It didn't seem like a necessary mention.
Still... He realized this was the first time he had told this story. And he had to admit, getting it out of his system made him feel a little better about himself. Not that it'd been his intention, the lady just seemed like she wanted to hear something aside from her own lamentations for a change.
"I think you will too. You seem like you've got a good head on your shoulders. And there's plenty of paths to take in this world for someone like that."
With that, he would straighten up and allow his sword to materialize in his hand in a brilliant azure light. He would bring the sword's flat in a horizontal motion to his chest - a respectful salute in acknowledgement of Ashe's station. As the sword disappeared, he would hold out a hand then to shake.
"Caius, member of the Kingsglaive to the Lucian Royal Family. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Grace. And... Sorry if the story was a little long for your tastes."
Ashe listened as the man began to divulge his life's story as best she could. Her own thoughts pulsated and she noticed her focus going in and out. At times Caius was the only things she could see or hear, and the next moment it was like a cacophony oh noise and lights from everyone in the bar. He talked of a world much like this city, so advanced. Ashe wondered if it was devoid of warmth and humanity. Ivalice may have technology but it was still warm with history and culture. All she felt here was the cold indifference of apathy.
"Demons?!" she asked more to herself than for an answer. Demons were the things of legends and ancient history. She couldn't imagine such terrible monstrosities roaming streets such as these. Ashe couldn't even imagine what she would do in Rabanastre had been invaded in such a manner. The thought chilled her as she reached for a drink that wasn't there. The only demons she had ever had to deal with were those of a more mortal variety.
Ashe kept quiet as the man took a pause in his story. Ashe stayed her tongue. She knew all too well the darkness that murmured in every person's heart. Blinded by their own base survival, moral convictions, or needless ambition she had seen how trustworthy people could turn on each other at a moments notice. She knew that in other's eyes she was a vile villain of a defeated kingdom. A simple rebel and insurgent. A destroyer of peace and unity.
Ashe bit at her lip as he began to talk of a Chosen King. Chosen. She knew all too well that weight this king must have felt. To be burdened not only by namesake, but the gods and their whims of fate as well. This was what she wanted to know more about. This king and has willingness to suffer the fate set forth for him. Something she herself was struggling with but only the libation of spirits would allow for her to say out loud.
Ashe waited patiently her curiosity growing by the minute as the man finished his tale. She was taken aback by how quickly he tried to comfort her after divulging his own woes. The sense that she was talking with Vaan once more overtook her as she gave a less harsh scoff at being "Your Grace." but the smallest hint of a smile would betray that she wasn't as upset as she sounded.
"I need not the titles of royalty to roll off the tongues of strangers so freely." It was true even though she had become more comfortable some anxiety about enemies lying in wait stuck with her. "Your acquaintance here tonight is appreciated, Caius. Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca is my namesake if you wish to know, but you may call me Ashe." She stumbled to her feet as the world spun around her. She held her stomach as it tossed like the angry waves of the seas until it calmed. She fumbled with the sheath of her sword before lying the Treaty Blade on the bar. Ashe marveled over it as she began a tale of her own.
"Your words of encouragement and paths to take, though kind, mean little. Much like your Chosen King, centuries before my birth this sword was given to my ancestor Raithwall by the gods. With it he was able to cut the Sun Cryst and three shards it produced: the Midlight, the Dusk, and the Dawn. Shards of power so great they can wipe an entire kingdom off the face of Ivalice with one attack." Ashe shuddered as she was once again reminded of Nabudis and Nabradia.
"During his reign over Dalmasca and his territories, the states of Archadia and Rozzaria overgrew their humble beginnings and when his reign ended broke free and became their own empires far out powering Dalmasca. By the time of my father's reign, the two states were at war with Dalmasca set between the two. We thought to strengthen ourselves by aligning with the neighboring kingdom of Nabradia through my marriage to Lord Rasler." She had to stop once more as tears filled her eyes and she slammed her fist on the bar, but she continued on
"But Nabradia fell and my husband with it. We had no choice but through treating with the aggression of Archadea, but the signing was trap and my father assassinated. My kingdom falling into enemy hands as I hid away to plan my vengeance and reclaiming of Dalmasca. Needless to say I thought to use the shards of my forefather to reclaim my land, but one had been used on Nabradia leaving it necrohol of Mist and monsters. Thusly, the other two fell into Arcahdea's hand and they were able to make their own manufacted nethicite as well though not as strong as the ones blessed by the gods: the deifacted ones"
Ashe grabbed at her head as the memories flooded in and she felt so lightheaded. She waved her hand over the sword. "This is my fate. When searching for a way to reclaim my birthrights we found ourselves in the land of the gods: the Occuria. I entered their domain and thus was chosen as their hand and granted this The Treaty Blade to find the Sun Cryst in tower on distant shore and cut anew shards to destroy the empire and Venat, the heretic Occuria. Alas, as I took the blade in hand and was taken from Ivalice to this world. I wonder if this is the distant shore, and this is Occurian trial but none know of which I speak here."
By this point the tears were streaming freely from Ashe's downcast eyes. "Chosen by the gods, their saint, their destroyer. Is this all I am? How else can I reclaim my throne and country. If only Rasler would appear before me as he had done so many times on my journey. He always knew which way to guide my hand and heart." Ashe wept openly on her blade not caring of the stares the bartender and other patrons gave her. She had held this grief in for too long, and the whisky and conversation had opened the valves at last.
Oh, she was telling the full story now? Well, that was alright. Caius did like stories, after all. So he would return to the stance he'd taken during the short version of the story, listening as the woman would recount the story of her kingdom, of the sword that one day became hers. She talked about how similar she was to the tales of his Chosen King... And then spoke a lot of other things that sounded very... Very familiar.
<Wait a minute, haven't I heard this before...> Caius thought to himself before the realization set in.
Caius had to keep from bursting out laughing at the realization that she was telling almost the exact same story as what had begun the conflict in his own world. Everything from empires and weddings and fallen kingdoms to the death of the Chosen's betrothed... All of it. All of it was almost exactly the same as the day that Insomnia had fallen. And then the Chosen ruler, Queen now instead of King, rising to reclaim their throne. At least until she ended up here.
He wanted to make light of it, but the tears that had begun to stream down her face brought a frown to her face. The more she recounted it, the worse off she got. By the end of it, she was a sobbing, weeping mess as she cried atop her blade. Caius stared at her, a large frown spread across his face as he was unsure of what to do. She wanted her husband, she missed her husband, she wanted him to return for her, but he was gone. He knew the concept of betrothal, and partnership, but wasn't sure how to process how she was feeling. He thought over a bit on what might be similar...
Losing his Majesty?
No, it seemed too biased. His Majesty had been his responsibility to protect. There was a business bias here. He wasn't sure if it would be the same, or if it would be accurate.
Celes and Terra?
Yes... That was closer. He thought of if he lost Celes and Terra. And it hurt him. It hurt him deeply.
But perhaps that wasn't it either. He didn't have a familial or betrothal bond to either woman, as close as he was to them and how pained he would be to lose either of them.
He thought further back, on the repressed memories awakened in the cave...
And then he knew, as well as he was going to know.
And his heart broke for her.
He recognized it all, the hopelessness, the desperation to get home, knowing she had something she had to do but not being able to go back to her world... Missing the people she had lost, and those she had left behind... They were all familiar to him, as they were his exact feelings when he had first come here. And they had remained for a year. A year that nearly culminated in him ending his life for despair over lack of a purpose.
Watching her weep, he didn't know what to do. And it made him feel even worse. He felt helpless to help all over again, and it pained him deeply. Letting out an exhale, Caius would reach into his jacket and bring out the hunter tags that were around his neck. Usually his old hunter tags were hidden under the jacket for safekeeping, but... For her, he would close his eyes as he clutched them, giving a silent prayer to the astrals for the passage of her husband. If he was someone she felt this level of grief for, his passage to the next world was worth the prayer.
When the others stared, he turned and shot any who dared a hard glare. That stopped things quickly. It was the least he could do, he thought.
After a little while of letting her calm down, Caius spoke up.
"Your tale rings much of the fall of Insomnia, and the fate of the Chosen King Noctis. He overcame much hardship, just as you have. The trap that brought fall to his family and his kingdom on the day he was to be wed, the death of his bride, the Oracle... But eventually he came and seized the day" He spoke softly. "In your eyes, I see strength just as I saw in his. I think, and hope, that the result will be the same."
He took a deep breath then, unsure of what to do. He wanted to help further, even if he'd already fulfilled his promise. But... He was at a loss. He didn't want to leave her like this.
"Have you thought any of what you plan to do next?"
She wept. What had started out as mourning for Rasler quickly evolved into a mourning for everything she had lost: Dalmasca, her father, her allies turned traitor, Basch, Balthier, Fran, Penelo, Vaan. Ashe cried for her people and what little she could do for them here. She cried over her own inability to enact that change she had fought so hard to find the power for. Lastly, she cried for herself and her own feelings over ineptitude and not allowing herself to feel.
The bartender was one step ahead of her as Ashe wretched into the bucket he provided. She felt hot and couldn't stop the sickness that toiled her stomach. She only stopped when nothing but bile stung acidic at the back of her throat and mouth. A mortifying display, she would had never allowed this behavior sober. Balthier had been so wrong. This wasn't a way to forget, more so, it seemed to bring everything she was trying to forget to the forefront.
Ashe's head pounded from the mixture of alochol, vomiting, and crying. Ashe barely caught the words that her listener had been speaking except what she planned to do next. "Find my room, and sleep. Tomorrow I head for the tower." She thought the words came perfect and natural but a slur had begun. Ashe opened her pouch for her sword and reached for the Treaty Blade, but the bartender had it ready to slide back in her sheath. "I think you'll pay enough for this in the morning, mam. I'll take the gold you gave earlier and your story as the rest of the payment."
Ashe began to wobble and stumble as she tried to exit the bar. She needed to lie down before her stomach acted up again. She was tempted to just to lie down where she stood.
There wasn't much else that Caius could really do. He had done his best to comfort her, but he wasn't great in that department. He knew that his social skills were poor, and he felt bad that he wasn't able to help further. So he let her have it out. He let her weep, and cry, and sob, and then vomit in the bucket. Finally, she seemed to have had enough and would decide that it was time to make her exit from stage left.
"Find my room, and sleep. Tomorrow I head for the tower" She slurred out in response to his question, and Caius nodded his head. "Good plan" He responded calmly. He watched as the ex Queen would make her way off the stool, with the bartender having decided to take the story as the rest of her payment. Caius watched as she would stumble and bumble her way toward the door. Letting out a sigh, Caius would sit up proper, finish off his drink in a great gulp, and since he had already paid he would give the bartender a nod before sliding off his own stool. He didn't feel like drinking anymore, not after watching some of it's worst effects happen right in front of him.
Walking over, Caius would gingerly take her arm and slide it over his shoulder. He would motion out the door. "Point the way" Caius spoke gently. Once the pair had gotten to the inn, Caius would walk in, and make quick note of the situation to whoever was tending it. With Ashe in good hands, the Glaive would give her a calm salute, and walk out. The Glaive didn't know where he was going, he just found himself kind of... Wandering off. He'd be back in the inn later to sleep and perhaps he'd see her then. Or perhaps not. Either way, for now he just... Wanted to go clear his head.
