• heavensward /

though thancred had returned, something was different.

it's not as though they were the closest, per say (to ren it seemed that thancred preferred the company of others, scion or not, and when it came to those who were "not," what better company than that of a beautiful elezen on your arm?).

and yet, although the women of ishgard were instantly enamored with him as soon as they had all stepped into the forgotten knight, instead of (wip)

• stormblood /

a brief visit back to revenants toll, and ren would not lie if she were not secretly hoping to see him. impossible though it seemed, there he was, the only one in the rising stones, flipping a dagger in one hand while seemingly deep in thought. he catches it as soon as the grand doors creak open, grips the handle tight, poised and ready for—

“oh, ren. it’s only you.”

“thancred..! were you expecting someone?”

“no, which is exactly why i’m surprised that you’re here. pleasantly of course. how fares doma?”

“things are well, for the most part. where is… everyone else?”

as much as her heart quietly anticipated a reunion with the scion's rogue, the moment itself was much less tender, laced instead with more of a quiet tension. it is true that she was not the only one to notice thancred’s shift in demeanor after the events of the banquet. he became distant, was seemingly never around, somewhat distracted, and devoid of the characteristic flirtation and pride he once employed so easily. ren had been cautious ever since that day, the day they realized minfilia was never coming back to them. she knew they were not in that way, and yet understood the weight of losing someone so dear all the same, no matter the nature of their relationship.

and she was even more aware still of the fact that when than looked her way, his eyes did not sparkle the same as when he looks upon one of his girls, the ones he saw on his arm in her earliest days in ul’dah. no, they seemed to be eyes of judgement, of comparison, even moreso following the end of the dragonsong war. they hid a secret that thancred seemed unlikely to tell, laid on grounds ren felt were too icy to tread on.

so it surprised her when, of all things she would expect from one who seemed intent on keeping his distance, thancred breaks into a soft smile, leaps behind the bar effortlessly, and pulls up a bottle of one of flhammins best. “well then, if you aren’t pressed for time, how about joining me for a drink?”

to self indulge after everything she had witnessed in yanxia for but a night, not to mention in the company of someone who cannot seem to leave her thoughts, was easy enough. she let out a short, breathy chuckle. “how could i possibly turn down an offer from the illustrious cassanova of uldah himself?"

“hm, now that’s one I haven’t heard in awhile.”

they pop open the bottle; the cider, a strong one at that, smells and tastes of the sweetest fruit grown in costa del sol, and goes down like nothing.

courage claims her body, and ren asks what she's wanted to since they first met in Ul'dah. "how long have we known each other now, thancred?"

"perhaps a little over two year? gods, it's incomprehensible how much has happened since then..."

"then why do i feel like despite that, i know nothing about you at all?"

shockingly and without much resistance, thancred agrees to tell his life story, and ren shares hers in turn.

her life was not so rife with struggle; traveling to ul'dah on a traveling merchant's cart from her grassland home on the edges of othard, thousands of malms from the garlean's reach, she grew up simply, passionate about little else until a merchant who trained in the house of pugilists came across their little village, telling stories of wild desert plains and towering monsters, giant frogs and honeybees with stingers the length of your arm, and a city filled with riches unimaginable to the common man.

though ren was already of age and helping with her family business (a sheep farm), she could not help but let her mind wander. her dreams became filled with thoughts ul'dah, and with her family's blessing she was able to leave with the next traveling merchant that came across their humble home on the steppes. the rest is history-- as soon as that fated first encounter with nanamo and thancred, her life changed in ways she could not have imagined for a Raen from an unknown hometown.

• shadowbringers /

writhing electicity rang through ren's body and brought her down to her knees. the last time she had felt power this strong was at the hands of zenos during their first encounter. she heaved, too tired to look up and meet the eyes of her maker. /this can't be it. my glorious adventure, all that potential, cut short to but a day's worth/

then, a yell rang through the courtyard, and ren knew he would come. maybe it was the echo, maybe it was lingering thoughts, or simply the fact that she knew he would never leave this new minfillia, young and fragile with piercing eyes and a gentle heart, without him. thancred appears, a flash of silver, and it's just like their reunion in dravania. a hero, descending from the heavens, and ren wonders when it became him who would come to save them, as opposed to the other way around.

// maybe it was hard to breathe because of the air, heavy with fae magic. maybe it was the fatigue from sprinting for what seemed like ages, to shake that blasted ran'jit off their trail, that bathed the world in rays of light and color, like a kaleidoscope. it was his first time seeing her in five years, and how she stayed the same, a portrait of the past he left behind, unchanged despite the callouses on his hands. after a year had gone by in the first, he had become quietly frustrated by how her features had started to fade from his mind, yet the moment she appeared before him, it all came rushing back.

after the events of the banquet, thancred had resolved not to let any lingering thoughts about the warrior of light take shelter in his mind and heart. no more, not after the pain of his loss, a result of his weakness, one not even her towering strength could prevent. he refused to put himself in a similar position, one where he would be capable of nothing but self-loathing for his inability to protect those who meant something to him, damn it all.

• ..and yet, this was a new world, one entirely detached from the source and their identities as scions of the seventh dawn. now that the circumstances are different, perhaps he could, he just might--

his eyes meet ryne's, empty and exhausted after the fearsome events that had just transpired. hope dies, and his resolve returns. it may be a different world, but it comes with new responsibilities, one that involves a life, one that might decide an entire civilization's future. there is no room for folly, for weakness. and so thancred shuts the door, unaware that on the other side, ren has been waiting all this time.

quotes-- "so she ran off because of you? of course. even five years later, little has changed. i always find you at the source of all my problems..."