• heavensward /

when she felt the air shift behind her, ren knew it was him. her heart which had fallen once met with the eyes of the warriors of darkness was suddenly beating faster. thancred leapt into their point of view, daggers having exploded into smoke, and she watched him dance around ardbert before joining them in his rightful place.

• 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, and—

“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 for this moment, actually finding herself there was much less thrilling, and more of a quiet tension. it is true, and 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 expected 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 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.