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Who: Yuja Wightshade, Erichthonios, & Elidibus
Where: Yuja's Campsite outside town
What: Catching up (pre-event)
Warnings: Spoilers for Endwalker and Pandaemonium raids

[ Given the lack of lodging in town, Yuja's taken to setting up a camp somewhere outside of town near one of the smaller rivers. Not only is it a source of water but fish. Why ever would she need to stay in town if this is here?

Well, there is the fact she's lacking in the majority of her supplies. That has made her camp rather meager. She's managed to barter for a few supplies but she's nowhere near having what was left behind on her chocobo. She supposes it wouldn't be much of a prison if she had all her conveniences from home.

Luckily, Erichthonios offered to bring her some supplies if he could find them. In exchange, she offered him a place to rest away from the infirmary. When he arrives, hopefully with Elidibus in tow, they'll find her sitting next to a small fire watching a pot. ]

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[Elidibus is glad for the opportunity to see Yuja, even though he had planned to make the excursion anyway. It wouldn't do to sit idle here, after all, and he's sure she would agree with him on that.]

I'm not surprised to see you have managed well away from the town. I heard your stores are running a bit low, however...

[With that, he places down a bag of supplies next to her that he's rounded up with Erichthonios's help, including some food and other miscellaneous necessities.]

It was a bit of a trial, considering the recent strain on the town's own stores, but a little bartering goes a long way.

[Erichthonios is not far behind, arms wrapped around a set of blankets -- one for each of them.]

That it does.

[Though earlier conversations have left him with a heavy heart, he offers the hint of a smile upon reaching them.

It feels better, to be among friends.]

[ She rises, dusting herself off as the two make their way into her camp. ]

You needn't go through so much trouble. [ She smiles and kneels down next to the bag and peeks into it. ] But you have my thanks.

[ It's honestly more than she needs right now, but she supposes with the three of them she can add some of the food to tonight's meal.

Her attention turns to Erichthonios as she pulls a few things from the sack. ] Ah, blankets, excellent! Did you happen to come across a tent?

[ It's not the end of the world, far from it in fact, if there's no tent. Sleeping directly under the stars has always been nice. ]

As a matter of fact, Erichthonios went to great lengths to create one for you.

[A grin, first at Erichthonios, then at Yuja. He's greatly reminded of the time he'd spent discussing Azem's adventures with them, having wished he could go with them on a few occasions, but never having had the opportunity. But maybe now... if this is the next best thing...]

I do hope you know how to pitch it... I'm afraid I am ill-prepared in that regard.

I may be able to help.

[Having studied the materials in order to create it in the first place; he needed at least a passing understanding of how it was all to be put together.]

Emet-Selch advised me that creation magicks do not last indefinitely here... Yet that may actually be convenient in this one matter, as it will not need to be carried when not in use. The blankets are far less unwieldy in comparison.

[And without further ado, he sets down the blankets so that he might be able to extract the apparatus containing the tent, secured as it is by a strap to his back.]

Oh, excellent! [ She smiles up at them though it fades when she hears that creation magic is temporary in this place. ] Hm, I suppose they couldn't allow everything to be easy for us. Still, thank you.

[ She finishes sorting through the sack and sets a few things on the fire to cook before turning her attention to the tent. ]

I'll help. Shan't be too difficult with the both of us.

--Is it?

[Elidibus looks surprised at the mention, thinking immediately of the briars and the megaloambystoma tasked with guarding them.]

You shall have to tell me more of what he told you later. We may need to check on the megaloambystoma from time to time to make sure it still exists...

Anyway, I'll watch this if you two would be so kind as to set that up?

[He gestures to the pot, crouching down to peer into it. Naturally, he has no experience with cooking either, but he supposes it's much easier to tell when something is going amiss. He needs to help with something, right?]

Mayhaps an infusion of aether every so often to will remedy the issue, if it is a matter of aetherial instability.

[That is his current theory, as it stands.]

The brambles, at least, should not dissipate.

[Removing the tent materials from their containment, Erichthonios begins by handing Yuja the bits for the framework, his plan being to hold the fabric as they work.]

Where would you like to set it up?

If you need any help with that, let me know. [ She's always glad to help and while she may not be as aether-dense as the Ancients she knows how creation all of that works now. ]

Thank you. [ She smiles over at Elidibus. There isn't much he'll have to do as the stew is nearly ready. ]

Oh, um... [ She wanders off, carrying the pieces of the frame with her. She moves carefully, feet shuffling over the ground as she tries to find the most level place to set up. ]

Here should be good, [ she finally says. ]

[An infusion... yes, most likely so. He did notice the thinning of his aether early on, but did not realize it would extend to his creations as well. After a while, he takes a seat by the fire and watches them set up instead of staring into the bubbling pot.]

I must admit... this reminds me of the stories a friend used to tell. About the world, and their travels, and the people they met along the way. And oh, how I envied them for being able to have experiences the likes of which I surely never would. But now...

[He can't remember their name or face, but he does remember their title, and the stories they would bring back to all who would listen. The similarities are striking, actually, now that he thinks about it.]

Would that you could have met them. Both of you.

Well... if not in this life, perhaps we shall have the opportunity in another.

[Little does he know. But, he is more than content to indulge in the company of the friends he has now. So, gathering up the fabric into his arms, he carries it over to the spot Yuja has picked and begins unfurling it.]

Are there any experiences you would like to pursue, while we are here?

Your friend? [ Yuja glances up, brows knitting a bit. ] Do you speak of Azem?

[ She would have loved to have met their Ancient self, though maybe that would have been a little awkward. She has to wonder just how much Azem knew of her, after all, they'd told Themis to wait for her. ]

The offer to travel with me is there. I would like to see more of this star.

[A look of surprise crosses Elidibus's face. He closes his eyes to consider.]

Azem was their title, yes. I do not remember their name or face, only bits and pieces of conversations we may have had. How did--?

[Something clicks in his head. Though the ancient spell used during their battle at the top of the Crystal Tower yet remains unfamiliar, he remembers the incantation. The mention of Azem therein.

He blinks at Yuja.]

...I fear Emet-Selch may be privy to something I am not...

[Not having met Azem themself or had contact with Yuja beyond anything in Pandaemonium and their current locale, Erichthonios is missing even more information than Themis.

Yet the admission of not remembering them has Erichthonios growing quiet, gaze drifting low as he remembers what Themis imparted to him earlier.

He... must have not seen Azem in a long, long time.

Taking a steadying breath, he lifts the fabric a little higher.]

Yuja, if you would slip the rods in? I shall make sure the fabric does not come down on you.

[ Yuja isn't sure what to say to that. She's not sure if Emet-Selch is willing to even admit that she is a splinter of the soul of a person once so dear to him. He had by the end, even entrusted her with their legacy, but right now...

She's drawn out of her thoughts by Erichtonios, blinking a couple of times before nodding. ]

Right. [ She moves to begin pushing the rods into the little slip of fabric on the tent, wiggling it here and there when it catches until finally everything is all set up. ] That should do it.

[Something to ask one of them later, if Yuja is not inclined to speak of it here and now. Elidibus turns around and relaxes, only glancing back again to see the tent in its finished state and gesturing for the two of them to join him.]

Good work, you two. Shall we settle in? I think the stew should be about ready.

[He gathers the silverware and bowls he and Erichthonios had brought with them, sorting them into three piles to save Yuja some time. Once done, he hands each of them their set with a smile.]

Aye.

[In spite of the dreary turn the conversation had taken moments before, Erichthonios musters a smile, genuinely happy to be in their company. Striding over to join Themis, he sinks down in front of the setting next to him.]

It smells remarkable. I wonder what went into making it...?

[ All Elidibus need do is ask her about it and she'll tell him what she knows. Granted, what she knows isn't much. ]

One moment. [ She shoves the blankets into the tent and kind of shoves them about into something useable later before joining the others. ]

Secret recipe. [ She says with a grin as she takes the lid off the pot and begins to fill the bowls. ] I traded around for a few things, really it's just a pretty standard stew. I also managed to get some bread to go with it.

[ There's only half a round loaf set aside near the campfire, but it's still enough bread for the three of them. ]

[Not caring enough to wait for the bread, Elidibus puts the bowl to his lips and takes a sip of the broth, the steam hitting his face and the scent filling his nostrils.]

...Mmm.

[A satisfied hum. He looks positively silly now, having completely forgotten his table manners with the color of the broth stained on his upper lip, but it's been a long time since he's had anything quite so good.]

I think I really needed that.

[He grins sheepishly, relieved somewhere deep down that he can at least return to being truly himself around the two of them. He'll always be dedicated to his duty, but it's so, so easy to forget one's own self in the midst of that devotion... as he has learned all too well.]

By the way, if I may ask, Yuja... how did you know of Azem? I would be surprised if Emet-Selch mentioned the name himself, loath to talk about personal matters as he is.

[The broth mustache on Themis' lips has Erichthonios smiling ridiculously, he thinking it a most charming sight, to witness him in such a state of informality. Yet, he soon turns his attention to his own bowl, hastening to partake of his contents lest his friend spy his gaze lingering overlong.]

This is good...

[ Yuja lets out an amused huff at the sight of Elidibus with soup covering his upper lip. What a sight from someone who has come off so distant and proper in most situations.

She breaks off a bit of bread and passes it to the both of them. ]

I'm glad you both like it. [ She foregoes a spoon for the moment, taking a drag from the bowl and licking her lips once done.

Her attention turns to Elidibus as she munches on a bit of bread dipped in the stew. ]

Ah... about that. [ She shifts, wondering how uncomfortable it might be for him to know that they're the broken reborn version of their friend. Then again, she supposes it was normal in their day to encounter the reborn soul of someone they once knew. Hythlodaeus had taken to calling them their "new old friend", after all. ]

When I was in the recreation of Amaurot Emet-Selch had made at the bottom of the sea I met a shade of Hythlodaeus. He told me that my soul was that of an old friend, the same as Ardbert's. I didn't find out until later who that friend was.

[ She puts down her bowl and fishes out Azem's crystal, holding it out so Elidibus can see. ] He gave me this, Emet-Selch had made it in secret. When I used it during our final battle, it was then that I heard the name of the Fourteenth and learned who they were.

That's...

[A crystal the same shape and size... but he doesn't recognize it. Indeed, her story checks out, given that while he can't remember if Emet-Selch and Azem were that close, he does remember his weakness for sentiment. It is what got him killed in the end, after all.

Elidibus leans back after looking closely at it, hands holding the bowl in his lap.]

Yes, I suppose Emet-Selch would do such a thing without telling us. Even for the one we called a traitor, whose seat we abolished...

[But that she might be that soul... it's interesting. Not something he had ever suspected, but that Emet-Selch would be able to see from malms away. He considers his response briefly.]

You are not Azem. But that you are a piece of them... that would make our meeting all the more fateful, wouldn't it? At the time, having that knowledge likely would have made me even more determined to strike you down. But now, I have reason to consider it a blessing, that we were able to be friends no matter how fleeting that time was. Much like with Erichthonios here.

[He turns and flashes a small smile at Erichthonios, trying to keep him a part of the conversation as well. If he never knew Azem, it's only fair.]

[It is a somber thought, to think that the Themis he knew would one day consider the person he held in such esteem a traitor... even if impermanently so.]

Aye... I know not what would have become of me and the others in Pandaemonium had you not arrived with Themis...

[Would Themis have fought him? Or would another have shown in Yuja's place? The more he thinks about it, the more he thinks he could get lost in his thoughts thinking about it, so he reluctantly sets his mind to another course.]

Even more remarkable is that we should also end up here together, coming from different times as we do.

[ Has everything been designed by fate or was it due to her time shenanigans? It's hard to say. ]

I'm not sure if it was fate or my own interactions with the past. [ She shrugs. ]

Either way, I am glad for it. It's allowed me to make some wonderful friends. [ She smiles at the both of them before turning back to her meal.

She can't say where she'd be now if not for all that's happened. Working in Kugane, possibly in the pleasure district? Dead? Or perhaps she'd be on some other adventure. ]

'Tis interesting that we should all arrive around the same time and that Emet-Selch should be here as well.

[Elidibus just smiles mysteriously, content to believe what he will. Whether or not it was meant to pan out this way, it's all the better that it did. Better than returning to the Aetherial Sea burdened with all those regrets from life.]

Indeed. Though I have to wonder why he should come from a point in our past, when we hail from his future.

[In a word, it's inconvenient. But it's also curious that he hasn't acted on his own designs yet, if that is his inclination. It could be the aforementioned sentiment, perhaps... the very reason he left the crystal with her in the first place as a contingency. Or maybe...]

He remains tempered, and that is an immutable fact. He will continue to serve Zodiark whether he wills it or not. But... I wonder...

[Perhaps that fact can be manipulated, even if he retains no connection to Zodiark at this point. It's not something Emet-Selch would be able to immediately sense about him -- if he won't listen as a fellow Convocation member, then he may listen as His servant. After a pause, Elidibus turns to Erichthonios with a nod.]

Ah, Erichthonios, you remain on neutral ground with him, uninvolved with the Convocation as you are. I doubt he will have said aught to you about it, but in case he ever does, there is no question you would try to protect Yuja, correct?

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