Conflux, Pt. 2
Conflux, Pt. 2
Anafenza awoke with a start. She blinked her eyes, looking around in confusion. She wasn’t in her bed – the fact that she was dry gave that fact away, since she’d long ago submerged her cot in the tub to sleep in. She slowly sat up, taking in her surroundings.
She could hear a steady drip from overhead, echoing through the space she was in. Stalagmites and stalactites filled her view, so she knew immediately she was in a cave of sorts. Turning her head more she saw and recognized a sight that made her think she was still dreaming. Shrouded in darkness, a large tree choked out by a blood-red vine that disappeared among the branches.
“Jessika’s tree,” she murmured, half-asleep still. “Am I still dreaming?”
“If you are, this is one helluva weird dream,” came a voice beside her. Ana jumped, whipping her head around. A blue-skinned woman sat up, blinking sleepily. Her face was speckled with bright-blue spots, and her long blue hair fell down behind her and onto the ground. She looked around, and Ana could see her pointed ears for a moment, reminding her of an elezen. Though, this woman didn’t have the same lankiness to her; if anything, she was a blue hyur with pointed ears. Yet, Ana thought, she seemed familiar…
“Where are we,” she asked, looking at Ana again. “And why are you naked?”
Anafenza sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m always naked. You still have clothes on, don’t worry.”
The other woman looked down and back up, nodding, then looked back around the space. “Fair. What is this place?”
“I’ve only ever seen it in my dreams,” Ana admitted, still looking around. “I thought the tree represented my soul, and the vine was…a curse I had inherited.”
The blue woman’s eyes widened, and she gave a low whistle as she looked at the tree.
The two women sat in silence, not sure what to do next, not sure if they were dreaming or if this was real. Finally, Ana cleared her throat.
“Anafenza.”
The blue woman turned and looked at her in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
“My name,” she replied. “I’m Anafenza. Or just Ana.”
The blue woman nodded in acknowledgement, then offered a hand to Ana. “Jess. Jessica St. Peter, but you can call me –“
“Jessiy,” came a third voice, and the two women turned to look as a third woman stepped from behind the tree. Ana gasped – she was wearing black pants and a black top, the shoulders of which were white. A familiar arrow-shaped pendant was attached to her chest. But most striking was her resemblance to Jessica: blue skin, bright blue spots, blue hair and eyes. If not for the noticeable age difference, Ana would have guessed they were twins.
Jessica noticed the similarity too and gasped. “How…who…who are you?”
The third woman took a breath, offering a small smile. “Commander Jessica St. Peter.”
Anafenza and the first Jessica both went wide-eyed. The second Jessica shrugged.
Finally, the first Jessica – the younger of the two – coughed a laugh. “Well…if we’re not dreaming…what the hell is going on?”
More Posts from Stormscream and Others
Journal Entry 1
It’s been a while since the events that made me want to pick up paper and quill and start this diary. The scar is still there still seared to my side scales and all like i was born with it. it burns, sometimes. I react to events unfolding around me and it stings like it knows what is happening or --- more frieghtening, it remembers ---- events the blind elezen was exposed to
the dreams are less frequent now, thank the gods. the dark tree in the aether sea --- should I tell Lyta or Kerin??? other dreams come now, Nice dreams. Memories, they seem like, of another persons life. I dream about things about teri that i can’t remember ever knowing or doing -- surely theyre dreams yeah? of course they are
I want to tell Lyta I want to take the pledge and earn my mage name. Something with the water, of course. Aqua sounds nice...
I like this...
Reblog this if you’re okay with people sending unexpected IC asks to your muse at any time! No meme prompts needed!
The Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy 14 is so funny. Like there's nothing inherently hilarious, it's pretty standard Fantasy Hero fare, but it's just the epitome of it, because it never ends.
Imagine being a normal person in this world and you see this catgirl living down the street going about her business. One day she's out getting groceries, another she's practicing archery, another she goes on a date with her wife. Then the next day she slays a dragon god summoned from beyond time or some shit. And the next day she's going fishing. And you're not even impressed anymore. Because this person has been single-handedly protecting the world for years. But there's nothing else special about her. She's normal. She's getting the same groceries you are. She raises racing birds in her spare time. She destroyed a giant robot by herself yesterday. She's wearing a new scarf.
This...always this...
Do you ever get that feeling?
I feel like this a lot about my friends.
Conflux, Pt. 3
“So let me get this straight. You’re me…from the future?”
The elder Jessica – who, it had been decided upon by the three women, would be called “Commander” – shrugged and nodded, as if that wasn’t the best explanation. “Future Earth, yes, but I’d wager I was from a different universe, too. I have no idea if a ‘Paragon City’ even exists in my universe, but I’m pretty sure we don’t have living comic-book heroes in my world.”
The younger of the two – who asked to go by her hero name of “Stormscream,” but settled for “Stormy” when the other two women refused – shook her head. “I mean, sure, we have comics too, who doesn’t?” She ignored Ana raising her hand at this. “But you pretty much leapt right out of the television screen of one of my favorite science fiction shows!”
Anafenza struggled to keep up with the women, who spoke of a whole different world they both knew well: Earth. It was a planet, which she likened to her own Hydaelyn, though the majority of people there were “humans;” the Commander had called up a picture of one on the hand-held device she carried, and Ana had recognized the Hyur immediately.
Commander St. Peter had catalogued it as another similarity between the three women. The list was, admittedly, small. More was in common between the two Jessicas beyond their appearance, they discovered; both were orphans, both were adopted by a man named Jason, both loved the rain, they had similarly-named lovers. It was far too fantastic to be pure coincidence. Now they were comparing differences.
Commander St. Peter came from a future Earth, where she served in an exploratory service called “Starfleet” as a ship’s captain. She was an alien, adopted by a human, and was currently in command of the starship Rafale, a spaceship. Before waking in the cavern, she had been in her office on her ship, going over recent scans of a nearby system.
“Stormscream,” meanwhile, was nearly ten years younger, and already a registered hero in her home city, on a version of the same planet nearly four centuries earlier. She was a hyur, but what they called a “mutant” in her world. Anafenza listened with great interest and delight to discover it was this Jessica she’d dreamt of flying through the city and holding command over the weather; the girl was able to control the weather at will, and used her ability to call forth lightning to power her gauntlets and turn the energy into powerful blasts of sound. Unfortunately, the girl had just laid down to sleep herself as well; she was dressed only in loose cotton pants and shirt, without her armor and gauntlets.
Then it was Anafenza’s turn to talk. She swallowed hard. “I’m Anafenza, like I explained. My tribe is the Ejinn. I come from a world called Hydaelyn, the continent of Eorzea. I…am not anything really special,” she continued, and noticed both women eye each other skeptically. “Honest, I’m not. I bake, I clean, I love to swim, I can hold my breath for over a quarter bell, I love my friends but I can’t do anything to protect them…and for the past few weeks I’ve dreamt about both of you.” The other two just nodded at this revelation, taking the wind from Anafenza’s sails. She looked at the two of them in confusion. “You don’t…seem concerned by this?”
The Commander shrugged apologetically. “Truth be told…I was having dreams as the two of you, too.”
“Same,” Stormy admitted, blushing a little. “Which is why I thought this was still a dream.”
“Maybe it is,” Anafenza replied with a shrug. “Maybe we’re just figments of each others’ imaginations?”
“So who’s the dreamer?” Stormy asked.
Commander St. Peter sighed and shook her head. “Before we go in-depth in the psychological analysis of this, let’s just assume we’re all awake and here with one another…” She tapped the device in her hand – a “scanner,” she’d explained, and frowned. “It’s still pulling information from my ship’s computer…fascinating…”
Ana leaned towards Stormy. “Computer?”
“Yikes…you don’t have much technology where you come from?”
“Only the Garleans and ancient Allag…most of my people rely on magic and aether.”
“The computer is a piece of technology that can store, recall, and display information,” the Commander explained. “It’s a library, but it’s all stored in…energy, basically, instead of books.” She bit her lip, still reading her scanner, before snapping it closed. She tapped the arrowhead on her chest, eliciting a small chirp from the gold and silver brooch. “Oh, that’s a good sign.”
“What is,” Anafenza asked, confused.
She tapped the brooch again, and another chirp came out. “No error sound.”
Stormy snapped her fingers. “Your ship is still close enough to be received.” She pulled a black rectangle from the pocket of her pajama pants and tapped the front of it, making it light up. She blinked. “I…have a signal too, on my phone. It’s roaming, but I have a connection.” She looked up in confusion.
“Curious.” The Commander turned to Anafenza. “You don’t…have anyway to communicate with people on your world, do you?”
Ana tapped her horn, where a small pearl was embedded in the scales. “Linkpearls. They let us talk over distances with one another.” She tapped the pearl again, hearing it ring as it activated. She shook her head quickly in surprise. “Gods…it works!”
“How are all three of us still in range of wherever it was that we came from,” Stormy asked.
Commander St. Peter shook her head. “The only thing I can thing is that we’re somehow trapped in some sort of…pocket dimension. That exists simultaneously near all three of our starting points in time and space.”
Anafenza shook her head and huffed. “Speak plainly, please?”
Stormy giggled. “Pocket dimension, kinda like the nightclub? The Pocket D?”
The Commander and Anafenza both stared at Stormy; she lowered her head in awkward silence. “Apparently not…”
Commander St. Peter shook her head. “I have no idea why or how you could build anything in a pocket dimension. They’re highly unstable and short-lived.”
Anafenza didn’t like the sound of this. “Meaning?”
“Meaning, we only have a few hours, if even that long, to get out of here before this dimension collapses in on itself with us still inside.”
There was a stunned silence in the cavern, until Stormy cleared her throat. “Well, shit…”
A Guide to Sleeping With Anafenza
- She sleeps in a bathtub. She has a very large tub in her room, with a small hammock installed in it for her to sleep on. Being Ejinn, she’s able to hold her breath for very extended lengths, so even rolling in her sleep won’t immediately wake her up or cause her to panic from a lack of breath. Sleeping in the water reminds her of sleeping on the banks of the Great River with her family.
- She loves to snuggle. Despite the “water” bed, she also keeps a small mattress and blankets in another corner of the room for when she has company. She is already a very affectionate and contact-seeking individual, and the trend carries over into sleep (in the event she’s lucky enough to have someone wanting to sleep with her).
- She has vivid dreams. Sometimes they wake her; sometimes she stays asleep through the whole ordeal, sometimes believing these even visited other locations because of the clarity of the dreams. She began keeping a journal of her dreams, and will quickly record the events of her dreams in the journal before she forgets them.
- She can’t sleep on her back. Between the horns and her powerful tail, Anafenza is down-right pained when she’s on her back, and will avoid sleeping in that position by any means. On her side is ok as long as she has a pillow to support her neck, but mostly she sleeps on her stomach as a result (unless she’s in her tub; the hammock is easier to sleep on her back in).
- She likes to nap frequently. With all the exercise she gets swimming, Anafenza will nap throughout the day as well, which also means she rarely will sleep for a full six to eight bells: she just doesn’t need to given the sleep schedule she maintains.
Tagged by: @mercermachines ! <3 was fun, thanks!
Guilty or Innocent: Anafenza Ejinn
Asked someone to marry you?
“Well, no. I haven’t really had anyone that close. There was a time I thought maybe Kiratai would be the one I’d wind up with but...I’m not even sure that’s an option. Or if I really want to, either, I guess? I guess that matters, too.”
Kissed one of your friends?
“On the cheek? Plenty. Kissed like lovers? No. No one.”
Danced on a table in a bar / tavern?
“I think I did that one time in Ul’dah. But it was during the end shift at the cafe and we were cleaning up. Um...don’t tell Miss Sasari.”
Ever told a lie?
“Plenty. I feel like I still have to lie. Hells, I think I have to lie to myself just to justify waking up most mornings now. ‘It’s important that I’m there.’ I dunno.”
Had feelings for someone you can’t have?
She sighs and nods. “Twice. She abandoned me when she left the Tower and I haven’t heard from her in a long time. He...” She shakes her head again. “Let’s not talk about it. It’s been awful enough.”
Ever kissed someone of the same sex?
“I’m still assuming this is as lovers so...no. I have not. I think I would have liked to, once, but...nah.”
Kissed a picture?
She shakes her head in confusion. “Do people do that? Why? Next you’ll tell me people try swiving pictures, too. Wait...they do?”
Slept until 5pm?
“Gods, yes. When I’m sick mostly, but there were days in the other world when I had to stay awake for bloody days on end to play games with the Pixies...when I finally convinced them to see who could sleep the longest I’d sleep that late. Funny, I still never beat them in those games, either...”
Worked at a fast food chain / restaurant?
“I suppose the Cafe would count for that, so yeah. I can cook, I can bake, I can serve tables. It was fun. A lot of fun. I enjoy working for Miss Sasari and learning from her.”
Stolen something?
“Probably? If I did it was years ago; I haven’t stolen anything in recent memory. Cookies in the kitchen don’t count. Especially if you help bake them.”
Been fired from a job?
She stiffens and grumbles, then nods with a huff. “Yeah. It was horrible. Miss Sasari just left a note for me an’ Kiratai, said we were no longer needed by the Caravan. No reason why just...done.” She shakes her head. “Sasari came back and I asked her why she did it. She never told me. No one tells me anything. But she was back and offered me my job back, so I took it. It still hurt. It wasn’t just losing a job...I lost my family. And the timing of it too just...” She shakes her head sadly. “Next.”
Done something you regret?
She closes her eyes and nods, chuckling humorlessly. “Yeah. Actually telling people what I’m feeling. Didn’t do me any good. No one wants to hear it anyway. So now I get to lie to them and myself.” She puts on (an almost) genuine smile.
Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose?
“Oh gods, yes! Too many times to count, but milk? Uggh...that was never fun. It always seems to be milk.”
Caught a snowflake on your tongue?
She pauses, tilting her head. “I...have never tried that before. Can you do that? I should try that the next time I am in Ishgard!”
Sat on a rooftop?
“Uh, yes? It’s not that hard to do, it’s a great vantage point, and in the afternoon it’s a great place for sunning after a swim.”
Kissed someone you shouldn’t have?
She shakes her head. “I thought we already answered the kissing questions?”
Sang in the shower?
She laughs. “I mean...no? The few times I’ve taken a shower were in and out quickly. Bathing, I mean...I’ve hummed a song now and then, I suppose?”
Been pushed into a body of water with all your clothes on?
"Uh...yeah. That’s not that weird in my tribe. We do that all the time when we’re kids. It’s a large reason why I don’t really enjoy wearing clothes - they’re hard to swim in.”
Shaved your head?
She shakes her head. “No way. Why would I do that?"
Made a boyfriend / girlfriend cry?
"That would probably require a boyfriend or girlfriend first so...no.”
Shot a gun?
"I have not, but I do want to learn. I’m not sure if Sasari or Mercer would still teach me, but I would like to learn.”
Still loved someone you shouldn’t?
She hangs her head. “Probably easier to say that I don’t love them anymore. Those bridges were taken out by the floods and even if they are rebuilt...no. I don’t love any of them anymore.” She sighs, before looking up.
Have / had a tattoo?
She smiles a little and shrugs. “Thought about it, when Llaine went and adopted me into her family. But she left before I could do it.”
Liked someone, but will never tell who?
“My problem was I did tell him. Now? I don’t think I’d tell a soul anymore.”
Been too honest?
"Yep. And look at all the good it’s done for me.”
Ruined a surprise?
“I...don’t think so? I’m usually good about keeping a secret.”
Been told that you’re beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said?
She bites her lip and sighs, looking away. “No. No, I haven’t. I wouldn’t know what that’s like.” She turns back and smiles. “Oh well.”
Stalked someone?
She shakes her head. “No. Don’t know why I would.”
Thought about murder?
“Certainly. Plenty of times. I’ve even done it. It’s why it confuses me so much and makes me so angry when I’m asking for restraint and everyone looks at me like I’m the naive one that needs to learn better.”
How about mass murder?
"Um...no. Definitely not.”
Cheated on someone?
She shakes her head. “No. No one I could cheat on anyway.”
Gotten so angry that you cried?
“Plenty. More than I ever cared to. Not sure I’m done, either.”
Tried to stay away from someone for their own good?
She shakes her head. “Not even for my own good. I probably should have tried. I didn’t know I needed to. It was stupid. I know better now.”
Thoughts about suicide?
She looks away silently, then shakes her head. “I’d rather not...start telling the truth now.”
Had a girlfriend / boyfriend?
“No. Would have liked to. Don’t think I will.”
Gotten totally drunk during a holiday?
She finally laughs. “Sure. Plenty of reasons to celebrate in the Caravan, and then here for all the holidays Eorzeans celebrate...it’s fun.” Tagged by: @mercermachines :) Thanks for the tag! Tagging: @little-purple-thundercloud; @steelcarbuncle; @eightswordsparrow; and of course anyone else (if anyone else even reads this blog, lol) :)
Hello! If you’re an active Final Fantasy XIV blog — roleplaying, aesthetic, etc. — could you please reblog this post? It’ll serve as a reference point for people who are looking for new blogs to follow to see who is active from April 1st (not a fool’s joke, I assure you!) and onward!
Sometimes suffering is just suffering. It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t build character. It only hurts.
Kate Jacobs (via quotemadness)
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