voidtreckerexpress | I know you, but not quite

Entry tags:

I know you, but not quite

Who: Hythlodaeus, Emet-Selch, Aelienor
Where: Kitchen!
When: Before the event
What: Some people feel emotions, and others a wary of them - meeting another Warrior of Light
Warnings: Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker spoilers very likely.

There is a lot to discover about the train, and the history of Hades's stay on it, not to mention Hades's now-long history without him. On the brighter side, whether he is willing to speak about some thing or not, Hades is ... content to be near him as much as Hythlodaeus may wish, and for the moment, that is more than enough for him to be content.

Then again, while the want for information may wait, the want for food is rather more regular.

So the two of them are in the kitchen car, his Sight open to try and gauge how exactly to use some of the appliances, when a very familiar soul wanders close, and he looks up with anticipating smile.

It turns out to be one of the two versions of this soul that he knows, and he smiles brightly at her.

"Aelienor! Good day!"

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The train had been a Lot to get used to, largely because the technology level was something she'd only ever seen before in Garlean strongholds and Allagan ruins. Still, she'd managed enough to at least be able to make food on her own schedule, and so when she'd decided she was hungry, it was off to the kitchen, her carbuncle and Wind-Up Haurchefant trailing behind her.

The familiar voice greeting her brings a smile to her own face, as she lifts a hand in greeting. Though she'd missed him dearly, she'd known Hades would have missed him even more, and had opted to give them some space.

"Hiya, Hyth. Good to-" Speaking of the Ascian. She catches sight of Hades, and her smile takes on a brief nervous tint before she ushers her reaction under the metaphorical rug. "...see ya. Makin' yerselves some lunch, I take it?"

Emet-Selch has been enjoying the familiar warmth and companionship of his fellow; his friend is back, and the genuine warmth that he feels has been keeping him feeling somewhat afloat with it. It has been some time since he has felt such casual, gentle happiness, and there has been little to distract him from it.

Turning his head to the entrance, Emet-Selch regards the newcomer; clearly another Warrior, as was mentioned previously, but not one that he is aware of. It is strange to think one Warrior should leave for another to come, but he has learned to best not question the train itself - it is a needless, thankless task.

Nodding, he flicks a glance to Hythlodaeus, letting him carry on the conversation as he turns back to their food.

Hythlodaeus's eyes happen to glance at her just as her smile wavers, and, ah.

"Well, I will be, once I'm sure I won't break something by chance. Hungry, yourself?"

A quick smile at Hades.

"This is Aelienor Estienie, who greeted me first on the platform. 'twas clear she had met us both before, on the other hand."

As Pahja had.

For a moment, she considers leaving and coming back later, but then Hythlodaeus takes it upon himself to introduce her. Hades doesn't seem interested in talking one way or the other, but that doesn't say much, as she can easily imagine him being as loathe to interrupt meals for pleasantries as he is to have his sleep interrupted. It's not an indication that he wants it to stay, but nor is it a sign that he wants nothing to do with her.

She takes a quiet breath, and nods. Might as well get this over with.

"I'm sure I don't have to explain who I am, 'least not to ye. An' yeah, I figured I'd grab a bite to eat, even if'n the variety seems a bit lackin'."

“There is no need to explain, no.”

Emet-Selch is well versed in reading the souls of Warriors, now, both his own and the strangers he has met here on the train. He does not need to guess and question who she is no more than she might need to do for himself - though he does not doubt she knows him more than he would her.

He flicks a look at Hythlodaeus and shrugs a shoulder absently. He’s hardly offended by company.

“Help yourself and I shall finish my own preparations.”

Having seen Hades with Pahja, and having known Hades with Azem, this ... well, not indifference, as Hades does not go cold with Alienor's mere presence, but it is hardly a warm welcome, well. It makes him blink slightly and focus on the microwave he is exploring ~~save him~~, making notes to himself that there is a lot to catch up on, though he is uncertain if he should ask when they are both near.

Well.

"Are such things what you are both familiar with, or did you only encounter them here on the train?"

No awkward silence on his watch.

It's not an outright refusal of her company, as she'd feared she might face, but it's a far cry from the interest he'd shown in the First. Her eyes linger on Hades for a moment, before she turns away to browse the recipes on the kitchen ICP.

"Only ever saw most o' this shite in ruins or military bases. Coffee maker's not too dif'rent from what the folks at the Ironworks use, though."

No awkward silence, perhaps, but that doesn't mean the chatter won't be awkward itself.

It is simply that he does not know her, and he is as reasonable with her as he was with the other Warriors that he had met here. Their souls have an echo of something familiar, but it is not the same as his familiarity with Pahja's soul in itself.

He does not necessarily mean to be cruel; he simply has no reason to be overly affectionate with someone he has yet to know.

"I've had little room to experiment," he admits, voice low and quiet. "While some technology existed in the Empire, I cannot say that I knew it well. 'Tis almost a shame that I did not get to experience it."

And Hades will hardly be surprised that, rather than the distance and wariness, after getting to know Pahja, Hythlodaeus will instead embrace and cherish all hose echoes of their Azem. Similar yet different, he has no doubt, and thus he is eager to know how, on both counts.

But he did not dub Hades cruel, and is unlikely to do so. Well does he know that Hades is warier of strangers, and that there is so much history between Hades and the Warrior of Light that he has barely grazed the surface of.

"Ah... because an Emperor is not supposed to prepare food for himself?" His eye crinkle, but the tease is very gentle. Pahja told him about that title when she was telling him about trains, and he is still a little incredulous... and fully aware it must have cost Hades. Everything he did must have cost him.

His question is again to both of them. "So, now, here, do you like it?"

Vaguely, she had hoped to be met with curiosity even if he didn't know her. It had, however, been a weak hope. Hades wasn't the sociable sort even before everything he'd suffered. Surely he has a rapport with one of the Azem shards who were already here, so what reason would he have to care at all to get to know her?

A response to his comment about not having had room to experiment springs to mind as her eyes glaze over recipes she's already read, but she hesitates as she wonders if being playful toward him is worth it when her spot is already taken. Hythlodaeus then makes a remark similar to the one she'd had in mind, and her attention shifts to his question.

"Been a lot to get used to. Last time I was on a train, It was stowin' away to sneak into the mess Fandaniel made o' the Garlean palace. An' the time afore that, it was full o' ghosts an' tryin' to kill me." Okay, that time had technically been a simulation of the train, but still. "Ye can imagine neither o' them had luxuries like a spa or music hall. Overwhelmin' as it's been, though, kinda nice to have places to relax."

"I was only an emperor for a short time in mortal terms," Emet-Selch scoffs, shaking his head. It's not as if he had been master of the realm for many long years - just enough to create it, to give it flesh, and sow the seeds of chaos and discontent in the ranks. Enough to try and bring some form of devastation in its wake.

He had almost been successful.

"Fandaniel has oft done little but cause a mess wherever it is that he might go," he scoffs quietly, shaking his head and stepping away to lean against a wall. "It does not surprise me at all that his machinations continued to be without real success."

Shaking his head, he tilts his head back and closes his eyes.

"The library and entertainment areas are where I have best used my time. I have always enjoyed a well spun tale."

Hythlodaeus has just figured out the microwave's timer, so his side look and smirk and quiet, "I'll ask for recommendations, then," at Hades is punctuated by the DING of it. Give him a moment and he'll actually warm up something, too. One thing at a time.

But what Aelienor has said makes him purse his lips slightly.

"Fandaniel. I would ask if he has truly changed so much, but... I do remember what happened." And, if Aelienor considers back, Hades's behavior is pointedly less hostile than it was towards the shard they met in Elpis. There are no pointed barbs, and no outright incitement to leave them alone. It takes time and experience for him to warm up, and while they know her for what she is, her as an individual is still a stranger to them.

Wait.

"... was that when you ended up on the moon? If what happened was similar to our version of events, you would have met me then."

He remembers Fandaniel approaching, and what happened after.

Ah.

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I know you, but not quite

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