Miina Malina and Ranbu no Izayoi
Later that evening, both Madis and Miina sat in the former’s tent, enjoying a cup of herbal tea after a hearty dinner of roasted beast shank. Once they were finished, Madis lowered his cup, still sat cross-legged as he simply stared Miina down for several moments, an unreadable expression on his face.
”...Damn it.” He sighed, closing his eyes as he raised a hand to palm his forehead.
”I’m glad you’re safe, Miina. But this is no small amount of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into. All for what, a trace of a boy years gone? And I suppose you haven’t tracked M’zeke down, either.”Miina’s tail flicked a few times, the girl glowering over the cup at her father. As if staying out would have saved them any of this trouble; she’d never been stupid enough to tell anybody
exactly which tribe she came from. Not even now, and if everyone still had a brain they’d relocate just in case. The only trouble they were in was if the Templars blundered in within the next few days, otherwise, the Blight would have gotten them all the same. “I n-n-nearly
did. T-Tracked him to Osprey, th-then back to D-Drana. He’s probably in Skael or Esdren now. And s-someone needs to stop the B-B-Blight.”
“And it’s not like
you l-l-let go of your big sister either.” She’d seen his reaction to Izayoi – and wasn’t that one a bizarre thought, she had another cousin! And had ogled her cousin. And part of her still wanted to – and while her father hadn’t gone on a trip around
half the continent, to her knowledge, he’d refused to let go either.
”That’s different.” The reply was almost automatic for how quick it came, and Madis scowled, pouring himself another cup of tea.
”Your aunt wasn’t meant to leave, by right and custom.” His face fell slightly as he stared down into the beverage, taking in the steam.
”I had hoped she’d still be living happily, even now. To think that it was all moot for a quarter of a century. In any case,” He raised the tea to his lips for a slow sip before continuing on.
”I can’t make you stay. You’re sure you won’t reconsider?”Miina took a drink of her own, expression cloudy, “
D-D-Definitely not. They don’t have any other m-m-mage now, and the B-Blight is as bad for here as anywhere.”
Heh, but that aside, ever the hypocrite. Her aunt wasn’t meant to leave, so it was fine to worry, even though
he had to leave in the end and they would have been separated all the same. So what if he should have known where to find his sister? That wasn’t so different from Miina’s goal, was it?
“After… m-m-maybe. Cities are confusing, the l-l-laws don’t make
sense, and it’s t-t-too loud. But… I want to know where m-my brother
is. And the travelling is n-n-nice,” the smaller redhead continued. And she was never going to settle for a perfect, secluded life here, either; marrying was out of the cards and it would be a waste to finally get some actual proficiency in magic and waste it on
bears.
Maybe there’d be something out there that would get her to stop coming back here? A lot of the things she liked were just
things, and she could just go collect them at any time. Maybe even easier, if she learned the right spell, surely? There had to be
something beyond the Exit materia.
”Fine, fine.” Her father sighed, giving in more quickly than one would expect.
”You’ll always have a place here, of course. You’re one of us, no matter what. But even if you do find that son of mine, by custom, he has no place here unless he supplants me. Is that understood?”“Absolutely.” All messages received, loud and clear. It was the story of their relationship her entire life: enough attention to fulfill the role, yet not the slightest effort put in to actually
care. And the old man had the gall to wonder why she was so invested in finding her brother or focusing on the good of the world rather than
just her home.
She owed him just enough to not hold the knife if Zeke ever chose to come home, that was all.
Miina finished her drink in silence, gently placing the cup down and uncrossing her legs in one smooth motion. Who to look for… she had business with Éliane but that could wait a little longer. Izayoi, then. It was just a matter of finding the older woman and out here nobody was going to hide from her for long.
It didn’t take long for Izayoi to be found. The elder of the two mystrel stood at the outskirts of camp, rapidly working through sword kata. Compared to the weeks they’d been in Osprey, Izayoi seemed swifter, more precise. More true to the legends surrounding her, even if not fully so yet.
Upon sheathing her sword at the end of a successful ten-hit combination, Izayoi turned to Miina, having noticed her halfway through but not stopped. She wiped a few drops of sweat from her brow, offering a curt nod.
”...Ought I refer to you as ‘Cousin’ now?”That swordplay… it was so entrancing to see it in motion. Still, that was half the problem, and part of why she needed this conversation. “Mmm… it’s n-n-not necessary. I’m used to having c-cousins, at least on the other s-side.”
She looked around a bit, then pointed to another girl just within view, lounging on a tree branch and whittling away at something. Another redhead, which wasn’t altogether unsurprising for this particular group, but it was a distinctly browner shade than Miina’s. “Kiira there’s the closest n-now, her younger b-brother is my age.”
Miina leant back against one of the omnipresent trees, fiddling with a vine growing around its trunk. “I’d s-say this shouldn’t ch-change anything, b-but… w-well, I owe you an apology. F-For all the staring.”
Well… that was probably owed regardless, she’d never been exactly… subtle. But it was also something that seemed to annoy the settled folk
more? The degree of relationship, that was. But she’d not really gotten a firm grasp on it, and Osprey’s attitude… it was hard to say.
Izayoi politely followed Miina’s gaze to her own, and she supposed Izayoi’s as well now, aforementioned cousins, listening all the while. She folded her arms, raising an eyebrow at the apology.
”I’d think it would have been warranted, regardless if we were family or not.” She remarked wryly, mild amusement in her tone.
”It would change little within Osprey as well, considering that there is little taboo among cousins there. Especially among the upper class. Though I’m sorry to inform you that I’ve no interest in women in that way, especially for one over a decade my junior.” Really, the fact that she had to state this twice now in as many weeks was just a headache.
”In truth, I believe I owe you an apology. My rejection of your father’s offer was not meant as a slight against yourself or your tribe. But I am not my mother. I hardly remember my mother.”“I know, I kn-know…” Miina said, sighing, “I j-just… didn’t want to risk this m-m-making it a problem after all.”
“I never knew my m-mother either,” she added after a pause, looking back towards the camp, “All I ever had were stories. Th-They weren’t the same, b-b-but Zeke would do his best, and everyone else would l-let me know what they could. I think you should d-d-do the same while you’re here? D-Dad
was b-born here… it might be nice to know. N-Not many girls would leave here for Osprey. And if y-you do, you might get some m-more supplies, heh. Especially from Dad. He’s… n-not a bad man, just a terrible father.”
The less they had to spend or trade on supplies, the better. To a degree, after all, Miina could just take what she needed, but it did mean she’d be spending her time here helping out and doing what she was best at, same as ever. Izayoi could get some of that same invitation, without the immediate expectation of reciprocity.
The samurai nodded in sympathy at Miina’s mention of her mother, but pursed her lips at the suggestion given.
”The idea has merit.” She allowed begrudgingly.
”And I likely will do as you’ve said. Though I find the idea of feigning interest in a topic that interests me little for material gain distasteful. But if it is for the benefit of our group, then there is little debate to be had with myself.”Hm… well, Miina doubted that Izayoi would be swayed further by arguments of not missing out on something she might regret later. The two of them had taken very different approaches to their familial losses – obviously, that one of Miina’s had been only
partially impossible was a player, there…
Maybe one day she should ask the older woman about that. It was a sore point, but family
did matter, even extended, to her. It made what they were doing more personal. Just a little bit.
“Well, there’s n-not much else for you to do,” she settled on in the end, “C-Constant training needs breaks.”
Maybe she could use magic to skip over that; it was an interesting idea for her own usage… but Miina couldn’t exactly spend the time acting as a personal medic when the entire extended village would need her; the skill was hardly that common.
”If I wished to know more of our shared blood, I ought to ask you instead. Not someone whom can only see my mother when they look at me.” Izayoi stared at Miina for a moment, tilting her head in thought.
”Does sibling obsession run in the blood?” A beat passed.
”A jest, forgive me. Still, if you would care to at some point, I would not be opposed to hearing of our heritage from you, when there is an opportunity.”Did it run in families? Well, evidence suggested it might, but maybe that was just the downside of a cultural prerogative to split them so often—
Miina couldn’t help pouting when Izayoi said she was joking.
“Mmm… I c-can tell you about everyone else,” she eventually said with a nod, pushing away from the tree. “N-N-Not now, though. Need to talk t-to Éliane, and help out…”
Izayoi nodded, patting Miina’s shoulder briefly as she passed by her, walking off back toward camp.
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