Homesickness

It had been almost 3 weeks since Melanie's soul had been snatched from her body on Earth and arrived in the body of her alter ego, M'leineya Leoh.  As unreal as it seemed Melanie was finally accepting that this wasn't some kind of dream.  She had long dreams before but never anything that lasted days and was as linear as this, and it felt too real to be a dream.  Either this was something so real and completely out of the ordinary or this was a version of the afterlife.  She hadn't completely ruled out the latter as a possibility as if this was some kind of test before she could properly move on.  Either way, she was very far from home and it didn't look like she was going to return back any time soon.

Despite having met new friends and going on adventures she never imagined herself ever doing when she was back on Earth, she still felt a longing for home and wondering what had become of her husband Tony.  She couldn't help but worry about what he must be thinking and feeling.  She could only imagine that her body was in some kind of coma like the Scions at Revenant's Toll.  They may not have communicated much the past couple of years but Tony must be worried sick and wondering what had befallen on his wife to have put her in a coma.

She started to feel sorry for having wasted the past few years away not giving her husband any proper attention nor doing her part of the chores around the house.  If only she could see him now she would run into his arms and beg his forgiveness and seek help to become a better wife.  She would get help with her weight issues, spend less time indoors hiding away in her little room and actually go on proper adventures with Tony - not just wandering around a local park or doing their weekend shopping at the local shops, but really travelling beyond her comfort zone into countries she'd only seen pictures of and discovering what else was out there she'd never seen and for once really live.

Melanie rolled onto her stomach on her bed and began to cry into a pillow.  "I want to go home, I want to go home!" she wailed and sobbed.  After a few moments had passed she slowly lifted her head from the pillow.  To her dismay nothing had changed, she was still at the inn in Gridania.  She sniffled and sat up on her bed, pushing away the tear soaked pillow and wiping her face dry with the back of her sleeves.  Someone must've heard her sobbing as there was a gentle knock on the door followed by a familiar man's voice.  "Brovola, are you ok in there?"

Melanie took in a few deep breathes to compose herself and walked over to the door.  Reubemont was waiting anxiously with a worried look on his face as she slowly opened the door to her room.  "Is everything ok?" he asked, then he saw her tear-stained face.  "You've been crying!" he gasped pushing the door slightly.

"No, it's ok, it was just a bad dream" Melanie stumbled, grasping the door tightly to stop him from pushing it open further.

"Are you sure?  Do you want to talk about it?" he asked in a reassuring voice.

"I, uh..." Melanie stammered, feeling tears starting to well up in her eyes again.  Quickly she wiped them away with the back of her hand and took in another slow and deep breath.

Reubemont reached in through the gap in the door to her hand and gently smiled at her.  "Come on, let's get you out of this room and have a cup of sweet tea at the canopy.  I heard they've imported a fresh batch of leaves in this morning" he said.  Before she knew it Reubemont was leading her away from her room and over to the main part of the canopy which was oddly quiet for this time of day.  Melanie also noticed none of the other team mates were around either.

"Where are the others?" she asked a little confused as she glanced around the room.

"They all left earlier this morning.  They all had plans to do whilst in Gridania so we agreed to meet up later" Reubemont replied as he helped her to sit down at a small unoccupied table.

"Oh, wait what???  What time is it?" Melanie gasped suddenly realising why it was now so quiet in the canopy.

"Nearly an hour to lunch" Reubemont said cheerily leaning against a counter.  "One pot of afternoon tea for two please" he said turning his head around to the inkeeper who was awaiting his order from behind the counter.  Within a few moments Reubemont was handed over a tray with a pot of steaming hot tea and a light refreshment of cookies, muffins, and a couple of small individual cakes.

Melanie barely noticed the feast as her mind was still elsewhere wondering how she managed to miss the entire morning.  "How come nobody tried to wake me?" she asked.

"We figured you maybe were too tired after yesterday's sparring practices so we thought we'd let you sleep it over" he replied, laying the tray down gently onto the table and started to pour out the tea into 2 individual cuips.  He handed one over to Melanie who gently took a sip and then stared at the cup startled at the taste.

"Eh, what tea is this?" she asked staring at the yellowish liquid.

"Oh, that's chamomile" Reubemont replied.  "Don't you like it?"

"Mmm, it's not quite to my liking, but I'll manage" she said placing the cup back down onto a small saucer.

Reubemont handed over a small brown bowl to her.  "Here, try some of this maple sugar, it'll help sweeten the taste."  Melanie took the bowl and dropped a teaspoon of the sugar into her cup and gave it a stir, then took another sip.  It still wasn't quite to her liking but it was now a bit more palatable.  She placed the cup back down again and stared at it.

As Reubemont watched he sensed that she wasn't much in a talkative mood about what happened in her room earlier.  "You don't have to talk about it" he said to her in a soft and quiet voice.

"Huh?" Melanie looked up a little confused.

"Your dream.  You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to" he repeated.  "After all it's just a dream, right?"

"Oh...yeah..." Melanie replied looking away.

Reubemont smiled and handed over a small plate with one of the cakes.  Melanie glanced back up at the cake and then at Reubemont.  Seeing him smile made her start to feel warm inside and she could feel her cheeks starting to burn and a slight flutter in her chest.  "I wish Tony was more like this man, understanding and caring.  Man, what was I thinking earlier, why would I want to go back home?  Even if I did grovel before him and vowed to change Tony would never change himself.  He'd still be the selfish and careless man he's always been, never giving any time to try to listen or even understand me or how I feel or making any kind of gestures to make me feel special.  I'd be still just as depressed as ever and stuck in my own time loop of playing fantasy games just to pass time and feeling some sense of worth."

Melanie smiled back as she took the small plate from Reubemont and breathed in the cake's scent.  It was sweet with a strong smell of glazed pineapple that made her mouth start to water and she couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it.  She took a bite into the cake and closed her eyes, embracing the sweet and tangy dance that was taking place in her mouth.  Already she had forgotten about why she was crying earlier and could only think about how sweet and moist the cake was in her mouth.

Reubemont could see that she was starting to look and feel better and could barely contain his own happiness.  He picked up the other cake and took a bite into it and for a moment was dazzled by the taste.  "Oh wow" he said with his mouth still full.  "This is the best ponzecake ever!"

"Mmmm" Melanie moaned with her eyes still closed and her mouth full of cake.  Even in her more youthful days when she made her first ever pineapple upside down cake in school it tasted nothing in comparison to this.

"Ooh, mind if I try some?" Holskwyb's voice towered above them.  Melanie opened her eyes and handed her small plate over to her and Holskwyb took a small bite from the cake.  "Oh wow you're right, this is good!" she said, raising her hand to her lips to stop the crumbs from falling out of her mouth.

"I thought you were tending to some local business?" Reubemont said as he swallowed down another piece of the cake.

"I did" Holskwyb replied taking a seat next to them.  "I'd been asking around the locals to try to find out more about the Dark Jekyll."

"Did you find anything about him?" Melanie asked eagerly.

"Unfortunately no.  There wasn't much to go by other than he was a dark figure who appeared late at night carrying the two bodies and he disappeared as quickly as he arrived without a trace.  Some locals think he might be from an offshoot band of assassins from the northern reaches of La Noscea but there's nothing notable to say if he is, so at the moment it's all heresay.  It's like he just appeared and then vanished without so much of a clue other than his calling card with his handle.  I hoped I might get a glimpse of that note myself to see if there was any clues as to where it originated from but the authorities here are keeping it under lock and key and are refusing 'novice adventurers like us' from even taking a look at it."

"That's annoying" Reubemont said as he wiped away the last of the crumbs of the cake from the corners of his lips with a napkin.

"It would seem that the Elder Seedseer is making damned sure that we don't go prying into areas that she doesn't want us to'" Melanie said before taking a final bite into her cake.

"Yeah, it seems that way" Holskyb said with a frustrated sigh, folding her arms and kicking herself backwards on her seat.

"Maybe we should check in at Limsa Lominsa once everyone's done here.  We could look up for any jobs on offer and maybe find some more intel over there about the Dark Jekyll since everyone seems so confident he's from around that region" Reubemont said, placing his napkin down onto the now empty plate.

"Yeah, what are the others up to?" Melanie asked curiously.

"Johnas went to meet up with his mentor for some further training, and as for Suyaya she went to check in on some family members" Reubemont replied.

"Oh" Melanie sat back.  She looked over at her now cold tea and let out a dejected sigh.

"I guess you really didn't like the chamomile tea, huh?" Reubemont said seeing her looking unhappily at the teacup.

"It's just awful" Melanie chuckled lightly.

"Yeah yeah, I get it.  Not everyone's into chamomile" he said with a slight grin. "At least the cake was good though?"

Melanie nodded and chuckled some more, leaving Reubemont feeling happy to see her smiliing and laughing again.  "She really is pretty when she smiles" he thought to himself.  "This is how I want to remember all of my friends - smiling and laughing.  We man not always have reason to smile and laugh every day, but for now today is a day for smiling."

Not Our Problem

Nophica's Altar was more beautiful and tranquil in person than it was in the game.  Standing in the center of a gentle running stream below a series of small low waterfalls was a meeting area made of small pebbles and round stepping stones, and at the heart of the meeting area a round stone table with 3 uniquely shaped chairs arranged in a triangle.  Standing behind them was the Elder Seedseer herself and her most trusted guardians.  Her face furrowed as Melanie and her friends approached the table.

Looking beyond the group the Seedseer nodded to the escort that led Melanie and her friends into the sacred grounds, and with that the escort left the area.  Satisfied they were all alone the Seedseer then proceeded to speak out.

"Normally I would be more welcoming to guests in my sanctuary, but you have been more troublesome than the average visitor.  You have sown chaos amongst my people, almost brought Gridania to a stand still, and avoided apprehension by fleeing the city."  The Seedseer closed her eyes and shook her head in dismay.  "But never-the-less, your actions stirred an emotion that's been smouldering in the hearts of my people for many moons and it was only a matter of time before the spark would become ignited.  As Seedseer I feel I have failed in my duties and promises to bringing unity to all people both born on Gridanian soil and those who've made Gridania their home.  This disturbance is a testimony to my failed duties and thus I have been forced to take quick action to ensure stability within Gridania."

Melanie and Reubemont's eyes opened wide in surprise at the Seedseer's words.  "You can't mean to say you employed the Dark Jekyll to strike down those soldiers?!" Reubemont gasped in disbelief.

At those words the Seedseer opened her eyes and glared at Reubemont.  "I did no such thing!" she said in a quick and sharp voice.  "Whilst this Dark Jekyll has indeed been paramount in settling the more easily riled youth from creating more disturbances, their arrival and actions are purely of their own accord and not endorsed in any way by myself or my council.  Should they make another unwanted appearance in the city my guards will handle the situation, and if it calls for it I'll enlist the adventurer's guild to put out a bounty on their arrest."  Her voice and gaze started to become more sterner.  "That is to say I do not want for random people to come into my city and taking matters into their own hands without due permission and that also includes you, do I make myself clear?"

Melanie and her team lowered their heads submissively and nodded.  Satisfied that they had understood the Seedseer took a calming breath and straightened her face a little.  "Now that that's out of the way, I will remind you that as adventurers you are still welcome to take on tasks that are submitted to the adventurer's guild and also any random requests offered by the citizens of Gridania, within reason of course.  But one more step out of line and you will no longer be welcome on Gridanian soil.  Now get out of my sight and let's hope that our next encounter does not involve me banishing you all from Gridania."

Reubemont bowed his head further and led his team out of the enclave.  Before leaving Melanie glanced up at the Seedseer only to see her eyes glaring down at her.  Melanie felt a shudder down her spine and lowered her gaze before turning away and following her friends.  Silently they made their way back down to the Carline Canopy and once they found a table Reubemont slumped into one of the surrounding stools.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that coming.  To be honest I expected far worse" he said wiping his brow.

"I'm just glad we weren't all banished from Gridania right there and then.  After all this is mine and Johnas's home" Suyaya said as she hopped onto a seat next to him.

"I'm still curious about who this Dark Jekyll character is" Holskwyb said leaning her back up against a wall behind her.  "They're definitely the talk of the city.  If the Gridanian council didn't employ them then who are they and why did they get so involved in this?"

"Brovola and I have come up with the conclusion that they may be the same person who was at The Golden Saucer the other night" Reubemont replied to her.  Holskwyb looked at him confused along with the rest of the team.  "Ah, it's probably best if Brovola tells you herself, if that's ok?" he said turning to Melanie.

Melanie nodded and pulled her stool further into the table so she could lean forward.  "There's not much to say other than a man hiding in the shadows caught me off guard whilst I was alone and said something about cleaning up our mess.  At first I had no idea what he was talking about until we arrived in Gridania, but now I'm fairly confident that the man who confronted me and the Dark Jekyll are the same person" Melanie answered.

"He confronted you whilst we were at The Golden Saucer?  Why didn't you say anything?!" Suyaya said, her eyes showing a mixture of emotions that her comrades would choose to suffer in silence whilst she was oblivious to their suffering.

"No offense, but you were in no fit state to have done anything had I mentioned it at the time" Melanie said to her.  "Besides you were all having fun and I didn't want to spoil the mood."

"That's no excuse" Holskwyb butted in.  "If you feel you're under threat or in any kind of danger then you bring us all into the picture, whether we're too drunk or having fun or otherwise.  We're a team and we face things together, not just on our own."  Holskwyb then turned to Reubemont.  "And Reubemont, I'm surprised you too didn't say anything.  Wasn't it you who first said those words to us once or had you forgottten we're in this together?" she said with a stern look on her face.

"I, err, I thought it best that I kept Brovola's confidence until she felt like talking about it first" he stammered trying to avoid everyone elses' gaze.

Holskwyb smirked a little.  "Relax Reuby, I was jesting a little and I'm glad she came to you first" she said in a joking voice, then she turned her face back to Melanie with a slightly more earnest look.  "But truthfully, if you feel unsafe in any way then you need to let us all know so we can all face it together, because that's what being a team is all about" she said to her.

Melanide glanced up with a rather sheepish smile.  "Oh, if only I could tell you of my serect then it would be so much easier not having to live every day lying to you and to myself" she thought to herself.

----

The rest of the day had gone smoothly with no further issues.  Reubemont scoured the list of offers pinned up on the bulletin board at the Carline Canopy but found nothing there that his team were capable of facing, so instead they settled for some sparring and target practicing at the nearby target dummies.

Normally Melanie wouldn't involve herself in spars or anything labelled as PvP since she feared her own inadequacies, but this was more than just battling out against another person to flex over who was more stronger.  By seeing how each person fought they were able to spot flaws and weaknesses in each other and discuss on methods of improvement and practice on it.  Besides Melanie knew that eventually they would have to face arms against other people and there'd be no way to talk herself out of fighting them even if it was against her moral standards, so she'd have to learn to be more receptive to duking it out with others whether she liked it or not.

Despite having been nicked a few times during the sparring sessions Melanie noticed that she didn't feel the pain nearly as much as she anticipated and that her reactions to pain were out of expectation rather than actual pain.  Once she realised this she became less reactive to the minor nicks and scratches and was more able to focus on her combat skills.  Besides, there was always Suyaya to heal her wounds if they became too numerous or severe enough to do any actual damage.

Reubemont was happy to see his comrades once again laughing and smiling and flexing at each other and showing off their prowess.  They had made great strides together, and they had also stumbled together, but those stumbles had only made them grow more stronger.  He remembered back as a child the several times that he had stumbled and almost completely given up.  Were it not for his promises and his sister he would've probably caved in and deemed himself unfit to be a fighter.  And that man...the silver haired man in blue dragonscale that he remembered as a child.  He knew that by now whoever that man was would be a seasoned fighter and no doubts still in conflict against the dragons in the northern lands.  For years he longed to cross paths with him on his adventures to let him know he'd been lied to if only to quell his hatred towards the dragons just a little and not blame them for his mother's death.  "Perhaps some day we'll meet and I'll help ease your soul" he thought to himself.