A Pit Where the Soul Is.

Okiku Ketsueki steps into the abode, eyes wandering about their wooden surroundings. Okiku smiled, appreciating the nature of the place—it seeming very like the conjurer she swore to. Although she tried to move quietly, the heavy steps of metal creaked—her subtlety that of an aldgoat.
Okiku Ketsueki: "Tieve...?" She calls out, hushed to not disturb the plants as she makes her way down, but loud enough to be heard through the house's dim silence.
Okiku Ketsueki blinks back at the lights, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Tieve Corwell is heard breathing with some measure of difficulty— Somewhere. It ceases as she hears Okiku, however. "...Okiku?" Curious and surprised, but a touch broken. She isn't heard moving. "Don't..."
Tieve Corwell: "Don't come any closer."

Okiku Ketsueki was halfway through unpacking her weapons, having set down her shield. The woman's hand freezes on the hilt of her sword, blinking at the response.
Okiku Ketsueki: "...Where are you? Are you hurt?" She asks, urgency in her tone—a struggle to remain gentle and calm.
Okiku Ketsueki is staring through the small expanse of the house, wide-eyed.

Tieve Corwell: "...I'm fine," she seems to regain some semblance of composure in her tone. She reaches up to wipe her nose and her eyes, as quietly as she can muster. "I'm just not properly dressed, you see?"

Okiku Ketsueki blinks at that, eyes closing. "...Decency, then?" She says, though the words come out with an audible sense of doubt, yet it's something she doesn't press. A trust they've shared before with their secrets.
Okiku Ketsueki: "I can go, if you'd like—I've flowers though, I thought them better in your care... a gift, as they are those respected by my own people." She says in a whisper through the halls.
Okiku Ketsueki: "I am sorry, if something ails you..." She says, even quieter.

Tieve Corwell is heard rising, moving, albeit slowly. She takes a great deal of time presenting herself in the middle of the greenhouse, smiling softly in Okiku's direction. "...Found my dress," she grins.
Tieve Corwell: "You brought flowers? From far away? How are they faring?"

Okiku Ketsueki looks across the large distance at the woman, a resounding rustle of metal resonating as she loses the tension in her shoulders. She sets her sword down, reaching up to a strap around her torso. "A merchant from Othard was passing through the stalls in the forest city. I saw them and picked them up... perhaps too suddenly, in my own surprise. Still, they are healthy and whole—for now. They are packed in a wrapped pouch with soil. I have taken to watering them, before walking here."
Okiku Ketsueki: "I—aha..." She clears her throat, cutting off her own ramble.
Okiku Ketsueki: "May I approach, Priestess?"

Tieve Corwell cants her head to the side. "Of course. Come. Let me see them," she reaches out, beckoning to the woman, good-humored. "That you thought of watering them is very considerate of you— And clever, too. I just freed a planter today..."

Okiku Ketsueki bows her head on reflex, taking slow but large strides to the woman. Their distance closing within moments, she holds out the bundle of spindly red flowers. "They are known as spider lilies, carrying a unique scent. My people hail them for their color... and that they signal the coming of the fall on land."
Okiku Ketsueki: "Where we are from, it is too dark to know without taking long ventures."
Okiku Ketsueki gently holds them out, giving the object that contains them a small squeeze—a crinkle to inform the woman its distance from her.

Tieve Corwell: "They're a bit out of season, then aren't they?" Tieve lowers her head to study the flowers. As Okiku steps closer, she'd notice that the woman appears tired— More tired than usual, perhaps almost older, eyes puffy, but not quite red. Fingers grace the flowers, to feel their shape. Eventually, she take the pot with as much tenderness as she would with a newborn. "It is a most precious gift."
Tieve Corwell: "I will make sure they're cherished, as I cherish you."
Tieve Corwell smiles weakly at you.

Okiku Ketsueki: "Tieve..." She whispers, the name arising with a faint smile—though it fades with the arrival of her concern.
Okiku Ketsueki studies the conjurer's features, her gauntlet clenching into a fist for a brief moment.
Okiku Ketsueki: "It's been a tiring sun for walking, may I change here? I felt your presence would be a greater comfort than the Lady's innrooms this evening."

Tieve Corwell blinks at that and nods. "Of course! Would you like me to run a bath for you, as well?" She walks around the greenhouse, placing the flowers near some others; she'll tend to them later. "You may spend the night, too. I'll place a futon by my bed if you'd like, just like old times." She grins again. "Ah, it sounds like we've known each other for years, speaking like so."

Okiku Ketsueki: "Ah—a bath?" She starts, looking around the house in fear of the local bats eavesdropping. "I—..." She lets out air, slightly flustered. "It's okay, Priestess. I will acquaint myself with it in the morning." Okiku couldn't fight the smile at her words, already turning away. "The absence has felt like years, I can assure you."

Tieve Corwell walks past Okiku, reaching for a wrist— Taking a bit of time to find it, as usual. "Come on now. I made oils, just the other day. You'll like them."

Okiku Ketsueki looks down at the woman on her approach, blinking. "A-ah, Priestess...!" The woman offers no resistance to her touch, despite her words—the latches of her gauntlet being unstrapped.
Okiku Ketsueki: "If you insist, I will cherish these oils." She let out a small laugh, though her golden gaze remained trained on Tieve's eyes. Her chest hurting with wonder.

Tieve Corwell drags Okiku without much difficulty as a result, insistent. "Tieve. Tieve's fine, here. When was the last time you took a pleasant, hot bath, hah? I didn't have one in my apartment before! I had to deal with cold water... Not that I typically mind."
Tieve Corwell lets go of her, going to check on the water, and the oils herself. She opens a couple of drawers, preparing it all for Okiku's comfort. "What did you do today, then? Just went to the markets?"

Okiku Ketsueki sputters as she dragged all the way to her room, looking around at their environment and trying to observe every detail as she speaks. Having left her bags near the entrance, she fumbles with her other gauntlet. "I was exploring the city—though the... Wailers? The forest pikemen seemed abrasive, they were kind enough to direct me to the craftsmen guild."
Okiku Ketsueki: "The many of them, I might add!"
Okiku Ketsueki: "...I've never been allowed a trade, or time to learn it. I thought perhaps I'd pick one up, maybe build a table." Her gaze lingers over the drawers.

Tieve Corwell lets the water run for a bit, sitting on the edge of the forming bath, fingers lingering on the water's surface. She's distracted, or appears to be it for now. "The Wood Wailers, yes— We are secretive, in the city, still. Outsiders come with their lots of ordeals. To explain them how the forest functions, 'tis difficult." She shakes her hand off, approaching Okiku again.
Tieve Corwell reaches towards the armor— Perhaps looking for interstices and buckles, though stops herself; "May I?"

Okiku Ketsueki is already gently placing pieces of her armor on an open space of her furniture, pauldrons and the pieces of her gauntlets. "Of course." She responds, her tone that of familiarity. The woman straightens, facing the hyur.
Okiku Ketsueki: "A bath." She says, quietly. "I could not run a place this expansive with just myself, you know. I am in awe—I remember how you often told me you wish you had a place of your own to cook—unrestricted."

Tieve Corwell chuckles at that, quietly. Hands feel the woman's armor, gently, as reaches up to care for it. She is slow, measured, but efficient, placing the rest on the cupboard, as well. "The house was in a terrible state. But... I loved it all the same. The greenhouse, especially, as you can imagine. It took my minor shop to new heights— Now, I sell better reagents. But still, I choose who I sell them to..."
Tieve Corwell kneels to assist with the woman's sollerets in turn. "This is your home, too. Should you need a roof."
Tieve Corwell: "The door is open to all of my friends."

Okiku Ketsueki: "Do you still make the quirky sort of portions that cause fits of laughters in others? You used to not hold much restraint in mundane pranks." She says, smiling down at the woman. However, her eyes widen at her words. "My home... is where I can find warmth. Though, I think it'd be intrusive of me to stay overlong. Even with my oath, I wouldn't wish to be a burden on your companions as a presence."
Okiku Ketsueki strips out of her armor piece by piece as the woman helps her, flexing exposed limbs with small audible pops. Her body tense with labor and travel.
Okiku Ketsueki steps out of her sollerets, after a brief moment.

Tieve Corwell rises after that, joining her hands before her. She smiles through Okiku, and steps aside to let her pass. She can deal with the padding herself. "If you were a burden, you wouldn't be here! It is actually a little selfish of me to ask, I am sure. I... Have a reading assistant of sorts, now. If you do not mind running into him every now and then, you're welcome to say for as long as you'd like."
Tieve Corwell: "I know you considerate, and loving." She reaches up, to the woman's cheek.
Tieve Corwell: "You'll never be a burden as a result."

Okiku Ketsueki: "Your reach has always been home to me, Tieve." She whispers beneath the touch, as if the conjurer had pressed a button that made it come out on instinct. "Were it my choosing, I would live with you for as long as I could—but your Nymeia has plans for our fates, no? It's always like that." She leans into the woman's hand, her lips brushing her palm before she pulls herself away and to the bath.
Okiku Ketsueki: "It brings me relief to hear of it, I wouldn't mind meeting your companions, if we are all to work together routinely."
Okiku Ketsueki blinks down at the bath, stepping in with one foot at a time. She lays across its bottom, her legs resting on the rim as her own height proves unreliably tall for the bath. Though she doesn't seem to mind, resting her elbows upon it and sinking deeper into the water.

Tieve Corwell lowers her arm. As Okiku leaves her, her smile wanes. She knows she isn't around to see it.

Okiku Ketsueki: "You are welcome to join me at the bath's side, Tieve—or within it. I am not shy, with you."
Okiku Ketsueki lays deep within the bath, the water rimming around her face. Her own temptation to sink beneath it withstanding, as she listened to how the other woman moved about her place.

Tieve Corwell rests against the cabinet, head low— Though at that, her head tilts in Okiku's direction. "I am not shy with you either. But... I already scrubbed myself clean, just earlier," the humor in her voice is gone. "It'd be a waste of oils, and space. Your limbs are longer than mine. While I'd fit easily, I'll avoid it, for your own comfort."
Tieve Corwell: "Is the water warm enough?" A hint of concern.

Okiku Ketsueki presses her lips together, eyes closing. She dips her head beneath the water, for an uncomfortably long time before resurfacing. Long streaks of black hair clinging to her face as the woman sits up, hunching forward with a small hum. "It is warm. Like the waters near Hell's Lid. I much prefer it to the bitter cold northward."
Okiku Ketsueki: "Ever have I been a stalwart shield against all manner of beasts, I fear in my absence—perhaps, I have been unable to offer the same for your heart."
Okiku Ketsueki shifts her golden eyes toward the screen, looking through it to where she thought Tieve may be.

Tieve Corwell finally appears past the room divider, eyes lost in the water, without seeing it. She stays put by the tub, reaching for nothing— Present, yet terrible absent. "My heart isn't yours to guard. But I appreciate the feeling all the same, Okiku. I always have."

Okiku Ketsueki: "It is why it's always been an offer and nothing beyond it, Tieve."

Tieve Corwell: "Perhaps there'll come a time when I'll be ready to tell you about it. But for now— I'm better off reinventing myself with you. Focusing on happier things, such as our reunion, yes?"
Tieve Corwell eventually sits by the bath, smiling faintly, leaning on the edge, arms folded over the enamel.

Okiku Ketsueki smiles slowly at that, lifting a hand from the water. Her fingertips brush the conjurer's hand lightly, "Of course." She says, understanding.
Okiku Ketsueki: "For instance, I will have to learn how far your pastries have progressed in that absence."
Okiku Ketsueki: "I have been sorely wanting for the only place in Eorzea I'd prefer my snack."

Tieve Corwell chuckles at that, lowly, She rests her chin atop of her arm. "...I wish,"
Tieve Corwell: "That this moment could last forever, now." she closes her eyes, as if it mattered. "To be alive is to feel, you know? Pleasure, pain, love, distaste."
Tieve Corwell: "Some people would deprive themselves of such mundane things constituting life. Can you imagine?"
Tieve Corwell opens her eyes, slowly, tone quiet, smile leaving her.

Okiku Ketsueki leans back against the tub once more, golden eyes firmly on the woman. Okiku is quiet for a long moment, the gentle sway of water slow. "I can imagine... I have been there, in a life I'd consider a memory—if only when I'm beside you."
Okiku Ketsueki: "It was my own tiredness of such depravity that moved my feet. Instinct."
Okiku Ketsueki: "Perhaps... even simply boredom, originally."

Tieve Corwell: "...Still, that spark carried you. Deep, inside your heart, a will to do more, and see more. This voice and calling in the back of your mind that assures you there's more to life than emptiness; or what would be the point of it?"
Tieve Corwell: "...What do you do with a man who has a pit where is soul should be?"

Okiku Ketsueki lets out an small sigh at that, like a gust of wind had suddenly arose from her. "A pit where their soul should be?" She repeats, "It depends on whether or not that man is yearning to fill that hole—but I would fear they were trying to take another's soul, since it is hard to replace one's own."
Okiku Ketsueki: "What that husk has become—what they are, it all depends for me. When I encounter empty beasts, all I've ever been able to do is take their misery from them."
Okiku Ketsueki frowns, closing her eyes. "I did not see other options until I met you."

Tieve Corwell smiles at that, a bit sour. "My faith is not without flaws. Even now, it falters. ...The more time passes, the more I think that sometimes, there is nothing to do, or salvage. The only thing available to us is to stay, observe, be present."
Tieve Corwell: "So they do little damage; be it to their own selves, or others. If they were put on this soil, it must have some sort of purpose. To take someone's life because it is broken is not fair, is it?"
Tieve Corwell: "But... Watching them get consumed by it is painful, too."


Okiku Ketsueki: "No, I do not think it is fair. But I have learned when hunting that one should consult and offer the gods words with each life taken, so that they may give them life anew." The woman speaks perhaps a bit more literally than their metaphors tell, thinking of animals. Though, her gaze doesn't leave Tieve.
Okiku Ketsueki: "I have never doubted your own abilities—if you believe in mending those swallowed by darkness, ever will I stand beside such convictions."
Okiku Ketsueki: "Though, there are times in our lives where I think such abyss can swallow. I... I would do my best to yank you back, in that event, or drive my blade forward into such dark if I could not."


Tieve Corwell takes Okiku's hand closer to herself, greedier, thankful, eager to feel it and touch it, as if it were radiant. She frowns, pressing her forehead against it. "...Doubt... Overcomes me. Without you about."
Tieve Corwell: "In the past moons, my faith was shattered, stripped bare— My ways humiliated by people who think kindness is the tool of the weak," she shows teeth at that, nearly hissing. "Not knowing how much strength and force it takes to conjure good words, when you're so aware of what manner of /bad/ you're facing."
Tieve Corwell: "...I just want to reach out to others, as people have reached out to me in the past: in my darkest hours."

Okiku Ketsueki curls her fingers, turning her palm upward to slide her hand from her forehead to her cheek. It is a tender caress—loving—as Tieve speaks. Though her face is wiped away of all similar niceties. Her face cast in shadow, imagining.
Okiku Ketsueki: "I will be at your side, if you feel as though there will be no floor to fall backwards upon. An endless pit."

Tieve Corwell seems to frown in turn, letting Okiku handle her. Resolve in her eyes— A measure of pain, too.
Tieve Corwell: "...Thank you."

Okiku Ketsueki lets out air, "...You must pardon me, Tieve, if within my heart my instincts tell me to throttle any that speak out of turn with you."
Okiku Ketsueki: "Not because they said it, but because it is like a gut reaction—like when a feather tickles one's knee."
Okiku Ketsueki lets out a small huff.


Tieve Corwell takes Okiku's hand with both of hers again, lowering it. "Some people can not fathom help, or love in the way I see it. To end their suffering, people must come to term with it— Often, they forget about it. Like a bad wound. It festers, until it eats an entire part of them away. A part you must cut, lest it plagues the rest, too..."
Tieve Corwell: "...There are times when it is my own fault. You must understand, and not react so vividly. If I do mend, a lot of the time I prod at those wounds. I ask the right questions— The hurtful ones. The ones they do not wish to answer, even though they can."
Tieve Corwell: "Until they admit, I can not do anything else but salt. Time and time again."


Okiku Ketsueki: "...Of course, Tieve. My hands only move when they must. I am tolerant of those you show your kindness, as I always have been... as I always will be. I trust, too, you understand what lingers beneath my own chest when I stand beside you as the night clinging to moonlight. Especially when that's all I must do."
Okiku Ketsueki whispers, "I will always trust you to not let such cysts fester."
Okiku Ketsueki: "I cannot fathom the endurance you've spent in my absence."

Tieve Corwell nods slowly, rising. She lets go of the woman's hand as she does, smiling softly. "The pain subsists, even with you about. It eases most of it, but— I do not wish to grow dependent on you. I am a heavy thing. Speak of chivalry and nobility how you'd like, I'd rather having you live for yourself."
Tieve Corwell: "I... Grow stronger, each day."

Okiku Ketsueki: "We are our own people, in the end. There will be a day where my kin will come to find me—know that I seek no dependency from you. Guardian has ever been a name, between us. I stand at your side of my own choosing."
Okiku Ketsueki: "What I do, where I go with you, I do it because I care. Because I cherish you and the moments we may share."
Okiku Ketsueki sits up in the water, arms shifting to rest over her knees. "My choices are selfish in nature."

Tieve Corwell looks at Okiku, smiling at that. She lets out the beginning of a chuckle, as if she'd said something absurd. She reaches up, fingers wiping away a few tears, as quick as she can muster.
Tieve Corwell: "I'll make eggs tomorrow morning." She reaches for the towel nearby, putting it on the edge of the tub. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Okiku Ketsueki: "Lest you welcome a naked warrior within your abode, I've abandoned my bag beside my shield. The smaller one." She says, as if predicting ahead of time that Tieve may seek it out. "It is of leather material, may I burden you to retrieve it?"
Okiku Ketsueki smiles at the woman, watching her wipe away the tears. Her own heart aching at the thought that there may be a day where they'd be forced apart.

Tieve Corwell: "Of course! Right away."