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do you want to die together
Sheena hadn't really expected this whole summoner thing to work.
The temple at Luca is a temple in little more than name only, small and humble in a way that she remembers Kilika Temple wasn't, without even statues of the high summoners. The little statue that houses its fayth is well-tended, but it sticks out like a sore thumb in a building that might have been a little-used warehouse a few years ago. Even the cloister of trials doesn't feel complete, easy enough even for Sheena to figure out on her own, but none of that really matters, in the end - what's important is the fayth itself, and her ability to pray to it to its satisfaction.
She hadn't been able to shake the feeling that it wouldn't work - that no fayth would ever accept an Al Bhed summoner despite her upbringing, that she'd pray for days with no response - but in the end, it hadn't taken more than a few hours before she'd been answered. Let me come with, her new aeon - Corrine - had requested, and Sheena had been so grateful to them for her success that she'd agreed.
Really, the looks on the temple guardians' faces when she'd walked out with an aeon almost as tall as she was at her side had been more than worth it.
It's sunset when she untangles herself from the small crowd that had gathered to see Spira's youngest aeon, and she can see the sun flashing brightly through the gaps between buildings as she makes her way outside. She rests her hand on Corrine's shoulder lightly for a second without thinking, then realizes her mistake and jolts, pulling it away - but they just laugh silently in her head, nudging at her hand playfully.
There's a second building just adjacent to the temple, a more traditional Martelite affair that existed long before the fayth's temple did, and as Sheena gets closer to it she can hear a commotion of some kind, a woman's voice raised in annoyance and a lower voice answering her. She considers just leaving, the tension of her trial starting to evaporate in a way that makes her long for her room at the inn, but there's no way back to her lodgings without passing by, anyway. Might as well see what's happening. So she puts her hand back where it was, asks Corrine softly not to wander too far as they head towards the source of the noise.
The temple at Luca is a temple in little more than name only, small and humble in a way that she remembers Kilika Temple wasn't, without even statues of the high summoners. The little statue that houses its fayth is well-tended, but it sticks out like a sore thumb in a building that might have been a little-used warehouse a few years ago. Even the cloister of trials doesn't feel complete, easy enough even for Sheena to figure out on her own, but none of that really matters, in the end - what's important is the fayth itself, and her ability to pray to it to its satisfaction.
She hadn't been able to shake the feeling that it wouldn't work - that no fayth would ever accept an Al Bhed summoner despite her upbringing, that she'd pray for days with no response - but in the end, it hadn't taken more than a few hours before she'd been answered. Let me come with, her new aeon - Corrine - had requested, and Sheena had been so grateful to them for her success that she'd agreed.
Really, the looks on the temple guardians' faces when she'd walked out with an aeon almost as tall as she was at her side had been more than worth it.
It's sunset when she untangles herself from the small crowd that had gathered to see Spira's youngest aeon, and she can see the sun flashing brightly through the gaps between buildings as she makes her way outside. She rests her hand on Corrine's shoulder lightly for a second without thinking, then realizes her mistake and jolts, pulling it away - but they just laugh silently in her head, nudging at her hand playfully.
There's a second building just adjacent to the temple, a more traditional Martelite affair that existed long before the fayth's temple did, and as Sheena gets closer to it she can hear a commotion of some kind, a woman's voice raised in annoyance and a lower voice answering her. She considers just leaving, the tension of her trial starting to evaporate in a way that makes her long for her room at the inn, but there's no way back to her lodgings without passing by, anyway. Might as well see what's happening. So she puts her hand back where it was, asks Corrine softly not to wander too far as they head towards the source of the noise.
YOU CAN STAY BUT YOU'RE ON THIN ICE
She slips her hand into his once she's steady on her feet again, just for a moment, a quick gentle squeeze coupled with a smile just for him, if one that doesn't meet her eyes. She gets why he's mad, but - it's okay, really. It's fine. It's not like Sheena hadn't been prepared for this, even if her death just abruptly shifted from a vague abstract future thing to something looming closer and closer. If Anna just doesn't want anyone else to die, well, can any of them blame her?
Sheena does fine the whole way to Colette - the fatigue and Anna's words weighing on her enough that she doesn't talk to her the way she'd wanted to, but the reminder that they'll be meeting up again in Luca is enough to brighten her mood a little - but she stumbles a little heading to their rooms in the inn, catching herself on Zelos's forearm. She flops down gratefully onto one of the beds when they get in, doesn't object when Zelos tells her he's got something else to talk to Colette about. Well, they're both clergy, after all; it's probably Martelite business or something like that. She just asks him to thank Colette again for her, and then he's gone, and she has nothing to do except to get comfortable on the bed and let her energy come back. It's too early to sleep, but she must have started to drift off, because the soft knock startles her, jolting upright again from the awkward way she'd been leaning against the sturdy canvas wall of the inn. But - okay, it's only Lloyd, she realizes, as he peeks into the room. It's not like he's been anything but friendly, even if he is a little weird. (Maybe she shouldn't think like that; it's not his fault Sin had rearranged everything in his head.) So she waves, motioning that he can come in if he wants.
"Just me," she says, rearranging herself into a proper sitting position. "Zelos had some stuff he needed to take care of, I think. Uh -" she stops, uncertain - "did you need anything? What's up?"
THANK U I WON'T LET U DOWN
And then he pauses, noticing the fatigue that's a little obvious on Sheena's face, in the way she leans against the wall. "Are you feeling alright? I don't exactly know what it is summoners do, but it sounds tiring. I can leave you alone if you'd rather sleep."
DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME
"Oh-- No, it's fine," she assures him, sitting up as she scoots forward, letting her legs dangle off the edge of the bed. "It's only tiring for a little while. It's... sort of hard to explain." She stops to think it over, her connection to the Fayth still new enough that she's still puzzling out how to describe it even to herself. "Undine just poured a lot of power into me, and I guess making room for it takes energy, too?" Sheena shrugs a little with that - she's not sure, either. Maybe she just hadn't been ready. "Anyway, it's okay. It's not like any of that was your fault. Ah - not that it was your mom's, either!" she continues, quickly, face heating up a little. She doesn't know what to think there, either, after how tense things had been earlier, but Anna's still a hero who's saved Spira once already. The fact that she'd picked Sheena of all summoners hasn't stopped being the highest honor she can imagine.
I WON'T I SWEAR
"Ah, don't worry," Lloyd laughs a little as she scrambles to okay their first meeting. "You can say my mom's a bit of a dumbass, it's fine." It's not like he's not also a dumbass, but Lloyd's somehow always had better timing on when to be a total moron, so. She'll figure that out eventually. Still, for all of Anna's reckless drinking, Lloyd thinks back to the things she had told him about her time in Spira over the past eight years, the crippling loneliness she must have felt, and finds the need to explain. "She means well, she's just... Been through some shit. But she seems to like you guys quite a bit."
At least, she likes Sheena and Zelos more than it seems like she liked the rest of Lloyd's blitzball team back on Zanarkand. For whatever reason, she had always been a little closed off with them, with the friends Lloyd brought home, acting like they weren't gonna stick around -
Lloyd cuts off that thought firmly before he thinks about Zanarkand more than he has to. Instead, he plops himself down on the edge of the bed across from Sheena and grins. "Looks like we're gonna be together for a while, so why not get to know each other? Liiiiiike..." Lloyd puts a finger to his chin, thinks for a little bit, and then looks back at Sheena. "What's your favorite hobby?"
I ON THE OTHER HAND HAVE DISAPPOINTED YOU ALL WITH HOW LATE THIS IS
What are her hobbies? It's been so long since she preoccupied herself with anything that wasn't getting ready for her pilgrimage, Sheena has to take a minute to remember.
"I like making charms," she says, leans back a little so she can pull the one threaded onto her obijime free and let him see it. It's rough - is it really almost four years old by now? - but she'd been proud of it, then. "They don't really do anything, but..." Sheena scratches her head, not used to showing off her work. "Anyway, the last few years I haven't really done much other than practicing to be a summoner. What about you?"
YOU'RE OK DON'T WORRY WE'RE NOT DISAPPOINTED
He shrugs a little, grinning still,"I wood carve when I'm not playing Blitzball, so I know all about keeping a bunch of things that serve no real purpose around. Buuuuuuut," he says, putting a hand up in the air, "we're gonna find you a new hobby. Summoning is cool and all, but you should have interests outside of it! It's not like it's the only thing you can do with your life."
Putting his hand back down onto the mattress and leaning back, supporting himself with his arms, he looks at Sheena. "You already make charms, have you ever thought about learning how to make woven bracelets and stuff? You should give it a shot!"
And then Lloyd finally properly answers her question. "Blitzball is what I spend most of my time dealing with. I'm a pretty kickass captain, if I say so myself." He laughs, "nah, I'm kidding. But I really do love it, and I'm determined to be a better player than even my mom was. Looks like its gonna be on the back-burner for a bit, though."
He kicks his legs a little, careful not to kick Sheena by accident. "Got any questions for me? Like, real questions, not just returned questions."