“Come Eithne, these three will serve as a fine warm-up!”

She could not see the expression Alisaie made with her taunt, but she could clearly imagine it— A smile blazing brighter than the Turali sun, piercing eyes as blue as the sky. Responding with a nod and a reaffirming grunt, Eithne sank lower towards the sand, entering what she felt would be an appropriate stance to receive the incoming serve.

It was only moments ago when G’raha Tia (and Alisaie) had come to her lodgings, some sort of sports ball in hand, inviting her for a “friendly” game of what Alisaie had called “beach volleyball”.

“Only if you have some time to spare.” She had punctuated, glancing to the side with cool composure.

What her attempt at nonchalance failed to consider was the fact that she was wearing an all-together brand new outfit, one which Eithne thought seemed carefully selected for such an activity. Indeed, so was G’raha Tia, his thin and loose white floral shirt, as well as the bathing shorts, making him look a far cry from the storied Archon he was. Though she supposed it was only natural, they had nothing to do that required their usual battle-ready clothing, and even Eithne had recently started favoring loose blouses and shorts herself, for once. Still, he looked so... free, no different from any other young Miqo’te. One to whom stories of sacrifice, of crystal bodies and soul-corrupting light, would sound like nothing more than fairytales.

After walking towards the beach, they found Alphinaud waiting for them, also in a new outfit, matching Alisaie’s in everything but the colors.

“It has been quite some time since the two of you matched like this.” Eithne said to Alphinaud, feeling herself smile, a sense of nostalgia tugging at her heart.

“Childish, isn’t it? Mother sent along some packages for us, and what do we find but this.” Alisaie was the first to speak, which Eithne predicted, as she inspected her shorts, her button-down, the little scarf in her distinctive deep red shade. “After her last gift, I had thought she would have been more careful to avoid such cliches.”

“Nothing of the sort.” Letting out an airy laugh, Eithne tried to assuage her. “You look darling. The both of you do.”

With that, Alisaie fell silent, choosing to examine something that must have been incredibly interesting, just out of the group’s vision. G’raha Tia and Alphinaud could only contain their amusement, sharing a knowing glance before shuffling them all off to what had seemed to be an empty part of the shore—

“Good of you to join us, Eithne.” Off to the side, lounging under the nearby palm trees was Y’shtola, tilting her head towards the group in greeting, Urianger and Krile alongside her. The three were also dressed for the occasion, each holding onto some manner of tropical drink. Eithne’s eyes widened a little, realizing she had never even conceived of Y’shtola owning a swimsuit, though seeing Krile in one next to her made her feel as though this was a more recent addition to her wardrobe...

Looking them over, Eithne tilted her head. “Had I known you would all be here, I would have woken up earlier...”

“Nonsense, ‘twould be remiss of us to do so, after thine arduous adventuring.” Urinager spoke up, his voice as kind as ever, despite his languid posture. While not dressed for sunbathing, he was nonetheless much more casually dressed, shedding his astrologian regalia for a light shirt and pants. Eithne could not help but mentally compare him to an uncle, casually supervising his young charges while they enjoyed their summer outing. “Thou hast arrived at the perfect time.”

“Alisaie and G’raha had thought of organizing a little get together, before we went our separate ways.” Krile was sitting up, holding onto what seemed to be a coconut with a straw. As Eithne looked back to thank the two of them for doing so, they were already far off, running to two figures in the distance, their shapes inscrutable in the heat mirage.

“Estinien, a little to the right!” She heard Thancred’s familiar voice in the distance, but as she tried to ascertain to where he was calling out to, she realized—

“Right, this should be enough.” With a forceful, perhaps too forceful, push, a man in a visor and sunglasses shoved some manner of pole into the sand. Using his unbuttoned, colorful floral shirt, he dusted off some of the sand from his hands, and after pulling some sort of rope, up went a net. She could see a shorter man she could imagine to be Thancred walking over, and after inspecting his handiwork, nodding in approval. He was dressed quite similarly, though his colors were more plain, and he had a different sort of hat on, a fedora was it...?

She was shocked, but instead of voicing her surprise, she could only let out a small chuckle. She could see the scene in her mind’s eye, a hesitant Estinien looking away from the twin’s eager faces, their eyes full of stars and their hands bearing new clothes for the dragoon. Truly, Estinien could not deny the young Levallieurs anything, should the two put their all into asking...

And so, Eithne had ended up here, under the blazing midday sun, surrounded by neat lines on the sand and a net between her and her friends. Across the netting were Thancred, Alphinaud, and G’raha Tia, while alongside her were Alisaie and Estinien. As Alphinaud fiddled with the ball, G’raha Tia had called out to three enjoying the shade, asking them to referee, to which Y’shtola had simply, lethargically, raised her hand to give him a thumbs-up. Eithne could see Krile giggling, before giving her own as well.

It wasn’t long before they were kicking up a sandstorm. Despite their pledges of avoiding highly specialized skills or magical abilities, their physical aptitude allowed them quite a range of movement, movement that this sport had clearly not been designed with in mind. Specifically Estinien, who seemed to take to it like a fish to water, or perhaps like a hammer to crystal. His long, muscular legs could launch him far higher than any of them could reach, which allowed him to deftly strike the ball no matter the height. It was almost as if the sand solidified under his feet, considering Eithne felt like she was jumping on mud at times, no matter how hard she tried to emulate his stance. After some rallies, she decided she was more comfortable closer to the ground, leaving the skies in his care.

What a relief that he’s on our side, she thought, though seeing G’raha and Alphinaud’s once confident and competitive expressions turn to horror, Estinien’s figure rising high enough to cover the sun, brought a small sense of guilt.

“Eithne, to you!”

Alisaie’s cry brought her back to reality, as she saw the ball soaring above her head. So much for staying on the ground, she grumbled to herself, jumping up to spike the ball right before a familiar face came into view, beaming up at her through the netting. Eyes the color of fire, his smile as brash as it had been at Saint Coinach's, G’raha Tia prepared himself to cover his team's bases, and Eithne could feel the set of shoulders loosen, her wrist weakening...

As she hit the sand, she heard the click of Alisaie’s tongue, her hands coming up in frustration. Her spike had been too light, too predictable, and G’raha managed to set the ball up for Thancred to come up from behind and score them a point. Eithne could only smile sheepishly, hoping no one noticed the sudden shift after she jumped, but looking across the net, she saw a flash of bright white teeth, the most aggravating man on the star giving her his typical debonair smile.

“No hard feelings, right Alisaie?” While Thancred seemed to poke fun at the outburst, his eyes were fixated solely on Eithne. Always so observant, watching her every move; she had known the only reason he hadn’t come to a realization on her feelings sooner, was due to being whisked away from Sharlayan soon after their disbandment. If anyone would notice, it would be him, the Scions’ spymaster. Only he would be able to put two and—

“Simply a bit of sun in your eyes, aye?” From behind, she heard the low drum of Estinien’s voice, its tone... playful. Turning her head sharply to look at him, she could have sworn the corners of his mouth twitched up upwards.  

“Pay it no mind! Twas merely a momentary lapse!” Even from the shade, she could hear Urianger cheering her on, and with a glance she saw Y’shtola and Krile giving a thumbs-up in agreement. Despite the blazing sun, a chill ran down her spine, their words akin to a splash of ice water than warm encouragement. Looking up, she could see G’raha Tia stretching his legs, as Alphinaud seemed to discuss some sort of strategy for their offense. Hovering behind them was Thancred, that knowing smile still on his lips. Were she to look behind her, she would have seen Estinien doing the same, or as similar as his usually dour face could muster.

When did you all..., she clenched her fists, but there was no one to blame but herself. How naive, to think only Thancred would keep a close eye on her. No, perhaps it had simply been that obvious, or maybe they had shared their observations at some point. She had suddenly started spending every moment she could spare together with him... Closing her eyes, taking in a deep breath, she steadied herself. Even if she couldn’t blame anyone but herself, she had to send a message, before Thancred’s teasing went beyond the odd smile or waggling eyebrow. Looking over to Alisaie with newfound determination, Eithne simply said,

“Let’s return the favor then.”

Nodding firmly, Alisaie smiles back, “Right!”