Waking up from his little jaunt to the first had been... jarring, to say the least. His consciousness had stretched back near a century and he'd lived through it all, only to find that barely a few weeks had passed here in the source. A hundred years of ruling the Crystarium, of guiding its people, of growing close with its people. If it were only that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad - a little stifling, perhaps, to go back to the low pressure life of being Allag's prince, but at least it would prepare him for the day he was expected to take the throne.
But it hadn't been only that.
His heart aches for him, for his 'warrior of darkness', for the saviour of the First that G'raha had grown so close to. The other scions, too, of course he counted them as his friends and he dearly missed all of them, but Viktor...
The final moment haunts him. He'd felt increasingly guilty, concealing his identity from the viera, concealing a lot of things from him really, and he'd hoped to fix that at the last, but he'd moved too slow. He'd almost reached for his hood when the crystal stilled his arm and suddenly the moment had passed, he could only look upon Viktor's stricken face as the rest of his body was overtaken and his mind was hurled back to the source without a chance to say what he really wanted.
He didn't even really have time to process any of it, for no sooner had he returned that he was being dragged into meetings about Allag finally (finally) taking its place on the world stage. There had been too many threats in recent memory, and their agents abroad had brought back reports about the Eorzean alliance and their increasing move towards peace - about the scions, and their tempering influence on proceedings.
(That, he knew, and now he had seen it in action he could only agree)
The world, it had been decided, may be ready for them. It was at least ready to learn that Allag persisted, ready for a diplomatic visitor to get a closer look at the state of the world - and G'raha was to be that visitor.
It had been his idea, his whim, really, to suggest that he ought to have some kind of guard against any threat that might befall him, especially from the threat of Garlemald, and that it would be a perfect show of good faith from the Eorzean Alliance to convince their own champion to be that guard.
He hadn't expected anybody to actually agree, and yet the arrangements had been made. He had the voyage to get used to the idea that he was going to see Viktor again. It wasn't enough. At least his entourage were kind enough not to pry too much at their prince's apparent edginess the whole journey.
When he's actually stepping off the ship, he still isn't ready, but his eyes immediately seek out Viktor nonetheless. There's something about the way his head whips round, something about the tone in his voice, that look in his eyes... is there recognition there? Fear and hope swell in equal measure.
"Call me G'raha, please." He says, in defiance of protocol. At least one dignitary within earshot gives him a scandalised look but he ignores it, he's too eager to hear his name from Viktor's mouth. "You must be the famed warrior of light, we have heard many tales of your triumphs even in Allag."
He has to at least pretend at some semblance of a proper introduction, however much he's desperate to ask if Viktor knows, if he realises, how he feels... okay he's a little terrified to know how he feels, unsure if Viktor will hate him for the subterfuge of it all...
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timeasmymeasure
this got long lol
Date: 2024-03-12 10:42 am (UTC)Waking up from his little jaunt to the first had been... jarring, to say the least. His consciousness had stretched back near a century and he'd lived through it all, only to find that barely a few weeks had passed here in the source. A hundred years of ruling the Crystarium, of guiding its people, of growing close with its people. If it were only that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad - a little stifling, perhaps, to go back to the low pressure life of being Allag's prince, but at least it would prepare him for the day he was expected to take the throne.
But it hadn't been only that.
His heart aches for him, for his 'warrior of darkness', for the saviour of the First that G'raha had grown so close to. The other scions, too, of course he counted them as his friends and he dearly missed all of them, but Viktor...
The final moment haunts him. He'd felt increasingly guilty, concealing his identity from the viera, concealing a lot of things from him really, and he'd hoped to fix that at the last, but he'd moved too slow. He'd almost reached for his hood when the crystal stilled his arm and suddenly the moment had passed, he could only look upon Viktor's stricken face as the rest of his body was overtaken and his mind was hurled back to the source without a chance to say what he really wanted.
He didn't even really have time to process any of it, for no sooner had he returned that he was being dragged into meetings about Allag finally (finally) taking its place on the world stage. There had been too many threats in recent memory, and their agents abroad had brought back reports about the Eorzean alliance and their increasing move towards peace - about the scions, and their tempering influence on proceedings.
(That, he knew, and now he had seen it in action he could only agree)
The world, it had been decided, may be ready for them. It was at least ready to learn that Allag persisted, ready for a diplomatic visitor to get a closer look at the state of the world - and G'raha was to be that visitor.
It had been his idea, his whim, really, to suggest that he ought to have some kind of guard against any threat that might befall him, especially from the threat of Garlemald, and that it would be a perfect show of good faith from the Eorzean Alliance to convince their own champion to be that guard.
He hadn't expected anybody to actually agree, and yet the arrangements had been made. He had the voyage to get used to the idea that he was going to see Viktor again. It wasn't enough. At least his entourage were kind enough not to pry too much at their prince's apparent edginess the whole journey.
When he's actually stepping off the ship, he still isn't ready, but his eyes immediately seek out Viktor nonetheless. There's something about the way his head whips round, something about the tone in his voice, that look in his eyes... is there recognition there? Fear and hope swell in equal measure.
"Call me G'raha, please." He says, in defiance of protocol. At least one dignitary within earshot gives him a scandalised look but he ignores it, he's too eager to hear his name from Viktor's mouth. "You must be the famed warrior of light, we have heard many tales of your triumphs even in Allag."
He has to at least pretend at some semblance of a proper introduction, however much he's desperate to ask if Viktor knows, if he realises, how he feels... okay he's a little terrified to know how he feels, unsure if Viktor will hate him for the subterfuge of it all...