Traveler

She stared in disbelief. With shaky limbs, she pulled herself out of bed, letting her legs carry her to the torn pieces. She reached forward, her fingers plucking up the ripped fabric. It was then that a sharp headache formed. 

Azlyn stifled a gasp as she was brought back to her room, but when it was darker. The door to her room opened with a click as three girls tiptoed in. She could see it was a Lalafell, a Hyur, and a Elezen girl; classmates studying as ambassadors from the rich families residing in Eorzea. If she remembered correctly, these three stated they were from Ul’dah. 

Azlyn felt like she was watching a murder scene, except the Lalafell pulled out a pair of scissors to start shredding the dress. One of the girls, the Hyur was their lookout, while the Elezen peered over at her sleeping body. It almost felt dissociative as she could see herself sleeping on her bed.

“Are you almost done?” The girl from the door whispered.

“Almost—just one more snip.” The Lalafell said. She looked pleased with the destruction she caused. 

“Poor girl. The dorm matron really doesn’t like her.” The Elezen spoke softly. 

“It’s her fault for being an Au Ra. And being apart of the Raen clan makes it worse.” The Lalafell explained, tiptoeing her way back out. 

“We have to return the key to the Matron before anyone suspects us. Hurry up!”

And the vision disappeared as quickly as it came. Azlyn stood in her darkened room, staring at the fabric, and then slowly to the door. She narrowed her eyes. Gripping the fabric tightly in her hands, she began to wonder what the Twelve she did to deserve this treatment. 

And no answer came.

She gathered the fabric as best she could, seeing if it could be reassembled—but couldn’t see any way to save it. In a burst of anger, she ripped off the fabric from the mannequin, ran to her window, scrambling to open the glass, and proceeded to chuck all of it out.

In her moment of rage, she happened to hear the soft collapse of fabric below, followed by: “What the hell?” 

Azlyn, looking out the window to peer below, saw a young girl, her skin a darker skin color than hers, but still on the pale side. Horns like hers were adorned on the sides of this girls face, although comically a piece of fabric hung on it. She had short, shoulder length hair that was dark blue in color that spun into white ends. It was then that Azlyn made eye contact with her, her eyes were brimmed with a fiery passion locked behind her rich magenta eyes. 

“I think you dropped this?” She called up the three story floor, to which Azlyn numbly nodded. 

The girl had a bit of a rhythm to her foot—almost like she was keeping an ever growing beat within her head. 

“S-sorry.” Azlyn stuttered, more surprised that her emotion was trying to betray her. 

The girl seemed to sense something was wrong, and pulled the fabric into her bosom. “Hang on, I’ll come up to you. Give me a bit!” And before she could tell her no, the blue skinned girl was already gone. 

It wasn’t long before there was a soft knock on her door. Azlyn slowly opened it, and the same girl from down below stood before her. She seemed to be studying the destroyed dress as Azlyn allowed some space for her to come inside. She walked in, stopped short of the mannequin, and then plopped down to the ground. She sat cross legged as she was peering at each of the fabric pieces. Azlyn could hear a sight him from her throat as she continued in her work. 

“A case of bullying? Maybe, the cut marks suggest destruction was the goal. It’s a shame.” The girl offered Azlyn a remorseful smile. “This is a traditional handmade dress. Many Auri mothers make dresses like these for their daughters for auspicious occasions. Was it for the ceremony?”

Azlyn walked over, her legs bending over to sit formally on her legs. She nodded as her own fingers lightly touched the fabric. “It happened last night. The dorm matron was behind it.”

The Au Ra girl in her room looked as if a light bulb lit up. “Ahhhhh, that would make sense. The Raen clan always has difficulty with her. I’m sorry you are her latest victim. There’s another girl who went through similar ordeals.”

Azlyn pointed over to her. “To you?”

At this the girl shook her head. “Me? Yes, but I told her to get shat on by a three winged arch devil. She didn’t take too kindly to that. Oh! I’m Kida—Kida Vescura. And you are?”

“Azlyn.”

They shook hands, but now they were staring at the demolished dress. 

“Well we have two options, one we confront the bitch now and tell her to suck a monkey’s left testicle, or we make you another dress and show her up by telling her to suck a monkey’s left testicle.”

Azlyn wasn’t used to the crude language, but it made her feel a bit better. “Can we fix it in this short amount of time?”

The girl known as Kida nodded. “Oh yes, but it might involve a couple all nighters. And the overall style will change. Can’t save that unfortunately. Oh! I know a couple girls in the Weavers guild here, they may have some excess fabric.”

What other option did she have? And if her mother learned about this, that woman would definitely find herself lost in the Ruby Sea. Azlyn shuddered to think of the rage her mother would feel. Deciding it best to hold off on telling her, she gave a small smile. “Alright, then I’ll be in your care.”

She wondered what help she could be—seeing as her crafting skills were... pretty horrendous. She still was unable to make things as well as her mother had. 

Kida smiled broadly. “Yes! Let’s give that lady a couple heart attacks before the ceremony is over! I’m all for this plan!” She instructed Azlyn on a few things to gather before heading back to her own room for her supplies. In that time she was gone, the girl was busy trying to sketch up what styles might work with what was left. 

One of the proposed drawings was a bit risqué, but at this point it was sink or swim. Kida came back with a few sewing kits, and looked over the drawings. The drawing of the dress showing the most skin appealed to her the most, and Azlyn learned quickly that making and fixing the dress would take most of her time and effort in the week to come. But Kida had also been the one who put in the most work. Seeing as Azlyn messed up the hemlines that she worked on previous. 

By the morning of the ceremony, the two girls were gazing at a brand new dress hung elegantly on the mannequin. It lost its sleeves, collar, and excess fabric on the shoulders. There was only one side that wrapped around the left shoulder and wrapped around her back to cover it entirely, different from the original dress her mom made. The slit that had been on the right side of the dress had been taken up higher, giving more attention to her long legs. This dress was adorned with a simple lace overlay, and the light purple still popped. 

“Perfect! Okay just to make sure it doesn’t get destroyed between now and the ceremony, we’ll have to stay to guard. I’m going to grab my outfit real quick and we can head over together! Oh—unless you have a date?” Kida planned it meticulously, while Azlyn wiped the sweat from her forehead. 

“No dates, just promised a dance or two with my friend.”

Kida smirked devilishly. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

Azlyn smiled. “He’s nice when he’s not in study/work mode.”

“He better be. I’ll be right back! Don’t move!”

And like the wind, Kida danced out of her room and skipped joyfully down the hall. Azlyn had a feeling that this girl was more of a crafter and musically inclined compared to her usual group of friends. Especially during the times when she would hum rhythms and tap different beats. 

Their morning classes had been postponed, for the set up and preparation of the ceremony. Many of the students were looking forward to it. Azlyn sat with a bunch of her make up in front of the mirror, wondering what shade of lipstick would look best. Her typical style was more dark colors, especially emphasized at her corner eyelids by the bridge of her nose. With her dress, she figured a dark purple would offset it well, and with a plum purple lipstick, it would even out nicely. She didn’t wear much make up, mostly because her natural aesthetics were pleasant enough. She naturally had long lashes, darkened like the under roots of her hair. 

When she finished putting her make up on, she wondered what she should do with her hair. She debated about it for a time, until Kida came back with her tailored suit she prepared. She laid her slacks and shirt on the bed. 

“We’ll get changed in a bit, but what should we do with your hair? Want it up or down?” Kida asked, moving to stand behind her and lifting up her long locks of hair. Some curls naturally slid down by her face. 

“I haven’t really done anything with my hair since I was a kid—what do you recommend?”

Kida stared at her sitting in front of the mirror. She seemed to be lost in thought before a smile graced her. “How about this?” She started pulling her hair back, fastening it in the back with a pretty hair ornament. Then arranged several strands of her curls to form around her cheeks and fluffed her bangs. 

“You like?”

Azlyn nodded.

Kida smirked, “Excellent! Now let’s have a light snack and prepare for stage two of our quest!”

She pulled her satchel from around her back, and flipped it upside down. The contents of her bag spilled forth on Azlyn’s dorm floor, things from notebooks, quills, wrapped goodies, and other miscellaneous items piled up. 

“This operation must be held in the highest of regards, for failure will result in detention or at worse expulsion. Are you prepared?”

Azlyn nodded, sitting once more on her legs and pulling the first snack she could find. They looked like cookies that were dipped in chocolate. “As long as no one gets too hurt, a little prank should be fine.”

“Then we have an accord. First to determine what we should make.”

“How about a food?” Azlyn suggested, the crunch of the cookie echoed in her room. “If we make a whole bunch of regular snacks, but label the bad ones, it’ll just seem like a simple accident.”

Kida snapped her fingers, liking the idea. “Perfect! Then should we make cookies or—oh!”

Azlyn tilted her head, wondering what Kida just thought of. 

“We are going to need a few things, a bit of herbs to help relieve the bowels, and to borrow the kitchen oven. We’re going to make some—special brownies.”

Her emphasis on special suddenly gave Azlyn an idea of what she wanted to make. And if a harmless laxative was used, it wouldn’t harm anyone. Azlyn pulled out a few of her books, finding her herbology ones. “Aloe Vera Juice would probably be the easiest to get. Maybe.”

Kida smiled. “Then I’m going to make some special brownies! Hold the fort! I’ll be back in an hour or two!” She ran out of the room as quickly as she came. 

Azlyn found herself staring down at the cluttered pile of things still on her floor but shrugged all the same. Luckily her new friend had left her bag so The young girl was able to start putting some of her personal belongings back into it. When that was done, she started to clean any extra stuff she may have left on the ground. There were strewn pieces of fabric that they were graciously given by the student weavers association, and all of Kida’s weaving equipment had still been placed around the room. 

By the time Azlyn had neatly packed and stored everything into containers and bags, Kida bounced back into the room. Her face lit with glee as she produced a whole basket of meticulously wrapped brownies, each had a ribbon tying them. Most of them were blue, but there were several that were wrapped with a red ribbon. Azlyn quirked her head.

As she grabbed one of the red ones, she felt herself floating in the air. As if time had reversed, Azlyn watched as Kida worked in the kitchen preparing the treats. She noted all the ingredients on the counter, and realized that no aloe Vera juice had been used. The vision abruptly ended, bringing her back to Kida explaining nonchalantly.

“The red ones are the ‘bad ones.’” Kida quoted these with her fingers. “We want those to be delivered to the bullies—and Matron Marolithe. I might have written a note left at her door about a potential laxative being distributed.” Kida smiled devilishly. “Operation ‘Trapping the Witch’ is in motion.” She laughed as if she found it funny.

The girl smiled. From this she had to wager a guess that the Matron would call the question the authenticity of the brownie. Kida probably made a good decision by not adding any diarrhetic herbs or juices to the batch. If this plan were to work, they would need the Matron to overreact to them distributing the brownies—and then make a scene about it. If she knew the Matron well enough, she had the feeling that she would fall for it, hook, line, and sinker.  

“Interesting tactic.” Azlyn looked down at the blue wrapped ones. “And these?”

Kida smiled, “Gifts for friends, co workers, and our teachers! I made plenty! You can even send some home to your parents! I’m sending mine some too!” She gave a thumbs up. 

Pulling two baggies from the lot, Azlyn walked over to her desk and placed them on a waiting piece of parchment. She’d finish her letter home and send her parents the treat. She also pulled aside several other baggies and placed them on her table. One would be for Krile, Archon Baldesion, Ejika, and several others within the Students of Baldesion. She also wanted to give one personally to G’raha Tia later. With the presents prepared, the two were left with less than three hours to prepare for the main event. 

Kida went over to her outfit. “You’ve been busy organizing and putting stuff away! Excellent job! Now let’s get ready and head on over!”

Azlyn walked over to her dress, and prepared herself for a long night. She hoped it would go without a hitch. 

Kida finished changing first, as her outfit had been the most comfortable to get into. Her boots also looked relatively relaxing, with a low heel. Her hair was styled to the back, letting her own natural curls swoop back. The dark blue dress suit with slacks off set her bright pink orbs and pale blue skin. 

She assisted Azlyn into her dress, zipping up the back for her, and smirked. “I have the perfect set of earrings to match your dress, where’s my bag?” Kida dropped down to her satchel in question, and started to peruse her side pockets for the aforementioned jewelry. While she was busy doing this, Azlyn slipped on her dance shoes. It didn’t take long before she pulled two pearl drop earrings with a silver chain. “Here, you can borrow them tonight! You’re going to need all the armor you can get tonight!” She flashed the girl with her own rings, earrings, and bracelet with a wink. “A girl can never be unprepared!”

Azlyn walked over to the mirror, gazing at her ears where she had her ordinary gem earrings in place. She exchanged them quickly, and then twirled around for Kida to see. She gave an approving nod, and they were ready to head over. Azlyn lifted the basket of brownies into her hands with ease. When they opened the door into the hall, they could see and hear the scouring girls on the floor getting their last minute details complete on their own outfits before heading down. 

Excitement was in the air.

Kida walked confidently, and Azlyn strolled casually next to her. Some of the girls who were exiting their rooms had to stop and stare at them as they passed. The mixture of surprise and awe were seen in most of the girls as they made their way to the stairs. As Kida took a step down, she turned back to to face Azlyn with a smile. She raised her hand up to offer her assistance down the stairs.

“You’re getting quite the looks from the girls.” Kida grinned, teasing her as they walked down the steps. “We’ll be passing the matrons floor soon, get your battle face ready.”

Azlyn nodded, a gentle smile graced her lips. As they made their way down, she chanced a glance over her shoulder. She spotted the dorm matron right away—she was dressed sophisticatedly, her evening dress formal for the occasion—and that look on her face that seemed completely taken aback at their presence—Azlyn gave a slight nod in her direction before turning back to Kida. 

“She’s not happy.” She whispered for Kida to hear alone. 

The girl nodded. “I can’t wait to see what she does.” Kida looked ready to start some mischief. 

Azlyn wondered what she would try to do next, but decided not to dwell on it too much. After all, this was an opportunity to unwind from all the studying. They exited the dorm building, and were greeted to a sea of students milling outside. Many of them were the males, probably waiting for the girls they asked to come out. Kida ignored some of the leering stares, many of them obviously taken by their bold attires. 

Following her friends footfalls, she could hear some of them murmuring about how pretty they were—especially the white haired one. Kida also dragged in attention, as she walked confidently past. It wasn’t long before a familiar face popped into view. He was chatting with a couple of his friends from the other classes, his attire formal wear sent from home. Archon Baldesion probably sent him that outfit so he could join everyone. 

It was a formal black and white suit, with a marking of the Students of Baldesion on the shoulder. He also had a flower pinned to his lapel. 

Azlyn reached out to stop Kida, directing her new friend so that she could go say hi to her childhood friend. Kida smirked, “is that your friend?” The emphasis on friend was drawn out in a suggestive tone. 

Azlyn chuckled. “He’s a good friend.”

“Sure, friend.” She quoted the word friend with her fingers, but led on. It wasn’t long before the three boys stopped their conversation as Kida appeared before them. Azlyn walked courteously, and stopped a few feet back from her. “Well, well! Good to see you all fine folks. Mind if we tag along?”

The guys started their onslaught of compliments, and G’raha Tia went to face them. 

G’raha Tia smirked to Kida, “How strikingly beautiful even dressed like so, the way your eyes sparkle like the Rhotano Sea. And your friend, she—” He was stopped mid speech when he realized it was Azlyn standing behind, but his open-slack jaw was lifted up by Kida’s index finger. She drew his attention back as she devilishly smirked.

“I ain’t your type pussy cat.” Kida watched him flub up his next words. “Pretty boy’s got quite the vocabulary. You boys know we’re way out of your league, correct?” Her words at the end were pointed with precision and cunning. Most of them were used to her brazen way of speaking, but G’raha Tia stood transfixed on Azlyn shuffling the basket of brownies in her arms. 

“Kida’s a beast.” T’laq Tia, a Miqo’te boy with blonde hair, dark brown eyes and dark complexion remarked. “G’raha’s gonna have a hard time with you.”

The other boy, a Hyur, Alfric crossed his arms. He had a fairer complexion with brown hair and green eyes. “You still trying to upset your dorm matron Kida?”

Kida turned to the two with a smirk. “Of course, what better way to stick it to the lady than by dressing as a guy? She’s already probably blowing a gasket.” The three laughed.

G’raha swallowed the lump in his throat before walking over to his friend. His face flushed, mostly from Kida’s comment. He cleared his throat into his fist. “Uh—Azlyn, your dress is—great.”

Kida popped up at his shoulder, she smacked his arm with great force. “Great? She looks like a million Gil! What daft idiot are you?” 

The guys started to laugh while G’raha turned away. His face a bit redder. “Wh-whatever. I’m going in first. I’ll get us a table.” And he rushed away before Azlyn could stop him. Kida shook her head. “Don’t mind him Azlyn. Hey, Alfric who else are you waiting on?”

Alfric at the mention of his name smiled. “I’m waiting for Arnora. She should be coming out soon.”

T’laq smirked. “Couldn’t ask anyone except your own sister?”

Alfric turned to punch his friend. “Like you did any better.”

Kida bounced over to Azlyn, plucking some of the good brownies out to share. “Here you two gents go. Fresh off the oven this morning. Be amazed by my culinary skills!”

The boys opened the brownies without much effort, and tasted them. They ate them in one huge gulp, hardly even tasting them. 

“These are pretty good! Nice work Kida!” The Miqo’te boy with blonde hair wiped a bit of crumbs from his lips. 

Alfric also nodded in approval. “Have you decided to open a bakery or something?”

Kida shook her head. “Nah, I have decided to become someone who can learn all about dancing, singing, playing instruments, and just learn all kinds of fun stuff. All these stuffy lectures and internships just aren’t for me. I’m just doing it so my parents don’t have to worry about me too much.”

T’laq nodded. “You didn’t strike me as someone who could be a schol—ow!” Kida smacked him on his arm before he could finish. 

“Anyone can do anything as long as they put their mind to it!” She reprimanded. Azlyn smiled.

“Am I late?” Another female came up to the group, and Azlyn turned to see a beautifully dressed Hyur girl approaching. She was dressed almost identically to Alfric, color scheme wise. Her brown hair was tied back in a simple ribbon, and her eyes were bright green. 

“Good to see you Arnora!” Kida jumped up, extending a greeting to their newcomer. 

“Kida! How are you? Did the fabric come in handy?”

Azlyn wondered if she was Kida’s connection to the weaver association at the academy. Kida nodded enthusiastically, and directed Arnora’s attention to Azlyn’s dress. “Look here, we did this and this.” She pointed to several of the parts they altered the last few nights.

Arnora gave Azlyn a warm smile. “Kida told me that a dress got ruined in a case of horrid bullying. That dorm matron is too much. But the end result is quite stunning. Could you swing by the weavers group later this week so we can archive your dress? It’s simply beautiful.”

Azlyn nodded, which gave the Hyur girl a giant smile. 

“Awesome! Kida, you are such a great friend!” Arnora praised the Au Ra girl for her work, and then smiled up to her brother and his friend. “Are we waiting on anyone else?”

“No, it was just you.” Alfric smiled, and T’laq pointed to the large convention center. The academy used the space for large assemblies, but in this case they prepared it for the Archon’s ceremony. 

“Let’s be on the way!”

Kida wrapped her arms with Azlyn’s and Arnora’s and all five of them started to make their way over to the building.