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Elusive Quarry


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[An IC background story for Vairemont Malveaux and Avaeris Ortana]

 

Some years ago...

 

The viera had scarcely arrived, and now she was leaving? Something had to be done about that.

Since Vairemont Malveaux had relocated to Gridania some years ago, he’d grown accustomed to the ebb and flow of adventurers filtering through the forest city. When he wasn’t somewhere in the Shroud earning his coin right alongside them, it had become his pastime to occupy one of the tables in the Carline Canopy and eavesdrop on their conversations. Join them too, sometimes, but it was usually more fun to listen when he wasn’t invited.

 

The myriad travelers frequently brought tales from far away lands, all throughout Eorzea and beyond. Some were more interesting than others. The political turmoil in Ul’dah was always a turbulent choice of topic. Nearly everyone seemed to have rousing misadventures in Limsa Lominsa, though half of those sounded exaggerated or untrue. Refugees were common, especially from Ala Mhigo and Doma--all of them tragic nearly to the point of dullness.

 

Although Vairemont maintained the air of a transient himself, he never seemed to go anywhere. Sure, he would venture to every corner of the Black Shroud questing for gil, but rarely any further, and never for long. He only needed a few more years to round off a decade of veritable loitering in the wooded city-state.

 

One of Gridania’s new arrivals had lately caught his interest. She stood out immediately and for a number of reasons. The first being those ears.

 

Viera, her people were called. Although Vairemont had heard vague references to the secretive race before, he’d never expected to see one in person. Indeed, he wasn’t even certain they were real until she walked through the door with a rapier on her hip. Her almost predatory swagger had caught his eye immediately.

 

The second was her fighting style. Proving herself to be another sellsword traveling through the area, Vairemont quickly found himself working alongside her to cull Ixal incursions along the borders of the forest. She mixed melee with magic in a style he’d never seen used before. Although he considered himself a master with a number of weapons, her prowess made him feel like an amateur.

 

Her name, Vairemont learned, was Avaeris Ortana. He introduced himself when they worked their first contract together. He offered a great deal of small talk and half-jokes all the way, and while she didn’t much reciprocate, she did politely tolerate his company. When she didn’t object to working with him a second time, he took it as a token of friendship.

 

The last was her air of intrigue. Unlike many other travelers pausing in Gridania, Avaeris wasn’t given to socializing. Her race? Exceedingly rare in these parts. Her origins? Unknown. Her ambitions? Anyone’s guess.

 

Vairemont could hardly resist a mystery.

 

So when the time came for her to leave Gridania, he made it his business to know why. After she checked out of her room at the Canopy, Vairemont was already waiting for her at the Blue Badger Gate. His lean form was propped against the wall as she strode near.

 

“Ah, there she is.” Vairemont thumbed up the brim of his hat to get a clear look at her. “Lady Ortana! Surely you’re not leaving already. You’ve barely even begun your career here! Now--now, wait--”

 

The elezen stepped in her path, earning a suspicious glance from a vigilant Woodwailer as he prevented her from leaving.

 

“Praytell, you must tell me where you’re going.” Vairemont crossed his arms. “Back to viera-land, I presume?”

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Even though it had been a better part of four years since she left her homeland, she sometimes felt like she was still a veritable fish out of water. Of all the places the Viera had visited, Gridania proved to be the closest in its scenery to that of her jungle, but its people were a different matter all together. By now, she was used to mercenary work and the type of folk that it attracted, and though she tended to keep to herself and avoid most idle conversation, she seemed to have drawn the eye of a particular elezen man who was more than happy to talk too much. 

 

But unlike others, the interest he had in her didn't seem like an ulterior motive, and so she did tolerate his presence, and even deigned to offer excursions to him as a partner. But after several months of residing within the forest city, she'd learned of a lead for the Garlean official who had taken her sister. With renewed determination, the viera had packed her things without so much as a word to her "friend", and had headed toward the gates. 

 

What she hadn't expected was the elezen's bold and abrupt intervening. Avaeris resisted rolling her eyes at his sarcastic honorific and placed a hand on her hip. "I must?" She repeated with a raise of her brow. "Have you a right to be privy to my business?" The viera asked in turn. "I wasn't aware we were such dear friends, Vairemont." Her tone was sarcastic, though there was a shadow of a smile to her lips regardless. "The least you need to know is that no, I am not returning to the Golmore Jungle. I am no longer welcome there."

Edited by Avaeris Ortana
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No longer welcome? The elezen arced an eyebrow.

 

“That so…” That story, with all its various implications, was specifically familiar to him. Vairemont felt a font of empathy well from within. He knew that he sensed a kindred soul. “Well, that’s a pity to hear.”

 

Feeling the pressure of the nearby Woodwailer’s commanding gaze, who was wordlessly questioning the elezen’s motive for harassing the viera, Vairemont finally offered a nod of apology and stepped out of Avaeris’ path. All he had wanted was her attention.

 

“Very well, Avaeris.” Should the viera resume her trek past the city gate, it was his intention to fall in step beside her. “I concede that I have no right to your business. I’m merely asking.” 

 

Vairemont tipped his hat to a female guard standing outside the wall as he passed. Already familiar with him, the armored elezen visibly rolled her eyes.

 

“So, what is your hurry?” he asked the viera. “Gridania not to your liking? I’ve found it rather agreeable to my needs, personally.”

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Once he stepped out of her way, she walked forward, unfazed for now by his decision to follow her. "I'm not looking for a place to settle down," She said plainly, her pale cyan gaze focused ahead of her, rather than toward her "companion." Her pace was brisk, but seeing as he was of similar height to her it might not have mattered.

 

"But if this place is satisfactory to you, why do you follow me?" She turned the question on him as they approached the stables where her lupine mount resided. The viera had not yet felt a reason to divulge her quest to Vairemont, though she was loathe to admit he was not unskilled with a bow. "Have you no one here that cares about you?"

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Vairemont's eyes widened in mild surprise, not expecting his inquiries to be pitched back at him. Stunned as he was by the questions, he couldn't help but admire the deadly precision of her questions. She knew just where to strike. It made her all the more compelling to him.

 

"Can't say as I do, actually." It hurt a bit to admit that. Although a few other adventurers he'd fought shoulder-to-shoulder with filed through his mind, most of them had already left by now, or had lives too grand to accommodate the likes of some unknown archer from Gridania. "At least, none who cares about my welfare as much as I do." He smirked.

 

While Avaeris set to the task of loosing her peculiar wolf steed from its pen, Vairemont similarly unlatched the gate to his chocobo, Rodger. It chirped elatedly as he reached up to pet its beak. Drawing the bird out, he began to check the straps on its saddle. He fully intended to ride with the viera, though there was no telling how far.

 

"To answer your question, there is a reason I do what I do. Killing for coin, that is." The elezen reached in his pack and pulled out a treat to feed his bird. Rodger's great beak pecked it out of his hand with startling enthusiasm, causing Vairemont to flinch in surprise. He steadied the animal by grabbing the reins along the side of its head. "Easy, Rodger! You act as though I starve you." He cleared his throat and turned to the viera to finish his point. "I have always been moved to serve others. To aid their plights. It gives my existence some semblance of meaning."

 

Vairemont smiled confidently to discourage any potential looks of pity.

 

"You, Lady Ortana, look very determined about something." The elezen hoisted himself up on his chocobo with a graceful flourish. "You are all sorts of interesting, to start, but moreover I get the sense that you don't ask for help even when you need it. Now I'm not one to force an issue, so if I'm wrong, tell me so and I will happily go away."

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