Long Lost [ooc welcome]

[Illira]

Illira Carceri pats down her shirt as walks quickly, stopping suddenly straighten up one of her boots so that it stops sagging slightly before walking up the rest of the way to the small, and more importantly, out of the way cafe up on the airstrip. She looks around, a little nervously, eventually seeing an Elezen a little older than she, seated at one of the tiny tables. She takes in a breath and much more slowly this time, walks over to the table and slides into the empty chair across from the man, "Hello, Amaury."

 

The man answers with a nod and a thin, amused smile, clearly lost in some lagoon of social protocols he barely remembers. "Hello, Illira. It is good to see you again! How are you doing?" he manages.

 

She glances around the table, as if looking for something to distract herself with, only looking up briefly to meet Amaury's eyes, "Fine enough, everything considered, better than..." she cuts herself off, starting again, "It was lucky that I happened to be passing through Ul'dah these past few days. I... had not realized how much time had passed."

 

“I'm sure your work has kept you busy enough. Even if it hadn't, I'm not sure my captors would have liked me keeping in touch with the outside, considering their...loyalties. But...!” Amaury continues jokingly, "We both know what I've been doing." Then he adds: "What have you been up to?"

 

Illira laughs briefly, looking askance at the man, "Working. Picking up after the scum of Eorzea... I... don't recall if I told you..." she pauses, considering something, "No, I wouldn't have. I was a guard in Gridania when I last wrote you. I work for the Commerce Regulation Agency now. Thats why I'm here. Back in the city."

 

“That sounds much less dangerous than being a Brass Blade, I must say. What...ah...position do you have there?” Amaury beckons the man behind the bar to bring in some drinks. He achieves this by simple hand gestures.

 

Quirking her thin lips, the woman replies, "Yes, well. I have not been one of those in many years. I stay away from Ul'dah these days. No, I'm on their board of directors, though I... serve often as a middle manager." He lips turn upwards into a small amused expression, "Yes, I know. Its rather surprising."

 

Amaury looks surprised at her while the drinks are served. "It is!" he says, sending the waiter away with a couple of new coins in his pocket. "That's quite more commendable than becoming a captain of the Brass Blades. Hopefully, your Agency is much less corrupt and prone to ransoms."

 

"They're... on the right of it. Except... perhaps one of them. His motives are always entirely selfish, I do my best to keep him in check. Its because of him that I was called back here from Limsa. But I really cannot speak more specifics concerning that. As its... business." Ilira reaches out for her glass, bringing it towards her, staring at it for a moment before taking a sip from it, "What, ah, are your plans now? That you are free and all. I will help as I can ."

 

The man takes his own mug but doesn't drink from it yet. "Half free, really. I was left out on parole for a moon before my sentence is considered complete."

 

Illira nods her head, "Of course. I suppose that you'll be in Ul'dah a while longer then?"

 

“I wouldn't really know where else to go even if I had the liberty, so yes. Climbing back up the Ul'dahn food chain from the bottom again. It'll be like when I was young, except not really.” Amaury takes a drink from his mug.

 

The lanky woman's eyebrows come together at that. She sips at her drink, before saying, "I don't live here anymore, as you may have gathered, but I am here for the time being, managing a minor scandal. I'm not sure if, mother or father have written you at all in the past years, but they moved further east for a business venture. I could... off to pay for a room at the Quicksand for you while you look for work. I'm amusing you mean to?"

 

“Of course. I would appreciate that. Though I don't suppose you have any place I could fill in that Agency of yours? Not that I expect to take advantage of your position, but I don't want to hunt for a job here when the Syndicate could just drop a few rumors and coins to stop other employers from hiring me.” Amaury Carceri takes another sip, trying to not look nor sound like a shameless leech in elezen clothes.

 

Illira breathes in, taking her hand off the table where it had previously hugging her drink, "I... I suppose that we could find you something. We... actually just lost an employee who was running an audit. But... I do not believe that is your alley. Forgive me, brother, I... what do you want to do? That may help me find a place for you. I'm guessing that the spotlight is no longer where you wish to be?"

 

Amaury chuckles. "Being thrown in jail for two decades does that to a man." It isn't long before he stops smiling. He runs one hand through his hair. "Auditions are probably out of my alley. Maybe something simpler, like secretary work. I'll see about moving to grander roles once I can actually pay my own food on a daily basis again."

 

Lifting her hand back up to sip at her drink, Illira considering Amaury's position, "Secretarial work? I might have a proposition for you then. Though I would have to discuss it with D'hein. The man is insufferable, but he could be convinced potentially to take you in for work. He is... lax in it. That is why I am here. And I would certainly not mind if you were to keep an eye on his activities if this were to come to fruition."

 

“Ah...D'hein, you said?”

 

Illira dips her head in acknowledgement, her braids dipping forward. "Yes. D'hein Tia. He is... unfortunately one of my constituents. The one that I mentioned I had concerns about earlier."

 

Looking at the bottom of his drink, Amaury thinks on that. "I must say this is a very strange coincidence. I was told a man with that name was responsible for expediting my release."

 

The woman narrows her cold grey eyes, "Your natural sentence was not twenty years then? I had... thought it had been more. Which would make sense now. How did he even know of you?" She takes in a sharp breath. "Oh... he is lower than I thought he was," she finishes under her breath, "That son of a sandworm."

 

“I had no idea who he was or why he'd care about releasing me until now.” Amaury makes a small circle with his hand while bringing the mug closer to his mouth. "I thought it was just some philanthropist picking random names."

 

Illira lets out a breathy laugh, shaking her head, braids whipping with the motion, "D'hein? A philanthropist? I'm sure that he imagines himself as such. But the truth is that he could never be. The man has not a selfless bone in his body, mark my words, there is certainly an ulterior motive for digging into my history and pulling strings for your release."

 

Amaury manages to chuckle in amusement. "If you say he has, then he probably does. Though remember that, sometimes, men take strangely charming actions for the attention of women."

 

Illira was in the middle of drink when he says that. She pauses, letting the stone glass sit there against her lips for a minute before quietly putting it back down frowning. "Amaury. I would rather find myself at the bottom of a lake before even considering such an option." She shudders at the thought of D'hein harboring amorous musings of her. "No. Absolutely not."

 

Amaury laughs at that. "I'm just saying it might be a bit more innocent than you think. However, let's not think of that man now, now. I'm sure I'll find some other occupation to recover my bearings." He pauses to finish his drink. "Give him my thanks in any case. I am, after all, out of prison thanks to him."

 

"I have an idea of why he did it. And I assure you, it was entirely self-motivated. That aside if you do not want me to try to get you a job as his assistant, what would you plan to do instead? Unfortunately I do not have many jobs lined up here, aside from that needing a replacement on an audit case. This is not my territory these days, but I would not see you on the streets."

 

“I am...not sure. I do not have any skills the local guilds could benefit from and I do not fancy myself as a crate carrier or a miner. Maybe some of the local traders requires a hand in selling their goods.” Amaury smiles. "Or maybe I should just become an adventurer!" he says, chucking briefly and then shaking his head. "Perish the thought!"

 

Illira responds with a smile of her own, "Yes, I'm sure you'd find a way to drown in the desert. The city life always did suit you best. Let me... look around for you some, though of course, you should look as well." She stops talking, moving her gaze down to her hand tucked in her lap, "I never did forget you, you know. Even if I did not visit. Or write. As much as I should have these past years."

 

“I know. Do not worry about yourself over that. But, please, do worry about helping me find a job. I feel like I've been sitting on my thumbs for two decades.” Amaury Carceri laughs at his own joke.

 

Shaking her head, Illira still looks downward. Her voice firm, "No, you did nothing to be ashamed of. There is no excuse good enough for my own negligence though. I will do as I must to make amends."

 

“I can think of a perfectly good excuse for not contacting me more often. The Syndicate would have gone after you. Sporadic contact didn't give them much reason to think we were conspiring or sharing information. Sometimes, the best course of action is not the one we like the most. Not as perfect or ideal, but it is still the best.”

 

Illira continues avoiding his gaze, "Those are all valid and good reasons. But it would be a lie if I took one of them as my own."

 

Amaury keeps quiet for a moment that is perhaps too long. At the end, he says: "I do not hold anything against you, Illira. So don't hold anything against yourself, either."

 

She clenches her jaw ever so slightly before she looks back up at Amaury, "I cannot do that. But I can work to help you now, when I could do nothing before."

 

“I can accept that. Now, would you like some breakfast?”

 

Relaxing at those simple words, Illira responds, "Yes, that would be fine."