Ficlet: Submerged
Dec. 4th, 2018 05:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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finalfantasyxivfanworksFirst of many of my imported ficlets from tumblr onto here.
Title: Submerged
Characters: Warrior of Light (Aza Lynel), Original Character
Rating: T
Warnings: Mention of past drowning
“C’mon, Aza, stop being a baby and get in already.”
Aza eyed the river warily, still sitting on the rocky shore with his toes only just barely curling over the edge. There was less than three feet separating him and the waist deep water, and the current was slow and gentle. The sun glittered off its surface, and occasionally he could see the silvery flash of fish darting between rocks and past Bluebird’s shins. It looked, to put it bluntly, lovely and perfect to go frolicking about during the muggy summer of Yanxia.
Except looking at it filled Aza with nothing but dread. Anything deeper than his knees always got his pulse fluttering and stomach knotting, and that was fine. The Steppes rarely had anything too deep to wade through, and you normally forded it on horseback anyways – anything deeper the Xaela tribes avoided or found bridges, natural or man-made, to cross. When they visited Onokoro, they did it on the boat and he was comfortable enough on those. So, Aza never had to confront his wariness of deep water, and that was fine.
Not anymore. Doma was lousy with rivers, and the resistance fighters the boss contracted them too practically lived in the fucking things to slip past Imperial patrols and the like. Boss humoured his wariness for exactly one week before ordering he’d get over it or find a different group to work with. Considering they were ass-deep in Imperial territory with no other mercenary groups as survivable as this one… yeah, no, Aza had to get over this.
“Aza,” Bluebird sighed, “C’mon.”
“I’m building up to it,” he said, wriggling his butt against the mossy rock he was uncomfortably perched on, flexing his toes on the edge, “I’ll do it.”
“Yeah, when I die of old age,” Bluebird said scornfully, but she waded closer. She had stripped down to nothing but her underwear, her armour and weapon neatly bundled next to Aza, and she was starting to freckle where the sun kissed her pale skin, “Budge over, baby. Lemme sit down.”
He obligingly scooted over, and Bluebird climbed out of the river to sit next to him, her thick tail thwacking him in the hip accidentally-on-purpose.
“You’re not a kid anymore,” Bluebird said, “You gotta stop being scared about shit.”
“Yeah, sure,” Aza drawled, “I’ll just stop being scared. Thanks for the advice, Bluebird.”
She punched him in the shoulder hard enough that he almost toppled over, “Letting yourself get stuck because you’re scared,” she clarified, “Only babies stop and cry when they’re frightened. Adults suck it up and try anyway.”
Aza rubbed his shoulder, understanding what Bluebird was getting at – it didn’t help his frustration any, because logically he knew this situation was safe. The river current was gentle, it wasn’t that deep, and Bluebird wouldn’t let him drown. But still, he remembered the burn in his lungs, the helplessness as dark depths pulled him down after the sinking ship, the way his vision greyed out until he lost consciousness. To this day he still didn’t know how he got to shore…
“I’m not going to get over this within minutes,” Aza grumbled sourly, envious of Bluebird’s natural fearlessness. His sister just plunged headfirst into shit without a care, and he had only ever seen her legitimately scared three times in his life. Mom said it was because she lacked sense, which was probably true, but Aza still envied her for it. Must be nice, living life without being terrified of almost everything in it.
“No, you just gotta tolerate it enough that you can wade through this without freaking out,” Bluebird said, and she planted a hand on his shoulder, digging her heel right in, “Look, I’ll help you out… like this!”
And then she shoved him.
Into the river.
“Blu-!” he yelped, only to get a mouthful of water the second he hit it face first. He flailed wildly as he went under, his palms scraping against the rough riverbed before he wrangled his instinctive panic enough for him to fucking stand up. He clawed upwards, gasping wetly when he broke the surface and coughed up the water he inhaled, nose and throat burning and eyes stinging.
He almost fell flat into the water again when a strong hand slapped him between the shoulder blades rhythmically, helping him cough up the water until he was wheezing pathetically.
“There, see?” Bluebird said cheerfully, gripping him by the scruff of his neck when he was done, so he couldn’t turn around and fucking deck her, “You’re fine.”
“H-Hate you…” Aza coughed, rubbing at his aching chest as he squinted at the water lapping about his waist. He was shivering with adrenaline, and extreme distress, but Bluebird’s grip was strong and anchoring, and the longer he stood there, half-panting, the more his nerves eased up fraction by tiny fraction.
“You’re fine,” Bluebird repeated, more soothingly this time, “Got a big lungful there and you’re not keeling over dead – not that I’d let you anyways. Do you know what Mom’d do to me if I let you drown in fucking Doma?”
Aza grunted, “No one would ever find your body.”
“Exactly,” Bluebird let go of him and playfully shoved his shoulder, “You look like a drowned rat, by the way, with your hair plastered down like that.”
Aza slanted a look her way, seeing the way his sister leaned on her heels and smirked at him. He loved her, but Gods, there were times where he wanted to punch her nose in. He wouldn’t win a wrestling match here, though, she wouldn’t hesitate to shove his head underwater until he was literally crying for mercy, so…
He muffled another cough into his hand, half-turning from Bluebird as if to wade back to shore, “You’re such a bitch- hah!”
Bluebird squawked when he lunged into action, successfully catching her off guard as he body-checked her just as he hooked his foot around her ankle and pulled. With an enraged screech, his sister toppled underwater, and Aza ran for his fucking life- or, as fast as he could run in waist-deep water anyways.
“AZA!” Bluebird howled as he frantically clambered out of the river, his sister resurfacing like a vengeful kelpie behind him – fuck, even a fish was flung into the air from the force of her lunging out of the water! “GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!”
“What’re you mad about!? You’re fine!” he yelled over his shoulder, snatching up his clothes and sword and making his escape, “Just a lungful of water, Bluebird!”
“ARGH!”
So, that day didn’t really help with his fear of deep water. If anything it compounded it, considering how determinedly his sister tried to drown him once she caught up to him!
(It was only once he got the Kojin’s Blessing years later that he truly started getting over his fears. After all, difficult to be afraid of something you’re literally immune against)
Title: Submerged
Characters: Warrior of Light (Aza Lynel), Original Character
Rating: T
Warnings: Mention of past drowning
“C’mon, Aza, stop being a baby and get in already.”
Aza eyed the river warily, still sitting on the rocky shore with his toes only just barely curling over the edge. There was less than three feet separating him and the waist deep water, and the current was slow and gentle. The sun glittered off its surface, and occasionally he could see the silvery flash of fish darting between rocks and past Bluebird’s shins. It looked, to put it bluntly, lovely and perfect to go frolicking about during the muggy summer of Yanxia.
Except looking at it filled Aza with nothing but dread. Anything deeper than his knees always got his pulse fluttering and stomach knotting, and that was fine. The Steppes rarely had anything too deep to wade through, and you normally forded it on horseback anyways – anything deeper the Xaela tribes avoided or found bridges, natural or man-made, to cross. When they visited Onokoro, they did it on the boat and he was comfortable enough on those. So, Aza never had to confront his wariness of deep water, and that was fine.
Not anymore. Doma was lousy with rivers, and the resistance fighters the boss contracted them too practically lived in the fucking things to slip past Imperial patrols and the like. Boss humoured his wariness for exactly one week before ordering he’d get over it or find a different group to work with. Considering they were ass-deep in Imperial territory with no other mercenary groups as survivable as this one… yeah, no, Aza had to get over this.
“Aza,” Bluebird sighed, “C’mon.”
“I’m building up to it,” he said, wriggling his butt against the mossy rock he was uncomfortably perched on, flexing his toes on the edge, “I’ll do it.”
“Yeah, when I die of old age,” Bluebird said scornfully, but she waded closer. She had stripped down to nothing but her underwear, her armour and weapon neatly bundled next to Aza, and she was starting to freckle where the sun kissed her pale skin, “Budge over, baby. Lemme sit down.”
He obligingly scooted over, and Bluebird climbed out of the river to sit next to him, her thick tail thwacking him in the hip accidentally-on-purpose.
“You’re not a kid anymore,” Bluebird said, “You gotta stop being scared about shit.”
“Yeah, sure,” Aza drawled, “I’ll just stop being scared. Thanks for the advice, Bluebird.”
She punched him in the shoulder hard enough that he almost toppled over, “Letting yourself get stuck because you’re scared,” she clarified, “Only babies stop and cry when they’re frightened. Adults suck it up and try anyway.”
Aza rubbed his shoulder, understanding what Bluebird was getting at – it didn’t help his frustration any, because logically he knew this situation was safe. The river current was gentle, it wasn’t that deep, and Bluebird wouldn’t let him drown. But still, he remembered the burn in his lungs, the helplessness as dark depths pulled him down after the sinking ship, the way his vision greyed out until he lost consciousness. To this day he still didn’t know how he got to shore…
“I’m not going to get over this within minutes,” Aza grumbled sourly, envious of Bluebird’s natural fearlessness. His sister just plunged headfirst into shit without a care, and he had only ever seen her legitimately scared three times in his life. Mom said it was because she lacked sense, which was probably true, but Aza still envied her for it. Must be nice, living life without being terrified of almost everything in it.
“No, you just gotta tolerate it enough that you can wade through this without freaking out,” Bluebird said, and she planted a hand on his shoulder, digging her heel right in, “Look, I’ll help you out… like this!”
And then she shoved him.
Into the river.
“Blu-!” he yelped, only to get a mouthful of water the second he hit it face first. He flailed wildly as he went under, his palms scraping against the rough riverbed before he wrangled his instinctive panic enough for him to fucking stand up. He clawed upwards, gasping wetly when he broke the surface and coughed up the water he inhaled, nose and throat burning and eyes stinging.
He almost fell flat into the water again when a strong hand slapped him between the shoulder blades rhythmically, helping him cough up the water until he was wheezing pathetically.
“There, see?” Bluebird said cheerfully, gripping him by the scruff of his neck when he was done, so he couldn’t turn around and fucking deck her, “You’re fine.”
“H-Hate you…” Aza coughed, rubbing at his aching chest as he squinted at the water lapping about his waist. He was shivering with adrenaline, and extreme distress, but Bluebird’s grip was strong and anchoring, and the longer he stood there, half-panting, the more his nerves eased up fraction by tiny fraction.
“You’re fine,” Bluebird repeated, more soothingly this time, “Got a big lungful there and you’re not keeling over dead – not that I’d let you anyways. Do you know what Mom’d do to me if I let you drown in fucking Doma?”
Aza grunted, “No one would ever find your body.”
“Exactly,” Bluebird let go of him and playfully shoved his shoulder, “You look like a drowned rat, by the way, with your hair plastered down like that.”
Aza slanted a look her way, seeing the way his sister leaned on her heels and smirked at him. He loved her, but Gods, there were times where he wanted to punch her nose in. He wouldn’t win a wrestling match here, though, she wouldn’t hesitate to shove his head underwater until he was literally crying for mercy, so…
He muffled another cough into his hand, half-turning from Bluebird as if to wade back to shore, “You’re such a bitch- hah!”
Bluebird squawked when he lunged into action, successfully catching her off guard as he body-checked her just as he hooked his foot around her ankle and pulled. With an enraged screech, his sister toppled underwater, and Aza ran for his fucking life- or, as fast as he could run in waist-deep water anyways.
“AZA!” Bluebird howled as he frantically clambered out of the river, his sister resurfacing like a vengeful kelpie behind him – fuck, even a fish was flung into the air from the force of her lunging out of the water! “GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!”
“What’re you mad about!? You’re fine!” he yelled over his shoulder, snatching up his clothes and sword and making his escape, “Just a lungful of water, Bluebird!”
“ARGH!”
So, that day didn’t really help with his fear of deep water. If anything it compounded it, considering how determinedly his sister tried to drown him once she caught up to him!
(It was only once he got the Kojin’s Blessing years later that he truly started getting over his fears. After all, difficult to be afraid of something you’re literally immune against)
