[ closed ] Life is a series of journeys, my friend

[afflatusexarch]

Who: G'raha Tia & CR
Status: Closed
Where: Various
What: Catching up and conversations regarding more recent events back on his star

Warnings: SPOILERS :)





[ If you would like to have a private conversation with G'raha regarding his involvement as events unfolded in Dawntrail, hit me up. ]

Comments

[activatingcombatmode]

You can't count on what the future might be, you can only be who you are in the present moment.

[By now he has seen and listened to some of Emet-Selch's story. Zack had seen the echo of Emet-Selch's past burning away under meteorites and destruction. The Abyss fog had shown him more pain than he was prepared to see.

And he knows how persistent G'raha is when it comes to solving problems.

Emet-Selch, G'raha Tia as the Exarch, Queen Sphene... how alike and how different are they. It's a never ending question.]

If that changes the future? We won't know that, either. [It's impossible to know.] I think it's normal to wonder what we would do in the same shoes as someone else. But in the end... You're just you.

[Perhaps G'raha made some of the same decisions... But they all did what they thought was best. Is it really so bad?]

[afflatusexarch]

'Tis a bit more complex for me, as I am both a person from the present moment and one that has experienced the future that will no longer be.

[ He softly smiles at Zack, knowing that the man means well. Zack is trying to tell G'raha that he can't possibly know how things are going to work out now. The future has, indeed, changed but it's not quite possible to know how it will look on down the line.

His hand touches Zack's cheek. A thumb moving across the scar there. ]

It is difficult, you see, to be just me. In this situation, though I empathize, I know that the dead need to rest and the living need to find a way to move forward. Sphene was just as much a Primal in some ways - a repository of wishes placed upon her by the people that came before. Still, it is a difficult thing to reconcile this fact, as the Endless themselves seem to be so alive.

[ but they aren't... They are merely echoes of those who are already gone. ]

[activatingcombatmode]

[Zack smiles ruefully. The answer is always complex when it comes to G'raha Tia.]

But if they were living on... basically loop, were they really alive? As the same people as they were when they were actually living? I don't know.

[He leans into G'raha's touch.]

I know you'd try your best for the people around you, though. In the end, I feel bad for the queen too.

[Impossible choices for impossible results. It's bittersweet.]

[afflatusexarch]

The Endless do not have aether of their own and their soul is gone. It is akin to watching a memory. One cannot truly call them alive any longer.

[ But it really is a complicated thing. No one really wants to say goodbye to their loved ones. So as he continues to stroke Zack's cheek, Raha sighs. Zack thinks so highly of him... Telling the Miqo'te that he is different from the others. ]

Aye. Though, at the end, it is good to point out there there was a high chance that this method would not have been supported by the original Sphene. The one we met was still influenced by those who cobbled all those memories together.

[activatingcombatmode]

[A very complicated thing.

Zack lets out a breath as G'raha strokes his cheek. And he leans forward to brush his lips over G'raha's brow.]

I think you guys made the right choice in the end. Even if it was hard to.

[...]

And I'm glad you're back too.

[afflatusexarch]

[ There are many things to do back home, upon his star. Matters that still need to be settled. Mysteries to unravel. However, G'raha also enjoys the place that he has found here. Both metaphorically and literally, as lips brush his brow. ]

My companions usually do, yes. I am fortunate to be able to aid and assist.

[ Also known as Raha once more downplaying his own achievements and the like. Hopefully Zack won't argue though. Now he is settling against the other man fully. Taking in a deep breath and moving his hand to hug that arm around the other. ]

More importantly, I am fortunate to find you here once more.

[activatingcombatmode]

[Whenever Zack listens to stories about G'raha's home world and all the of the insane adventures he gets up to with his friends ... Zack does wonder if someday he'll return to all of that for good. It's not like Zack's story. His story is over. He's certain he has nothing to go back to in his home world, and that the planet-saving is all up to Cloud and the others. But G'raha has so much more to see and tell.

If he's honest. A part of that hurts Zack's heart.]

Yeah, you say that. But I know you're always a big star of the story.

[Even without seeing things for himself, Zack can tell that G'raha shines in what he does. He's a good mark on his home world.

But anyway... He's feeling the sleepiness creep up. He holds G'raha closer.]

We'd find each other somehow, eventually. Right?

[afflatusexarch]

[ Raha chuckles. He disagrees with Zack, of course, especially with this latest chapter. Krile and the others had a great deal more to do with the events that had transpired. He had only been there to assist when called upon. Of course it meant that, then, he played a larger role. Yet the star will always be his companion, his friend.

Then Zack pulls him closer and murmurs. G'raha's ears perk up and forward. Eyes widen. Suddenly he is aware of what might yet concern Zack. Find one another again, he says. There is a pain in his chest, realizing that they may yet part ways.

He presses his forehead against Zack's best as he is able. ]

As me and mine found a means to return wayward souls to their home proper, I will find the means to find you. To keep you, if you still desire me.

[activatingcombatmode]

[It's a little bittersweet. Zack has yet to tell G'raha the full truth about his future. Or- lack thereof. Which makes these sorts of thoughts all the more hard to deal with when they sneak in.

His arms scoop around G'raha, fingers feeling the shape and the warmth of the other man's back. Slow, sleepy and appreciative fingers making lines up and down his spine.]

When you say it, it sounds like something I can believe.

[G'raha has this way of being so determined that he really could move stars.]

Don't think how I feel about you will ever change.

[afflatusexarch]

[ Zack hasn't said explicitly, no. However, G'raha is no fool. He is aware that there is something that Zack is not saying. With the hints here and there, he has started to put a couple of things together. Raha simply doesn't ask out of respect. Zack will tell him... when he is ready to.

Instead he sinks into the feeling of hands on his back. Along his spine. It makes a low rumble work its way into his chest. Raha will be here for Zack in these moments, when some insecurities creep in. They promised each other this, after all. ]

Hmm. You should believe it, for I am quite serious. I am serious about you. That is not likely to change either.

[ He presses a kiss to Zack's brow. ]

Now rest. I am not going anywhere any time soon.

🎀

[activatingcombatmode]

How lucky I am.

[Zack murmurs quietly under G'raha's returned affection. Touch is easy and reassuring. And the rumbling that G'raha gives is another sort of comfort he's gotten used to.

He closes his already half closed eyes and lets out a tired sigh. It's been a long day and he's just happy to have G'raha in his arms again. He's a simple man.]

Keeping you all to myself tomorrow too.

[And off to sleep they go.]