❉ — mikh'a

As if befitting of the very soul of Ishgard itself, it was no surprise that Mikh'a would eventually become a dragoon.

Born to a fairly normal family and living a fairly normal life, Mikh'a treasured the peaceful life he had with his family. It was a beautiful, serene life decorated with an aura of peace and quiet. Some days were spent with the aromas of different spices and the sound of bubbling from the pot as he attempted his best at making soup with his mother and other days were spent learning how to become a proper soldier to fight for Ishgard with his father. Ishgard may have been cold and some may view it as gloomy, but for Mikh'a it was a place where the people he loved lived and that alone was enough to make everything okay. In this struggle against the rest of the world, Mikh'a found solace in his family, in the only thing that would remain permanent. Yet, times were tough and Ishgard was changing. With the rise of people willingly giving themselves to Nidhogg, transforming into beasts themselves everyone was on edge. His home was turning from a paradise only known to him to a stiffling air that he struggled to breathe in. Mikh'a would still fight on since there were people worth fighting for. There was one thing he had learned from both of his parents and it was to never give up. Even when times were tough, when they were struggling to keep even a penny in their pockets, he saw the magic that his mother worked up in giving them food on the table everyday. He knew of the struggles his father fought to keep him safe, to keep him from being dragged into the mishaps of this world at such a young age. Mikh'a placed his trust in them. As young as he was, there was nothing he could do for them. Even finding work was hard, there was not much a child could do to make money. All jobs required strong, muscled men and he had neither of those. So he looked to other methods. Yet, Ishgard was just as kind as it was paranoid. They pitied their family's circumstance and gave him tiny menial tasks that they probably could perform themselves just to give him "proper work" for a fair amount of money. Mikh'a knew of this and was eternally thankful for it.

Things were finally looking good for the Elakha family. While the sum was low, Mikh'a found pride in the hard work he paid towards making even just a little bit to help his family. He spent so much time out of the house, the days were he spent cooking with his mother and training with his father seemed so far away now. Everyone rarely got to see each other, so much so that Mikh'a was unable to notice the changes in his parents. While things were looking bright to him, it was the opposite for his parents. They were under great amounts of pressure and the paranoia in the air was starting to get to them. Afraid of anyone they knew turning on them, they found themselves becoming a part of the heretics themselves. It was a normal day like any other, Mikh'a had performed a great deed for a man lying on the outskirts of Ishgard and had garnered a great sum for it. It was an even greater sum than normal because the deed was much different than the other times. While it stung his eyes and throat, he carried on with the excitement of being able to show his parents. He was much older now and soon that would mean access to more jobs. However, when he returned home he found his parents transforming into a beast-like structure. Mikh'a would never understand why they were willing to give their bodies for Nidhogg's army until much later. This marked the period in which mikh'a would become a dragoon, having his parents be the first two dragons he slayed. The burn marks he received from them he would eventually turn into a tattoo.

Time moves fast and Mikh'a found himself trapped. He was incapable of properly recovering from the trauma of having the blood of his parents on his hands. Still stuck in this trance, Ishgard continued on without him. Paranoid about the rise of heretics and having a history of two parents now transformed dragon, he was expelled from ishgard and found himself in coerthas western highlands desperate for penny. It was then that aria hired him to look after her friend, Averie Auguste.

At first, Mikh'a never understood why Aria would assign him to look after Averie. In the first place, he was never really good at looking after people. He much preferred simple relationships- the kinds where you exchanged a few words, a few kisses, maybe took it further, and then went on with your life. Perhaps it was thanks to the many jobs he took on previously before, he found little reason to get to know anyone on a deeper level. He was far too invested in slaying dragons and whenever he needed interaction, it wasn't very hard for him to find. And yet Aria slapped him across the face when he told her this and said, "Just fucking take it and go before I rip your dick off and bury it where the sun doesn't reach." With that, he was off on his job of a newly-hired babysitter.

He was perched on a platform levels above Averie, looking for what Aria described as a cute, short green-haired scaled creature. It wasn't much of a description to go off, but Mikh'a was thankfully supplied with a picture. Upon finding the target, he jumped off where he was resting and landed right in front of Averie. Letting out a hiccup, he realized he had startled the girl. Without an ounce of pity or regret to the alarming first introduction, he pointed to her and the first words he ever spoke to her was her name.

Throughout their journey, he could tell that Averie curious about him but too afraid to speak up. At times, it seemed more like she was putting up with him. He couldn't blame her. She seemed serious, studious, and was far more meek than he was. He was much more flamboyant, crude, and while he worked hard, so did she so it was no different to her. Funnily enough, he admired her. No matter how hard everyone knocked her up and put her down, she still managed to get up. He was starting to see why Aria told him to go and follow her. It was a refreshing pace after having been driven out of Ishgard, only to be let back in after he proved himself worthy. While he couldn't blame anyone, their paranoia was warranted, he was still somewhat resentful of it. The more time they spent together, the more he enjoyed her presence. Trivial tasks he would find a bore, he now looked forward to doing with her. Whether it be the way her cheeks puffed up whenever he teased her or the tears she shed over tiny and silly things like having to kill a Spriggan that tried to murder her, he found himself completely enamored with everything she did. He loved watching her smile and he felt his heart ache whenever she cried. He wanted to see every moment of it; he wanted to see each and every expression of her's that changed so rapidly. They were all dear to him. Mikh'a wondered if he told her this, would she look at him the same way the others did back then?

It was only until they lost a loved one did Mikh'a realize his feelings for Averie were not just curiosity alone. He was in love with her. Everything had been like a blur to him before. Days were passing but it didn't feel like it; he was living but it was for no rhyme or reason. In a world where the people he loved would eventually leave him and those that had once offered him help were so quick to turn on him, she was there and she accepted him. It didn't matter how damned the world was, she was there.

when we get there i write it

this one will be very heavy for averie so we gotta wait LMAOOOO

this is where. he loses it :)

Having been shortly sent after Averie to a seemingly unknown world, the first thing that came to his mind wasn't where he was but where she was.