FFXIV SWAP NOV 2023 from Ainyan via Discord

The leaves were falling, a gentle red and gold shower that drifted around her as she strolled through one of the many outdoor parks scattered amidst Amaurot’s towering spires. She loved autumn - loved the crisp, cool air, laden with the scents of spices. She loved the way the trees changed their cloaks, exchanging the verdency of their summer dress for the rich gold-chased russet of their autumn finery. But she missed the green, and the shift from summer to autumn always made her a little melancholy as the world slowly slid into slumber. She missed the way the bushes looked with their branches laden with leaves and flowers, not bare and shriveled as they were now. She missed the way the flowers cheered on the sun, colorful heads following its progress across the sky. But mostly, she missed the green. With a sigh, she brushed her fingers across one barren bush, the last of its leaves shivering tenuously at the ends of its branches in response to the disturbance. With a startled sound, she snatched her fingers back, blushing. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the bush. “Antheia?” Turning, she saw a familiar face, though his features were hidden, like hers, beneath a red mask. Even without the white robes of his Seat, she would know him anywhere. Any when. “Themis,” she greeted him warmly, and she could see his pale skin darken slightly in response. “Has the council meeting ended already?” Heaving a drawn-out sigh, Themis came up beside her, studying the same bare bush that she had been toying with. “Not entirely, but tempers were growing heated, so we took an extended recess. I do not blame you for not attending; Lahabrea is… temperamental today.” Antheia’s smile beneath her mask was wry. “When is he not these days? Ah, well,” she murmured, turning her back on the bush to give her attention fully to Themis. “Were you simply passing through?” His own return smile was slight and just a little shy. “Not exactly,” he confessed. “I know… I know when you’re not in meetings but not out wandering, you’re usually visiting one of the parks, or in Elpis. It wasn’t hard to figure out you weren’t in Elpis, so I thought I’d try here.” Pale eyes lit up, glinting in the shadow of her mask. “And how many parks did you search before you found me?” she teased lightly. Again, that flash of shy pleasure. “Three.” At her soft, silvery laugh, he gave an embarrassed chuckle, then hurriedly changed the subject. “Ah - uhm. You seemed a little sad as I walked up. Is something the matter?” Recalled to her surroundings, Antheia turned, taking in the barren bushes, the stretching branches of the trees, the flowers and shrubs gone to seed beneath a thick carpet of shimmering red and gold leaves. “I suppose autumn makes me a bit melancholy,” she sighed. “The plants are all going to sleep, and soon there will be no more green, only browns and grays. Beautiful in their own way, of course, but… I do love green.” Themis ghosted up beside her, his shoulder brushing hers as he gazed down upon the slumbering gardens. “‘Tis only for a few moons,” he soothed her, “and soon all will be green again, growing riotously rampant and barely contained.” She sighed again, but mustered up a smile. “Yes, of course. You are right.” Reaching out, she gently touched the back of his hand, not looking at his face. “Do you have time for some coffee?” she asked, just a bit shyly. “I could use the warmth and would enjoy… company.” The answer was already in his eyes as he turned to face her. “Yes, of course,” he agreed promptly. “All of my time is yours. You need only ask.” The smile that curved her lips in return warmed him far more than any cup of coffee ever would.

One week later…

“Antheia?” She turned, flipping the hood of her robe over her hair, as Themis hurried up to her, tucking his own white hair beneath an equally pale hood. “Do you have plans right now?” Shaking her head, she fell into step with him as he came alongside her. “No, not really. I was just going to go home and make something to eat.” In silence, they walked the last few fulms to the exit and Themis grabbed the door, hauling it open and gesturing for her to precede him. She did so, then paused, waiting for him to catch up. “Would you care for a walk before you retire?” he asked diffidently. “There is something I would like to show you.” Surreptitiously, she drew in a breath against the flutter of petaloudas in her stomach. “Okay,” she agreed. “Okay,” he echoed, and those same petaloudas were hinted at in the trembling corners of his mouth. Their walk was long stretches of silence interspersed by occasional murmured conversation; Themis felt tension crawling through his neck and shoulders, and his stomach was a solid mass of writhing, wriggling worms. Antheia was no better. She had no idea what Themis wanted to show her, but just being alone with him lately was enough to cause a low-grade electrical storm along her limbs. Eventually, they reached the same park where they had been only a week before. Autumn had set its hand firmly upon the plant life, so that the trees were mostly skeletons of their former selves, and the browned grass beneath was littered with the remains of leaves that had once shone red and gold. Antheia’s eyes scoured the landscape, seeking any sign of the green that had once covered the land. She found it as Themis led her to the same small pocket of wild-grown landscaping that he’d found her in before. Now, however, there was an addition to the slumbering bushes and shrubs. Planted amidst the flowers gone to seed was a thick bush in a soft, subtle green, topped with flowers caught between a blushing pink and a pale red. Gasping, she rushed forward, dropping to her knees heedless of the dirt and stains her robe picked up. She reached out to cup one broad blossom in her hand and leaned in, sniffing thoughtfully. The scent was faint, a sweet, delicate note that she thought came more from the leaves than the blooms. “How is it alive?” she asked in wonder. Themis stood behind her, his hands up his sleeves to hide his shaking fingers. “Halmarut helped me to develop the concept,” he said softly, and she turned to stare up at him. “And Hythlodaeus helped me refine it until we knew it would prosper in Amaurot. We call it a camellia, and its development has sparked Halmarut and her Words to a frenzy of new development of what they are calling ‘evergreens’ - plants that will stay green and flourish even in the coldest of climes.” Her eyes were wide. “Even in winter? Even in the snow?” she asked, lips parting in shock. “Even in the snow,” Themis confirmed. “Even as one year closes and another opens. Last I spoke with her, they had already developed several hardy trees and were working on some bushes.” Her breath escaped on a long ‘o’, and she turned back, flinging back her hood and burying her face in the bush. “It’s beautiful,” came her muffled voice. “It’s perfect. Even in the autumn, even in the winter, I can have my green. I can have my flowers.” Themis had to clench his fingers into fists to prevent from reaching out and stroking the fall of dark hair that streamed unbound down her back. “Yes,” he agreed. “And these especially, these are yours. You inspired them, and I made them for you.” When she turned back, her pale eyes were filled with tears and the look she gave him as she gazed up at him made him dig his nails into his palms. “Thank you, Themis. I cannot tell you what this gift means to me.” “Just to see you happy,” he replied, “is all I need to know.” Even the brilliant blossoms of the camellias could not outshine the smile that bloomed across her face, a smile meant only for him.