My Dear Botanist [ Ser Aymeric x Reader ] (FFXIV)

I. Children of the Land

The Steps of Faith was unlike anything you've ever seen before. The final stretch of man made structure just before the city of Ishgard was a trek in itself. The thick falling flakes never ceased to stop since the moment you entered into Coerthas. Everything — and anything seemed to be covered in white, the land virtually shrouded in mist. Though veiled in a blanket of snow, wreckage of war proved itself immensely on the stretch of the great bridge. It was difficult not to notice the large amounts of slain dragon's lain about. Some intact — perhaps recently killed, and others were but bone. And some.. turning to decay and filth as their bones protruded from their frozen hides, and a distant smell of rot filled your nose. The scene was unsightly but you were aware of the closing of the great battle so there was nothing to fear. You and your company stayed nonspeaking, envisioning the events that took place on this very ground; man versus dragon. The climax of the Dragonsong war was finally over but not without the consequence of lives lost and a city, grieving and broken. But by the heroic efforts of the Scions, the knights of Ishgard, and the notorious Warrior of Light, were you and your company able to be welcome to begin with, as guests, into Ishgard's walls.

You and your accompanying guild members called Gridania home and as members of the Botanist guild you often would travel to different locations at the behest of Nophica's calling, to survey each and every landscape. The Twelve's Bounty was endless, and getting a better understanding by personal procurement was every Botanists' duty. Yet.. your guildmaster may had other motives. Sure, this small trip was one purely for the purpose of obtaining knowledge, but the ulterior was out of a simple respite. A holiday some may call it — a four month long overstay at the coldest, most inhospitable city in Eorzea.

"Why the long, frozen faces? I assume we've almost just arrived at the gates Arc. The chocobo's are becoming quite anxious," Fufucha broke the lingering tension among the group. The leading chocobo's pulling the caravan made sure to squawk nervously, but you doubted it was because you were arriving. The dead carcasses on the bridge were just as unsightly to them as it was to every other living thing.

Some other members began to whisper amongst themselves, undoubtedly about our guild master's choice of a retreat. Despite her Lalafellan stature, Fufucha always knew how to keep her members in line. Without a second glance, you watched her strut from her seat and across the floor of the caravan to the gossiping trio, and defended her choice to venture to Ishgard very audibly.

You and most of the other guild members sat in a large chocobo-led carriage, and the rest either had taken to foot or sat upon individual chocobos that carried materials and supplies. Groups of friends were seated fairly close together for warmth as they chatted away to one another awaiting the arrival to your destination.

But you.. you sat nonchalantly alone, staring off into the great abyss that surrounded Ishgard. You shivered at the frozen air seeping through your long coat. As a Gridanian, you were sensitized to great green forests, swamps, and cool showers of rain, but this negative temperature was just too much! How does one live in such a place!? You closed your eyes and held onto yourself, vibrating from the chattering of your teeth. You began to daydream sitting in front of a large fireplace in a great mansion — an olden mansion you imagined that the Ishgardian's would call home. You know not of the habits of Ishgardians but only assumed that sitting in front of a fireplace was something they would often take part in, per the climate.

You beamed at the thought of sitting at the comfort of a roaring fire with new friends on this little excursion. But equally, your mind shifted to the idea of a friendly fire-breathing serpent gracing you with its heated vigor as your guild members stared in shock as if you were some Draconic goddess who could command a great wyrm on a whim. You laughed off your childish, indifferent thoughts.