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Tataru Taru is not an easily shaken woman. She has been the gatekeeper for the Scions for years, faced angry adventurers and terrifying Garlean invaders and the coldness - both in temperature and temperament - of Ishgard. She has mined for extra money, dabbled in arcany, and stood side by side with the Warrior of Light.
But this… this, Tataru doesn't know how to handle.
The Warrior of Light is off-world, taking a good number of their most prominent Scions with them, and so Tataru is alone when Zenos yae Galvus walks in as if he owns the place.
"Can I help you?" Tataru asks, defaulting to politeness.
"Where are they?" Zenos asks, voice soft but somehow still menacing.
Tataru doesn't bother drawing this out with clarifications. There's only one person Zenos would be looking for, especially here.
"Not here," she replies evenly.
"Not in House Fortemps either. And if not in either of the usual places they call home… where is my friend, then?" Zenos wonders, taking another step forward.
Tataru is tempted to retreat, but stands her ground instead, consoling herself with the knowledge that this Garlean thinks her too lowly to attack, at least while there's a possibility of a much better opponent.
Still, friend? Hmm.
… Maybe Tataru can use this.
"They're… away," she offers after a moment, looking off to the side. "But I know they'll come here as soon as they're back! They always do, to check in."
Zenos nods, only a little impatiently.
"So… you could wait here. In Mor Dhona, I mean, obviously not… right here," Tataru says, trailing off as Zenos starts to eye a chair consideringly. "But I expect them to be a while, so… if you want something to do, I hear you've acquired a version of the Echo, and there are primals out there in need of slaying," she says hopefully.
Zenos frowns at her. "Primals? Weak."
"Weak for you, maybe, but they're also your ticket to staying here and waiting for your friend to return," Tataru points out, cheerful now that she's got a plan in mind.
Zenos' head tilts a little, apparently considering this, but he doesn't immediately agree.
Obviously, the pot needs to be sweetened a little bit.
"One primal slayed, with proof, and I'll send you a letter through the moogles the very day they return here," Tataru decides. "Two slain, and the with proof is implied from here on out, and I'll let you hang out here for a few hours every day to wait for them. Three, and I'll find you a guest room to stay in."
Okay, now he's looking rather intrigued. Maybe Tataru won't have to pull out their trump card.
"Where's the nearest primal?" he wonders, and she keeps her face neutral. A triumphant smirk might ruin this very precarious deal they're making, after all.
Instead, she shuffles through the papers on her desk, producing one with a quiet "A-ha!"
She passes the paper to him, and he glances down at it for the briefest of moments before tossing it back onto the desk.
"Summarize it," he requests, only it doesn't sound much like a request.
She flags a map wordlessly, sliding it across the table, and this he eyes with more interest.
"I'll be back. With your… proof," he says, managing to make the word sound like something a marlboro might spit out.
"Pray return to the Rising Stones!" she chirps on auto-pilot, as she does for good luck with any of the Scions she sends out on a mission.
Zenos looks back over his shoulder, and smirks at the horrified look her face must be making.
"Oh, I will," he promises. Threatens? With him, it's sometimes the same thing.
Weakly, she raises a hand in farewell, and then he's gone.
"Phew," she says, slumping back into her chair.
She allows herself two minutes of relieved slumping, and then she hops up and out of her chair.
So much to do, now. She'll have to go through her files, find other requests for primal-slaying that had been waiting on Arenvald and Fordola to return, or the ones big enough that they'd been saving them for the Warrior of Light… and maybe find a trump card, too.
Tataru suspects, with some dread, that Zenos is exactly the type of person to keep slaying primals just to find out what more she has to give.
Well, nothing for it now, she decides. She'll cross that bridge when she comes to it.
–
Ifrit roars, and the fledgling adventurers both turn in unison to glare at their companion, who is not moving the endangered villagers to safety fast enough for them.
One might think these adventurers to be twins, with matching white hair and black outfits. It's not quite the truth, but it's also not wrong either.
Their companion lets out a bright "kweh!" and pushes at a straggling villager with their beak, hurrying them along.
There isn't much the two adventurers can actually do against the primal, not as weak as they are right now, but they're at least immune to tempering.
It's better than nothing, the female adventurer notes to the male adventurer.
He shrugs, apparently unbothered by their inability to assist further.
Distracted by each other and by their loyal chocobo-shaped companion, both manage to miss the thrilling entrance of one Zenos yae Galvus, who launches himself off a cliff and fells Ifrit in one swing of his ridiculously huge sword.
The adventurers turn in time to see him land on the ground, the primal already fading into aether behind him.
"Thank you?" the female adventurer offers, tilting her head.
Zenos stalks towards them, producing a piece of parchment from somewhere.
"Bear witness to the primal's defeat," he orders.
The two share a look, and the male adventurer shrugs.
He writes a brief couple sentences explaining that this man has defeated Ifrit, and she signs for both of them at the bottom.
Omega reads the signature, when Tataru receives the paper, and scribbled in next to it is a small plus Alpha!
Tataru thinks about contacting someone - anyone - to let them know about the three of them on the loose, but she's busy enough trying to keep tabs on Zenos.
No need to add more stress to her pile, she decides.
"A letter as soon as they return, as agreed," she says cheerfully.
"Another primal," Zenos replies, holding out a hand.
She doesn't bother trying to give him a missive this time, just flags the map and hands it over.
This one is in the Ruby Sea. Maybe that'll keep him away for a while, she thinks, without much hope.
–
Estinien Varlineau, once called the Azure Dragoon, has found himself in another forced quest.
It's some kind of trial to become a Scion, he suspects. Not that he's at all convinced he even wants to be one, except that days spent following the Warrior of Light and Alphinaud around as they try to make the world a better place with words, weapons, and a disgustingly large pile of optimism actually do sound appealing.
Maybe it's time to go back to Ishgard, he thinks, before he continues to think becoming a Scion is a good idea.
But first, there's adventuring to be done here. He's managed to escape the terrifying receptionist, if only by the mercy of her returning to Mor Dhona, but there's still the annoying Student of Baldesion giving him recommendations on problems to solve.
This problem, however, is looking as though it's going to spiral out of his ability to solve very quickly. When dealing with beast tribes, it's best to slay the problem as fast as possible before they–
"-- revels begin!" he hears from a distance, and immediately halts any forward motion.
He will not be tempered today, or any day if he can help it, and so he'll have to give this task up for now.
Except… someone is clearly fighting, in the direction of the primal. And winning, by the sounds of it.
He doesn't dare get closer, not until he sees the aether dissipate, but once he sees the evidence of Susano's defeat, he makes his leap.
And there, standing satisfied in the middle of the summoning grounds, is Zenos yae Galvus.
Estinien reaches for his weapon, but the prince shrugs and doesn't go for his.
"I have a deal with the Lalafell Scion," Zenos tells him. "You have a linkpearl, yes? Tell her I have slain another primal, and will be back soon to claim my reward."
Estinien holds his gaze for a long moment, but the man is apparently serious, and so he raises a hand to his ear, activating the cursed device there.
Zenos stays while he imparts the requested information to Tataru, and smiles a creepy smile once he's done.
Estinien doesn't want to ask, but he suspects Zenos will follow him around until he does, so he sighs. "What's the reward?"
"A seat in the Rising Stones," Zenos tells him, eyes alight. "Where I will await my friend and our glorious battle."
Zenos is looking to the sky now, probably imagining whatever battle he wants to take place, and Estinien takes the opportunity to slink away.
Maybe with Zenos around, he'll be able to escape the designs of the two Lalafellin ladies. He can hope, anyways.
–
Cid had been dubious when asked to pick up a passenger, and moreso when he'd found out who, exactly, his favor to Tataru Taru was on behalf of, but… it was Tataru, and he did owe a lot to the Scions.
So he lands at the usual spot in Mor Dhona, just outside of Revenant's Toll, and Zenos yae Galvus steps onto his airship.
"I'm sure you have better options for airships," Cid comments, once they're in the air.
"None with the ability to break through Garuda's winds," Zenos replies with a careless wave of his hand. "Is anyone else aboard?"
"No," Cid says, and doesn't add that he didn't want to subject anyone else to the man.
Zenos looks at the door to the little room Cid calls home more often than not, and then back at Cid.
"Hm. I think you actually don't know," the man comments, and then rips the door open, nearly pulling it off its hinges.
"Hey," Cid complains, but cuts off further protests at the sight of Nero leaning up against the doorframe.
Nero lifts a hand in a wave, and Zenos turns his attention back to the skies ahead, apparently unconcerned about the extra passenger now that he's proven his existence.
"You're supposed to be back at headquarters," Cid points out, and Nero shrugs before folding his arms over his chest.
"And so are you," the former tribunus comments.
"I'm doing a favor for the Scions," Cid replies through gritted teeth.
"And so am I," Nero says, and grins. "I'm making sure you don't get killed by sociopathic princes."
"I could kill you both," Zenos muses.
"Ah, but I've heard tell of some sort of agreement between you and the Scions. How will you get your reward if you murder both of your witnesses?" Nero wonders.
"Hmm," Zenos says, but he doesn't reach for his sword, so Cid's going to count that as a win for now.
"You'll have to jump when we approach the landing zone," he says, before Nero can try to bait their passenger any further. "About three minutes out."
"I'm ready," Zenos assures him, though he doesn't look ready to fight at all.
Cid is not in any doubt that he is ready to fight, though. He keeps an eye on Nero, but the man appears to have decided to remain silent for now.
The airship is quiet until Cid begins his countdown, and then with a tremendous leap, Zenos is gone.
There's no return trip, so Cid spins the wheel and heads for the Ironworks HQ.
"Want to drop me off on the way so Jessie doesn't yell at me?" Nero asks hopefully.
"Not a chance," Cid replies, and winces at the screams Garuda is making behind them.
At least the Warrior of Light was a little merciful, he thinks.
He taps his linkpearl to let Tataru know the deed is done, and settles in for the ride home.
–
It's been a long trip in the First, but the Warrior of Light is finally back on their homeworld, trudging up the path to the Rising Stones.
So deep in their thoughts are they that they don't notice any of the townspeople trying to subtly get their attention and warn them of what awaits within, so it's with no warning that they walk into the privacy of Tataru's empire to find Zenos yae Galvus sound asleep at one of the tables.
They squint at him, rubbing their eyes, and then look at Tataru, who just sighs.
Okay. He's real, then. And is that…?
They point accusingly at the plush that Zenos' head is pillowed on, and Tataru groans loudly.
"He kept killing primals while you were gone! I had to keep him happy somehow!"
The Warrior of Light frowns deeply, but any further argument is cut off by Zenos sitting up, going from completely asleep to wide awake faster than the Warrior thinks they've ever managed it.
"You've returned! I've prepared us a battlefield in–"
Zenos pauses as the Warrior gestures, and then frowns.
"A nap first? Oh, very well. I've waited this long, I suppose I can wait a little longer."
"If you teleport away while you're in there, I'm giving him your room after the next primal," Tataru calls after them.
Closing the door behind them, the Warrior of Light silently tables their plan of teleporting back to the First, where the resident villain following them around at least doesn't seem interested in a fight.
They'll deal with it in the morning, they decide, collapsing onto their bed.
And hey, worst case they convince Zenos to join the Scions. No duels to the death between Scions.
With that comforting thought, they drift off, oblivious to Zenos pacing back and forth in the hallway outside their room.
–