[Gair]

“Wawna see uncle Gair!” A young Miqo'te mewls for the umpteenth time.

A'tera exhales a long sigh, clearly having had to deal with this small cats antics all day. A firm chiding from the blonde Miqo'te whom appears to be into her thirties. “If you don't calm down, kitten. We're going home and you wont get to see your uncle today.” Her tail up and swishing back and forth like the mommacat she is, signaling her displeasure with her offspring. She would return her attention back to the only other adult in her company, a patient smile afforded toward Miyuki as she tells her. “Thanks again, for lookin' after the kittens. Normally Gair babysits when we work, you've been a lifesaver.”

The smol Miqo'te steps up to Miyuki as they walk, getting her attention with the tug of her tail. Hands raised toward Miyuki in the universal sign of uppies.

[Miyuki]

Always happy to indulge, Miyuki foists the smol bean into her arms, giving her a playful pinch on the cheek. She grins back at A'tera. “And again, it was no trouble at all! It definitely made the apartment feel much more lively and less empty, so I should be thanking you!”

[Gair]

The youthful Miqo'te, being the capricious little shit she is, tugs at Miyuki's horn and brings herself to nuzzle against her. “Auntiyuuuki~” She purrs contentedly and lingers there in the Raen woman's arms.

A'tera can't help but smirk as her daughter is more or less pacified by Miyuki. Her ears wiggling some as she speaks. “Lively's a word for it, but then again- you live with that oaf. Does he still snore like a fuckin' sawmill?” She holds open the door to the lift, the mechanisms whirring to life as they carry the trio up to the Airship platform.

[Miyuki]

Miyuki barks out a laugh as she rubs her horn gently against the small Miqo'te's cheek. “Oh that he does. It's fortunate for him that I sleep like the dead - I only hear it on the occasions that I wake before him in the mornings.”

[Gair]

Perhaps making some assumptions herself, A'tera is a little wide-eyed as she comments. “Amazing you can take it from so close..” Her tail swishes back and forth idly as she thinks, a smile gracing her lips. “You can just hit him, you know.” She then makes a playful jab for Miyuki's side.

[Miyuki]

Miyuki rolls with the jab, readjusting her hold on the kitten in her arms. She sends A'tera a quizzical look. “It's probably not as bad as it could be - luckily there's a bit of distance between us, and the wall helps to block the noise somewhat.”

[Gair]

“Wall, huh?” A'tera asks, her tail flicking from left to right quickly. The news causing her to snort amusedly. Her ears do that odd cat-like swivel as the gears turning echo off the walls of the lift with an inaudible keen. Already making for the exit the exact moment the doors open. “Have you two any plans for when he returns?”

[Miyuki]

They step put from the lift onto the airship landing, which is already hosting quite a crowd that is buzzing with almost palpable anticipation. Clearly the trio aren't the only ones eagerly awaiting the return of a loved one from the front lines this day.

Miyuki hums thoughtfully as she lingers near the back of the crowd, unwilling to wade in with the small Miqo'te in her arms. “I was hoping to travel for a little, see more of Eorzea, but I suppose it depends on the extent of Gair's injuries.”

[Gair]

“He mentioned a little scratch on his arm in the letter we got..” A'tera trails off, uncertain herself- clearly she has more experience with the Highlander jerkwad not being totally transparent about the state of his body. The bustle of people was fairly thick, many men and women watching the platform for airships and their live cargo. The Miqo'te would find a shipping crate and sliiiide it by Miyuki and hop onto it, getting a head and shoulders view over most now.

[Miyuki]

With some difficulty, Miyuki adjusts her grip on the little Miqo'te so that she hold her up in front of her with her hands under the armpits, giving the smol cat a somewhat better view over the heads of the crowd in front of them. “Yell if you see him, yes?”

[Gair]

A'tera Bob's her head back toward Miyuki, her eyes narrowing as she searches the crowd that spills out from the airship. Her tail shooting up at once before she yells, “OI, YOU BLOODY MEATHEAD!” And like that, a grown ass woman is jumping up and down on a crate and hailing down a soldier in the herd.

“Hey!” Gair can be heard distantly, his hand seen as he raises it over the heads and shoulders of those around him. Slow is his approach as he pushes through the gate and the extent of his injuries is well apparent. His face is rather bruised and covered with a few bandages that have evidently soaked up some since dried blood, his left arm suspended by a sling as well. “Tera, Nala!” He exclaims excitedly, scooping the jumping momcat off of her box for a single armed bearhug- the size difference nearly as pronounced between Miyuki and the smol bean she carries.

[Gair]

Miyuki grins so widely her cheeks hurt. She brings A'nala closer to Gair's back so that the smol bean can cling onto his shoulders, shrieking excitedly all the while as children are wont to do. “Welcome back, you lout!”

[Gair]

Gair's arm is long enough to encircle A'tera and Miyuki both, scooping both of the women up in a hug as the smol child clambers onto his shoulders- lifting all the women. His smile growing as he coerces Miyuki to join the embrace. “So you *did* stay.”

[Miyuki]

Miyuki nudges the side of Gair's head with a horn before leaning back so that she can look him in the eyes. Her attempts at giving him a deadpan look are thwarted as the grin on her face refuses to give way. “It seems there were no rich young men or women left in Ul'dah who would take poor little me under their wing.”

[Gair]

“Alas, you'll have to continue to eat me out of house and home.” Gair, at least in this moment- cares little for openly showing affection. A hand on her head ruffling Miyuki's hair as he gives each of the three their attention. The smol bean contently sitting on Gair's shoulders and hugging his head now. After a pause does he admit, “It's good to see you, Miyuki.”

[Miyuki]

After a moment's pause, Miyuki ducks her head and rubs the side of her horn against Aard's ear quickly but gently. She straightens up immediately afterwards and musses Gair's overgrown brown hair, as though hoping to gloss over her display of affection with little fanfare. “It's good to see you too - in one piece, no less.”

[Gair]

A'tera has an absolutely shiteating grin on her features as she spies Miyuki actually rub her horns on him. She uses the cover of the embrace to murmur at the side of her head, “Oh, what's this? Awfully friendly for a roommate..” The capricious cat she is actually pinches Miyuki's backside before she parts from the hug. She punches Gair's injured left arm lightly, “Some 'scratch'.. but welcome home.” She sneaks up to peck a kiss on his cheek, to which her daughter follows the example by likely slobbering in his hair. Good cat, patient uncle.

In Gair town, the rubbing gesture goes over his head- opting to press the side of his head against Miyuki's as they hug like normal. Wincing as the blow lands from A'tera, “Ach, it's nothin'. Medics said I'm a couple weeks from bein' normal, sooner if I see a conjurer.”

[Miyuki]

Miyuki expression screams scandalised horror as she stares at A'tera, bug-eyed, as much as she can without whipping her head to the side, as doing so would cause her to clip the side of Gair's head with her horn.

She disentangles herself from Gair as well, and uses their preoccupation over his arm to give the back of A'tera's thigh a light lash with her pointed tail in retribution. “Looks like I'll be put to work straight away patching you up!”

[Gair]

A practiced cat indeed, A'tera returns the subtle tail-lashing by returning the favor on Miyuki's own scaled tail. Albeit much softer, fluffy tails and all. She chimes in on Miyuki's point with, “Luucky you, that you already live with a nice little conjurer, hmm?” Her eyes widen at the thought as she adds. “The Flames might actually cut her some gil if she acts as your chirugeon.”

Gair was expertly diverted by Miyuki and A'tera's dodge and subtle jabs, he just grinned between them and plucked his niece off of his shoulders. Letting her use his right forearm as a bench as she rests against his chest. “Not a bad idea, I'm likely to get battered after tonight's fights in the pits anyway.” The oaf, he wants to fight for sport even with injuries.

[Miyuki]

A'tera is saved from further retaliation as Miyuki's attention is drawn back towards Gair by his last statement. She does a commendable imitation of a frilled lizard as she glares up at him. “Oh I don't think so! We are going straight back to the apartment where you will sit down on the couch like a good boy so that I can determine the extent of your injuries myself.”

[Gair]

The smol bean picks up on the fact that he's being scolded by Miyuki, letting out an. “Ooooooooooh, somebody's in twouble.” As she makes grabby hands to her mother, who finally snatches her child off of the Hyuran meatgolem that is Gair.

“Not even an exhibition match? Camaaaan.” Gair immediately protests like a child who had their toy taken away, or were told they need to eat their veggies.Though his spirit is almost immediately cowed by his lingering injury and the sight of this woman-sized frilled lizard. “Alright..”

A'tera is assumedly in a giggling fit with her daughter at this point.

[Miyuki]

Satisfied by Gair's compliance, Miyuki herds the two cats and the meatgolem back in the direction of the lift. “I suppose it would be a bit silly to ask how your month went.”

[Gair]

Ironically, the youngest adult in their presence is the most orderly- A'tera and Gair are herded with little effort for the lift.

Gair hesitates to answer, given the topic of war. “Given.. what it was, in my immediate squad- I got the worst of it. Other men in the wider battalion were not as lucky as I.” And he leaves it at that as the lift whirrs and moves them down to the Ruby Road Exchange.

[Miyuki]

Mindful of the young one in their company, Miyuki refrains from inquiring further about Gair's experience on the battlefield - those questions would be reserved for later. As they leave the airship landing entirely and step out under the blazing Ul'dah sun, Miyuki sees the subtle signs of haggardness and exhaustion that the relatively poor lighting of the airship platform concealed.

[Gair] Aard#2155

A'tera's tail swishes back and forth as the bustle of Ul'dah's cityscape goes on and they reach the fork in the long road, passed the Quicksand. She would turn on heel toward Gair and Miyuki. “So, I'll be by tonight. I'll bring some curry with Nala and Mhoone, alright?” She steps in to side-hug Gair, who returns the affection. “Azeyma's warmth, brother, Miyuki.”

“Warden's Warmth, Tera.” Gair answers, squeezing her tight before the Miqo'te and her daughter disappear in the sea of heads. His gaze finds Miyuki, showing her a tired smile. “And what of your month?” He asks as they make slowly for the gate of the Sultana.

[Miyuki]

Miyuki falls in step beside Gair as they amble through the bustling streets. “Definitely not as eventful as yours. I kept myself occupied by working in the coliseum most days - earned myself a fair bit of coin as well.” She keeps her gaze resolutely forward, even though it is obvious that she'd missed Gair a great deal during his absence.

[Gair]

Far less subtle about where he keeps his eyes, he mostly finds himself staring at the side of Miyuki's head as they slowly pass through the gates. “And here I'd thought you'd swim to another corner of the seas like some sort of helpful siren.” He lightly nudges her shoulder with his uninjured arm, his chest rumbling in a laugh. “It's a relief you've been alright, by the looks of it.”

[Miyuki]

Spurred by the nudge, Miyuki can't resist giving him a shove back that barely nudges the meatgolem off balance. She gives in and looks up at him, grinning so wide the corner of her eyes wrinkle. “Oh don't you worry, I swam laps around that gorgeous pool near the apartment whenever I could. Kept me fit AND cool from this blasted heat!”

[Gair]

“Yeah, you look awful fine.” Gair admits without thinking, the fatigue of deployment clearly tripping him up. Hastening to correct as they depart the small dirt path from Ul'dah to the Goblet, “Err, you look like you're doing fine.” A loud clearing of the throat after that verbal misstep and he's the one keeping his attentions fixed upon the path.

[Miyuki]

The only signs that Miyuki had heard Gair's verbal blunder was a brief falter in her steps and the freezing of her expression for but a second, eyes widening slightly. She trills out a laugh, an octave higher out of flustered embarassment. As though her usual wit has abandoned her, she is left floundering for an appropriate lighthearted response but is unable to even muster up a word. An awkward silence settles over the two as they enter the Goblet proper.

[Gair]

Whether out of sheer awkwardness or finding Miyuki's own laughter contageous, Gair roars out a mirthful laugh himself. That being the only verbal interaction as the pair cross through the housing district, reaching the middle plaza with the myriad pools, fountains and several folk taking a dip to beat the heat. He would shift the subject from his verbal faux pas to the war, “So.. Gust came back, too. He's about as… banged up as me, though. He'll be at the Flames stables for a few weeks.”

[Miyuki]

Miyuki visibly perks up at the news - she had been just as worried for the giant birb as she had for Gair. “That's a relief to hear. I'll need to drop by the stables one of these days to give him a good neck rub.”

They wind their way sedately through the pool and fountains, clearly in no hurry. Unable to resist, Miyuki squats down beside one of the pools to dip a hand into the cool water. “Was it bad?” she asks without turning her head.

[Gair]

Gair looked out on the pool as if i were alien to him, the initial fanfare of seeing those he loves had somewhat faded. The rage of war rather fresh in his mind, he just stares at his reflection for a pregnant moment. “He'd like that.” A ghost of a smile graced his lips for the barest of moments before Miyuki's question registered.

And then the smile was gone, “Aye, in my immediate squad I got it the worst..” He explains, clapping his injured arm. “I had been fighting with this damn arm since the second day I was there. Even so, we were putting out fires left and right for the wider battalion.” He tightens his fist, unable to even look at his own reflection now. “I could have done more, if not for..” There is a faint shake of his head, the end of that sentence heavily implied.

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