Silk Talons: Chapter 5

Selah gripped the reins of her chocobo, Dinornis, and Ginal wasn't certain if she thought the behemoth barding made the bird look intimidating or silly.  Dinornis certainly looked proud, with the way he held his head high as Selah rode.  Ginal looked down at her own bird, a rented ride she didn't even get the name of, and thought it simply looked like a chocobo.  It smelled like one as well, her nose wrinkling again in response.  It wasn't a terrible smell, per say, but it was certainly not one of her favorites.

How do chocobo ranchers live with this smell all their lives?

It was dawn in the Northern Shroud, with the sky still partly black and the morning birds still resting.  It was the morning following Ginal's conversation with Grezel, and she found herself on escort duty for some merchant's wagon.  As she, Selah and the chocobo drawn wagon passed through the gate into Hyrstmill, she found herself wondering how this qualified as her final trial.  Her auburn haired friend was hiding something, yet rather than feeling bothered or uneasy, she simply resigned herself to believing that she could trust Selah.  She was at least going to try.

"I've been meaning to ask you, " Selah began, " you have an unusual name for a miqo'te.  Which tribe do you hail from?"  

The spikes on the back of Ginal's hair bounced as she shook her head, "My immediate family comes from the Twelveswood.  I'm the third generation born here."  

"So it doesn't come from the miqo'te language?" Selah asked.  

"No, it comes from an older elezen dialect.  It means 'one to be loved...'"   As the redhead's voice trailed off at the end of her sentence, she realized her words were audible by the concerned frown on Selah's face.

That's a fine way to hold a conversation.

The merchants veered their cart off to the first stop, telling their guards they would be a while, so the two lance wielding women decided on seizing the moment to rest.  After they stabled their birds they made their way to the village's pub, and sat down with hot meals and cold mugs. 

After the meal was eaten and the smell no longer lingered, Ginal caught the lavender scent that Selah typically wore, and her mind drifted to the night in the Canopy.  The secure embrace, the touch of her skin, her kind smile and her inviting eyes...all wrapped up by that sweet, piney scent she was learning to love.  The miqo'te's face turned crimson when she realized she had been staring at Selah while caught up in her memory, and felt the unpleasant stirring of her arousal.  

The female dragoon grinned playfully, "You truly are adorable when you blush."  Ginal turned her gaze away, having no response to the comment.

Why does she insist on saying that?

Selah leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, "If I were to guess, I'd say you were thinking of the other night in the Canopy? "  

Ginal only incriminated herself with her silence.  

The dragoon smiled softly, "I hope you aren't embarrassed, because I'm not.  We're adults, and what happens between us is our own business."  She rose and began to leave the table, stopping by Ginal.  "Besides, if I'm going to be in a situation the likes of that...I'm glad it could be with you."  

Ginal's heart beat quickly as felt both grateful for the compliment and frightened by the woman's attention.  "I don't know how to respond to you," she turned to catch Selah.  

Selah hesitated for a moment, then wrapped her hands around the miqo'te's, "Do what feels true."

I've been hiding what I am for so long...  Fighting myself...  Maybe she would understand.  She's so kind, and patient...and lovely.

The auburn haired dragoon released Ginal's hands, "I'm going to check on our employer, then look over our supply needs.  Find me at the stables when you're ready."  

As Selah rounded the wall on her way out, Ginal heard the familiar screech of opo opos, and the shouting of the villagers.  The miqo'te sprang to her feet and was out the door, drawing her lance up in a ready stance, to see a mob of the primates had descended upon Hyrstmill.

They were running and jumping about all over the place, and Ginal immediately felt pity for the villagers whos routines had been destroyed on this brightly lit morning.  She shouted to an elezen Wood Wailer that ran past her, "What in the hells is all this?"  

The flustered Wailer gestured sharply toward a small pack of the animals, "The damn things are after our food stores, mostly some stupid beans they love.  Give us a hand and smack some of them around, will you?"  

As the guard resumed his pursuit, she smirked as she recalled a time when Thadthadius had saved her from another mob of the screeching things.

Oh Thad... I'm so sorry for everything...

Ginal shook the thought from her mind.  This most certainly wasn't the time to think of such things.  She scanned the area and found Selah, with the most amusingly determined look on her face, locked in a tug-of-war with an opo opo over a small food crate.  Another primate joined it's mate, and with a sharp pull they freed the crate and sent the normally graceful dragoon falling back onto her rear.  

"I hope that subligar is padded," the redhead jibed as she approached.  It was all Ginal could do to stifle the brewing laughter, but the face consuming smirk wouldn't be denied.  

"It's not funny!" Selah protested as she brushed the fallen bangs from her face, then took the miqo'te's hand for help up.  The two caught each other's gaze and paused, then laughed from the depths of the hearts.

"Alright, alright!" Ginal forced the grin from her face and resumed her ready stance.  "Let's show these dirty things some Gridanian hospitality."  

Selah nodded as they turned their lances blunt end forward, still holding her own smirk, and the two charged forward.  Ginal darted forward and swung her lance, catching an opo opo in the side and forcing out a surprised shriek as it tumbled aside.  The female dragoon leaped over her tailed friend with a somersault and landed with her lance between a primate's legs, leaping again as she brought the weapon up and launching the animal by it's crotch.  

Ginal turned sharply and looked up to see another opo on top of a stack of crates angrily chattering and waving it's arms at her.  She planted her spear in the ground and crouched as her tail and ears shot up, bearing her teeth and sharp nails through a long and loud warning hiss.  The opo yelped in fear and hopped down, scampering away as it continued to yelp and chatter.  

"I certainly hope I'm never on the receiving end of that," Selah commented.  

The miqo'te winked at the hyur as she retrieved her weapon.

As the villagers and the Wailers dashed around to do their part in fending off the rampaging animals, the two women took a moment to exchange a glance and share a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.  They dashed over the small wooden bridge that covered the stream in the village's center and Selah leaped ahead, and kicked off one building's wall to soar higher to another's roof.  She tripped an opo with her lance, then grabbed it and spun around, releasing it toward her miqo'te friend.  Ginal smirked and jumped up, her lance impacting the creature's stomach and winding it badly before it landed with a hard thud.  She looked up and grinned at Selah, who stood with her lance horizontal behind her.

I've got to admit, that subligar and top show off how she moves rather nicely.

A screech and a powerful gust of wind blew past Ginal's back, and she turned just in time to see an opo smack into the side of the building beside her.  She looked to Selah for answers, who pointed across the bridge they previously crossed.  The miqo'te looked about and saw a tall, blue-grey skinned miqo'te man she recognized from the free company celebration, and she jogged up to meet him.  

She felt immediately intimidated by the purely tribal look the man embodied, from the tattoos covering his entire face and his bone necklace, to his shirtless gray pants and feather tipped hair.  She could swear he had just joined them from the darkest jungles of Hydaelyn.

The man grinned wickedly as Selah landed besides Ginal, "Ahh...the Celah...I be glad to see you on the field."  He bowed his head and indicated himself, "Me name be X'linh...Be likin' to wander Twelveswood, to wherever elementals askin' of me.  They tellin' me the opo opos bein' naughty....again."  

Ginal smiled as she offered her hand, "Ginal is fine.  Always nice to see the Dooms in action."  The tribal man shook Ginal's hand with a nod.  

He turned his gaze to Selah, and his eyes seemed to pierce her own.  "The elementals whisperin' of you, too, Phocina.  They sayin'..."  X'linh tilted his head as he listened to his unseen allies, "You bein' given what you always wanted...don't forget to embrace it fully."  

The female dragoon looked puzzled, and a bit taken aback, as she managed a confused nod.

Ginal looked upon the tribal man with a tilted head and a quirked brow.

What a peculiar person.

With a laugh, the blue-gray skinned miqo'te strolled away at a deliberate pace, aether gathering around his hands as he formed and threw large stones at a few more of the opos.  

The two woman glanced at each other and shrugged.  Selah brushed a fallen bang back out of her face as she briefly looked over the redhead, playfully grinning as she half bowed.  "Lady Ginal, might I be your escort for this lovely battle?"  

The lancer paused a moment, uncertain how to respond, then bowed her head and returned the grin, "And here I was, thinking you didn't know how to show a girl a good time."  

They giggled at their own absurdity, and readied their weapons for one more sweep through the village.



Water sprites, yarzon, bandits, ziz, occhus, gnats and mites.  Even if the Ixali had quieted down, the Black Shroud was still an exceedingly dangerous place, and Ginal had no wonder why the merchant couple who owned the cart wished to hire guards for the long and winding road from Gridania to Ul'dah.  Between the stops at villages to gather supplies, the need for camps at night, and the several encounters with the Shroud's various hostiles, the trip had already taken days.  It was made much more bearable from the meals cooked by Agatgeim, a green skinned and mustached roegadyn man, and the guitar music played by Vartimeaux, the white haired Duskwight elezen who, Ginal had learned, had been at his side for years.

From the encounters with the myriad creatures, Ginal was learning a great deal more to polish her fighting skills, and she now found that combat was nowhere near as terrifying as it used to be, nor was she as inclined to give in to her emotional swells.  The seriousness of the struggles were not lost to the miqo'te, and she fought as hard, and as smart, as she could each time, but the fear and uncertainty had faded until they were just a memory.

It wasn't just combat that Ginal had learned about during this journey.  She was learning about herself as well, and was finally allowing herself to think about and to admit to things that she had fought against for many years.  

Now, in the orange and red of a beautiful Thanalan sunset, the redhead looked over at her companion, and she could be honest with herself.  It wasn't the confidence that Selah exuded, though it was certainly an attractive feature.  It wasn't the "battle bikini," as she had taken to calling it, though Selah looked undeniably sexy in that subligar and small top.  There was no alcohol to blame it on this time either, though as time had passed, that lavender scent the dragoon wore had become an intoxicant for the miqo'te.  She could even smell it over the chocobos.

It was all of those things, and maybe still things she couldn't word, but as she steered her bird along the path, and the rays of the setting sun caught that auburn hair in just the right way, Ginal was honest with herself; she was utterly, terribly attracted to Selah Phocina.  She may have even been falling in love.  She was becoming consumed by this inexplicable, exciting and comfortable emotion when she was near Selah, which was only magnified by this bizarre familiarity she kept experiencing when they were together.  

Even with this honesty in her heart, though, the lancer still had to fight herself to not think about it, lest her arousal became to obvious, and she still wasn't ready to answer for that.

But, oh, by the Matron, is she ever magnificent.

They were in Eastern Thanalan now, as the caravan was approaching the Highbridge, and the merchants decided they wanted to setup a camp and cross the canyon tomorrow.  Their bed rolls were lain, a fire was built, and Agatgeim cooked up an amazing stew while Vartimeaux regaled the group with songs from some Lominsian musician group called Apkallus.  She particularly liked the piece called "Hotel Costa del Sol."

The four of them sat around the fire, the miqo'te wishing for another round of the stew as she idly watched the sea of stars above for a moment. 

"Where all do you travel too?" she asked of the merchants.  

"Anywhere folks have the coin for our wares," Agatgeim answered.  

The Duskwight gave a short and cynical laugh, "Almost anywhere."  Ginal titled her head in sikent inquisition. 

The roegadyn laughed as he took the elezen's hand in his, "We generally steer clear of the Ishgard territories.  Those folks aren't the most receptive to people like us."

"They're inhospitable if you're just visiting, " Selah chimed in, "but it's far worse to grow up being of that inclination in that region."  

Ginal turned to her companion, "You come from Ishgard?  Are they truly so judgmental as I've heard?"  

The dragoon sighed and winced as though she didn't mean to speak, and tried to put on a smile, but even in the the dancing firelight her eyes were clearly filled with pain and sadness as she spoke.  "There's nothing quite like waking to the hysterical screams of your mother when you've been caught in bed with a woman.  Better than any coffee I've ever had."  

Selah's gaze drifted to the fire as she seemed to drift away into her memory, "She threatened, cried, screamed, hit and threw me out of our family home."  The dragoon looked like she came back to the world around her as she turned to Ginal.  "Father was the one who didn't take it well, though," she remarked with a forced grin.

The two men sat in sad silence, and as the miqo'te looked into Selah's pained eyes, her own began to well up as she felt like weeping.  For once, not for herself.

She's received the same hatred I have.  She does understand.

Ginal reached for the hyur's hand, "I don't like men, either."  The words just came, and she felt the blush consume her face as she wondered where her mental filter went.  Still, it was the truth, and if Selah could open an old wound like this, Ginal thought she could at least be honest. "

Then...why all the pretense?" Selah urged.  "The flirting and the posing, the way you let that summoner pursue you.  Why?"  

The redhead was suddenly very mindful of her employers on the other side of the fire, and withdrew her hand as she could find no words she could say in the presence of these two she didn't know.

Before another word could be said, Vartimeaux suddenly stood alert.  

"What is it?" the roegadyn asked him.  

Ginal rose as well, her ears twitching as she slowly scanned the darkened surroundings, "I hear it, too.  Heavy foot fall...and fast approaching."  

The ambiance of nighttime wildlife and insects gradually quieted, and the chocobos began to shuffle and caw nervously.  The two women nodded at each other and retrieved their weapons, while the merchants moved to console their birds.  The miqo'te stood at the edge of the firelight and peered into the night.  

"Can you see anything?" Selah asked.  

Ginal smirked, "Glad you've got eyes like mine around, aren't you? "  She resumed her watch, and could see vague shapes forming under the starlight.  She hesitated a moment, and realized that whatever they were, they were large and carrying weapons.

"There's a few of them," Ginal explained as her eyes pierced the darkness.  "They're...huge, bigger than Agatgeim, and...they have these long, curving horns."  

Selah grimaced and dropped into a ready stance, "Amalj'aa.  The beast tribe that hounds Ul'dah.  How many?"  

"Mm...four."  Ginal grit her teeth and readied herself as well.  

"Stay with the cart," Selah called to the merchants.  "This shouldn't take long.  I'd say it's just an ambitious hunting party."

I've got this.

Loud, angry roars rumbled from the beast men as they stepped into the very edge of the firelight.  They were less ugly than ixali, Ginal thought, and they didn't speak in that ear piercing language of squawks, but they were most certainly fearsome to look upon.  Ginal sprang forward toward an amalj'aa carrying a spear of it's own as it thrust forward toward her midsection, and she shifted her momentum to slide past the attack.  She swept her lance down and caught the beast's ankle, pulling it off it's feet and driving her spear tip into it's midsection.  She looked up to see her comrade land from a powerful leap between two other beast men.  The dragoon's lance shot forward through one's chest, then she deftly bent backward and put it through the other's throat.

The miqo'te scanned the area for the fourth, and identified it as a spell caster of some type as aether energy swirled about it's hands.  "No you don't!" she cried out as she jumped up and hurled her lance.  It found it's home in the amalj'aa's heart, but the spell was already cast as she heard a small explosion behind her.

She turned to see Vartimeaux on the ground, writhing and screaming in pain as he clutched his leg.  "Oh gods, my leg!  Gaah it blew my leg off!"  

The roegadyn was at his side to cradle his lover, "No, no, it's still there.  But this needs attention immediately."  Ginal helped pick the elezen up as Selah had retrieved the miqo'te's lance and was already readying the birds for travel. 

"The closest healers are at Camp Drybone," Selah explained, "but it'll take all night to get there.  I hope he can bear with it for a while."



They had traveled on through the night as quickly as the merchants' cart would allow, and reached Drybone.  Vartimeaux was left in the care of the local healers, and Agatgeim was steadfastly at his side.  The merchants had reluctantly requested the two women to finish the journey for them, and leave the cart and its contents in the care of the owner of the Quicksand pub in Ul'dah.  They were paid in full ahead of time, which Ginal mused to herself was either desperately trusting, or stunningly foolish.

After taking a short rest, the miqo'te and the object of her affections were back on the road to Ul'dah, with chocobo Dinornis hitched ahead of his fellows and proudly leading the march.  Thanalan was hot, dry, and far brighter than Ginal thought any place had any reason to be, but couldn't help but smile as she looked over at the dragoon in the mid day sun.

Dawn or dusk, rest or battle, I truly love being around her.

As she steered the birds before the cart, Selah looked to the redhead questioningly, opening her mouth to speak and then closing it again.  

"What is it?"  Ginal inquired.  

The auburn haired hyur sat a moment longer, seeming to be mulling over her thoughts more.  "I've been very fond of you since we met during your trial weeks ago," the dragoon began, "and the time I've had with you on this job of ours has been wonderful, combat included."  

Selah laughed softly and paused a moment, then turned her gaze to meet Ginal's, "I want...to see where this is going.  When we reach Ul'dah, will you let me take you out for an evening?"

Ginal's heart raced as the words echoed through her mind.  Her mouth hung open as she tried to find an answer.

What should I do?  What do I want?  Am I ready for this?  Can I trust her?  Will she hate me?  Will she hurt me?

The lancer closed her eyes, drew in a breath and slowly exhaled.

She's been nothing but kind, supportive and patient.  She'll understand better than anyone else.  Nophica knows, I want her so.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." she answered, smiling genuinely.  Selah smiled and reached out to hold the miqo'te's hand, but as the two shared the moment Ginal felt a familiar stirring of arousal.  She folded her arms over her lap nervously and looked away.



It was mid morning two days later when they finally arrived at the great desert city, and as they promised, the merchants' cart and all belonging were left in the care of the Quicksand's owner.  They had briefly parted ways to rest and ready themselves for the evening outing, and Ginal felt as nervous as a schoolgirl as she looked herself over in the tall mirror of the rented inn room.

Am I ready for this?  Is this what I really want?

She drew in another calming breath and nodded at herself.

I've come this far.  I have to try.

She frowned as she looked over her leather armor.  It wasn't unattractive, exactly, but she felt she could have looked nicer.  Maybe the next time she left for a long and dangerous trip across Eorzea she'd pack a bag of prettier clothing.



The date was amazing.  They walked the Ruby Road Exchange, and Selah bought her a lovely blue and white yukata she eyed at a clothing store, and she loved that she now matched Selah who had changed into her own black and white yukata.  They had stopped to watch various street dancers and performers, and Selah explained nearly everything there was to know about being a goldsmith over a long and delicious dinner.  Ginal was impressed with the multiple facets of Selah Phocina she was learning about.

The redhead had never had so much honest fun with another person, and found herself both truly at ease and nervous as all the hells as they walked together through the magnificent Gold Court.  The myriad torches and sconces whos light danced along the smoothly carved stone walls perfectly surrounded the great, fern lined fountain in the center of the Court.  Ginal was a Gridania girl at heart, but if there was ever going to be a place to compete with the natural beauty she loved so much, it would be this place.

Ginal stepped up onto one of the stone benches that lined the fountain and leaned over the edge to take it all in.  She gazed in awe and wonder at the cascading waterfall, and the way the various light sources played and danced across the water.  The miqo'te looked up at her date, and thought the dragoon's joyful smile was irresistibly lovely.  Selah reached out to brush a fallen bang from Ginal's face as they held each other's gaze.  The hyur cupped the miqo'te's face in her hands and leaned in as Ginal's heart beat faster and faster in anticipation.

"If this is what you really are, then I don't want to be with you.  You're a freak!"

The lancer's eyes shot open, and she quickly pulled away.  She looked upon Selah with fear, sadness and nervousness.  "I can't," she stammered out.  "I'm sorry, I just-I can't!"  She turned and began to hurry away.  

The auburn haired woman stood stunned and confused, then shook it off and hurried after the redhead.  "Ginal, wait!" 

Ginal kept her pace, and Selah appeared before her in a quick and controlled leap.  

The hyur looked into her date's eyes, her own filled with equal parts frustration and concern.  "If I've been too forward or too aggressive, I'm sorry. I'll hold myself back, I'll let you take the lead.  Just don't do this.  Don't walk away from whatever is happening between us."

Ginal trembled where she stood as she desperately fought back her angry and frightened tears.  "I...I just...You won't want me, Selah," she managed through a breaking voice, as she tried to step around the hyur woman.  

"I know what you are," Selah stated matter-of-factly.  

The miqo'te froze in her tracks and her tail stiffened.

No, oh gods, no.  

"That night in the Canopy, I felt it when we embraced.  Your arousal."  

Ginal turned to the hyur, now shaking entirely with fear and agitation.

The dragoon stepped up and gently clasped Ginal's shoulders, "I've put the pieces together: Your behaviors, your reactions, the ways you've sought privacy for seemingly no reason.  I know you're a hermaphrodite."  

The miqo'te slowly shook her head, "I'm just a freak, is all."

Selah's expression filled with pain as she touched the miqo'te's cheek.  "You're not a freak. You had no control over what you were born as.  When I look at you, Ginal, I see a woman.  Deadly, intelligent, funny and stunningly beautiful."  

Ginal met the other woman's kind, patient and now pained gaze.  

"Whatever extra baggage you were born to carry doesn't make you any less of a woman.  I accept you, Ginal, for who, and what, you are."

Selah...

Ginal's trembling and breathing began to slow, "Could you really be with someone like me?"

Selah smiled a soft, genuine and loving smile, "Of course I could."

It was like lightning and fire coursing through her body.  It was exciting, passionate and exhilarating, and yet consoling, gentle and loving.  It was like nothing she had ever experienced, yet somehow this kiss was everything she had ever dreamed of.  

In this place, on this night, during this kiss, Ginal Celah had no idea if she would ever accept herself as she was, but she knew that this wonderful person who held her so close, and kissed her with so much gentle love and soulful passion did.

It was the most wonderful moment of her life.