FFXIV Write Day 1: Envoy

The thing is, they've never ridden an airship before.

Mint knows, knows they need to stay on task, that when this ship lands they will have to carry messages, be an envoy to other city states...

But for now, they poke their head into every nook and cranny of the ship's deck. Its smaller than they expected, but well, Mint never got close enough to airship to judge that before. And of course, they never go *below* deck, since the allure of the open skies is too much to resist.

Sure, the ride is a couple hours long, but Mind doesn't get bored once.

Over here are supplies, some recognizable, some completely arcane. Peeking over the side, Mint can see engines, rumbling, and stinking of ceruleum exhaust.

And looking up, blue skies. Its midday, and clear, so Mint can see for malms. And oh, above Ul'dah, especially. Some fact, half remembered, scratches at the back of her mind: there's no water in the air, so even though its harder to breathe, you can see just about forever.

(Mint can't remember where the fact came from, or who told her that. That's normal, when so much is lost to you. She dismisses the mystery immediately.)

Instead, she peers at the edge of forests, and wonders if she can see her home from here.

Time passes, fast and slow at once. Clouds creep in from the south, and the sun slowly edges away from its zenith.

Mint... pauses.

There's salt in the air. Sea salt.

They don't know how they know that. They've never seen the sea before in their life.

Its curls on her like an old friend, and suddenly Mint's biting back tears and racing for the front deck.

The sun is setting, and the sea, just now gleaming on the edge of the world, gleams gold.

This, she thinks, is everything I wanted.



It isn't, but for now it fills that hole of everything she lost, just for a moment.