#sad mom ishgardian

The first time he stepped on the sand, he was tense. It was more beige than white, the consistency different even from a glance, but a nervous part of his brain expected the same sound when he put his foot down. The same compacting crunch his sabatons had made when he had half-walked, half-dragged himself across frozen Coerthas.

But the sand was gentle, as was the hand holding his own. Kelaire knew that she could pick up on his anxiety, especially when he balanced for a long moment on his bad leg before his first foot came down. Rather than the expected, hated sound, all he heard was the susurrant wind grazing over the grains and already beginning to fill in behind them as he continued forward.

“Shirogane is different than I had pictured in my mind,” he admitted, looking up at the clear skies.

Ylaine walked beside him, still holding his hand. It was only to steady him, of course. Thinking otherwise would be silly. He shoved such thoughts away before they could bring heat and color to his cheeks. “–for me too,” she was saying. “But it’s actually very nice. Are you alright walking here?”

Kelaire gave her hand a little squeeze of gratitude. “I’m quite alright, thanks to you.”

(thank you @eorzean-wayfinder for the use of Ylaine)