(So. First meeting for the cousins, Destiney and Lance. Since my characters cannot actually ever meet each other in game, of course, I wrote this for them. The beginnings of something I’m working on to happen in the future. @michisilver and @kindlingdusk who wanted to read this an helped give Lance the verbal kick in the pants he needed. 😀 Here it is. An @onidephor for Raiden who had a hand in helping make this go the way it did.)

Destiney quickly tucked away her
journal as she finished the last lines for the entry she was working
on. The fact that someone was knocking on her door had her curious.
Chee and J’siris usually didn’t bother knocking and waiting. They
usually just knocked then came in. Whoever was at the door today
wasn’t them. She didn’t usually get visitors at her personal home. It
wasn’t an address she openly gave out. This place was an escape from
all the chaos and activity in her life. Her one safe haven from
everything.

What she hadn’t been expecting was the
handsome elezen on the other side. She was pretty sure she had never
met this man before. His darker skin tone almost made her mistake him
for a duskwight at first. But the racial cuffs on the ears marked him
as a wildwood. His hair was raven black with what appeared to be dark
blue highlights in places. Faint freckles dotted his cheekbones right
below his summer sky blue eyes. She found herself speechless as she
stared up at him.

“Destiney? Destiney Delvanguard yes?”
He asked as he bowed politely to her. Even an Ishgardian accent
touched his voice.

“Yes. Who are you?” She finally
managed to find her voice to ask the young man before her. The accent
had set her on edge. It had been the douse of cold water she needed
when staring at a handsome elezen man. She knew very few people in
Ishgard. He was not among those. Very few of those she even knew
there could be counted among those she trusted. So what brought this
man to her doorstep then?

“Lancefer, Knight in service of House
Haillenarte. May I come in?”

Destiney stepped aside as she held the
door open for him to come in. She had not missed his lack of a last
name. Curiosity won out over caution though. There was no one she
remembered among Haillenarte. Never before had she interacted with
anyone from the High Houses. Not even a knight of one. She had always
kept her time in Ishgard limited after her five year stay had ended
years ago. Only returning as needed for information or items bartered
from a trader there. Not even returning to visit her aunt. Though she
did send letters at times to let her aunt know she was still alive.

Thankfully the recent remodel of her
kitchen allowed for better space to deal with guests. Mostly because
she had been tempted to invite members of the company by sometime.
Most definitely a few of them at the very least. She had already had
Felix over once. Along with his friend Rowan. It had just been a few
nights ago actually.

Lancefer picked a chair not far from
the doors, placing his gauntlet clad hands on the back but didn’t
sit. He looked anxious and nervous though he did hold himself well
without fidgeting. As if whatever he had come here for, was bad news.
Or at least news he was unsure how she would take. Destiney didn’t
take her eyes off him though as she moved around the counter into the
kitchen. The more distance between them the better. Not that there
was much room for escape if needed. Especially being in the kitchen.
Still the space between them an the counters made her feel a fraction
safer to deal with the Ishgardian in her home.

“What can I help you with, Ser
Lancefer?” Destiney asked as she grabbed a bottle of white wine off
the cupboard shelf before turning her attention back to him. There
was no way she wished to take her eyes off him for long. His sword
and shield were not drawn but that did not make him any less
dangerous. Her bow was downstairs on her desk as she had not expected
needing it. As was her soulstone so there was no way to call Daisy to
her aid. Fingers reached into her pocket to brush against her
linkpearl. At least that much she never left just anywhere. It was
also on her person.

“This… This is hard to explain.”
Lancefer said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his dark hair. He
finally let go of the back of the chair and began to pace. “After
speaking with both Lady Miu and Lady Dusk… They both thought it
time I come clean to you. That I come speak with you. I beg you to
hear me out until I finish what I have to say though. Will you?” He
looked at her with pleading eyes as he stopped his pacing for a
moment.

“Lady Dusk? You know Dusk?”
Destiney frowned as she looked at him. Lady Miu was a name she had
not heard before but she only knew one Dusk. It made her feel she
needed to be extra cautious now if the Dusk he spoke of was the one
she knew. Though it also made her want to find out the truth. Surely
if he was dangerous Dusk wouldn’t have suggested he come speak to
her. After all Dusk kept trying to warn her of Leera because she
thought the duskwight was dangerous. Granted Leera was dangerous in a
way but he had never proven a danger to her yet.

“Lady Dusk of the Order you belong to
yes. I have…” He hesitated as he took a deep breath as if to try
an ease the tension of his body. He could see the way Destiney had
tensed up as he confirmed that they were talking about the same Dusk.
“I… have been speaking with various members of your company. For
a while now actually. Raiden. Oni. Lady Tara.  To name a few. I dined
with them for a brief time at the beginning of the week even. They
knew the truth an have held their tongues on the matter because I
pleaded for them to do so.”

“Held their tongues on what matter?
Get to the point.” Destiney said with a frown as she gently placed
the wine bottle down on the counter behind her. She no longer trusted
herself to hold on to it. Afraid she may either throw it or drop it.
Almost wished she had a seat in case she needed it with whatever this
knight was about to tell her.

“Please hear me out until the end. At
first what I have done is because of orders on behalf of my
grandfather. But as time went on my motivations changed. My reasons
for doing what I have done have changed. Fury take me… I even
battled Raiden on behalf of those motivations. Before the eyes of
Halone herself outside the gates to Ishgard…” A heavy sigh as he
resumed pacing once more as his story slowly unfolded. “I lost
gloriously to Raiden. I never stood a ghost of a chance. I thought…
thought you were safe with members like Raiden to watch your back.”

“Safe? Safe from what?” Destiney
struggled to remain patient. She found his words to grate her nerves.
Why had he challenged Raiden? What was she supposed to be safe from?
Interally she was screaming for him to get to the point. However she
knew screaming an getting angry would do little good. It was obvious
whatever this knight was trying to say was difficult. He wanted to
make his point with as many details as possible.

“From my grandfather. Our
grandfather.” His eyes met hers. He held his breath as he watched
her for any sign. Any sign of what she was likely to do. When she
just stared at him in confusion he pressed forward. His words came
quicker now. Hurrying to make his point before she had a chance to
toss him out of her house without finishing. “My name is Lancefer
Aurifore. I am your cousin. Grandfather at first sent me to spy on
you an report back to him. Looking for any weakness he could use
against you. Once I learned you were my cousin though… I started to
defy his wishes. I fed him false information. I fought Raiden for
your safety. He… Doesn’t have the best of reputations among the
knights but it is not my story to tell.”

“Wait… What? Grandfather…
That…” Destiney sucked in a sharp breath as she gripped the
counter behind her. Her eyes stared down at the floor beneath her
feet. She felt like a rug had been ripped out from under her. She had
had no interactions with the old bastard since she had left Ishgard.
Gladly had she kept it that way. Neither one of them wanted to be
family to one another. Yet this man in her home was calling himself
her cousin. She felt angry and confused all at the same time.

“I tried my best to work from the
shadows. To keep anything that might damn you as a heretic from
reaching grandfather. But… I am a knight not a spy. I have a
certain amount of honor to uphold. Haillenarte has already fallen too
far without me adding anything worse to their reputation.” His
pacing stopped again. Once more his hands gripped the back of the
chair nearest to him. His gaze was downcast. “Both Lady Miu and
Lady Dusk insisted this farce needed to end. That I needed to come
clean an speak with you. I… You are my family. I cannot stand by an
allow this continue. To allow this all to spiral out without you
knowing what sort of danger might lurk in the shadows. Please…”

His words seemed heartfelt. That was
what struck Destiney the most. Never before beyond her aunt had
anyone from that side of the family reached out to her. To most of
them her mother was an outcast. An she a half-breed bastard. Yet here
was one claiming to be different. To actually be trying to warn her.
Grandfather having a desire to brand her a heretic was actually not
very far fetched. She didn’t like the man an he certainly didn’t like
her.

“If you can not trust my words
alone… If you have reason to distrust me… Speak with Raiden or
Lady Dusk. Or even Lady Tara. Please. Even if you toss me out right
now… Please just believe me… All I want is to keep you safe.”

Destiney felt at a loss for words.
Every name of an Order member was someone she trusted. Even if she
was not currently on good terms with Oni. It still said something if
those people had trusted him enough to keep his secret. It explained
the occasional feeling of being watched.

Family. The gods were offering her
another piece of a family. A piece she had never known till now.
Could she trust his words rang true? Could she really just accept his
words for what they were? Haillenarte… It was one of the decent
High Houses. One she had always thought to be far more noble then
those monsters of House Dzamael. Maybe his words could be trusted.

Raiden had fought with him an allowed
the man to live. He had walked away from a battle that could have
very well killed him. If Raiden had allowed him to live… There must
be some shred of truth to his pleas. Which struck another cord in
her. After what she had watched Oni and Raiden to be capable of…
They had allowed someone who had clearly attacked them to walk away
alive.

Her hands clenched as she tried to
decide how to react. Slowly she reopened her hands and finally looked
up at him. His head was still bowed as if waiting for her judgment.
Part of her was angry, furious even. Part of her felt sympathy
towards him. Her heart was tugged in various direction of emotion as
her mind tried to sort through the information in a reasonable
fashion. How dare he assume she needed his protection. How dare he
spy on her! Yet… He was reaching out to her now…

Destiney stalked from the kitchen over
to where Lancefer stood, still not looking up as she approached. Her
hands met his shoulders, shoving backwards. With a clatter of metal,
Lancefer found himself on his butt staring up at her with wide
startled eyes. Destiney crossed her arms over her chest as she looked
down at him with a frown.

“How dare you assume I need your
protection. How dare you stalk me from the shadows yet call yourself
a knight. How dare you assume I want any contact with anyone in the
Aurifore family.” Destiney began. Her voice was firm yet the anger
was held at bay. Slowly she dropped her arms from where she had
crossed them. A hand stretched out to him. “Get up.”

He stared at her dumbfounded and
speechless. First she had shoved him and scolded him. Now she was
offering her hand out to him. Demanding he get back to his feet. Her
expression was hard for him to read. He took her offered hand,
getting back to his feet with her assistance.

“I appreciate your concern but I can
protect myself… Most of the time.” A tug at the corners of her
mouth was the first sign of true emotion since that frown had faded
into a blank look. “I will give you a chance. One chance. If you
screw up, you will never bother me again. If you are truly as honest
as you have made yourself sound… Then… Welcome to the family?”

Lance felt his eyes would pop out of
his head as he listened to her words. He threw his arms around her
without thinking, hugging her tight. She squeaked in protest at the
sudden hug by a man she didn’t really know yet. He quickly pulled
back with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry… I was expecting worse. Like
things thrown at me… Or spells. Halone have mercy.” He laughed
nervously. “I am… Overjoyed that you are going to give me a
chance. I have never been close with my siblings. I have been… the
black sheep of the family since the day I joined Haillenarte.”

“Well then…” Destiney looked
around at her kitchen, eyes settling upon the bottle of wine. “Tell
me about it over a drink? You already know more about me then I know
about you.”

“Ah… Tea maybe? You do drink tea
yes? I am afraid I have duty later this evening. Alcohol would not be
wise.” Lance said as he removed his sword and shield, leaving them
near the door.

“Tea it is.”