Aria Terpsichore

I'm glad you like it! Enjoy your vacation!

I hope the sweater keeps you warm enough!

"I think it looks perfect," Aria replies with a sweet smile.

"Why don't we try some? I bet it tastes lovely~"

This looks delicious, Panne! Care to share with me?

{She's giving happy dragon rumbles and nuzzling him with her horn}

I have been going to the moon rather often lately... Though we've recently visited another star for more exploration, so a jetpack would be quite handy!

Her tail wags happily as she's scooped up into his arms, happy to return the kiss.

"You make me feel special every day already, Artoirel; you didn't have to do all of this, but I do appreciate it." She gives him another kiss, purring softly.

"The cake looks delicious; did you bake it?"

Do you remember? 🐸🪩

"This is...for me?"

She's surprised to see the table laid out with her favorite things, not having expected anything but a regular day today.

"Always going out of your way for me..." She smiles softly as she reaches up to cup Artoirel's face in her hands.

"Thank you, love."

You finished the jetpack?? Or is it something else?

[oh yeah everyone be nice to Aria today it's her nameday hehehe]

[hehe]

far from Ul'dah as she can possibly be.

"I've not wanted anyone to know... I've always worried what they would say or think if they knew..." Or what they would do. She's well aware there are still those that look down on au ra and the Warriors of Light, after all.

There's a strange sense of relief knowing that the anger in his eyes isn't for her. She cuddles up close to him as he pulls her into his lap and holds her tightly.

"I...do not know for sure... I try to avoid being in Ul'dah when I can, lest I cross his path." And she's content to keep herself as +

against his for comfort.

Her breath is a little shaky, not enjoying reliving those moments. When she speaks, her voice is soft.

"How are you feeling...? That wasn't very enjoyable to witness, I know..."

and finally, the day she escaped from him, striking him with a vase to free herself as he tried to strangle her, and running for her life through Thanalan to the South Shroud.

She lets go of his hands to sever the connection and to bring him back to the present, though she rests her forehead +

and confused. She shares with him a couple moments of her time with Bragi in Ul'dah, taught only how to work, to use a needle and thread or to clean and cook, the abuse she suffered, being yanked around by her tail or stuck by his hand, the names she was called in his rage for things not her fault+

She nods and takes his hands in hers, telling him to close his eyes as she does the same. She takes a silent deep breath and lets him peer into her memories.

The day her mother offered her small daughter to the 'traders' to save herself, the black market auction itself where she stood, terrified +

Are you alright...?

"It is an unpleasant story," she warns, shifting to better face him and offer him her hands.

"I won't show you every moment, but what I will share will not be happy or pleasant; I want to be sure you are ready and willing to see these memories."

finally lifts to meet his, though she's nervous to do so.

"My Echo lets me share not only a vision I'm seeing, but moments from my own past can be shared as well by touch..." A power she's long since learned to control, thankfully.

it," she corrects quietly, though she does appreciate his offer to assist her.

Her gaze is focused more on her hands, fingers playing with a loose thread from the binding of a quilt in her blanket pile.

"I don't know if I can tell you, but...I could /show/ you, if you were willing..." Her gaze +

Even if it feels as though some weight has lifted from her shoulders, she can't bring herself to smile in relief. Though she's grateful he doesn't seem to be upset about her iliteracy, it wasn't what she was primarily struggling to tell him, nor where her main fears lay.

"It's moreso the /why/ of +

Aria returns the gentle squeeze with one of her own, her nerves admittedly easing a little.

"If it /is/ what you think it is, can you promise me that you won't tell anyone? I'm worried Artoirel might grow overly stressed from the news before the wedding..."

She takes T'asir's hand, thankful for the company, and gives her a weak half smile.

"I would appreciate that... I don't know if it's something I'd like to do alone."

She hesitates for a moment before finally nodding and starting to crawl out of her blanket pile.

"I guess I should go see her then... Just in case..."

If there's anyone she can trust about the matter, it's certainly T'asir, but there's a twinge of fear that starts to take hold at the thought that she really could be pregnant.

"...If I saw the family chirurgeon, they wouldn't tell anyone if the answer was 'yes,' would they?"

learning until I was eighteen, and I didn't get very far in my learning before the Calamity, and the reason why I had never learned before...isn't very easy to talk about..."

Though to her, her fear was a good reason. Her fear of how she would be viewed, of reliving it, of others simply knowing it, kept the story trapped in her throat. But she wants to tell him, to let Artoirel see all of her.

"I...can't read or write very well," she starts meekly. "I didn't start +

Her lips twitch faintly into a weak smile as he mentions he'd planned to keep the dragon's blood a secret from her, and she cuddles up a little closer to him- wanting to be closer to his warmth and to just feel safe.

"I don't know if anyone else would consider them good reasons," she replies. +