Basically anything that's not tied to one particular character's story but primarily involves those tagged with Echos Gen 1 in the Characters section.
Please note that the following document may contain potentially triggering content. This is not Ao3 and I will not be tagging everything but this content could range from sexual assault, sexual situations in general, lots and lots of kinks, talk of killing people or dead people such as family members, and more. If you are triggered by these things to a point that reading them would be detrimental to your physical and/or mental health I suggest you skip reading anything I have written in this document or others for your own safety. If you are the sort who reads something you disagree with/that offends you/whatever and you feel the need become the Purity Brigade please don't bother - I've been down that road enough to know not to engage, so you will get nothing out of me except a block and a report for harassment.
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"Fuck, why won't this thing die?" V'mallo fired off another shot, cursing as it went wide. Her left arm hung limp at her side, completely numb as blood flowed down it from her wounded shoulder. She could still fire her gun with her good arm but adjusting for her aim being off and the kickback was taking more time than she wanted.
Meanwhile Valour kept the attention of the monsters, and Broil's main focus was making sure she stayed alive to do that. V'mallo didn't begrudge them for that, they'd patch her up when they were done and do a fine job of it they just had to get through this first. Rhys, on the other hand, had fully merged themselves with their Voidsent and was dashing around the field trying to slash at arms and legs and anything to incapacitate the enemies so Valour could land a killing blow.
Enshrouding like that was so dangerous, and to do it so long in the heat of combat Rhys was quickly burning through their aether supply. Rhys ducked a tail swing, lashing out with their scythe to swipe at knees. As the creature fell they quickly warped to the other side, taking one step forward before quickly turning on their heel and dashing into the path of a claw swipe. Holding their scythe out kept away the worst of the blow, but the creature's strength pushed them back and Rhys didn't have time to dodge as the second arm came in and hit them in the side. The enshroud dropped as Rhys' body bounced, coming to a stop with a huge gash in their side.
V'mallo rushed over to try and cover Rhys, firing off a shot that thankfully landed and exploded as her queen rushed in now that the recharge was done. That was enough to turn the tide, and seconds later all the creatures were dead. V'mallo just let herself fall onto her butt, panting as blood ran down her arm and her face and Broil came running over.
"Don't worry about me, get Rhys." V'mallo closed her eyes, focusing on staying calm. The bleeding was bad, but Rhys had practically been eviscerated and was the far more pressing matter.
Broil didn't say anything, kneeling down and working on Rhys as their magic began to knit flesh back together and keep it from being a deadly blow. It was also an infusion of aether to help with how low things had run during the battle, and within a few seconds Rhys was conscious and sitting up again. Broil attended to V'mallo with magic while Rhys sat, staring off into the middle distance for a bit until they felt Broil come back and lift their shirt to get a better look at the wound area as they pulled out more mundane healing supplies.
"You know, your obsession with death is actually going to get you killed one day." Broil had that snobby tone again, and said something else Rhys didn't hear as their senses honed in on the death of some small animals nearby as Valour set out to get some to provide a bit more aether so Rhys could recover.
"You're so reckless, and honestly-"
"Broil, shut the fuck up." Rhys turned their head, snapping at the viera. "If I had let you take that blow it would have been your dumb, oblivious ass laid out on the ground bleeding to death and I know you wouldn't trust me to patch you up like that. So shut up, do your job, and don't lecture me on how to do mine." They snarled, showing sharp teeth as a threat.
That, at least, seemed to have stunned Broil into silence. They took a few moments to finish making sure the wound wouldn't re-open and that Rhys didn't have any other wounds, then hugged them.
******
"Cordelia!" Rhys let the power of their voidsent raise their voice so they could be heard. "Man the cannons!"
Cordelia squinted at the enemies in front of her, judging that against how far away Rhys sounded. Making a choice in the moment the viera tossed her axe into the air and turned, interlocking her fingers as Rhys jumped. Her shoulders heaved to give the elezen some extra lift, launching the reaper right behind the enemy lines as she screamed "Draw your scythe!" before spinning on her heel and grabbing her axe as it came down. One swing cleaved the enemies that sought to rush her in those few moments, Cordelia smirking as the ones behind them took a hesitant step back.
Then she felt the familiar magic wrapping around her, trying to pull her back. She didn't even need to look to know it was Broil, her body instinctively tensing to lock her in place as the magic fizzled out. The scholar said something but Cordelia tuned it out, using the fact that her muscles were coiled so tight to spring into action and begin slashing through. Another surge of magic prickled her skin, the unmistakable feeling of Astraea's healing, but Cordelia kept her focus as she made her way towards Rhys.
The two met in the middle, more enemies crowding them from every side. Valour was stuck elsewhere in the hoard, Cordelia could hear that Broil had gone to their twin and that was fine by her for now as the two could take care of themselves. Then a gunshot rang out, drawing Cordelia's attention for a moment to a nearby ridge where the familiar face of a miqo'te gave her a smile and a thumbs up.
"V's up high as usual. Should we direct her to help with the twins?" Rhys stood back-to-back with Cordelia, raising an eyebrow.
"At least until other reinforcements arrive." Cordelia nodded, raising one hand to signal the machinist to direct her efforts to wherever Broil and Valour were.
V'mallo nodded, shifting her focus to another skirmish nearby where the viera twins were fighting. Her Queen hit the field with them as she stayed on the ridge, firing shots to take down some of the smaller enemies and thin the numbers.
"Maidens fierce?" Cordelia took a step back, leaning into Rhys a bit.
"Maidens fair." Rhys chuckled, bracing as Cordelia used them to get a bit of extra launch and they both went flying forward into the battle.
"Ready?" Eros asked, adjusting Nefra's jacket.
"Ready!" Nefra smiled widely.
"Good girl. Come on." Eros stood up, offering her a hand and waiting until she took it.
Off they went back to Limsa, and Eros picked her up before rushing down to the harbor. The ocean fishing voyage was just about to leave, but they made it in time to board the ship. Heading to a point where the railing was low enough that Nefra could stand on a little stool to see and fish properly.
"Do you know where we are?" Eros asked as the ship pulled in and one of the crew called for the anchor to be dropped.
"The Bloodbrine Sea. We need krill, right?" Nefra looked up at Eros, confident in her answer but still looking for confirmation.
"You're right, and very smart." Eros reached a hand down to ruffle her hair, watching carefully as she baited her line and cast it. He followed suit, and together they spent the day fishing on the boat with everyone else.
Most of the fish were tossed back, but Eros made sure to keep the ones Nefra caught that he knew they could prepare for dinner. As they pulled up their last catch and the ship began to return to the city Eros picked Nefra up again and gave her a hug.
"Good girl, and look at that you caught us dinner!" He beamed, so proud of his niece as she giggled.
Once they were docked Eros took a few minutes to turn in some of his own fish, taking Nefra through the market to show her a few other things they were picking up to go with the fish. Some rice and vegetables, and a few ingredients for some sauce too, explaining to Nefra along the way. Then they were off, back to the house.
"We're back!" Eros called, letting Nefra take off running as Cordelia came down the stairs, watching as she picked her daughter up and held her close.
"Did you have fun?" Cordelia asked.
"We did!" Nefra snuggled into her mother's arms.
"Good. Come on, let's get you cleaned up and changed while Auntie Eros makes dinner." Cordelia gave Eros a wave as she headed off, Nefra going on about where they had been and the fish they had caught and everything else about the day, her voice fading as Cordelia went further into the house.
Eros just smiled and set about getting dinner ready, the smells of fish and vegetables filling the house as he did so. Someday Nefra would help him cook too, but for now he was happy to spend a few days a month fishing with her. Giving her parents a bit of a break, especially Cordelia since she was pregnant again.