"Thank you for agreeing to come with me to Old Sharlayan, Y'sila," Tivra said as the pair stepped off the boat. Light, powdery snow fell around them as they walked through Scholar's Harbor.
Y'sila smiled. "Well, it gave me an excuse to come home to visit. It's been a couple years since I've been back here."
"Ah, I remember you told me you were born here. You said your parents own a local tavern?"
Y'sila nodded, her eyes darting around as she took in the sights, sounds, and smells of her homeland. "Mhm. It's the place I worked before I left to become an adventurer. My parents founded it after giving up their life of adventure to settle down."
A small smile tugged at the corner of Tivra's mouth. "I suppose there are worse things than opening a tavern and raising a family. I suppose you would like to stop by and say hello to your parents, then?"
Y'sila nodded, though smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...I have a feeling my mother is going to be quite cross with me. I send her letters all the time, but she's been nagging me to come home to visit for months now. Not too mention she's said she's wanted to meet all my adventuring companions and Kae and Meyu were too busy to join us. I just know I'm going to get an earful from her..."
Tivra tapped her chin, getting an early idea as to what kind of person Y'sila's mother was. "I see. And what about your father?"
Y'sila's eyes fell, the sheepish smile still on her face. "Ah. He...passed away when I was a child. My mother remarried about a decade ago."
"Oh," Tivra replied, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She mentally kicked herself. "I'm sorry. I should not have assumed..."
Y'sila's expression softened as she patted Tivra on the shoulder. "It's okay; you didn't know! My mother and step-mother now run the tavern together, though my step-mother, Hariko, is a lot less strict than my mother. Knowing her, she might be lazing about the tavern if it's not too busy."
Tivra nodded. "Do you want to stop by your parents' tavern first?"
"Let's! My mother has connection with the Studium, so she may be able to get access to the book you're looking for easier than we could."
Tivra's eyes lit up at the proposition. If there was an easier way to get her hands on that tome, than she would take it. "To the tavern, then!"
The pair made their way to Journey's End; Tivra marveled at the grand estates that lined the main road. Not too far from the banks of the sea rested Soulwind Tavern. It was a modest location that stood out amongst the gleaming white estates of Journey's End.
"Here we are!" Y'sila said. "If we're lucky, it won't be too busy so we can have a chat with my mother. If I remember correctly, this time of day is usually the slowest, so we might be in luck."
Tivra nodded. "Lead the way, then."
The pair stepped inside the tavern, a bell above the door announcing their presence. Y'sila took a deep breath, the smells of the tavern bringing a wave of nostalgia washing over the miqo'te. Little had changed in the few years since she had been home; today, only a couple patrons sat around a table, enjoying a meal. The tavern was mostly empty, which was good news for Tivra.
A pink-haired miqo'te stepped out from a back room, her medium-length hair braided close to her head on one side. She had shimmering violet eyes and freckles much like Y'sila's, with a small scar on her right cheek. The miqo'te smiled.
"Welcome, welcome! What can I--" Y'sila's mother's eyes widened as she noticed her daughter standing in the doorway. After a brief moment of shock, her lips curled into a smirk, and she placed her hands on her hips. "Well, well. Look who finally came home to visit!"
Y'sila chuckled sheepishly. "Hello, Mother. It's nice to see you!"
Y'sila's mother walked forward and wrapped her daughter up in a tight hug, nuzzling into the top of Y'sila's hair. "It's about time, you naughty little kitty! Here I thought I was only going to see your handwriting for the rest of my life! I suppose you've been too busy on your little adventures, hmm?"
Y'sila grunted, feeling squished under her mother's embrace. "Grk...Come on, mother...I told you in my letters that I'd come visit soon!"
"'Soon' she says. Hmph." Y'sila's mother--still holding her daughter in a tight hug--turned her attention to Tivra. "And this must be one of your adventuring pals?"
Tivra gave a polite bow. "It is nice to meet you, ma'am. My name is Tivra."
Y'sila's mother smiled, releasing her grip on her daughter enough to extend her hand to shake Tivra's. "Likewise. You can call me Y'lani. Sila, where are your other two friends you've mentioned in your letters?"
"Busy, unfortunately," Y'sila replied, finally able to breathe after being freed from her mother's grasp. "I'll have to drag them here next time. I know Kaede has wanted to meet you for a while."
Y'lani pouted. "Well, at least you brought one friend. But that doesn't get you off the hook for going so long without coming to visit, young lady. Come here..."
Y'sila's ears fell as her mother reached for her. She knew by the look in her mother's eyes exactly what was in store for her. "W-Wait, Mother! Hold on a--eep! Meowwww!"
Y'lani grabbed hold of Y'sila and began squishing and rolling her daughter up into a tight ball. Y'sila's squeaks of protest fell on deaf ears as Y'lani's deft hands mushed her daughter like dough. Once Y'sila was squished into a tight ball--a mess of compressed limbs and clothes; the younger miqo'te's eyes spinning dizzily--Y'lani placed her on a table and proffered a rolling pin. With a devious smirk, Y'lani rolled the pin over the Y'sila ball, rolling her daughter out flat like a pie crust. Y'sila's squeaks faded into dizzy whimpers as she was rolled thinner and wider. Once Y'lani was satisfied with her work, she wiped sweat from her brow and took a step back to fully appreciate the look of her flattened out daughter.
Y'sila had been kneaded and rolled out flat so much that she looked like a cream-colored disc; only her face was visible now. The poor miqo'te eyes were crossed, her lips pulled into a pout.
"Let this be a lesson for you to come visit more often, my sweet daughter," Y'lani said, poking Y'sila's doughy form.
"Mmph...Yes, Mummy..." Y'sila replied, her voice wobbly and silly.
Y'lani chuckled before glancing to Tivra, who looked on at Y'sila with a shocked expression. "Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't do the same thing to you!"
Tivra nodded, grateful that she wasn't at the receiving end of Y'lani's ire. "O-Of course."
Y'lani smiled as she began to roll Y'sila up like a crepe. "So, what brings you two here today? I have a feeling there's more to this visit than just a cordial hello."
"I actually came to Old Sharlayan in search of a book that is housed in Noumenon. It's called The Tome of Astrological Advances. Y'sila mentioned that you have connections to the Studium and may be able to get the book for us."
Y'lani tapped her chin as she held Y'sila's rolled up form in her spare hand. "I could get my hands on that book for you, but I'd expect something in return first. Fair enough?"
Tivra nodded. "Yes. What do you need me to do?"
Y'lani smiled politely as she unfurled Y'sila and began to flap her like a towel. After a few flaps and tosses, the miqo'te popped back to normal and landed in her mother's waited arms. Once she snapped out of her dizziness, Y'sila huffed, glaring at her mother with a pout.
"That was uncalled for, Mother..."
"I think it was very called for, Sila," Y'lani replied as she helped her daughter to her feet. "Come visit more often and I won't have to flatten you like a little kitty pancake!"
Y'sila crossed her arms with a soft, annoyed 'meow', but Y'lani turned her attention back to Tivra.
"I'd like the two of you to help clean out storage in the basement. It's quite a mess with everything just thrown around everywhere. I wanted my lazy wife to take care of it, but she keeps getting sidetracked. You two clean up down there, and I'll see what I can do about getting that book for you."
Tivra tilted her head, expecting a harder job--though not looking a gift horse in the mouth. "That sounds fair enough."
Y'sila looked around, her eyebrows quirked. "Speaking of Hariko...where is she, Mother?"
Y'lani smirked, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the wall. Y'sila and Tivra followed Y'lani's point, their eyes widening at the same time at the sight. Flattened behind a picture frame was a raen au ra with soft white hair and dark blue eyes. Only her face, fringe of hair, and bare soles were visible as she was pressed flat against the glass of the frame. Hariko smiled awkwardly at her step-daughter.
"Mph...Hey, Shila..." Hariko said, her voice muffled by the glass.
Y'lani sighed. "Miss lazybones over there kept complaining, so I squished her flat while it's slow in the tavern. Once it picks up a bit, I'll let her out. For now, though, she's an adorable decoration on the wall."
Tivra leaned close to Y'sila, whispering in her ear. "Is this a normal occurrence?"
Y'sila nodded. "Oh, yeah. My mother and step-mother love each other, but Mother loves to flatten Hariko whenever she gets too lazy."
"I...see..." Tivra replied, thinking that Y'sila's parents had quite the strange relationship.
Y'lani walked behind the bar and opened up a trap door that led to the storage basement of the tavern. "Are you girls ready?"
"You bet," Y'sila said, "We'll get the place cleaned up in no time." Tivra nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. The sooner she was able to get her hands on that book, the better.
"I'll hold you to that," Y'lani replied jokingly. "Off you go. You kids have fun. If you need anything, just call out for me."
Y'sila climbed down the ladder first, Tivra following closely behind. Once her feet hit solid ground, Tivra got a good view of the basement, which was larger than she thought. Overall, it was about the same size as the tavern above. Several barrels, crates, bottles and equipment were stacked against the walls, while a myriad of others were haphazardly placed everywhere. She and Y'sila had their work cut out for them.
Y'sila stretched her arms over her head. "Phew, it's been a long time since I've been down here. Y'miye and I used to sneak down here to play when we were kids." She looked around, getting a sense of nostalgia once more. "I'll start on one side, and you start on the other?"
Tivra nodded. "That sounds like a good plan. We can cover more ground that way."
The two split up, Y'sila starting on the right and Tivra to the left. Y'sila began by scooping up the assortment of bottles and other refuse on the ground. She figured starting with the smaller stuff and working her way up would be easier. After working her way through her side, she noticed a door set into the wall; a small storage closet. In any case, she needed a place to keep all the bottles she found for now. Tucking them away nicely in a closet would do.
She opened the door and was immediately greeted by something large and wooden falling right towards her.
*SPLAT*
Y'sila yelped as a heavy barrel fell out of the closet and rolled over her, flattening her into a thin poster on the ground. Her hands were held up, showing her failure in stopping the barrel's trajectory, while her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open in shock. She heard the barrel hit the other wall and hoped that Tivra hadn't been in its way. It would be embarrassing for Y'lani to come down to find both of her helpers plastered flat to the floor.
"Are you okay, Y'sila?" Tivra called as she ran over to inspect the damage. At least she had been spared the barrel's wrath. The au ra gasped as she saw what had become of Y'sila. "Oh, hold on. I can help you."
Tivra carefully peeled Y'sila from the floor and send a pulse of healing magic into the miqo'te. Y'sila soon popped back to normal, shaking her head to wash away the dizziness.
"Thanks, Tivra. I didn't expect there to be a stupid barrel hidden in that closet..."
"Your mother did say that stuff was just thrown everywhere," Tivra replied. "Maybe it would best if we work together in case something else jumps out at us."
Y'sila nodded and the two retrieved the barrel that had flattened the miqo'te, shoving it back into the closet and stacking several bottles on top of it.
The two worked their way over to Tivra's side, where several other barrels were stacked in a pyramid shape against the wall. Atop the highest barrel rested a couple loose bottles and small crates.
"I am going to see if I can grab those," Tivra said. "I do not mind climbing up."
"Just be careful," Y'sila replied, stepping off to the side. "I wouldn't want you to fall and end up having a dozen barrels roll you into a permanent fixture of the floor."
"I will be okay. These barrels should be secure enough that they won't roll away. I will just hand you down the bottles and crates." With a surprisingly limberness, Tivra climbed up the barrel pyramid with speed and poise. Y'sila was surprised that the au ra was so light on her feet that none of the barrels moved an inch. Tivra began handing down the refuse, which Y'sila placed with the rest in the closet. Once all were accounted for, Tivra let out a sigh from the top of the pyramid.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," the au ra said. Y'sila felt relief, but it was quickly evaporated when she noticed the toes of Tivra's boots coming dangerously close to a small gap between two barrels.
"Tivra, watch your foot!" she warned. It was too late. Tivra looked down just as her foot slipped into the gap and all the barrels began spinning in place like gears. Tivra could only muster a shocked gasp before her whole body was pulled down into the gap, flattening her between the barrels. Y'sila cringed as she watched the pressed au ra pass over each barrel as if they were a series of rollers, Tivra's hands cupped around her face in an expression of shock. Once she reached the bottom of the pyramid, Tivra's flat form was pushed out into the open and she floated gently like a leaf.
Y'sila rushed over and caught her before she hit the ground, Tivra's paper-thin body drooping over Y'sila's arms. Tivra's eyes spun in her head.
"Ugh...damn it..." was all the au ra could say.
"Hang on, I've got you," Y'sila replied, waving Tivra like a towel enough to restore her. Y'sila had to support the au ra on her arm for a moment until Tivra regained composure.
"T-thank you," the au ra said. "I did not expect cleaning up down here to be so dangerous. We should be more careful."
"Agreed. Luckily, we're just about halfway done. The sooner we finish this up, the sooner we don't have to worry about being squashed again."
As the two cleaned their way to the back of the basement, Y'sila noticed a small safe that sat atop a shelf that looked like it was about to snap any day now.
"That looks dangerous," she said. "I should probably get that down before it drops on someone's head."
"Just be careful," Tivra warned. "Safes like those can be deceivingly heavy. We had similar ones in Thavnair, and I've seen plenty of people end up flattened by them in quite cartoonish ways."
Y'sila appreciated the Tivra's worry but grabbing a safe like that was nothing she couldn't handle. It was a small one; only one foot by one foot in size. Sure, it would probably have a little weight to it, but Y'sila had lifted things that looked way heavier than that.
She stood on her toes and grabbed the sides of the safe, carefully pulling it towards her as to not snap the shelf. She stuck her tongue out in concentration as her fingers found purchase.
"Got it!" she said, pulling the safe completely off the shelf.
*SQUISH*
As soon as the shelf was no longer supporting it, the unnatural weight of the safe fell on top of Y'sila and put a divot in the dirt floor.
"I told you that it was heavy!" Tivra said. The door of the safe swung open, revealing Y'sila, who had been smushed into the square shape of the interior of the safe. Her head was at the forefront of the cube, her hands pressed to the sides. One bare sole was pressed against her cheek. Her eyes were shut in a look of pain while her tongue still hung out of her mouth.
"It was...so small, though...Meow..." Y'sila muttered, trying to wiggle around in her cubed form. Tivra pulled her out of the safe, holding back a scoff at the sight of the perfectly squared miqo'te. She used her healing magic once more, Y'sila unfolding until she was back to her normal form.
"Okay, no more pulling things from high places," Y'sila said, regaining her balance. "Let's just finish this up quick."
The two continued on, making good progress. Above, they could hear the sounds of Y'lani and other tavern patrons walking around. Y'sila's stomach began to growl. She could definitely use a bite to eat after this. Maybe her mother would be nice enough to give them a little extra reward for the nonsense they had to deal with in the basement.
"Just a little more, Tivra," Y'sila said, seeing the light at the end of the cleaning tunnel.
"Uh, Y'sila? A little help, please?" Tivra said. "My hair is stuck in a bottle press and it's pulling me in!"
Y'sila spun to find Tivra's long hair stuck in a mechanism, gears pulling her in to certain doom. Y'sila rushed over and grabbed hold of Tivra's legs just as her head and upper body was pulled in. Y'sila pulled, but she couldn't get a proper grip. Tivra's boot flew off in Y'sila's hand as the au ra slipped from her grasp and was yanked into the mechanism. A circular piston lowered down into it as Y'sila could only look down at it in shock.
A squelching noise caught Y'sila's attention, causing her to bend down at check below the mechanism. To her surprise, she saw Tivra had been compressed into a bottle. Only her face, strands of hair and sole of her now bare foot were visible, smushed against the glass of the bottle. Her toes wiggled as she let out a muffled, annoyed sigh.
Y'sila grabbed the bottle and cringed. "Don't worry, Tivra, I'll take care of the rest of the basement. As soon as I'm done, we'll get Mother to get you out of that bottle."
"Mmph, mmph..." Tivra replied. Y'sila couldn't understand what the au ra was saying, but it sounded like she was agreeing. Y'sila placed the bottled Tivra on one of the shelves.
"Don't worry, I won't forget that you're there!"
It took Y'sila only several more minutes to finish cleaning up the basement, and she did so with no other incidents. She let out a sigh, wiping the sweat from her brow. The basement looked so much better and cleaner than when she started. She couldn't help but feel proud of the work that she and Tivra had done down there.
"Come on, Tivra," Y'sila said as she grabbed the bottled au ra off the shelf. "Let's get you back to normal and get you that book."
*
Once they returned to the tavern and released Tivra from the bottle--a sight that caused Y'lani to simultaneously feel bad and stifle a chuckle--the pair had completed their side of the bargain.
"While you two were down in the basement, I ran to Noumenon to grab that book for you," Y'lani said with a smile, passing The Tome of Astrological Advances to Tivra. The au ra took it happily, nodding in appreciation.
"Thank you, Mrs Soulwind. I really appreciate this."
Y'lani waved her hand. "Please, don't worry about it. You did me a favor, so it's only fair that I returned the favor. I had Hariko man the tavern while I went to collect the book."
Y'sila and Tivra glanced over to see Hariko standing behind the bar, now free of being flattened behind a picture frame. Hariko lazily waved to the pair as she got to work.
"I suppose you two will be off on more of your adventures?" Y'lani asked, playfully pinching her daughter's cheek.
"We will," Y'sila replied flatly, none too happy about having her cheek pinched. "But first...I'd like to get something to eat. All that cleaning made me hungry."
Y'lani chuckled. "How can I say no to my darling daughter and her helpful friend? Come, I'll have Hariko whip you up your favorite. And for you, Tivra?"
"Just green tea is fine for me, thank you."
After enjoying their lunch and good conversation with Y'lani and Hariko, Y'sila and Tivra took their leave from Soulwind Tavern. Y'lani gave Y'sila one last big hug before seeing her daughter off.
"Make sure you come visit more often, young lady! Oh, and tell your sister to come visit, too! I've got a rolling pin with her name on it!"
Y'sila smirked. "Don't worry, Mother, I will!"
The pair waved to Y'lani as they headed back down to Scholar's Harbor, ready to take a boat back to Eorzea. As they walked, Tivra pored over the pages of her new book. Y'sila found it astounding that the au ra could walk and read without tripping over or stumbling into anything.
"Interesting read?" Y'sila asked.
Tivra didn't answer at first, as she was too preoccupied with the contents of the tome. After a couple seconds, she realized that Y'sila had asked her a question.
"Hm? Oh, sorry. Yes, it's quite intriguing. I have been wanting to get my hands on this book for a long time now. I appreciate that your mother was able to get it for me."
"Mother always takes care of those who help her. She might be a bit eccentric, but I've always looked up to her for her kindness. Next time we visit, she's going to make me drag Kae and Meyu here to meet them."
Tivra smiled softly. "Maybe we will have to have them clean the tavern basement next time. Let them get flattened out like we did."
Y'sila giggled. "That sounds like a pretty good idea!"