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Alhaitham,
Have you cleaned out the coffee pot since I left? I still recall the horrible stench that greeted me when I returned from the desert that one time. And you, sitting there as oblivious as anything to the potential health hazard you’d subjected yourself to! Naturally it was left to me to clean and then you teased me for going to Tighnari when I felt ill because of it! You really can be so cruel, Hayi!
Anyway, less of the nagging, that isn’t what this letter is supposed to be about! (Though, please at least remember to water the plants in my bedroom. I beg you.) Fontaine, as expected, is beautiful. The architecture here quite frankly has me buzzing with inspiration! I regret being so reluctant to visit before now, though my mother is still happy to see me nonetheless, as am I to see her. It’s nice, even if I did get a little seasick on the journey from Bayda Harbor. Just how does the Traveler travel so much? Truly boggles the mind…
Mother asked about you, of course. I hope you don’t mind that I still chose to omit the fact that we live together… even if it’s not something I’m as embarrassed about anymore. She was even pleased to hear about your brief tenure as Grand Sage!
I’ll make sure to bring back gifts for everyone! There are some Bulle fruit sweets that I think Collei will enjoy and maybe I could nab some TCG cards that I know Cyno doesn’t have… I know that you would prefer that I don’t bring anything back for you but I’ll keep an eye out for any furniture that might look good back home. Or perhaps some sweet Fontainian wine?
Kaveh.
🏛️
Haitham!
Apparently there must be some architecture fan that let slip that I’m currently in Fontaine to The Steambird… That girl, Charlotte I think her name was, is one persistent journalist. I know that I should just suck it up and agree to do an interview but you know how I get with these things. I mean, graduating the Akademiya with honours, selling my soul to Lord Sangemah Bay to build the Palace, all just to fall into a pit of inescapable debt. How can that be considered in any way inspirational to anyone else in this line of work?!
Archons above, I can just see the look you would give me if I said all of this to your face… I don’t even have to be around you for your insistent need to be right to bother me. I suppose I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss it, though. Or everyone back home but I guess I don’t need to remind you of the state I was in before I left. Didn’t actually think things could get so… dark. I really needed this break.
Thank you, Haitham. Though merely thanking you doesn’t seem enough when you probably saved my life for a second time now...
Yours, Kaveh.
P.S. I’ll do the interview. Charlotte won’t leave me be otherwise. Sweet girl but gods… I’ll need to set some serious boundaries on her questions, though.
🏛️
Hayi
I miss you. I am a little tipsy as I write this so sorry if it’s barely legible to you. Too much sweet wine, but I wouldn’t be honest enough with myself if I didn’t have a little courage. Sorry. Don’t even know if I’ll have the courage to send this one.
Everything was a mess but you. You were the one, sometimes irritating (scratch that, mostly irritating), constant in my life. Even when I screamed and shouted at you, you would just. Stand there. And take every cruel thing I said to you like it was nothing. Water off a duck’s back, so to say. I never understood why until now I suppose.
I’ve been in Fontaine for almost a month now, I think? Time feels strange outside of Sumeru for some reason, maybe it’s just me and my messed up mind. And while I miss the others so much, they truly don’t hold a candle to how much I miss you. My mother might be worried because I’ve just holed myself up in her guest room recently writing letter after letter, many of which I’ve scrapped. I’m sure you can understand the struggle of communicating how one feels sometimes.
I miss waking up and going to the kitchen to be greeted with a cup of coffee waiting for me. I miss the peaceful moments where I would be making us dinner and you would be off in your own little world as you read. I never thought I would be one to desire domesticity, honestly. I miss how you would burn Sumeru Rose and Padisarah incense because you know that it helps me feel less stressed when I work, even though I know you don’t particularly like the scent of Padisarah. Yet you still do it because you care, even in your own, strange little ways. You care so deeply and I can’t believe that it’s taken this time that I’ve been away from you to truly notice. I’m sorry.
If you do happen to read this, Hayi, don’t take this as a declaration of my feelings for you. I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet, I guess I’ll need time for that. Maybe. That’s what breakdowns do to someone. I may be amenable to a quiet little coffee date when I come back home, we’ll have to see about that.
K.
🌱
Dear Kaveh,
I’m happy to have heard from you, I had begun to eagerly await every letter that held a Fontainian postmark. I don’t think I could get used to just how quiet the house can be without you around, I would surmise that that’s just how integral to my day to day life you’ve become. I must admit that I’ve grown to miss your little eccentricities and quirks. Like how you would sometimes hum songs to yourself when you think that nobody else is listening. I really hope that Fontaine is treating you well and that your time there is everything that you need it to be.
Recently, I went on a trip to the northernmost regions of the desert to investigate some ancient runes that had been pointed out and lodged for investigation at the Akademiya. On the way, I happened to spot a deposit of Trishiraite, something that I hadn’t put much thought into before but this certain deposit… the way that the stone glinted and shone in the sunlight… I found it beautiful and reminiscent of the colour of your eyes. And how they seem to sparkle like those stones when you are truly happy or excited.
To be honest, when it was decided that you should go to Fontaine, I was frankly terrified that I would never see that light or sparkle in your eyes ever again.
Whenever you feel ready to come home again, just know that I — and every one of your friends — will be here for you. There needs to be someone who can drink the extra cups of coffee that I find myself accidentally making every morning.
Take care, dear senior.
Alhaitham.
P.S. Of course I remembered to clean out the coffee pot and water your plants. It was nice to see that you named one after me… the one that seems to be doing better than the rest.