Chapter Text
You had arrived in Meridian not too long ago, having wanted to see what you heard described as ‘civilized’ people for the first time. You’d grown up outside the borders of any tribe, being raised by your parents until the Red Raids took your mother. Your father had tried his best to raise you, and you feel he did well, but he always felt like you deserved to know about the world outside your humble life. So, with your consent, he sent you traveling to Meridian.
Now, you sit in a large room you overheard someone calling a tavern. It reeked of something sour. You hadn’t wanted to be here, not really, but when you asked a burly man who was laughing louder than anyone around where the best place was to get a grip on Meridian, he had led you to this spot.
That man was currently boasting very loudly behind you about some battle he had won during the Red Raids. You scoffed and stared at the pitcher of a vile smelling drink. If this man had truly done something so great for his tribe, he wouldn’t need to boast so loudly about it for others to hear his tale.
“Hey! Uh—tribeless girl!” A voice called out through the tavern. You glared at your drink before turning around, trying to find the source of the noise.
The man that had brought you to this awful loud house stumbled forward, his drink sloshing in hand. “You haven’t even touched your scrappertrap! Wha—why?”
You suppressed a sneer as his breath ghosted over your face. “It tastes foul,” you tell him, pushing your mug away from you.
He scoffs and snatches up the drink, downing it in one gulp. You hear someone behind him cheer and shout, “Erend!”
Erend. You remember his name now. He’d mentioned it when you first met. You’d hardly heard him over trying to memorize your way back. Meridian was anything but easy to traverse.
You’re about to ask Erend why he brought you here, but he cuts you off. Leaning forward, he slams the now empty pitcher on the bar. “THAT’S how you drink, sweetheart!”
You hum and give him a tight smile, standing up. “Thank you, Erend. Very educational.”
Erend's eyebrows scrunch as you stand, obviously disoriented by your sudden movement. “Woah! Woah, sit back down. You’re making the world spin.”
Pursing your lips, you oblige the request. Sitting back down on your rickety barstool, you drum your fingers over the wooden table. “There. I’m sitting. Now can you go back to your friends so I can leave?”
“Leave?! But we—” he hiccups and you can barely keep the disgust from your face. “We barely got to know each other!”
“Lets keep it that way, Erend. At least until you stop reeking of that—stuff.” You shake your head and stand up again, albeit slower this time.
He pouts—actually pouts—and stumbles away, clearly offended. You hear him grumble something under his breath and a friend dressed similarly to Erend himself claps him on his back, trying to raise his spirits.
You watch with a twinge of guilt in your stomach before you shake it off and do everything but run out of the bar. Cold night air strikes your face and you squint against the chill. If you remember correctly Erend had brought you to a left, and then a right…no it was a right then a left. Or could it have been straight?
You internally beat yourself for not paying closer attention to where he had led you. For all you knew, he could have been dragging towards a corner of Meridian to beat you senseless and steal what little you had. You’re not sure why you trusted him, if you’re being honest. And right now, you were kind of wishing you hadn’t.
Not that he had been mean, or aggressive, or anything you would really expect from a man of his stature; but right now, as you turned down your fourth right turn of the night, still getting nowhere closer to the market you remember finding him in, you wish you had just left him alone.
A few minutes later, you hear a familiar voice call from behind you.“Ha—hey! Tribe—uh, sweetheart!”
You turn around with a heavy sigh, clutching the raccoon coat you’d bought from a Carja vendor earlier that day. The Oseram lumbers forward, his brows knitted. When he speaks, you swear it echoes off of the sandstone walls. “You shouldn’t be out this late! It’s, uh, dangerous! Yeah, that's what it is.”
Erend’s words slur together at the end and you purse your lips, giving a small hum. “From who?”
“I, uh,” he clears his throat, stopping a few steps away from you, shifting on his feet. “Well, I just—s’not safe! That’s all.” He mumbles, gesturing around helplessly.
You nod and glance around. “And I’m…safer with you? Is that what you’re saying?”
He scoffs, puffing out his chest. “I’m one of the best Vanguards there is! Course you’re safe!’
“Vanguard?” You echo, eyes flickering back to him. They’re redrimmed and drooping. Kicking yourself for the second time tonight, you can’t help but be worried about his ability to find his way home. Like you said, he hadn’t been mean to you, just…misjudged your choice of venue.
“Yeah! Best damn guards in the whole—whole world!” Erend boasts, placing a hand on his chest a little rougher than he intended by the way he stumbles back.
You sigh and reach for him, hands wrapping around his forearm for balance. He doesn’t shake you off, the opposite actually. As he leans into your palm, you see his shoulders fall, a dopey grin forming over his mouth. “You remember which way’s home, Erend?”
He blinks at you, lips twitching as if processing your words. “Uh, it’s…it’s…”
Repressing another sigh, you link your arm through his. You can’t tell if the flush creeping up his neck is from the scrappertrap or something else. You force yourself to not dwell on it. “How about you lead me back to the tavern…thing, you came from and one of your friends there can help you back?”
Erend's face lights up, his grin returning in full force, and he nods. “That’s—yeah! Ersa’ll…she’ll know how to get back.”
“Ersa?” You ask, letting him lead you both back to the bar. If you trust his drunk feet to take you anywhere, it’s to the smell and promise of more mead.
“Yeah, Ersa! M’sister!” He nods proudly, albeit a little sloppy, as you walk. “Captian of the Vanguard, Escapee of the Sunring! Best damn drinking buddy you could ask for.”
You couldn’t help smiling as he talked about his sister. You got the feeling they were close, attached at the hip, if you had to guess. He continues to go on about Ersa for the rest of the trudge back to the bar. Once the sound of merriment comes into earshot and you can once again see the Blaze lit lanterns, you let go of his arm.
That grin he’s worn quickly fades, replaced by a confused frown. “Hey, you’re not…you’re not leavin’, are ya?”
You put on a small smile and pat his arm. “Its’ late, Erend. Like you said, it’s not safe.”
“Y-yeah that's why you can’t leave,” he pouts, grasping for your arm. His hand curls around nothing.
“Go find your sister.” You tell him, squeezing his hand before dropping it. “You know what she looks like.”
“What if she’s not here!” He protests, snatching your hand back again. His grip isn’t crushing like you thought it would be. It’s almost…soft? Caring? Warm?
You don’t dwell on the sensation too long, afraid of where that might lead the night. You sigh, shoulders sagging in defeat, and let him lead you into the bar once more. It’s still as loud and smelly as before. The same people boast around groaning wooden tables. Same Carja Songmen play a tune no one can hear.
“Ersa!” Erend yells, his voice barely above the sound of a long breaded man's guffaw.
You flinch, shoulder hitching to cover one of your ears. Erend yells again and you squint your eyes, as if that would help you see through the noise.
“Quiet down, you lumbering oaf!” You hear a voice call back after a moment. A stout woman pushes her way through the crowd, a wide grin over her lips. “I was wonderin’ where you wandered off to! Who’s this?” Ersa looks at you, her head tilted in thought. “Don’t think I’ve seen you ‘round before.”
“You haven’t,” you all but shout back. “I’m new. Erend said he’d show me around, then he…uh, got like this.”
The woman nods, her grin turning apologetic and takes Erend from your arm. He huffs in retaliation but lets go easy enough. “Come on, knucklehead. Let’s get you back to the barracks.” Ersa puts her brother in a headlock and scratches his head as they walk out of the bar.
You smile to yourself at Erend’s feeble attempts to escape. Before you’re about to open your mouth to ask for directions, Ersa turns around. “Thank you for bringing him back to me. He might be as dense as a forge, but he’s still my brother.” She returns the small grin you give her before adding, “you got a place to stay, new girl? Don’t look like you’ve been around many folks.”
You clear your throat, suddenly feeling embarrassed for how bad you must stick out for her to mention that. “I don’t, no. Do…do you know where I can?”
Her grin lights up once more and she gestures you forward. “Follow us, forgeheart.”
Ersa leads the three of you through the darkened streets of Meridian without a sitch. Well, to be fair it’s not like Meridian is ever completely dark, with all the Blaze lanterns strewn about and fires lit in lifted campfires, but there were alleys and walkways where no light makes its way through. You had a habit of finding those.
She stops in front of stairs that descend into a crevice in the ground. A large iron door lays at the base. You cringe as the steel scrapes against stone, Ersa and Erend heaving it open. “Come on, forgeheart! Don’t stop now!” Ersa calls from inside.
You take a deep breath, already kicking yourself if this turns out to be one big set up. Lucky enough for you though, it wasn’t. When you do step inside, you’re greeted with lines of bunkbeds, some with snoring Vanguards, others empty, but none are made. You can’t suppress the flicker of a smile that makes its way over your face as Ersa slumps her brother on a nearby mattress.
You hear her grumble under her breath about needing to bathe more and actually cleaning his armor as she takes it off, setting the metalwork in a pile by his bed. He retorts with a low grumble and flops onto his scruffy blankets, face buried in his pillow.
Ersa shakes her head fondly before getting up to meet you. “You can stay in one of the extra bunks if you’d like, promise they won’t bite.”
Your eyebrows shoot up. It was a kind offer, really, but you didn’t want to stay in a room full of men you’d never met before, let alone while you were supposed to be sleeping. As if sensing your incoming refusal, she puts up her hands, expression softening once again. “Or you can use my room for the night. S’private, got a lock on the door and everything.”
Your eyebrows shoot further towards the rocky ceiling, eyes wide as saucers. “Ersa—er, Ms. Vanguardswoman, you really don’t have to—”
She cuts you off with a booming laugh, though it doesn’t seem to wake up the sleeping men around you. Ersa claps you on the shoulder and all but pushes you towards her room. “Come on, forgeheart. Let’s get you settled.”
You spend the night in Ersa Vanguardswoman’s room while the lady herself sleeps in a bed outside. You felt terrible about invading the captain's room, but as soon as your head hits the plush Carja pillow, your regrets fade away. That night you sleep better than you have since before the Red Raids.