The next morning, the pounding of feet on the earth stirred the two women from their slumber. Erzhi let out a heavy sigh and rolled onto her back. She'd always liked sleeping in, and she'd been up pretty late the previous night "catching up" with Sasaki.
A roegadyn with pale green skin and spiky hair the colour of sand barged into the tent. A male lalafell with a mop of black and red hair followed close behind him. They both wore black goggles and the blue, black, and white uniform of the Garlond Ironworks.
"Erzhi!" the roegadyn, Biggs, called. "You're back!"
"Sasaki!" the lalafell, Wedge, cheered. "You're back!"
Erzhi pushed herself to a sitting position, one hand holding the blanket over her breasts, the other making sure Sasaki stayed covered. Sasaki took the opportunity to gaze at Erzhi's naked backside.
Erzhi stared at the roegadyn. "Can you give us a few minutes to get dressed?"
The pair froze, jaws slowly dropping. Sasaki couldn't see their eyes, but she imagined a mix of panic, fear, and embarrassment hiding behind those goggles.
They both gave a salute and said, "Yes, ma'am!" before turning and running out as quickly as they'd entered.
Erzhi turned to Sasaki. "Guess we should get up."
"In a bit," Sasaki replied as she crawled into Erzhi's lap, facing the miqo'te. Sasaki rose up, and their lips met for the hundredth time since yesterday.
Erzhi pulled the blanket up to Sasaki's shoulders as a woman with thick blonde hair pulled into a ponytail rushed into the tent, her red dress flowing behind her.
"Erzhi!" the woman cried, before stopping dead in her tracks.
Erzhi pulled away from Sasaki's face and cast her tired gaze towards Lyse. "Can you give us a few minutes to get dressed?"
"Y-yes, of course!" Lyse's face turned the same shade as her dress and she left the two alone.
"Right," Erzhi said, giving Sasaki a tight hug. "Let's get dressed."
The couple reluctantly got out of bed. Erzhi pulled a privacy screen in front of the door, just in case anyone else planned to visit, and the two changed back into their armour, stealing glances at each other's bodies constantly.
"There's not much to see here," Sasaki said.
"But what is there is very cute."
Sasaki used a pair of ribbons to tie her hair up on either side of her head. Erzhi used to tie her hair in a ponytail too, but now she had it cropped just below her jaw. "You cut your hair."
Erzhi shook her head a little, tossing her hair this way and that. "It makes it easier to move. Do you like it?"
"I do," Sasaki replied with a nod. "It makes you look very mature."
"I see you still wear your hair in twintails," Erzzy said, reaching out and flicking one of them.
"I see _you_ still wear sleeveless tops!" Sasaki giggled and leapt onto Erzhi's back, hooking her legs over Erzhi's hips and slipping her hands inside the top to grab at Erzhi's breasts.
"Ah — hey!" Erzhi bit her lower lip and took a step back towards the bed. "Save that for after the meeting!"
Sasaki let herself fall onto the bed, smiling brightly. "I'm so glad to have you back."
Erzhi looked back with a warm smile. "I'm glad we're reunited, too. And, thanks for protecting my friends while I was away."
Sasaki pushed herself up. "Where were you, anyway? I looked everywhere for you."
Erzhi pulled her gloves on, humming. "Everyone is wondering that. I'll explain it in the meeting."
Sasaki sat and watched as Erzhi finished changing. Their outfits, in many ways, were opposite. Erzhi wore primarily leather armour, dotted with plates of metal here and there, focused on providing protection while minimally impacting mobility.
Sasaki's robes barely protected her from physical attacks, but in return, they offered a completely unhindered range of motion for spellcasting and assisted in the flow of magic. Sasaki's robes were white with red accents, while Erzhi wore black with red accents.
Erzhi swept the cloak around her body and pulled up the hood. "For now, I want to avoid attention."
Sasaki wondered just who Erzhi was to the others. They all reacted with so much excitement to her return. If she'd fought alongside them, why had they never mentioned her?
The two left the tent and joined the others. The group headed over to the end of the camp, where a much larger tent held a makeshift war room. A table inside had a map of the area with dozens of tiny boxes placed over key points. Chairs sat in a semicircle around the table.
On the far side stood a hulking hyur with bronzed skin. His gray hair had been braided and pulled back behind his head. A black and yellow cloak concealed his missing left arm. Raubahn Aldynn, the commander of the Ala Mhigan army.
Once everyone was inside, Erzhi slipped out of her cloak and left it beside the entrance. Raubahn smiled, a sparkle in his eyes as he stared at Erzhi. "It does my heart well to see you again, my friend."
"Forgive me if I seem cold," Erzhi replied. "It's been much longer for you than it has for me."
"I expect you have quite the tale for us. Come, everyone, take a seat."
Sasaki stood behind one of the chairs and waited. The rest of the group sat down. "Oh, shoot," Lyse said. "We're short a chair."
Erzhi and Sasaki spoke in unison, "No, it's fine."
Erzhi sat down in the chair. Sasaki hopped up into Erzhi's lap, leaning her head back into Erzhi's pillowy chest. The miqo'te wrapped her arms around Sasaki's waist and held her tight. Their companions all stared at the display.
"Well, what story do you want to hear first?" Erzhi asked, glancing between the other people in the room.
Krile cleared her throat. "I feel that explaining your relationship with Sasaki would help people focus more on the rest of your report."
Erzhi hummed in thought, raising a hand to pat Sasaki's head. "We both grew up in the same city in Dalmasca. We were childhood friends, then girlfriends, then we said our vows and became wives."
Lyse brought a hand to her chest, surprising overtaking her and the others in the room. "You two are married?"
Sasaki nodded. "Our five-year anniversary is soon, actually."
Erzhi furrowed her brow and tilted her head. "What day is it here?"
Sasaki answered, "The seventeenth sun of the sixth umbral moon," but wondered what Erzhi meant by 'here.'
"Less than two moons to go," Erzhi replied. "Anyway, I arrived here in Eorzea a few years ago, but Sasa stayed back in Othard with her family."
"Yes, I couldn't leave them behind," Sasaki said. "They live in Gridania now. I arrived about five moons ago."
Raubahn smiled at Sasaki. "Full glad are we that you did. You've provided us some much needed support in Erzhi's absence."
Krile leaned forward and stared at Erzhi. "What happened to you, anyway? You suddenly stopped responding to our messages."
"An overlap of unfortunate events," Erzhi replied, closing her eyes. "As you know, time moves differently in each world. While it used to be multiple days in the First per one day in the Source, it suddenly changed for some reason, and now one day in the First is several moons in the Source."
Lyse's eyes widened. "It's only been a day for you?!"
Erzhi nodded. "It took the Exarch a while to realize the shift had happened, since he was away from the tower at the time. Plus, I was out on an expedition hunting down a Lightwarden, so even after he realized, it still took time to reach me."
Sasaki's head started to spin. "What the heck does any of that mean?"
Erzhi rubbed her fingertips into Sasaki's scalp. "The short version is that there are many worlds parallel to ours. Similar, but different. One of those worlds, the First, has nearly been destroyed by the Light. If it gets completely taken over, a calamity will occur in this world. So, I've been in that world, fighting against the Light."
"Fighting... against the Light?" Sasaki stared up at Erzhi.
Erzhi smiled. "Yes. I'm known as the Warrior of Darkness these days."
Raubahn stroked his beard. "If multiple moons here is only a day in the First, does that mean you'll be staying a while?"
"Yes," Erzhi replied, squeezing Sasaki. "We still need to track down the last two Lightwardens, so I have time besides."
Raubahn grinned. "With both the Warrior of Light and the Warrior of Darkness among our ranks, our troops' morale will skyrocket!"
Sasaki glanced around the room. "Why didn't you tell me about any of this before?"
"There are a few reasons," Krile said. "First, we didn't want to overload you immediately. You have enough on your plate facing the challenges in front of you without worrying about those in another world."
Lyse continued the explanation. "We also didn't want to be comparing you to her, or having you compare yourself to her. After so long without hearing from her, we had to consider whether the worst had happened. If so, we needed to look forward and not be weighed down by wishing she were here."
Erzhi scratched the back of her head. "I'm really sorry about this."
Raubahn huffed. "Bah, it's not a bit your fault, and you know it!"
Sasaki thought back to yesterday's battle, the events still fresh in her mind. Erzhi's confidence, her strength. These people had relied on Erzhi before Sasaki had arrived. Sasaki could tell that they'd all relied very heavily on Erzhi, and Sasaki could barely compare.
Erzhi smiled down at Sasaki. "Together, we should be unstoppable, huh?"
Sasaki turned her head upwards and gave Erzhi a weak smile in return. "Yeah."
Lyse turned to Raubahn. "Should we discuss preparations for a follow-up assault from Garlemald?"
"If Erzhi has nothing left to report," he replied.
"That's all," Erzhi said.
"Right. Let's get to planning."