This was a story I wrote a long time ago, before Keita and I started dating, and I thought why not throw it up here.

After completing their latest adventure Neko and Keita decided to head towards a tavern in Kugane and celebrate with some drinks.

Keita belongs to  Keita
Neko belongs to me
The locations, races and names of characters used in this story are owned by Square Enix

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In the city of Kugane two miqo’te were strolling around the city, Neko Reed, a purple eyed Seeker of the Sun Miqo’te with black hair and purple highlights on his fringe that covered the upper right half of his face and Keita Elyssar, a white haired Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te with a blue left eye and lilac right eye.

The two miqo’tes walked victoriously into the Shiokaze Hostelry. Smiles on their faces, their heads held almost as high as their spirits. As they entered the Hostelry the white haired man noticed a table empty for the two to sit.

“Let’s sit down over there,” Keita said as he started to walk to the available seating.
Neko followed the man, adjusting the purple highlights in his black hair, so they were not covering his eyes. The purple eyed seeker followed the taller man to the table they claimed as theirs for the night.

“Kotokaze, a bottle of your finest Eorzean wine please for me and sake for Keita,” Neko asked, across the room before sitting down opposite the armoured keeper.

“And keep the sake coming!” Keita exclaimed before sitting himself down. Not a moment after sitting down had the white haired keeper begin to speak. “I thought for a moment we were done for against that thing,” Keita said with a joyful expression on his face. “Did you see how many tentacles that voidsent had!?

Neko only nodded in response before he noticed a few people nearby looking over at the two. “Twas definitely a battle I was not expecting,” he said chuckling lightly at the excitement the other was showing. “Who would have thought that a small cult could be capable of bringing a voidsent into our world?”

The two miqo’te could hear the mummers around them and make out the words cult and voidsent.

Keita looked around and took note of how many patrons of the Hostelry were listening in to the conversation he and Neko were having. “You said that on purpose, didn’t you?” he questioned the man sitting across from him.

“Well, with how loud you were due to your excitement, I thought you wanted people to hear the tale of how we bested a band of cultists,” Neko explained as the drinks he had ordered arrived at the table, delivered by Kotokaze herself.

The eye-patched woman stood there looking at the two miqo’te as they poured their drinks. “Well, don’t keep us all in suspense!” she exclaimed. “Tell us about how you two took down a cult!”

The seeker and keeper briefly looked at each other and then back to Kotokaze. Neko was the first to talk.

“We were asked to investigate a disturbance in the aether around the Tam-Tara Deepcroft-” Neko started to explain.

“The Tam-Tara Deepcroft is a series of catacombs near one of the Eorzean city-states, Gridania to be precise,” the white haired paladin interjected.

Neko gave Keita a look of annoyance at being interrupted. “I was going to explain that,” he said as he took a swig from his goblet, gulping the Ul’dahn red wine.

The white haired keeper laughed at the almost childish reaction his friend had displayed before taking a sip of the sake before him. “We went down into the catacombs to see what was going on down there,” Keita continued to tell the story.

The armoured miqo’te told the patrons about how the pair had to fight against skeletons, cultists, zombies and even lesser voidsent. “-and as we took down the last two cultists a voidsent shows up out of nowhere, right in front of the bridge!” Keita said as he raised his arms in the air.

“How big was it!?” a man in the crowd asked, hanging on every word that came out of the Elyssar’s mouth.

Without missing a beat Keita stood from his seat and quickly jumped up onto the seat he was using, earning a glare from the Kotokaze, before putting a hand up to his head. “The voidsent was this tall!” the keeper said loud enough for everyone to hear.

Neko shaked his head, clearly seeing that his comrade was intoxicated to a degree. “The voidsent was no taller than yourself, sir,” he corrected his friend as he refilled his goblet for the third time that night.

Keita had looked at his companion with a look of shock as if he was just betrayed. He jumped off the stool and sat on it again before resuming his story. “After we dealt with that small voidsent a bridge rose up from the chasm and a huge voidsent showed up on the other side! Like 50 yalms tall” the white haired miqo’te told the crowd, looking at Neko, hoping the young man wouldn’t contradict him again.

“It wasn’t that big,” he informed the crowd, earning a look of annoyance from Keita, “But it was pretty huge, and had tentacles for coming from its face!” Neko said himself getting excited at the tale he was retelling with his friend.

The two men smiled and could feel themselves really starting to unwind after having to deal with the monster they had fought. “As soon as we made it across the bridge the voidsent unleashed a torrent of water at us, but Keita managed to intercept it with his shield,” the dark-haired man said, singing his friend’s praises.

The crowd were looking at Keita with amazement. The paladin beaming joyfully at everyone, revelling in the moment. “After we got across I rushed to the voidsent and swung my sword, but the bastard managed to jump back away from my blade.”

“It was Neko here-” Keita placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “who had the idea of summoning one of his Egis to help with striking the monster while I kept it’s attention.”
The attention shifted from Keita to Neko, a little too quick for the mage’s liking and a pink tint covered his face.

The white-haired keeper continued to tell the tale. “As soon as Neko’s Egi got a good hit on the voidsent a bunch of skeletons and imps showed up and joined the fight,” he said as he took another sip of sake. Kotokaze herself poured him his next cup as she was engrossed in the story.

The patrons all paid close attention to the story and could not bring themselves to part from the two telling their tale. Each one buying themselves more drinks as they stayed to hear how the adventure the two miqo’te went on had played out. The two adventurers could start to feel the effects of the alcohol in their systems.

“You all should have seen how Keita responded to seeing the mitelings that crawled up,” Neko said laughing as he spoke. “He nearly jumped into the chasm.” The crowd laughed at the mage’s words, purely in jest.

Keita looked a bit flustered as everyone joked about what Neko had blurted out. “Oh yeah, well what about you?” he said gesturing to the smaller miqo’te, who looked at him questionably. “You practically jumped ten yalms into the air cause an imp poked you from behind!”

The listeners laughed loudly at the ‘frightening’ moments mentioned by the adventurers.
“In my defense, I was too busy guiding my Egi to notice it sneaking up behind me,” he told everyone trying to save face. “Now, tell me, would you rather laugh at our misfortune in that battle or hear how it concluded?” he asked everyone before taking another sip from his goblet.

The crowd had gone silent for a moment before a woman spoke up. “By the kami, get on with it,” she said, sounding fairly drunk. The keeper and seeker laughed at the woman’s words.
“So tell us, how did you beat the bastard?” the proprietor of the Holstery asked as she placed a fresh bottle of wine and sake before the pair. “Don’t keep us all in suspense.”

Neko was the first to continue the story, “We were starting to get a little overwhelmed by the additional adversaries, twas not until Keita had lured them all to one spot did we manage to best them,” he said, the other miqo’te smiling as his friend spoke. “Keita gripped his sword tight, had assured that every one of them were surrounding him and then swung his blade in a circle, cleaving each and every one of them.”

The listeners looked at the white-haired miqo’te in amazement. “Did you really take them all down in one swing?” a maiden amongst the crowd asked.

“Well, not exactly. The voidsent was still alive, but I did take out the imps, mitelings and skeletons,” Keita responded, happy with himself for being capable of performing such a feat.
“Alright, that explains how you beat the vermin, but what of the voidsent?” an elezen woman asked.

Keita had turned to the woman who asked. “Well, as we managed to push the monster back, it raised its staff up,” he gestured, trying to imitate the voidsent he fought. “Aetheric energy building up in his staff, readying a spell,” as Keita spoke he was dramatically emphasizing the tale. “I thought I was going to be blasted into the seven hells.”

The crowd was paying attention to every word the miqo’te said. “That was until Neko over here held out his grimoire, and summoned Demi-Bahamut to his side!” Keita declared loudly, resulting in the crowd sharply turning their attention to the dark-haired mage.

The Eorzeans of the crowd looked at Neko with a mix of amazement and fear, while those of Kugane looked puzzled, the name unfamiliar to them. “You summoned the dreadwyrm?” one of the adventurers asked, his voice quivering ever so slightly.

“Well, no, I only managed to summon a manifestation of Bahamut that was nowhere near as devastating as the real thing,” Neko explained to the crowd. “Bahamut is the name of what was once a powerful dragon who was killed and remade as a Primal, an Eikon.”

Kotokaze shushed the crowd, “Pray, continue, if you would.”

Keita resumed his story, “Neko ordered Demi-Bahamut to destroy the voidsent, and at his command it unleashed a powerful blast.”

Neko then interjected. “The blast erupted in a pillar of aetherial light, engulfing it in a destructive force,” he said to the group, his own excitement starting to take over a little as his voice became a bit louder.

“Hey, who is telling this story?” Keita jested to his friend, causing everyone to laugh, including Neko as he held his hands out in defence. “Now where was I?”

The laughter had settled quickly as Keita cleared his throat. “The voidsent was consumed by the blast Neko’s summoning had brought down. When the light faded away the voidsent collapsed to the ground and faded in a dark flash.”

“And that my friends is how Keita and I fought and slayed a voidsent and a band of cultists,” Neko proclaimed, ending the tale of their recent job.

Everyone in the Hostelry who was paying attention to the tale were silent, most looked astonished by the tale.

When their tale was done Keita and Neko began to listen to some of the other stories that their fellow adventurers in the crowd had to tell. Some tales being simple escort duties with the occasional humour accident, others grand hunts that nearly cost someone their life.

The pair continued to drink into the night, not paying attention to the time it was or how late it may get before they leave.

Keita was standing up, somewhat shaky, with a few other adventurers listening to a tale of how an eleven woman in the group had to help a botanist find a rare plant and failing miserably.

Neko had finished the bottle of wine he was consuming and watched as Keita called to Kotokaze, very drunkenly, asking for another sake. The mage got up from his stool and began to make his way over to the proprietor to sort out payment.

“Kotokaze, I would like to pay what Keita and I owe for the night, but I do ask to be allowed to just take him outside so he can get a bit of air, if you will allow,” he said, gesturing to his companion who almost looked like he would fall over at any moment.

Kotokaze let out a light laugh before she spoke. “Aye, I’ll allow you to take him out, just be back in here quickly to pay off the debt, tis quite hefty after all.”

The miqo’te nodded before turning and walking towards his drunk friend. When he reached Keita he gently tugged on his arm and started to pull him towards the exit of the establishment. “Come on, time for us to depart and you to get some fresh air,” he said as the pair made their way up the stairs.

“Nekooo, you’rre my best frriend, you know that?” Keita said, very evidently drunk, slurring some of his words.

Neko rolled his eyes and led his friend to the steps leading to Kugane’s Aetheryte. “We really need to get you home, you are going to have a massive headache in the morning,” he said, chuckling as he sat Keita on the steps. “I’ll be back in a moment,” he told Keita, making his way back towards the Shiokaze Holstery. Keita only nodded, barely paying attention.
As Neko approached Kotokaze he could see she was finishing up with a patron. Once the man walked away with his sake she turned to Neko. “Will your friend be alright? He drank a lot of sake tonight,” Kotokaze asked, seeming somewhat concerned about the keeper.

“Keita will be fine, he’ll just suffer from a headache when he awakes tomorrow,” Neko replied letting out a light laugh as he imagined how his friend would feel the next day.

“Now, about the coin you owe me,” she said, pushing a parchment towards him, a grin on her face indicating that it was going to be a hefty amount.

The man looked over the parchment, knowing it was a list of all the drinks they had throughout the night. His eyes widened when he saw the total amount owed. “Can’t say I am surprised,” Neko said, looking slightly irritated by how much gil he has to pay.

“If it helps I did give you two a bit of a discount,” she said, placing a sake bottle in front of another patron. “I got more business tonight thanks to you two than I had in awhile.”

Neko looked around and saw that the place was filled and there were no empty seats. Most were the patrons who were listening to Neko and Keita’s story, while others were those who had only come in after the story was finished.

“Well then, I guess I can’t complain about how much this will set me back. Everyone looks like they are having fun,” Neko spoke, smiling as he took out a coin purse and dropped it in front of Kotokaze. “That should cover everything that we owe for tonight.”

“Farewell, Neko. Pray, do come again with another grand story to tell,” she said to the mage as he began walking towards the exit, receiving a nod from him.

Within a moment Neko reunited with Keita, who almost looked like he could pass out at any moment. “Alright, let us get you home,” Neko said as he helped the drunk paladin to his feet, allowing the keeper to lean on him to stop himself from falling over.

“Ne-Neko, let’sss go on another adventurrre soon,” Keita said, slurring a bit as they made their way over to the Aetheryte.

A light chuckle left the younger man as he heard his friend’s words. “Ask me again when you aren’t drunk,” he replied before casting a teleport spell with the assistance of the Aetheryte. The two were engulfed in a faint light and vanished from Kugane, appearing in the Shirogane district, an area set aside for adventurers who desire to live in Hingashi.

The pair stood before Keita’s house in the Shirogane district, a medium sized light blue house, illuminated by the light of the moon. The garden in front of the house was small, but held a sense of comfort and elegance, with its pair of cherry blossom trees at the entrance, followed by a small fountain surrounded by two small curved stone benches.

Neko helped guide Keita through the white-haired miqo’te’s garden, carefully making sure the drunk man didn’t fall over. “Almost there, just a little bit farther,” the mage said before he reached his hand out to open the door.

The pair entered the house and Neko quickly noticed how clean the house is despite Keita being away for a time. The green marble like floors, red walls, even the bar at the end of the room was neat and tidy.

“Your retainers really do a good job of keeping your house organised for you,” Neko said to his friend, who had fallen asleep on their way inside. Neko glared momentarily at the man before looking up at the chandelier that hung in the centre of the room. A topaz carbuncle on one side and an emerald one on the other, the sight reminded Neko of his early days as an adventurer before he studied the art of summoning.

After gazing at the carbuncle chandelier the mage turned his attention to his drunk friend once again. “Let’s get you upstairs,” he said as he began to walk, escorting Keita, up the staircase on the right hand side.

Neko took his time going up the stairs, almost having to carry Keita up as they went. The weight of the white-haired man’s armour didn’t help the situation, but he managed to do so without falling over taking a moment to settle himself before helping the paladin to his bedroom.

Luckily for Neko the door to Keita’s room was left open and he entered the room. As they made it into the room Neko felt Keita stur for a moment, he could hear Keita mumble, but couldn’t make out what his friend had said. He brushed it off as some sort of drunken muttering, and guided the man to his bed.

Keita’s room shared the same red walls as the ground floor, but the flooring was wooden on this level of the house. The room hosted a large bed, with a carbuncle themed lamp on each side of it, as well as a moogle themed chair next to the bed. A door on the far right side of the room was visible, most likely leading to a bathroom connected to Keeper’s bedroom.

Neko managed to lay Keita down without dropping him, the moment Keita’s weighty armour was no longer being supported by the Seeker he let out a sigh of relief before beginning to help the sleeping Keeper out of the armour, leaving him in just his smallclothes.

The Seeker made sure to cover the Keeper with the sheets of the bed and quietly made his way out of the room, being careful not to make a sound that could wake his sleeping friend. As he closed the door to Keita’s room he looked over towards the parlour next to the bedroom, focusing on the books that covered the shelves, taking up an entire wall. “How do you find the time to read all of those?” he asked no one in particular, before making his way back down the stairs, yawning, taking notice as how exhausted he was himself, as he descended the staircase.

Neko left the house, a sigh of relief leaving him after ensuring his friend was home safely. After exiting the house the mage looked up and saw how clear the night sky was in Shirogane, the stars clearly visible. “Different stars, but the same sky,” he said as he began walking away from the house.

Once Neko left the garden he muttered an incantation and vanished in a pale light, reappearing in front of the apartment complex where he lived. Very quickly he noticed the difference in time and his eyes had to readjust to the sudden light from the late afternoon sun that illuminated The Lavender Beds, the district within The Black Shroud that was designated for adventurers.
It didn’t take long for Neko’s eyes to readjust, but they did sting ever so slightly until he had gotten used to the light around him. “I need to remember to keep my eyes closed for a few moments more when teleporting halfway across the world.”

It doesn’t take the miqo’te long to reach his apartment, the sight of his bed felt like a blessing as he felt how tired he was starting to affect his body. Dealing with a cult, a voidsent, and a drunken night of celebration was more taxing on him than he had expected.

As Neko passed by the wooden desk he waved his hand and muttered a short spell, the curtains of his apartment shutting closed as he did. Tiredly he removed his pure white fireglass vest and threw it onto the floor, not caring if it made his home look untidy. The man was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

Once he reached his bed he kicked off his boots and removed the pure white Nezha Lord’s slops he was wearing. Neko got into bed and rested his head on the pillow, thinking back over the adventure he had with one of his best friends, the excitement of everyone in the tavern, how he had to almost carry Keita home. Everything that happened to him today had given him a sense of excitement that reminded him why he had become an adventurer in the first place, to experience new things that he wouldn’t normally have the chance to.

It wasn’t long before Neko had managed to close his eyes and fall asleep, part of him excited for the unknown that tomorrow would bring.

It was the early hours in the day, shortly before dawn, when the linkpearl in Neko’s ear started to chime. The Seeker groaned as he propped himself up, sitting on his bed, to answer the call. “Yes?” he answered tiredly and annoyed, both clearly evident in his voice.

“Hey, Neko,” Keita replied, tiredness noticeable in his own voice. “How much did we drink last night?” the Keeper asked.
Neko grinned, getting the image of an incredibly hungover Keita in his head. “Enough for you to take a prostitute home with you, and a rather handsome one at that,” Neko replied, a mischievous smile on his face.

“WHAT!?” Keita shouted, sounding flustered, panicking about the information he was given.
Neko could not contain his laughter as he wished he was there to witness Keita’s response. “I jest, my friend,” he said once his laughing had died down. “I made sure you got home safely after you got incredibly drunk.”

Neko could hear Keita sigh in relief through the linkpearl. “Neko, don’t scare me like that,” the Keeper said in a tone of annoyance, as the Seeker was still chuckling. “But thanks for helping me get home.”

“Twas no problem, you would have done the same for me,” the mage said, before letting out a yawn.

“Of course!” Neko winced a little, Keita’s voice being a little too loud for him this hour of the morning. “Oh, before I forget, you up for another adventure today?”

Neko shook his head before he spoke. “Maybe later, I’m going back to sleep for now,” Neko said, ending the transmission and resting his head back on his pillow, a soft smile across his face.