The Kit Years

Lea as born to Terzien and Elresa Pipkin, a very quiet child of once-forest-born now turned worldly wanderers. Lea did not stay quiet, however, for as a kit he showed signs of being far different than a typical Viera. Even before his gender was evident, Lea possessed fangs. While normally Viera were known to occasionally possess slightly more animal features, the presence of fangs was a trait so rare it had been spoken of only in stories. It was said they were the most animal trait a Viera could have, one symbolising the pure aggression and power the ancestors were said to have, the ability to transcend a Mist rage into a more pure and powerful form of berserker.

This made his childhood difficult, as he could not control the deep Viera emotions within him coupled with this bloodlust, and even before he could speak, he often had to be soothed with great effort by his mother and father. Many nights there were his mother was unable to let him go as his father, a bard and singer of stories by trade, would play music and sign epics to lull his child and the demon within to sleep.

When Lea was able to finally speak, his mother and father both taught him Viis, the language of their forest. Even when able to convey his emotions, Lea still often resorted to unhinged displays, sometimes damaging the pillon his family would use to travel, or in one case, accidentally striking his own mother in his raw frustration.

Only when he was around the age of six did his parents try to teach him inner peace, through meditatation and connecting with the aether around him. Despite difficulty, since he could not feel the flow of aether around him as well as his parents, he came to relish the sensation of balance it would bring him. He knew now by calming his mind and releasing his worldly cares, he could reach a space where he felt safe, calm, and in control.

It was around this time he began to pay more attention to the people involved in his lives the most. His father, a bard, and mother, a dancer, would travel the world without destination, finding stops here and there, using their skills to earn them food, shelter, and fame. Lea would stay up, even fighting the throes of sleep, to listen to his father storytell and his mother act it out through dance.

Once Lea began to become more distinguishable as a male, he began to understand his parent's teachings, on how he must maintain balance within himself if he were to ever survive on his own. Many mistook this as a quiet and shy boy, which he was, but really it was to maintain the beast inside. By this time, he had resolved to follow in his family's footsteps, and take the roles they had played in his life, to be both bard and dancer.

Going Solo

Once Lea was fully grown, his parents told him it was time for him to create his own story, and visit the world like they did. They parted ways, still keeping in touch by moogle mail regularly, as Lea travelled the world by himself, a quiet, solitary creature whom had finally conquered his demons, or so he had quietly hoped.

Eventually Lea found his way to Eorzea, having hitched a ride on a quiet pillon through the outlands, keeping his head down. For some time, he wandered the lands as a nomad, coming to learn more about the place he would soon call home. Time passed, and the Viera boy reached the Shroud. Something within him was thrilled to be here, as he had wondered from his kit days what the forest would have been like his family had come from, despite being the child of once-forestborn whom could never return.

When he first saw Gridania, he was convinced this is the place he was meant to be. He visited the Archer's Guild and took up a role as an apprentice, quiet but not mute, deliberate yet gentle, and trained quite easily the hardest of all his colleageus.

His first harp was his best companion, as he'd stay up late and find a nice high spot in Gridania, playing his heart out, a natural from having heard his father for so many years. His first true love, however, was a violin he restored after finding in the field, broken, but well played. The first sound he heard out of those new strings was it, and now it is easily the instrument everyone hears him playing, almost no matter the song.

After wandering the city states, learning what he could and playing where he thought best, he discovered the populace of Gridania tended to stop and listen more. It was through daily diligence he assembled his own crowd of followers, eager to listen to his music whenever he stood at the aetheryte plaza and added color to the world through the notes on the wind.

Several days passed, then several weeks, with him content and without a care in the world, forgetting his need for a journey, until one day, a passerby stopped. Her name was Ilysian Revner.

Ilysian Revner

Every single day Lea was out playing, Illy would stop by and converse, commenting on how his songs were so beautiful, and how he could command such attention as to make others stop and listen along. From bright of day to dark of night, even in the pouring rains Gridania is so well known for, she was there, listening. He came to look forward to seeing her stop, as at the time, she was one of his best fans.

After some time, and on a rather rainy evening, he invited her to come visit his favorite place to spend an evening, the Kitty Twister, an authentic honkytonk right here in the middle of Eorzea. A friend, Sakata, had introduced him to this place and the notion of a 'honky tonk' (Of which he always pronounced incorrectly). Illy's first night there was memorable for them both, as they bonded over a love of lavender vodka, of which Lea enjoyed, and then regretted the next morning.

To his surprise, she sent him a message on his tomestone asking when he were next going, for she wanted to come with again. He told her there was a local spa, Elysian, he frequented, and offered for her to come along. She happily accepted. There, they spoke of their lives, their thoughts, their hopes and dreams.

They visited several venues together after this, enjoying one another's company, until Lea finally garnered the courage to ask Illy on a true and proper date. She laughed, and asked what the other times they visited venues were. Shocked, Lea blubbered and realized he hadn't planned on her saying yes, which only made her laugh more.

Learning More

After struggling to find an adequate venue for their date, the duo stumbled upon Abbioco, a formal dining restaurant. While this was the first time she had been asked out to dinner, Illy had no nerves with Lea by her side. They enjoyed a lovely three course meal, talking about their pasts, their histories, and where to go from here for the future - together.

What really set things in motion was the party they attended at a friend's house, and even then not the party, but the walk home through Mist. They both decided to stop at the beach and look up at the stars, talking about the things which brought them to this place and to this time, and how their lives played out. Lea asked Illy if she regretted anything that lead up to this point, and after a long hard thought, she said she didn't, because if she did she wouldn't have met him. Lea was taken aback by this response, as he hadn't expected it.

The response was the one they recall the most clearly, as they both shared their first kiss with one another, there on the sand under the moonlight, with a promise that Illy would teach Lea how to swim, and not just tread water because he was terrified of getting his ears wet.

A Simple Question

There's a Viera saying about love and companionship...

The distance betwixt two bodies is not the same as the distance betwixt two souls.

Except, Lea added a few words.

But I cannot bear the distance. Illysian Revner...will you be my mate?

She said yes to the roaring applause and excited prism use of the Kitty Twister audience, a place they had come to associate as home, and be as much a part of as those who worked there. Promptly, their good friends Teagan Hale and Rem Rems promptly started planning their wedding for them, with the newly bethrothed duo barely having time to answer yes.

A grand affair was planned, for all who could attend, and a new space was made in the venue they both loved to call home for them to have a smaller gathering for those who found themselves unable to attend. Within the next few days, the preparations commenced, with the duo handing out their invitations and the company eagerly preparing for their part in the ceremony.

Lea and Illy spent as much time together as they could, talking about their plans, the future, the love of their friends, and how nervous the both of them were to be experiencing this together. Anxious, yet excited, they both kept moving forward, until the fateful day came.

Evermore

The bells rang loud and friends cheered just as loudly the day the duo became officially wed. The chapel was near bursting full as the duo managed to completely fill it, and the sheer amount of prisms and crackers exploding forth was reassuring to the both they had made the right choice in marrying one another.

A short time later, they had the small, personal ceremony at the Kitty Twister's new chapel, the Kitty Risker, made just as they wanted it to be. Here they gave a different set of vows...

Illy spoke hers first.

“You once told me that I was your compass to guide you home. And like all things, it had a second meaning. ‘For I am lost without you.’ This I believe was true of not just yourself, but of me. For the longest time, I was alone. And then that one night on the beach, I decided to let you in."

"Ms. Vyna was correct, in that everything that has happened has led to this very moment, and I wouldn’t change a thing, because it led me to you… to here, our very own bonding. If I were the earth then let there be no sun without you. You are radiant, my love. And I promise to cherish this radiance, to protect my sun, with everything in my being, and love you forever and always."

"You are my home I have never had before. The love that has never run through me until I met you. The joy that I have come to feel constantly. The flutter in my heart that makes me want to live. The completeness that I have never felt that makes me whole… You are all of these things, and more. If I was to sit here and describe them all we would be here all day.”

"And I will tell you everyday how much I love you. How much you have impacted my life. How grateful I am for you, and to have you, as my husband. This I vow to you. Forever and Always."

Lea was absolutely struck by the honesty of these words, and decided to completely discard his own vows, and speak from the heart.

"I cannot live without you." 

"...if, you had asked me, several months ago now, if I had seen myself here, in this very moment, with you, I would have thought you misguided. But...here I stand. I still recall the first sun you stopped to listen to my music...it was nearly nine bells long. Do you recall this?"

"I could not forget it. It was a whole moon you came to visit after this. From commencement to cessation, you were there, Ilysian. A constant while others around me would change. Regardless of this having been at the aetheryte."

"Do you recall, not long ago, when you first visited this place? You remarked it was such a considerable departure from what you expected I would be interested in, and you were right. But what I found was the people here did not come to make good time with their lives...they came to have a good time. And this is the soul of what the bard encompasses. I came there for the sense of family, and the wonderful music, despite it at times being quirky."

"I came to associate this family with you. And when we would go to the spa...the casino...the club...everything. I came to greatly anticipate your stopping and listening during my playing. And I must confess that when I asked if you would accompany me on a date, I was not prepared for you to say yes."

"But you did."

"...do you recall the night on the beach? Where you told me your life story? It was right after the party...I recall every word you said. This was the moment...the moment where I truly realized I had loved you from the moment I had met you. And I wanted...no. I deeply desired being around you."

"...do you recall the mission at the manor? And the mission in the glen? I...hesitate to recall these, but shall so that history does not repeat itself. The glen-...I recall carrying you out in my arms, fatigued from trying to find a healer, thinking my own hubris had caused this, concerned naught for myself, but for you. It was the moment I realized my life revolves around you."

"...Do you recall the precious moments? The small ones, in front of the fire? Where you were the first to believe I am not an animal but a man? This is...something I still come to grips with. And the moment when I had to tell you that your life was no lesser than mine...that we were one already. And that you...grant me an inner peace I have not ever known."

"0ei uho kxo semfujj r0 nxasx A um wiatot xemo, veh A um cejk nakxeik 0ei. Kxo tajkudso roknood kne retaoj teoj dek taskuko kxo tajkudso roknood kne jeicj...but I cannot bear the distance."

"...I cannot make the vows we have come to associate with a bonding. Because...you have already been there for me, for it all. You have been there for better, and for worse. For wealth, and for poverty. For sickness, and for health."

"For this, I do not fear returning to the aether, as I know you shall await, even while you have been long gone, and I have wandered the world without you next to me. Under the old gods and the new, I pledge myself to you."

"This is my unbreakable vow. The measure of my faith. The depth of my love."

At this moment, their orator even wondered "who was cuttin' onions" in the chapel, as she couldn't see a dry eye.

The deepest moment Lea can ever recall, though, happened just during their reception, coinciding with the open hours for the Kitty Twister. Illy quietly pulled him aside and informed him that he was to be a father, words forever etched into his memory. He experienced almost all the emotions at once as he pulled her close, hugging her tight, vowing to never let anything happen to her or his future kit.

Sometimes, though, life has other plans.

Nevermore

What was only meant to be a routine mission ended up being the most shattering point of Lea's life.

Normally, Illy and Lea would regularly communicate during their missions, both to assure one another they were okay, and to hear each other's voice even from far away.

This latest mission, though, Illy reassured Lea she would be okay, and she'd see him again when it was over.

These words, and her smile, were the last he would rememember her being happy.

He tried to reach her on the third day. No response. The fourth brought none either. He began to get worried, and after a week passed, resolved to use his ring to reach her.

To his abject horror, he found himself teleported into a Garlean research encampment, surrounded by Garlean researchers huddled over a table with a bloody and battered Illy. She wailed his name, a sound he never hoped to hear, and from that moment on he barely recalls much.

What really happened, though, was the immediate termination of living of the Garlean researchers. Lea then destroyed the table and collected his dying wife in his arms, only for her to share that the kit was already gone, and she would be soon.

She died, right there, in his arms, causing him to immediately and willingly succumb to his own blood rage, killing every single Garlean in the facility and destroying it in a firey inferno that could be seen throughout Eorzea.

A broken and battered Lea limped through the Black Shroud, carrying his wife's lifeless body in his arms, trampling through the rain and cold only to find himself standing under Everschade, the Guardian Tree of the Black Shroud. His mind flooded with what felt like memories of her, recalling how she wanted to show him this tree, and yet never got to. At that moment, he laid her against the tree, and began to dig right at its roots, but his claws were not sharp enough to get deep, and he quickly hit water.

Unsure now, he simply collapsed and sobbed, and to this day is unsure if what he saw happened, or if it was a grand hallucination. The Bole glowed in the sky with a brightness Lea had never seen, and down from it descended a great light, landing in front of him as a seed nymph. Illy's body began to glow, and was slowly turned into aether, absorbed into the nymph, then cast back into the Everschade, the tree glowing a bright blue-green with aether before fading and leaving him alone in the darkness.

He is unsure if he hallucinated hearing the nymph say "She will be remembered by the lands as well as your heart."

Lea to this day is unsure if this really happened, but when he woke up Illy was already gone, and he felt an inexplicable connection to the Everschade, something he has never been able to shake.

Three of a Kind

Lea was horridly depressed for months after this, thinking how his longetivity became more of a curse to live rather than a blessing to live, especially after his late wife's life and his future kit's got cut short. His friends at the Kitty Twister would remark how he'd consume entire whiskey bottles "just to feel something", not even trying to get drunk.

Teagan, ever a good friend, shoved a broom into his hand and said he worked for her now, because she expected him to clean up the mess of a table he'd made, thus giving him his first real job at the Kitty Twister, being a part of the family proper instead of just a regular.

It still wasn't enough though, and when he told Daevyna, a family friend and witch of the Fens, she was abjectly shocked and wanted to do something to help. When the offer of a seance was suggested, Lea hesitantly accepted, not sure how he'd feel about being able to have one last conversation with her.

With the aid of the Fens and some friends and family, Lea participated in the seance at the Covenstead, calling the resistive soul Illy to form and speak with him one last time. Illy and the kit's partially-formed soul had found their father and husband left behind were suffering horridly, in agony without them.

In defiance, and proper Illy fashion, of the law of life and death, she chose not to return to the lifestream, and instead with the little spark of a kit, chose to merge with his soul. Lea graciously accepted this, not wanting to care about the gravity of what he just did, thus sealing three souls in one body, notably giving him the ice-blue asthetic of Illy, and causing the Fens unending pain and strife from breaking the natural law, at least, for a while.

As Lea became accustomed to his new souls, a friend whom had come to talk to him and speak the Word, Nadja, comforted and aided him through this newfound existence, much as he aided her with her aetherial bankruptcy. They had fallen in love with one another, and came to bear a kit as well, though while Illy supported Lea being happy, Lea was only giving a clever perception of happiness.

In reality, he was still suffering, as now it felt to him as if he were breaking the promise he had made Illy with Nadja, the feeling not unlike being between a rock and a hard place. He took advantage of Nadja's abscene to write her a letter, a long letter, detailing how despite his deep love for her and her help, he needed to solve the pain within him, and potentially not be the same person when she returned. With a heavy stone in his heart, he waited for Heavensturn, for a ritual he knew would either work, or leave him a lifeless husk.

Regret

On the night of Heavensturn, he performed the ritual his Fen friends had cautioned him against: Sending all three souls unto the aether and leaving behind an almalgamation of all three to be a new being in his old body. Lea felt a strange sensation of calm, as he knew all three would be leaving to the aether together, and he would at least have something to be proud of.

The new being elected to call himself Illea, despite not fully understanding how or why, with the body undergoing another formchange to have pink highlights, thought by many close friends to have been the colors of the unborn kit, Liza.

With a new outlook on life and the merged memories of both souls, Illea can be found constantly looking at the sky, wondering where at in the lifestream are the souls who gave him life.

To be continued...