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Today I've met a peculiar Miqo'te in the region of La Noscea. It took a while to even obtain his name from him seeing as he was a man of little words. Are all Miqo'te like this one? I have yet to meet enough on my journeys to tell. However, despite his quiet nature he seemed inquisitive enough about my journal to approach me as I had just finished penning my latest entry.

Leaves rustled and shifted underneath his quick gait as he approached yet it was the sound of his voice that caught my attention suddenly. I was met with wide questioning green eyes peering down at me, the misty pupils slightly dilated and ears twitching at random intervals. Seconds later, a second pair of eyes came into view from over the Miqo’te’s shoulder, this time belonging to a carbuncle with a piercing stare.

“Where have you hidden it?”

E-excuse me-”

Instead of responding, he simply gestured towards my journal which lay on the ground after I dropped it in surprise at his sudden intrusion moments earlier.

The Miqo’te lifted his hand in an upwards gesture as he mumbled a strange language under his breath. A faint glow encompassed the journal and it floated over into his hands. He flipped through until his finger came to rest on a specific page. It was then that he abruptly turned the journal to face me.

Upon closer inspection, the journal’s pages were open to reveal my latest entry, a picture of a calmly smiling Miqo’te with a light blue carbuncle wrapped around his shoulders as he openly basked in a campfire’s warmth while a group of travelers lay sleeping in their tents unaware of their feline intruder. Sneaking a glance towards him, then back at the picture, I was shocked that the face in front of me belonged to the same Miqo’te in the photo. I never thought we’d meet. He and I were strangers to each other after all, simply fellow travelers whose faces would soon become a blur in a sea of countless travelers we’ve met in life. He seemed unaware of my presence when I took the photo.

How did he notice me there with those misty eyes?

The sound of nails tapping against the page broke me from my thoughts and I found myself in the presence of a seemingly irate Miqo’te with his arm still outstretched as he angled the journal downwards towards my face.

“Ahh- You must mean this.” Pointing at the journal, I regarded him sheepishly.

“I took it because I’ve never seen a Miqo’te’s ears do that before, haha, um…they sort of flickered back and forth somewhat excitedly in rapid fashion and I just found it interesting. That and your carbuncle was too cute not to have in my journal” I nervously rambled.

At that he paused for a moment, tilting his head slightly with a furrow in his brow as he closed his eyes for a moment. Upon opening them I could have sworn that for one fleeting moment, before they settled back into a neutral gaze, I saw a glimmer of amusement twinkling in his eye.

A deafening silence soon settled over us with the only sound coming from the occasional squeaking of the wharf rats nearby. Panicking, I wracked my brain to find a way to break the ice with him but all I could muster was a semi-confidant greeting.

Hi! The name’s Kryan Arcalos. I come from Gridania.” With this came my outstretched hand reaching towards him-after picking myself off the ground- in an effort to courteously shake his hand.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is your name?”

Ignoring my hand, he instead grabbed a blank page and without warning, drew out his claws while swiping at it in a flurry of motion before letting go. I tried to grab it midair and as it made a downward spiral towards the floor, I heard the sound of his lightweight boots against the ground, rustling the leaves once more, as he walked away, back towards me and tail slightly swaying to the sides.

He paid me no mind as he went on his way.

Looking back at the photo I could see he answered my question. His name was Arlo.

Plopping myself back down in the same spot I was previously in, I opened the journal and found a picture was missing- the picture I took of Arlo and his carbuncle.

Did he like the picture? Is that why he engaged in conversation with me today?

With a resounding thud I closed my journal and fell to my back. Misty green eyes clouded my view of the sky and before long I found my thoughts drifting back to my newest acquaintance with questions of how he detected my presence at the campsite.

-Kryan Arcalos

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