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She had gone to sleep in her bed at home, wishing her parents a good night with a big hug for each of them.
If she had known any of this would happen, she would have told them how much she loves them. How grateful she is for them taking care of her for this long, she is an adult now after all.
But waking up in a carriage, in a place she doesn't know is not something she had expected to happen.
There's an older man talking to her and two younger looking people with… long elf ears? Last time she checked there were no elves on Gaia. Her surroundings didn’t look like Gaia either and by now she had the feeling that she knew her home like the back of her hand, thanks to her parents taking her on journeys around the world.
She doesn't really pick up what's being said to her, too lost in her own thoughts to try to pay attention to the conversation taking place. She had to find out where she was without attracting too much attention. Easier said than done.
"Is this your first trip to Gridania?" The question shook Xihzu out of her thoughts. There was no place named Gridania on Gaia, where was she?
Xihzu nodded her head and tried to pay more attention to the stranger talking. If she would ask him where they were, he would probably think she has lost her mind. Maybe she did.
"...the biggest, lushest forest in all Eorzea." That name didn't ring any bells for her either, starting to confirm her suspicions that she was somehow transported into another world. But was that even possible? Did Gaia have the powers to transport people to other worlds or was that her own doing? Her parents had told her that both of them had been inside the Lifestream, Sephiroth being there longer than Cloud though. But still, the Lifestream was a part of Gaia, she would know if she was inside the Lifestream.
Sephiroth had been able to travel between locations, but those had been limited to Gaia only. And most of his powers could be traced back to the Jenova cells inside his body. Speaking of Jenova cells, were they still active in this world? Maybe she could try to find Cloud and Sephiroth that way.
“Uhm… excuse me, but do you have a mirror or some other reflective object I could use?” The man in front of her shrugged but started to dig around his pockets. He quickly found a little mirror and handed it over to her.
Xihzu opened it, expecting to be greeted by her usual face. If she were alone she would’ve screamed and hid behind a rock for several hours to calm down. On top of her head were cat ears and on her cheeks as well as her forehead were strange marks. Great, she was a cat now. When she looked at her eyes she noticed that her pupils were still slit, and a slight mako green hue was visible. She didn’t know if the Jenova cells were still inside her body or not, there was no distant tugging inside her. Silence.
Xihzu let out a sigh and closed the mirror, handing it back to the man. “Thank you.” He just smiled at her and was silent for the rest of the ride, prompting her to get lost in her thoughts once again.
After arriving at Gridania she was introduced to the person running the Adventurer’s Guild. The woman there was a tall Elezen, Xihzu had been quick to pick up the different names of the races that lived in Eorzea. For now she had to play along before she could go on her own journey that involved trying to find her parents. She missed mama Cloud’s warms hugs or the soft pat on her head whenever Sephiroth praised her. Their voices had been so soothing, and she ached to hear them again.
“Oh no dear, are you crying?” Xihzu raised her head to see Mother Miounne looking at her with a worried expression. “Come here, let mother give you a warm hug.” The words alone were enough to make her cry even more and she held onto Mother Miounne as if she were her anchor to life.
After a moment she started to feel a soft hand petting her head, careful not to touch her ears. “It’s alright, little one. You’re safe.” Xihzu tried to speak but all that came out of her mouth were whispered, unintelligible words. She wanted to tell her how much she missed her parents, to ask for advice on what to do next, where to search.
Getting lost wasn’t new to Xihzu, it had happened a lot when she was younger but back then she knew the area around her fairly well. Now she was lost in a world she didn’t know, surrounded by all kinds of people and some of them were hostile to her presence.
Xihzu calmed down after a while and smiled thankfully at the woman in front of her. “Now tell me, dear. What is troubling you so much?” How could she explain this to her?
I went to sleep and suddenly I woke up in a carriage driving to a city I don’t know in a world I’ve never been to. That didn’t sound right. My parents are still back in my old world and I miss them dearly. Maybe my father will try to break through all dimensions to try to find me while my mother is worrying he’s getting himself killed along the way. No she couldn’t say that. Mother Miounne would definitely think she hit her head on something. Well, maybe she did.
“I’m missing my parents. On my way here we got separated and I’m trying to search for them.” Mother Miounne nodded. “What do they look like? Maybe they arrived here before you.” Xihzu didn’t even know what they looked like now, considering that she changed her appearance too. She could give it a try though, no harm in that.
“My father is tall and has long silver hair, he usually wears dark clothes. My… other father is a little bit shorter and has really spiky blonde hair. Oh, and they’re both carrying swords!” Xihzu didn’t know if the people in Gridania were familiar with the concept of calling a male person your mother. It was probably for the best to avoid calling Cloud her mother for now.
“I’m sorry little one, but I’m afraid I haven’t seen your parents around Gridania. Maybe they went on to another city.” Xihzu nodded, she had expected something like this to happen. They were probably still back on Gaia, wondering where she had gone. It would only be a matter of time before they found her, she was certain of this.
Time went by rather quickly and Xihzu earned the trust of the people in Gridania. She had met even more people, but no one knew where her parents where. Xihzu had almost given up hope to ever see them again, when she was roused from her sleep one night by a tingling feeling inside her whole body.
It soon evolved to a strong pull, she recognized it. That was the same pull she always felt when one of her parents was searching for her, they were here. The feeling died down quickly, and she only felt a faint pull inside her. Nonetheless she was sure that they had finally found her. I wonder how many dimensions father teared up to search for me. Now she only needed to follow the feeling and trust she would soon reunite with her parents.
Xihzu had lost her sense of time since arriving in Eorzea, how long has she been here? It could’ve been weeks and she wouldn’t have noticed. But knowing that her parents were finally here filled her with energy, so much, that she couldn’t fall asleep again. Xihzu got up with a groan and decided she could wander around the forest for a bit.
The night was cold and Xihzu was once again glad to own a big coat, even if it didn’t fit her perfectly. She was a little bit taller than she was back on Gaia, something she didn’t know could happen. Now she could reach cupboards easily and didn’t have to climb onto lots of boxes or ask a taller person to get something down for her.
She had been walking around for a while when she noticed a bunny like person standing next to a huge tree. Xihzu had heard of them, but until now she hadn’t seen them. They were called Viera and could live longer than humans and it was apparently hard to discern their age based on appearance. They could retain their youthful appearance fairly well.
The bunny turned around and looked at her with an expression that seemed slightly annoyed. “Uhh… hello there.” Xihzu waved slightly. “Hello.” Her voice was gentle, but her face didn’t seem to portray feeling clearly. “I didn’t mean to startle you, I was just… taking a walk.” Xihzu tried to smile brightly and put her hands on her waist. “You didn’t startle me. I’m observing those birds.” The bunny pointed at a stable and Xihzu immediately recognized the huge birds.
“Chocobos!” She couldn’t contain her joy any longer and started to jump up and down for a few seconds. “Sorry… I just really like them. My father’s hair kinda looks like the butt of a chocobo.” “Interesting.” Xihzu scratched the back of her head while laughing awkwardly. What a good first impression, mama would be proud of you.
“Oh I completely forgot to introduce myself! The name’s Xihzu.” She held out her hand for the bunny lady to shake. “I’m R’ini. Nice to meet you.” “Say, have you seen a tall man with long silver hair? I’m looking for my father.”
R’ini raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Didn’t you just say you father’s hair looks like ‘the butt of a chocobo’?” Xihzu grinned and put her hands on her waist again. “I have two of them! Although I normally call Cloud mama and Sephiroth dad.” R’ini nodded. “I haven’t heard those names, though. Are you new around here?” “Kind of. It’s too complicated to explain.”
It was silent for a few minutes and Xihzu feared she had said something wrong when R’ini spoke up again. “Maybe your parents are in one of the other larger cities. There’s Ul’dah in Thanalan and Limsa Lominsa in La Noscea. You should be able to visit those cities by now I think.” Xihzu remembered that someone had told her about the airship in New Gridania, she hadn’t come around to visit it yet though.
“Yup, someone told me about the airship. I’ll probably go check that out once they open.” R’ini burst out laughing. “Now I see that you’re really not from around here. They’re open all day, I can take you there right now if you want to.” Xihzu nodded and felt R’ini grab her left wrist, teleporting them over to Gridania.
Once they reached the airship landing R’ini gave her a big hug. “You’re definitely going to find them, they’re out there somewhere, waiting for you.” “Oh, you’re not coming with me?” R’ini shook her head. “There’s still something I have to do around here, but I’m sure we’ll meet again.” They said their goodbyes and Xihzu approached the person at the counter.
“Uh… how much is a ticket to Limsa Lominsa?” “48 gil, young adventurer.” She handed over the money and boarded the airship, it reminded her of the time when Cloud took her to see the Highwind. Though the airship she was currently on was small compared to the size of the Highwind. It made her wonder if the others were still back in Gaia. I hope they’re alright.
After reaching Limsa Lominsa Xihzu asked for the directions to the Aetheryte plaza, that would be a good place to start her search. Since her arrival she had felt the tugging inside her a lot stronger than back in Gridania. Maybe one of her parents was over here, though she hoped for both of them being in the same place. That way none of them had to worry anymore. Their reunion was near.
Xihzu looked around the plaza and saw a lot of people, none of them looked like her parents. There wasn’t even a guarantee that they looked exactly the same. The only way to find out was to follow the tugging feeling. For now she would remain here and use the time to sort out her pockets. People kept giving her things, even if she assured them that a smile was good enough for her. Now she carried lots of weapons and materials, even though she didn’t need most of them.
“Xihzu!” She recognized that voice, that was her father. Was he really here or was this just another dream to give her hope? Xihzu raised her head and saw a tall Elezen waving at her from a short distance. It was definitely her father, she could feel it and the resemblance was there.
“Father!” She couldn’t contain her joy any longer and leapt right at him, not caring what the people around them might think. He embraced her and stroked her long hair. “I’m so glad you’re okay, my dear.” Xihzu felt tears prickling in the corner of her eyes. “I missed you so much. You have no idea how scared I was.” “I can imagine, but you’re safe now. Come, let’s find Cloud.”
Xihzu beamed up at Sephiroth. “You have found mother?” He nodded and Xihzu smiled, they were finally together again. Though it begged the question how long it took them to figure out where she went, she could ask that once they were reunited with her mother.
It didn’t take them long to find Cloud, he was at the Hustings Strip already waiting for them. When he saw Xihzu he immediately got up from his seat and walked over to her. “Oh mother, how much I have missed you!” Xihzu wanted to lay her head on his chest only to realize… she was taller. “Well this is surprising, you’re taller than me now.” At least Cloud took it with stride. Xihzu noticed that Cloud was a Miqo’te as well, Sephiroth was surrounded my short cats.
“Let’s sit down, there’s so much we have to catch up on.” Xihzu nodded in agreement and started grinning as she remembered her previous question, now was the perfect time to ask it. “How many dimensions did you tear up in your search for me, father?” Sephiroth only shrugged, he probably didn’t bother counting.
“I think he got to around 20, after that he started threatening the townspeople to burn their homes down if they wouldn’t cooperate in the search for you. Good thing I was there or else he would’ve gone through with that.” Cloud smiled slightly. Xihzu got a mental image of Sephiroth tearing up one dimension after the other while Cloud tried to calm him down, it shouldn’t be funny, but it made her giggle nonetheless.
They talked for what seemed like hours, each of them telling their story of arriving at a different town, trying to find each other while also fulfilling the needs of the people that sought them out. “What will we do now? I don’t think there’s a way to return home.” Sephiroth could travel between dimensions somehow, but none of them knew if it was possible to leave this place. Especially because this world had its own struggle and needed brave warriors. “How about we see what the people around here need help with? We could always decline if it gets too much.” Sephiroth and Xihzu nodded, there wasn’t much they could do right now anyway.
That night, Xihzu slept more peacefully. Sandwiched between her parents and feeling their warmth surrounding her made her feel at home instantly. She wasn’t a child anymore, but sometimes she needed the warm embrace of them. Everything was alright now, they were reunited. And together they would navigate around this unknown world.