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Chapter 13: Awkward Again

"Wow (Your Name). Whatever that dance you did last night was, sure worked wonders on all of us!" Prompto praised just as you all exited from the tent after a pleasant night's rest.

"What was that anyway?" Gladio asked.

"It looked like a traditional hula-type dance if you ask me," You gave Ignis a smile as you grabbed the plates from the table, before turning to Prompto to answer him.

"It's a traditional dance in which the healers of the clan used to cleanse and heal. The runes on the rock walls spell out the word 'Dalisayin' meaning 'Purify'. So this particular area must have been used as a healing haven during the wars," You explained shyly, handing out breakfast to the boys one by one.

"The wars? Are you saying that your people fought against Lucis for land?" Ignis sounded quite intrigued, "There weren't any historical articles stating that warriors from Tenebrae were involved in the wars,"

"I'm not too sure myself. But my Uncle often spoke of the times in which shapeshifters were often used as weapons during the wars. I'm not too entirely sure about which side they were fighting for. But I guess their identity must have been hidden if my people weren't mentioned,"

"If that's the case. Perhaps they weren't mentioned because they were fighting as animals instead of humans," Noctis suggested, nodding his head at you when you handed his plate.

"You dance so gracefully (Your Name). That dress looked perfect on you too! Where did it come from though?"

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting the wardrobe change," You sighed, looking up at the rune character on the wall of the haven.

After discovering your clothes had changed, you left the speechless young men at the haven, rushing towards the clearing where the waterfall was. The strobes of light from each of the three runes on the walls were pointing towards the same place, which was a certain spot in the water. You carefully approached the water, finding it strange that you were walking on top of it, instead of going deeper into the body of water. After reaching the meeting point and the water beneath you began to bubble, mixing with the white orbs that surrounded you before and creating what looked to be a platform. You smiled to yourself reliving to when you and your cousin Elena, the only sister of Hale and Matias, watched in awe as both your mothers danced gracefully. Remembering the lyrics to the song they sang so gently, you raised your hands in preparation doing the same as them. You locked eyes with each of the four, who were now at the edge of the spring and gave them a gentle smile. Small wisps of light formed silhouettes of two female figures either side of you, bringing you close to tears seeing they took the shape of your mother and auntie.

"Well, I know someone couldn't keep his eyes off you while you were dancing," You really wanted to wipe the smug look on Prompto's face right off, but thought against it since your healing magic seemed to have lifted his, and the rest of the guys' fatigue.

"I wasn't expecting you to heal us in the process of showing us your family roots though (Your Name)," Gladio admitted, "Thanks for the much-needed rest," He thanked grinning and patting you on the head affectionately.

"Yeah! Thanks (Your Name)!" Prompto also thanked, digging into his breakfast.

What transpired in the evening was that you performed a healing technique passed down to all the women within the clan, the Chief's family being the sole mentors. It was originally to restore the health of their people, enabling those who weren't suited for combat to support those on the front lines who fought to protect the village and their way of living. Considering everyone could shapeshift into animals, it was a given that everyone knew basic combat tactics. Whereas to heal was strictly passed onto those who had the capacity to do so, the Chief's family being the strongest for both combat and healing.