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Synopsis.
“My sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and you know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely allied.”
— Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
Warnings.
This work may contain various dark, sensitive, and/or mature themes. Reader’s discretion is strongly advised. Do not engage if you are easily upset, triggered or offended. You are fully responsible for your own media consumption.
LGBTQ+ (Crossdressing)
Notes.
This was originally written as a reply to an ask question I received on Tumblr some years back. Since then, the lore I was building for my Viera twins had undergone several changes, which have greatly deviated from what you’ll see in this story. However, I felt that it’d a waste to delete this snippet, so I decided to archive it under this standalone collection. At least I can still come back and see how much the lore has changed over time.
Music.
“The Nautilus Knoweth” — Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker OST.
“The Nautilus Knoweth” — Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker OST.
Sora Amariyo swept a stray strand of hair off her forehead as the chocobo carriage trotted through the woods of the Black Shroud. The wind against her pale face became colder as they continued their way to the Coerthas Central Highlands, where winter prevailed its terrain all year long. Seeing that this would be a long journey ahead, Sora turned to her other traveling companion, a Veena Viera by the name of Yiuno Reine.
Those who had heard of his name often described him as an enigmatic wanderer of the realm, a man of mystery who walked along the fine boundary of light and darkness. Though he’d been Sora’s guardian and protector for as long as the young Xaela could remember, no one knew why he willingly took Sora under his wing, given his notorious reputation of coming and going like the wind, leaving naught behind—like a ghost of the forgotten past.
Yiuno didn’t like being the center of attraction, and his dress sense clearly reflected that desire—of monochromic colors and minimalistic design. However, one thing that stood out from his seemingly mundane glamours was the leather-bound emerald necklace around his neck. While it’d appear worthless in the eyes of any jewelers and treasure hunters, Sora could tell that the accessory meant a lot to Yiuno; he often kept it close to him, and his normally sharp gaze would soften with fondness whenever he touched the crystal.
“A gift from someone dear to you? You’re always wearing that, even if it clashes with some of your disguises,” Sora spoke as she watched Yiuno fiddling with the green crystal.
“From Yiuna, my older twin sister,” the male Veena replied, looking up at Sora’s hard gaze with mild amusement. “Perhaps it’s a story I can humor you with until we reach our destination…”
Amongst the treacherous mountains and steep ridges, a small village existed in the heart of the valley. Shrouded in rolling clouds of icy mists and the shadows of uneven summits, this little settlement was undiscovered for eons, its people living in secluded peace far away from the chaos of the commonfolk. The villagers were a sight to behold: fair like the snow capes, graceful like the spring breeze, with their main characteristic being a pair of long, hare-like ears perched on top of their fluffy hair. Called ‘Veena Viera’ by the scholars of the outside world, little was known about their kind, for most curious souls who dared to venture into their territory never lived to see the next sunrise.
Similar to their sister clan, the Rava Viera, they followed a matriarchal structure to maintain order within their small community. Females stayed in the village and acted as the central pillar, just like the monarchies of the outside cities who focused on the politics within the walls. As for the males, they were stationed outside of the settlement as hunters and protectors, braving the dangerous mountains and harsh climate to keep their village safe from external threats. Both genders lived separate lives until the mating season; once every year, a representative or two would drop by to collect children who were assigned male after they had come out of their puberty, then they’d train them to be battle-ready to replenish their ranks. While the strict code and solitude lifestyle had ensured their continuous survival in peace, it wasn’t a sentiment shared by all.
In particular, two adolescents who often sneaked out of the village on every full moon, seemingly in search of something. One of them could be found standing under a birch tree; she wore the standard chest-wrap with armored lingerie covered with a translucent veil down the middle. However, she was fidgeting with her breastplate from time to time, clearly uncomfortable with the clothes she was wearing. She shivered a little as a cold draft blew through the valley, then she flattened the veil and tried to tuck the hem between her legs, a deep shade of pink coloring her pale cheeks under the glow of the full moon above her head.
Her meekness quickly dispersed when her long ears picked up a shuffling sound not far from her location; she drew out a dagger from the scabbard around her ankle, all poised in a battle stance. “Who’s there?” Contrary to her soft and alluring outward appearance, her voice was harsh and hoarse—she sounded rather masculine.
“It’s just me, silly.” A figure emerged from the bushes and brisked towards the anxious Veena. Once she stepped out of the shadow into the moonlight, she had a near-identical face as the former, wearing the same set of harness, with the only distinguishing feature being an extra braid running down the right side of her head. “Be careful not to speak aloud within the village grounds, lest someone else heard you and you’d be whisked away in a jiffy.” Although she was still smiling, there was a hint of sadness in her voice.
“I know,” the twin with a deeper voice sighed, sheathing her dagger before straightening up to face her sister. “But the elders are getting suspicious. They have been staring hard at my chest for the past few days and voiced dissatisfaction at my ‘stunned’ growth.”
“I’m sorry that I’m putting you through all this, [Yiuno], but… I can’t bear to lose you. You’re the only family I have. My precious little brother.”
Yiuno pulled her—his—twin closer into a hug. “You’re my one and only big sister, [Yiuna], as troublesome as you are. So, did you find what you’ve been looking for?”