[ Balthier considers what he knows about Alina. She doesn't seem to have had any meaningful friendships. There's this person from childhood, but that seems like a relationship of convenience. People who spend all their time together without any real trust and intimacy. The stuff of nightmares, really. ]

Fran had my back for close to seven years. Whether it was fighting bandits or escaping prison or a bad cold or just pontificating about the universe, she was there and she let me be there for her. We argued and we pushed each other and we were there when things got hard. I need her. I haven't...figured out what I'm going to do about that space. She's been a part of my life so deeply and for so long.

Ashe and I never got there. We had a few meaningful conversations, we survived some near death experiences, but if a year or two goes by, we'll be as good as strangers.

She's a fairy tale. Fran was family.