#chocobo's smell bad... but the good kind bad y'know

[robininthelabyrinth]

Fic: Nocturne (16/30) - Ao3 Link

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Pairings: Mostly Gen (variety later to come)

Summary: In which Cor Leonis loses his temper, accidentally acquires a kid, and tries to single-handedly dismantle the Lucian immigration system – and that’s before he and his lawyers find out about this Prophecy business. If the Astrals think Cor’s going to let his kid’s best friend die without a fight, they’ve gotten the wrong cheetah ‘taur.

(a young adult novel set in @kickingshoes’ ‘taur AU)

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Cyrella's driving with the kids today, Luna in the front seat and Noctis and Ignis in the back since neither Gladio nor Prompto were feeling well enough to make the trip. Personally, Cyrella's glad for it: fewer kids means fewer targets to keep watch over, in her mind.

Poor little Ignis, though - he's an old ‘taur in a child's body, that one, and he's been distressed ever since the doctors decided against letting the other two kids come.

Maybe it's just that Gladio's not coming.

Cyrella might not be the romantic that her husband is, or that her son is turning into, but she's not blind to the adorable elementary school crush her son has on Ignis Scientia, or the rather bemusedly oblivious-to-his-own-feelings one that Ignis has back on Gladio.

She hopes that baby Iris will take more after her own no-nonsense sort of approach to romance. Look at her and Clarus, after all: they met in a bar fight, she put him in his place and convinced him to swap to her side of the fight, and then she observed both that their fighting styles were fantastically compatible and that he possessed a very attractive set of shoulders and an equally stunning set of hindquarters, and, with that settled, she decided she'd marry him one day.

Oh, sure, he insisted on mailing her cactus flowers and roses for months with notes about how the combination of prickly spines and beautiful petals reminded him of her, which she found very charming, yes, but the decision was entirely practical.

At least Gladio and Ignis are a little less tooth-rottingly sweet than little Noctis and Prompto, who hold hands everywhere and proclaim at a moment's notice that they're going to get married themselves. Aulea is already entertaining herself by planning the ceremony.

Of course, the second Cyrella gets the children all seated, the stupid car starts making a disturbing clicking noise the second she turns it on.

Annoying, yes, but it doesn't seem to be impeding the engine from turning on, and that's most of what Cyrella cares about.

She starts backing out of the garage, but doesn't get more than a few seconds of driving in before she's interrupted.

"Oh! Hold up! Stop the car!" Luna exclaims. "Turn it off again; I know what's wrong!"

And up and back out of the car she goes, popping open the trunk and fiddling around in there for a moment before she ducks under the car entirely.

"Something you learned from Cindy?" Cyrella asks dryly, resigning herself to an existence surrounded by adorable childhood romances and at least one lesbian love triangle.

At least her life isn't boring.

"Yes," Luna says, emerging from underneath the car. She's a bit greasy now, but luckily she's wearing one of Scientia's old college jumpers over her pretty frock and the stains are not drastic enough for Cyrella to feel like she needs to make her go change. A bit of grease and dirt is good for someone of Luna's age, anyway.

Cyrella does note that Luna keeps exchanging meaningful glances with Ignis instead of blushing and spluttering the way she usually does whenever Cindy is brought up. "I've fixed it as best as I can for now," she says. "The way the engine was going originally, with that sound, the car would've broken down halfway to Hammerhead. As it is, we should make it to Hammerhead, no problem, but after that I'm not sure..."

"I'm sure we can swap out cars there," Cyrella says dismissively. Cid always keeps a few extra cars in the back; she'll take one of those. Cid will agree. Cid usually agrees when she asks him for things, even if he usually mutters something about marrying giants and swords longer than he is tall. Whatever; it's not her fault that he's short. "Say, have you heard from that Galahdian girl, Crowe, recently?"

Ah, there's the spluttering she expected.

Cyrella finally gets the car out of the garage and drives happily onwards, smiling as Ignis and Noctis take up the banner of teasing, and thinks to herself that just maybe, her husband has a point with how amusing these childhood romances are.

Libertus kind of wishes Nyx and Hemera were here.

Don't get him wrong – he's glad to get a chance to do some work outside the shadow of the Hero Twins! He loves them like his own blood, he does, as much as he loves that Crowe kid he's all but adopted and been adopted in turn by her parents, but damn if it don't sometimes get old with them all but cartwheeling into combat and coming out smelling like roses having saved another half-dozen lives or whatnot. Not to mention all the crazy shit they lead him into if he's not watching himself carefully – all good, useful missions in the end, but also generally crazier than coeurl gone cuckoo, by and large.

So he's not necessarily upset about getting a mission of his own, y'know?

It's just – maybe not this mission.

There's the kids, for one thing – Prince Noctis, who's going to save the world, and little Iggy, who saved Libertus' own furry hindquarters and can't stop calling him Li-bear-tus no matter how serious the situation and who's ten times smarter than Libertus is ever gonna be – and Libertus just plain old isn't great with kids. He swears too much, which at least has the benefit of making them laugh even if he's pretty sure Mrs. Amicitia is going to murder him and leave his body in a ditch somewhere if he doesn't stop. He can't help it - he just gets really nervous because he doesn't know how to deal with them. Whenever there are kids, Libertus strongly prefers having people around him who actually know what they're doing.

Which he guesses he has. After all, there’s the Marshal and the Shield and the Shield's wife who probably ought to be called the Sword based on the big-ass greatsword she usually has strapped to her back; they all have kids, so clearly they’ve got to be half-decent at keeping an eye on them. It's not even his job to be watching the kids! It just makes him nervous, having them around; that's all.

There’s the fact that they’re (secretly) on a mission to go find Ramuh and demand that he cooperate in some sort of Covenant which he may or may not be into, and Libertus might not be the most religiously observant guy on Eos but he still feels like that’s a bad idea – and if he didn’t, the storm would’ve made him think twice.

Oh yes.

And then there's the storm.

Now, Libertus is Galahdian, born and bred, so don't get him wrong, he's not afraid of no storm. Compared to the yearly hurricanes he's used to, especially the big ones like old Gordo that hit the year he was born and every ten years since, this endless rain and lightning and thunder is nothing.

Sure, he's never been knee-deep in muck and mud quite like this, with the sky blacked out and no ocean anywhere in sight and daemons capable of coming from all around in every direction, right in the middle of a big giant looming forest that somehow feels so much bigger and older and more menacing than the jungles of Galahd. He's never had to hear the howling of wild creatures coming from every direction, so loud that it's actually competing with the sound of the wind. He's never had to drive down paved streets so slick with water that it's like they're considering becoming rivers because there's no ocean for the water to drain away into.

He's used to seeing lightning coming in from the ocean horizon right before it rolls in and hits you, giving you at least a few seconds warning to go find shelter; he's never willingly gone out right in the center of a storm the way he's doing right now, walking into a bunch of flammable trees like an absolute moron, with the rain coming down so hard it leaves bruises the whole time.

He's also never had to try to mount a goddamn Chocobo that don't want no bear on its back just as much as Libertus don't want to be on it, since apparently they're traveling into the center of the forest by Chocobo whether they like it or not.

He's very firmly in the 'not' camp, himself.

"Do you require assistance, Li-bear-tus?" a very familiar voice asks.

Sure enough, it's little Iggy the egghead, and unlike Libertus, he's sitting just fine on his Chocobo, all curled up and dignified just like in the instruction manuals.

"I'm fine," Libertus grunts, then reconsiders. He likes Iggy plenty; he might be a kid, but he's one smart cookie. "Actually, no. I can't get my balance on this damn bird."

"Well, you're a bear," Iggy says. "You have a good center of balance, unlike some of us – you don't need to try to sit side-saddle. I would suggest trying to settle straight down on the saddle, lying on your belly the way you would for a motorcycle, with your legs hanging down on either side."

Libertus tries it, and sure enough it works a lot better than the elegant sprawl all the cats are doing. "Thanks, kid."

"My pleasure," Iggy says. "You'll be one of the ones helping guard us, right?"

"I'm actually just assigned to be look-out," Libertus explains. "I'm bringing up the back, just off on the right wing –"

"That's fine," Iggy says brightly. "We'll ride over and find you once we get going; that'll be far more interesting than listening to the adults complain about visibility."

"What? No, wait, you don't –"

"Oh, I know we don't have to. We want to. See you later!"

Iggy clicks his hooves and somehow that works to get his Chocobo moving, and Libertus can't figure out the equivalent fast enough to catch up with the kid long enough to explain that they're supposed to be in the center of the pack for their own protection, damnit.

"Oh, Lord of the Storm," Libertus moans, rubbing his eyes. This is a disaster – they're going to come find him right on the edge of the group, and then they'll refuse to leave, and then they're all going to get attacked by daemons, and die, and it'll all be Libertus' fault...he’s gotta do something to stop this. "Hey, Pelna!"

Pelna, a canidaetaur refugee from Niflheim and brand-new Kingsglaive member who somehow manages to be even younger than Nyx and Hemera and twice as cocky, which up until he'd arrived Libertus had thought would be impossible, turns to blink at him. Or maybe he's blinking the rain out of his eyes. Whatever, either way, he's listening.

"Can we swap positions?" Libertus asks urgently. "You're leading the right flank, yeah? Advance position? The storm's got all this muck up, and one look-out post's as good as another, innit?"

"Except for the part where the front lead is expected to see fighting and the back isn't," Pelna points out with a slight grin, but then he shrugs. They've all had plenty of opportunities to get in the thick of it for fighting recently. "Any reason for wanting the swap?"

"Looks like the route's going to take us around the lake – swamp – body of water, whatever – and the only thing worse than wading next to a pond in a storm is being the heaviest guy around wading after everyone's had a chance to rip up the earth with their paws to make it easier for you to sink." This is true, even if Libertus had already mostly resigned himself to it.

He can't tell Pelna that he's trying to get away from some kids because he gets itchy when he has too much responsibility over anyone under the age of reason. That would just be embarrassing.

Pelna sniggers. "Yeah, good point. I don't mind swapping this time, if next time you let me swap with you when I want the better position. Should we clear it with the Captain?"

"Why?" Libertus asks with a shrug. "You know he doesn't care who does what as long as everyone knows where they are and what they're doing at crunch time; that's why we're all trained as all-around fighters. And you know how he's always going on and on about how they don't give us enough Kingsglaive to make allowances for personal comfort..."

"You mean right after he's complained that we don't get treated as good as the mostly Insomnia-born Crownsguard, and right before he starts implying that they think we're expendable and disposable pieces that can be swapped out at will?" Pelna jokes. He's been in the Glaive long enough to be familiar with their Captain's occasional diatribe. "Sure, I know. He usually throws in a few compliments about how flexible and multipurpose we are in there, too – but, you know, he doesn't like it when you swap once something's already started..."

"Would you really consider us to have 'started'?" Libertus asks, looking around him pointedly. Everyone's still struggling with their Chocobos or their clothing or their bags or something. Nobody’s exactly what anyone would call battle-ready.

Pelna laughs again. "Yeah, point. Sure. See you on the other side."

Then he, too, clicks his Chocobo into motion and is off like the wind. Damn, Libertus really needs to figure out how to get his own bird moving like that.

Maybe not exactly like that. A slower version would be much more his speed.

Well, at least he can comfort himself with the knowledge that he's avoided the problem of lagging behind and losing the kitlings.

"How," he says flatly two hours later, two adorable children beaming up at him from atop their Chocobos and under their little ponchos, umbrellas having been rendered useless by the wind. "I'm not even..."

"We checked there first," Iggy says, wincing a little as a giant roll of thunder comes in. "And Pelna said you'd be here, so we came here."

"I don't think you should be this far forward," Libertus protests. "At least at the old position, you were lagging behind, but this is out front – it could be dangerous –"

Thunder rumbles again.

"It's fine," Noctis says soothingly. "We asked the Marshal, and he said sure."

"Does he even know where I'm located – wait. The Marshal is Crownsguard. He doesn't even have authority over my position! That's why Captain Drautos came along, so he could supervise everything personally!"

"Yes, but Cor is the one ultimately in charge of guarding us," Noctis says, clearly unconcerned. "And he said we should go up front."

Another flash of lightning, and more thunder almost immediately. They're near the center of the storm, now.

Libertus frowns. That doesn't sound right - the Marshal is a terrifying figure who is highly unorthodox, but even he's not so unorthodox as to send the kids he's suppose to protect to the front line.

Unless...

"Did he send you to come to visit me?" he asks slowly, something niggling at the back of his mind. The Marshal is as famous for his bursts of intuition as he is for his battle strategy. "Or did he say go to the front?"

"No, he just said 'go to the front'," Iggy says, but he's starting to frown as well, seeing Libertus frown. "Why?"

Thunder again –

No.

Libertus is Galahd-born.

He knows thunder: he was born in the storm. The sound of thunder lulled him to sleep as a kit.

That?

That is not thunder.

That's the sound of a bomb.

"We're under attack!" Libertus roars, his voice barely audible over the heightened storm, but strong enough to make it through to the next few bedraggled-looking Kingsglaive, whose heads rise up in alarm as they turn in the direction he's pointing – back towards the main convoy, an attack from behind where they hadn't been expecting one.

Shit, that's not far from Libertus' old position – Pelna's there! He needs to get there –

No. He needs to protect the kids.

"You need to get away from the fighting," Libertus tells the kids, who suddenly look scared and far, far too young. He leaps off of his Chocobo and lets it run free, then turns to help the kids off of their own before the Chocobos can start panicking and running off with them, though their Chocobos end up standing there placidly and pecking at the nearby trees. Maybe he really did get the nerviest one of the whole bunch like he'd been suspecting. "At least you're in the front, not the back where the fighting's happening –"

They were in the back, though, before. They'd gone over to the back to hang out with Libertus and they only came up here to the front because – oh, thank Leviathan's many-ridged fins that he swapped with Pelna at the last minute, or else the kids would be in the center of the fighting right now.

"Wasn't that where you were supposed to be?" Noctis asks, eyes wide.

Libertus is about to agree, assuming that Noctis is expressing relief that they're not there and Libertus isn't there and therefore relatively safe, as these things go, when Ignis speaks, his eyes equally wide but his face far more despairing.

"Someone knew," he says with horror.

"What?" Libertus asks, attention pulled away from the battle – unwise, he knows – by the tone in Iggy's voice.

"You're the only grown-up here that we'd want to hang out with, other than Gladio's Mom and Dad and Cor and they were being boring," Iggy says woodenly. "You're the obvious choice for us to go spend time with. Someone figured out where you'd be, and knew that we'd probably come to see you. And then they set up the attack so that it'd come to where you were supposed to be..."

"You're being paranoid," Libertus says, but his heart isn't in it. It's certainly possible – if the Niffs figured out a way to spy on them, if there's a traitor - it's not like his friendship-by-proxy with the kitlings isn't pretty well known, a subject for plenty of teasing in the Kingsglaive – it's possible –

Well, it doesn’t matter. Figuring out what happened and how is way above Libertus' paygrade. Right now, his job is straightforward: normally, he’d go into battle to support his friends in the Kingsglaive, but that’s clearly the wrong thing to do now. He needs to stay with Noctis and Iggy. Protecting them is the highest priority –

Libertus sees the shine of metal in the middle of the field shining bright as it reflected the next crack of lightning.

Glauca!

Oh shit.

Shit, shit, shit. General Glauca himself here in person, despite the fact that he knows that Cor is here – that means they must know about them, somehow; that means the Niffs are clearly here to get the kids – and if they do have a spy, then they’ll know the kids are with him, and it won’t take long for them to figure out that he swapped with Pelna – and then –

"They think you'll be next to me," Libertus suddenly says. "That's what you think, Iggy?"

"I'm sure of it," Iggy says.

Iggy's smarter than Libertus will ever be, for all that he's so much younger. Libertus is going to have to trust him on this.

“Okay,” he says, looking at the kids. “They think you’ll be next to me. So I’m going to go west, to the outskirt of the forest, and I’m gonna take your Chocobos –” Thank Ramuh’s feathery ass, they picked ones with distinctive colors. “– so that they think you’re with me and come my way, after me instead of after you, okay?”

They both look at him, wide-eyed.

“That means you’re going to be on your own,” Libertus says. He doesn’t like the idea, leaving kids on their own like this, but if he can keep Glauca distracted and far away from the kids, even for a little bit longer while someone manages to get out a call for back-up from the reserve units that were trailing behind them, it’ll be worth it. Glauca is a monster – he wouldn’t hesitate in attacking children, not for a minute. Their only hope will be to keep ahead of him. “You go into the forest, and go to the ground – or into a tree, whatever – just keep away, okay? Keep away from everyone, except for the Shield or his wife and the Marshal, okay?”

If there's a spy, then those are the only people he knows for sure must be safe; they've been friends with the King for years.

The kids both nod.

They're so brave.

“Good luck,” Libertus says, grabbing the reins of the two kids’ Chocobos – he doesn’t care about his own, but it's come back through the brush and seems inclined to follow him anyway. Whatever, that'll help with the illusion, and the low visibility due to the storm will only make it harder for anyone to know the truth. “See you on the other side.”

And off he goes.

Ignis and Noctis stumble through the dark forest, the storm above their heads, the leaves barely blocking them from the pouring rain.

“We should find somewhere to stop,” Ignis says through chattering teeth. He bundled up well for this trip, but the combination of fear and increasing wetness is not conductive to a nice, warm, happy child. Not to mention the fact that his glasses are covered in raindrops, which he hates. “Noct, do you think…?”

He trails off. Noctis is definitely moving in a particular direction, whereas Ignis was under the impression that they were simply moving away. Ignis hurries to catch up.

“Where are we going?” he asks.

“The right way,” Noctis says, his eyes fixed in the distance. “Can’t you hear him?”

“Who?”

Noctis points.

Ignis looks, squinting.

“Is that - Umbra?” he yelps. Why would one of the Oracle's Messengers be here? He thought they'd remained back in Insomnia. “What – is Luna around?”

“No, she’s back with the others,” Noctis says. “She tried to summon Ramuh for us when the fighting started, but Umbra says that she says there wasn't any need: with the storm, he already knows we’re here. But it’s okay; Umbra knows the way and we should follow him.”

“The way to what?”

“The runestone,” Noctis says.

“And what,” Ignis says, maybe a little testily, “in the name of Ramuh’s pinfeathers are runestones, exactly?!”

Noctis actually stops moving for a second. “Uh,” he says. “I – I’m not actually sure.”

Ignis crosses his arms and scowls at his friend.

"What?" Noctis says defensively. "Umbra's a Messenger. We can listen to him!"

"The fact that someone – even an adult, or a Messenger, or anything – says something, doesn't mean you have to listen to them, Noct!" Ignis exclaims. "You're the Prince! Plenty of people will try to tell you things, and it's up to you to figure out what you think about what they're saying. You're eight already. Hasn't school taught you anything? Look before you leap!"

Noctis looks appropriately abashed. "That's a good point," he says. He reaches out and takes Ignis' hand in his. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Iggy."

Ignis sniffs, somewhat appeased. "Probably be rude to everyone you meet, most likely."

"You and your etiquette," Noctis teases, but then looks after Umbra's waiting form. "I do think we should follow Umbra now, though."

"All right," Ignis says. "I'm wasn’t saying we shouldn't. I just wanted you to think first, that's all."

Noctis smiles. "I've thought about it, I've thought about it. Let's go already." He tugs gently on Ignis' hand.

And so they go deeper into the forest, following Umbra's swiftly receding form. Ignis' hooves sink unpleasantly into the increasingly muddy ground, and Noctis' paws are only a little better for this sort of mucky travelling, but they force themselves to continue even as the trees get bigger and bigger and the storm darker and darker, the flashes of lightning and ensuing thunder more and more constant.

"Aren't storms supposed to move on or something?" Noctis grumbles as they reach a clearing.

Ignis tugs on his hand sharply, his eyes fixed elsewhere.

Noctis looks at him.

"Look around you," Ignis says. "And up."

Noctis looks.

Ignis sees the confusion on his face, and he also sees the moment that Noctis sees them in the trees.

Birds.

Corvids of every sort, ravens and crows and more, crowding every branch, black feathers and beady black eyes fixed right on where Noctis and Ignis are standing.

The Eyes of Ramuh.

The Wings of Ramuh.

"Now," Ignis murmurs, noticing that Umbra has disappeared entirely, "is the time for etiquette."

Noctis gives the slightest hint of a nod, and steps forward. "Greetings," he says to them as formally as he can. "My name is Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prince of Lucis and Chosen of the Prophecy of Bahamut, and I'm looking for the runestone of Ramuh so that I can obtain his blessing and complete a Covenant with him – and the Prophecy may be completed. Would you please show me the way?"

One of the ravens hops out of his tree and flies silently to the ground before them. It lowers its head, wings spread, almost like a bow – both Ignis and Noctis automatically bow back – and then turns and hops off further into the forest.

They follow.

Ignis glances behind them as they go up a hill and sees a flash of silver metal.

Silver metal, moving – General Glauca!

He squeezes Noctis' hand. "We're being followed," he murmurs. "We need to go faster."

Noctis nods and they speed up, the raven leading them moving faster as well. It seems to be moderating its speed to theirs.

Still, they're just kids, with short legs and the tendency to tire quickly, and they end up slowing down again because that's better than running and having to stop to rest. Still, knowing that General Glauca is chasing them is pretty good incentive to keep going.

And then just when Ignis is sure that they'll have to stop and rest, no matter what, they reach another small clearing, this time against a cliff face, and at the end of the clearing there is the weirdest rock Ignis has ever seen.

Ramuh's temples are trees struck by lightning; everyone knows that. This is a rock in the shape of a tree, tendrils reaching upwards, and it's glowing faintly.

"I think this is the runestone," Noctis says. "Carved by lightning strikes."

Ignis nods. He means to let go of Noctis' hand, to let his Prince go ahead alone to his destiny, but Noctis clings on tighter and shoots him a beseeching look, and Ignis just can't let him go by himself.

So they move forward together, clinging to each other.

They're almost at the tree when someone calls out Noctis' name.

They turn, and it's Captain Drautos, still some distance away from them, panting a little like he's been running after them. "Prince Noctis," he repeats. "There you are – I've been looking for you! You have to come with me. The Niflheim forces are too strong, too many. We have no choice but to retreat."

"But if we retreat, we won't have another chance until next year!" Noctis exclaims.

"Your parents would rather wait a year if it means that you'll be alive," Drautos says, and steps forward into the clearing, the silvery spots on his hyena hindquarters shining wetly in the rain. "Come with me, Prince Noctis. I'll see you home safe."

Ignis takes a half-step towards him, but Noctis doesn't, and Ignis looks back at his friend, whose expression has gone set with determination. Ignis takes back the half-step, moving back to stand at Noctis' side.

"Thank you, Captain Drautos," Noctis says, his voice clear and strong. He's made his decision, Ignis can tell; he’s not just blindly listening to what people tell him to do, just like Ignis advised him. Ignis feels a surge of pride: Noctis is going to be a great king, one day. "But I'm going to call on the runestone first."

And he turns and reaches out a hand to the rock-tree, both his hand and the tree glowing, even as Drautos exclaims something rendered inaudible by a sudden crash of thunder.

And then the birds start screeching.

Ignis steps closer to Noctis automatically, his eyes going wide as the birds leap from the trees into the air – dozens of them, hundreds of them, thousands of them – and suddenly the storm-darkened sky is even darker with all of those black-winged bodies, so close together that they're indistinguishable from each other.

It takes a second for Ignis' eyes to adjust scale: it's only when Ramuh – because it is Ramuh, the Fulgarian himself, the 'taur whose body is made of the Stymphalian Birds, all of those birds coming together to metamorphose into a single figure: his mighty torso, swathed with robes, his long beard and sharp black eyes, his gigantic staff – starts to reach his hand down to them that Ignis suddenly sees him there.

The rock-tree has stopped glowing, as has Noctis; Noctis is staring up at the Astral and clinging to Ignis, and that's probably why Ramuh scoops them both up in his surprisingly firm and corporeal fist, lifting them up into the sky.

Ignis, looking down, can see Drautos staring up at them in shock for a long moment before running back towards the fighting, the quickly scattering MTs and a small group of Kingsglaive that were congregating in the area near the clearing, both heading in the direction that Ignis and Noctis had previously been - the two groups aren't fighting, so they must not have seen each other yet in the dark forest - and then Ramuh lifts up his staff with his other hand and throws it like a spear down at the runestone.

It strikes like a bolt of lightning.

The flash is so bright, Ignis has to slap his hands over his eyes, right over his glasses, and by the time it finally fades and he can see again, they're not above the battlefield. They're somewhere totally different. No, that's not quite right, they're still hovering in the sky above a lot of marshy wetlands and dark forests, they're still under the same giant storm as before, so they couldn't have gone too far, but at the same time Ignis doesn't see any of their forces anywhere - no Kingsglaive, no Crownsguard, not even any MTs.

Ramuh puts them down in front of a cave.

"Thank you!" Noctis shouts up at the Astral as he straightens up again, but Ramuh doesn't respond – he just dissolves back into those thousands and thousands of birds that all start flying off in different directions.

"What do we do now?" Ignis asks. "Into the cave?"

"Yeah," Noctis says. "I think – I think there might be something in there that I'm supposed to see."

[thecat-inthehat]

(Nivelth Ajuyn) After a few minutes work -- something that would normally take her seconds -- a blonde miqo'te manages to summon an emerald carbuncle. She can't risk a linkshell, nevermind the fact that her linkpearl is missing, so this is the next best thing. Next to her lies a coeurl, and a kit who are snoozing softly next to her meager possessions. The carbuncle scampers off to the northeast, looking for anyone or anything that even vaguely resembles a Riskbreaker. (Etone Greennote) Etone sits crosslegged on his bizzare looking unicorn as he tries to scan the area for aetheric patterns - anything to identify his missing companions. His ear flicks as he notices a carbuncle roaming loose. "-- Oi oi wots this then... Heya lil fella!" (Nivelth Ajuyn) || The Carbuncle practically leaps for joy, hopping on his shoulders and nuzzling his face and neck. Clearly, it knows him. (Etone Greennote) Etone dismounts and makes his way to the carbuncle, "Whoa hey there fella!" He stumbles backward as the carbuncle climbs him. Softly running his hand over the glowing critter's head and ears, Etone hums and licks his lips. "Yea 'taste' familiar... Where's yer coven holder? Take me there aye?" (Nivelth Ajuyn) || The carbuncle makes a soft noise and jumps off of him, dashing away for a bit and looking to see if he's coming. It leads him on for almost a malm, to a tiny camp near a small pond. (Etone Greennote) Etone follows behind on foot, he's a little... slow... but he's running behind none the less. "Hooo... Wots this then...?" He grabs his knees a moment to catch his breath and takes a moment to survey the area.

Etone Greennote scans the area around Emerald Carbuncle. Etone Greennote looks at you in shock! (Nivelth Ajuyn) || The carbuncle takes Etone to the camp, to where Nivelth Ajuyn is sitting half submerged in the water and cursing at a wound on her side. "Carbu, you ...!" (Etone Greennote) Etone narrows his eyes as he spies the blond miqo'te in the lake. "Oi oiiii --" He calls out, "Lo there! Yea arroight?" He's not exactly sure why she seems familiar, but he plunges into the water -fully garbed- to offer assistance. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive stares at the other person, before breaking out into a smile. "Etone, I didn't think I would find anyone!" (Crimson Bull) Bull approaches, still being prodded by the green...thing, "Alright, alright!" Nivelth Ajuyn smiles at Crimson Bull. (Etone Greennote) || Greenbean screeches and flexes while pointing and pulling Bull along. (Etone Greennote) "--!?" It takes Etone a good hot minute to put two and two together. "Nive!? That you luv?!" (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive waves gingerly at the both of them, still pressing a hand to her side and wincing slightly at the wound. "It's me... Sorry for all the trouble." (Crimson Bull) "Well you're not worse for wear, considering the beatin' we got." he chuckled, smiling at Nive. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive sighs and looks down, rubbing her neck and wincing. "I lost my hat..." she says sullenly. (Etone Greennote) Etone wades out close to Nive, a soothing tone in his voice as he speaks - green sparks of light float around him. "Lets see 'bout mendin that up aye? -- An uh, yea lost yer 'air colour luv!" (Crimson Bull) "Small price to pay to for you bein' alive, I thought we lost you there..." (Etone Greennote) Etone nods sharply, his eyes slightly blood shot as he offers a rather cool poker face. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive lifts up her hand to show the sword slash on her left side, looking between the two. "I washed up somewhere in between here and the Reach, not sure where... Mila carried me most of the way, after she found me." She pats her coeurl gently. "And my hair grew out, that's all..." (Crimson Bull) Bull's eyes soften, looking to Nive, "Coulda been a lot worse...a lot worse for all of us I suppose. I got careless, and I'm sorry for that." Crimson Bull wallows in self-pity. (Etone Greennote) Etone offers vacant expression for a good few moments, "Oh, yea dye it!? Well I never knew! 's whoy I took a double take! Bull yea arroight to 'elp 'er up outta 'ere? I wanna get a look at this..." He offers a perked eyebrow and a screwed up grin in Bull's direction, "Oi oi... Yea did well enough mate, it were a mess out there." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "I don't blame you," she says, waving a small hand in Bull's direction. "I'm just glad to find you both again -- I thought I was kind of, well, alone..." (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive just stares at Etone, momentarily forgetting the pain on her side. "You... thought I just had blue hair?" (Crimson Bull) Bull picks Nive up carefully, cradling her in his arms, "Just tell me where we're goin'." he nods a confirmative nod to Etone. (Etone Greennote) Etone nods stupidly, this was obviously the correct response. He hums and looks around, "Somewhere flat where I can drop down a blanket for 'er to sit on while I dress 'er up." (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive points to the small camp behind them. "There's a few miners there, they won't mind if we sit by their fire."

(Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive tries not to feel ridiculously tiny in Bull's arms, and is failing. (Crimson Bull) Bull nods, "Most the lot 'round here are friendly enough." (Crimson Bull) "I'll explain the situation, go ahead and get to work." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "I don't even know how long it's been--maybe a day or two," she says, sitting up a best she can for Etone, and taking off the outer robe. (Crimson Bull) "Everythin's fine, we can take the time we need." he smiled big, proud of his diplomacy skills. (Etone Greennote) After helping Nive remove her robe, Etone's voice picks up loudly in song as he gently palpitates the wound, his fingers seemingly disappearing into her flesh. It's a -hot- sensation. Etone offers in a sheepish tune, grap one 'f those towels from me bag 'ere and put it on yer lap... 's gonna git messy." He cocks his head to the side and beams stupidly at Bull, "Roight on mate!" (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive gasps slightly in pain, and pets her coeurl to keep the animal from attacking Etone. "O-Okay. Did anyone else get hurt or lost? It can't just be you two from our group, can it?" (Crimson Bull) "We took care of Enea after we got out, she was in real bad shape...Boss is alright, albeit a bit shaken up." he sighed, not mentioning his own wounds. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "That's good, I think..." she says, frowning slightly as she considers the total. "Do we know how the Garleans got in?" She's mostly talking to avoid thinking about Etone digging around in her guts. (Etone Greennote) Etone knits his fingers inside the other's flesh, burning the dead and infected tissue from her wound. The dead tissue oozes out from her wound, it dribbles down and saturates the towel, "Hmmhmmm~!" He hums away as his fingers weave her flesh back together. (Crimson Bull) Bull will never get over how disgusting that is. Keep them fingers outta me, he thought. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive is thoroughly creeped out, but she tries to ignore it, and fails miserably. "That's... really gross," she swallows. "But thank you, Etone." (Etone Greennote) "Hmhmhm..." The redhead casually seals Nive's wound and beams stupidly. "It's disgusting bot -- 'ows it feel now?!" Somehow it's not as in painful as it was before. (Nivelth Ajuyn) She stretches, wincing still and groaning slightly. "Sore, but not so bad?" She smiles at him, touching where he had been working. (Crimson Bull) Bull's face twists into a frown, "This shouldn't have had to happen...I don't understand Boss sometimes..." (Etone Greennote) Etone tosses the towel back into his bag somewhere and pulls a new a new one out and offers it up to Nive. He just smiles stupidly in reply before huffing up  beside her to listen to Bull. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "What do you mean?" (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive goes to pull out a robe from her bags on Mila's back, still using the towel to clean herself.

(Crimson Bull) "She sent that lot to Kugane, left us here...I told her the second they smelled weakness they'd dive right in!" he fumed, "It's not like I didn't warn her or anythin'...they got eyes and ears everywhere." he scratched his chin. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive considers his words, thinking back to right before the attack. "The informant said that it was false -- rather, he implied it, by way of apologizing. So the others in Kugane are walking into a trap..." (Crimson Bull) "I think what bugged me the most is she trusted that guy..." (Etone Greennote) Etone offers a quiet huff, his tail flicks as he listens quietly. (Crimson Bull) "You're gonna trust a soldier of Garlemald, off all people? Come on now!" he kicked the dirt. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "The whole affair did stink of chocobo shite," she murmurs, slowly moving to put on a robe. "But at the same time, we cross checked it as much as we could. We had heard of Venagun before, and Lady Ashelia listened in on Linkpearls...?" (Crimson Bull) Bull sighed, "I can't fault her, y'know that...but still...this is home for her, and for me. Could we really afford to help people that far away?" (Etone Greennote) Etone flicks his tail again, "Hah, it's..." He cuts off not exactly sure how he wants to continue. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "Etone?" (Crimson Bull) "My job as head of the Vanguard is to ensure the safety of all Riskbreakers, and if you divide us this deep, away from home...I can't do it." he bowed his head, clenching his teeth. (Etone Greennote) "mnf, 's me 'ome 's well. Sort 'f. Bot loike, mmnf. Haaah." He rolls his shoulders, "I dunno, it's a bit much I agree, bot loike... Them folks need help 's well." (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive wonders briefly what the hells Etone is trying to say, but she can get the gist of it. "True... And to be fair, Bull, we did send your master /and/ A'zaela... They should be able to keep everyone safe if nothing else. But ... I am a bit disappointed that we're such a small force here. I would recall my sister, but she's off doing something now.." (Crimson Bull) "As is mine, she'd be willing to give all to help me." he rolled his neck, stretching out, "It's gonna be a long road from here, I'm feelin'..." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "I know that Ala Mhigo isn't my home, but damn if I don't feel responsible for the fiasco with Omega and Shinryu. And I grew up on stories about Ala Mhigo, at least a little bit..." She gently pets the black kitten that wandered over to them. He's getting large. "I'm willing to travel that road though." (Crimson Bull) Bull unsheathes the axe from his back, examining it, looking for damage, "Makes me wonder where she got this axe, it's fine craftsmanship, still sharp after such use against flesh and bone..." he smiled, reminded of his mother. (Etone Greennote) "Haah, I 'ear yea... 's gonna be 'ard... 's especially 'ard. Hah--!" After a long while of sputtering the redhead shuts up and smiles as Bull speaks. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "I had wondered about the axe," she smiles. "I thought you primarily used your fists, like Sylvan." (Crimson Bull) "I still do but...my mother, she was a hellion and a half with this axe, even more than me if the stories I've heard lead me to believe an' all...I wanna see if I can be the same." he smirked, all the confidence in the world. (Ashelia Riot) Ashe approaches with several slabs of hornbill meat. It's tough and gristly, but it will provide nourishment as well as anything else. (Ashelia Riot) "Nivelth!" Nivelth Ajuyn smiles at Ashelia Riot. Ashelia Riot's eyes grow wide with awe upon seeing Nivelth Ajuyn. (Nivelth Ajuyn) She nods at Bull's story, not having known that his mother was someone of that caliber. It makes sense though. "Hello Lady Riot," she says, waving weakly. (Ashelia Riot) She decides not to ask about the hair. After giving her a once-over to ensure for herself that she was no longer in mortal danger, she breathes a sigh. "I'll see about getting some food made." (Crimson Bull) Bull offers a hand, "Give me the meat, I'll take care of it." he smiled, his knowledge of open-fire cooking flaring. Ashelia Riot hands over something to Crimson Bull. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive's stomach /roars/ at the mention of food. She flushes, rubbing her neck. "Food ... would be nice." (Ashelia Riot) "My thanks. No trouble on the way here?" (Crimson Bull) "None here, Boss." he smiled, holding back a wince. (Crimson Bull) Bull set to work, preparing the meat to an open flame. (Ashelia Riot) Ashe glances over at the miners, her face somber; she does not voice her concerns that maybe these men can't be trusted. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive runs a hand over her hair and sighs, eyeing the blue tips forlornly. It's not the time to be vain, but she doesn't even have a /hat/. "I'm glad you're all alright though -- the attack was brutal from what I saw." (Ashelia Riot) "...Too many good people were cut down." (Ashelia Riot) She's thinking of Meffrid, whom she's known since the Calamity. (Crimson Bull) Bull returns, hands full of kebabs, "Eat up, hope you like it!" (Etone Greennote) Etone offers a quiet sigh, "Yea arroight Boss'm? We got Nive 'ere stiched up noice an' neat..." Is about all he has to offer to the current conversation before Bull offers kebabs. "Ooh thanking you!" Nivelth Ajuyn beams with delight at Crimson Bull. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "Thank you, Bull," she says, taking two, before thinking and taking a third. She probably hasn't eaten since before the attack. "Do we know anything of the fates of those in Kugane?" (Ashelia Riot) "Nothing." It's all she has to say on the matter; she has yet to properly compose her thoughts. (Etone Greennote) Etone purses his lips and regards Ashelia carefully. (Crimson Bull) Bull frowns at Ashelia Riot, "Nothing, my arse. Tell us."

(Ashelia Riot) Ashe hesitates. (Ashelia Riot) "...Nive. I have something to ask, and I need you to answer truthfully." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "I can do that, to the best of my ability." (Ashelia Riot) "Did you see anything out of the ordinary in the underground cells? Did you hear anything out of place, aside from the magitek?" (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive considers her for a moment, looking down at her lap and thinking back to the night. "No. Not that I can recall. I remember sensing something strange, but it wasn't tangible enough for me to really look into. I take it this has to do with whatever you saw?" (Ashelia Riot) She blinks, then curses herself for giving enough of a reaction to whatever it was she saw that Nive was able to pick up on something out of the ordinary. (Ashelia Riot) "I saw a figure that looked exactly like Hirokage. Only it spoke things that he wasn't saying." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "No, I didn't see anything like that." She shakes her head, not overly concerned. "You have the echo, do you not?" (Crimson Bull) Bull frowns, still a bit upset at Ashelia Riot. (Ashelia Riot) "It told me... things about his past. And that he was part of a plot to lure the Riskbreakers to Kugane with falsified information on a weapon that never existed." (Crimson Bull) "Well that seems all too convenient..." (Etone Greennote) Etone purses his lips and shifts in his seat as he listens. "Truly..." (Ashelia Riot) Ashe looks back and forth between Bull and Etone. "I don't know what it was I saw, and I won't make any conclusive statements until I know for certain." (Ashelia Riot) "But I suspect that the Crimson Blades are in trouble." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "When all this is over, I can help you research whatever phenomena occurred, but for now ..." She sighs and shakes her head. (Crimson Bull) "So you're basically sayin' is that you've put them all in danger, Master Sylv, and the lot..." Crimson Bull gazes upon Ashelia Riot in deep reflection. (Etone Greennote) "Mmnf... Wot are we able to do 'bout it from 'ere?" He hums and shoots Bull a dirty look, "Come on man." (Ashelia Riot) Ashe does not visibly take offense. She responds in a very quiet voice, "And my husband." (Nivelth Ajuyn) "Bull, it was a trap that we didn't know of. They had laid it well..." she frowns, petting her kitten once more. (Crimson Bull) Bull's eyes soften, "You sent Edge there...you really believed this was that important, didn't you..." Ashelia Riot nods to Crimson Bull. (Etone Greennote) Etone offers a loud nasally huff, "Obviously." (Ashelia Riot) "It was /never/ a decision to be made lightly." She gives a warning look at Etone for his sarcasm. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "Do you need a tissue?" Nive asks quietly. (Crimson Bull) "For you to send them out without hesitation, you really believed this would be a 'take care of it and be home' kinda thing, didn' you?" (Etone Greennote) Etone bristles at Ashelia's looks and shuts his yap. "Nnmf." (Ashelia Riot) Ashe opens her mouth to ask Bull if he truly thinks so little of her, but thinks better of it. Such manipulative statements will do them no good now. (Crimson Bull) Bull slams the dirt, "We were fightin' so long, so long to free the land here! And you... you sent 'em away, away to let us be slaughtered!" he growled. (Ashelia Riot) "I took /every/ consideration into account!" She's raising her voice for the first time since the attack; she isn't yelling, but her tone is firm. "And I will live with that choice until I die!" (Etone Greennote) Etone is rather quiet as his tale flicks back and forth. He mutters quietly to himself. (Crimson Bull) "Well, you'd made a mistake! You trusted the enemy, and we're suffering because of it! Come on, Boss!" (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive watches them for a moment, considering both of them. "It was a mistake, that's all," Nive says quietly. "We had a job to make things better, but we were tricked." (Etone Greennote) " 'ey now, its not anyone's fault... Shaite happens..." He balls his fists and grits his teeth to keep his cool. (Ashelia Riot) It's the insinuation that she trusted the Empire in any respect that angers her more than anything else. For a moment, only a moment, she draws on the aether in an effort to quell the rising emotions, then stops. She /wants/ to be angry, she realizes - and balls her hands into fists. (Crimson Bull) Bull looks deep, /deep/ into Ashe's eyes, "You did this for the greater good, right?" he puts his finger on his cheek, waiting, "If not, go on and hit me, hit me as hard as you can." (Ashelia Riot) Ashe knees him in the groin. Hard.

Nivelth Ajuyn looks at Ashelia Riot in shock! (Etone Greennote) "Oh /shaite.../" (Crimson Bull) Bull cringes, leaning in, "Come on now..." he chuckled, holding his lower parts. (Ashelia Riot) She throws aside her gun and readies herself for hand-to-hand combat - not that she would be remotely ready to handle such a skilled monk in a proper fight. (Crimson Bull) "You gonna fight me, here, now...of all things." he grinned, turning into a twisted smile. (Ashelia Riot) "Is that truly what you think this was about?" (Ashelia Riot) "That I /ever/ stopped thinking of what was best for us, for Ala Mhigo, for /everyone/?!" (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive stares at the two of them, ears laying flat against her skull and chirping angrily under her breath. (Crimson Bull) Bull winced, "You sometimes get that high an' mighty attitude, I jus' wanted to make sure..." he dropped to a knee, sighing, "I ain't gonna do it myself..." (Etone Greennote) Etone snorts laughing, "Well well well... Nive, wanna make a bet who'll win this one?" He laughs, "Oh guess it's over." (Ashelia Riot) Ashe inhales deeply and lets the breath out in an unsteady sort of chuckle. She places her hands on his shoulders, then on either side of his head. (Ashelia Riot) "I am sorry. That was... unbecoming." (Ashelia Riot) "I hope that isn't too high and mighty of me to say." Ashelia Riot grins tauntingly at Crimson Bull. (Crimson Bull) Bull looks up at Ashelia Riot, "You fought like a true Ala Mhigan, ready to do what needs to be done to save us all." he rises to his feet, "We're gonna save 'em all, as best we can. Right?" (Nivelth Ajuyn) "Mhigans," she mutters under her breath. (Ashelia Riot) She nods. "Right." (Ashelia Riot) "All of us. It's only us five now." (Etone Greennote) "Yea need some ice there mate?" (Crimson Bull) Bull shoots a look at Nive, "Sometimes you need to show firm conviction." (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive crosses her arms, huffing slightly and shaking her head. She's smiling slightly though. "Still. I ... mm..." (Crimson Bull) Bull nods, affrimed, "The lot at Ala Ghanna should let us have somewhere to go. Some know of my mother, and now know of me. It'd be a good spot to regroup an' figure this out." (Ashelia Riot) "You had best lead the way, then." (Ashelia Riot) "I daresay they would respond better to your coming than to mine." (Crimson Bull) Bull nods to Ashe, "Leave it to me!" Crimson Bull smiles at Ashelia Riot. Ashelia Riot nods to Crimson Bull. (Crimson Bull) "Most of them remember my mother, and if I can help them half as well as they did, they'll have no problem!" he offered a thumbs up." (Etone Greennote) "Hmhmhmhm~! I'm interested in where this'll go."  He mirrors Bull's thumbs up with both hands. (Ashelia Riot) Ashe picks up her gun from the ground, feeling only a little bit foolish. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "Ala Ghanna would be a good place to recuperate and gather ourself together," she muses. "And I for one, would like to /sleep/ at least, and not on a rock. Maybe some sand." (Ashelia Riot) "We could all do with some rest." (Crimson Bull) "I'll make sure you're somewhere soft." he nodded affirmative to Nive." (Etone Greennote) Etone scratches his ear and grins, "I can sleep on a couch pillow..." (Ashelia Riot) Ashe nods. Briefly she wishes she could go to Ala Gannha on griffinback, but she hasn't seen Anastasis /or/ Anastasia since before the attack. (Crimson Bull) "Follow me, we'll be there in no time!" (Ashelia Riot) "Will you be able to walk?" she asks of Nive. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive whistles for Mila, mounting the coeurl and rubbing her gently. "Come on... Let's get going." (Ashelia Riot) "Should we really be following the main road?" she whispers at one point. (Crimson Bull) "I uh...don't know any other way." he sighed. (Nivelth Ajuyn) "What else would we follow?" She asks, gingerly clinging to her coeurl. (Ashelia Riot) She nods. It's a good thing they're doing this at night, then, for extra concealment. (Ashelia Riot) Ashe looks at the field of purple flowers all around them and recognizes them as the ones Edge and A'zaela gathered for her. There, in the darkness of night, she lets her eyes fill with tears. Etone Greennote consoles Ashelia Riot. (Etone Greennote) Etone palms Ashelia's shoulder and offers a silent reassuring smile. (Ashelia Riot) Ashe nods in thanks to Etone Greennote but says nothing. (Nivelth Ajuyn) Nive slowly gets more and more tired the more she goes on, until she's eventually sleeping against her coeurl's side and snoozing soundly.

@onwesterlywinds @crimson-bull

[sadspottedpanda]

Swipe Right For Awkwardness (FFXV FANFIC) - Ch 5

Prompto's heart was racing. He couldn't believe his luck. His sex buddy was here, in Galdin! They were supposed to meet at midnight, which was only 3 hours away. He makes a point to wear his tightest underwear and grins to himself, imagining how much the guy would have to rub and grope him just to get his dick out. Too bad it was going to be another dark tryst like last time. He didn't mind having sex in the dark and had no doubts that the guy who gave him a great time last time was hot, but he wished he knew the face behind the immense pleasure he was expecting to feel soon. Meanwhile, Noctis was in the room he rented out earlier to jack off in peace. Was was he thinking? It was already clear that it was Prompto he was going to have sex with. Shouldn't he feel shame at tricking his best friend? Noct sighs and picks up his phone, deciding that it just wasn't right taking advantage of Prompto this way. "Hey. Sorry. Tonight's not a good night. I'm sick." Moments later, a reply comes in. Noctis imagines Prompto just staring at his phone, eagerly awaiting a message from him. "Oh. Ok. Get well soon. Maybe next time..." The message was short, but Noctis could feel Prompto's disappointment. Another message appears with a beep. "Let me know when u get bk to Insomnia. Maybe I can help you sweat it out. ;)" "Sure. Tnx." Back in the room he shared with Noctis, Prompto sighs and leans back on the chair. There goes his night. He had nothing planned that evening and Luna and Cindy already left for Insomnia, telling him they had to get some work done before classes start again in two days. Noctis was still hasn't returned since that morning, and Prompto was a bit curious as to why his best friend was acting so weirdly. He has never seen Noctis so flustered. He shoots a quick text to Him, hoping he was alright. "Hey Noct. Everything ok? Haven't seen u since this morning. I'm in our room if ur looking for me. We can always talk if something's bothering u, u know? <3" Noctis reads the text over and over again. Now he's made his best friend worry. "Way to go, jerk..." Noctis tells himself. He really should get back anyway. He's been jerking off repeatedly all day while thinking of Prompto and he was spent. Maybe he could try taking Luna's advice tonight as a way of saying sorry to Prompto. He heads down to the lobby gift shop and buys some stuff, speaks with the front desk, and heads back up to Prompto. "Prom?" Noct says as he opens the door to their room, a cute bag in his hand. Prompto jumps up from the chair when he hears Noctis come in. "Hey! Where have you been? Gods, I was thinking of calling the police! "Sorry...Were you worried about me?" Noctis asks sheepishly. "What kind of a question is that? Of course I was! Especially after the way you were acting this morning. What's wrong? It's not like you to just disappear like that." Prompto sighs in relief that his best friend was not at a hospital or lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Noctis shrugs and hangs his head. "Uhm...well. I don't want to talk about it right now. Oh, here..." He hands out the bag he was hiding behind his back to Prompto. "Hope you don't hate me for bailing out on you for the day..." Prompto eyes the bag and takes it. He pulls out the contents and gasps in happiness, a hapy smile forming on his face. There were two round, fluffy chocobo plushies. One was black and the other a vibrant yellow. The black one had an absolutely bored expression on it while the yellow one had arches for eyes with it's beak open in a happy "kwek." Prompto couldn't get enough of them and had both of them in his arms. "Aw, Noct! You didn't have to! These are so cute!" Prompto chirped. Noctis smiled, happy for the change in topic. They talk about the chocobos a bit with Prompto nocticing how much the plushies looked like them. "They totally look like us! Especially the black one. It looks like you!" "No it doesn't," Noctis says with a face matching the chocobo's. "See?! It's totally you!" Prompto holds up the black chocobo beside Nocti's face. "I'm so gonna call you my chocobro from now on!" Noctis rolls his eyes, internally cringing at the term, but happy. "So this is what Luna meant," he thinks to himself. "By the way, hope you haven't eaten yet, Prom. I got something else for you in a bit." "You do?" Just then, there's a knock on the door. Noctis goes to open it, and has a few words with the man on the other side. There's a look of satisfaction on his face and he nods. He goes to Prompto, takes his hand, and pulls him out the room. "Noct, careful! Our babiiiiiiiies!" Prompto yells, the chocobo plushies still in his arms, as he's whisked away down the hall, a flight of stairs, and out onto a balcony. It's a clear night with stars twinkling above. There's a table set up for two with candles illuminating the glistening silver cutlery. Noctis guides a stunned Prompto to his chair and seats him before taking his own seat. "Pretty neat, huh?" Noctis says, a grin on his face. "Y...yeah." Prompto's blushing a little. Noctis notices how handsome his best friend looks in the candlelight and feels like he's been shot in the heart by Cupid. "I thought we should go out on a proper date while we're here." Noctis jokes, trying to lighten the mood. "All the cup noodles and junk food we eat on our regular dates in Insomnia's probably gonna make us sick eventually, so I thought this might be nice for a change." Prompto looks at Noctis with a smile. He's thinking how nice this would be if they were on an actual, serious date as a couple rather than as a joke. After all, they might as well be together since they act like boyfriends. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but he takes it as how Noctis probably intended it - a nice dinner under a night sky while overlooking the ocean...as best friends - and Prompto pushes his fantasy to the side. "Yeah, it is nice. Don't get to eat food this fancy a lot." "Maybe I should take you to my dad's once we get back to Insomnia. He's been bugging me to bring you over for dinner or something." Noctis says casually, though in reality, he has a hunch his dad wants to meet Prompto to see if he's a bad influence on him. Isn't that the same thing other fathers do when their daughters have met a guy? "Well, if he's fine with me being there, I'm down for it. Don't know how to act in front of the president of LucisCorp though." Prompto laughs nervously. "I don't want to mess up and embarrass you." "You already embarrass me enough in public, so it's cool. Besides, my dad is alright. Don't get to see him much and we haven't talked in a while, but he's ok." The food finally arrives and the boys take their time enjoying their meals and each other's company. As usual, Noctis picks out whatever vegetables there were on his plate while Prompto reaches over to take them. "How do you stay like that without even touching a single vegetable, like, ever?" Prompto asks while muching on the carrots from Noctis's plate. "Stay what? Gorgeous?" The deadpan delivery makes Prompto choke and Noctis laughs at him. "Easy Prom, it's just good genes." "Bullshit...*cough*...you don't eat veggies, you don't work out...you don't even shower often and you smell like roses!" "Hey! I took a shower!" Noctis picks up the yellow chocobo plushie and throws it playfully at Prompto. "I'm amazed you smell good even after your runs, with you dripping in sweat and everything when you get home." Prompto catches the chocobo and frowns. "Don't throw the babies around like that!" He sets the plushie down affectionately, beside the one he's already names Noct. "Y'know, I'm so lucky to have a best friend like you." "Took you a long time though. I could've been your friend earlier if you didn't avoid me all the time in elementary." "Yeah, me too. Well, at least I look much better now. Can't imagine myself looking like that while being your friend. I would've ruined your image." Prompto thinks back to the time when he was a big kid. He wasn't bullied, but he wasn't noticed either. Only Noctis noticed him, especially after they first met behind the school while he was taking pictures of the cats that roamed around the gardens. "Shut up. I wouldn't have cared about your size anyway." "Wish I knew that years ago. Besides, we were both loners, weren't we? Kept to ourselves for the longest time. At least I got another chance to meet you in high school." Noctis smiles at the fond memory. He was alone, just trying to avoid people when Prompto came along. They hit it up and have been great friends ever since. "I guess the gods wanted us to be friends, huh?" "Yeah...Oh, Noct! Look!" Prompto points at the sky excitedly and Noctis turns. A bright light was slowly streaking through the sky - a shooting star. "Quick, Noct! Make a wish!" "You make a wish! You saw it first!" Noct retorts. "Look, let's just wish together and hope they both come true." "Fine." The boys make their wishes and watch the light disappear. "Hope that star carried both of 'em." "Yeah...so, what did you wish for?" Noctis crosses his arms. "Not telling, but I have a feeling you'll tell me yours anyway." "Well, you're right about that..." Prompto shurgs. "I wished for love. There's someone I really like, but they don't know it. I don't know if they'll feel the same way, so I hope that when I actually get the guts to say it, it'll be a success...hahaha. So yeah, that's my dumb wish." "You like someone?" Noctis feels like his heart just shattered. "How come you've never told me?" "It's..It's complicated." Prompto laughs nervously. "Besides, you'd be the first to know when I do decide to make a move." Noct stays silent while looking at Prompto. Prompto likes someone? Another guy maybe? Someone he's met somewhere? Who? When? "Oh, dessert! Look, Noct! It's amazing!" Noctis frees himself from his stunned thoughts and just smiles. They finish their desserts and chat a bit more. Noctis tries to discreetly get more information from Prompto about the mystery love interest, but gets nothing. Afterwards, Noctis excuses himself and tells Prompto he just has to settle the bill. "Alright. Hey, thaks for the great dinner, chocobro." Prompto playfully nudges Noctis' shoulder and heads back to their room, his "chocobabies" in his arm. He enters their room and sits on the bed, full and happy. He puts the plushies in front of him and talks to them. "Y'know, Noct probably doesn't know, but I just had the most romantic date ever. You think he took the hint? I didn't want to say it straight to his face, though." The fluffy plushies look back at him silently. "Don't just stare! It took a lot of courage to say that!" Prompto sighs, takes the chocobos in his arm, and lies down. "I really do wish I get the courage to tell Noct I want to be with him..." he whispers before slowly falling asleep. Noctis pays the bill for the dinner and goes to his other room. He rented it out earlier to have anonymous, hot sex with Prompto as the mysterious dude who liked sex in the dark, but tonight, sex wasn't even on Noctis' mind. He feels like Prompto just stabbed him with that revelation over dinner. His best friend was in love with someone and he didn't even realize anything. Was he just that oblivious? Noctis goes to the bathroom to splash water on his face when he realizes he has tears in his eyes when he sees himself in the mirror. "Prom..." he says, before letting the tears flow freely. He was too late and he hated himself for being so aloof to know anything. The dinner they just had...he made it happen for Prompto in the hopes it would make it easier for him to say "I want to be with you." All that's pretty much useless now. Noctis leans against the wall and slides down to the floor, crying quietly, his arms around his legs and his forehead on his knees. He had never felt so emotionally broken in a long time and it hurt. It really hurt. Noctis returns to the room he shared with Prompto, eyes still red. He silently enters and shuts the door quietly, hoping Prompto was asleep. When he hears his best friend's gentle snoring, he sighs in relief. He changes into something more comfortable and starts to get into his bed, when he looks at Prompto sleeping peacefully with the plushies he bought him squished between his forearm and bicep. Noctis swallows nervously and decides to sleep with Prompto instead. He slips into bed beside his best friend carefully so he wouldn't wake him and wraps an arm around Prompto. "I love you, Prom...but if you're happy with someone else, I'll just be a good friend and suck it up." Noctis whispers. He kisses Prompto on the neck and closes his eyes, his broken heart still sobbing in his chest.

[daily-darlinggrim]