#fr thought my sadness was just caused by being in my hometown

[whales-are-gay]

i cant believe i tricked myself into thinkind i Dont have mental illness

[scige]

「madelyn cline & cis female」⇾ beaumont, saige, the senior radcliffe student’s records show that she is a cancer and 22 years old. she is studying linguistics + criminal psychology, living in noland and can be blithe, energetic, evasive & irrational. when i see her i am reminded of the familiar riff of an old song, skinned knees with laughter following, and wishes on eyelashes stuck to your cheekbones. ⇽「james & 21 & est & they/them.」

N HERE IS MY LAST CHILD FR NOW ... both happy n sad ... god ... bites fist. alright. let’s go!

TW CHILD ABUSE, DRUG USE, ALCOHOLISM, ADDICTION, DEATH, HIT & RUN CAR ACCIDENTS, GRIEF, GUILT

aesthetics.

stick n’ pokes at 2am – when your drunk and giggling too much in between purposeful stabs, avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk because they’re bad luck and they’ll break your mother’s back – even if your mother doesn’t love you, because you love her, the familiar riff in an old song – one that’s got you strumming along silently; there is no guitar, only empty air lit by the christmas lights you haven’t taken down. it’s may. swallowing down shots, and by default, swallowing down problems. laughing quick, easily, constantly. skinned knees from skateboarding, despite being rubbish at it. wishes on eyelashes stuck to your cheekbones, glitter sticking, running into the ocean at sunrise; feeling at home. excuses, and the many forms they come in. telling people you love them through hand squeezes and fresh muffins, sideways glances and soft, eager grins.

basic info.

full name: saige alouette beaumont

nickname(s): n/a :/ give her some

b.o.d. - july 7th, cancer

label(s): the hedonist, the icarcian, the reveler, etc.

height: 5′7″

hometown: thibodaux, louisiana

sexuality: bisexual w/ a very slight preference towards masc-presenting folks

pinterest

stats

inspired by: serena van der woodsen (gossip girl), aimee gibbs (sex education), alexis rose (schitt’s creek), elle woods (legally blonde), rapunzel (tangled), clementine (eternal sunshine of a spotless mind), angela montenegro (bones), tinkerbell (peter pan), late 2000 / early 2010s kesha… i don’t know because she’s not actually inspired by anybody i made her when i was like 13 HDSJBKFNGHJLDS

biography.

the fallible daughter of two very infallible people: robert beaumont, US lieutenant general (soon to be US general), and manon lévesque, world renowned fashion designer on levels par with gucci and versace. both cold, calculating, and purposeful.

no matter how much she wants to believe otherwise, saige is sure that she was not created out of love. it was an action with a purpose, intentions to create the perfect child. the hybrid of both military genius and fashion extraordinaire. a proper socialite. a 1% citizen. molded to their will.

born in thibodaux, louisiana (surrounded by her father’s family - a long line of old money southern magnates & moguls with a history of beauty pageant winners in each woman) - it took them no more than six months after her birth for her parents to up and move, thus beginning a cycle of packing and unpacking, flying and driving, state-to-state and country-to-country. the longest saige had ever stayed in one place was two years, until radcliffe. even then - conditioned to never become truly attached to a place, she has the urge to up and run away at any given moment, onto the next adventure.

she was kept on a short leash, home-schooled, and learning skills she had no interest in (from cooking to sewing to ballroom dancing - to fencing and firearm safety and self defense) - more like a pet, a project, than a child. the world moved all around her, but she was bound to what her parents allowed her to see. a bird in a cage of thorns.

it was hard to keep and maintain friends - there one day, gone the next. a ghost you could see, clear as day, but never touch - never fully, at least. even if she tried with all her might.

would run from bodyguards (their version of nannies - robert beaumont is a paranoid man with too many enemies to count) into festival crowds and climb out of windows in the middle of the night to swim in lakes with the locals she’d met only hours earlier - as soon as she realized that there was something wrong with the way she lived.

even if it resulted in punishment, military exercises in the form of her own personal boot camp (she’d been forced to do chin-ups, once, when she ripped an expensive gown at the tender age of seven. not since, however, after she wound up sobbing on the floor - instead they moved on. delicate teacups stacked across her back as she did push-ups, the more she did the more that slipped & broke)

she absorbed as she could, as much as she could get; an intense, undying love for a world she always craved to see.

this was the start of something dangerous - a phase that never seemed to end, rebellion coursing through her veins. a wild child in the making, unknowing of limits. she landed herself in any crowd she could squeeze into - bad crowds, in particular and more often than not - they introduced her, the sheltered girl, into a world she hadn’t quite known existed until then.

ran away briefly at the age of fifteen with a man three years older than her & nearly ended up in a tabloid magazine because of it - if it hadn’t been for her parents’ money. though guilt from her parents’ disappointment weighed on her, the thrill fueled something much worse.

from there on, she’d been labeled as a ‘problem child’ - from public intoxication to vandalism, it was clear their daughter was unraveling and nothing could possibly contain her.

boarding school had been an attempt to stop it, enrolled her freshmen year in hopes that she’d come out a proper woman. but being located in new york with easy access to the upper east side of manhattan - it’d been futile.

there’d only been a few significant events during her time there - the death of a classmate (one of her closest friends’ boyfriends) and a ski trip that nearly resulted in her own death, skiing while drunk on a closed off course, in memory of him and the traditions they’d had. the first time she fell in love, and months of pining - running in circles, fights and hiccups and confessions in the dramatic manner all high school relationships seem to be like. they’d finally gotten together - officially, no more sneaking around or pretending - when her parents paid a surprise visit. a rare occasion, nerve-wracking. dangerous. to keep a story short - she’d accidentally exposed her own drug use in their presence, the simple act of pills falling from a purse - and that’d been it. she was gone the next day, with no word to anybody and hardly a word since.

they told family she needed a change of pace, and rumors in her old school said that she’d been expelled, that she’d been sent to the french countryside to live with her grandmother.

she’d only gone to washington, that was all. france was too good, and she was too undeserving. instead she was enrolled in public school, only a quarter through her junior year. her parents rarely spoke to her - rarely in town, the only eyes kept on her were security cameras and the occasional check-in by family friends (the new word for bodyguards, apparently)

but as always - when left alone, saige scrambled to find somewhere she fit, somewhere to tuck herself away in the comfort of other people. a small group, but a loyal group - harmless minus a few miscellaneous charges that they said every small town kid had, at some point. they were safe, they were family - as close as she could get. at least, she had thought so. had really believed it.

she hadn’t intended to go to university after graduating high school, not yet eighteen - not for another month or two, at least. she wanted to travel, meet new people and learn new languages (she’d learned four, already, but had always been a glutton. craved to know more, as if she unlocked secrets with every phrase she could speak) and just. exist.

maybe she should’ve. should’ve left as quick as possible, and never turn back.

saige mysteriously disappeared from the public eye for an entire year, the entirety of her 18th year on earth, before promptly showing up at radcliffe university, ready to learn.

it’d been a year of legal cases & lawsuits & avoiding prison with expensive lawyers and a lot of money.

the getaway driver for an armed robbery at a bank, an unknowing accomplice until her supposed friend ran out from the building and jumped in her car, screaming for her to drive, drive, drive. it had only supposed to have been a quick stop before a road trip to the coast. nobody was supposed to get hurt. but scared, and high, saige had obeyed - and by doing so, led a police chase and, of course, a hit & run that eventually led to saige crashing the car midst breakdown.

the sole victim survived, thankfully - and the beaumonts have been paying the medical bills since. her friend - the one who started it all - was charged & sentenced. but saige got off relatively scot-free. just a year of community service, a slap on the wrist (and the growing wallets of all involved in handling her case). it would’ve made national news if her parents hadn’t stepped in - favors called, resulting in only local headlines.

they hadn’t spoken to her since then. three years of radio silence. she’d think they were dead if it hadn’t been the steady flow of money in her bank account. their silence only feels like a threat of what’s to come if she fucks up again.

ever since - she’s avoided causing too much trouble, still very much the party girl she’d like to be, but staying out of headlines and tabloids. partially in fear of her parents finally cutting ties, permanently, and partially in fear that she’ll end up costing someone else their life with her own selfishness.

UPDATE: she did not avoid trouble n got disowned after a high speed yacht chase it was. a lot. anyways she’s lying to everyone n pretending she’s still rich while rapidly losing money to lawsuit bills n hospital bills n just <3 a whole lot <3 has had to sell her favorite cars and her favorite bass guitar. sheds the smallest tear. spent the summer couch-hopping bt pretending she wasn’t couch-hopping and being :/ really messy. not a good fun look! sucks ... disappeared fr like a straight week n then popped up like hehe wat’s up :D. sighs sm.

personality.

she is so … bubbly. so fucking bubbly. she’s has so much energy in her. goes running every morning and every night and swims almost every afternoon and she’s never tired, even if she hasn’t slept the last night and even if she’s been dancing for five hours in a club in high heels and nothing but vodka in her system. the personification of a coke bottle shaken up, if the coke bottle in question could laugh and smile at you and make you feel, somehow, at home even though you’d only met her in the bathroom queue.

tries her hardest to be the happy fun friend, the cool friend, the one who can hook you up with whatever you need because she sleeps with her drug dealer and gets discounts, but like, it’s totally okay because they’re also friends.

generally comes off as very confident of herself, and fearless, and reckless but like - fun reckless. the kind of reckless you wouldn’t mind to be around because she takes your worries and acknowledges them and reassures you that it’s fine, that it’s grand, even when it may definitely not be.

takes a lot. so much. could ramble for days, hand gestures and all. never stops talking. never.

if she wants to do something, she’ll do it and there’s not very much you can do to stop her. stubborn, but at the same time easy going? very go go go. mischievous. even if she’s trying to do something stupid you kind of just like … have to let her do it, or otherwise she’ll mope for three hours and pout at you and then you’ll feel questionably guilty, which is admittedly a little manipulative on her end and isn’t the best thing, but i never said she’s the best person ever because she’s most certainly … not.

a vegetarian because meat makes her physically sick, like, she’s got a weird intolerance to it and it’s not quite an allergy because it’s really just red meats but she’ll get a tummy ache.

her vocabulary consists of a lot of ‘likes’ and ‘ums’ and ‘yknows’, y’know? her statements always sound like questions.

99% sure she has adhd but she’s never been diagnosed because her parents simply would not allow her to go to therapy so if she does have any neurological disorders, mental illness, and the likes of those - she doesn’t know and doesn’t know where to even begin to find out. her parents? fucking suck.

like i said, she’s currently not on speaking terms with them. more of their decision than hers. she still loves them, a lot - and there’s a part of her that believes that they still love her, that they have to, because she’s not disowned yet. even though they haven’t said more than ten words to her since she was eighteen - as long as they keep sending her money, they still care - right?

owns four cars … bad idea considering her past, but alas. spending her money is a coping mechanism and she likes to drive because it’s a form of freedom. anyways. all her cars are on campus and she’s probably not allowed to have them all on campus but she does. one’s a sleek sports car, the other is a jacked up pick-up truck that’s decked out in like … LED lights and shit, the third one is the same exact fucking mustang from the princess diaries because she’s obsessed with the movie & usually gets what she wants. the fourth is a mini cooper.

she’s a photographer (for funsies) and the walls of her room in noland are covered in photographs and art and taped-down plants. her room in general is really cluttered. like, it’s super homey. super cozy. but it’s a mess. clothes everywhere, she’s got a pile of instruments and other miscellaneous hobbies that she wanted to do and then either never did, or did for a few days and got bored of and haven’t touched since.

i mentioned earlier that she was taught a bunch of skills when growing up - and like, she doesn’t really utilize any of them? knitting, sewing, cookie, three different forms of ballroom dancing - all gone to waste and she’s pretty rusty on most of it, but it’s there. in her mind. it’s kind of neat and i promise she’s not a mary sue it’s just her upbringing HBSJKDFNLG she’s really nuanced i swear. anyways she can also work a gun and a car engine but hates half of the things she knows how to do because she was forced to learn these things.

she plays bass guitar. loves it, loves her guitar. treasured item. she knows violin & piano too but she fucking hates piano & is mostly indifferent towards violin. she can hold a note in other instruments but it’s like. not great.

got really into languages at a young age due to her constant traveling and started learning them unprompted. her mother is like. literally french. a french citizen. so she grew up learning english & french but from there on she’s gotten fluent in spanish (similar 2 french) and latin (dead languages are fun) and then she’s working on a few others like mandarin and german and scottish gaelic specifically but she mostly just knows a few phrases here and there. like, enough to get her through a city if needed.

like she’s super smart and very talented but she’s also ditzy as hell. big dumbass energy to the point where maybe you don’t realize that she’s actually really good at a lot of things because it’s not like she really flaunts it either?

she’s just very reckless, and very much a party girl. has quite the collection of drugs & uses socially, but also alone and throughout the day. rarely sober.

high functioning alcoholic and at this point she doesn’t really know what she’s like when she’s completely sober? which is really bad but she’s convinced that if she goes sober she’ll just be miserable and horrible because at her very core she believes she’s like. the worst human being alive. like very deep issues of self loathing covered by baileys in her morning coffee and 23 crystal lite packets in her yeti cup that happens to be filled with vodka.

this has been a budding problem that was developed since she was a young teenager. the ehem. situation that happened when she was eighteen only amplified it.

is essentially wearing a mask of confidence and giddiness and flirtatiousness because she doesn’t want people to think she’s not doing well, because she isn’t.

loves so much. loves everything, so much. everything, everybody. falls in love like five times a day but nothing really sticks to her either, for the most part. i hate to say it but she does flock to shitty people / general assholes because that’s just … how she is, that’s what she’s surrounded herself with her entire life. even her high school boyfriend was an asshole - just like, not to her, which made it Okay in her mind. she finds these kind of people like … super interesting which is really questionable but y’know what? we’re fine. it’s fine. i’m fine.

she sleeps around often, to be frank. she hates being alone and she rarely sleeps in her own dorm unless someone is in there sleeping with her. otherwise she’s at different houses. could be a friend’s bed, could be a stranger’s. has slept with the entire baseball team, probably. she’s also the type of person who’ll try and maintain a positive, good friendship with whoever she sleeps with because she hates the idea of having a regrettable encounter and just. refuses.

this is kind of a problem because she blurs the lines between friendship and Something More too often, and with too many people. wants to be loved but it’s never enough. probably ends up hurting people without realizing it because they think they have something super special but she does this with a lot of people and it’s super :/

does stick and pokes a whole bunch. she can’t draw for shit so they’re not great but she thinks they’re fun and she’s been doing it for a while so like, who cares, right? let her give you one :)

gets sent dress prototypes and like. drafts of designs & articles of clothing from her fashion lines that aren’t out yet and won’t be for a while by her very own mother. saige absolutely gives them all away, for the most part. or it sits in her closet, and stays there. her go-to gift for birthday presents, or christmas gifts, or whenever she feels like it. like, feel free to raid her closet?

ok that’s all. love her.

wanted connections.

a best friend… someone who sticks by her side even though she is a certified Mess.

a ride or die… is it the same as a best friend? maybe. but it’s got a fancy name and i want both so :)

close friends… she’s really friendly and the kind of girl to have been really popular in high school but didn’t care for it and talks to everybody like she’s known them her entire life, so. she’d have a good amount of these!

grumpy friend… to balance her happy friend. she’ll fuck them up in a friendship way. with her cheerfulness.

party pals… they don’t talk much outside of parties but they’re practically glued to the hip when they’re at them. hold your hair back kind of close.

frenemies… or fake friends, toxic friends, people who use her for money or like … sex, or whatever? anything? people who barely tolerate her because she gives them stuff sometimes.

bad influences… they just encourage her to do more, be worse, never get better.

good influences… like … YOINK! stop being an idiot! do your homework! idot!

a tutor… because she’s like…smart…but she’s also stupid…super bad at math & science. help her.

hook ups… friends with benefits, a one night stand that is a little? awkward? since then. past & present tenses. :)

exes… she’s noncommittal so they likely wouldn’t have lasted very long but? yolo? she can be a heartbreaker, as marina said, as a treat? whether they dated or were fucking … either works. but i do love angst :)

one-sided hatred… someone who just fucking … despises her. but she doesn’t realize because she’s an idiot and thinks they’re just like. joking around! like they’re best buddies!

annoyance… but she’s the annoyance. she’s the thorn in their side.

ex-best friend… where something happened between them, like, anything, and it ruined their friendship forever. very sad. angst potential, though.

but like. i’ll take anything.

steals your mail… who knows why?

cat escape… he keeps running away and she keeps letting him inside her room even though she’s allergic…

married old couple… the kind of friendship where they always bicker like they’ve been together for fifty years, but it’s purely platonic (or is it? slowburn BAYBEY. DENIAL babyey.)

off and on again… i think that one that’s not good for them because they enable each other & only get like … angry at each other, and it’s like, messy. but it’s super hard to stop. probably reminds her of high school so that’s why she tries so hard to stick around, but alas. it’s not good. it’s toxic. stop it.

the drug dealer… the one she sleeps with… even though she can just pay for it because she’s rich but like. it’s funner this way.

blurred status… like, it’s just really confusing of what they are? are they, aren’t they? the relationship status is just … muddled. she’s a mess and gets involved with too many people without intending to. potential to hurt feelings. :)

please. take her. give me connections.

[chocobostrinket]

Chirp chpt 5: First Night

Link to AO3

Rating: General

Word Count: 3444

Chapter Summary: Prompto and Crowe have a late night chat about their pasts, and something isn't quite right at Prompto's house. 

Notes: So! Here we are, finally getting into a little of the plot I had planned out a while back, with a touch of mild angst. And I finally get into the Galahdian trio's ages! I changed it from canon to help with the story as we go, I hope no one minds. Thank you for reading! 

~

Prompto sighs deeply, and turns over again, trying to find a way to get comfortable in his new bed. Well, really comfort wasn’t the problem. In truth, he just wasn’t as settled in as he’d like. Materialistically he was, everything had been unpacked. His clothes put away and everything else put on shelves or dressers. But he missed home. His own bed. And it oddly made him deeply annoyed rather than sad. It’s not like there was any reason to miss home after all. He grew up there, yes, but his parents weren’t there. And everything he cared about had come with him.

He finally gave up trying to sleep in a huff and sat up. For a moment he just sat there, glaring across the room at the wall. Frustrated with his feelings, he tossed off his blankets and got out of bed, marching out of his bedroom and over to the window of this area’s living room. Once there he stared out in the direction of his home, and put his finger on the glass right where his house would be. As if trying to show himself that it was silly to miss a place that was close enough to see, even if it was distant.

But it did nothing to quell his late night thoughts, and with a defeated sigh, he sat in the window seat. He stared out first at his home, however his eyes soon wandered to other streets, and then other, larger, buildings. The city of course was brightly lit, and true to its name never slept. When he was sleepless at home he’d wander those same brightly lit streets and just explore. If anyone had tried to stop him, question him over his age, or give him any trouble, it was a simple matter to run off and duck into small places. With his wings as they were then, no one could follow him.

If he told any of his friends about that, of course, they’d probably have a heart attack.

He was so intent in watching out the window, he didn’t hear when Crowe had stepping into the room. She had been up late with her friends, playing a card game before bed. It was only chance she had looked over toward the window on the way to her room. Otherwise she would have missed Prompto. She debated on just letting him sit alone for a minute before deciding to talk to him. She remembered her own first night here.

“Prompto?” She called, trying not to startle him.

However, that didn’t work at all, and he nearly screamed in surprise. But he managed to wrangle it down to just a very loud squeak. His head spun around and he looked over at Crowe with wide eyes. But when he saw it was only her, he relaxed with a visible sigh.

“Crowe! Hi. What- I mean…” He tried to figure out what to say without sounding like a nervous wreck, but of course, failed.

She laughed and cut him off before he could feel anymore awkward and said, “It’s a bit late for you isn’t it?”

A small frown found its way on his face, “You’re awake too.”

She shrugged and wandered over to him, sitting on the other end of the window seat. “True enough.”

They sat in relative silence for a few moments, with Prompto returning to staring at the window, and Crowe looking back into the room. She the began to speak, this time with a bit more serious tone.

“You know… I couldn’t sleep when I first got here either.”

At that Prompto turned his head and looked at her, “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” She brought her legs up onto the seat with her, and pulled her wings around herself, as if she was cocooning herself. “It’s so cut off here isn’t it? Different from everything I knew.”

He nodded at that, “Same here. I’m just... I don’t know. It feels so…”

“Empty?” She asked with a smile.

He nodded again, and realized that’s what it was. The reason he felt so unsettled. Even when he was home alone, there had always been the feeling of someone with him. Perhaps it was just the memories of his parents, or the knowledge that Rhea was right next door, but he never felt alone in his house. But here it was different. It felt like there was a void here. Just empty space around him.

“It was the same for me. It took me a long time to get used to living here.” She added.

He could understand why, and felt comforted that this feeling would pass. But then his thoughts turned to Crowe and her friends, and he realized he’d didn’t know much about them, if anything at all. And curiosity got the better of him.

“So… Where are you from, if you don’t mind?” He asked, his head slightly tilted.

She looked out the window, and small smile on her face, “Originally, I’m from Galahd. I don’t remember which town really.”

At that Prompto’s eyes widened. “But… Galahd…”

“Fell? Yeah. And I was lucky enough to be born while we were under the empire’s police state.” She said, sarcasm in her voice. “But it wasn’t so bad. I remember we were a small enough town that the empire didn’t pay us any mind. Not for a long time.”

The ending of her sentence made him sad for her, because it implied that the town eventually caught the eye of the empire, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “What happened?”

It was a few moments before Crowe answered, her eyes firmly glued to the window when she spoke next, “I did.”

He opened his mouth to speak, to say something, but closed it again when he realized he didn’t know what to say. Part of him wanted to ask, but the other part wanted to spare her feelings. But she spared him the need to say anything when she continued speaking.

“When my pattern came in, my parents hid me. Niflheim… They know about Kestrels. And whatever magic we have.” She looked down at her feet then, and her eyes became a little dull as she continued, “But someone had seen me just by chance, someone passing through town. And eventually rumors of a kestrel reached the empire.”

He could imagine what happened, and Crowe didn’t go into details. “A lot of people lost their lives, and the town was gone. Those left went searching for a new place to live. But… this time without what caused the destruction in the first place.”

“They… left you?” He asked quietly, horrified for her.

“I don’t blame them.” She quickly said, before he could become angry with their actions, “They’d lost so much at that point. I don’t blame them.”

“Then…how?”

“Did I get here? Well, it just so happened that Nyx and Libertus found me when they were playing in the woods.” She smiled at that, and the memory was bittersweet for her. “They had been part of a passing caravan, apprenticed to the hunters that guarded it. I think they were…13 at the time?”

Prompto did the math in his head, and realized that Crowe had only been 8 at the time. Nyx and Libertus he knew, thanks to Noctis, were 23 right now, and that Crowe was 18. He inched a little closer to her, to brush one of his wings against hers, not knowing what else to do. The gesture made her smile, and she continued.

“They took me in, despite their mentors saying no. So they left, taking me with them. Originally, the plan was to take me back to their hometown. Libertus’s mother had been willing to take me in as her own.” She said, and clearly that’s not what happened, Prompto realized. “But the empire followed. Another town lost. But they didn’t leave me. I don’t know why, but they didn’t.”

“But… what about…?”

“Oh! Their families are okay, thank the gods.” She reassured him, and then said, “But we ended up on the move. Never staying in one place too long. And we’d gotten into more than one situation where we almost didn’t make it out.”

She seemed to reflect on those memories with mixed feelings, broadcast on her face with a frown.

“So… how’d you get here?” He asked, and immediately wished he could stuff a sock in his mouth to silence his curiosity.

But she took it in stride, and smiled at him before answering, “Well, it was by chance that after four years on the road, we heard a rumor from Lucis. The first since we’d been annexed by Niflheim. None of us knew about the laws in Lucis that protected Kestrels until then, even with how long they’d been around. So, we made a goal to get here. We had to wait until they were 18, and Libertus actually did have to have his mom adopt me so he could take me out of Galahd, but it all worked out.”

“But the first few nights here…” She huffed in a mixture of fondness and annoyance, “We couldn’t stand the silence. We were used to hearing sounds everywhere in the woods, hiding from people passing by, being prepared to wake at a moment’s notice. And here? There’s none of that. It was a long time before any of us got a good’s night sleep.”

Hearing her say that made him feel silly for his own feelings. He felt like she actually had a reason for not being comfortable with being in the citadel. His own issues felt like childishness, and nothing more.

But then she nudged him back with one of her wings and asked, “So what about you?”

“M-me?” He looked visibly startled, but then shook his head to rid himself of the feeling and said, “My house is just right over there.”

He put his finger on the window again, and pointed to the distant street. Crowe looked over with a smiled, and gave him a small hum of interest. “From Insomnia then?”

“Y-yeah. Kind of… Uh…” He floundered for a bit before telling the truth, “But… I guess that I was adopted from… From Niflheim.”

He pulled into himself subtly, bringing his knees to his chest and his wings wrapping around himself tightly, pulling him into a ball. She didn’t seem surprised, which, given his hair color wasn’t odd. But he was very caught off guard by what she said next.

“You must have been very lucky then. I can’t imagine what would have happened to you if you’d stayed in Niflheim.”

He peeked out from his wings at her, a small frown pulling at the corner of his mouth. But not out of disappointment. He was just surprised at how kind of a statement that was, considering her history with his birthplace. The expression made her laugh, and he allowed his face to become unobscured.

“Now, if I may, can I ask you something Prompto?”

He nodded almost exaggeratedly, and said, “Of course! It’s only fair.”

“Your home,” she began, “Why was no one else there? Where are your parents?”

She looked at him as he looked away, a small, sad, frown now settling on his face. “I live alone most of the time. They travel around a lot, but they’re in Duscae right now.”

At the look she gave him at that, he waved both his hands in protest, “They wanted to take me with them! They really did. But… It’s not safe outside the walls without wings. Everyone knows that. But their work… They’re studying the demon’s effect on the weather and how that effects the crops on the farms there.”

“That’s… Couldn’t they have waited until you were older?” She asked. She wanted to understand them, but his parents had a choice of taking him with them. And didn’t. It was almost like he’d been abandoned as well, and that didn’t sit right with her.

“They wanted to honestly,” he said, giving her a smile, “But… I’m the one who convinced them to go.”

“How old were you?” Crowe asked, surprise coloring her voice.

“I was only 12 at the time, but with some special permissions, I could live on my own. Kind of like some of the students who live in their own apartments to go to school.” He shrugged then and added, “And it wasn’t so bad. I mean, sure I was lonely sometimes, but… They cared for me. More than anything. But they’re also really good people. They couldn’t just turn their backs on their research when it effects all of the world.”

“I… guess I can see the logic in that. But… Couldn’t they have given you over to the citadel to be kept if they were going to leave?”

He shook his head, “I… I didn’t want to go.”

She frowned at him and opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “It’s nothing against the king, or anything to do with anything! I… I just didn’t want them to come home to an empty house all the time. They’re so busy that I know they won’t be able to visit very often. …If at all.”

She shut her mouth then and sighed. “I see.”

They were both silent then, as if mulling over each other’s stories. But then Crowe spoke again.

“Well, at least there’s something good out of everything.”

“Hm?” He looked at her with his head slightly tilted again.

“I got to meet a member of my pattern.” She smiled at him and he smiled back at her.

“Yeah… Same here. I’d always heard that… I don’t know, we’re so rare that some of us go our whole lives without seeing another member.” He shrugged then, and looked back out the window.

She did as well, and said, “I can’t even imagine what it was like for the kestrels who were here before us. Alone here.”

Prompto nodded, and they left it at that.

Behind him, he could imagine generations of other kestrels around the room. He wondered what comforted them when they couldn’t sleep when they first arrived under their monarchs care. It never occurred to him that Crowe had been here alone for almost five years. Sure, her friends were in the next area over, but those were the guard’s quarters. Here in this area, she was alone. The thought made him sad, and made him speak before he could think better of it.

“Hey Crowe?”

She glanced at him, “Yeah?”

“I’m really glad you’re here.”

When he realized what he said, he went pale, and made himself look out the window to avoid her eyes. But she only gave him a small chuckle, and turned away.

“I’m glad you’re here too.”

They allowed themselves to slip back into silence then, and stayed that way for a few minutes. It wasn’t strained, or uncomfortable. But it was a welcome one. It helped, he realized. Crowe just being there. The place didn’t feel so empty after talking with her. He’d been about to say as much, but right when he opened his mouth, a thud was heard from the balcony. It was right nest to the window, and they both turned toward the sound.

“What was that?”

Crowe looked over at him with a confused frown, and gestured for him to stay where he was. “I don’t know… But stay there.”

Then she silently rose to her feet, and walked over to the doors, opening one of them only slightly to peek out. Prompto held his breath, wondering what it could be. But when Crowe let out a huff of amusement, and pushed open the door all the way with a smile, he knew it was nothing to worry about.

“Evening, your highness. Interesting way to visit don’t you think.”

Or not.

Prompto scrambled to his feet and hurried over to look out onto the balcony. Once there, he saw Noctis on the ground, looking like a bird that had just fallen out of the nest. He shook his head when he saw Prompto and got to his feet. Behind him his wings had fluffed up, and he had to take a moment to smooth them down. And while he did he started walking over.

“Evening Crowe! Hey Prom.” He flashed a smile at them, and went back to sorting out his wings. “How the heck did you get around without wings? I ended up falling from above.”

“What are you doing here?” Prompto asked with a laugh.

“I wanted to see if you were up for a late night adventure!” Noctis grinned at him, and Prompto knew immediately what he meant.

Noctis, despite his public appearance of being aloof and reserved, was truly very mischievous. So mischievous, that he had a reputation with the glaive for his pranks. They were as devious as they were creative. Such as the time he managed to make it so the glaive’s boot had dyed all their feet blue for a week. Sometimes he was caught, other times he wasn’t. And there was enough screwy things going on at a time that they wee unsure if it was a prank occasionally, or a genuine mishap. It was sort of a running joke to blame ‘that darn magpie’ as code for it was the prince.

Prompto instantly wanted to say yes, but looked over at Crowe first. She shrugged and laughed, “If you go, I didn’t see anything. On one condition.”

Noctis looked pleased and Prompto turned back to him with a smile.

“What’s the condition?” Noctis asked.

“Get Nyx and Libertus with the rest of the glaive.”

That made Prompto snort and Noctis nodded, “Done! Lets go Prom!”

Before he could say anything else, Noctis grabbed his arm and pulled him through the room and out the door. When they were gone Crowe chuckled to herself and shut the balcony doors, then went to her room to go to sleep.

~

Later that night, Rhea was sitting on her couch, curled up with a book. Blue had been perched on her lap when he suddenly started yowling at the window, and jumped off her lap to go to the front door.

“Blue?” Rhea said, looking over at her cat with concern. She got up from her spot as Blue pawed at the door. She opened it for him, expecting him just to take a peek. She wasn’t prepared for when he darted out the door and into the night.

“Wait! Blue!” She called, and stepped out after him. Her porch light only went so far, and it seemed oddly dark. But those little details seemed to escape her as she walked to the end of her yard.

“Here kitty! Blue! Here kitty kitty!” she said quietly, trying to lure her cat back to her.

It was strange. Blue would never go far from her, always in her sight, and never leave the yard. She was troubled, and turned to walk down the sidewalk a little ways. It was just by chance she had gone in the direction of Prompto’s home. But then a sound startled her, and she saw that his front door was open. Her head tilted slightly and she frowned. Was Prompto home?

She knew the boy had the oddest habit of wandering late at night, and an even odder habit of not turning on the lights when he returned home. Perhaps a habit from the rare occasions when his parents were home. So not to bother them with his wanderings. So she wasn’t troubled by it in the least. Just more so worried about the fact that he’d left the door open.

She went up to the front door then, and knocked on the door frame to get his attention.

“Prompto? Is that you?”

The second she finished speaking though, a sinister blast of wind hit her, coming from inside the house. A gasp of pain left her as the wind turned to what felt like razors, and cut her face and arms in seconds, and before she could even scream, an unseen forced knocked into her, sending her flying back into Prompto and hers shared fence hard enough that the part she hit caved backwards.

It hurt. She couldn’t move and could barely keep her eyes open. Blood was stinging her eyes even when she could force them open. She tried to make out what it was that had happened, but could only see shadows before she slipped away.

She wasn’t found until the morning, and only because Blue had hissed at a passing jogger until he stopped.