#glaive mass resignation

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

In 'welcome home please stay' - how do Regis et al react to the news that the Galahdians, for the most part, don't /want/ to come back to Insomnia?

"It was certainly unusual," Regis murmured into the quiet room.

All three occupants of his private office - including him - were staring at the stack of envelopes a... sentient breath of wind? had ploped down on his desk, all the while giggling about somthing in a language none could understand.

Cor let his sword vanish back into the armiger, while Clarus also slowly relaxed his stance. Regis gently poked one of the letters, his magic churning beneath his skin like a river of crystalline glass. Nothing happened.

"What was that?" Clarus demanded to know, even though he knew no one could answer.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Regis said. "However these appear to be quite ordinary letters."

"You sure?" Cor asked eyeing the stack like it might come alive and try to murder them.

They were quite eclictic, the envelopes. Some were large and thick - a normal brown - some were smaller and red or green or blue aor any other colour under the sun. Those looked like they were from store bought birthday cards. Some were ordinary envelopes and others looked like they had been folded by hand out of whatever had been available.

"They reek of chaos," Cor rumbled. "Be careful, Regis. Getting letters from fae is never a good thing."

"They are addressed to my official name, and all are written by a different hand, from what I can tell. If I had to venture a guess, whatever brought the letters here was simply delivering them," Regis said.

He picked one of them up. One of the larger ones. The paper of the envelope was thick and of high quality - a beautiful golden brown sealed with greyish black wax. A finely detailed flower was depicted in it.

Picking up a letter opener, Regis carefully upened the envelope and pulled out a thick stack of papers. After skimming over the first few lines, he felt the colour drain from his face.

"Regis?"

Clarus took a step closer in worry.

"This letter is from one Luche Lazarus. With this he is handing in his resignation from the Glaive and states his refusal to step back on Lucian soil unless he has to."

"... What?"

[kumeko]

A/N: For the Eos Compendium zine! I’ve been dying to write Nyx/Luna since I’ve seen the movie, and took this as an excuse to just do it.

Summary: Nyx wasn’t sure if the past kings had something else in mind for him or if he was still clinging to life out of sheer stubbornness (sheer stupidity, Crowe would have called it). Either way, Luna was here and he was alive and this time, he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight.

…

…

…

…

i.

 “Nyx.”

 A voice flowed over him like water, soothing the burns and lacerations that crossed his body. Every part of him felt like it was on fire, as though he was lying on a bed of coals. No, that wasn’t right—it was more like he was burning on the inside, a flame simmering just beneath his skin.

 “Nyx, wake up.”

 A heaven-sent balm, the voice continued to call his name. His eyes fluttered open, the bright light of the sun searing into his retinas before he squeezed them shut again. Fuck, he swore, but his throat was parched and the only sound that escaped his lips was a dusty cough. There was a tingle in his fingers and toes as he tried to wiggle them.

“You are alive.” A soft sigh of relief. Something warm and wet hit his skin. Cracking his eyes open an inch, Nyx slowly took in his surroundings. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out smouldering fires, jagged rubble. Hell, now that his body was awake, he could feel the cracked rocks beneath his back. The sharp points poked into his skin everywhere except for his head. A hand brushed his forehead, soft fingers hesitantly pressing into his skin. “Though I am not sure how.”

 “Your Highness,” he managed, opening his eyes now fully to make out the bent figure of Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. His charge. She shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be here. Dozens of questions ran through his mind and Nyx closed his eyes once more. Taking a deep breath, he started with the basic steps. Was anything broken? Not his ribs, at the very least. Nothing felt cracked, just bruised.

 And his skin, his skin felt like fire, like ash, like it would burn into nothing and flake apart at the slightest breeze. It was a strange feeling. An imprint of the ring was permanently scorched onto his finger and even though it wasn’t on, he could still feel the weight of it all. He breathed in. As he exhaled, Nyx opened his eyes and shakily started to rise.

 Luna quickly grabbed his shoulders, helping him up. Closer now, he could make out the dirt on her skin, the tear streaks on her face. “Be careful, I do not think you have recovered yet.”

 “As much…” His voice cracked. Nyx swallowed, his mouth still too dry.  “As much as I can be, your highness.”

 Not the response she was expecting, he was sure. Luna stared at him for long ten seconds, her eyes blinking owlishly, before she cracked a smile. “I suppose if you can talk like that, you are better than I expected.” Her slim fingers ran down his arm, leaving a trail of ice in their wake, before curling around his hand. Inspecting his fingers, she murmured, “Truly, it is strange. The ring has left barely a mark on you.”

 “No, it definitely left something.” Nyx winced—his body still felt like it was on fire, ever smouldering. What had the kings said? He’d have their powers until the dawn had risen? He had taken it to mean the next day, but here he was. Maybe there was some other dawn they wanted him to live to. Or maybe he was alive purely by willpower, his body kept together by the shear strength of his stubbornness. Crowe would have called it idiocy.

 She was probably right. He was too stupid to know when to die.

    ii.

There were certain aspects of life that Luna had resigned herself to accept: her death, the fate of the world, the fact that her struggle would be a long and lonely one. The second she had summoned the trident, had connected with the gods, she had known all of these things to be true, whether she willed them or not.

 The man following her like a loyal dog was not one of those things. Stopping in the middle of a muddy path, Luna turned around to face him. “You do not have to follow me.”

 “What else am I gonna do?” Nyx’s lips quirked into a smirk and she didn’t know if his expression or his tone was more infuriating. A mix of both, most likely. “I’m a dead man walking.”

 “Live your life, however much left of it there is,” Luna entreated, focusing on his scarred hand. Even now, she did not know how he bore the pain. His right arm was a mass of burns, thin flakes of skin chipping off here and there. The price of the ring was a steep one indeed, though not as high as she had feared. He had lived, at least. He should not be throwing his life away like this. “Meet your friend.”

 At that, Nyx flinched. His eyes lowered and he shook his head. “Liberatus would understand. It’s dangerous out here and I don’t think your trident will cut it.”

 “What I am doing is dangerous,” Luna corrected. “Whether you are here or not, my path is a difficult one.”

 “I can make it slightly less difficult.” Looking more serious now, Nyx pulled out his Glaive knife. A knife that was now useless to everyone but him. He balanced it in his hand before slowing wrapping his fingers around the hilt. “I promised King Regis to keep you safe.” Gripping the knife tightly now, he tossed it behind her and burst into a million refracted lights as he warped to the wild beast behind her. “It’s the only reason I’m still standing.”

 Luna spun around, watching as he killed monster after monster, his knife hurtling from one direction to another. It was a futile task. Even if they injured her, they wouldn’t kill her. Not yet. It wasn’t her fate to end here.

 It was her fate to die across the sea, in a watery grave. You can’t save me, her lips refused to form.

 Some part of her knew that he would try anyways.

    iii.

 The modest campfire flickered, just barely strong enough to survive the slight night breeze. Nyx quickly scanned the moonlit sky; with the bright full moon, anyone could spot them if they were looking hard enough. All it took was one magitech engine and while Nyx could take down a group, even he would have difficulties against that many.

 “Is something wrong?” Luna asked quietly. On the other side of the fire, she hugged her knees to her chest, her eyes half-closed, and she looked more like a lost child than a fierce, stubborn princess.

 “Nothing yet.” One last check and Nyx tore his eyes away from the sky. The embers flickered in and out of existence, the fire on the verge of dying, and he added another log to the pile. At least the smoke wasn’t too visible. “You should sleep.”

 “As should you.” Luna eyed him now, looking slightly more awake. “I do not understand how you are still standing. When was the last time you slept?”

 “…properly? Weeks ago.” Nyx shrugged, leaning back. “Maybe it’s the ring.”

 “Perhaps so.” Luna pulled out the chain from under her dress, holding it up in the dim light. The fire flickered on the dull silver, casting reflections that looked like omens of the future. “Though I do not know of any such properties. Moreover, only the king should be able to draw out the ring’s power.”

 “Prince Noctis,” Nyx mumbled, resisting the urge to spit out the name. Even now, he felt a surge of bitterness over all that was lost so the royal heir could survive. Over all who had died so a single boy and his entourage could make it to the next day. “When’s he getting the ring?”

 The wrong question. As soon as he asked, Luna’s expression darkened and she let go of the chain. With a guarded look, she answered, “Not yet—there are still some tasks before he is ready. He must connect with his ancestors and gain powers of old. He must form convents with the gods.”

 “And you won’t meet him till then?” Nyx clarified, though he already knew the answer to that before she nodded. This was a woman who had jumped out of a flying vehicle to help her king, a woman who kept pushing and pushing forward for a duty that wrapped around her thicker than any chain.

 “Yes. There is much to be done.” Luna paused before softly adding, “And not much time to do it.”

    iv.

 “Your highness,” Nyx softly started, watching her from the corner of his eyes as she slowly picked her way down steep mountain path. It had been hard to find an opening where the empire had no eyes, a path that only the wild animals knew.

 Before he could continue, Luna shook her head and cut him off. Firmly, she corrected him, “Luna.”

 “That isn’t—”

 “Insomnia is no more. Tennebrae was annexed.” Luna’s eyes lowered as though she was remembering some place, some time long ago, when neither of those were true. Her hand grabbed onto the nearby wall, keeping her steady as she found her footing forward. “All that I have left now is the trident and my name. There are not many who can still call me by it.” When he didn’t respond, she added, “Have we not travelled together long enough to drop such formalities?”

 Despite her light tone, her eyes were just as determined as they had been when they’d raced through Insomnia. Rubbing the back of his neck, he nodded. “Fine. Luna.” In his head, Nyx could already hear Crowe and Liberatus laughing. Quickly, he amended. “Princess Luna.”

 “Not quite what I was hoping for, but it is sufficient.” Luna smiled.

 “Anyways, about your brother...” Nyx trailed off. There was no easy way to say this. Biting the bullet, he forged on, “He’s alive.”

 “Ravus?” Luna almost stumbled over a rock, shock colouring her expression. Grabbing his arm, she stared up at him. “Are you certain?”

 “Yeah.” If there was one thing that remained true even after all that they’d been through, it was that news travelled fast and gossip even faster. The small towns that they had carefully bypassed were full of stories about a one-armed general and the rag-tag team that Noctis had managed to scrounge up. “He lost his arm, but he’s still there.”

 For once, Luna was like an open book. Joy and sorrow warred in her expression, her hand slipping off his to clasp her other one. “He is truly alive.” Her pace slowed, her foot scuffing the earth as she digested the information. “The old kings were very generous then, allowing both you and him to survive. Though, perhaps it would have been better if he had not. He will only obstruct us in the future.”

 “You don’t have to say that, you know.” Nyx looked away when she turned to him, staring instead at the center of the large crater they were heading down. “You can be happy about it.”

 “Can I truly?” Luna murmured, her hands squeezing tighter together. Her nails dug into her skin. “Even now, he is still with the empire, is he not?”

 “I was hoping he’d died.” Nyx shrugged. “It’s fine if you’re happy about it—no one else will be.”

 “Is that so?” Luna squeezed her hands one last time before finally dropping them to her sides. “I am happy, but also a little sad. I do not think he is my brother anymore.” She smiled ruefully. “I think my brother died long ago, I had just hoped otherwise.”

    v.

The Archaean roared. It took all of Nyx’s strength not to fall backwards at the sight of this god towering over them, at this angry being who looked ready to smite at a moment’s provocation. As it was, the heat was terrible enough without this added fear. Wiping his brow with his free hand, Nyx tightened his grip on his dagger.

 In the middle of a stone ledge, Luna regally stood with her trident. He was never sure where this courage came from, where all that strength fit inside of that tiny, frail body. Even as the Archaean glared her down, Luna didn’t back away. Determined, she held up her trident once more and beseeched, “Remember the covenant. The chosen king shall arrive soon to claim it.”

 A massive hand took a powerful swipe, his fingers just barely missing the young woman. Even then, she didn’t flinch, and Nyx raised his dagger. A god. He could take it on. Maybe. At least, it would give Luna enough time to flee. “Princess, I think it’s time to go.”

 “Stay back.” She didn’t turn around as she ordered him, her gaze steady on the god’s.

 “He’s—”

 “This is my duty.” Those words again. Her duty. Her sacrifice. What visions of the future did the gods send her that she had completely forgotten self-preservation? “I will see it through.”

 Nyx gritted his teeth. “Fine.” Crouching slightly, he kept his hand steady in case he needed to quickly drag her away. He could be stubborn too.

    vi.

 Luna pulled her jacket around her tighter. It was raining now, Ramuh sparking lightning and thunder across the sky, and they still had miles to go before they reached his location. In front of her, the meager fire Nyx had managed to make sputtered and died.

 “Shit.” Nyx leaned forward, shielding the weak embers. Using the dry kindle he had saved, he tried to coax the fire back to life. It was too late; despite the small alcove they were hiding in, the rain was determined to get in everywhere. With a sigh, he sat back. “Sorry, princess. Looks like we’re in the cold again.”

 Princess. She hadn’t liked the change in titles at first, but rolling off his lips, it sounded almost like a nickname. Curling up into a tighter ball, she sighed. “You tried your utmost. It is all I can ask for.”

 “Still. Would have been nice to be warm for once.” Nyx leaned back against the wall. This close, she could make out the profile of his face, the rough scars that told stories she would never know. His usually neat braids were for once a little messy, unable to keep together in the constant rain. “I guess he got it?”

 “Got what?” Luna asked, startled back into the conversation. “Who?”

 “The Archaean. Noctis.” Concerned, he looked down at her. “You sick, princess?”

 “No, I am fine.” Luna rubbed her cold arms. “Noctis did achieve the covenant, the Archaean was appeased. There is a reason all that heat vanished.”

 “And then Ramuh had to sweep in and make everything wet,” Nyx commented blithely, a bitter expression on his face. “I guess it won’t go away till he gets here?”

 “Not until the covenant is forged,” Luna confirmed regretfully.

 “Then wouldn’t it be quicker if we just travelled with him?”

 “Not entirely.” Luna buried her head in her arms, listening to the rain as it fell. The large droplets were comforting. “I had considered it. Unfortunately, the gods require ample preparation time and it would be too dangerous for both of us to travel together.”

 Nyx said nothing. They sat in silence, listening as the thunder rumbled in the distance. Lightning flashed, crashing to the earth on a lone tree in the mountains. Luna could hear Nyx breath shallowly, his body tense and ready for a fight. He was always ready to jump into battle, to defend, to protect. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be with someone else and share a burden.

 “Do you want to see him?” Nyx asked, his voice softer now. She didn’t look up to see his expression.

 “Him?” She didn’t need the clarification, not really.

 “The prince.”

 “I do not know,” Luna answered truthfully to her knees. It was a little easier like this, when all she could see was darkness. She thought of the wedding dress she would never wear. “I have not seen him since we were children. I am not sure what difference it would make now.”

 There was a small intake of air. Surprised, Nyx pressed on. “Then your engagement—”

 “A ruse to ensure he left the city. To ensure I entered the city.” Luna closed her eyes, remembering the little boy who read stories with her. Who had left her notes in her exchange diary, the one small thing she had allowed herself to have. “At one time though, I think there could have been love.”

 There was a long pause. She listened to the sound of him breathing. “And now?”

 “Now there is no time for love, just duty.” Just a single duty. She had seen the images many times by now: Leviathan, a bloody dagger, a ring. A chance to save the world, to change its destiny in exchange for her own. “I am the Oracle, I must finish what I set out to do.”

 “You know, it’s okay to do something for yourself. For once.” His voice was awkward, fumbling. His kindness more so. “If you want to see him…”

 Did she? It was a question she both wanted and didn’t want answered. She feared what the result would bring. “Nyx? Thank you.”

    vii.

 A black dog darted out of the woods and Nyx resisted the urge to skewer the mutt. “It’s you again.”

 “Who?” Luna broke into a smile at the sight of Umbra and kneeled down to pet him. “I take it he received the message?”

 Umbra barked, his tail wagging proudly, and Nyx tried not to snort. A messenger to the gods? More like a magical dog.

 Unwrapping the package on Umbra’s back revealed an envelope overly stuffed with pictures. The snapshots spilled out, revealing its contents, and Luna lit up as she started to flip through them. “So it was Prompto this time, I take it.”

 Umbra yipped, laying down on his paws as he watched her.

 Curious, Nyx picked one up. Two men were smiling at the camera, a woman in black standing just behind them. “They look like they’re on a road trip.”

 “I am sure they did not want to send me sad photos.” Luna glanced at the one in his hand. “Oh my.” She raised a brow. “I did not know Gentiana could be seen like that.”

 Gentiana. Nyx blinked. The other messenger to the gods. He’d seen Luna talk to her when she thought he wasn’t listening, her voice low and calm as she discussed their plans. Or rather, he’d seen Luna talk to the empty air, since apparently Gentiana was invisible to all. The only thing he noticed was the waves of sadness that saturated the air during each meeting.

 “Maybe I should get a camera.” She was invisible to all but the lens, it seemed. He stared at her placid expression, her neatly clasped hands. She looked just as unhappy as he’d expected.

    viii.

 I’ll keep you safe, Nyx had sworn.

 On a boat to Altissia, Luna stared into the waves, the Glaive’s words echoing in her head. Part of her wanted to believe him.

 A part of her knew better.

   viii.

 There was a part of him that had expected this. Well, not all of this—it would take a prophet to anticipate the destruction of a city, the massive body of the leviathan, the endless troopers. And it had. And that prophet was now sitting in a pool of her blood, leaning on her trident as she struggled to stand.

 It had taken him a second to warp to her side, his hands carefully cradling her to his chest. “I’ll find a doctor, it’ll be okay.” The words rushed out of him, an unfamiliar sense of panic rising within him. His fingers shook slightly as he held her. “You’ll be okay.”

 “It’s fine,” Luna coughed, her voice already faint. A bloody hand rose up to cup his cheek, a soft smile on her face. “I knew this would happen.”

 And so had he, no matter how much he had wanted to deny it. Her words had been laced with goodbye since the moment he’d met her. “A doctor,” he repeated, getting up. Maybe he could find an evacuation team. Or go to where all of the residents were taken to. His mind was a mess, thoughts tumbling out of him, and he froze indecisively.

 “Nyx.” Weakly, she pushed his jaw toward her to grab his attention once more. “Noctis must be saved. The ring must be delivered. It is too late for me, but the world still has a chance. You know this as well as I do.”

 And he did, and he did, but there was a difference between knowing and accepting. Red blossomed all over her white dress, her skin growing cooler with every second that passed.

 “Nyx,” she murmured.

 “I know,” he answered, leaning down till their foreheads touched. His hand reached for his dagger.

    x.

 It ended as it started, with fire and water. The ring slipped onto Noctis’s finger and Nyx closed his eyes as the coals simmering underneath his skin erupted into flames once more. The kings had come to claim their pound of flesh. His body started to flake apart, like ash, like dust, like petals in the wind.

 Nyx, a voice called out to him, a voice like a soothing balm on his frayed nerves.

 Luna, he thought, and he reached into the void.

[autumn-maple13]

Lost to Time - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Search Begins – For What?

Amara watched the expressions on her friends’ faces (and anyone nearby) change into looks of horror and grief as she told them (select portions of) what she had seen in Insomnia. Pausing after the death of Clarus, as well as the death of Regis, they gave Noctis a few moments to collect himself before urging her to continue. Ending her tale with the same lie she had given Cor, the woman was well aware of the look of disbelief that crossed Ignis made her shrink in on herself, her hands shaking in her lap as she looked away from the guys.

“At least… that’s what I told Cor.”

“Amara?” the guys were confused now, not knowing her to lie so blatantly.

“The truth is after I reached my house, I ran into Ardyn. He got me out of the city. I think he wants me alive for some reason.” She feigned confusion of her own, looking up at them. “To be honest, I don’t know how I got out of the city – I fell out not long after I ran into him and don’t even remember if he spoke to me. I mean, I’m sure he did but everything’s just a blank… Well, I’m sure you guys can understand why I was so scared to tell the Marshall that, what with so many of the Glaives…”

Ignis pushed his cup of coffee across the table to her. “You didn’t want him to think you were one of the traitors as well, that’s understandable.”

Noctis nodded, though it was clear by the look on his face that his mind was still elsewhere. “All that matters is that despite everything you still told us the truth.”

“We’ll keep this a secret too!” Prompto gave her a smile.

Gladio took a breath, burying his face in his hands. “It doesn’t feel right, but if you felt like you had to tell the Marshall that, I won’t say any different.”

Amara put on a slight smile, motioning to Ignis’s cup of coffee. He gave her a nod, then got up to go talk to the diner’s owner (had they called him Takka?) leaving her there with the others. With Prompto and Noctis on either side of her she couldn’t help but feel a little safer than she had earlier, but guilt still edged her thoughts.

It was still clouding her mind as she followed the boys out to a haven some several yards out behind the Garage – though an easily ended attack from some Sabertusks provided a decent distraction until they reached their camping spot. While the others worked to get everything set up, Noctis pulled her aside and motioned for her to follow him down to a lightning deposit. With the proximity of the crackling deposit blocking a lot of the sound around them – she realized Noct was wanting to talk to her about something he absolutely did not want the others to hear.

“Amara, how are you doing without dad’s magic?” despite the events of the day he was still concerned about her abilities?

“I won’t slow you guys down, I promise.”

“No, no Amara that’s not what I mean. The way you reacted when you connected to him, I wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.”

She shook her head. “No, it just stung a little bit. I didn’t even notice it until later.” Noctis seemed satisfied, but when he didn’t move, she was left wondering what else was on his mind. “What’s up?”

“I want to connect you to my armiger. Those blades of yours are good and all, but if we get attacked by another pack or swarm, I think we’d all feel better knowing you could fight properly.”

Fear shot through her, she had to fight to stay calm – keep her armiger from throwing a weapon into her hands. “I don’t know… I mean, it hurt so bad when I connected to King Regis… With his being ripped away the way it was, wouldn’t it make being connected to you even worse? I’d be out of commission for a while in that case.”

“I know, but I think having you at full capacity would be worth it. The Empire has drop ships all over the continent looking for us – fuck the wildlife, if they send a platoon after us, we’re in serious trouble without you being your best.” His own fear was clear in his eyes, mixing with the grief he still obviously held from their earlier talk. It made her consider just how worried the others must be about it if he so worked up over it. So despite her own fears about it, she nodded.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

With a nod, she watched the Prince (or should he be ‘King’ now?) close his eyes and focus on her. She did the same, willing her own powers to play nice and not reveal itself when the connection was made. It came as a surprise when she felt his powers not only reach her but combine with her own, and when she opened her eyes, she realized he seemed to be unaware of her side of things. He gave her a look when he opened his eyes again; with a shrug she summoned one of the weapons she could feel floating around in his armiger’s reach, a laugh escaping her when she realized what it was.

“You scored your own spear I see!”

Noct was obviously relieved, giving her a grin and motioning for her to follow him back to the haven as he told her about how he got it from an Imperial Soldier on their way to check out the situation in Insomnia. The guys were also clearly relieved, smiling as the duo rejoined them.

“Did you plan work, highness?” Ignis had the teasing tone again, which triggered a grin to pop up on Gladio’s face.

“You do know that since we’re so closely connected, we felt her connecting right?”

“I know, I know, I just didn’t want you guys to jump on her about it.” Noctis sunk down into one of the folding chairs set up around the fire. Amara was content to listen to them bickering playfully as she plopped down on the stone, stretching out until she felt her back pop.

She must’ve dozed off though, next thing she knew she was trying to sit up in the tent – Gladio and Ignis trapping her between them. Judging by the lack of noise from outside she figured it must still be pretty late and opted to carefully pull herself free to slip outside the tent.

Amara took a seat on the edge of the haven, looking out over the landscape before she laid back on the rock and started to study the sky again. Part of her training with the Glaive was astrology so they could use the stars to navigate if they got lost on missions. It was so much clearer out in the open expanse of the Leide region, though that fact made a pang of homesickness shoot through her.

Her home was really gone, huh?

All of Lucis is your home. It wasn’t the usual voice that was overshadowing her thoughts this time – with a jolt she realized it was one of the women she heard the day she was connected to Regis. Your past is not one that is to define you, it is merely to be a guide as you find your true history.

‘Who are you?’ she tried to reach out but received no answer. A sigh escaped her, and she resigned herself to going back to stargazing. She didn’t realize she dozed off again until she felt a pair of arms slipping under her. Opening her eyes, she spotted a mass of tattoo first thing.

“What time is it Gladio?”

“Just after five. Gotta admit you had me worried when I woke up and didn’t see you.”

“Sorry, it was just too hot in there.”

“So, you decided to go sleep on the edge of camp?” he chuckled.

“That’s where I usually slept on Glaive missions. We didn’t always have room for tents, so we’d have to sleep where we could in what we could a lot. On the bad side though, beds are too damn soft for me now. Fuckers feel like I’m gonna fall straight through.” She stood up almost as soon as Gladio sat her in a chair, watching him wince as her stretch made her spine produce a sound akin to an empty water bottle being squeezed. “Whatcha doing up so early?”

“Was gonna go for a run.”

“Oh great, where’d my boots go?”

“I’ll get them. You might want to make sure your back isn’t broken.”

“No need, here you go,” they both looked in surprise at Ignis as he walked over from the tent. “I heard you two talking and figured I should get ready to make breakfast.”

“Thanks Iggy.” She was aware of the two watching in curiosity as she expertly pulled on those thigh-high combat boots, checking the straps for those bits of red armor that now braced her shins. They clearly caught the eyes of both men, and the fact that they were not in the placement she had put them in the previous day made her chuckle at the thought of the guys toying with them – imagining their blatant “what the fuck” faces.

That gave her an idea, and as she stood up, she stretched again – starting to walk slowly towards the edge of the haven. “Hey Gladio, how far do you usually run?”

“A couple miles at least.”

“That plateau way over there, is it too far?”

“Nah, we can run there no problem.”

“How about we race there?”

“Even better,” she could hear the grin on his face and felt a smirk spread on her lips.

“Ready?”

“Sure thing.”

“Then go!” Ignis laughed as Gladio faltered, seeing Amara run to and launch herself straight off the edge of the haven. She hit the ground several feet away and was already a decent distance ahead when Gladio made it to the base. The woman was incredibly surefooted, far more than Gladio, as she kept her lead, only slowing down as she got closer to the road. Gladiolus crossed it not far behind her, though he fought to catch up when he noticed her laughing at him.

But neither of them were laughing when a pack of Sabertusks interrupted their path. Gladio hadn’t even summoned his broadsword when he saw something go flying, a purple glow following it. Amara warped from creature to creature, effectively dispatching each of them and serving to remind her companion of her abilities. She sent him another smirk before darting off towards the plateaus again, leaving him to follow.

“Remind me not to piss you off!”

“You need to be reminded of that?!” she cackled, launching off one foot to jump onto the large stone face and rebounding off it – right over Gladio’s head as he closed in on her. It threw him off guard, and she listened in amusement as he clearly slipped on his turn and hit the ground, but she didn’t dare turn around to check on him. Amara went ahead and warped herself over the road this time, laughing at her friend’s cry of ‘cheater’, pausing for a moment on the other side to make sure of where he was. His slip up had given her a comfortable lead that he was hurrying to close, sending her running once more when he reached the brush that lined the asphalt. Her lungs were burning as her breathing got heavier, but Gods damn it she was not about to lose her own challenge.

The others may have been fast, but she knew Gladio’s training had given him the stamina to keep up with her own. He was a Shield, he had to hold out, she was a Glaive, she had to move fast through unfamiliar terrain while taking on fucking armies. No way in Ifrit’s hell was she about to lose to the man.

Opting to use her surefootedness against him on the uneven terrain around the Haven, Amara started leaping from highpoint to highpoint, keeping him several feet behind as he tried to make sure his weight didn’t play against him as she was trying to make it do. Ignis and Prompto were waiting at its edge: Ignis sipping on a cup of coffee while the younger man cheered for Amara. She risked a glance back at the shield before losing a summoned blade and warping herself up onto the campsite, though this time her fatigue caught up to her and her landing sent her tumbling across the stone. She came to a stop inches from the folding chairs, her sides heaving as she laughed, though it was choked by her lungs’ fight for air. Gladio snarled at her when he reached them, plopping so heavily into a chair she was surprised it didn’t break under him.

“Never again.”

Prompto’s laughter mixed with her own as he helped her up. Ignis was soon handing each of them a cup of coffee before going to wake up the sleeping noble. The sight of him was enough to make the weight of the day’s task suddenly land back the Glaive’s shoulders, and she gave him a small smile as he came to sit by his Shield. A moment later Ignis was bringing them breakfast and motioning for Amara to take the last chair. She shook her head, sitting down on the stone with her legs crossed under her, though it didn’t last long with the armor digging into her thighs. Knowing there was no swaying her, the group simply ate in silence, with Gladio and Ignis finishing first and beginning to pack up. With the younger trio taking a few minutes longer Amara felt like the atmosphere was becoming more and more charged – and several of her scars from using Regis’s magic throbbed in response to the feeling.

“We need to be careful today.” She finally spoke and felt everybody’s eyes on her before she ever looked up from her tray. “Something’s going to happen.”

“You got some kind of sixth sense or something?” Gladio frowned at her from where he was folding up the tent, earning a nod in reply.

“As a Glaive, I learned very quickly to “read the air” as one of the guys called it.” She made no move to explain what she meant, but the weight behind her words seemed almost equal to what was already resting on everyone’s shoulders. It made everything pick up the pace (at least a little), so they were soon re-stuffing everything in the Regalia’s trunk and amazing the woman with the expert packing that made it all actually fit. As soon as she retrieved her new motorcycle from Cindy - free of charge, much to the boy’s chagrin – they were taking off for the outpost Cor had left instructions to head to.

She had been able to study the map they had been given – comparing it to the one she had found in her previous ride’s glove box, so once they were all safely on the road she took the first chance she got to whip around them, taking the lead as they rumbled down the road, though Ignis’s cursing when he had to hit the brakes only a few miles down the road caught her ear quite easily.

“Amara Solis what in the name of-“

“Shut up!” she snarled from where she sat on her bike ahead of the suddenly tense men. “Hello?”

“Hello?! Is anyone there?! Help!” the voice was close, just a few yards behind them. The woman whipped her bike around and raced towards the dirt road they had just passed, though she pulled off when she reached the rocks just before it. They watched from where they were stopped as she helped a man, a hunter they figured, up from the rocks – noticing the glow from a potion she used on him. The woman took a minute to make sure he was okay and waved down a man in a hideously colored truck that was coming down the dirt road beside them. Only when the hunter was safely in the bed of it did she remount her bike and race back to her friends.

“He said he was part of a group that got scattered. Try to keep your ears out while we’re in the area in case they’re still out here.”

“How did you even hear him?” Prompto was clearly concerned (and a little impressed going by the look on his face).

“I was trained to listen to my surroundings. It there really are masses of Imperials after you guys – you’ll learn to do the same very quickly.” It was more of a warning than advice, they figured, so they watched her take the lead once more and followed decent distance just in case they did discover another injured hunter that had managed to survive in the wilderness.

And they did: a young woman was found in the ruins of some old buildings a few feet off the road – she had been poisoned, they realized, when Amara came back to them to ask for an antidote. This hunter followed Amara back to her bike and climbed on behind her, holding tight to the red-haired woman as she took off once more.

Thankfully there were no other hapless persons to be found, and they arrived at Prairie Outpost without further incident. The female hunter bid the group thanks, and a generous amount of Gil, before taking off to speak with some fellow hunters, though her place was soon taken by a familiar woman.

“Monica? Hey!” Amara gave the older Crownsguard member a hug and a smile when she joined her, which was happily returned.

“Amara I’m glad you’re safe. When we heard about the Glaive, we were concerned…” the brunette shook her head. “But the Marshall was adamant that you’d be alright.”

“Alright and back on duty.” She motioned to the guys, who had parked the Regalia some several feet away. Monica immediately bowed and gave them a smile when she returned to standing.

“I’m glad you're safe, your highness.”

“Monica, where are all the others?” Gladiolus was clearly worried about the fate of his fellow Guards, as was Amara and Ignis, and looks on their faces made Monica’s turn grim.

“Most of the Crownsguard didn’t make it. It was all we could do to escort Lady Iris out of the city. Dustin’s with her as we speak, seeing her the rest of the way to Lestallum.”

Gladio looked away. “I owe you guys big time.”

Monica shook her head and returned her gaze to the Prince. “Head for the tomb. The Marshall awaits.”

[thechocobros]

“SEE LUNA SAFE TO ALTISSIA” - part 1 

Pair: Nyx Ulric / Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Words: 1722

Plot: Libertus warned Nyx about Glauca being Drautos, so Luna and Nyx didn’t fell in the Empire’s trap, Nyx didn’t had to use the ring and he survived. What would have happened if Nyx really had the chance to ‘see Luna safe to Altissia’, like he promised to Regis? 

Personal Comment: Since I really had a ton of unexpected encouragement, I decided to write this fic. This is only the first part as you can see and it’s also very short, but please let me know what do you think. thanks to the lovely @loveiscosmicsin for the collaboration. This fic will probably took me an eternity, guys, please be patient. Enjoy! <3

Lunafreya sat in a corner of the street, concealed by some dilapidated building. She really needed to catch her breath, it was that sole reason why the Oracle and the Glaive had stopped for a moment. She lifted her gaze from her hands, watching the sky beyond the smoke. 

 "Nyx Ulric … The wall is gone. Insomnia has fallen.“ She whispered with a sad look  of resignation. Nyx Ulric stood up right beside her and didn’t answer a thing. He was sad too though in a very different way. He was somehow angry and frustrated. Without the king’s magic, he was powerless to do anything else but stay by the princess, the last order he had been given. He took a deep breath and put the hands on her shoulders, trying to warm her up a bit while his eyes explored the area for possible dangers.

“We have to keep going, haven’t we?” She asked, shivering at the Glaive’s touch.

“Yeah. We must get out of the city before the Empire finds us. We’re almost there. Can you still move?" 

Luna was slightly injured, but it was nothing compared to the uneasiness of her heart. Her hope was still there but with the death of King Regis - a dear friend who always had been present in her fondest memories of childhood- she really lost a father figure in which she used to trust. "Don’t worry,” she replied, touching the gunshot wound on her shoulder. “A scratch won’t stop me." 

"Let’s move then." 

Nyx pulled her up delicately and together they walked fast until they saw the frontier. A huge crowd was pulling from everywhere, trying to get out of Insomnia, the city condemned to destruction. Desperation, fear, and anxiety were painted on their faces. Nobody was expecting such a madness right in the same day in which the treaty had to be signed. Luna and Nyx looked at them, disturbed by the tense atmosphere. 

"Look, I chose this frontier because it shouldn’t be so very well guarded but a lot of people probably thought the same. Masses are unstable. We can take advantage of the confusion, but we also have to be more careful. Stay close to me, keep your eyes down, and trust me." 

"Magitek troops are in position, looking for us.” Luna squeezed her fist tightly, the Ring of the Lucii imprinting on her palm. If the Empire set up a checkpoint, they have no hope of passing inspections. “We can’t pass.”

“I knocked off hundreds of empties back in my military experience. They think like a hive together than apart. We can pass unnoticed or we can trick them.” Nyx gave her a thumbs up and a cocky grin. “I’ll manage somehow." 

"Without your powers?" 

"Thank you for reminding me of it every three minutes, princess.”

She tried to smile and then she decided to trust him. After all, he guarded her well until now, even without his magic. They acted very quickly: Nyx lead Luna holding her by her elbow right in the center of the crowd, pushing people aside so she could pass. Someone protested but he didn’t care. In five minutes, they found themselves face to face with some MTs, but they were strangely still. 

 "Maybe it’s our lucky day.”

"After all we went through, I highly doubt we can call it ‘lucky’." 

"Okay, let’s just say we had luck in this very specific occasion.” Nyx was still speaking when a Magitek suddenly opened his eyes and stared right at them. That was so terrifying that both Nyx and Luna boggled. An alarm started to sound in the air. “How the hell …?” Nyx took his kukri out and in the same time he pushed the princess ahead, barking a single order, “Run!”

Luna didn’t wait for the Glaive to repeat himself. She immediately ran ahead, ignoring her prior exhaustion and the shooting pain in her feet. Nyx slammed his fist in one of the MT’s face, ready to do the same with every one of the them if it was the case. He had to clear the way - which was enormously hard to do without his warp magic - and when he thought he almost did it, in that very moment a better armed soldier appeared in the distance, shooting at him. Nyx didn’t even feel the pain immediately, he only noticed his left arm bleeding under the sleeve. “Damn” he cursed, hating the sight of his own blood. That wouldn’t have happened if he still had his powers. 

“Nyx!” The princess stopped in the middle of the road as she saw him being hurt. 

“What are you doing? Keep running!" 

"More Magitek soldiers are coming!”

Nyx lift his head and he noticed that Luna was right. In the chaos of the fight, he didn’t hear the engines getting closer. This was bad and it could have get even worse if a black car wouldn’t have appeared in the distance. At first Nyx thought it was another imperial enemy, but as the car got closer, he started to feel hope again. 

A short man dressed in white came out of the car, speaking in a very evident accent from Tenebrae: "Princess, take this car and use it to escape!“ 

"Rufus!” Luna screamed in relief as she recognized her personal chauffeur. “What do you want to do?" 

"I’ll distract them somehow, but if we lose you we lose everything. You have to go!”

 Nyx immediately felt sorry for ignoring him two days before, when he met Lunafreya for the first time and took her away from him just to follow Drautos’ instructions. That short and showy man clearly was braver than Nyx gave him credit for. 

“Thank you, Rufus. I won’t forget this,” Luna said, as she stepped back, took Nyx’s good arm and pulled him to the car. 

“We can’t leave this poor man here to die” Nyx replied, seeing her intentions. He was pretty certain that Rufus would have been mortally wounded in 0.2 seconds if he stood alone against the empire. 

“Nyx, I need YOU to come with me.” The way she pronounced his name was ambiguous. Maybe it was a plea, maybe it was request, maybe it was a supplication. She seemed worried. She looked afraid. Yet, her voice was gentle, strong, and determined. “Can you drive me out of this city? Please?" 

Nyx didn’t even try to deny her something that was his duty anyway. Trying to stop the blood on his arm with a hand, he entered in the car and assured that the princess was safe in the backseat. He glanced at Rufus for a second before he pushed the clutch, gaining speed very fast. A Magitek ship shot at them, but the car resisted pretty well and the Empire wasn’t ready to see them leave on the wheels. 

 "Your chauffeur is a dead man now” Nyx mumbled after five minutes, looking straight ahead. His conscience didn’t settle with the idea of ‘we didn’t have a choice’. He would have regret abandoning him for ages. In fact, Luna didn’t seem feeling right about it either. She just sat in the backseat, hands covering her face, maybe hiding some silent tears. A deep hush went on for a long time. In the end, Nyx decided he had to say something. “Nobody is following us. I guess we took them by surprise, so that’s an advantage for us. Still, it’s just a matter of time before they start tracking us down again." 

"I have to heal your wound” she said out of nowhere, lowering her hands and showing her tired, pretty face. 

“You what …?” Nyx looked at her in the rearview mirror. “No, I’m fine.”

“I can heal your wound. Inside the crown city’s protocol I am the former princess of Tenebrae, but outside of it I am known as the Oracle. So healing people it’s my duty." 

"That’s not the problem. We just can’t stop now. When we will arrive at Hammerhead maybe… it should be safe there." 

"Hammerhead is two hours away from Insomnia and you will bleed to death in the meantime. Please, Nyx Ulric. I’m worried." 

Disarmed by her firm kindness, Nyx muttered something unclear and pulled over the car. 'Please’, that magic word was literally everything she needed to say to make him obey like a little puppy. It happened before, it happened now, he feared that it will happen again in the future. 

"I hope you’re happy now, princess,” he commented, determined to complain as long as possible about Luna’s decision to stop in such a crucial moment. 

 "I will when your arm will stop bleeding.“ They both got out of the car. Luna moved in circle until she reached the Glaive’s side. Without saying another word she took off his jacket and examined the wound, causing him moaning in pain. "Oh, this could wait, right?” She asked in a very sarcastic tone. 

“In my defense I can say I didn’t think it was that bad." He replied cheekily.

Nyx was lucky, having the Oracle with him because no potion would have been enough with that bullet hole. Luna sighed. She covered the terrible wound with one gentle hand and with the other she cupped his cheek. Nyx stopped breathing for a moment: Luna seemed having in her daily routine the physical contact with her patients, but for him it was a brand new procedure. As she touched his forehead with hers, all he could think about was the warmth of her skin and the sweet smell of her breath. The operation took her a couple of minutes, in which she murmured prayers in foreign words that the Glaive couldn’t start to imagine their translation. Nyx didn’t move at all because he didn’t want to compromise her professionalism with some inappropriate comments. That was all she was. Professional. Nothing else. So his heart should have stopped beating so fast now. 

"How do you feel now?” she asked.

Nyx looked at the wound: there was a subtle scar where the hole used to be, but the pain was gone. 

“Much… better. Thank you, princess.” Luna sighed in relief this time and only then Nyx noticed the bead of sweat trailing down her neck. She suddenly looked so tired. “What about you?" 

 "I am fine. Healing other people cause me some discomfort, but nothing to worry about. I just need some rest.” She stood unsteadily on her feet and took a deep breath. “I’m sure I have some clean clothes in the luggage van. I’ll change and then we can leave. Hammerhead?" 

 Nyx looked at her. It was his turn to be worried. "Hammerhead.”