#obviously regis like after he just got out of the grave

[gayregis]

soulapparition replied to your post “webbedwingers replied to your post “i kinda wanna watch episode...”

Omg ur so right!! I just finished the good place and omg.....i felt the regis vibes so hard ������

this was the part that made me really draw some parallels (the trolley problem):

but tbh i just started season 3 and. ok there are more parallels on an emotional level (i.e. where he actually. solves. the trolley problem. [F]).

also the part where he was like “i got a gumball from a machine!” and janet was like “did you chew it?” and he was like “oh... no.... missed opportunity...”

[abluescarfonwaston]

Did someone ask for a quick and angsty immortal jaskier prompt? "It was supposed to be the music," he whispered, voice breaking. Heart breaking. "The songs. I wanted my songs to be remembered forever. I never wanted this."

Why would you do this to me anon. i’m already crying over the fact dandelion outlives everyone he loves. Major Character Death Warning. Obviously. Literally everyone dies. Uuuh also this kinda turns into Lambert/Jaskier at the end but like. They’re both Centuries old so nothing Happens.

When the wasting sickness swept through Lettenhove it killed his Mother and his Father and his Sisters and left him untouched. 

He was ten and the world was over. Except he kept waking up in the morning.

At thirteen a girl at Oxenfurt, Essi Daven, played her Lute in the commons and sang and had the most beautiful cornflower blue eyes. And for the first time in years he sang a duet with her and suddenly he was a bard and he had a little sister again. 

Maybe the world hadn’t ended. Maybe it finally restart.

At seventeen he met a man with white hair and seemly as many scars on his body as his heart and fell in love. Because Bards fell in love easily and he was impossibly easy to love.

The witcher plead for his life. Plead for them to let the bard go.

“No. Both of us or neither.” He was done outliving those he loved. At seventeen he was already done with that. “You kill him and let me go and i’ll destroy your mountain. Kill every last one of you in revenge.”

He’d leave behind a song. The one he’d written as a child and had swept the town more devastating than even the scarlet fever had been. It would live on past him. He would be remembered. The people he loved would be too. Toss a coin to your Witcher. The people he loved immortalized in song.

It wasn’t supposed to make him immortal.

“Give it a rest Jaskier.” Danity snapped. “It’s not you that has to be afraid of anything. No one ever touches a troubadour. For unfathomable reasons you’re inviolable.”

He’d still feared then. Chappelle could have had him killed. He was pretty sure he could die. Mostly he feared the pain. Or dying alone.

“When an old woman gets tired of life she walks into the woods without a weapon. The results are guaranteed.” He’d told Geralt when he’d moaned about how the world was changing and -more importantly- that he had no work.

Remember how I don’t even carry a knife when I follow you out on an adventure? No weapons at all. Ever. Just me and my lute.

He’d brushed death. A thousand times he’d almost met her. He followed Geralt- who was prophesied to always have death follow after him. You’d think at some point they’d meet.

Essi and Geralt fell in love on the coast. He wrote a ballad for them. About how their love was so powerful not even death could come between them.

He never played it. Not to anyone. He didn’t think it was actually about Essi and Geralt.

When rash appeared on Essi’s face in Vizima during the quarantine his hands shook.

“Not her.” He’d screamed at the gods. They didn’t exist of course. If they had then they’d abandoned them all long ago. “Not her.”

“Jaskier?” She shivered violently. “I don’t want to be burned.”

“You won’t be. You’re going to be fine.” He promised. Clutching her hand. “Promise Poppet. You’re going to be fine.”

The cremation fires blazed outside.

“I want to be buried in the woods. With my lute and-” She hurled mostly into the bucket. “My necklace. Please Jaskier.”

“Course Poppet. When you’re old and grey I will bury you out in the forest.”

“Thank you.” She clutched the little pearl. “For giving me him. I love him.”

“I never saw him happier than when he was with you Poppet.”

“What about when he was with you?”

“Oh come now.” He shifted her in his arms and moved the bucket a little further away. “You know me. I’m insufferable.”

“I love you Jaskier.” She cried as she shivered with less and less energy.

“I love you too Poppet.”

He carried her from the city. Into the forest. Her heart stopped beating before they arrived. He dug her grave and buried her with her lute and her pearl necklace.

With the pearl he’d given to her as a birthday gift. From him and Geralt.

When Regis passed it felt absurd. Humans weren’t supposed to outlive goddamn vampires in their fifth fucking century.

And then there was Geralt. Died in Yennefer’s arms along with her.

“It was supposed to be me.” He told no one as Ciri led their bodies out to the lake. “I was supposed to die with him.” Love so great not even death can part us.

But the story was never really about him was it?

Nenneke had a garden full of plants that grew under a crystal skylight. They didn’t grow anywhere else in the world anymore.

He’d asked Geralt about it. She’d said something about the sun and how it was changing. Apparently Geralt had asked why they all didn’t live under crystal skylights then, if it was so deadly.

“It’s already too late for us.” She’d said.

She talked liked the world was ending but the world ended all the time. And he still woke up in the morning.

Zoltan’s beard turned grey. He supposed he should have been thankful that Zoltan got to turn grey. It was better than most of the people he’d loved.

“How’s your fucking hair still Gold. You’re supposed to be getting old too!”

“I dye it.” He lied with a roll of the eyes. He’d stopped dying it years ago.

That winter he buried Zoltan too.

Golden eyes stared at him in confusion. “You look just like.” He started. His thin hair was grey. His wolf medallion gleamed in the sunlight that streaked into the bar.

“You’re one of the last Witchers i think.” He told him as the waves crashed outside. “Might even be the last.”

“Fucking hope so.” He sat down across from him and stole his beer. “Shitty job and a shitty life.” He squinted at him- which Jaskier knew was entirely unnecessary. He just forgotten to adjust his eyes. “What’s your name bard?”

“Dandelion.” He answered. It had been for the last century. “Yours?”

“Lambert.” He downed the drink. “You really think i’m the last? That worth a song? One of my brothers had a lot of songs.”

“Yes I suppose he did.” He waved for another drink. “And look what it got him.”

“Died surrounded by people who loved him.”

“Are you sure you know what a pogrom is?”

That got him a sharp toothy grin.

“I could write you a song but-” He was tired of burying people he loved.

“But?”

“I’m cursed you see.” It was definitely a curse these days. “I’ll live until the last of my songs is forgotten. I really don’t need anymore material.”

Lambert leaned forward curiously. “Doesn’t sound like a curse.”

“You don’t think it sounds like a curse?” He sneered. Lambert’s face faltered. “To outlive everyone you love?”

Lambert paused. Thinking. “Write me a song then. Play it just for me. So if my song’s the last we’ll go together.”

“And what’s my payment for this song?”

“Company.” Lambert’s grey eyes glittered. “You look like you need it.”

“Not as much as you. I bet you talk to your horse.”

“Well i know you do pretty boy. Heard you in the stable.”

He leaned back on the bench. “So what’s a Witcher do in a world without monsters?”

He shrugged. “Fish mostly.”

“I can do that. Once almost snagged a catfish the size of you. Got a djinn instead. Very bad deal honestly.”

“You expect me to believe that? I know about Bards and Ballads and how you’re all rotten liars.”

“Don’t forget about fisherman and their tales.”

The boat leaked worse than an old drunkard but it was small enough and the lake calm enough that it didn’t make him sick.

“I could just kill you. Curse probably can’t fix decapitation.” Lambert offered with his stick in the water. He claimed were bombs they could use instead if they got desperate. Or bored.

He smiled and shook his head. “Give it a try.”

Lambert raised an eyebrow but pulled a silver blade from it’s sheath.

His pole reeled and the boat tilted to the side, plunging him and the sword into the water.

He laughed as the attempted to drag the monstrous fish to the boat. Lambert cursed and climbed in. Yanking at the rod until the line snapped and they fell back into the boat in a painful pile. Laughing.

He didn’t remember the last time he’d laughed.

“Sing me a song bard.” Lambert would request from under his floppy sun brimmed hat. “No else up here but me.”

“There’s an entire stone keep on the hill.”

“No ones lived there in centuries. No one can hear you up here but me.”

He frowned at the ruins on the hill. Lambert kicked him.

He grinned and for the first time in decades - sang.

Maybe. Maybe the world hadn’t ended. Maybe it had finally restart.

“What was this place called?” He asked as they wandered through the crumbled ruin, covered in moss and ivy.

“Kaer Morhen.” He said like the words hurt him.

They hurt him too. He laughed.

He laughed some more.

He couldn’t stop laughing until Lambert smacked him hard enough to see stars.

“I never got to come here. Geralt.” He caught the flinch but moved past it. “Never trusted me enough to even let me know which country it was in.”

“So you were his bard.”

He nodded as Lambert kicked a stone apart. “He was right not to tell me of course. But.” It still hurt that his best friend hadn’t trusted him with his home. He’d taken Yennefer here. But not him. Never him.

He didn’t deserve Geralt’s trust. A thief, a liar, a spy, a bard. It still hurt.

“Well a wolf finally took you here. Is it everything you fucking dreamed?”

He took it in. “Nah. It’s rubbish.”

Lambert smirked. “Yeah. At least that hasn’t changed.”

“You’re hairs getting grey bard.”

“What?” He nearly leaped into the water in his haste to look.

Grey strands streaked his beard.

“Thank you.” He cried. “Thank you.”

“Still owe me that song Dandy.”

He wrote Lambert a lot of songs. Performed for an audience of one.

“Are you really okay with the fact no one will ever hear them? I mean what’s the point in being immortalized in song if-”

“Yeah. Didn’t give a shit about the songs.”

“Hey!” He protested. Kicking him where he lounged in front of the fire. “They’re good songs!”

He grunted in fake pain. Wiggled out of range. “Did Geralt ever tell you why he liked having you around?”

“My charming personality I assume.”

Lambert snorted.

He sat down on the floor and poke him. “Don’t fall asleep. Tell me why you think he did.”

“No one tells Witchers bedtime stories.”

“Oh.” Lambert was halfway to sleep already. “Would you like one?”

“Yeah.”

“What you think happens after?” They were huddled together. Old and grey as a storm raged outside. “We die.”

“I gave up on gods when i was a child.”

“So did i.”

“Then.” He paused. Listened to the howl. “Whatever’s next at least neither of us is going alone.”

Lambert squeezed his bony hand. “What’s the chance we see them again?”

“Hm.” He pretended to consider. “Well we’re definitely going to hell so-”

“Like anyone we gave a shit about wouldn’t be.”

“Point.”

He closed his golden eyes. “Hey Dandy.”

“Yeah?”

“Sing me out.”

“It’d be my pleasure.”

And quite singing filled the drafty cabin until the song stopped.

The world ended.

And at long last no one woke up in the morning.

[amarabliss]

Galahdian Dreams - 4 (Nyx Ulric/Reader)

Synopsis: Your father was the king of Insomnia. He was good and just. You never thought you’d meet anyone like him after he was taken from the world. Your Uncle Regis, has taken the throne and followed through on your father’s plans. It was good to see the city in capable hands.

Enter Nyx Ulric, refugee, Glaive, fighter…how is it he can see all your secrets? He knows how to set you off and he’s promised to not let you go…(AU for sure, Regis wasn’t supposed to take the throne, and our lovely Nyx has more of a past then we thought…)

Part One Part Two Part Three

(Gif credit amarabliss)

“Scourge….” Nyx sat next to you looking at an old new paper clipping a bulb had been wrapped in, “Scooourrrgeee…What is it? This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this word around the city.”

“You’ve never heard of scourge? Starscrouge…” He looked at you as you leaned back on your heels, “Really?”

“Uh…is it a rock band or something?” He watched your eyes get wider as you stared at him in disbelief. He shouldn’t be surprised, it’s a look you gave him a lot over the last month. Apparently Galahd and Insomnia were different in a lot of ways, most of what you had considered everyday knowledge was news to him and his fellow Galahdians.

“No…” You shook your head before pulling off your gardening gloves, “No…Nyx it’s uh a very scary disease, it has an almost 100% fatality rate.”

“What?” He looked at the paper clipping headline again ‘Scourge enters city limits,’ “This is…like from a year ago. What happened?”

“I don’t really recall…” You frowned shaking your head, “I wasn’t exactly coherent at the time, but cases here in the city are low as far as I know. Only an Oracle can cure it, and right now there’s only two in the world, Queen Sylva and Princess Lunafreya of Tenebrae.”

“There’s only two people in the entire world that save people from a death disease…” Nyx shook his head looking up at the sky through the greenhouse glass, “Maybe someone up there should rethink the math…”

“I don’t disagree with you.” You sighed shaking your head, “If they really cared they would have prevented the meteor that causes the disease to begin with…it would solve a lot of problems actually.”

“No meteor, no deamons.” Nyx gave you a sad smile, “Well the gods are on my shit list again.”

“Do they really ever get off the shit list?” You smirked as you stood up putting away your tools.

“Oh! Is that a joke?” Nyx laughed a little as you shrugged, “I’ll be damned…the lady has a sense of humor.”

“I’m not always a political guru…” You wiped your hands on your apron, how you never got you clothes dirty impressed him. He’d helped you a couple times and Drautos had to give him another talking to, luckily just warnings this time due to the nature of it all.

“No obviously not.” He stood up looking at you, smirk growing as he talked “You’re also a gardener who apparently moonlights as a comedian.”

“Ha ha…the Glaive thinks he’s so funny…” You rolled your eyes picking up your gardening box, “Can you please spritz everything?”

“Spritz! Spritzing!” He could hear you giggling as you walked away and he picked up the hose misting everything you had just planted. He found guarding you extremely easy and natural. Especially since you let your wall down some.

He still had to fight you to open up, but it wasn’t as difficult as he initially thought it would be. Okay that was a lie he kept telling himself to not just grab you and start shaking you. All in all, he enjoyed the quiet you created around yourself.

“Why can’t he just leave it alone!?” His head snapped over toward the small shed you had walked over to. Bushes blocked his view of you and whoever you were yelling at.

He dropped the hose taking off into a sprint as another voice began to raise over yours. His hand fell to his kukris as he took a deep breath reminding himself to see the situation first before acting.

“Y/N, you have a responsibility-” Nyx moved around the bushes that had blocked his view seeing a councilmember. His face was red in anger as he tried to tower over you.

“You!” You pointed in his face making him step back. Good for you, Nyx thought to himself, “And everyone else are the ones who pushed me off to the sidelines when Regis stepped in. You all found my worth next to nothing with out the power of the crystal. Now you want to parade me around like a piece of meat…to be handed of to some highborn schmuck! I won’t do it!”

“Y/N, this is not a request from me but the king…” He man reached for your hand and you recoiled.

“Whoa hey…” Nyx stepped in between the two of you, “Walk away, sir.”

“You do not get to order me around.” The man glared at him, “This is a matter…”

“This is a matter that is clearly done.” Nyx shut him down as he glanced back to you, “Ma’am, I believe we’re running late.”

You took in a deep breath looking at him nodding slowly as you caught his drift, “Yes…we are…”

Nyx smirked as you tore of your apron slamming it into the man’s chest as you walked past. As he followed you the man latched on to his arm stopping him, “Learn your place lahdy…”

“What did you just say, Randall?” They both looked at you. Your face was turning red with rage. Nyx had never seen this side of you before and he hoped he’d never be in the receiving end of it. The way your eyes darkened, and hair seemed to stand on end…it was terrifying.

“My lady…” He began to backpedal quickly taking his hand back.

“You should be ashamed of yourself! If my father we’re still alive…” You stepped toward him but was intercepted. Nyx was looking down into your eyes with a cool calmness, “Nyx…”

Nyx felt his chest burn with fire that he couldn’t act on, but he would be the better man. He had to be the better man, “Good day, sir.”

You didn’t resist him as he escorted you out and he didn’t speak as you both walked down the hall. Finally, after putting in some distance from the greenhouse, you spoke breaking the tense silence between the two of you, “Nyx…”

“It’s fine.” He cut you off quickly. It wasn’t fine, it would never be fine.

“No, it’s not!” You stopped looking at him with such a heartbreaking ache, at least there was one person in this city that didn’t look at him like he was dirt, “What Randall did…Nyx…I’m so sorry…”

“I’m fine…what’s a racial slur among councilmembers…” As much as he wanted to play it off that everything was okay. It wasn’t, belittling others because they were different never would be. Hostilities against his people were rising and it was worrying, “At least I didn’t get spit on. Today is a good day.”

He watched you hang your head, “This…this is so wrong…my father is turning in his grave.”

“Yeah, probably, but not much we can do about it.” He stepped closer to you a playful smile appearing on his lips, “I mean if you wanna make me feel better…”

“I will not…” You raised your eyes to meet his trying not to smile, “I will not give into your demands.”

“But I was just insulted…I deserve it.” Nyx smirked wiggling his eyebrows, “And that wonderful sweet lady of a cook never tells you no.”

You rolled your eyes before nodding, “Well…I suppose I could use some chocolate cake right now too…”

Nyx drew his elbow in while making a fist in victory before he asked his question, “So…before I rushed in…who was serving you up and for what?”

You shook your head frowning, “The King has requested my presence at a gathering…a ball actually…where several candidates will be present to consider me for marriage…”

“Marriage? Seriously?” His eyes widened as he shook his head, “Shouldn’t he be marrying off his own son first?”

“I’m sure Noctis will also be suffering through this as well.” You smiled sadly, “And I apparently still have some value in this place.”

Nyx stopped the outside the kitchen door touching your arm gently, “Hey…”

You stopped looking at him with your beautiful eyes. Shit everything about you was elegant and perfection. He wished he was in a position to help you see that. You smiled at him reassuringly, “I’m alright, I didn’t mean it that way. I meant in the game of it all.”

“Ah right, just checking.” He nodded before opening the door entering first, looking around at all the cooks and kitchen staff, seeing no threat he stepped aside, “Ma’am…”

“Ma’am? Aren’t we…” You stopped as you stepped inside seeing your cousin, “Noctis?”

“You get the memo too?” Noct looked at you from the counter cake in hand.

“Yeah…let me guess…” Nyx watched as you hopped up on the counter next to him, “Straight from Dad with a speech of being responsible…”

“Sup man.” Nyx turned his head as Gladio walked over to him handing a piece of delicious looking cake, “Perks of the job, right?”

Nyx took it lifting the fork that was unceremoniously stabbed in the center of the cake out, “Yeah, only when her grace finds it appropriate to sneak in here.”

“I remember, trust me it gets better. The fact you haven’t been fired yet is a good sign.” Gladio told him before taking a big bite.

“You remember?” Nyx glanced over to you rubbing Noct's shoulders.

“Uh…yeah, I was supposed to be her shield and I was for a couple of years once I passed my Crownesguard training.” Gladio looked him a dimness coming to his eyes, “I wasn’t…I…”

Nyx looked at him taking in a deep breath before turning around to block him from everyone’s view, “I am sure there is perfectly good reason why you weren’t there that night. Don’t dwell on it.”

“My sister got sick…and my dad was with King Malcolm…” Gladio frowned looking over to you, “She was so kind about it…go, be with Iris…I should have…”

“Stop.” Gladio met Nyx's gaze, “You can’t do that…you can’t live with what ifs, it’ll stop you from doing your job now and that’s protecting the Crown Prince.”

“…you sound like you know a thing or two about it.” Gladio stared at him as he looked away. Nyx looked back when he sighed, “I guess it’s none of my business…but…eats me up sometimes. I still feel really protective of Y/N…I would still be protecting her if…well I’m sure you know now..”

Nyx nodded a he poked at the cake on the plate, “Yeah…I don’t get how that works…she’s definitely a Lucis. I mean she got a lot of he mother’s looks, but there’s no way she’s not Malcolm’s.”

“I know what you mean. What they put her through to prove it though…fuck man…” Gladio sighed heavily, “I just had to sit by and watch.”

“What do you mean? They didn’t just run a blood test?” Nyx set the cake down as Gladio gave him new information.

“No…they pretty much put her on a public trial going through every single detail of her life from birth to present.” Gladio shook his head a protective anger coming to his eyes, “I was getting so pissed for her. They tracked down everyone in the delivery room that day…it was a fucking circus.”

Nyx looked over seeing you smile and nudge Noct with your arm as Gladio went on, “Tried dragging King Malcolm through the mud too. Thankfully my dad and Cor stepped in shutting down the accusations of infidelity immediately. The last thing was the test…by that time they had smeared Y/N's name so much it didn’t matter that she was the heir. Power or no powers…no one deserved that.”

“That’s politics for ya…” Nyx looked at him, “It was the same back home. Everyone has something to gain. Selena was just really good at seeing through the bullshit.”

“You knew Queen Selena? Were you her guard?” Gladio looked at him wide eyed.

“Something like that.” Nyx nodded as he leaned against the counter crossing his arms watching you and Noct, “They’re really close, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, after Noct’s mom passed, Y/N took him under her wing a little.” Gladio nodded smiling, “We were all going through something back then. Together we all kind of figured it out.”

“I’m glad to know that she’s got some support in this place when I’m not here.” Nyx rattled off absently.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gladio raised his eyebrows a little.

Nyx looked him and quickly smiled, “You know when she gets stressed and just needs someone to vent to. This paper she is working on…yeesh…”

It was a quick save this time and it answered more questions he had. You carried your burdens alone, but helped everyone carry theirs. He hoped he could help with the weight of yours.

He stood up straight when you hopped off the counter speaking to Noct, “Come now, I’m sure you’ll meet a wonderful young woman at the ball.”

“I’m 17…I don’t wanna think about marriage…” Noct stood up slowly sliding off holding the edge of the counter, “He’s practically arranged it anyway…”

“What? With who?” You crossed your arms looking at him, eyebrows coming together.

“Luna…” Noct blushed deeply.

“Well it’s not a terrible match.” You smirked a little, “She does like you…”

“She’s just so much older then me…” Noct rubbed the back of his neck.

“They say with age comes experience…perhaps she’s exactly what you need.” Noct groaned letting his head fall forward. You frowned before you stepped to him giving him a tight hug, “No matter what, Noct, trust your heart before your head and your decision won’t come back to haunt you.”

Nyx smiled a little as the prince hugged you back before Gladio pulled him back, “So you excited for this ball?”

“Ball? You mean we have to attend?” Nyx looked at him wide eyes.

“Oh dude…” Galdio winced at his reaction, “we should grab a drink later and talk. I’ll fill you right in.”

And they did…and Nyx was glad for it. Right after he called Drautos right after…

“Did you know about all this? They have protocol after protocol…” Nyx stopped looking both ways before crossing the street, “it’s like they want us to fail and make a spectacle of ourselves.”

“They do.” Nyx stopped balling up his hand as he listened, “Nyx we have no representation…we’re immigrants who only get to stay as long as we’re useful.”

“This isn’t how it should be…” Nyx sighed.

“Then do something about.” Drautos words sent him into instant anxiety.

“Titus…” Nyx couldn’t find the right words this time.

Drautos sighed before speaking, “I’ll reach out to Clarus to verify everything you were told by his son; it seems like he’s raised him to be like himself so hopefully he’ll be just as forthcoming. Thankfully we have few days and I can sort it all out.”

“Thank you…be safe on your way back home tonight.” Nyx told him.

“You as well sir.”

He hung up before he corrected him. Not that it would matter, Titus would always see him the same way. He managed to get everything arranged and set up correctly for the ball with Clarus' help.

He swore up and down that someone was supposed to have sent it over from the council meeting. No one was surprised the procedures didn’t find their way to their destination.

Despite that, Nyx stood outside your quarters waiting for you to finish getting ready for the whole damn thing. The past two days were not easy for you.

When you wanted peace and quiet someone always found you asking you questions about the ball. What you should and shouldn’t wear, hair style recommendations, make-up tutorials. You managed not to yell at any of the attendants, but Nyx could see how frustrated you were getting and with precision class you finally broke…

“You know what…I trust you to make the right decisions.” You placed your hands over the young woman’s hands. For the last two hours this young woman named Anita was bombarding you with everything, expressing how important this event was, “After all, you are the best at what you do Anita, and you wouldn’t do anything to embarrass me. I place everything in your exceptionally well manicured hands.”

“Really?” Nyx had to hold back his laughter from how giddy the Anita looked before she leaned forward hugging you tight, “I won’t let you down!”

“I’m sure you won’t.” You sighed as you watched her run off.

“I think you’re gonna live to regret that.” Nyx chuckled as you turned back to your book.

You gave him a look that spoke volumes more then this library could hold, “Of that I have no doubt. You have to pick your battles sometimes and this is one that I’m willing to give in.”

Nyx took in a deep breath trying to remember everything they had gone over in the briefing earlier. Exits in case of any situation, proper space between yourself and your charge, and uniform. He pulled at his collar again. He’d much rather be in the battle attire, but protecting a royal meant always looking good.

He came to attention as your door opened. You voice sounded exasperated, “Sorry…I don’t do the whole ball thing very well…and Anita went a little overboard I feel like…”

“It’s fine, I’m sure…” He turned his head to look at you and he found no words would ever adequately describe what he saw before him.

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 3 - The gathering

“Good morning, Sir Gechutel.”

“Welcome, Lady Seira.”

“We are pleased to see you again, Sir Regis.”

As a former head of a clan and two young heads of clans waltzed through the corridor leading to the Lord’s Hall, the Central Knights who happened to be in their way bowed and expressed their full respect.

“Are you nervous, sir?”

Seira cautiously asked Regis, who was fidgeting with the sleeves of the new garment he recently came to possess as the official head of the Landegres.

“O-of course not.”

“No need to be concerned. I am here, and so is Sir Gechutel. Besides, you have known the rest of the heads of clans since centuries ago.”

“Right... That’s right. Yeah, I’ll be fine. I mean, I’m fine. So don’t worry, Seira.”

Regis masked himself with I-don’t-give-a-damn-about-what-you-think atmosphere he commonly wore, raising his head high. Unbeknownst to him, however, Seira could see exactly what he was haunted with.

Seira could see that (according to a metaphor she once picked up from Ikhan and Shinwoo) Regis was feeling as if he was about to face Mr. Fedor by the gate, waiting for any student who dared to show up after classes had begun.

Just when she was about to offer another word of consolation to a rookie head of a clan endeavoring to hide his nervousness,

“My, my! If it isn’t the honorable heads of Landegres and Loyard!”

Shouted someone, his voice obviously pitched high and loud on purpose. The three pairs of ruby-red pupils rapidly rotated backwards in search of the source of the voice.

As a result, they found a man with pale skin and orange hair smiling at them. His façade would have counted as fair, if it were not for his dreadfully pallid skin – so colorless that everybody would suspect he ran away from a hospital for the majorly diseased.

“I am gravely sorry, but you are...?”

“Oh, where are my manners? My name is Deneb Illiness.”

The man displayed a motion of courtesy as he answered Regis. And Gechutel was the one who responded.

“Deneb Illiness? You mean the head of the Illiness clan?”

“So you remember me, Sir Gechutel. Which is a great honor. Correct me if I am mistaken – isn’t this the first time we are seeing each other ever since you passed on your title to Sir Regis?”

“Haha, indeed it is.”

“I must say, it has been so long since I last saw you, Sir Regis. I cannot pronounce how glad I am to see you this morning. I have been waiting for my chance to greet you in person.”

Regis knew it would be very rude of him not to answer, but he could not maneuver his tongue as needed. He was painstakingly skimming through his memories, trying to pinpoint exactly when he first picked up the name “Illiness.”

“And I believe this is our first encounter in person, Lady Seira.”

Deneb, instead of waiting for Regis to reply, fully concentrated his gaze on Seira’s countenance as he smoothed out his voice.

Seira momentarily held her breath, for she could have sworn she saw a vision of a ravenous viper coiled up in a huge ball of desire upon hearing him address her.

“It is a tremendous joy and honor to at last meet the one and only head of the Loyards. It is a huge shame that I have missed my past opportunities to introduce myself to such a beauty. Which is why I sincerely look forward to meeting you more often from now on.”

Seira soundlessly attended to a series of words so slickly delivered by Deneb. Gechutel picked up that she did not have anything in particular to reciprocate to Deneb; hence he stepped in with a faint smile.

“What a shame, but we must get back on our track. Why not save the rest of the conversation for the future?”

“Oh, dear me. My apologies – again. We cannot allow any delay or hindrance in the Lord’s gathering. So please, go ahead. But rest assured, it was a true pleasure to share my time with you, albeit very briefly.”

Deneb’s orange hair waved up and down before he walked away. Regis made sure that his footsteps faded enough before he opened his mouth.

“Just who is he? There’s no denying I have heard the name Illiness before, but I cannot remember when.”

Gechutel, who had his eyes fixed on Deneb’s back with emotions more than pregnant, hand-motioned at the two young nobles to move for more details.

“Upon the former lord’s eternal departure and betrayal of several former heads of clans, the names upon which Lukedonia can rely on were naturally decimated to seven, widely referred to as the heptaclans. Well, now we should recoin the term as the octaclans, as Claudia’s devotion won back honor and credit for the name of Tradio. However, I believe you two are aware that there are more than eight names in Lukedonia that have sustained their titles and properties.”

“Most certainly. There have been subhistories of inheritance of individual names and privileged leadership since the genesis of our kind. The only difference between owners of such histories and the pure descendants of the octaclans is that the former lack positions in the Lord’s Hall.”

“And Illiness happens to be one of the clans not appointed at the Lord’s Hall. As for Deneb, he took the lead of his clan when he was not much older than either of you. Natheless, his extraordinary eloquence and artistry of weaving connections intra-clan and extra-clan brought him a notable elevation among the non-octaclans, or the clans other than the eight clans regularly permitted at the Lord’s Hall. In fact, it is thanks to him that the Illiness clan presently boasts the strongest influence among the non-octaclans.”

“Oh...! Now I remember. Despite the fact that he is still young – in fact, even younger than Rael – he has been the head of the Illiness clan even before we set out to the human world.”

Regis joined his grandfather in nodding, while Seira kept on walking, unruffled and unfazed. It was because – thanks to Regis – she was reminded of another noble who returned to Lukedonia to resume command of his clan.

It has been 4 days since the young heads of clans returned home, and the day has come for the thronemaster of noblekind to discuss with the heads of octaclans what is ebbing and flowing within and beyond the Lukedonian shoreline.

In other words, the day has come for Regis and Rael to start visiting the Lord’s Hall as the ones in charge of their respective clans.

‘Which reminds me, where could Sir Rael be?’

Though its fame and familiarity with reclusion are no match for those of the Ru clan, the Kertia clan has also made a name for itself with lack of communication with its fellow clans. Which is partially why neither Seira nor Regis ever thought about inviting Rael for today’s walk to the Lord’s Hall.

That is to say, they rid themselves of a chance to find out what lies at Rael’s heart now that he is about to take on his duties as a head of a clan.

Seira could bet nobody would expect the young Kertia to produce a noteworthy feat on his first day.

‘But he should at least show that he is ready for the task.’

Seira lifted her head as she marked a period to her thought, staring straight at the regal doors of the Lord’s Hall. The doors slid open with heavy noise, and the three nobles stopped short as if their minds were in synchronization. 

The supposedly empty hall was occupied by a very familiar blonde noble, standing poised, motionless in the spot that once belonged to Razark.

“Good morning, Rael.”

Rael broke free from his statuesque inertia only when Gechutel called him within a couple steps.

“Welcome, Sir Gechutel. Sir Regis. Lady Seira.”

Rael’s greeting rendered them enormously doubtful of their own hearings. The lower half of his face was concealed in the Kertia fashion, thus made elusive from his audience; nevertheless, his voice was as serene as the surface of a glassy winter lake.

“What is the meaning of this, Rael?”

Regis retorted, his pupils spinning in wild bewilderment. Seira conveyed wonder just as big with her eyes, twice as large as its usual size.

“A lot has changed as of now. Therefore, I personally concluded that I must change as well.”

Rael announced oh-so-calmly, as if in turn questioning their reactions. In doing so, he conferred on Regis an urge to slap himself for treating Seira no differently from his past.

“Karious once promised me there is no need to worry about the future of the Kertias. And it appears Karious has for once said something absolutely sane.”

Is that supposed to mean that Sir Karious has been otherwise insane?

Responding to Gechutel’s comment that was surely not meant to disrespect the head of the Bluster clan, Seira and Regis very quickly darted looks at the white-haired speaker. In contrast, Rael did not even bat an eye.

“I am proud of you, Rael. I give you my sincerest welcome for officially joining the Lord’s Hall.”

Rael accepted Gechutel’s salutation with a silent bow of his head, and the two Landegres walked away, whereas Seira cast her eyes at Rael. However, Rael had already turned his body in its original pose, seemingly engrossed in his thoughts without even recognizing her presence.

After much deliberation, Seira decided to open her mouth, only to be interrupted by the rest of the expected attendants.

“Well, well, well – look who it is!”

Karious raised his hand in glee, with Rosaria, Kei, Ludis, and Claudia shadowing him.

“As much as I anticipated this scene, I feel so proud of seeing you three kids waiting for us! Now, where did I put my hanky?”

“What was that about kids and handkerchief...? Karious, how many times do I have to tell you to watch your tongue?!”

Rosaria snapped at Karious, loud enough to make him shrivel like a shameplant blasted with harsh gust.

“If you’ve got time to spare to flaunt your stupidity, why don’t you spare it for your feet and get over to your place? She is on her way.”

Rosaria cut Karious’s attempt to retaliate, as she tapped her temple. Immediately Karious straightened himself, and the rest of the heads of clans followed suit.

For Rosaria’s action and words could mean only one thing – their lord signaled her appearance through her mind link, just steps away from flourishing her cape at her throne.

  *****

Enough time has passed to make it no easy job for the ten nobles to remember when was the last time all octaclans had a gathering. Nonetheless, nothing has particularly changed.

For one thing, before Regis, Seira, and Rael permanently returned to Lukedonia, several heads of clans and even lord herself had been visiting Korea in turns. And since nobles are endowed with lifespan far exceeding those of other races, the time that the three young heads of clans had spent outside cannot be even dubbed long.

In fact, if transfigured into human standards, it is safe to say they have merely returned from a school trip worth a week or two.

Hence hello’s and how’s-it-going’s were naturally omitted, shaping the atmosphere as serious as it could be. It was also partly because the first topic of discussion concerned what is left of the Union.

“According to the status crosscheck we conducted with KSA’s assistance just before our return, there is a worldwide movement in eradicating what the Union has left behind, still in the beginning stage but definitely there. The facilities and institutions that have been receiving support from the Union or disguised as civilian properties are being shut down upon search and discovery.”

“And that country is not exempt from this phenomenon. Currently, the KSA is engaged with thorough shutdown of the remaining Union facilities – especially those related to Crombell, who was the key personnel of the Union.”

As soon as Regis and Seira reported, Karious asked in not-at-all-comical-tone for once.

“Is the boss... I mean, is Sir Frankenstein and his men also taking part in the operation?”

“Yes. Since the three of them were once bound to the Union, we expect they would prove highly helpful, with their experiences to add more than a handful of hands in tracking the Union whereabouts.”

“Their journey will not prove so peaceful, however. The Union is now a beast beheaded, yet its body still breathes and struggles to stay breathing.”

“My lord. Even though Seira and Regis will reside at Lukedonia, I presume it will bring mutual good to dispatch them temporarily to the human world to provide help if needed.”

Lascrea nodded in response to very professionally listed opinions from Seira, Regis, and Gechutel.

“I, too, wish to see no more forlorn sacrifice in relation to the Union. And absolutely no more from the Noblesse. He has already sacrificed so much for all of us; it is but logical to make sure he never again spills his life.”

Every listener very solemnly lowered head or slightly nodded in agreement.

“Which reminds me, I heard the human reporters who aided me in sending my message to the human world are still here.”

“You were told correct, my lord.”

Lascrea was more than correct. The reporters who almost shipped themselves to the other world in search of Lukedonia still lingered.

By now they were supposed to be home, if only time was gracious with them. Unable to even make a proper end to the interview, Lascrea had to set off to thwart Crombell’s last scheme for human extinction, whose existence consequently scattered into bloody stardust in the air. As a result, Lukedonia made all of its functions frozen in order to pay elegiac respect to the noble sword that guarded the noblekind.

And even after Lascrea verified her survival in person, she was held terribly busy with her top priorities, including stabilization of Lukedonia and reinforcement of alliance with the wolfkind, its throne rekindled by its ex-lord. She could thereby find time six days after her return to discuss how to send back their human guests.

“Please forgive us, my lord, for not being competent enough to send back our visitors much sooner. We will make proper amendments on the matter, as soon as we complete regular procedures of determining whether they have acquired any intelligence that may manifest as threat to our kind in the future.”

“No, Ludis. I need them to stay a bit longer.”

“...Beg your pardon?”

“I have something to ask them in person.”

Rosaria glanced at Lascrea to ask what she has in mind, only to seal her lips right away. Nobody questioned her sudden shift, though, for Lascrea’s eyes, as sanguine as those born nobles, fleetingly flashed with firm determination not a soul would dare to mimic.

The gleam in her eyes soon vanished, and Lascrea returned to a very-lordly-manner to examine what was waiting for her attention. Her faithful followers filled her in with intelligence and advice she needed, and everyone found a chance to speak as the gathering went on for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and eventually an hour.

That is, everyone including Kei, Rosaria, and even Karious and Claudia.

Or that is, everyone except Rael, who was the sole attendant to keep his speechless stance.

*****

‘Perhaps he was a little intimidated,’ thought Seira, as she watched Rael striding outside as soon as he finished giving his farewell after the gathering.

She could remember the time when she first entered the Lord’s Hall as the head of the Loyards.

Despite being a legitimate head of a clan, the only thing she could do was watching the experienced heads of clans voicing themselves and sharing ideas and proposals. Even when they reached the puzzles and debates following her father’s death, Gechutel got to speak in her place.

She was aware the gathering at the time was an irregular situation. After all, he was the one who informed her about her father’s demise, and she was basically hit in the head with her father’s title and responsibilities out of blue, not at all prepared or practiced enough to perform what she was entrusted with.

The term “sudden” or any other thesauric expression would be an understatement of the circumstances.

However, with the facts aside, she was well-aware of what it feels like to be an authenticated head of a clan who could not even pretend to speak in the Lord’s Hall.

So contrary to her past experiences or her normal behavioral patterns, she tried to call upon Rael, until she was interrupted by a voice, so unexpected and so unexpectedly timed that her eyes wavered for a moment.

“Lady Seira!”

(next chapter)

I give you a character of my creation - Deneb Illiness (yes, his surname was based on “illness,” for a good reason). I figured there would be more clans composing Lukedonia (it’s just that they didn’t get their chances to be featured under the spotlight) and decided to create a clan for this fanfic. By the way, the terms “heptaclans,” “octaclans,” and “non-octaclans” are the terms I coined for this fanfic, in order to tell apart the canon noble clans from the noble clans I will introduce in my fanfic.

I hope you’d stay tuned for more!

[randomfandomimagine]

Sunshine in the Moonlight. Chapter 5: Realization

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Pairing: Prompto x Alexandria (OC)

Previous Chapter - Chapter Index - Next Chapter

Wattpad - AO3

 WARNING: Panic attacks warning! Please don’t read if it can be triggering!

I knew I had no right to try and suddenly be kind towards him after all those years of annoyed glances and talking back to the other. I knew that even if I did, my support wouldn’t give him back everything that he had lost in just one second.

Yet I tried to rest my head on Noctis’ shoulder nonetheless. I wanted to let him know that I cared. I should have seen it coming when he angrily shrugged away from me. I hung my head low and sighed sadly.

At first the only sounds audible inside the car were the sound of shaky sighs and downcast breaths. Until a comment led to another, just to be fueled by Noctis’ bitterness and anger.

I had the feeling like I had paused my life and the world was going on without me, not worrying whether I would catch up or not. It felt like a movie, because I didn’t have the strength to actually interact with my surroundings, especially since my friends didn’t talk to me either. I doubted they remembered I was sitting in the car too.

I moved like an automaton, acting by instinct and not truly thinking what I was doing. My body moved on its own as we got out of the car and we fought the Imperials that got in our way. Ignis had to hold me by the waist and get me off harm’s way when I was too dazed to realize I was about to be hit, and he’d thrown me into Gladiolus’ arms so he’d keep me safe. I wished I could regain control of myself so I’d stop being a burden, but the shock was too great.

My legs carried me as I ran with them once we defeated the Imperials, but I wasn’t truly aware that I had sent the order to my brain to move them. I finally got ahold out of myself when we stopped walking and stood at the ledge, watching the smoke in the distance. The smoke left of the destruction of our city. Of our home.

Prompto’s phone blared the news from the radio. I wanted to hear it, but the sound felt strident to my sensitive ears and bewildered mind. Even the pitter-patter of the rain bothered me slightly.

“…We’ve now received word” The radio voice was saying. “That Crown Prince Noctis and the Oracle Lady Lunafreya have also been pronounced dead”

Surprisingly, that brought some sort of comfort to me. Noctis was standing right in front of me, he wasn’t dead. It gave me hope that maybe the king and Lady Lunafreya were still alive and well.

I slightly turned to look at Prompto’s phone, wanting to gather all my attention on the voice from it. The boy, however, stirred around uncomfortable with the news.

“Keep it on” Gladiolus commanded, noticing his hesitancy.

The blond clumsily dropped the phone to the floor. I felt bad for him, knowing what must be going through his head. He didn’t want his friend to listen to that, to worsen his grief.

“Don’t bother!” The prince shouted angrily.

I frowned at the sight of a heartbroken Noctis, even if he hid it under a layer of fury. We all had lost many things back in Insomnia, including our families and our homes. But Noctis had lost so much more. If it was true that King Regis was dead, that made his son the new king. His heir was to take his place, and it was a far too great responsibility for him. Especially because of his father’s absence.

I stood silent, weakly hanging my head low as I let the rain soak me to the bone. I didn’t know how to feel.

Imperial ships suddenly flew above us, the loud noise of the engines causing the ground to quake under our feet as they passed by. I shivered at the feeling, but I was positive that it wasn’t only because of it. It was the hatred that ran through my veins, the vengeful feeling that made me close my hands in fists until it hurt.

I hated the Empire. And hatred was such a strong word that I had never wanted to use it before, not even for those people I was most in bad terms with. But the Empire had lied, they had betrayed us and taken everything from us. They were filth.

I hated the Empire and everything it stood for, I hated it and whatever and whomever had to do with it. I hated it with a burning passion that would carry on forever.

“I hate those bastards” I felt tears of anger burning in my eyes. “And everything and anything that has to do with them”

I exchanged glares with all of them. Except for Noctis, who was too busy talking with Cor on the phone. Perhaps he would have some answers.

I still focused on my friends, hoping to find some solace in their presence. Ignis seemed incredibly sad, and Prompto was just completely crestfallen. Even Gladiolus, with his usual tough exterior, was obviously devastated.

As soon as Noctis hung up, I opened my mouth to ask him what Cor said.

“What did the Marshall have to say?” Ignis beat me to it.

“Says he’d be… in Hammerhead” Noctis replied in a low voice.

“And the king?” Gladio asked cautiously.

Noctis’ silence spoke for itself. King Regis was dead.

A sob escaped my throat, so I bit hard on my lip to restrain myself.

He was more than just our king. He was a kind soul, a good person, a fair ruler and almost… a friend.

I focused on not detaching myself again once the horrible truth settled. Once I confirmed it was all real.

I placed a hand on the prince’s –technically he was now the king but… he would always be Prince Noctis to me –shoulder to remind him he wasn’t alone on this.

The five of us didn’t move from the spot for a while. We just stood there in silence, trying to get over ourselves as the grief threatened with taking over our hearts. Ignis was the first one to take a step. As he headed for the Regalia without a word, Gladiolus followed quietly. Prompto looked over his shoulder at Noctis seeing as he didn’t come along, but left him some time alone anyway.

“N-Noctis” I called him before he could walk away, giving it a second try.

He reluctantly stopped walking upon hearing his name. He visibly sighed, his eyes glued to the ground.

“I’m… terribly sorry that this happened” I mumbled, doing my best to choose the most fitting words to express my emotions and to bring him any sort of comfort. “I’m terribly sorry for everything that you’ve lost and-”

He just held one hand up, asking me to stop talking. I understood that he didn’t want to hear it, I shouldn’t be speaking and dwelling on his pain.

“But I…” I gulped, needing to say something else before completely obeying his petition. “I just want to let you know that you have all of us still. Not only Gladio and Ignis and Prompto but… me too. No matter what”

In response to my words, he slowly looked up at me. The raindrops slid down his dark tufts of hair and fell over his face when he did. Like tears.

I expected him to say something, but he didn’t. Neither did he move, but at least he wasn’t pushing me away again.

Perhaps I was going too far, maybe I was tempting fate, but I was determined. I walked over to him and urgently gave him a hug. I imagined he would appreciate one. So I leaned my body against his and locked my arms behind his back in an attempt to make him feel loved and whole.

At first he stood there, still as a statue, not reacting. Then he let out a tremulous breath and slowly relaxed into it. To my surprise, his arms found their way to hug me back.

I wanted to start crying, but I resolved to stay strong for him. I was afraid he would break down if he saw me crying. I just wanted to comfort him, not push him to the edge.

He softly broke away and locked his eyes with mine. His gaze was grave, but I knew it was his way of saying ‘thank you’ without using any words nor even moving. I just nodded in appreciation.

  In the car I was too concentrated in holding my tears back to part take in the conversation. It felt forced and dismal in any case. I told myself that at least this time I hadn’t completely given into the pain and I had gotten ahold out of myself.

I just kept my eyes glued on the outside, on the scenery that we passed by and that I absently watched through the window. The rain still resonated against the glass and against the roof of the car, almost like a reminder that we should be sad. Like we could forget it so easily…

I lost myself in that image, erasing anything about my surroundings except for the landscape. I didn’t know how long I was staring through the window for, yet something was abruptly dragging me from my trance.

“Hey” Gladiolus’ deep voice called me.

When I looked up, I realized we had stopped, and he was staring at me. I felt more eyes on me, so when I turned in that direction I noticed Prompto was watching too. He seemed worried.

“We’re here?” I stupidly asked, my throat feeling dry.

“Hammerhead” He nodded, offering a hand for me to take. I took it and he helped me out of the car. We walked together with the rest to talk with Cindy and see if Cor was waiting for us.

As the five of us stood together again, watching how the girl walked our direction, I caught a glimpse of Ignis staring at me. I locked eyes with him, hoping to hear some wise words of encouragement. But he was quiet, he just sent me his affection through a loving and preoccupied glance. I quietly leaned into him as a sign of support and fondness too.

“Glad y’all made it” Cindy came to us, bearing a grave and sympathetic tone. “No weather for drivin’, that’s for sure”

“Our thanks”

“Where’s Cor?”

“Left to see to business, and left y’all a message with Paw-Paw”

Perhaps it was the gloominess, but that time I didn’t felt jealous of Cindy. She was soft and kind, no wonder Prompto liked her so much. They were both golden and bright like sunshine. They were similar, and would make a good couple.

I shook my head a little. I didn’t even know what I was thinking, my brain felt too cloudy, too foggy, too… confused. I was just trying to think of something trivial, something to divert myself from my current situation.

“You boys go ahead” I found myself saying once I realized they were going to go talk to Cid at the garage. “I’ll meet you in a moment”

“Are you alright?” Ignis stopped dead in his tracks, being motherly again.

“Yes, I just need to be alone for a moment” I nodded vehemently, even if my eyes wouldn’t meet theirs.

“Want me to go with you?” Prompto offered shyly.

“Alone, Prompto” I repeated, irritated. “I want to be alone”

“Oh” Now I felt bad, perhaps I was too dry in my response. “Sorry”

They just kept going, and I separated myself from them. I went to a lonely corner and sat there to try and recover from the impact of such awful news. I was too sensitive and I needed to get over it already. Everything had affected me too much.

I forced myself to start crying, but wouldn’t be able to. I couldn’t even manage to cry to let out all that anxiety. My tears were frozen in my eyes and they wouldn’t shed. I needed to vent yet I couldn’t. I stayed there for a while, trying to let it out once and for all, to no avail. Angry and resigned, I punched the floor I was sitting on. I didn’t release any frustration, but I did earn a dull pain in the side of my hand. Just the perfect addition to the perfect day.

With a big lump in my throat and the desire to cry still, I stood up and went to reunite with them, finding my efforts useless. They were just saying goodbye to Cid while Cindy prepared the Regalia, cleaning it from the dry raindrops since it had stopped raining at last. I didn’t even realize it did until then. It was also getting dark, the night falling upon us.

Not saying anything, I stood by them and watched them. I hoped they didn’t ask me if I was alright, because that might just make me break down once and for all. Even if I still needed a good cry, I refused to do so in front of them. I just shouldn’t. I couldn’t.

The only sign that they had acknowledged my presence was a few glances here and there from Prompto and Ignis.

“It shouldn’t have been like this” Noctis mumbled, still lingering on his spite.

“Like Cid said” Ignis spoke up, absently adjusting his glasses like he always did. “Your father knew what he was doing”  

“Yeah, the king was no fool” Gladio agreed, probably trying to make him feel better. “He did see it coming”

Did the king really know the attack was imminent? He surely was intelligent enough to foresee the Empire’s betrayal. Surely, he could tell the truce was but a lie to trick us.

When would that nightmare end? It was a terrible feeling, a sad discovery after another. Knowing that the king had fought until the end, that he had sacrificed himself to save us. To save his son.

We just got in the car, thanking Cindy for her help, and drove off.

“Where…” I piped up timidly. “Where are we going?”

“To the tombs, to meet with Cor” Prompto was the one to reply. Again, in times like those I truly missed the optimistic tone to his voice. I could use some positivity at the moment.

I subtly looked over to the prince –again, king now –and noticed his frown had shifted from angry to soft and melancholic. To my surprise, when he saw me staring, his elbow gently nudged me in the ribs.

I openly gazed at him, surprised by such gesture. It was almost a friendly display of affection, almost playful too. Coming from him? Towards me?

“Hey, thanks for what you said back there” His pale blue eyes, however, looked at Prompto and Ignis in the front seat as they discussed something. He wanted to make sure the attention was off us, and since Gladiolus was reading as well, Noctis kept talking. “After hating each other for so long, I didn’t expect you to… you know… You didn’t really have to either”

I guessed that I was the only one to confront him about it and he was grateful for it.

The boys were too afraid to upset him even further and preferred to avoid the subject so broadly. I, on the other hand, wanted to let him know how I felt. And that I was willing to set our differences aside to help him, to encourage him and stand by him.

However, it came out as a surprise that Noctis would actually voice that. He always seemed so indifferent, so emotionless… I had judged him before I truly knew him, and stuck with my own perception of his personality even if it was wrong. I was starting to see just now how tender and kind he could be. Or actually was, had been all along. Even if, so far, I had a few hints to it. Like how sweet he was towards that cat in Galdin Quay, or how much he cared about his friends, and how he actually behaved like an ordinary and fun person when he didn’t feel the weight of the crown crushing him. Surely, it wasn’t easy being royalty either.

“No need to thank me, I meant what I said” I replied simply.

“My father was right about you” Noctis smiled at me, and it was actually the first time it wasn’t dripping with mockery or sarcasm, but with actual familiarity and warmth despite the sad hint to it. “You are kind and compassionate, now I get why he was so fond of you”

I dedicated him a sad smile in return, grateful for his words. Then we both looked away, flustered by the slightly intimate and endearing moment we had just shared. Especially upon thinking it was the first time we had a normal conversation, in which we didn’t mock, insult or cruelly tease the other.

It was very nice of him to say such things about me. He not only complimented me, but also defended his father even after always arguing with him about me. But for once he had agreed with the king’s thoughts. Noctis had admitted that I was compassionate and kind, which was quite special coming from him and… And…

I suddenly got a very bitter taste in my throat. My stomach felt queasy and my breath hitched in my throat. All when I was hit with realization.

Everything made sense now. All the pieces clicked together perfectly, revealing the whole picture of the puzzle to me. Why I was there on the first place, why the king was so adamant about me going with his son. Why I was to leave with his beloved heir along with the only other three people he absolutely trusted to take care of him.

Noctis had expressed why it was absolutely necessary for me to accompany them. King Regis saw me as a kind and compassionate soul, one that would be there to comfort his son no matter what. Despite our differences, despite Noctis’ pride and despite my own. Despite everything.

Because he knew our journey would be troublesome and filled with grief. Because I would be there to help Noctis through the loss of his father.

The king knew he would die.

My mind was racing with thoughts and fears. It was too much for me.

“A-Alex?” The prince stammered next to me, leaning forward to take a good look at me.

Startled by Noctis’ sudden call, Prompto quickly turned in his seat. When his eyes met me, they grew wide and laced with concern.

“Hey, you okay?” Gladio whispered next to me. “You look pale”

That definitely gathered Ignis’ attention as well. When I felt all eyes on me I started to panic even more. I couldn’t breathe.

I was suffocating.

I leaned forward in the seat, clutching my chest when I felt my heart thumping against my ribcage painfully. I could perfectly be having a heart attack.

“Oh Gods” Prompto uttered, terrified. “Iggy, stop the car right now!”

Heeding his petition, our driver violently stepped on the breaks, throwing us all forward a little.

I looked up, trying to get my mind off everything because overthinking was only making everything worse. The darkness of the sky was harrowing, it made me feel trapped. Just like being stuck in the backseat of the car between Gladio and Noctis. It was claustrophobic to be pinned in the small space that they left me.

“What is it, darling?” Ignis asked me worriedly.

I slapped Noctis in the arm, too out of breath to speak, trying to get him to make room for me to get out. I needed to get out, get out of that car. Immediately.

Luckily, the prince knew what I meant, because he moved as fast as he could and allowed me to leave, opening the door for me.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I ran off. I didn’t know where or why, I just knew I had to. It was what I needed.

I plopped down –half on purpose, half accidentally –in the grass once I was at a prudent distance from them. From the car that made me feel trapped, from everything.

It was my fault. I could have avoided the attack, but I wasn’t quick enough. I wasn’t smart enough to realize what the king’s plan was. Perhaps I could have done something. I could have told someone and helped, I could have stopped it, I could have avoided it. I could have saved him.

But I didn’t. I felt stupid, worthless, helpless, lost.

My whole world was falling apart.

I cuddled over myself, whimpering as I tried to finally cry. I still couldn’t. I couldn’t cry, I was too stricken and too blocked. I needed to get some air, to shove some oxygen into my lungs because I was suffocating.

The sound of my rapid heartbeat in my ears, palpitating in my skull, only worsened my nervous condition. My ears were loudly ringing. The darkness still surrounded me. It was threatening to engulf me and swallow me whole. My nyctophobia wasn’t helping. Especially when I was so far away from the headlights of the car and the moon was the only light I saw. I still couldn’t breathe.

Just in time, a light made its way to me as a pair of boots noisily dashed in my direction.

“Alex!” Prompto.

He breathed heavily from his run –he was incredibly fast to have gotten to me so quickly –as he urgently sat down next to me.

“It’s my fault” I sobbed even if my eyes remained dry. “I should have… I should have…”

“What’s wrong?” My friend placed a hand in my shoulder and shook me in an attempt to get a proper answer. “Tell me, what’s happening? What’s wrong with you? Please, tell me!”

“I-I…” I couldn’t articulate any coherent words either.

Desperate to hold on to something, I clung to Prompto’s black tank top and angrily scrunched the fabric in my hand.

“What is it?” He urged me, digging his eyes in my face demandingly. “What do you need!”

I didn’t know! I didn’t know what I needed. All I knew was that I was falling apart, that I was at the verge of breaking. It felt like I was at the edge of a cliff, losing balance and nearly falling to the abyss.

Maybe I needed a hug, that… that would make me feel a bit better, hopefully.

I tugged at his shirt, hoping he’d understand because I couldn’t find my voice. All that I managed were strangled sounds and whimpers. I rested my forehead on his collarbone, not knowing what to do to stop whatever was happening to me.

I needed to stop the pain, the panic, the anxiety, the haunting toxic thoughts.

“Please tell me!” Prompto was panicking as much as I was, which wasn’t really helping. “T-Talk to me!”

Helpless and clueless, he engulfed me in a tight hug. At first I sighed in relief, glad that he somehow sensed that it was precisely what I needed. His soothing touch, his comforting embrace, his reassuring presence.

But when his arms locked around me and forced me against him I felt trapped again. I wanted to squirm away from his touch, hating to feel so imprisoned, but I didn’t have the strength to do it.

All I managed to do was weakly push my shaky hands to his chest. He must have mistaken it for a call for more affection, because he tightened the embrace even more.

“Prompto!” Ignis’ stern voice called him.

The boy looked over his shoulder to him as he jogged to reach us.

“I… I can’t calm her down” Prompto whined, helpless like a child.

It was then when I realized I was shaking like a leaf, not only my hands were. It was my whole body, from head to toe.

“Give her some room to breathe” Finally, Ignis knew what I needed. “You’re just making it worse”

Immediately, Prompto unwrapped his arms around me. He gasped and scooted away from me, mumbling.

“I’m-I’m sorry!” The blond frowned sadly. “I was just trying to help, I… I wanted to comfort you, I…”

I knew he was, I really did. But he hadn’t. Like Ignis said, he had made it all worse. He was so worried that he panicked, consequently making me panic even more.

Ignis was perfect for my state because I needed someone calm and collected. Even if I was aware that he was worried sick anyway.

He silently sat down next to me and placed just one arm over my shoulders. The perfect amount of affection that I needed at that moment not to get overwhelmed. Prompto had overdone it. Even if, again, he was trying his best.

I leaned into Ignis’ torso, hiding my face in his chest and whimpering in there. I tried my best to calm myself, feeling so much safer once he was there with me. His mere presence was calming.

He also swept my hair to the side and off my face in a tender gesture that brought a sudden warmth to me, almost as tough reminding me he would look after me. That thought comforted me.

“I’ll just… leave” Prompto muttered, walking away.

I felt guilty for hurting his feelings, but I would have to worry about it later. And for the fact that Gladiolus and Noctis –who were probably waiting at the car, and probably because Ignis very wisely asked them to –were definitely scared to death as well.

“It’s alright, Alex” Ignis whispered soothingly, sweetly holding his hand in my upper arm and rubbing small circles with his thumb on my skin. “Everything will be okay, take deep breaths”

I closed my eyes, focusing on relaxing and taking deep breaths like he was asking me to. Ignis made it seem easy, even though I counted my heartbeats –which regained their usual pace little by little –and it took me several minutes to calm down slightly.

It helped that my friend would hold me gently and whisper comforting words in my ear. It helped that he was so calm too, and that he showed me how much he cared.

It reminded me that, in spite of all, I still had him. I still had them. The world wasn’t completely dark, I just needed to survive the night to see the sunlight again.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me” I confessed, searching advice and counseling.

“Judging by your symptoms, I would venture to say you had a panic attack of sorts” Ignis sighed, rubbing my arm lovingly. “Luckily, it was quite mild”

“Mild?” I uttered, outraged. “That was not  mild!”

I looked up at him and met with his emerald eyes. I caught a hint of a smile in them.

He had said that deliberately to earn a reaction from me, to get me back to my feet. I would have laughed at his ingenious ways, but instead I just let out a shaky sigh.

“Would you like to tell me what is going through your mind? Do you want to talk about it?” His tone was soft and welcoming.

I appreciated how thoughtful and kind he was being. I loved Ignis so much, I felt lucky to have him in my life.

“It’s been a rough day and I was overwhelmed” I was hesitant, wondering if I should tell him everything. “Everything was just… harrowing”

“I know, and I understand”

“Do you think…?”

“What was that, darling?”

I hadn’t finished talking, I had stopped midsentence because I was afraid. What if he hated me for not speaking up sooner? What if he blamed me for not stopping it? I definitely blamed myself. I wouldn’t bear to lose Ignis, to witness his horrified expression upon learning the truth. I was getting paranoid.

“You know you can tell me anything, Alexandria”

“You would despise me if I told you”

“I could never despise you, darling, not now not ever”

I analyzed his expression and realized how tender and welcoming it was. I could trust him, I could tell him. Ignis would never hate me. He loved me too much.

“I should have seen it sooner, Ignis” I averted my eyes as I started speaking. “If I had realized why the king wanted me to come with you… I should have seen the signs, he knew what would happen, but I couldn’t. I was worried about why he wanted me to come, but I never voiced my concerns and… If I told someone… If I had seen his plan, none of this would have happened. It’s my fault, and I could have stopped this and saved everyone so much grief and-”

“It is not your fault” His voice was severe. “It is nobody’s fault, we didn’t have a way of knowing any of this would occur”

“But… If I had…”

“Do not blame yourself. Even if you had, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to stop it”

I sighed, nodding in acknowledgement. As per usual, Ignis was right. It didn’t make me feel any better about my own sorrow, but at least it dissipated the guilt slightly.

We sat in silence, snuggled close to the other, for what felt like a very long time. When it started getting cold, however, Ignis decided to put an end to it.

“Are you feeling alright now? Would you like to go back?” He paused to look at me with soft eyes, but carried on talking after my silence. “You should get some rest, we all should”

I nodded again, and the both of us proceeded to stand up. Ignis was considerate enough to hold a hand in my waist to keep me steady. I was grateful for his support because my knees felt weak and my legs shook a little still.

As we took our time to get back to the car, our three friends cautiously walked closer to us. Even if Prompto stood back a bit, timid.

“You okay?” Noctis asked me, daring to put a hand to my shoulder.

“Yeah” I just replied. “I’m fine”

“What happened?” Gladiolus wanted to know.

“She was feeling unwell, Alexandria apparently got carsick” Ignis lied, definitely in order to protect my privacy.

He was the best, like the older brother I never had. Always looking after me.

Once we reached the car, he helped me sit in the back. This time, at the far right corner which Gladio usually occupied. Ignis didn’t let go of me for one second until I was settled in my seat, nice and comfortable.

“Should I sit here with you? Perhaps Noct should drive?”

“I’m alright, I promise”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

“Very well” Ignis rubbed my arm one more time before taking his place behind the steering wheel.

I was expecting Gladiolus to sit to my left, but Prompto suddenly whispered something to him that I didn’t catch. The blond then nimbly moved to sit in that very spot. When I sent him a puzzled look, he just flashed me a bright smile. It felt comforting. It also helped that he was a lot smaller than Gladio and the back seat felt more spacious.

Gladio quietly sat in the front and Noctis took the only place left, next to Prompto in the backseat with us.

With the corner of my eye, I saw Ignis fixing the rear view mirror –sneaking one more concerned glance in my direction –and starting the car once again.

“I called Cor” Noctis said as soon as we got back in the road. “We’re meeting him in the tombs tomorrow instead”

It warmed my heart to see how much he cared, despite his façade. How he had contacted the Marshall and postponed our meeting as soon as he saw I needed some time to get back on my feet.

“Thank you, Noctis”

“Need anything, Alexandria?”

“No, I’m okay”

An awkward silence settled for several seconds until Gladio turned the radio on for some music. Then Ignis said something about a new recipe that started a conversation between them.

We were all trying our best to leave the past behind.

“Hey, Alex” It was good to hear that upbeat tone when Prompto called me. “Wanna see some pictures? I took a really good shot of that cute kitty back in Galdin Quay”

“Not really, but thank you” I didn’t feel like it at the moment, but I appreciated the effort. I was positive that he just wanted to distract me and make me smile.

“Okay…” Nervously, he nibbled on his bottom lip. “Then can I…?”

I observed him, curious, watching how he stirred in his seat. Then he finally made up his mind and gently settled his arm over my shoulders. I took notice that he had copied Ignis’ gesture.

“Is… is this okay? I mean…” He loudly gulped, ready to get his arm off me. “I-I’ll leave you alone if you want. Just say the word and-”

I smiled, knowing it was his best way of trying to comfort me. He was determined to.

“It is okay, Prompto” I took his offer and snuggled closer to him.

He was smaller and leaner than Ignis, but his warmth was equally calming. Prompto was also sweeter, more genuine and natural. I liked that about him.

“You can sleep if you want, I make a great pillow” He chuckled shyly, which I found adorable. “Or… I don’t know, tell me if you need anything”

“Thanks” I patted his chest, feeling moved by his attentions as well.

I briefly looked at Noctis, embarrassed about being so close to Prompto. But he was fast asleep. Poor boy was positively exhausted too.

“Listen, I’m sorry about before” Prompto piped up after a few seconds of comfortable silence. “I… I didn’t mean to smother you, I… was just trying to help”

“I know, it’s alright”

“I’m really sorry, though”

“Don’t worry about it” I suddenly felt a wave of affection towards him.

Those moments in which he occasionally irritated me were nothing compared to how caring he could be. It was truly endearing, taking in consideration we hadn’t known each other for too long. It made me realize not only how great he was, but Gladiolus, Noctis and Ignis as well.

At first it started like a trivial journey on our way to Altissia. We were just five people together who would have fun as we travelled. But they were also my friends. And they had showed me so far that they were much more than that. They would be there for me like I would be for them. My friends weren’t only there to have fun with, but to rely on them for the bad moments as well.

I leaned into Prompto’s touch, heaving a proper sigh. At last I could breathe a little better. He was oddly comfortable for such a lean person.

Maybe it was that I was just tired and it felt truly cozy, but I rested my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes, hoping to get some sleep.

I felt small and vulnerable like a child, defenseless like a puppy. And a little broken too. But I promised myself it would be the last time to show weakness like that. I had never done so and I didn’t intend to start now. I had recovered from it, I would be alright. I didn’t need altering everyone’s lives or slowing them down.

Reminding their concerned faces caused me a pang of guilt that I didn’t plan on experiencing again. I promised myself to avoid worrying them like that ever again.

But in that moment, I felt good. I felt content and decided to embrace it while it lasted.

I was starting to fall asleep when I realized how loud Gladiolus and Ignis were in the front seat. Even though they were probably speaking at a very normal volume. Yet I felt extremely sensitive to everything still, including the sounds around me.

I had almost drifted to sleep and didn’t feel lively enough to ask them to keep it down. However, I had an idea that would also help Prompto feel better about himself. Give him a chance to make up for his small slip-up.

“Prom” I whispered, waiting for him to reply.

I realized then, that was an adorable term of endearment for him, as simple as it was. Even though I had merely called him that because it was shorter and I didn’t have the strength to speak up.

My mind also felt fuzzy, and it made me remember about being tired and feeling like I was intoxicated instead. The drowsiness was truly getting to me, or otherwise I wouldn’t have called him that, realizing it was quite informal. It took him a while to realize I was addressing him as well, because he took a minute to reply.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Can you tell them to be quieter? I have a headache”

“Sure thing” Then his voice got a little louder to talk to them. “Hey guys, don’t talk so loud, please? Alex has a headache”

“My apologies” Ignis mumbled. “We will keep our volume at a minimum”

“Sorry, kid” Gladiolus said too. “You just try to sleep some”

I had to smile when their voices turned into whispers. How considerate, the four of them were so lovely.

“Thank you” I whispered back to Prompto.

“No problem” He replied in the same tone.

I then fell into a state between consciousness and slumber. I wasn’t asleep, but I wasn’t completely awake either. It was as tough my body was resting while my anxious mind stayed alert. Whatever the case, it contributed to making me feel better.

  Once in a hotel, we all went to sleep immediately. As soon as we turned off the lights, I felt the anxiety building up inside of me again. It was as soon as the events of the day came back to me and reminded me of everything that had happened.

At least I finally got to cry. I vented as silently as I could, but I felt mighty better once I got that weight off my chest, once I started weeping. That lump finally disappeared from my throat and my mind seemed to clear a little, even if it was still filled with weariness and restlessness.

That night I cried myself to sleep, but I made a mental promise to never bottle my feelings and thoughts up anymore. Not after breaking down like that because of it.

Tagging list: @prince-of-wind. Remember that you can be tagged if you want to be notified of new chapters, just let me know, guys ;)

[lhugbereth]

Yakuza!Ignis update!

‘Sup, guys! Here’s a peek at the first part of Chapter 2 of this crazy yakuza AU business - in which Boss Regis the Silver-Fox holds a meeting with lots of familiar faces, and Ignis causes a scene. Sorry not sorry that Cor is kind of an asshole. Maybe he’ll get better, maybe not lol. (I’d say read under the cut, but I can’t add cuts via mobile so sorry for spamming everyone’s dash! I also can’t add formatting or literally anything else… *flips Tumblr the bird*)

Death Fears Not the Reaper Chapter Two: Unraveling

Cor Leonis was waiting for them the moment they stepped into the boardroom. Most of the other high-ups were already there: Clarus Amicitia, Weskham Armaugh, even Cid the Saw Sophiar had apparently been called in to discuss matters of grave importance. Only Lord Regis himself was absent at the head of the table – not surprising, Ignis mused. After all, a true boss never arrived early for a meeting; it was the meeting that began when the boss arrived.

He was distracted from his thoughts as Cor suddenly stepped forward and placed his body between the two newcomers and the room beyond. “Well?” he asked expectantly, voice hushed but cold eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Since you both look like shit, I’ll assume you put your night to good use. What news?”

Ignis exchanged a look with Gladio beside him. The bodyguard was very obviously fighting back a yawn. Only natural, he thought, for they had in fact spent the better part of the last seven hours out playing detective around the city. Yet for all the missed sleep, their efforts had turned up little more than a crackpot theory and a shaky lead. Even those would have eluded them had it not been for some help from Gladio’s hacker of a little sister.

But Cor was waiting for something, and Ignis happened to be the one under his scrutinizing gaze. “I don’t have a head on a platter for you yet, if that’s what you mean. But I can tell you that our mystery murderer was most likely a lone rogue,” he said matter-of-factly. Cor leaned in closer, teeth bared much like the beast of his namesake. “Are you saying one man is responsible for killing three armed Glaives without so much as a fight? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Hardly,” Ignis shrugged, clearly unmoved. “And neither is Regis. I can prove I’m right.” “Just trust us on this one, old man,” came Gladio’s gruff voice at his side. Cor bristled – the kid’s abrasive attitude and contempt for authority had never sat right with him – but the three were spared further words as the far doors slid open and Regis Caelum entered the hall.

The room fell silent. Gladio tugged Ignis toward their open seats at the table, and as their boss strode forward all heads dropped in a collective bow. Regis surveyed the scene for a moment. His steel-blue eyes were hard, his mouth set in a tight line above his greying beard. He held a cane in his left hand, carved of ebony stone and set with a silver knob, which he leaned on as he made his way to his seat at the head of the large conference table. On his right hand, plain for all to see, he wore the Ring of the Lucii, the symbol of his family’s power and of his authority over all who hung their heads before him. “Gentlemen,” he began, and his voice boomed strong and healthy through the hall. “Non enim dormiunt!” “Insomnia Immortalis!”

Amidst the chorus of voices he took his seat, and the meeting began.

“My Lord.” It was Weskham, Regis’ closest advisor, who stood first and bowed his respects to their oyabun. “We all know why you’ve called us here today.”

“I don’t,” Cid muttered next to him, but Weskham smoothly ignored the comment as he continued.

“I think the question now is, was this attack a precursor for a greater battle ahead? And if so, how quickly do we strike back?” Regis scanned the faces around the table until he found the head of the organization’s intel operations. “Cor. Report.”

The Immortal Lion got to his feet and bowed deeply. “My Lord. At this time, we know very little about the purpose of the attack, nor do we have evidence of the killer’s identity.” He flicked his gaze across the table to where Ignis sat, calm and almost eerily patient despite the tension building in the room. “But I believe those two have some…speculations.”

As Ignis and Gladiolus got to their feet and bowed, all eyes in the room turned to watch them. Hushed whispers hummed on the air. The Reaper and the Shield? Was Cor mad to leave this matter in such reckless hands? But Regis merely gestured for silence as Ignis began to speak.

“This attack was neither the work of a rival clan, nor was it a declaration of war in any form we can yet comprehend.” He adjusted his glasses and waited for silence again. “Consider this: there are only two families with any possible motive to see the Caelum line destroyed – the Nox Fleurets, and the Nifelheims. The former has suffered inner turmoil for years, and have only recently chosen a new leader. Ravus may be young and headstrong, but violence is hardly his style.”

Around the table, several heads nodded in agreement. Gladio watched, mouth curling in a smirk, as even Cor seemed to be soaking it in. Ignis continued. “That leaves the Niffs. Our greatest rivals, that is true, and even one like myself considers them sadistic to the core. My Lord, I believe you’ve experienced firsthand just how brutal they can be in a fight?”

Regis gripped his cane tight, his fist shaking around the silver knob as he nodded his head. “Ruthless. Violent, mindless beasts.” “Street punks,” Ignis agreed. “Without grace or tact or, most of all, fear of repercussions. But as we know, our men were murdered by someone who clearly didn’t want to get caught, at least not yet.”

Ever sharp, Clarus raised an eyebrow at both Ignis and his son next to him. “You say ‘someone’ like you think a single person was capable of this act.”

“That’s right.”

Again, muttered voices swept the hall until Regis held up a hand to silence them all at once. “Go on, Ignis.”

“My Lord,” he said, bowing again. “The proof is in the nature of the murder itself. A group of Nifelheim thugs, even in significant numbers, would have a hard time taking out three of ours without at least drawing a scene. No, this attack was planned, calculated. And whoever did it, did it alone. With one….clean…slice.”

No one had seen him draw his dagger, but suddenly it was in his hand and arching through the air, thudding down on the table in front of him in the span of a heartbeat. The blade sunk several inches into hard wood, and the room fell deathly silent. Even Gladio flinched at that one.

“Easy there, Iggy,” he said, putting on a thin smile and patting the other’s shoulder in a light-hearted gesture. “Uh, I think what Ignis is trying to say is that we found a lead.”

The only one in the room unphased by the Reaper’s outburst, Regis now turned his attention to the dark-haired son of his most trusted warrior. “Well, that’s certainly promising. Who is he?”

“She,” Gladio corrected, and drew a folded sheet of paper from the front pocket of his leather jacket. He passed this along the table until it reached their boss’ hands. “Name’s Highwind. She’s an ex-merc with a bad reputation for dirty jobs. That right there is just a sample of her ‘resume,’” he said, gesturing to the list Regis was now unfolding to read. “Not only does her profile fit, but we had Iris do a little digging last night. Turns out this Highwind character disappeared off the radar several months back – now the rumor is she’s accepting her paychecks directly from Aldercapt himself.”

��So the Niffs are behind this!” Weskham growled, slamming his fist on the table before him. “Regis, if this is true – “

“We can’t be certain, not yet.” The news seemed to weigh heavily with the oyabun, who ran his fingers back through grey locks and released a sigh. Mercenaries were notoriously untrustworthy, and it was hard to believe Iedolas, old and daft as he was, would stoop so low. Then again, if the woman had been acting alone….

Alas, mere speculation, however convincing, was hardly justification to jump into a hasty war. “Nyx,” he called, and the young, bright-eyed leader of the Glaives snapped to attention. “Do what you must to bring her in. Use caution, avoid conflict if you can.”

“You got it, boss.” Nyx bowed and nodded at several faces around the table in silent understanding.

“And Cor. Until we have real proof, the search continues. This continues to be your top priority.”

“My Lord.”

“Ignis. Gladiolus. Your work has been invaluable. Now please,” he said, and for the first time the corner of his mouth turned up in an almost-smile. “Both of you get some rest. You look like hell.”

———

[regiqoa]

Guzmegi for the ship ask thing~

Alright! :D

How did they they meet?

During second grade in middle school, my character met and bonded with Guzma after defending him from some mean school bullies. We had a battle, quickly became friends and decided we’d do our Island Challenges together. Time flies and after spending tons of time with him, I fell in love but Guzma unfortunately fell in love with Plumeria (yeah, I have the headcanon that Plumeria was Guzma’s very first girlfriend). Brokenhearted, I simply leave him out of the blue and we never speak again until later in our lives, when Team Skull is created. Now, there’s something you gotta know about Skull Admin Regi before I go on: She lost her family after a huge explosion in her house resulting in a fire that killed them all but she luckily survived. Completely lost, with no money at all and homeless with nothing but my team of Electric-types and my inseparable and faithful Pokemon partner and best friend, Cherri the Pikachu by my side, I reluctantly decide to join Team Skull to move on and cope with my grief of losing my family and who do I reunite with? Guzma, who is now the leader of this street gang of lost children! However, it appears Plumeria is still around. Seeing how much of an excellent hard worker I am and acknowledging that we’re still as close as we were before, Guzma eventually promotes me to the Admin rank and thus allows us to grow closer. My romantic feelings for Guzma, even after all this time are revived and I ultimately question Guzma about how his relationship with Plumeria is doing. I am pleasantly surprised to learn that they broke up long ago but are still great friends. We grow more and more attached to each other as time goes by and eventually Guzma comes to reciprocate my feelings. Guzma takes me stargazing and, right then and there, he confesses to me and I do the same before we share our first kiss under the stars, thus sealing our romantic relationship.

Who developed romantic feelings first?

I did. Just read above.

Who is their biggest “shipper?”

Plumeria! She was so incredibly giddy to learn that her usually tough, burly ex was falling for me, she was his wingwoman and was the one who planned our date to make sure everything would go smoothly. Seriously, she’ll probably ship us in hell.

When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?

Read above, it’s all there.

Who confessed their feelings first?

Read. Above.

What was their first official date?

Guzma loves taking me to eat malasadas and drink Tapu Cocoa and it’s the only times he actually pays for it.

How do they feel about double dates/group dates?

We don’t like ‘em. Guzma and I highly value our privacy. Also, it can be quite awkward.

What do they do in their down time?

Uhhh... What is that supposed to mean...? I looked it up and apparently it’s like a respite time. If that’s the case, we cuddle, eat, watch movies and/or make out. Sex may or may not follow/happen.

What was the first meeting of parents as an official couple like?

Well, that was tough and awkward. I mean, my character’s entire family is dead so she (Skull Admin Regi) just took Guzma to meet their graves right where our house was burned down. It was awkward and a little sad.

As for Guzma’s parents, Guz’s mom liked me a lot but his dad berated me and demeaned Guzma for being into “slut-looking whores with nothing to offer but big tits”, lol.

What was their first fight over and how did they get past it?

I got angry because Guzma wouldn’t stop bringing himself down so much and it was becoming a hassle, it was like he was always refusing to listen to my positive words about him and his insecurity coupled with anger descended into a fight and a yelling contest. Guzma eventually realized after we gave each other some space that he should listen to me, as I don’t see him the way he usually sees himself. Now he’s seeing a therapist and working his insecurity out.

Which one is more easily made jealous?

Guzma is. He is probably the type to be.

What is their favourite thing to get to eat?

Pizza!

Who’s the cuddly one? What their favourite cuddling position?

Oh boy we’re both a couple of Cuddlebugs (no pun intended)! Guzma loves having me sit on his lap while sitting on his throne in the Shady House (or anywhere) and I love spooning (I’m the little spoon :’3

Are they hand holders?

Yes we are~

How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time? What’s the circumstances?

We don’t wait, lolz. We shook the bed together right after confessing our feelings to each other back at that story I told above. It was my first time, by the way, and Guzma was incredibly gentle.

Who tops?

It’s mostly Guzma but I do top, too sometimes.

What’s the worst first they’ve ever gotten into?

I’m pretty sure that meant “fight”, not “first”. It was one with Guzma’s dad when I went to meet his mom, or at least that was the pretense until his dad suddenly returned home. Y’all know what escalated afterwards.

Who does the shopping and the cooking?

I do both of these things because Guzma doesn’t usually cook so he’s not all that experienced in the kitchen. He goes to Plumeria for help and it works amazingly.

Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness?

That’s totally me, of course.

Who proposes?

Following the tradition, Guzma, the man, does.

Do they have joined Bachelor/Bacheloette parties or separate?

I don’t trust Bachelor/Bachelorettes parties so we don’t have ‘em :-/

Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any other groomsmen or bridesmaids?

The two best men are Hala and Nanu, and the maid of honor is obviously Plumeria. Kukui attends the wedding as a groomsman.

Big Ceremony or Small?

Biiiiiiiiig Ceremony, like in my dreams! :’D

Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?

Yes we do!!! We go to Unova because I promised Guzma that I’d take him to know the world so he could catch all the bugs and Unova has the best Bug-types, like Genesect and Volcarona!

Do they have children? How many?

Not at all. I don’t like children and headcanon that Guzma doesn’t like them, either.

[almasy-fics]

The Politician and the Chamberlain

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Chapter: 2/? Rating: T (Subject to change) Warnings: None Pairing: Ignis Scientia/OFC Summary: Cor and Ignis learn more about the young teen that will be spending the next six years in the Royal Family’s care.

Notes: Main thing to note is that if speech is in Accordan, text will purely be bolded. If they are speaking in Lucian the text will stay normal. I headcannon that there is most likely several languages used in Eos as if you read any text in Altissia it is in a different language than English. Anyway, enjoy!

AO3 Link Ko-Fi Link

The wind blew Chelsea’s shoulder length blonde curls with a carefree grace about them as her head darted around the surrounding terrain with youthful glee; Cor had popped the top down of the car, which she learnt was King Regis’ personal convertible Regalia, and the scent of fresh grass invigorated her senses. Her previous sea sickness now long since forgotten.

Ignis kept a close eye on her through the rear vision mirror, taking note of how her face contorted with curiosity and wonder in her new surroundings. The wondrous smile on her features caused an unknown knot to form in his stomach, he assumed it was must have been from the slight nervousness he was feeling about not only being Prince Noctis’ chamberlain-to-be, but also Chelsea’s study partner and assistant. King Regis thought it to be best for those of similar ages to stick together in the Citadel and not many would question the monarch’s decisions.

His head turned sharply back in question when he heard her squeal in delight, capturing her petite form sprawled across the back seat of the car and over her aunt’s amused visage, pointing out to the wilderness before them.

“Is that a Garulessa…? And Garulets…!?” The remaining three occupants turned their heads to the left, seeing exactly what made her so excited, a large, majestic mother Garulessa and her three small Garulets frolicked the lands without a care in the world. Cor looked back at the road, smiling in amusement at Chelsea’s childlike wonder.

“That’s correct. Well done.” He praised her. She moved back to her own seat with a grin, proud that she was able to correctly guess what the animals were.

“I’ve seen them in books but never in person. They truly are peaceful and amazing creatures.”

“Indeed.” Ignis agreed, “But anger the mother and the situation can turn dire in an instant. Many a hunter have met the Infernian prematurely due to underestimating the maternal instincts of a mother Garulessa.”

Chelsea leaned her whole body forward to meet Ignis in the front seat.

“That’s… a bit morbid.”

“Of course. But it is the truth nonetheless.” Ignis adjusted his glasses, examining the way Chelsea’s eyes regarded him. She was attempting to read his impassive disposition whilst he shared that tidbit of information. When he surmised that she had given up on her expedition, she retreated back into her seat to continue to take in her ever moving surroundings. Soon, they would be entering Longwythe where they would be retiring for the evening before continuing their drive to the Crown City early the next morning.

“I’m glad to see that you’re feeling much better, my dear. One would think you weren’t gravely ill upon a yacht a few hours earlier.” Camelia commented, raising an eyebrow at Chelsea’s sudden burst of energy. She rode the gondolas mostly fine back in Altissia on the clearer days, but the moment the girl was put in one when the water was anything but peaceful, her head was straight over the edge to clear her stomach contents.

In the Regalia however, she seemed to be thriving.

“Maybe it’s because we’re not bobbing up and down and swaying side to-” She suddenly covered her mouth with her hand, “Ugh, I feel sick just thinking about it.”

“If you are going to be sick, tell me and I will pull over.” Chelsea shook her head ‘no’ before answering.

“I’m fine. I think I just need to not talk about boats, think about boats or even look at boats…”

The car began slowing, signaling they were soon to enter a township, causing Chelsea to dart her head around once more to take in all the sights and sounds the small settlement had to offer.

The lush grass that adorned Galdin had quickly given way to mountains of dust that haphazardly covered the buildings ahead, but not once did the welcoming atmosphere falter. The sounds of laughing children and happy families drowning out any noise that came from the dreary pipelines above.

Chelsea’s gaze drifted to a different looking eatery that she was used to seeing and her brows furrowed as she tried to read the sign above the building.

“The… Crows… Nest?” She questioned slowly, hoping that she got the words correct.

“Correct, dear. The Crows Nest is a popular chain of eateries that are located throughout Lucis.” Camelia answered, earning a grin from Chelsea as Cor pulled up in the motel car park.

“So the food is good then?”

“Of course.” Cor laughed, “Otherwise there wouldn’t be so many around. I have to recommend Kenny’s Salmon myself.”

“Good choice.” Camelia agreed. “It’s been quite a long time since I have sampled treats from here.”

“I believe their burgers are quite delectable as well.” Said Ignis, exiting the car to open the rear door for Chelsea before she could do it herself. She regarded him with a quick ‘thank-you’ before turning her attention back to the diner.

“I’m actually quite hungry…” She mused. That didn’t surprise Ignis in the slightest. The only thing he had seen her consume in the few hours since they met was the tea back in Galdin Quay; she declined any offers of snacks earlier due to the lingering effects of the nausea. But now it seems that she is feeling better.

“We’ll check into the motel first and then grab a bite to eat. Sound good?” After opening the door for Camelia, Cor made his way over to the check-in desk of the motel to secure the rooms for the night; one for Chelsea and Camelia and one for himself and Ignis.

With that done and their bags quickly dropped off in their rooms he led everyone to the diner across the road. Chelsea quickly became enamored with the statue of the crow mascot sitting out the front on a bench.

“That’s Kenny Crow!” She exclaimed, pointing at it. “I know him from the Chocobo-Moogle festival.” She pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and handed it to her visibly amused aunt who followed her towards the bench.

Chelsea sat down, holding up a peace sign.

“Take a photo Aunt Camelia!” She requested and she did just that, snapping a few pictures just in case the first one didn’t come out as desired. Before she could return the phone, Chelsea was excitedly waving over to Ignis.

“Come take a picture with me Ignis! To celebrate out new friendship!” With an eyebrow raised he approached her, a bit skeptical about the whole friendship thing. Alas, his heart fluttered at the words, and it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling either. It was quite reminiscent to when he first met the prince.

But Chelsea was different to the prince, he thought.

“I must let you know that our relationship must remain completely professional.” He tried to tell her, but she shrugged it off by patting the empty space of the bench beside her.

“Nonsense Ignis. You have me for six years, so friends it is.” Whilst she did have a point, he was still quite unsure about it.

“Very well.” He sighed, sitting down beside her as if he were posing for a professional photo with his back straight and shoulders back. Chelsea was having none of it and she threw her arm around his shoulder, drawing him closer to her body. He became flushed as she pulled her free hand up to form another peace sign.

“Say ‘cheese’ you two.” Cor was standing behind Camelia, arms crossed and a smirk on his face, causing Ignis to uncharacteristically blush at the implications laid out before him. He had never been so physically close to a girl before and it was making him feel a tad uncomfortable. But she seemed to be happy.

“Cheese!” The both of them said in unison and the sound of computerized camera shutters filled the air.

Whilst the meal was mostly uneventful, Ignis learnt a bit more about the girl who he would be spending the next six years with in her studies.

Both of her parents, Nathaniel and Sophia Claustra owned and ran Altissia’s Leville. Her father acted as the head chef and her mother was the bookkeeper. She had identical twin sisters, Ophelia and Natalia who were nine years old and she absolutely adored them. It was evident by the way her eyes lit up the entire room when she spoke about them and showed him and Cor the pictures she had on her phone of them. Whilst Chelsea shared her mother and aunt’s visage of piercing blue eyes and sandy blonde hair, Ophelia and Natalia took after their father with jet black hair and playful emerald eyes. Exact opposites in a sense, but the more Ignis looked at her family photos the more he recognized the loved they all held for each other.

He swiped over to a certain photo, and both Chelsea’s and Camelia’s faces became sullen, Chelsea more so than her aunt’s.

“That would be my late husband Alexander. He and Chelsea were very close.”

The image showed an older gentleman with graying black hair standing proudly beside a much younger and much smaller Chelsea, who was wearing a pretty blue dress and holding a violin in her little hands. Chelsea had suddenly become interested in the miniscule stains that adorned per part of the table. It was obviously still a touchy subject for her, that much anyone could tell.

“Do you play the violin?” He asked in an attempt to regain her attention.

“Yeah.” She responded without looking up, “My uncle taught me.” When she finally looked up she feigned a small smile. “I’m okay. I just miss him is all.”

“He was a magnificent violinist, wasn’t he Chelsea? And so are you.” Chelsea perked up a little at Camelia’s words, nodding in agreement but not commenting on her playing ability.

“Uh…” She began after a small moment of silence, “Is there anything else you want to know about me?”

“Two things.” Ignis answered almost immediately. “One: What is your sleeping pattern like? And two: Will you willingly eat vegetables?”

She blinked a few times with confusion. Why those? She thought.

“Er, I’m quite a light sleeper so I will get out of bed once my alarm goes off. And I’ll eat whatever you put in front of me as long as it isn’t spicy. Any reason?”

“So I can adjust my schedule accordingly.” He replied matter-of-factly, pushing up his glasses to the bridge of his nose as they had started to slip quite a bit after their discussion started.

“I see…” She hummed. She was suddenly overcome with a huge yawn, the long few days of hell finally starting to take its toll on her now that she had a belly full of food.

“I think its best we retire for the night.” Cor began, looking at the two travel weary women across from him. “We need to leave just after sunrise to arrive at the Crown City at a decent hour.”

“Indeed. Come Chelsea, a nice warm bed is awaiting us.” Camelia shuffled out of the booth first, beckoning her niece over.

“Yes Aunt Camelia.” She yawned again, reaching out to be helped up by her aunt.

Cor paid for the food before the four made their way back to the motel to rest their tired bodies, and prepare themselves for the long trip back to Insomnia in the morning.

[randomfandomimagine]

Sunshine in the Moonlight. Chapter 4: Galdin Quay

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Pairing: Prompto x Alexandria (OC)

Previous Chapter - Chapter Index - Next Chapter

Wattpad - AO3

WARNING: Spoilers for the game at the end of this chapter! 

The awful noise of the alarm clock cruelly dragged me away from a beautiful happy dream I didn’t remember. All I knew was that I woke up with a smile plastered on my lips.

I tiredly opened my eyes to find that my nose was nuzzled against something soft and warm. A shoulder.

I panicked slightly, embarrassed, when I realized my fear came true – I had cuddled them in my sleep. I had snuggled closer to Prompto, probably seeking his warmth during the brisk night.

Hoping Ignis was still sleeping, I hurried to scoot away from him. Luckily, Prompto and the other three were fast asleep. When I turned around to see Ignis, however, I saw him completely awake, already sitting up. And staring at me with something that looked a lot like a smug smile. But certainly it couldn’t be, not drawn in his mouth.

Convinced that I was blushing, I snapped the phone away from his gloved hands and placed it on the tent floor to hopefully wake Gladiolus and Prompto up. And hopefully, to forget about my cuddling incident.

With the sound of the alarm, they both stirred in their sleep until they eventually opened their eyes, being lazy and not really wanting to get up at first. The prince, on the other hand, just turned around and got back to sleep.

“Iggy” Gladiolus’ sleepy voice was even deeper than usual. “Wake Sleeping Beauty up, will ya?”

“Hm… mornin’” Prompto sat up and looked at us with just one eye open.

I sat up too and stretched my arms and my back, since they felt sore. I missed a good comfortable and soft bed.

The silence settled for a moment, just to make room for the beautiful sound of the birds chirping outside.

“Noct” Ignis was trying to gently shake him awake, but the prince wouldn’t oblige.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to push the drowsiness away. Taking a look around to see my friends, I noticed that Prompto was trying to fix his hair and Gladiolus was sitting up as well, stretching his big and muscular arms.

“Rise and shine” Ignis insisted in a futile attempt to catch the prince’s attention.

Noctis was obviously a heavy sleeper and a lazy waker and our friend was being too gentle with him.

“C’mon!” Gladiolus noticed this too and vigorously patted his back. “Or we’re leaving without you”

Both Ignis and Gladiolus left the tent, probably in an attempt to reinforce their threat. Or should I say, their bluff.

I watched the prince as he unwillingly sat up too. I wondered why he seemed so tired, and remember how exhausted and worn-out his father, King Regis, usually was. Being the royals of Lucis implied many duties and responsibilities, one of which was to use their own strengths to hold up the wall that protected the kingdom. The power of the kings, I believe it was called. That surely drained them from their energies.

“Prince Noctis” I greeted him, looking at him over my shoulder. The boy just let out a grunt of displease and dragged himself out of the tent.

I glanced at Prompto, silently asking him what I did wrong. The blond gave me a wide eyed glance but didn’t say anything.

“He hates me” I mumbled with a sigh.

“He doesn’t hate you!” Prompto chuckled cheerfully.

I wondered how he was so bubbly early in the morning, especially after sleeping in the hard ground inside a tent in the middle of a deserted land.

“He does!”

“He just hates being called ‘Prince Noctis’, y’know?”

“Does he?”

“Yeah!” He grinned, calmly crossing his arms over his chest. “He’s just a regular guy, you should treat him as such”

That left me in a reflective mood. Perhaps the reason why Noctis was always so moody around me was because he thought I was condescending towards him. Honestly, I probably was, but solely because he was our prince after all.

I did wonder if he would change his attitude towards me if I stopped calling him prince. Perhaps if I treated him like a friend instead of like my future king he would be more at ease.

Prompto casually poked me in the ribs and took his camera out, probably trying to remedy my reflective state.

“Wanna see the pictures I took yesterday?”

“Shouldn’t we get going?”

“Nah, it’s still gonna take a while for Noct to really wake up”

“I guess we could indulge in that privilege then”

The blond chuckled in response, obliging. I scooted closer to him and the first photo that appeared was the one of the Regalia again. The next picture was one of Umbra, and it made me aw. I loved dogs so much, and Umbra was such an adorable puppy.

“Aw! I miss that dog!” I cooed, wishing I could have a plushie that resembled him. Not that I would want them to know, though. So I cleared my throat and shrugged. “Quite devoted to be delivering their messages”

“Right” Prompto smiled, definitely amused by my unexpected reaction. “How ‘bout this one?”

Ignis, stylish as always. I could never understand how he was always so classy and photogenic.

“I think it’s humanly impossible for that man to have a bad photograph”

“I know!”

The next one was one of me, surprisingly. I stood at the edge of the ledge, staring at the wonderful sunset in awe, eyes filled with wonder and peacefulness. I was smiling in the picture, an expression of pure bliss accompanying the grin.

“Why did you take these again?” I knew Prompto intended to document our journey by taking so many pictures, but that one wasn’t truly crucial. “I mean, these in particular”

“Uh… I take pictures of everything that catches my eye” We looked at each other at the same time and locked eyes. He averted his immediately.

“So did I catch your eye?” I raised an eyebrow, flattered yet also curious.

“You smile to yourself when you think no one is watching” Prompto defended himself, chuckling nervously.

I found it endearing that he felt the urge to take such a picture of me. It was definitely a good photo, and he had a photographer eye, but… What was so interesting for him to be taking a picture of me in the sunset, smiling to myself?

I stared at him fondly and when he turned and noticed I was, he averted his eyes again and blushed. I smiled to myself in response.

Prompto was like an annoying little brother, always being hyper and excited. One felt the urge to tell him off and ask him to be quiet and sit still constantly, but found he was too tiny and adorable to ever be able to do it.

“I’m… gonna show them too” He told me in a rush to break the awkward silence. “They haven’t seen them yet”

“Of course-” I couldn’t even finish my sentence, for he was already exiting the tent.

“Guys! Wanna watch my photos?” He said to all three.

“Sure!” Noctis replied with a kind smile.

I followed after the blond, received by the bright sunlight and the delicate breeze.

A few raindrops fell in my head even if it was barely cloudy. But I wasn’t truly bothered by it as it wasn’t a heavy rain.

“Aw, it’s raining!” Prompto pouted, looking up at the sky with resignation. “It’s gonna ruin my hair!”

“Chocobo butt” Noctis mumbled as he took the camera and swiped through the photos.  

“My hair does not look like a chocobo’s butt!” His best friend whined, annoyed.

“It does look like chocobo…” I opined, but stopped myself when I noticed how upset he seemed as he glared at me, pursing his lips in an annoyed pout. I changed the direction of my sentence not to offend him. “Fur…”

Prompto’s hair honestly reminded me of a chocobo, even though I had never seen one other than in photographs. But I pictured their fur was just like that, and also the same color.

“It looks stylish” I added to cheer him up.

“Cool photos” Noctis said to his friend, giving the camera back.

“Hey, Alexandria!” Gladiolus’ voice called me much to my relief.

I gladly went to meet him and escape the violent situation at the same time.

“Yes?” I looked up at him, attentive. I could feel Ignis’ eyes on us.

“Let’s go training” The big man just said.

I glanced at Ignis, seeking his opinion. He just shrugged, and even that simple gesture was graceful coming from him.

“You thought I forgot, huh” Gladiolus placed an arm over my shoulders and made me walk with him.

I merely resigned myself to follow, hanging my head low in defeat.

  I warmed up with Gladiolus, watching how he stretched his limbs and how he got ready for training. It made me wonder if it would be like our usual training sessions: exhausting sparring turns in which we attacked and defended with our swords, parrying and displaying our best strategies.

“Before we start” My friend finally broke the silence, making a pause.

“Yes?”

“I don’t even think I need to tell you this, but I’m going to anyway”

“What is it?” His grave tone troubled me a little.

“You know you can talk to us, always, if you’re feeling worried, sad, overwhelmed or…” Gladiolus struggled with the words. He was never the emotional type despite his kind heart, which was as big as his muscles. “I mean…”

“I know” I interrupted him, dedicating him a thankful smile. “That is why I didn’t, Gladiolus-“

“Gladio” He corrected me, his sweet smile shifting into a smug one.

“Because I was feeling perfectly okay and-” I wanted to emphasize that there was nothing wrong with me so none of them would worry.

“Gladio” He cut me off again, smugly crossing his arms over his bare chest. “I can do this all day”

“As I was saying…” I tried to resume, but he interrupted me once more.

“It’s Gladio”

“Gladiolus!” I complained, irritated.

“Gladio!!”

“Fine, Gladio!!”

“Let’s start the training, shall we?” Gladiolus… I mean, Gladio… Was certainly a people’s person, but also quite enjoyed teasing his friends too.

“Alright” I held my hand up to summon my sword, but I stopped myself when he shook his head.

“You won’t be needing that”

“But I thought you said we were going to train…”

“We are, but you don’t need that kinda training” There was a mischievous glint in his amber eyes that left me puzzled. “You need to improve your stamina”

I dreaded what that could mean. Especially since I had seen him make Prince Noctis run because of that very same reason. It was probably one of the few things I had in common with him: I despised running.

“Is it necessary?” I argued, trying to avoid such training at any cost.

“Absolutely necessary” Gladiolus said calmly, still grinning. “Do you need a motivation?”

“Well, I-“ Before I could finish my sentence, he had wrapped me in a head lock.

His strong arm held me by the neck, sticking my head next to his torso. I gasped in utter shock at first, until his free hand messed up my hair and his knuckles rubbed against my skull. Then I just screamt in outrage.

Without saying anything, he just let me go and started running. He knew I would go after him. Indeed, I started running, angrily shouting his name as I tried to think about what I would do to him once I caught up with him. If I ever did, that was.

Gladiolus was a big man, but he was incredibly fast for his size.

I realized how right he was about my endurance when I had to stop and put my hands in my knees to catch my breath and rest.

  “Heyaz!” Prompto cheerfully waved at us as we got back to camp.

I just picked up a bottle of water and threw myself on the ground, too sore even if my heavy fall just worsened my pain. The next day it would be even worse.  

I emptied half the bottle in one big gulp until I felt like my dry throat was relieved. Then I gasped for air, waiting until my heart rate got back to normal.

“You okay?” The blond asked me, leaning forward to look at me.

“Yeah” I just nodded, pausing to catch my breath since it came in irregular pants. “Remind me… to never train with him again”

His concerned expression softened until it acquired a hint of amusement to go along with his chuckle.

“Now that they’re back, Noct” Ignis turned to the prince. “Shall we leave for Galdin Quay?”

“Sure” The aforesaid stood up from his spot next to Prompto. “Let’s go”

They quickly gathered the tent and all the tools we used to camp and the five of us walked together to the car, all maintaining a lively chat except for me.

“Same time tomorrow, Alexandria?” Gladiolus teased me, purposely dropping his heavy arm on my shoulders.

“Not a chance” I shook my head vehemently, making all four of them laugh at my negative.

I smiled in spite of myself and just resigned to sit in the car. I felt blessed as I rested on the soft and comfortable back seat of the Regalia. Even if I was between the man that had tortured me with the training and the spoiled prince that hated me.

  The smell of salt in the air, the pleasant humid breeze, the warm sunlight falling on my face and caressing my skin. Such a peaceful and serene vibe to it. I loved Galdin Quay so far.

I took a few seconds to rejoice in that feeling that the scenery gave me and let out a sigh that got rid of the remnants of the nerves that I carried everywhere and every moment during our journey.

The waves washed out on the shores, where tables and chairs had been put for people to rest and have a drink. The palm trees adorned the entire place, giving it a slightly tropical feel to it. In the distance, resting over a platform that floated in the water, was a construction that surely had to be a restaurant or some other kind of touristic attraction. The white fluffy clouds in the background just made it look even prettier.

“Look at this place!” Prompto’s voice exclaimed in admiration and excitement as a lean arm fell over my shoulders. “Say cheese!”

Before I knew it, there was a camera pointing at my face as I turned around, but I didn’t mind that much. Even though he sometimes irritated me, his enthusiasm and liveliness were refreshing.

We both posed for the photo with the restaurant and the beautiful view behind us. Prompto smiled widely –judging by the chuckle that sounded right next to my ear –and I did a peace sign since that was the first pose I thought of.

The flash announced that the picture had been taken, so the blond turned the camera around so we could see the picture. It displayed in the little screen, even if my eyes were adjusting from the bright light of the flash still.

“Aw, that’s a good one!” Prompto friendly shook my shoulders. “I didn’t have any pictures with you”

I looked at him, finding his behavior endearing yet oddly clingy. It felt like, lately, he made an effort to approach me more often. Even if he was probably just trying to be nice and befriend me, which I appreciated.

As he looked at me, Prompto scrunched up his nose and squinted his eyes, which glinted with the bright sunlight that fell over them. I realized he was expecting an answer, a comment to see if I approved of the picture.

“It is really good” I nodded, showing him a small smile. “Your photos are fantastic, Prompto”

“Hehe” He laughed, a bit flustered, as he blushed. “Thanks! Glad you like ‘em”

“Kids!” Gladiolus called us, waving at us. “Over here!”

The blond ran ahead, hiding behind his camera as he stopped to take pictures on the way to reunite with the rest.

I walked down a short trail of stairs that led to the sandy shore, having to hold back the urge to sit down and have a respite in the sunlight or just take a bath. Merely dipping my bare feet in the salty water or feeling the sand under my toes would be enough for me.

But instead we headed for a platform that stood to the side, over the water, much like the one that led to the restaurant. With the slight difference that this one led nowhere.

“There’s a fishing spot there, Noct” Ignis pointed out, actually encouraging him.

Noctis seemed to be quite determined anyway as he walked to the end of the platform and summoned his fishing rod.

Instead of getting on the boat and casting off towards Altissia like we were supposed to, we had to wait for our dear prince to go fishing. I rolled my eyes. Of course the prince had to stop to do whatever he wanted, even if it was something as stupid and unnecessary as it was fishing.

Seeing as the rest were complying too, I sat at the edge in silence, at least taking the time to admire the relaxing sight and sound of the water. I lied down, resting my back against the wooden platform, and found that Ignis’ green eyes were piercing me. In a disapproving way as well.

“Alexandria” His tone was grave and stern. “A word, please?”

I concealed a scoff as I nimbly stood up –despite the fact that my muscles reminded me of my morning workout with Gladiolus –and went with Ignis to listen to whatever lectures he would give me.

“What is it?”

“You should work things out with Noct”

I opened my mouth in disbelief, wondering what gave it away. I had tried being secretive about it, although Ignis surely knew me too well. Besides, he was attentive and realized in spite of it all. Ignis always knew everything.

“I didn’t do anything! Haven’t said a word!” I complained, looking away in an attempt to shake off the feeling that overcame me. I suddenly felt childish and immature, like a child being told off by their parent. And more when I wanted to laugh at the thought that Ignis was definitely like a mother sometimes.

“If you’re to come with us in this journey, you need to get on with him” His tone implied that he wasn’t telling me off, he was just trying to call out a truce.

“And what can I do about it? I don’t think he likes me very much” It was an excuse, because the truth was I never made an effort to befriend him either.

“Perhaps go talk to him” Ignis crossed his arms over his chest, calm and collected. “I’m sure everything can be arranged with a tad of communication”

“If you think it will help” I shrugged, averting my eyes because his were piercing me.

We paused, but his stare didn’t falter. I resolved to reciprocate the glance when I noticed his demanding attitude.

“You don’t expect me to do it right now, do you?” I asked him, dreading to face the prince at that very moment.

“Whenever you think convenient” That was a definite but polite yes.

“Anything else, Ignis?” I complied and tried to appear serene and meek.

“Actually, yes” His tone softened as he lay a hand in my upper arm. “This is a delightful place, try to relax and enjoy it”

It felt like we had just spoken about two very contradicting statements. How was I supposed to enjoy myself in that beautiful place if I had to try and get along with someone I had an enmity with ever since we met?

By the victorious yells coming from Prompto and Gladiolus, we knew Noctis had a bite and was successful in his task. Ignis and I exchanged a last gaze before I headed over to the prince.

The sooner the better.

“Prince Noctis” I called him, unable to refrain from using my sarcastic voice.

Gladiolus walked past us to join Ignis, but Prompto was oblivious enough to stand by our side and listen to the conversation.

“What now?” The prince turned around, hanging his head to the side in sign of resignation and frustration. At least, his moody response scared Prompto away as he not so subtly excused himself and jogged to go with Ignis and Gladiolus.

“Should we start things over?” I thought that would be the best way to address the subject, taking in consideration how far back we went.

“Why? Got a problem with me, Alexandria?” There was something in the way he pronounced my name that let me know he was mocking me.

“I just thought we should get along” I did my best not to be sarcastic again. “Since we’re stuck together on this journey”

“Whatever” He rolled his eyes sassily and kept on walking as tough nothing had happened.

I should have known it would be useless.

  At least the tense feeling in the air was gone once we arrived at the restaurant. We were all chatting as we entered, being greeted by a waiter. Until I noticed how Prompto hurriedly positioned himself behind Gladiolus. There was something wrong.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck” A mysterious man said, talking to us out of the blue.

He had disheveled red hair that was mainly hidden by a messy hat. His orangish eyes looked at us with superiority and had a strange elegancy to them, just like his whole persona. His clothes were flamboyant despite their dark color, and they looked expensive.

“Are we?” Noctis challenged him calmly.

“The boats that bring you here” The man explained briefly.

“What about ‘em?” Prompto dared to say.

“They’ll not take you forth”

“What’s your story?” Gladio budged, wanting to know what he was on about.

“I’m an impatient traveler” The man said as he kept on walking. “Ready to turn ship”

We all observed him as he faced his back to us, and I was quite positive that all of us were thinking the same thing. Who was that man? Was he mad? Why did he talk to us like he knew us? And like he knew something we ignored?

I wondered if I was the only one that distrusted him. There was something about him…

After a brief moment of silence, the man kept talking.

“The ceasefire’s getting us nowhere” He said with his posh accent, somewhat similar to Ignis’ except for the fact that the man’s was filled with an obvious superiority complex and great arrogance.

“Wh-“ I uttered, being so shocked by his words that I couldn’t really voice my outrage.

Was that man agreeing with violence? Was he saying that peace was useless?

He suddenly turned around and, with a chuckle, tossed something towards Noctis. All I could see was a glint of something silver shining under the sunlight. Before it hit the prince in the face, however, Gladiolus caught it easily with one hand. I craned my neck to see what it was as soon as he opened his fist to reveal it. It was small and circular and looked like a coin.

I glanced at Noctis, just to see him frowning and throwing the man a death glare.

“What’s this?” Gladiolus said to him. “Some sort of souvenir?”

I heard Prompto gasping, but when I looked at him he seemed excited.

“They make those?!” That time I nearly smacked him across the head. How could someone be so gullible and innocent? That mysterious man was obviously up to something, and I believed he was a liar and a tyrant. Yet Prompto was too innocent to believe so himself, surely trusting that everyone was inherently good.

“What? No!” Noctis replied to his friend, offended that the blond believed it. Another rare occasion in which I agreed with the prince.

“Consider it your allowance” The man motioned over to the coin in Gladiolus’ hand.

I sneakily glanced at Ignis as he watched the scene, noticing how quiet he was. That was odd, he surely was secretly judging the man like myself. Alert and ready to intervene.

“Huh?” Prompto mumbled, not understanding.

“Yeah?” Gladiolus, cocky as usual, stepped up. “And who’s allowing us?”

“A man of no consequence” He said, shrugging before he left for good.

“Yeah, right” Noctis scoffed bitterly. At least it was good to see that our dear prince was no fool.

Ignis finally made a sound, something between a grunt and a sigh. He looked at me and we interchanged a quick understanding glance. However, we carried on doing what we were doing, chatting as usual and ready to maybe have a bite at that extraordinary place.

  The next twenty-four hours were tiring and rough.

After our encounter with that strange man, we confirmed that he was well informed: there were no ships leaving from Galdin Quay at the moment. And at the port, we were blackmailed by a reporter called Dino that had us go get some unique gemstones in exchange for getting our boat tickets. We didn’t trust him, honestly, but he was our best opportunity to finally cast off. 

After that, not only did we have to face an enormous and dangerous dormant winged creature. Of course, having to put up with the prince’s moods and with Prompto’s whining. If barely getting out alive of that quest wasn’t bad enough, we had to camp again because we couldn’t convince Ignis to spend some of our money in getting a room for the night.

So when I woke up in the tent again, sore and tired from the little sleep, I was certainly in a bad mood. Only to confront Dino about our boat tickets and find that we wouldn’t be able to leave until the next day.

At least Ignis was so tired that he thought getting a room wasn’t a bad idea after all despite his initial desire to save money. Lying down in an actual soft bed put a smile to my face for the first time that day –apart from the adorable cat that we saw and fed on the way to the restaurant –and I fell into a well-deserved and happy sleep.

  The morning, however, wasn’t as cheerful as I expected.

Perhaps it was the cloudy sky and the broody environment, but I felt a heavy weight on my stomach as I sat down next to Gladio in one of the comfortable arm chairs of the room. Noctis had just woken up and wondered where Specs was.

Soon enough, the man himself arrived. As soon as I saw Ignis’ face the second he came through the door, I knew. Something horrible had happened, I could tell. His eyes seemed a bit red and puffy, which was definitely a bad sign. Ignis never cried.

“Ignis?” I stood up in alarm, fearing the news he brought us.

When his eyes fell over Noctis, my glance was directed to him as well. It had something to do with him, and my heart was shrinking in anticipation.

“What’s that look for?” The boy asked him because of his stare.

“It’s in all the papers” Ignis handed Gladiolus a piece taken from newspapers.

Preoccupied, I got closer to the big man and read what he was holding in his hands. My hands flew to my mouth as I tried in vain to hold back the gasp that escaped my lips. Alarmed by my reaction, Prompto quickly got closer to read it himself.

“Insomnia… falls?” I didn’t understand how he managed to say those words aloud. Speaking those words made it more real, which was precisely why I couldn’t utter them myself.

But it couldn’t be, our home couldn’t be destroyed! I glanced at Ignis, trying to confirm the news. He merely nodded at me, solemn and grief-stricken.

The world seemed to be spinning around me, I felt unstable and shaky. Hence I feebly plopped down in one of the arm chairs again. I was suddenly locked within myself, conscious only of my thoughts and my fear, of that unpleasant feeling in my stomach and the lack of oxygen in my lungs.

It couldn’t be true. That wasn’t happening. It had to be a mistake. Insomnia hadn’t fallen. Our home couldn’t be destroyed!!

I blinked repeatedly, trying to get back to reality to see if my friends had something to say. To hopefully hear Ignis saying that it was just a warning and everyone was safe, including the city. That it was just a stupid rumor and nothing but a lie.

“There was an attack” I heard him saying. “The Imperial army has taken the Crown City”

I sobbed unwillingly, with a desperate need to get that weight off my chest, to breathe again. To get rid of the tight lump in my throat and the downheartedness in my heart.

I looked up again, just in time to hear Gladiolus utter the most heart-breaking words of them all. Even more heartbreaking than ‘Insomnia falls’.

“The King was found… dead…”

That was too much for me to take. Before I could stop to think or calm down, I had stood up in a hurry and exited the room.

I didn’t make it too far, however, as my trembling body gave up under my own weight and I limply fell to the ground into a sitting position. I needed some time to take it all in, to wrap my head around the idea that it was truly happening.

I needed to be alone, I needed to think and organize my feelings.

I lost track of time until the four men walked out the room, wearing matching glum expressions as they dragged themselves around. I forced myself to stand to my feet and follow them as Gladiolus and Prompto eyed me in silence. Ignis and Noctis refused to look at me.

Grief had different manifestations in different people.

“We’re going back” Prompto just said to me.

There was no trace of his usual upbeat tone. No words accompanied by chuckles or adorable smiles. No happy glint in his eyes.

Gladio kept walking, only taking a second to look at me over his shoulder. His expression was stern and tough, but there was also pain in his eyes beneath it all.

I walked with Prompto at the back of the group in an eerie silence. No matter how irritating he could be sometimes, I would have given anything to hear him whine or joke around. To hear the boys’ silly banter and playful teasing and horseplay.

That would mean that everything was alright, that we weren’t going back to our home to see with our own eyes the alleged destruction. But it didn’t. No one was speaking, no one was laughing. There was only room for sadness and sorrow.

It started raining as we got in the car. Very fitting, as we all felt equally taciturn and gloomy just like the weather.

I remained silent as I took my place in the back seat, right between the Royal Shield and the prince who had just become king. The boy who had just lost his father.

Tagging list: @prince-of-wind. If anyone else is interested in me tagging them so they’ll get notified when I post new chapters for this series, let me know and I’ll add you to the tagging list!