#titus drautos | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

primamchorus · 22 days ago

Text

Impatience

Having arrived at the Citadel, Noctis and Ignis come to learn that things are not to go quite as they imagined it would. With the peace treaty on the horizon, it seems there is plenty there to throw wrenches into everyone's plans.

Word count: 2,119

FFXV: Reimagined Table of Contents

<- Previous • Next ->

It was a matter of minutes before Ignis was parking the car in the underground car lot and both he and Noctis were making their way toward the towering image of the Citadel. It was always such an awe-inspiring visage, especially when gazing toward the top of the building. One could never miss the font of magic that connected to the protective dome that encapsulated Insomnia. It was here where the dome, known as the Wall, was anchored.

Atop the stairs into the Citadel was a rather burly man. At a glance, he could have been mistaken for Cor…which Noctis had been guilty of having done in his youth.

The man was adorned in a coat of black — the revered color of Lucis, and so worn by royalty and those that worked for the royal Crown more times than not. His brow was set in a rather heavily set furrow, a stern frown upon his lips. Yeah, it was easy to have mistaken this man for Cor were it not for how much broader the man's shoulders and chest were these days.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Your Highness,” the man said, offering the bare minimum of a bow to Noctis.

“Haven’t seen you in ages, Drautos,” Noctis said, offering the bare minimum of a wave in turn. He had seen Drautos around, but sometimes even a week could feel like it dragged on for months if Noctis had any pressing matters to take care of. It was rare, but there was quite a bit of paperwork piling up along with actually having a job and doing schoolwork in the past.

Shrugging off Noctis’ flippant greeting, Drautos looked at Ignis with a stiff nod. There was an exchange of keys as Ignis relinquished Noctis' car into Drautos' care. Looking down at the keys momentarily, he then turned his attention to the young Prince. “After your business is finished, will you be returning home, Prince Noctis?”

“That’s the plan,” Noctis replied. He lazily brought his hands over and rested them in his pockets.

“Understood. Then I’ll have someone drop you off.”

“Thanks.” Noctis frowned with thought. Looking back up at Drautos, Noctis asked him: "Hey, while we're here… How are Primam and Tandem?"

The corner of Drautos' mouth twitched as he glanced back down at the keys in his possession. "The…former Arms-in-training are doing well enough. They've adjusted to their new station at the very least."

His words were stiff. The words used were enough to make Noctis bite back a grimace.

"For a mercy, they've been good about following instructions. That's more than I can say for some of the other Glaive I have under my command." Drautos finally pocketed the keys and then shifted his attention over. “Ignis.”

“Yes, sir?” Ignis straightened his posture reflexively.

“Make sure you’re available at all times. I can’t say for sure when King Regis will be able to see you given his schedule having been rearranged.”

Much as Ignis tried to hide it, he could not help but furrow his brow with surprise at the update. It was not often that he was taken unaware — much less left in the dark to changes in plans… Especially ones of this nature. Pursing his lips, he went on to say: “I had no idea.”

“Seriously? Whatever happened to meeting us now?” The impatience made itself more than evident in Noctis’ tone. Drautos, however, elected to ignore it whilst keeping his eyes on Ignis.

“His meeting probably dragged on longer than anticipated.” Drautos informed them. This elicited a somewhat exasperated ‘ugh…’ from Noctis.

“I hope His Majesty is able to see you before your departure tomorrow.” There seemed to have been a finality to the discussion after Drautos spoke and silence lingered between everyone. Of course, this pleased Noctis little as he folded his arms over his chest, kicking at the ground with some agitation.

“Captain.” Ignis broke the silence.

“Yes?”

“Is the date of the signing still undecided?” At Ignis’ question, Drautos seemed to glance uncomfortably between both he and Noctis.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

A troubled sigh escaped Ignis. “Unfortunate, indeed."

“I understand your anxieties — both of you,” Drautos looked at Noctis to acknowledge him as well in that moment. “But Regis has said he’d like to proceed with caution.”

“Of course.” Noctis could tell from Ignis’ expression after he spoke his affirmation that there was more at hand to have been concerned about. However, the Prince kept his mouth shut, electing to shove his hands into his pockets with further annoyance.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything,” Drautos said, placing his free hand on Ignis’ shoulder briefly and looking him in the eye.

“Much obliged.” Ignis concluded the discussion, pulling away from the Captain and heading into the Citadel with Noctis close behind.

Noctis’ expression only grew sour once they were inside the building. There were a lot of concerns and questions that raced through his mind about everything. More than anything, he was just frustrated that it was his last day in Insomnia before he was to get on the road with three of his trusted allies to make way to Altissia. Annoyance rose thinking that his own father had been trapped in meetings and discussions that prevented the two from having the chance to at least see each other off properly.

Thoughts were about to form out of Noctis’ mouth to word vomit at Ignis until he caught the familiar voice of someone — Iris of House Amicitia.

“Any chance I could see him?” Noctis heard Iris say. She was close, but nowhere to be seen for now.

“Not at present… Your father is still in a meeting.” Another familiar voice.

Turning the corner, Noctis and Ignis were able to see who Iris was conversing with. Silex Scientia — the current head of House Scientia following the unfortunate events that took Ignis’ parents when he was a child. It was always a nagging thought at the far back of Noctis’ mind whenever he saw Silex, the man that acted as not only Ignis’ uncle, but as a father figure since the attack at Cape Caem.

“Prince Noctis. You look well,” Silex said in greeting once he caught sight of both Noctis and Ignis. His words were the cause for Iris to turn on her heel suddenly. A large smile spread across her face as she looked at Noctis.

“Noct!” Iris brought her hands behind her back, lacing her fingers together.

“Hey Iris,” Noctis greeted before looking at Silex. Given what he had overheard from the two, a question bubbled forth: “Mr. Scientia, is my dad around?”

Silex’s chest and shoulders heaved with a silent, weary sigh before he glanced at Iris and then back at the Prince. “As I was just telling Iris, the King and Clarus’ meeting has yet to adjourn. You both have my sincerest apologies.”

“No…No worries…” Noctis said, already beating himself up mentally for failing to hide the disappointment in his voice. Also for allowing that question to slip past his lips when he already knew the answer prior to asking it. Maybe he was hoping for a different answer from a different person.

“I’m…sorry for the delay,” Silex apologized, drawing his hands together.

“It’s not your fault, Uncle,” Ignis said, attempting to assuage any discomfort or feelings of guilt at this time. “I’m sure that whatever is going on right now is far out of anyone’s hands. Unfortunate as it may be.”

“Yeah…” Noctis started, barely adding to what Ignis said. “We’ve got other things to do anyway.”

“Like getting ready for your trip?” Iris inquired, looking up at Noctis as she neared him.

“Yep.”

“Thought so. Bummer I don’t get to go with you and see the wedding...” While Iris’ words betrayed the remorse she attempted to feign, she did let out a sigh with a sense of disappointment that felt unrelated. Noctis opted not to press her on the matter. He figured the two of them were in the same boat: unable to meet with their parents.

Clearing his throat, Noctis shrugged and said, “I’m sure you’d just get bored along the way anyway. From what I've gone over with Dad and Ignis, it's probably gonna take quite some time to get there.”

“Well~” Iris started in a singsong tone. “Do you mind if I tag along with you? Just for today?”

“Around here?” Noctis was genuinely confused this time.

“No! Back to your place, silly!” Iris clarified with a small laugh.

Noctis exchanged looks with Ignis. Ignis seemed to have the expression that told Noctis that he was going to have to deal with answering her on his own. Suppressing his own sigh, the Prince rubbed at the back of his neck before finally saying, “Maybe…not a good idea.”

“What? Why not?” Iris asked. “It’s your last night in town; you're going to have a party, aren’t you?”

“Not…that kind of party…” Noctis said while Ignis shook his head and laughed wryly at the perceived assumption of what was happening later.

“It’s a moving-out party. Nothing but cleaning,” Ignis decided to dehaze Iris’ idea of what was going on later that evening.

“Cleaning!?” Iris asked, her voice rising a lot higher than she originally anticipated as evidenced by the fact that she brought her hands up to cover her mouth after her outburst.

“Yep. There’ll be bugs everywhere.” Noctis was honestly not sure whether or not he was lying in full. There probably were a few roaches hiding out at his apartment. Whether or not there were, however, there were definitely a couple gnats that had made themselves comfortable around the sink. Nothing extreme, thankfully, but nothing to really dismiss, either.

Iris, upon hearing some elaboration on that, scrunched up her face in a mix of disgust and disappointment to the news.

“So you’re probably better off staying away,” Noctis concluded of that aspect of their discussion before moving on. “What’re you doing here anyway?”

Iris’ expression softened before she pointed to a neat black paper bag leaning against a wall. “I brought a change of clothes for my dad. He’s been so busy lately; he just sleeps at the Citadel!”

“Not even Master Clarus has been spared from the treaty preparations, I see,” Ignis commented, adjusting his glasses. His amusement disappeared now that the topic shifted. Noctis glanced at the floor, his mouth forming into a thin line as he remembered all the pressure father must have been enduring at this time.

It certainly could not have been easy.

Turning back to Silex with this new consideration, Noctis asked in a concerned tone, “How’s my dad doing?”

“Exhaustion aside, he seems to be doing just fine,” Silex reassured Noctis.

“Can he still walk?”

“But of course.” Silex’s brow raised as he answered. He seemed surprised that Noctis would have thought otherwise of Regis. However, the relief in Noctis was palpable by all that were there as he let out a sigh he had no idea he was even holding.

“Great. I’m glad to hear it,” Noctis said.

Giving Noctis a nod to acknowledge his words, Silex moved on and looked at his nephew. “Ignis, I will contact you once His Majesty has a moment.”

An indignant scowl befell Noctis’ face, though he stayed silent. It was not as if he always checked his phone, much less answered it. Sometimes he just slept through it ringing or notifying him of anything. Still, it stung a little knowing that even he, Regis’ own son, would be less of a consideration versus the future Hand of the King. Even if he hated admitting it was for the best to himself.

“Much appreciated. For now, we’ll be on our way to the Prince’s quarters.” Ignis offered a courteous bow to his uncle before he and Noctis turned to start walking toward aforementioned quarters.

"Noct…" Iris spoke up before the two of them got too far, making both of them look at her inquisitively.

"Congratulations on your wedding," Iris said with a smile on her face that failed to reach her eyes. A twinge of sadness had been evident in her tone.

There was a moment's silence that lingered between Noctis and Iris before the Prince gave a somewhat shy smile. Turning his head away, he replied: "It's a little early for that. But… Thanks, Iris. I’ll see you later.”

Iris watched as the two turned to continue on their way. Soon, her expression fell, and matched that twinge of sadness that was heard in her tone. Not that Noctis nor Ignis witnessed it for themselves as they strode down the halls, passing window after window, and door after door.

#ffxv #ffxv writing #my writing #(extrapolated from prologue: parting ways)#noctis lucis caelum #ignis scientia #titus drautos #iris amicitia #oc: silex scientia #(tentative on that last one since he is technically canon -- i just am fleshing him out more)#ffxv: reimagined

7 notes · View notes