meadowlarklogs | ( january catch-all )

[ She grabs the filter to pull it out, grimacing. Yeah. There's ... monster guts on that. She huffs out an impatient noise. ]

They should have had their maintenance people up here.

[ The heat seems to have melted some of it on. To their credit, it's probably particles drawn up from the various patients being treated rather than a single obvious event, but that doesn't change the fact that it's here now. ]

I've got a new filter I can put in, but it won't do any good if the unit's close to burnt out. We'll need to order a new compressor. [ She unscrews a secondary panel, taking her time with it to confirm that — yep, wires have melted onto the circuitboard. It's not regulating anything at present. ] And circuitboard. Unless you think you can rig this.

Guess we could always note that they need to have this checked out every fifteen days for general maintenance.

[he takes the filter from her as she goes to unscrew another panel, setting it on the side. he's leaning closer to have a look at the circuit board.]

[placing the bag down with the tools, he reaches over and carefully disconnects the cables connecting to the circuit board. now that he can have a better look at it, he looks a little -- hopeless for it.]

I could try. It looks pretty bad, but nothing to lose, right?

[going through the bag, he looks for the tools he'll need to try and clean up the mess and restructure the circuits.]

Let's try it out, so at least it's just a matter of replacing the defective bits when they come in.

[war had always been a constant ever since prompto was born--he was "born" right in the middle of it, as it were. still, living under the nacreous shine of the wall that protected them all from daemons and any kind of filter from the war. it was nothing but a far off murmur, while they lived in relative wealth and with sufficient produce as to not have to count their portions or consider what they did or didn't have.]

[he doesn't know whether this is or isn't gaby's situation--they could just have been poor, but it puts things in perspective for prompto in a very big way.]

[suddenly, he feels embarrassment at his admission of eating a whole cake by himself. his reaction is very lively, moving his arms around in defense--or protest? one of the two.]

I-I'm not gonna do that! I was just a stupid kid with zero parental attention to really know what I could or couldn't do! Aw, geez, I must seem real stupid just saying I was eating a whole cake like that...

Promise it was a one time thing and it was cuz I didn't know any better. You gotsa believe me, 'kay?

[ She doesn't know why, but the sudden vehemence of his gesturing, as well as his animated insistence, conjures another smile from her, maybe in spite of her own distant thinking, and she may be shaking her head before she answers but it's something tinged with fondness rather than a dismissal. ]

I believe you.

[ She reaches for one of his arms to bring it down to hers, gently linking them together. ] You're encouraged to have one piece, at least, so I know if I've remembered it right.

[ A derisive snort slips out of Rey at his suggestion — every fifteen days. — before she can stop it. She looks up then, however, and notices that he's not joking. Her expression falters slightly. ]

They won't do it.

[ Obviously.

She has already accepted the foregone conclusion that he'll be trying the wires. She gets clear, leaving him room. ]

[the gesture of their arms linked together has prompto scrambling momentarily for his breath. he's not used to -- physical contact outside of his brothers--his friends--and even then it isn't as casual and friendly, born out of teasing and jabs.]

[it makes his fondness... grow.]

[the smile on his face appears and is reluctant to fade from sight.]

I'm okay with that. Who gets to eat the leftover batter from the whisk, though?

[he's that type of chef]

[The reminiscence earns a soft laugh as his lips pull back in amusement. At the time, it had seemed nothing but stressful- trying to get through work, frustrated with Noct's assumed apathy, struggling to understand Prompto, torn between wanting to just relax and be friends with them and doing what he saw as his duty--

But really... he does miss it. Things were so much easier.

(He doesn't comment on Prompto's opinion of him never being tired, though. Let the boy believe.)

Setting the warm mug of water in front of Prompto, he grow more still and attentive at the shift in Prompto's body language, the way the words shove out of him, all at once, messy, like he needs to get it all out at once, or he never will. And really, it's a bit hard to follow- Prompto shot a man in Niflhiem-- but he'd shot imperial soldiers many, many times before. Or was this someone more unique and identifiable? And innocent by accident?

He keeps quiet, though,even as his mind is trying to make connections. Best just to let Prompto get it out and explain.]

Slow down, Prompto. [Still, he carefully takes his own mug (which he did mix some of that questionable powder into, if only because it gives some sort of bitter substance to the water-)and moves around the counter to sit next to him.]

So your nightmares are about your time in Niflheim.] One thing at a time. Which do you want to talk about first?

[Because even without knowing the details, he can tell it's serious- the way Prompto is shaken, the way he's fidgeting, the way he's been so careful in all his interactions since Ignis's arrival.]

We can tell Noct when he's back, alright? And you'll be more prepared for it then. Think of this as a practice.

Just comes to show that no matter how much you'd hope for things to be better in the future, it still all sucks.

[grabbing the appropriate tools, he sits and sets the circuitboard down in front of him. he flips his cap around, the bill of it a show on his eyes. he'll work in tandem to whatever rey's doing, letting the tools heat up and then going forward and re-melting the mess all over board that's keeping the circuits from running proper.]

[he can still multitask and keep a conversation going.]

Were you always a mechanic back in Jakku? [stops, and looks up, a bit of a squint] Am I saying that right? Jack-you?

[prompto takes a deep breath--and exhales--his hands nervous around the warm cup of water. he's gotta say all of it now, or it's never coming out.]

Practice. Okay.

Just... listen to me first, then ask me questions when I'm done, okay? It's a lot to get through.

[he's asking for that favor, mostly because he knows that once he's derailed, he won't really continue properly. he wants to make sure the important things are exposed, at least.]

When we arrived in Altissia, we met with Camelia Claustra, the first secretary of Accordo. [he's trying his damnest here. he knows that by mentioning names and positions, ignis will believe what he has to say more earnestly. he doesn't know why he thinks the other won't believe him--but he just wants to be as factual as possible.] After Noct had a meeting with her we agreed to help her evacuate the citizens of Altissia, since it was likely the Empire would strike when Lady Lunafreya called upon Leviathan. So they did, and we did our part, and Noct headed out to the Oracle, to form the covenant, except...

[his gaze is firmly on the table, even after he takes a pause to drink from his cup.]

Leviathan was summoned and-- I'm not so sure on the details, I wasn't there, but Noct defeated her. You, me, and Gladio were trying to keep the city from being destroyed by the Empire, but we got separated. You said you'd be fine, but-

Something happened.

[he looks up at ignis; it's all gonna spill out, now.] Lady Lunafreya was killed by Ardyn. Noct saw him do it. You- I don't know what happened with you, but when we found you, you were lying beside Noct. You got -- scars, on your face, part of your arm. [his eyes water but his gaze is unwavering] You can't see anymore, Iggy. We lost Lady Lunafreya's body in the waters of Altissia. Noct needed days to recuperate after fighting Leviathan. Gladio was so angry, he--

[deflating a little, he rubs at his eyes]

Lady Lunafreya got the ring to Noctis.

We set out towards Catarnica, to the next tomb. Noct was obviously-- devastated. Gladio was angry all the time. You kept reassuring us your sight would come back. You weren't fooling anyone, but we ... you didn't want Noct to blame himself. He was already blaming himself. For everything. [prompto felt a lot like a bystander] Heading down to Fodina Caestino, we found the tomb. You argued that you could still fight, and you showed us you could, and you told Gladio and Noct off for acting like children about it. It...

Made things easier, after tensions had been at a boiling point for so long.

[he smiles lightly]

Back on the train, we thought about stopping at Tenebrae before making it to Gralea. We got ambushed along the way, though, and... I think Noct tried to kill me. [he raises his hands up] I know it sounds crazy! But he chased me around the train! Then he pushed me off of it, even though I had Ardyn at gun point. He doesn't know any of that happened, so I still don't really understand what happened.

[it looks like he's finished--like he's done talking, offering exposition, but then--]

I ended up in a Magitek Production Facility, and Ardyn was there too. Long story short? I met Verstael Besithia there. All those MTs we've fought? He cloned himself a thousand times over, used some fucked up method to turn them into fuel for their cores. I was meant to be like them. But I shot him; I shot my "father."

[and now he's finally finished, waiting to see ignis's reaction through it all.]

...that about covers what I know.

Edited 2019-01-25 02:20 (UTC)

Jah-koo.

[ Rey clarifies without missing a beat. Her accent makes the 'a' heavy, but it's better than the heavy 'u' he'd given it. ]

I was — I did salvage. Disassembled more than repaired, but I learned a lot. [ This is a delicate way of putting it. She's been working on her resumé skills and interview skills, flopping between jobs. ] And you?

Jakku.

[he tries again, this time silently--and repeats it a couple of times under his breath, working the board.]

--huh, uh. Not really, no. Not for a livin' or anything, but I did take a lot of things apart to fix them once in a while. Guess I learned from that too. [he stops and looks back at her, grinning a bit.] Yay for being self-taught?

[ There are times she acts without thinking, reaching out to touch someone because it seems like the thing to do, but the brief interruption of his breathing doesn't escape her notice and for a moment Gaby stills, wondering if she's inadvertently crossed some boundary she hadn't intended on overstepping.

But then he smiles, and that worried tension in her chest eases; she even ducks her head slightly, to hide the full width of her own grin. ]

Doesn't that make you sick?

[ She has no way of knowing for sure, but it's what she'd always been told. Introduce Gaby to the values of raw dough, Prompto? ]

We're even, at least.

[ No elitism. Rey hasn't had to experience much of that, but so far, she's seen a little more in Giles Bell than in the shitty repair shop she'd been fired from. Shitty repair shops don't have ego. Big companies do. Everyone wants to impress the boss there. ]

I mostly learned from doing, or from old holos I found. Some ships still had working maintenance manuals, you know?

Maintenance manuals, seriously? Most people I know just throw them out pretending they'll never be in a pinch.

[he doesn't think he ever saved any maintenance manuals for, well, anything. which sounds like such a stupid thing for everyone to be doing?? to be fair, they had the internet at their fingertips.]

Sounds like ships were different brand and make. [back to the board, cleaning and melting, cleaning and melting--] By ships do you mean the flying types or the water types?

Spacecraft.

[ She has the good sense to pause there, recognizing a fair few of the displaced have been surprised by that news. ]

This is the first city I've been in, but where I'm from, there are cities that span whole planets. Space travel is common.

I didn't even ask you to do that.

[ her tone is warmly surprised. what a good patient, indeed. her best so far?? ]

I'll do my best not to stab you too much. Especially since I don't have any lollies.

[ so she gets started: wrapping a tourniquet around his arm, asking him to ball his hand into a fist a few times to speed up the pumping of blood, to make the veins stand out a little more than they were. while he does that, she readies a syringe. ]

You're not the fainting kind, right?

[yes, he is unfamiliar with the concept of space and space travel in and of itself, but rey isn't the first one to express coming from a world where that is the common ground for people.]

[it's like he almost expects it at this point.]

[he smiles even though he doesn't raise his head.]

A buncha people are related to space here, it's kinda nuts to me. Guess it'd be the same if I said we got magic and that I've met actual gods in mine, right? [a pfff sound comes from him, as he grabs a rag with some cleaning fluid and raises the board to clean it up from any leftover melted nuisance.] Do you find it super overwhelming? I've always been a city boy. The city I grew up in wasn't as big or as bright as this one, but it was crowded and busy enough to feel a bit like home at times.

I can't imagine what it's like never being in one before.

Space travel sounds like the most badass thing, though.

[he sticks his tongue out a bit at her gentle teasing him, keeping his hand into a fist while she gets ready for the blood extraction.]

I like watching.

[no, he isn't the fainting kind. he's more morbid than he gives the impression of being, to be fair.]

There's something ASMR-y about the blood filling up the tube, y'know.

[ Rey does a double take about actual gods, but it's besides the point, so she doesn't stop him to sputter about it. Some part of her remains skeptical, even after what she's seen. It's probably no more real than R'iia, the great sandstorm of Jakku. ]

I do miss it. [ She didn't get the opportunity to leave the planet many times before she'd come here. She knows she will again, but it's hard to look up at the stars and know what they look like streaking past the viewport at hyperspeed and then ... barely be able to see them here. ] There's nothing like hyperspace.

As for the city, I'm not very good with names. [ That's what she settles on as her assessment of the city. ] And everything's loud, and it took me a while to get used to the train system and crossing the street. I think I've mostly got the hang of those parts now. [ She's just perpetually overstimulated. It's fine. This is fine and normal. ]

That's a new one. Suit yourself.

[ it really is, because bobbi isn't actually a biologist, for all that she's got the degree, and she doesn't usually take people's blood, for all that she knows how to. still, her hands are steady when she gets to it.

and she actually finds the vein on the first try. ]

[a quick internet search:] A faster-than-light method of traveling? That sounds impossible...

[considering 'speed of light' was something discussed in class as a physics concept, not much else in concrete terms. he keeps on with the circuit board, humming as rey goes on talking and explaining how new everything is to her.]

Y'know, those things are totally normal to me. Never stopped to think it'd be strange and unusual to others.

[being in new amsterdam is blowing his mind in terms of expanded horizons.]

Is there something else that you have a hard time understanding even now?

[he only but winces at the initial intrusion of needle into his skin. his hand remaining in a fist, he watches as the swirl of red starts to fill up the tube of the syringe, thick and shiny and normal. it's one of the few things prompto takes consolation in: that this much makes him like anyone else.]

[he releases his hand from the fist when she seems about done with the extraction then looks up with a smile.]

Barely felt it. 10/10, would recommend to others.

[prompto is grinning at her oh so innocent question.]

Seriously? You've never had it. You've never actually had leftover batter.

[he is more than happy to introduce her to the follies of irresponsible but delicious food making habits.]

All the more reason for us to start baking right now.

[he picks up the pace, making for the safehouse.]

How do you get used to all the noise?

[ It comes out a little too honestly, but Prompto's so open, so willing to talk about it, that she doesn't have the good sense to stop herself. ]

It's so loud here. There's so many people. I'm never alone.

[Keeping quiet through this all may be one of the most difficult things Ignis has done in his life.

His lips press together tightly, as though a subconscious reminder to give Prompto time as the other man recounts everything that had happened, fingers curling tightly around the mug. Everything had sounded according to plan, but--

Lady Lunafreya, the youngest Oracle of their time, cut down in the middle of the Rite. (And with only three of the Astrals awoken for them to grant Noct their power--) And the fact that Noct was there, watched as Ardyn destroyed his fiancee- it only compounds that awful, sickening feeling in him, knowing that Noctis would be faced with something so cruel.

(Noct had always had the softest expression when looking through the notebook Umbra would bring. Ignis had never asked about its contents, knowing it was something special and private between them. And to know that one pure, good thing in Noctis's life would be ripped away? It hurts.)

But Prompto keeps going. And in the rush of it all, the comment that 'you can't see anymore, Iggy' almost feels like an aside, like a scrap of negligible information in the wake of everything else. (But, maybe, that's just his immediate response, unable to truly parse it, and unconsciously rejecting it.)

Attacks, internal fighting, his own lack of vision, Noct trying to kill Prompto-- Prompto being a clone meant to be an MT?

It's a lot. It is a lot to take in all at once, even for someone like Ignis. By the end of Prompto's explanation, he's staring at Prompto intently, still trying to work through it all, trying to figure out what to tackle first.

There's a good few moments of silence after Prompto finishes- both waiting to make sure that he's done, and trying to sort through his thoughts, trying to figure out the timeline of it in his head.]

That... [Surprisingly, at first, his voice is downright small- unsure, carefully picking words. But after the beginning, he clears his throat, brings the terrible hot-flavoured-water to his lips to take a sip and try and process this all, and then begins again.]

So even though it hasn't been that long, you've been through quite a lot. I'm sorry you've had to hold all this inside you. [Because he gets it- it's hard to keep secrets when you feel like people deserve to know, but their knowledge would only bring them pain- the sort of dull, aching pain in his chest he feels now, projecting it all onto the idea of Lunafreya's death and Noct's heartbreak, rather than tackling the terrifying concept of his own future disability.

But for now, he'll focus on the matter at hand. Prompto had been having nightmares about Niflhiem. About shooting the man who was, biologically, something of a father to him. The one who had given him life, if not intended for that life to be used.]

For what it's worth.... It sounds like you did the absolute right thing. [And here he'd thought that MTs were just advanced robots... but to be built out of human lives? humans who had been produced and processed just to be crammed inside of them?] I'm glad that you were never used in such a way.

[A small, forced flicker of a smile, and:] The journey would have been terribly drab without you there.

( january catch-all )

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