Noctis Lucis Caelum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fessus) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meadowlarklogs2019-01-29 02:59 pm
fessus) wrote in meadowlarklogs2019-01-29 02:59 pm
lets taco bout it
WHO: Noctis fessus, Ignis cheffeur, and Prompto mercurio
WHERE: Their shared apartment.
WHEN: Post-event.
WHAT: Noctis has some information from Ardyn that he needs to share with the other two.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Depression.
[ There'd been a strange formality to the whole process, telling both of them it was necessary to have a discussion even if their modest living space is the best place to host such a meeting. Doing it in public would've given it the objective distance that maybe it needed, but he's loath to expose any of this to the outside world. His darker emotions are something he struggles to reveal to even his closest friends on a good day; the last thing they need is to be seen or overheard by strangers.
Even still there's that air of tension he's never been great at mitigating when they all gather in the main living area, buying time only to grab them each a glass of water. It's something. ]
Here... Ignis, you wanted one, right?
[ The timing of all of this could be better. It's a lot to put on them after what they've all gone through, after dealing with the attack on Morningstar agents and the work they've all put in, but that's just it. Timing has never been on their side, and the longer he waits the longer Noctis knows it'll sting. There'll never be a "good time" for a conversation like this one. ]
fessus, Ignis cheffeur, and Prompto mercurioWHERE: Their shared apartment.
WHEN: Post-event.
WHAT: Noctis has some information from Ardyn that he needs to share with the other two.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Depression.
[ There'd been a strange formality to the whole process, telling both of them it was necessary to have a discussion even if their modest living space is the best place to host such a meeting. Doing it in public would've given it the objective distance that maybe it needed, but he's loath to expose any of this to the outside world. His darker emotions are something he struggles to reveal to even his closest friends on a good day; the last thing they need is to be seen or overheard by strangers.
Even still there's that air of tension he's never been great at mitigating when they all gather in the main living area, buying time only to grab them each a glass of water. It's something. ]
Here... Ignis, you wanted one, right?
[ The timing of all of this could be better. It's a lot to put on them after what they've all gone through, after dealing with the attack on Morningstar agents and the work they've all put in, but that's just it. Timing has never been on their side, and the longer he waits the longer Noctis knows it'll sting. There'll never be a "good time" for a conversation like this one. ]
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[he takes his glass of water with a quiet thanks and a forced grin, careful not to jostle himself too much. the injuries they sustained during the attack we're not considerably many, but lack of potions and elixirs really makes the post-battle days a real pain. literally.]
[if there's one thing though, it's prompto growing anxious at this whole situation. his feet tap, tap, tapping away at an erratic rhythm.]
At least the water still tastes like water.
[here is his attempt to make it feel less tense...]
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[It's what they should have found time for days ago- before the newest influx of arrivals to New Amsterdam, before there was time for Ardyn to ruin it all. Actually sitting down together to figure it all out, to openly discuss everything they don't want to, so that they can, at least, be unified in something.
None of them want to do this. But it's clear that it's become absolutely necessary.
He takes the glass of water with a short nod, and while it's not exactly cold, it still does wonders to combat some of the heat stifling the apartment. While the fan is something, it really just blows the hot air inside around.
(it makes him wish they'd found an apartment underground, where the temperature is more stable.)
It would be nice to keep making benign comments and putting this off, but... that's just not how Ignis is. And so he sits up, gently placing the glass on the chipped table in front of him, before looking at the other man.]
So then. Where would you like to start?
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Where would he like to start...? That's an easy question to answer. He doesn't want to start anywhere, doesn't want to have this conversation, and that's obvious by the way in which he's suddenly so reluctant to make eye contact with either of them. ]
... well, it's not like there's a good place. I just don't wanna' leave anything hanging anymore. Ahh, if either of you have stuff you need to get off your chests too we should talk about it, just...
Ardyn's from ten years beyond any of us, back home. Dunno if you heard that from him yet.
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Not with me. Would explain why he was so into finding out when we all came from.
[he frowns, biting the inside of his cheek. he glances at ignis and then back down at his own hands.]
...if any of you want me to clarify anything about what happened in Altissia and after, I can do that, too.
[it's a painful subject, he knows, but he wants to be able to provide as much support as he possibly can, given that he's the only one who can fill in the blanks from their perspective. as much as aranea and ardyn know, it's not everything.]
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....Then I loathe to imagine what else he may be hiding. And Prompto, I know you've shared what you can with me already. I spoke with Aranea to try and gain some additional details, but she didn't seem to know much more than you.
[Aside from adding in the high commander's publicized execution for treason against the empire-- but that's so much of a lesser point, it can be added in later.]
Ardyn also told me that he'd been in some other world between Eos and here. Whether or not that's true, I'm unsure.
[Another pause, and he resist the urge to follow Prompto's lead and fidget with his own glass of water, instead just taking a breath and shoving through with the words.]
My question is this: With this place added into the equation, the timeline for Noctis and myself has already been disrupted from what you, [Prompto,] Aranea, and Izunia have experienced. If we're already in branching realities, why would we expect things to carry through in the exact same fashion should we return to Eos?
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It's okay, [ comes the quiet first response to his friend, hand absently coming up to wipe away sweat gathering on the back of his neck. It's an oven in here and that does little to lessen the agitation he's feeling, discomfort ratcheting ever higher. ]
He was definitely in another world, him and X'rhun. I talked to him the day he first arrived, when the drug was still in his system... so there's no way he was lying about it. But Prompto and I were there too, according to him, and we don't remember it. So we don't know if we're gonna' remember this place too, or if the same versions of us are even here as opposed to back home.
... but there's some other stuff he told me too that I need to get through, and it's not gonna' be easy. Not really sure how to say it but I have to.
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[it's not that he's generally open about things in his mind, but he's never quite struggled with saying what's on his mind when he wants to say it.]
...just say what's easiest. [his eyes flit upwards to meet noctis's. he doesn't reckon that anything ardyn said is easy.] I'm assuming it has to do with ten years later, right? [questions to... help the natural progression of answers.] Is it about something he's done?
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Not when Noctis is clearly struggling to open up about even more information about Eos.]
Of course.... Take your time, Noct. [It's a bit quieter than his more-impassioned comments beforehand, immediately pulled back to the present by Noctis's words. He leans forward slightly, elbows on his knees.]
Whatever it is, we can face it together.
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... his name's not Izunia. It's Ardyn Lucis Caelum. [ And he shakes his head then, as if anticipating blowback when in reality what he needs is to just keep pushing through this. ] My ancestor, my oldest one. That's why he picked that name on the network to match mine; I guess he thought it was funny. He... lost his place on the throne. Got cast out, and the scourge has kept him alive ever since.
He's been waiting all this time for me to come along and face him. End it.
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[this is a bit of a stretch, though, and prompto's glancing at ignis for some type of insight then back at noctis.]
[clearly -- he's not gonna process this as intended.]
How does any of that make sense? Why you?
[prompto does not know about the prophecy]
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And waiting for Noctis to kill him?
He shakes his head.]
Your farthest known ancestor is Somnus, the Founder King, who was gifted the ring and crystal by the Draconian himself. [He says it, but as he goes forth, the words sound more unsure. There we no records of any other Lucis Caelums-- and there would have been, wouldn't there? The line could command the power of the crystal, documenting who had the power was fairly important.]
Ardyn claims he's from even before that? And if he wants you to destroy him, why treat you so antagonistically?
[He's being overly-questioning, probably-- but it's how he handles the unknown. By prying, examining, trying to sort out everything that doesn't make sense until it does.] If he's been waiting because he wants you to end him, why fight back?
[He doesn't expect Noctis to have all the answers, and hopefully he knows that: knows that this is just how he thinks aloud, how he works through it. But it's starting to piece together, slowly. Lunafreya's death. Aranea's mentioning the dwindling sunlight in the world afterwards. Ardyn kept alive by the Scourge itself, relying on specifically Noctis to destroy him---
Banishing the Darkness from the world being the duty of the Oracle and the Chosen King. Noctis being marked by the crystal, years upon years ago--]
...What is he, truly?
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... I know it doesn't make sense. It didn't to me either, but I asked him when I asked everything else. After I ordered him not to lie. [ It's all true, every word of it, and how Noctis would wish for it to be anything but. ]
I thought Somnus was first too. But Ardyn told me he healed the land back then, after the outbreak of the first Scourge. Got himself polluted when he took all of it into himself, then the astrals cursed him. And that's... when the prophecy started. Him and me. [ Now's when he glances briefly at Prompto, knowing it'll resonate less with him and further explanation will be required. How selfish was it to want to keep as much of that side of his life from him as possible, sometimes? ]
Luna's the one that explained it to me, years ago. That I was born the "king of light", even if I had no idea what that meant back then. Now I get it... it means it's my job to defeat Ardyn, get rid of the Scourge for good. I don't know why me... I'm never gonna' get that, and as much as I wanna' ask that question it's just gonna' hold me back even more. [ That's a fact he'd had to accept, as much as he hates it. ]
He helped us because he needs me to get stronger to even have a chance at beating him. And he did everything else because...
He hates me. I touched him, so I felt it for a second, and it's... I can't even describe it. I've never felt something like that before. That's why he wants to fight at full strength and why this won't be that easy.
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[he looks completely lost, at the words ignis and noctis exchange, his eyes glancing worriedly at noctis--searching his eyes when they meet briefly.]
[something doesn't quite add up.]
So, he's the start of your line, Lucis Caelum. Not Somnus. ...and you're supposed to kill him to end everything. The Starscourge. Daemons. Everything. [his head clicks to the side a bit as if -- trying to make sure he has everything.] It's not your fault the Astrals cursed him. If he wants you to kill him, then--
Wait.
Doesn't that make him super mega old?
[noctis isn't landing on the big reveal, and so prompto's getting lost on all the inconsequential shit. since this seems pretty simple: get strong and kill ardyn, no big deal, right?]
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To what? Destroy the being they had cursed and, in a way, created?
His frown only grows deeper at the thought. He'd never been particularly religious, but the more he encounters and learns about the Astrals, the more cynical of them he becomes. Pawning off dealing with their choices onto someone altogether removed from the situation like Noctis. Allowing those thousands of years of hate to build.
Absently, he recalls that grand painting before the throne room. It was just a bit of backdrop, really, something that had always been present in the halls. Brightly coloured, the prophesied King of Light banishing the darkness and daemons. And what's being described to him is in no way that romantic.
But back to the problem at hand. Ardyn and his unbridled hatred for Noctis.]
So he's been scorned, and you're a convenient target for him, as it's allegedly your job to put him down like a rabid dog.
[A pause, and he looks to Noctis fixedly.]
But while enlightening as to his motives, I don't see why you would have hidden any of the information you've given us thus far. [Which is to say: He assumes there's much more.]
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The Scourge is what's been keeping him alive all this time. It's what's behind all of this... and there's no "allegedly" about how to take care of it. If there were and if just anyone could handle everything he's been carrying all these years, Luna would've been able to stop him. [ Of that he's certain. ]
I, uh... [ His momentum is lost when he trips over that word, suddenly faced with a deep precipice in the conversation. Ignis's prompting is direct, as always, and if they're to go any further he can't buy time with a denial. Can't do anything, really, other than step forward. Right off that cliff... which would be a lot easier if he didn't have to drag them both down with him. ]
I didn't wanna' hurt you. I don't want to, you both know that. I thought maybe it'd be better if I didn't say anything, but I think maybe if we all have time to... [ The words trail off as he realizes how canned they sound, how they tiptoe around the point even still. ]
...
[ With every passing second the silence feels heavier, mouth dry and eyes forced into lifting to look at each of them in turn as he practices the words for what feels like the thousandth time in his head. ]
Killing him's gonna' take all I have. If he goes so do I.
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[there isn't much he can do, or say, but voice a rather helpless:]
Why?
[he knows why. noctis is king of lucis, the "chosen" one, the title something that he helped the other ignore growing up for the five years they had forged a friendship.]
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That he was the only one who could kill Ardyn, and to do so would cost his life.
And, as well as he knows Noctis, the man would selflessly give it, if it meant the rest of Eos would be spared.]
Absolutely not. [The words are barked out before he's even aware of it, hands clenched with nervous energy bundled up with not outlet. Noctis, marked by the Crystal, chosen to be the True King of Light-- fated to die without ever ruling, as some sort of obscene sacrifice to Eos itself?
Nothing could be so cruel. Not the world, not the Astrals-- Nothing.]
That's one possible outcome, surely. But you've learned this from Ardyn? Even if he'd been commanded not to lie, I wouldn't trust anything he believes to be purely truth. [After all, not lying was different from being upfront about the whole truth.
Or so he desperately wants to believe.]
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But he's also fiercely, fiercely devoted. ]
I need you to listen to this and let it sink in, okay? I'm... I ask a lot already, just being who I am. [ For Ignis's service, for Gladio's protection, for Prompto's involvement in a world he very well could've avoided, clone or not. They do so much for him, every day. ]
But I've gotta' ask for more.
He's got ten years on us, ten years in the future. Hundreds from the past, and he's communicated with the Astrals. I can't just write off what he says and pretend I know better. If I can end this and survive, then that's what I'll do. It's what I want, obviously; how could I not? But if I can't... I need you guys to know that.
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[if it were so, wouldn't noctis have brought it up sooner, firm intentions to go around it?]
[if it were so, wouldn't noctis look determined, not quite so broken and pushing past his own reserved limits when it comes down to expressing how he feels?]
[prompto's heart plummets when noctis speaks again, chin meeting his collar as he swallows thickly, front teeth digging sharp against his lip, as he tries desperately to keep his own thoughts and opinions at bay.]
[all i ask is that you continue to support noctis, and that you remain ever at his side. lunafreya's voice, what he remembers from the news and radio broadcasts, from her last speech in altissia, pull forth the courage he needs to raise his head and look at noctis proper. his eyes are suspiciously wet, but he's keeping on strong.]
[standing albeit the wince that comes with straightening his knees at all, prompto walks over to where noctis sits on the floor, and slumps himself down beside the other, expression still troubled but a forceful press of shoulder against shoulder.]
You're barely asking for anything, dumbass. [he quips with what he hopes is well-intentioned teasing, digging his elbow into noctis, turning his head to look at him.] We're best friends. Whatever it is you gotta do, I'll support you always.
[easy as it may seem to come from prompto, it hurts.]
But stop trying to face it on your own. You're not alone, Noct.
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And of course utilizing all of the Crystal's power at once would consume the user. That's just how magic works. The price of the Astrals' favor.
But emotionally he can't reconcile the idea of a future and the thought of Noctis's death both. That in order for Eos to survive, Lucis's monarchy would fall- that Noctis would surrender his life. The man who had been his first and, for a long time, only friend. That he's relied on and been relied upon in turn. The man he'd put so much time and effort into trying to guide and look after and support, watched grow into someone who would be a kind and just ruler--
He can't imagine a world that would be so cruel as to rip all of that raw potential away, that it would supposedly be a better place for his death.
But at Noctis's request, he bites his tongue. There's still tension visible in every line of him, still an intensity of refusal to his expression-- not at Noct's request, but at the situation that makes it necessary. Finally, he lets his hands relax out, eyes closing as he takes in a breath.]
...You never need to ask for my support, Noctis. It's a given in whatever you choose to do. [A swallow, and he nods.]
But until every other option has been exhausted, I'll not accept your death. If at the very end, it's what must needs be done, then... [For a brief moment, he can't finish the words, lip curling up in faint disgust at the idea.] Then I suppose nothing I say or do would matter regardless.
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Eyes crease before shutting altogether, knowing that if they were still open they'd be wet and glassy. His shoulder hikes against Prompto's before he stills, focusing on slow breaths to keep himself as steady as possible. For some reason it feels more important now than ever, never in more of a position to accept his royal duties but also never in more of a position to call on them for support, as their friend. ]
I know... [ "I'm sorry", he wants to say. Can't. Doesn't. It'd just be an insult now, to himself and to them, and it would hurt more for any one of them to try to assume sole responsibility for a situation engineered long before any of them were born. ]
Everything any of us say or do matters, okay? I wanna' hear all of it, no matter how you guys are feeling. That way... I can work on doing the same thing. [ Another deep breath and his eyes finally open, looking first towards Prompto and then Ignis. ]
For right now, we just keep going like we have been.