we are not yet lost

from noctis | @antimundi

He follows Noct’s lead, not entirely understanding what it is he wants at first, but as always, utterly trusting and prepared to aid however he might be needed. Right now, apparently, what’s needed is a bit of cuddling, as silly as it may seem amidst the veritable disaster that’s come of their lives. 

‘ can we talk about some. stuff? for a second? maybe? ’ / @loyalight. 

“This kind of thing even normal?” It was strange, this. How did one get about their day with myriad such nuisances, when he was being pulled every which way by scents that smelled ambrosial to him, and there were others who seemed to do the same but stopped when they realized who he was. A strange phenomena Noctis had never questioned before, except when it seemed a constant distraction through certain times of month. Of course, the king bore too much self-control when it came to such matters, and it rarely perturbed him beyond the mild. Being what he was, these mortals seemed to regard him as an exotic thing and balked whenever they came too close, something he preferred. 

But in Iggy’s sights, the man smelled more like cinnamon, something attractive to one so taken by the smell and taste of spices. It was curious, but nothing to act on.

“Hey, Iggy. Any reason people have been so, uh….sniffy–lately? Kinda weird.”

@loyalight

“Hm?” Ignis finds himself lost in a myriad of emails, all of them claiming to be urgent, but none of them providing a clear reason as to why. It’s infuriating. Regardless, he’s expected to answer them all, and that’s precisely what he does. Even on his appointed lunch break, spent with Noctis, in the citadel cafeteria that looks much better than the food it sells.

It was lucky he’d taken Ignis along with him instead of going it alone. Though he’d certainly fare fine enough, even addled by Noctis’ own tactical knowledge did affairs such as these take two. Back then, he’d men to order, to move into place. Maybe he could’ve ascended to the top floor window, suffocate whoever was inside until they passed out, unable to respond. He was good at stealth, but at the same time, it was simply too much considering the low level of strength left in them. Nevermind that they were on the verge of collapse as it was. 

“Wait here. Think I might have an even better idea to smoke them out.” 

Noctis darted to the side of the building, noticing that it wasn’t old enough that the electrical had completely deteriorated. He searched along its flank until a circuit box was found, high aloft that had once fed from a telephone pole, he was certain. With a raised hand towards the since downed transformer, he uttered a spell for a volley of Thundara to electrocute it, to overheat whatever was inside. Even if it didn’t work, a shower of sparks would alarm whoever was inside. 

Crouching beneath a window sill, he heard the brigands within yelp in surprise and Noctis grinned. Though the spell had elicited greater wariness and perspiration to bead heavier on his brow, it had gotten their attention. Where Ignis could likely hear, he cupped his hands around his mouth and cawed convincingly enough for Ignis to hear. Already, a few crunched their way on old foliage.

With that, Noctis hopped through the window, careful to avoid glass shards. Now, to take care of whomever was inside. This was practically child’s play compared to the high-tech defended places he’d broken into before.

It’s certainly quieter than any sort of magical grenade, and unlikely to rouse other’s possibly hiding out in the abandoned city. Once Noctis is through the window, Ignis slinks around the side of the building to take out those heading through the door, quietly, and quickly. 

He’s careful to wait until they wander towards him, counting three to have answered the call. 

Simple. Two of them go down with a dagger thrown into their throats, severing their carotid arteries and ensuring they’ll bleed out within minutes. Crippled with pain and blood loss that gives them nothing more to do but clutch at their neck and fall, he turns his attention to the third, on the verge of shouting for help from his companions inside the building.

Ignis leaps at him with great speed and throws him to the floor, covering his mouth as he begins to moan from the pain of hitting his head against the solid ground. He straddles the man as his trained hands force his head to the side with such strength that his spine snaps, and the sound of his moans stop. 

The smile that played on his own lips only grew a bit more at the question, though he could see how the other was growing far more distraught by the minute. He offers his hand, a simple gesture surely, but one that he found that may comfort the other from the living world. Even now though, his own uncertainty of this meeting was drawing forth, and he allowed the other to see such emotion — perhaps it too, would help settle him?

“Yes, this is within your own mind, your dreams, though after so long I was finally able to pull you further into the depths. You’ve nothing to fear, however, I’ve not come to harm you. Rather quite the opposite, in fact.” Ignis spoke, his words a bit slow as if he was certain it would help the other understand the situation better, “I have remained here for the duration of your life, though could not make contact until you yourself were ready. Tell me, do you remember the stories of which your friend Noctis told you of the dream astral, Carbuncle?”

He paused, uncertain if it was a wise decision to mention the other within these realms, but decided that may only help. Or, it would possibly anger the other; Ignis was rather uncertain, after all.

Something strange washes over him: it makes him uncertain and suspicious and oddly excited in equal measure. But -- something doesn’t quite make sense. Ignis frowns at his double, confused. It doesn’t take more than a moment for him to understand what’s being said.

“But why is my dream astral... You?”

Rude perhaps. A bit off the cuff and impulsive to say, but it is said, and his eyes rove freely over this dream astral who wears his face for one reason or another. Simply trying to understand... Just why this is the face chosen. A bit older though, and his hair done differently, dressed in shades of Lucian black and deep purple, he cuts an impressive line against the swirling pastel behind him.

    “Sorry. I’ll be quiet. No reason to terrify them.” He whispered. Ignis was right, waking up Noctis and Prompto would only result in more of a panic. They didn’t need anymore stress.

    Gladio summoned his shield in one hand. “You go check out the lobby. If there is someone down there, you’re far more stealthy than me. I’d get noticed immediately.”

It's true enough, to be sure, he's far quieter than Gladio on his feet, and much quicker too. If there is someone down there, there's a very good chance Ignis could take them out before they even noticed he was there. There's a moment spared to snatch his phone and silence it completely before he slips through the door and takes a cursory look down both sides of the hallway.

There is no denying that he doesn't like this much at all, and is less than pleased to have his sleep interrupted, but adrenaline sits in quickly: sends his heart racing and his eyes sharp as shards of glass. Down the hall, another door opens, and a pair of large brown eyes peer out: a young girl with wildly curly hair and what appears to be her mother. They booth look terrified. 

Ignis holds a finger to his mouth to quiet them before he continues down the hallway and towards the stairs... The gunshot, it appears, occurred just out on the street, not in the lobby. A touch less concerning, but not by much. Particularly not when he can see Majitek soldiers just outside.

[SMS: Gladio] MT’s outside. they may have found us. be prepared to leave. better to escape undetected. 

he stays true to his word, completeling his work in a manner that could be more or less called diligent. the fact that his gaze continues to drift away from the inked paragraphs of clarus’ report on the crownsguard’s funding vs. the kingsglaive’s, as clarus puts it, ““perceived need for more than they truly require.”” 

from iris | @floweringeclipse

Ally doesn’t know a thing about flowers, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be curious! She is, perhaps, watching a bit too obviously from behind the stranger, blinking owlishly and staring as she snips them all off with her shears and seems to be mixing them and matching them all with one another. 

It seems to be awfully creative work, and that’s not something she’s ever been very good at, and so when asked, her brows furrow while she looks over the array. Maybe she doesn’t know much about flowers, but now she’s being asked to give her opinion, and so she’s going to do her best.

Little fingers pick at her glasses, adjusting them on her nose, and Ally’s eyes shine with an intense focus as she thinks on the question. “The dahlia’s are more... different from the yellow ones, so the bouquet will be more colorful.” She doesn’t even know if that’s the point of this bouquet, but she does her best to sound certain about her answer.

‘ mm… i’m doing more than ogling — 

And only now does Ignis raise an eyebrow at his wayward prince. 

’ ignis. ’ he grins, pressing a quick smooch to his cheek. ‘ you look cute. and it’s not like i’m gonna let anyone else see you like this. relax. ’

They’d played hide-and-seek tons of times and hadn’t had this kind of problem before. Ally was always good at finding them. Sometimes Iggy thought that they were too much alike, and maybe that was how she was always able to find him so easily. He liked that they were alike, though. He liked that they were there together in the Citadel. As much as he loved Noct, things just wouldn’t be the same without Ally there.

As predicted, she had found him with little difficulty. He had thought that the gardener’s shed would be a good place to hide, but his sister had found him without much difficulty. Now, they both were wandering around the gardens trying to find their Prince.

The longer it went, the more Iggy began to get nervous. Noct knew better than to leave the boundaries of the garden, but, well, it was becoming quite evident that he wasn’t there.

He frowned, looking over at the his twin. “We’d better find him,” he said, glancing around anxiously. “Before someone realizes he’s not here.”

Ally pops back out from behind the bushes with a fierce scowl -- one that carries a fair bit of latent fear. It makes her eyes look a bit too big for her face, especially with the small smear of dirt across the cherry of her cheek.

“He knows the boundaries of the game were in the garden.” She says, her voice carrying the same hint of anxiety as her brother’s. If anyone finds out that they lost Noctis, they’re all going to get in a lot of trouble. Probably by Cor, who is maybe the scariest person she’s ever met in her life. 

But if Noct isn’t here, it means he definitely left on purpose, and it definitely means that there’s a reason he wanted to. Realizing that he was tricking them by suggesting hide-and-seek feels like a solid punch to the gut. For more reasons than one. 

It also means that Noct is probably really upset about something. Enough that he wanted to run away. Ally wipes off her knobbly little knees and tugs up one of her socks, looking towards the back entrance to the citadel gardens. The one that leads to the forest.