#farseers

Prompto didn’t know what he was doing or what he was supposed to do for that matter. He stood at the middle of a long line of people waiting to be allowed inside the safety of Insomnia, in his possession only a couple of gils given to him by the lady who brought him there, the torn clothes he was wearing and a bandage covering the black blemish on his wrist. From time to time, he’d find himself touching the outline of it in nervous anticipation and time and time again he would have to pull his hand away, back to his side, drum his fingers against his thigh instead. What a way not to bring suspicion to the barcode underneath, he admonished in his head.

The first thing he was told before being left on his own, “You must not let anyone see this mark”. The woman held his tainted wrist in a strong but gentle grip, her blue eyes shining with a myriad of sentiments Prompto was too young yet to comprehend.

“Do you understand me, Prompto?” He had nodded, hands balled into tiny fists. Everything was going too fast for him but he didn’t want to disappoint her.

“Yes, I do” His voice was too child like for his liking, didn’t help him ascertain his determination.

“Very well. Remember, your name is Prompto Argentum. Your family was…” she fell silent, seeming to struggle to continue speaking. Prompto watched her take deep breaths; her face was turned away so he could not see her expression, covered by locks of sun kissed hair. For some reason, he felt his own breathing intensify, and he started to quiver, pants falling from his lips as if he had been running for miles. He felt like he had swallowed a glass of nails as the blonde lady faced him once more, her eyes moist. “I’m really sorry, my dear boy. This is not what I wished for you. Believe me, if I could, if I was able to, I would spare you from what is to come. If only things were different…”

She paused, the tip of her nose red as the rim of her eyes. “But there is no point dwelling on what can’t be changed. The universe works in mysterious ways and this is the path the Gods have chosen for you so dearest, please, be brave. No matter what happens, don’t waver. Don’t hesitate. Never doubt yourself. Face your destiny with courage. If you ever feel weak, abandoned, or lost, remember you are stronger than your trials. And most importantly, never stop looking at this world in wonder; never stop seeing the beauty in this earth despite the cruelty and pain you have been forced to witness. Enjoy every day as if it’s your last-“

Her voice broke mid-sentence.

Prompto’s vision at that moment was blurry from the tears cascading down his cheeks. He didn’t know why he’d started crying. His chest ached with each painful beat of his small heart, there was a knot at the base of his throat that prevented him from speaking, from reaching out to her and comfort her, take a little from what was weighing her down.

Words weren’t needed. She immediately burst into the tears she had tried to repress for the remainder of the conversation and wrapper her skinny arms around his slight frame, tightly, almost as if she was afraid he’d disappear into thin air. His head rested in the hollow between her collarbones. It felt warm in a way that hadn’t been since Prompto had woken up in his cage in the labs, since he had run away with this unknown lady who had tried her hardest to keep him safe and alive throughout their entire journey to Insomnia and he was infinitely grateful, despite the sadness of the situation. He returned the embrace and let the scent of sunflowers that clung to her skin calm his inner turmoil. He ought to memorize it, the smell, keep it in memory in honor of his savior. He inhaled deeply and knew, though he couldn’t explain why, that this was the last time he would see her.

He sobbed harder.

Her fingers carded through his greasy hair. It was a motherly touch; different from the cold and detached manner the doctors and scientists in Niflheim treated him. He wished he could have this forever, even when he felt wetness on his bare shoulder, where the woman’s face was buried. Maybe she was trying to learn his smell as well, though Prompto had no idea why she would want to.

When he got older, he would wonder why she had risked everything for another random, worthless experiment.

It seemed like hours had passed when the older of the two finally pulled away and the boy instantly missed her warmth. She looked broken, her relatively young face drowning in sorrows the kid had yet to experience.

“This is it.” She said “This is as far as I can go”

He wanted to ask why but felt that deep down inside him he understood. He said nothing, nodded again. Whispered a heartfelt “Thank you”.

She just smiled, a small uplift of the corner of her lips, a little sad, a little happy and stretched out her right hand to cup his sunken cheek. Then, her fingers traveled to his own mouth, pulling at the skin there so it’d look like he was giving her a half smile. “Always smile, Prompto, even in the darkest of times”. Her shaking hand let go and he did as she told him, he gave her a smile, the biggest one he could muster despite the snot and the tear tracks.

“That’s a good one. Just like that” And for the first time, she acted out of character. Sticking her two thumbs up, she copied Prompto’s smile. Brilliant like the sun, contrasting with her very sad eyes.

It was like looking at his reflection.

“Farewell, my boy. All my hopes, my dreams, my wishes, they shall stay with you”

With those words, she wiped her eyes, straightened her posture and turned around, immediately walking away from Prompto. Her steps hurried down the path they had walked together just minutes ago. Perhaps, if she dared one last look at Prompto, if she slowed down, if she hesitated, she would go back to him. Perhaps, if she let herself, she would take Prompto with her to wherever she was going. Far away from his fate. More and more, she was disappearing, her back getting further away from reach the more she kept walking, her blonde hair flowing with every step she took farther from him and he had an unexplainable urge to run after, grab onto her sleeve, hold onto her. Before it was too late. Before he lost the most important thing.

His right hand reached out to do just that, his fingers seeking the impossible. The limb stayed there, suspended in the air. The figure soon was barely a speck on the horizon. Prompto held his ground, his feet firmly planted even when his heart had soared after her and he remembered every moment they shared (her worried gaze, her urgent tone as she told him to move, move, we have to go now, her warm touch gauging for a fever, the soft lullaby she’d sing at night thinking that he was asleep, nimble hands applying the bandage over his mark, moving from one place to another, praying together, hiding in the woods in fear of the Empire finding them…).

The tears didn’t stop. He felt empty, almost like he had lost a part of himself. Slowly, his hand closed into a fist, went back to his side. Prompto knew he had run out of time and later, if all went right, he would have time to mourn what he had lost, whatever that was.

He didn’t want to disappoint her.

So, he took a deep breath and with his battered soul, he started for the gates of Insomnia, hundreds of people he hadn’t noticed previously making their way towards the same place in search of sanctuary.

“Is it over?”

“I think so. Hell, I hope so”

“About time”

“Yeah…”

“Are you okay? I mean, do you feel anything weird or-“

“I’m fine, Noct. Really. Chill out, we just won ourselves the battle of the centuries. Don’t worry about me, yeah?”

“He has plenty of reasons to worry, Prompto, and for that matter so do we.”

“I’m with Iggy there, just tell us if-“

“It doesn’t matter anyway. What matters is that this madness is finally over. Believe me, this is for the best”

“What are you talking about? What is for the best?”

“You’re freaking us out, man”

“The price has to be paid…”

“The price? I wasn’t told anything about a price”

“Because it isn’t yours to pay, Noct… Listen you all, I just wanted to say, thanks for letting me join you and bearing with me all this time. And I already know what you’re going to say, that I’m your friend and I shouldn’t even have to thank you, but the thing is… I do. You don’t know how long I’ve felt like I’m an outsider but being with you on this journey, you’ve made me feel like I do belong even when I know that I actually don’t. Thank you for rescuing me, thank you for not giving up on me, thank you not shunning me out for being an MT, thank you for supporting me, thank you for making me a part of your family, thank you for making memories with me. Asides from all the bad, and the pain and the loss, these have been the happiest months of my life. Every photo I took, I cherish all of them, and you don’t know how much it meant for me taking them with you.”

“Ignis, you’re the best cook in the entire world and I appreciate greatly that you bothered to make all of our meals for us, even when we were being assholes to you. Also, you are like the perfect combination between mother and best friend and I mean that in the best way possible. You always take care of us, put up with our immature bullshit, mend our clothes, play the responsible parent- I mean the responsible one, and all the while you’re the heart of this group. You keep us in our right minds when it all seems lost.

“Gladio, I was so afraid of you at first I almost pissed my pants on our first meeting but after that horrific impression I can now say that I’m very glad I got to know you. You’re the bully older brother I never had but hopelessly wished for every birthday and I really envy Iris for having such a cool brother. You mess with me all the time and yes, I do whine about it all the time but truth is, I think is nice of you to act so familiar with me, a random weirdo with a camera who just tagged along. Know that you’re too the strength of this team and jokes aside, you were really missed when you were gone”

“It was fun riding with you, guys”

“…”

“Noctis…”