semi-open; March catch-all

[brotrips]

who: Various
what: Catchall
when: Throughout the month of march
where: Various
warnings: None yet. Will update if needed.



i. Aeacinos Ixocia - games, fights, and fish

(It's cruel to think of someone who had been friendly as an obstacle to overcome, but Noctis knows he has reservations that are hardly fair to Aeacinos. Likely, his appearance has caused him various amounts of trouble throughout his life. So, even if it's a learning curve, Noctis is going to learn to look past his appearance.

In time.

Step one starts today as he steps outside of the community house to look for a figure that could never be mistaken for someone else -- not someone in this world, anyway. He seems to lack a sword, a strange thing for the supposed spar. )

i. Edward Elric - i broke it, now fix it

(Had they belonged to anyone else, Noctis would have trashed the pan when he saw the blackened, mishappened surface, and he doesn't really place any sentimentality in items, at least not much. However, if he can get fixed, he would like to since they once belonged to the now gone Ignis.

Noctis approaches the repair shop, clad in all black, an outfit choice Ed may have once appreciated, though he has no flaming red coat to accent the clothes. Instead, his shirt and pants are as black as his hair and eyes.

Stepping inside, Noctis looks around.)

I'm looking for Ed.

iii. Yu Narukami - meeting the family

(As it turns out, they...live near one another. It feels strange that it had never come up in conversation, but when Noctis and Yu finally work out a schedule to meet the famed cats, it turns out Noctis has little distance to travel. Carrying a fish he'd had left over the day before, he tracks down the room number and knocks.

In all honesty, he's looked forward to meeting Yu's feline friends.

iV. wildcard

(ooc | More to be added soon. If you want to do something with Noctis this month, feel free to tag. If you'd like to plan, I can be reached via pm or at wrinklesintimes)

Comments

[brotrips]

(Noctis kneels by his bed and reaches under in order to remove a box, not yet realizing the gravity of what transpired once they left the city. The box is wide but not overly tall.)

Did something happen? (His dark eyes narrows.) Did they withdraw the deal? What was the point of asking for it, anyway? If they're not serious about peace, it was a waste of our time and Luna's.

[coquere]

[just do it, Ignis. Rip off the bandage]

They attacked. Your father-- he was killed. A few made it out alive. Lady Iris, the marshall... But our kingdom is no longer safe for us.

[brotrips]

(His movements stop. He'd been about to open the box to remove the pans he'd cared for as well as he possibly could as if they were Ignis' memories themselves, but now Noctis's hands freeze in place. It's a large detail to hear and absorb. For a moment, he's unsure how to react because it can't be true.)

What?!

(Turning quickly, the anguish is on his face; Ignis has seen it before when he'd been told the first time. It's no less painful now, especially since for Noctis, it had been months since he'd seen his father. The entire time, he expected there to be a home to return to.)

How?! They...can't be....

('Tell me it was a lie. It doesn't matter why you lied, tell me.')

[coquere]

[yes, that reaction is painfully familiar. It was hard to break the news before, but it was all over the newspapers and the radio, so were at least outside sources. Here, it's just Ignis. He swallows, bowing his head]

I'm so sorry, Noct.

[sorry you have to feel this pain again. Sorry that there's nothing we can do to change it. Sorry that Ignis can't make it go away]

[brotrips]

Are you sure? Did anybody see it?

(The first time, they had to go back and confirm it was all true. It took seeing the occupied city for Noctis to really accept that it happened. Here, there is no way to get such proof, such closure. He has only Ignis' word, but his word is strong and solid. Had it been almost anyone else, he could have some deniability. His friends, however, wouldn't lie about something so painful.

Before giving Ignis a chance to answer, Noctis pushes the box away, his body drooping.) Damn it!

[coquere]

[he hates this. At least back home, they could take some sort of action when they heard the news. He rests a hand on the prince's shoulder, giving him a squeeze. Even if Ignis was the sort to do more than that, he doesn't feel like Noct would accept it.

After a moment Ignis moves his hand away and picks up the box, taking out the cooking stuff]

Where are all of the cooking ingredients?

[when in doubt, cook a meal]

[brotrips]

How can you think about food right now?!

(It isn't fair. Ignis has had a lot more time to come to terms with what happened, it wasn't a new and bleeding wound. Noctis also knows that this is his way of caring for him, but this is the biggest news he's ever been given.

His dad is dead. Forever. They'd parted on such rough terms, and Noctis had just assumed he'd have a chance to get back to him. He'd come back, married and playing his role. Now, that's impossible.)

Forget about food. Tell me we've done something. Tell me we managed to strike back.

[coquere]

Of course we did something, Noct. But we couldn't-- the empire had taken over the city. The Crystal has been captured. We are doing all we can to get our kingdom back, I promise you. We have traversed the land of Eos, going into the tombs of the old kings. Lady Lunafreya is waking the Astrals from their slumber.

[his words are a bit more heated than usual. He knows that this isn't fair, and it's upsetting him. They all dealt with this together, had come so far, and it feels like a giant step backward.

Worse, there's no active thing Noct can do about it here. Ignis takes off his glasses, rubbing his eyes and putting them back on again]

But those experiences haven't happened to you yet. I can do nothing else to ease your mind, but I can cook a damn meal.

[he's frustrated with himself, not with Noct. He doesn't like having no plan of action for them, this feeling of uncertainty on what to do]

[brotrips]

(His jaw hardens, tension running through his face and causing his muscles to lock. There's no one enemy to attack, no one he could use to vent. Here, he's unable to even fight back against the people who hurt his father.

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. His home, his people, all the people he'd grown up around, his dad...

Luna, Ignis, Gladio, Prompto, Cid, Iris...they were all okay. If any of them had been left behind, they would have perished in the city as well.

Noctis drops back.)

The kitchen. (He isn't hungry. He isn't anything besides angry and hurt.) In the center. (This much will give him a second to be alone.)

[coquere]

[he didn't mean to lose his temper, but this is the sort of thing he hates: things being out of his control. He turns to cooking because it's something he can control. The ingredients, making sure it's all cooked evenly, knowing it would make those who ate the meal happy.

Which may be why he's trying to gather ingredients for that Tenebrae sweet he's still trying to perfect for Noct. He will never stop trying to get it right.

Even if Noct won't eat it, Ignis hopes seeing it may lift the prince's spirits just a little]

[brotrips]

(Ignis isn't at fault, and Noctis knows that, beneath the pain that was gripping at his heart. His father is dead, his kingdom fallen, and he'd lived for months without the knowledge. He was meant to be there, why wasn't he there...

Because his father sent him away. Because his father was sure he wasn't in the city. Noctis' neck snaps up, disbelief on his face. If he knew, and he'd died anyway...

But there's nothing Noctis can do. He drops heavily on the bed, his knee propped up on the mattress and his head resting on it. His fist slams down again, this time into the bed. It's just too much to suddenly process.)

[coquere]

[Ignis lets the food cook, taking the moment to sit down on the bed and lightly rest his hand on Noctis's head. He knows what the prince must be going through right now, what conclusions he's drawing in his mind. And what's more, he knows how all four of them had worked through it together. The absence of the other two is almost physical]

I'm sorry I raised my voice. I don't do well with uncertainties.

[he sits with Noct like this, trying to be a comfort to the best of his ability. And then the oven goes off. Ignis goes to take out his latest attempt at that treat, setting it close for Noct to see and smell.

Again, Ignis doesn't really expect Noct to eat it, but it's a reliable staple in their lives]

[brotrips]

(At first, it's hard to tell if Noctis' waving away motion is asking Ignis to leave or to say the volume of his voice hadn't mattered, but it's the second. Normally, if there's an argument, it's himself and Gladio. If Ignis raised his voice, it usually means Noctis has done something wrong, but this time, it doesn't feel like he has.

Finally, he raises his head and looks at the dish. It's a dish most people would love, but the prince has no appetite right then. His dark eyes focus on the dessert.)

Why'd he let them in? If he knew what was going to happen, why the hell did he let them in?

[coquere]

[Ignis doesn't seem to mind that Noct has no interest in eating the food. He just made it so he could feel in control of something, even if that something was the creation of a dessert. It's also his way to express that he was angry at the situation and his lack of ability to fix it, rather than anything else]

It would have been worse if he hadn't. If for one moment they suspected he knew of their betrayal... No, your father understood it was better they meet him on his own terms.

[brotrips]

His own terms?! He's dead!

(I'll never see him again, even when I get out of here.)

He was smarter than that. He just ga---

(Damn it. His hand shoots out and grabs the dessert and takes a bite, if only to shut himself up and hold back his emotions.)

[coquere]

It was not the mark of a fool to welcome someone under a banner of peace. Think of it, Noct: if he refused them entrance, when all believed that there would be talk of peace, what would have happened? Insomnia would have been seen as the ones to break the treaty. By welcoming them, your father exposed the empire as treacherous and dishonorable.

Furthermore, your father's actions allowed for people to escape the city safely. He died bravely in battle protecting his people.

[he falls quiet so Noct can process this. He knows that explaining the strategy of it won't ease the pain of Noct's loss, but he's hoping Noct can at least make more sense of why the king did what he did]

[brotrips]

(He knows. Beneath it all, Noctis was raised to one day take the throne. He doesn't possess Ignis' calm mind, not yet, but playing nice with the right people was among his lessons, but this feels wrong; it isn't the method, but the outcome.

If only all of this was some kind of lie, a test, but that isn't Ignis.

Noctis stands quickly, the food falling to the bed.)

Gladio left a Chocobo. I'm going riding.

(It may be hidden, but there's an invitation. The prince doesn't necessarily want to be alone.)

[coquere]

[he glances at the discarded food and can't help himself in cleaning it up. He'll stow it away for later, or for someone else to come by and eat. Ignis brushes off the stray crumbs before turning his attention back to Noct]

Yes. The black Chocobo, wasn't it? I would like to see it.

[he had no intention of leaving Noct alone anyway, but will take the poorly-hidden invitation]

[brotrips]

Yeah, the black Chocobo.

(Maybe he's hoping to get comfort from it as well. Since the others left, it was the one constant left behind that didn't involve Noctis learning a skill he'd far from mastered. The pans Ignis owns again are used, but they seem to be well cared for -- if only because he had to take one to an alchemist after a particularly careless incident.

His mind spins, caught without any real way to move forward. It's an emotional limbo that nonetheless revolves around pain and anger.

The prince quietly makes his way from the room, unable to express his emotions but hoping for an outlet. He has two now that Ignis is here, and he has made a friend or two while staying, but the Chocobo had been the most obvious link to home before now.)

He's not too close. I have to keep him in a nearby stable.

(It's only one of the reasons he'd planned on moving out.)

[coquere]

[Ignis, of course, follows closely after Noct. This place is much safer than Eos but he would still rather be nearby in case of any trouble]

Have you tried taking it to fly?

[there were rumors about that unique ability but the Chocobo was still very young back home. If it's big enough to carry a person here, maybe it's big enough to try flight]

[brotrips]

Fly?

(Despite the cloud that's settled over Noctis' life, he throws a glance over his shoulder to give Ignis a brief look.)

Those stories are real? I didn't think they could really fly.

[coquere]

We haven't had the opportunity to test it back home yet. The chocobo was still only a chick. But I imagine it's grown here. We should at least try it out and see.

[training the chocobo and working with it to fly would be a good project for them both]

[brotrips]

I just want to ride him right now.

(Training implies he think of the future, which he currently doesn't want to do. Noctis doesn't want to think at all because his father comes to mind, and he's simultaneously hurt and angry.)

He should have told me. He should have told me he was sending me away so he could die.

[coquere]

He sent you away so you could live, Noct. I know it's still raw for you, but please try not to cast a shadow on your father's choices.

[brotrips]

I know why he did it, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with what he did. If I was there, I could have done something. What's the point of making me go to all the treating if he's just going to send me away?

Why aren't you angry? It's your -- (family too, but the words are too harsh, and Noctis catches himself and turns away again.)