Prompto Argentum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-06-03 06:34 am
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-06-03 06:34 am
Malmalam Thicket; Cleigne; Eos. Friday [06/03 FT].
It seemed wise to depart from Old Lestallum as quickly as possible after the infiltration of Fort Vaullerey; night had fallen, and it was dangerous to travel at night, but it might be far more dangerous to stick around so close to the scene of the crime. It didn't take long to find a Haven out of the way, though, and, once again, they were back to it in the morning, their sights set on Cape Caem once more.
Until, of course, they passed by Malmalam Thicket.
"Is it just me?" asked Prompto, with an almost wistful sigh as he glanced out at the thick forest passing them by, the Rock of Ragatough looming and smoking far in the distance. "Or is that place just begging to be explored?"
And, to his surprise, the Regalia actually started to slow down. "You know," said Ignis, thoughtfully, as they neared the turn off ot the scenic parking spot, "if what they say about the Malmalam Thicket is true..."
"Then we might just find what we're looking for here," Gladio realized, picking up what Ignis was putting down immediately.
"Another tomb?" Prompto wondered.
"Another tomb," Ignis confirmed, turning onto the dirt road sweeping into the thickening forest.
"On second thought," said Prompto, once the car had been parked, supplies gathered, and they began to trek toward the bridge crossing over the raging river cutting through the forest…and spotting the low, heavy bodies of a few sahagin rolling around, whipping about their heavy tails, snapping at each other with their fearsome jaws, "I don't like the woods. Too many monsters."
"Are you kidding me?" asked Gladio. " What could be better than roughing it out here?"
Prompto scoffed a laugh. "A million other things could be better! Video games….chocobos….puppies..."
Being back in Fandom almost danced out of his lips, but he held it back, feeling that painful twist again that made him wonder if that was ever going to be a thing again.
Thankfully, Noctis let out a short laugh of his own. "If only all we had to deal in this place was surprise puppies."
"I'm honestly kind of excited to help," Iris chirped in, bouncing and on the ready for the danger she knew she might be facing in coming along with them, "but I wouldn't say no to puppies instead!"
"Well, no puppies here," said Ignis, as they crossed the bridge and found themselves catching the attention of the sahagin. "Let's get to work and be done with this riff-raff."
The sahagin were just the beginning, though, as they cleared the coast and finally made it up the winding path that lead them deeper and higher into the wooded hills of the the Thicket. The place was crawling with ill-tempered spiracorns that took every opportunity they could to make their voyage difficult. So difficult, in fact, that, at one point, Noctis found himself with no choice but to call upon the power of the gathering clouds in the sky and call down Ramuh to deliver a powerful blow to a herd of them that had left them battered, broken, and bruised.
"None the worse for wear!" Ignis announced proudly, despite the damage they'd all inflicted, as that little divine ripple of energy made it once again to the communicator currently tucked safely in Prompto's pocket.
"What was that?" asked Iris, amazed and dashing after them as they continued on, as if summoning divine lightning from the sky was just another part of battle, no big deal.
"Let's just call him," Ignis offered with a smile over his shoulder at her, "an old friend."
"What's the matter, Iris?" Prompto gave her a lopsided grin and a nudge with his elbow. "Shocked...." Yes, there was a dramatic pause for appreciation there, but all he got were groans and eyerolls, "that we know a GOD?"
"Two of them," Gladio offered, "actually."
"Wow, okay," Iris laughed a little, "there is definitely a story there."
"And we'll save it for camp," Ignis suggested, gesturing them to slow down and then holding out a hand to stop them. "I think we're approaching the thick of it," that was how to do a well-executed pun, Prompto, thank you, "now."
"Eyes peeled," Prompto sang out, twirling out his gun and crouching on the ready, "mouths shut!"
Well, they managed at least one of those, working their way through the thicket, the darkness of the encroaching night and the appearance of daemons in addition to the monsters already present in the forest making the going slow and rife with battle, but always with a good amount of banter and checking up on each other, especially Iris, who did her part spectacularly by tossing out curatives and encouraging words. Deep, deep into the woods they went, until, finally, they emerged into a vast open clearing on the edge of a cliff, the unmistakable architecture of an ancient tomb built on the very edge.
"Ahhhh, man!" Prompto called out with a breath of the fresh air as they emerged from the tight tangle of branches and rocks that lead them to the thicket. "Am I glad to be out of there!"
"Don't speak too soon," said Gladio, who already noticed the massive, hulking bandersnatch stomping around between them and the tomb, almost wondering how in the world anyone could have missed it.
"Ugh!" Prompto groaned, with every inch of exhaustion he felt inside of him. "Not so glad anymore!"
"Not surprised, either!" Noctis admitted.
"This is what we came for!" Gladio shouted, already rushing forward with his massive blade drawn and ready to meet the monster.
"Let's have it!" agreed Ignis, and the battle was on, the battle was fierce, but between the four of them and Iris at their side, as well, the bandersnatch was no match for them, and they fought well and hard to finally enter that old, quiet tomb and claim another ancestral weapon for Noctis' slowly building arsenal, each one making him feel stronger and more confident in his abilities.
Still not strong enough, but stronger. aAs they trudged their way back to the Regalia and the Haven that would serve as their resting spot that evening, with Cape Caem firmly in their sights for tomorrow, finally, he was feeling a little good, actually. He might even be feeling something akin to hope.
Prompto, though, probably put it best: "Almost makes up for the soaked socks and bug bites!"
Almost.
[[ all the usual massive plot alphabet soup applies! Taken and/or elaborated from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 6 - A Way Forward ]]
Until, of course, they passed by Malmalam Thicket.
"Is it just me?" asked Prompto, with an almost wistful sigh as he glanced out at the thick forest passing them by, the Rock of Ragatough looming and smoking far in the distance. "Or is that place just begging to be explored?"
And, to his surprise, the Regalia actually started to slow down. "You know," said Ignis, thoughtfully, as they neared the turn off ot the scenic parking spot, "if what they say about the Malmalam Thicket is true..."
"Then we might just find what we're looking for here," Gladio realized, picking up what Ignis was putting down immediately.
"Another tomb?" Prompto wondered.
"Another tomb," Ignis confirmed, turning onto the dirt road sweeping into the thickening forest.
"On second thought," said Prompto, once the car had been parked, supplies gathered, and they began to trek toward the bridge crossing over the raging river cutting through the forest…and spotting the low, heavy bodies of a few sahagin rolling around, whipping about their heavy tails, snapping at each other with their fearsome jaws, "I don't like the woods. Too many monsters."
"Are you kidding me?" asked Gladio. " What could be better than roughing it out here?"
Prompto scoffed a laugh. "A million other things could be better! Video games….chocobos….puppies..."
Being back in Fandom almost danced out of his lips, but he held it back, feeling that painful twist again that made him wonder if that was ever going to be a thing again.
Thankfully, Noctis let out a short laugh of his own. "If only all we had to deal in this place was surprise puppies."
"I'm honestly kind of excited to help," Iris chirped in, bouncing and on the ready for the danger she knew she might be facing in coming along with them, "but I wouldn't say no to puppies instead!"
"Well, no puppies here," said Ignis, as they crossed the bridge and found themselves catching the attention of the sahagin. "Let's get to work and be done with this riff-raff."
The sahagin were just the beginning, though, as they cleared the coast and finally made it up the winding path that lead them deeper and higher into the wooded hills of the the Thicket. The place was crawling with ill-tempered spiracorns that took every opportunity they could to make their voyage difficult. So difficult, in fact, that, at one point, Noctis found himself with no choice but to call upon the power of the gathering clouds in the sky and call down Ramuh to deliver a powerful blow to a herd of them that had left them battered, broken, and bruised.
"None the worse for wear!" Ignis announced proudly, despite the damage they'd all inflicted, as that little divine ripple of energy made it once again to the communicator currently tucked safely in Prompto's pocket.
"What was that?" asked Iris, amazed and dashing after them as they continued on, as if summoning divine lightning from the sky was just another part of battle, no big deal.
"Let's just call him," Ignis offered with a smile over his shoulder at her, "an old friend."
"What's the matter, Iris?" Prompto gave her a lopsided grin and a nudge with his elbow. "Shocked...." Yes, there was a dramatic pause for appreciation there, but all he got were groans and eyerolls, "that we know a GOD?"
"Two of them," Gladio offered, "actually."
"Wow, okay," Iris laughed a little, "there is definitely a story there."
"And we'll save it for camp," Ignis suggested, gesturing them to slow down and then holding out a hand to stop them. "I think we're approaching the thick of it," that was how to do a well-executed pun, Prompto, thank you, "now."
"Eyes peeled," Prompto sang out, twirling out his gun and crouching on the ready, "mouths shut!"
Well, they managed at least one of those, working their way through the thicket, the darkness of the encroaching night and the appearance of daemons in addition to the monsters already present in the forest making the going slow and rife with battle, but always with a good amount of banter and checking up on each other, especially Iris, who did her part spectacularly by tossing out curatives and encouraging words. Deep, deep into the woods they went, until, finally, they emerged into a vast open clearing on the edge of a cliff, the unmistakable architecture of an ancient tomb built on the very edge.
"Ahhhh, man!" Prompto called out with a breath of the fresh air as they emerged from the tight tangle of branches and rocks that lead them to the thicket. "Am I glad to be out of there!"
"Don't speak too soon," said Gladio, who already noticed the massive, hulking bandersnatch stomping around between them and the tomb, almost wondering how in the world anyone could have missed it.
"Ugh!" Prompto groaned, with every inch of exhaustion he felt inside of him. "Not so glad anymore!"
"Not surprised, either!" Noctis admitted.
"This is what we came for!" Gladio shouted, already rushing forward with his massive blade drawn and ready to meet the monster.
"Let's have it!" agreed Ignis, and the battle was on, the battle was fierce, but between the four of them and Iris at their side, as well, the bandersnatch was no match for them, and they fought well and hard to finally enter that old, quiet tomb and claim another ancestral weapon for Noctis' slowly building arsenal, each one making him feel stronger and more confident in his abilities.
Still not strong enough, but stronger. aAs they trudged their way back to the Regalia and the Haven that would serve as their resting spot that evening, with Cape Caem firmly in their sights for tomorrow, finally, he was feeling a little good, actually. He might even be feeling something akin to hope.
Prompto, though, probably put it best: "Almost makes up for the soaked socks and bug bites!"
Almost.
[[ all the usual massive plot alphabet soup applies! Taken and/or elaborated from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 6 - A Way Forward ]]
no subject
“Ignis?” He tried to reach him again, hoping for anything. He could hear the snippets of conversation again, he knew it was definitely Ignis and Prompto and there was another voice he didn’t recognise but after a while it was clear that once again Ignis couldn’t hear him but it was still a comfort to know that they were still alright, even if it was frustrating that there was nothing that he could do on his end but wait and hope to try and get communications up and running again.