Prompto Argentum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-06-18 06:05 am
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-06-18 06:05 am
En Route to Cartanica; Succarpe, Niflheim; Saturday, 07/01 ET [Saturday, 06/18 FT].
The King of Lucis and his Kingsglaive were back on the move again, not through the comfort of their own lands, or even the familiar comfort of the Regalia, but first by boat again, and now by train, rumbling through the arid deserts, deeper into Empire territory. Their final destination: Gralea, the capital of Niflheim, where the Crystal that had been stolen from Insomnia had been taken. But, before then, a pitstop: Cartanica, a station located southeast on Fodina Caestino, a long abandoned mine where the Marshall's research may have located another royal tomb. Another weapon for Noctis to add to his arsenal, especially since, at this point, they truly did need all the help they could get.
But the real difficulty, it would seem, would come from actually getting there first..
Not because of any outright danger or Imperial attacks or violent gods, as they'd dealt with weeks, months before this moment. But because of themselves.
The train car was quiet, only the steady clacking of the wheel on the rails below and the soft murmur of the conversation of other passengers around them, and one thing Prompto could never handle well was uncomfortable quiet. There'd been a lot of that, since Altissia, and sometimes, it was just too much for him to just sit and bear.
"So…." he ventured, softly, perhaps bravely, into the silence between them, Ignis at his side, Noctis across the aisle, Gladio in the seat behind theirs. Even in the way they'd arranged themselves suggested the broad distance that had grown between them in the last week. "Looks like we're going to roll through Tenebrae…"
"Not before visiting the royal tomb in Cartanica," Ignis reminded him softly, after a second, as if waiting for someone else to speak and, realizing that no one else would, felt he had no choice but to step up to the role.
"...uh." An awkward grunt wrangled out of Prompto, frown deepening, tugging at the edges of his gloves a little more, not sure if he should ask, but also feeling like he couldn't not "You….you're sure you're up to that?"
He wanted to look at Ignis, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, simply lowering his head toward his hands more.
"The wounds," Ignis said, after long moment, his own head moving from the window he couldn't see out of toward the sound of Prompto's voice, "have mended. Eyesight's just a matter of time…."
It didn't sound very confident, though, but Prompto could appreciate the attempt at optimism, no matter how flat it fell.
Behind them, Gladio shifted, slowly moving to pull himself up to his feet. He turned, walking toward Noctis' seat with heavy steps. Stopped when he stood in front of the king and looked down at him for a long moment. Prompto kept his eyes steadily down, trying not to feel the weight of Gladio's simmering anger beside him. He could feel what was coming, like a storm gathering on the horizon. And, just as with a storm, he felt powerless to do anything to stop it, even though he felt like he should.
Finally, Gladio spoke.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Slowly, Noctis looked up from where he'd also been staring at his hands between his knees. "What?"
"We're not stopping in Tenebrae," Gladio declared.
A small sound of annoyance left Noctis, a disgruntled click of his tongue. His head lifted, shoulders squaring, hands drifting to his knees as he stared imperiously up at Gladio.
"You need to grow up," Gladio insisted, "and get over it."
"I am over it," Noctis insisted, pushing himself up to his feet and up to Gladio to meet these accusations head on, a fierce desperation rising up out of his silence. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"Maybe when you're not too busy moping," Gladio countered, grabbing Noctis by his shirt, and leaning in with his words sharp and biting, "you can look around and give a shit about someone worse off than you."
"Let go of me," Noctis said, quiet and simple in his anger, and Prompto, now on the edge of his seat, quite literally, faltered, feeling torn between who would need him most in this moment, Noctis or Ignis? He could feel Ignis' discomfort at the attention being brought to him; would turning to him now only make it worse?
Either way, Gladio wasn't letting go of anything. "How's that ring fit ya?" he growled into Noct's face. "You'd rather carry it around than wear it? She gave her life so you could do your duty, not so you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself!"
"You don't think I know that?" Noctis wrangled out desperately, trying to pull himself away.
But Gladio just tightened his grip, pulled Noctis in closer. "You don't!" he shouted, holding tight as Noctis tried to fight out of his hold. "Ignis took one for you, too, and for what!?"
"Enough," Ignis shouted, a small burst of his own rare anger and irritation, which he seemed to instantly regret, as it pulled back into something softer with the next word, "Gladio."
The reprimand in the tone, the fierceness followed by that quiet firmness, was unmistakable, and Gladio sucked in a breath. Settled slightly.But did not loosen his grip. His eyes didn't stray from Noctis' face for a single moment. "You think you're a king," he said, "but you're a coward."
"Shut up!" Noctis growled in response, swinging a now clenched fist toward Gladio's chest.
And now Prompto was quick to his feet, throwing himself between the two of them, wishing he hadn't been so late to act..
"Don't do this--!" he started, desperately, moving to push them apart, but Gladio pushed him back first, lifting his free hand to press into Prompto's face and shove him back roughly. All the while, Noctis struggled against Gladio, until he, too, had his fist clenched around the edge of Gladio's open shirt.
"I get it, alright?" Noctis insisted, his voice reaching an almost shrill cracking as he pushed Gladio back fiercely.. "I get it!
"Then get a grip!" Gladio insisted back, keeping the distance that the shove had afforded them, letting his intent glare do the work now.. "Pull your head outta your ass already!"
With that, Noctis could only stare at Gladio, words escaping him and leaving only gasps and shaky breaths, until all he could do was turn away with frustrated rage now added to the already complex mess of emotions that had been closing in on him like walls. He turned, storming off past Prompto toward the car's exit.
"Noct!" Prompto called out after him, turning to follow, but he was stopped by Gladio's harsh directive.
"Leave him," Gladio said. There was a polite, awkward cough from someone else in the car, and Prompto turned back to his seat next to Ignis with uncertainty.
What else could be done? It had been like this ever since… That tight, awkward silence was now becoming familiar, but that didn't make it any more comfortable. There was a soft whisper from somewhere behind them, a small child being hushed by their parents after complaining about those men in black spooking them out, and the tension somehow managed to grow. Gladio settled uncomfortably in the seat behind him. Ignis' head returned to gazing sightlessly out the window.
And Prompto just sat there, useless, not knowing what to say, not having any way to make any of it better.
Eventually,though, Noctis meandered back, and Prompto used that opportunity to at least try. "Hey," he offered up softly. "We're almost to Cartanica."
"One step closer to finding the next tomb," murmured Noctis, as he collapsed into his seat, and looked out across the bright deserts of Succarpe passing them by.
[[ Welcome to Final Fantasy XV Chapter 10 - "Heart of a King", or as I like to call it: this meme." NFB, NFI, OOC always ]]
But the real difficulty, it would seem, would come from actually getting there first..
Not because of any outright danger or Imperial attacks or violent gods, as they'd dealt with weeks, months before this moment. But because of themselves.
The train car was quiet, only the steady clacking of the wheel on the rails below and the soft murmur of the conversation of other passengers around them, and one thing Prompto could never handle well was uncomfortable quiet. There'd been a lot of that, since Altissia, and sometimes, it was just too much for him to just sit and bear.
"So…." he ventured, softly, perhaps bravely, into the silence between them, Ignis at his side, Noctis across the aisle, Gladio in the seat behind theirs. Even in the way they'd arranged themselves suggested the broad distance that had grown between them in the last week. "Looks like we're going to roll through Tenebrae…"
"Not before visiting the royal tomb in Cartanica," Ignis reminded him softly, after a second, as if waiting for someone else to speak and, realizing that no one else would, felt he had no choice but to step up to the role.
"...uh." An awkward grunt wrangled out of Prompto, frown deepening, tugging at the edges of his gloves a little more, not sure if he should ask, but also feeling like he couldn't not "You….you're sure you're up to that?"
He wanted to look at Ignis, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, simply lowering his head toward his hands more.
"The wounds," Ignis said, after long moment, his own head moving from the window he couldn't see out of toward the sound of Prompto's voice, "have mended. Eyesight's just a matter of time…."
It didn't sound very confident, though, but Prompto could appreciate the attempt at optimism, no matter how flat it fell.
Behind them, Gladio shifted, slowly moving to pull himself up to his feet. He turned, walking toward Noctis' seat with heavy steps. Stopped when he stood in front of the king and looked down at him for a long moment. Prompto kept his eyes steadily down, trying not to feel the weight of Gladio's simmering anger beside him. He could feel what was coming, like a storm gathering on the horizon. And, just as with a storm, he felt powerless to do anything to stop it, even though he felt like he should.
Finally, Gladio spoke.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Slowly, Noctis looked up from where he'd also been staring at his hands between his knees. "What?"
"We're not stopping in Tenebrae," Gladio declared.
A small sound of annoyance left Noctis, a disgruntled click of his tongue. His head lifted, shoulders squaring, hands drifting to his knees as he stared imperiously up at Gladio.
"You need to grow up," Gladio insisted, "and get over it."
"I am over it," Noctis insisted, pushing himself up to his feet and up to Gladio to meet these accusations head on, a fierce desperation rising up out of his silence. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"Maybe when you're not too busy moping," Gladio countered, grabbing Noctis by his shirt, and leaning in with his words sharp and biting, "you can look around and give a shit about someone worse off than you."
"Let go of me," Noctis said, quiet and simple in his anger, and Prompto, now on the edge of his seat, quite literally, faltered, feeling torn between who would need him most in this moment, Noctis or Ignis? He could feel Ignis' discomfort at the attention being brought to him; would turning to him now only make it worse?
Either way, Gladio wasn't letting go of anything. "How's that ring fit ya?" he growled into Noct's face. "You'd rather carry it around than wear it? She gave her life so you could do your duty, not so you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself!"
"You don't think I know that?" Noctis wrangled out desperately, trying to pull himself away.
But Gladio just tightened his grip, pulled Noctis in closer. "You don't!" he shouted, holding tight as Noctis tried to fight out of his hold. "Ignis took one for you, too, and for what!?"
"Enough," Ignis shouted, a small burst of his own rare anger and irritation, which he seemed to instantly regret, as it pulled back into something softer with the next word, "Gladio."
The reprimand in the tone, the fierceness followed by that quiet firmness, was unmistakable, and Gladio sucked in a breath. Settled slightly.But did not loosen his grip. His eyes didn't stray from Noctis' face for a single moment. "You think you're a king," he said, "but you're a coward."
"Shut up!" Noctis growled in response, swinging a now clenched fist toward Gladio's chest.
And now Prompto was quick to his feet, throwing himself between the two of them, wishing he hadn't been so late to act..
"Don't do this--!" he started, desperately, moving to push them apart, but Gladio pushed him back first, lifting his free hand to press into Prompto's face and shove him back roughly. All the while, Noctis struggled against Gladio, until he, too, had his fist clenched around the edge of Gladio's open shirt.
"I get it, alright?" Noctis insisted, his voice reaching an almost shrill cracking as he pushed Gladio back fiercely.. "I get it!
"Then get a grip!" Gladio insisted back, keeping the distance that the shove had afforded them, letting his intent glare do the work now.. "Pull your head outta your ass already!"
With that, Noctis could only stare at Gladio, words escaping him and leaving only gasps and shaky breaths, until all he could do was turn away with frustrated rage now added to the already complex mess of emotions that had been closing in on him like walls. He turned, storming off past Prompto toward the car's exit.
"Noct!" Prompto called out after him, turning to follow, but he was stopped by Gladio's harsh directive.
"Leave him," Gladio said. There was a polite, awkward cough from someone else in the car, and Prompto turned back to his seat next to Ignis with uncertainty.
What else could be done? It had been like this ever since… That tight, awkward silence was now becoming familiar, but that didn't make it any more comfortable. There was a soft whisper from somewhere behind them, a small child being hushed by their parents after complaining about those men in black spooking them out, and the tension somehow managed to grow. Gladio settled uncomfortably in the seat behind him. Ignis' head returned to gazing sightlessly out the window.
And Prompto just sat there, useless, not knowing what to say, not having any way to make any of it better.
Eventually,though, Noctis meandered back, and Prompto used that opportunity to at least try. "Hey," he offered up softly. "We're almost to Cartanica."
"One step closer to finding the next tomb," murmured Noctis, as he collapsed into his seat, and looked out across the bright deserts of Succarpe passing them by.
[[ Welcome to Final Fantasy XV Chapter 10 - "Heart of a King", or as I like to call it: this meme." NFB, NFI, OOC always ]]
