I want to ride my chocobo all day!

Twilight fell over the city of Altissia, and it was one of the most beautiful things Prompto thought he had ever seen…and also one of the most lonely. The last two few days hadn't been easy, though, of course, he did all he could to make sure it didn't show. But all that idle time waiting for the boat, and then the long journey across the ocean to Altissia itself…a communicator that didn't work…a phone that still wouldn't connect…the only known portals off this world either under Niflheim control or just simply destroyed…all that was left for him to do was just…think.

And his thoughts, right now, were anything but comforting, as he leaned against the railing of the balcony of the Altissian branch of the Leville, looking out over the Walls of Water, the star-streaked night sky, the canals and the incredible architecture, the bursts of flowers and colors everywhere, and the music still filling the streets.

( It's a photographer's dream.... )

And Prompto pulled out his phone, and began to type:

So we finally made it to Altissia! It's even more beautiful than I could have even imagined. You'd absolutely love it. Gods, I wish you were here….

Several minutes and probably hundreds of words later, he drew in a breath as his thumb hovered over the send button and finally pressed it. Was met with the same blinking dots that still sat tauntingly after every other message he'd tried to send so far. He breathed out a sigh and looked up to the sky again, before finally turning to join the others in the room, the laugh bubbling out of him almost as soon as he crossed the threshold.

"Oh, man." Bright, bubbly, never-let-'em-get-you down Prompto Argentum, back in full force, firing off positivity like he fired off bullets. "You guys have got to see this shot of Gladio in the gondola….instant classic!"



[[ OH BOY, Altissia hits a little different these days, let me tell ya!! NFB, NFI, OOC is love because this is almost all original content, baybeeeee, save for various snippets of events and dialogue from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 9 "Callings." ]]

Although it was a little bit tempting, Prompto decided that, if he was going to pick up and leave for home and not bothering returning to Fandom Island, he wasn't going to just do it without a word. There had been a massive influx of messages sent out, albeit belatedly at the zero hour before he left. Yang, of course, obviously, and Nina, too, espsecially since he figured he wouldn't have been able to just slip away without a word with her around, anyway. And then Sidon, the normalcy of asking the Zora to cover for him at the shelter this week feeling odd in one way yet comforting in another. And, finally, one to Zack, which felt the strangest out of all of them, because when had he ever called Zack to let him know when he wouldn't make it in? Or that he and Sidon were switching shifts or covering the other? He'd always been cool about that sort of thing, he and Sidon just sort of did what they needed and he didn't care, not even when they missed because they were incapacitated or sick or turned into horrible frightening monsters that would eat all the animals, anyway...

...and it felt, in a way, that there was a certain sort of...finality in that call to Zack. Like tying off loose ends. Closing a chapter of a book....

Either way, he'd arrived in Insomnia that morning, inexplicably the next day, portal logic!, fumbling with his keys a little as he approached the quiet little house he'd grown up in. He pushed the door open, calling out into the stillness, though he knew there was no point. "Mom? Dad?"

Silence. Of course. Of course they weren't home, and he felt another terrible swell of sadness taking over him. You'd think, after pretty much his whole life of this, he'd get used to the feeling of coming home to an empty house, that he'd eventually stop feeling disappointed that his parents weren't there, but it never really faded, and, right now, when he felt like he sort of needed them the most, it seemed to hit especially hard. When he had so many questions he wanted to ask them. When all he wanted was answers and the only people in the world he could think of that might have them were...no where to be found. He just wanted them to hug him, and smooth back his hair, and tell him everything was okay. He wanted to hear that they knew about it, they knew everything, but they still loved him anyway, but did they even know? How could they not? Who just dumped some random Niflheim MT clone in an orphanage, and who then just picked up that random Niflheim MT clone to adopt...especially when they clearly had no interest in actually doing much parenting? He wanted answers, he wanted comfort, he actually wanted to talk about it, but all there was was empty rooms, walls scattered with photographs, old video games, and a cupboard full of Cup Noodles, cheap and easy because there was no time for them to make him any leftovers, but there's some money on the table if he wanted to eat out...

Absently, Prompto went to the mailbox to collect the usual stack of letters that had been stacking up while his parents were gone. Mostly junk mail, really, no one really sent anything important to the house, because everyone knew that the Mr. and Mrs. Argentum weren't likely home to receive it. But the stack seemed unusually thick this time around...he scoffed a little, derisively. Probably because he wasn't around to clean it up! And he idly glanced over them, sorting through it to make sure there weren't any bills or anything mixed in with the coupons and savings offers.

...wait a second.

Prompto blinked, staring down at the envelopes as he shifted through them, not even sure he was seeing what he thought he was, because that seemed...that was...how in the hell?

We got library cards! Ignis helped us!

Prompto was staring down at a handful of junk mail boldly addressed not to any Argentums who might be living at this address, but, instead, to the supposed Nina Libris and Vette Libris that did!

"What the hell?"

Honestly, he wasn't sure if that question into the ether was more for Nina and Vette...or for the clearly out-of-hand state of Insomnia's junk mail.


[[ junk mail modded with permission? lol. Anyway, it's open if anyone wants to get in touch! ]]

Okay, okay, okay. So maybe Prompto was getting a little concerned over the fact that he was still a dog, but let's face it. The life of a puppy in this place was good. Like, real good. So while there was maybe a little disappointment that he woke up to face another day as a canine and not as his usual human self, he got over it really quickly, because he woke up all curled up and comfy with his girlfriend, and how could that not be awesome? It could be more awesome, yes, by not being a puppy, but, hey, beggers could not be choosers, he could not complain...

And he thought, after Machu Picchu yesterday, that he'd still be pretty exhausted for about a week, but he woke up that morning with the same puppy-energy he'd had every since he turned into this smaller bundle of energy, which meant he was very quick to shift a little so that he could wake Yang up with a few gentle nudges of his nose and good-morning snuggles that got increasingly excited because it was a new day, Yang! Yang, it was time to get up! Yang, they had to go get their jog on.

Congratulations, Yang. You were a miracle worker. You somehow managed to get Prompto to actually want to and look forward to his morning runs.

After puppy snuggles, of course. Those were an important and necessary precursor to any morning runs.

[[and I'm sure you all know where this is going. For that laaaaady and that other person who lives here, too, and room totes modded with permish, yo ]]