calcitrants | IC INBOX [ERKU]

[ It's the best use they're going to see when not allowed in Noctis' stomach. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There's a childish pout as he stares Ignis down. ]

You're saying I got fat.

[ Essentially yes, Noctis. Duh. Of course he's aware it's not meant in an offensive manner. Gaining weight after nearly being starved for up to two months was not good to his physical appearance, to say the least, so having edible food around the island was a lifesaver. Having Ignis around to cook him even better meals? He couldn't ask for better luck, and those times of going to sleep hungry and tired for days on end have been left long in the past.

He's actually living comfortably here on the island. ]

But... you're not wrong, I guess. I... being here's not so bad anymore. I've started to sorta like it. I feel happy. And that... makes me feel guilty.

Edited 2020-11-08 11:59 (UTC)

[ ignis chuckles softly as he shakes his head. ]

I'm saying you filled out like you should.

[ he says gently. it's a big improvement over the first time he'd seen him, and seeing him fill out makes ignis happy. it means that he's enjoying the food, and more importantly, he's thriving on it.

more importantly, however: ]

Guilty?

Someone once told me that I should focus on being happy while I'm here, but its been really hard... since Somnus showed up. And now Nyx.

[ He sets his half eaten sandwich down in his lap. He doesn't think he can eat any further. ]

Why should I be allowed to be happy when I can't do anything for them? When I know I get to go back home whenever this is all done and over with, but they don't have anything to go back to. What kind of second chance is this?

[ To enjoy the sunlight, to enjoy the presence of other living people, to just be alive. And wonder when that last moment will come again.

At least when Noctis returns, he'll still be alive. Not for much longer, but, he still has something he needs to accomplish. He has an existence inside the crystal. ]

I didn't know the Augur could do things like this, and I'm...

[ Noctis can't bring himself to look at Ignis even when he wants to.

When he thinks about the scars that aren't on his face. Does Ignis have to go back to that?

Back to the place where they lost Luna. ]

Have you thought about it? How, the Augur can just bring people back from the dead like it's nothing? How leaving this place means they'll just be dead again.

[ His gaze drops to the Ring of Lucii on his finger. ]

If, she came here... Ignis. I don't think I can say goodbye to Luna again.

[ ignis is quiet for a long moment. he has thought about this a long, long time, ruminated on it in his private moments where no one else can see. he's even approached somnus about it in a bid to save noctis from his destiny.

and yet.

hearing him talk like this makes his heart ache, and he frowns as he looks over at the pond. he has no easy answers, nothing to allay his fears or anxieties. it's a second chance for noctis, too, but he can't bring himself to say it, to reveal that he knows what happens to him.

at length, he says. ]

Then... perhaps they shouldn't leave this place until they're ready to.

[ a chance at a new life, a chance at love and romance despite the perpetually horny air of the place and the emphasis on physical pleasure. but here is the place he's learned more about his comrades, learned to live a proper life, made new friends and forged new bonds.

ignis feels like a traitor, to enjoy this island like this, to want noctis to enjoy it too, while he can. he frowns. ]

Do you want her here, Noct?

[ Ready by who's standards? The Augur's? The will of the people here? It's unfair, it's all he can think of, but he's experienced enough hardship to understand that unfortunately, when it comes down to it, there are so many things one can't control about their lives. He can't expect Nyx to live an entirely new life here on the island. He can't expect Somnus to come to an understanding of what exists beyond a Chosen's duty. He can't expect Gladio and Prompto and Ignis to just forget all about everything they've gone through prior to this point.

Noctis can't save them here. He can only watch, and wait, and hope that the time he has here lasts for a long, long time. And if he has to say goodbye...

He doesn't want to say goodbye. He buries his face into Ignis' shoulder as he shakes his head, Luna's final words resonating in his mind. ]

The last thing she said to me was that she'd always be with me. She... did what she had to, what she wanted, for me. I can't take that from her. Just because I feel like I didn't have enough time. That I didn't do enough. No matter how much I wanted to change what happened. I couldn't keep her here. Just like...

[ Noctis reaches for Ignis' hand, like a child reaching through the dark. ]

I could never stop you from protecting me.

[ ignis doesn't pull away. instead, he lets noctis reach for him -- he will always be here, together with him, faithful and loyal to the end. he listens quietly to the pain in his voice, the heartache in his words. luna's loss is a blow to them all, most especially to noctis.

his hand coming to curl over noctis' own, with the other coming to gently rest over it, ignis accompanies him in the depths of his pain. noctis is right, he can't expect nyx and somnus to live a new life here, but perhaps ignis is the traitor, that more than anything he wants noctis to have a second chance at life and love right here on this island.

he knows how this ends, and with all of his heart ignis wants him to be safe and alive and happy. but what nags in the back of his mind is noctis' latest words. i could never stop you from protecting me.

the way it's delivered isn't out of the ordinary, mostly, but ignis knows it well enough to be aware that noctis won't say it without reason. and considering the circumstances in which he had been pulled from their world... ]

...I will do anything for you, Noct. [ he pauses. ] Is something wrong?

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