Prompto stared out the window of the regalia at the passing trees, tapping his fingers against his leg. The four were on their way to kill a group of six or seven seadevils that resided near the Vesperpool. If he had to be honest with himself, Prompto felt way too tired to be dealing with these creatures today. The stress of everything that happened since they left Insomnia finally caught up with him, and he struggled sleeping more than a few hours a night. He rubbed at his burning eyes, turning his head to try and work out a kink in his neck.
"Do we really have to fight these things?" he asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
"We went over this already, Prompto," Ignis replied never taking his eyes off the road. "We're running low on gil and this hunt pays well."
Prompto huffed, leaning his head back against the headrest and closing his eyes. His mind continued to wander as he tried to get at least a few minutes of extra sleep. How Noctis could fall asleep so easily in the car was beyond him. He shifted a few times, trying but failing to find a comfortable position. He groaned quietly as he sat up straight again, giving up on the idea. As he flipped through different radio stations, Prompto felt eyes staring at him. Turning around he locked eyes with Gladio, who glared at him. Prompto turned back around, deciding to leave the radio alone for now.
"How much longer?" Prompto asked.
"Only a few minutes now," the advisor replied. They rode in silence until Ignis pulled the car over and parked. Gladio roughly shook the prince who jolted awake. They all walked the small path to the Vesperpool, summoning their weapons as a low growl sounded nearby.
"Uh, guys, I think the poster was wrong," Prompto said, wide eyes scanning the area. Ahead he could see at least twice the amount the poster had said.
"We can handle it." Noctis said, charging the monsters. The others followed, each attacking a different monster. Prompto let off a shot, missing the monster by an inch, but it got the seadevils attention. It snapped as it charged at him. He stumbled back, rolling to the side as it pounced on the spot where he had been laying a second before. He steadied his shaking hands, and with one shot the monster fell to the ground motionless. He caught his breath, turning around just in time to see another monster charge at him. He jumped out of the way, but his reaction was too slow, and the monster grabbed his leg. He rolled around on the ground, trying to get the monster to release its hold, kicking it in the face. The seadevil finally let go, and Prompto crawled away from it, sending a barrage of bullets in its direction. Most of the bullets missed, and the monster kept running at him. His shaking hands made aiming impossible. The seadevil was merely a foot away when Gladio jumped in front of Prompto, swinging his large sword and stopping the monster in its tracks.
"Wake up!" Gladio shouted at him as he pulled him to his feet. Prompto nodded, avoiding putting much pressure on his injured leg. Looking around, he could see that the others had just finished up with the rest of the monsters.
"What was that?!" Gladio growled, arms crossed. "You almost got yourself killed!"
"S-sorry. Feeling a little sluggish today," Prompto said. He plopped down on the ground and pulled the leg of his pants up so he could look at the injury. Chunks of flesh had been ripped from his leg, and blood flowed heavily from the wound.
"That looks nasty," Noct told him as he reached into his pocket. "Use this." He handed the potion to the blonde who took it in his hand and crushed it. He watched as most of the wound closed up. All that was left were a few light colored scars.
"Thanks," he said, as Noctis helped him to his feet.
"Let's return and get the reward," Ignis said, already heading to the regalia. Prompto sighed to himself, following a little behind the others.
You screwed up AGAIN, the little voice inside his head screamed at him. Gladio had to risk his life to save you. You could have gotten him killed. Your nothing but a mistake. A failure. FAILURE. FAILURE! He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms as he struggled to hold back the burning tears that threatened to fall. He took a shaky breath and stared at his feet as he tried to clear his head. He only looked up when he bumped into Gladio who had stopped now that they had reached the regalia.
"Watch it," the older growled.
"Sorry," Prompto said, hopping in the passenger seat.
The drive back was unusually quiet. Ignis glanced over at Prompto who was staring at the dashboard, eyes void of emotion.
"Everything alright?" he asked. He received no answer so he looked over at the blond. Prompto hadn't moved an inch. It was like he didn't even hear him. "Prompto. Prompto!" The blond finally looked up, his blue eyes shining a little more than usual.
"Uh, yeah?" he asked, clearing his throat.
"Is everything alright?" he repeated.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Prompto replied, shifting in his seat. He closed his eyes, relieved that the voices stopped. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to ease the burning sensation, but he succeeded in only making it worse. The rest of the ride was silent. Ignis pulled into the outpost, and they walked to the restaurant to retrieve the reward.
"Wonderful," Ignis said as they exited the left the building. "This will be enough to last us a good while. We can even afford a hotel room tonight."
"Yeah!" Noctis cheered. Gladio grumbled something about wanting to camp in the great outdoors, but the four friends made their way to the hotel. Once in their room, Prompto dropped his luggage on the floor and flopped face first on one of the beds.
"I'll make some dinner," Ignis said, making his way to the kitchen. The others busied themselves with other things. Prompto closed his eyes as he sleep pulled at him. He was startled awake by Gladio who gave him a not so gentle shove.
"Food's ready," Gladio said, heading into the kitchen. Prompto groaned pushing himself off the bed, stumbling a little as he followed. Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio were already sitting at the table eating. Prompto sat the empty seat, a bowl of soup already sitting on the table. He stared at the food, but he didn't take a bite. He honestly didn't feel hungry and the smell of the soup made him feel sick. He pushed the soup around with his spoon, zoning out as the three around him made idle conversation.
If the others noticed anything off about the blond, they didn't say anything. Ignis grabbed all the bowls, asking Prompto if he was finished when he saw he hadn't taken a single bite. Prompto nodded as he stared at the table. Ignis frowned as he grabbed the bowl and dumped its contents.
"I'm heading to bed," Prompto told the others, getting up from the table.
"A little early, don't you think?" Noctis asked, propping his feet up on the chair across from him. Prompto simply shrugged as he walked into the bedroom and flopped onto one of the beds. Sleep never came, and before he knew it the others joined him. Noctis climbed into the bed next to him, and Prompto shifted a little to give him more room. Soon the snores of the other three filled the room. He tossed and turned watching as 1:00 went by then 2:00. I just want to sleep, his mind screamed, tears pouring out of his tired eyes.
His mind wandered back to the events of the day, and soon the voice had returned screaming at him. Your a mistake. A failure. Stupid. Clumsy. The words repeated over and over, and Prompto gripped his ears, a small whimper escaping his lips. Prompto stumbled out of bed, heading out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter, silently crying as the voices relentlessly pounded him. His anger at himself grew, and catching a glimpse of one of Ignis's kitchen knives on the counter, he grabbed it. He didn't know why, but he placed it against his skin, shaking hands struggling to keep it steady. Pressing down gently, he slid the blade across his wrist, gasping quietly as it stung. He watched the the blood run down his hand, dripping into the kitchen sink. He felt some of his anger dissipate, and he cut again, and again, until all his anger, frustration and sadness disappeared leaving him numb. He grabbed a few paper towels and held them against the cuts in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Once it had stopped considerably, he cleaned the blood off the knife and threw the paper towels in the trash, adding more clean ones to the top in order to hide the blood. He placed one of his wrist bands over the cuts, grabbed the knife again, and walked back into the bedroom. Making sure no one woke up while he was gone, Prompto shoved the kitchen knife in his bag and hid it under some of his clothes. He climbed back in bed, feeling more at ease than he had in weeks. He pulled the covers up to his chin, drifting off to sleep with ease.
