A/N: Fair warning, this fic contains references to a big spoiler in FFXV. If you have not finished the game and do not want to be spoiler please come back and visit after you have completed the game. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this introduction to what will be a multi-chapter fic. Please bear in mind with the little information we have about certain people or events in FFXV I do have to take quite a bit of artistic liberties to make this fic work out. If more information ends up getting release or there's canonical anecdotes that I have not come across I'll be happy than happy to revise the fic as I deem necessary to make it fit in the FFXV world. Enjoy!
Ghost of Myself
Prologue
Dishes clattered noisily in the diner's kitchen. In the late night, the booths were fairly empty. The few people present casted sideways glances as they passed by the duo's booth. The man cautiously eyed each occupant but none paid heed to the well-groomed, middle aged man. Rather, concerned stares landed on the scrawny, disheveled child…mud-covered and reeking of sweat. The man's heart palpitated. Perhaps it was mistake to bring the child out into public. However, his heart broke with each angry grumble of the boy's stomach. With the way the child voraciously tore into the burger, not caring about the grease dribbling down his chin, one would think the boy had not eaten for days.
"More coffee for you, Sir?" The waitress inquired, stealing peeks at the boy.
"Please," he responded, holding his ceramic mug up for her.
"How about you, kiddo? Anything else I can get you?"
Remaining focused on demolishing the burger the child ignored the waitress. Or he may not have registered her speaking to him. At the rate he was going though, the man feared the skinny kid's appetite would not be satiated.
"Could you bring a bowl of fruit for him?" the man intervened.
The waitress nodded. "Sure."
When Clarus Amicitia first assigned him the task of intercepting a Niflheim defector, the last thing he expected to find was the lone child. He had suddenly popped out through a dense forest that line the road though not at their exact rendezvous point. He stood shivering as the wind blew through his torn clothes. Without hesitation the boy entered his car. After that the man had little luck pulling any information out of him. Instead he only responded with clattering teeth and the roaring belly.
He watched partially disgusted, but mostly sympathetic, as the kid shoved the last giant bite of meat and bun into his little mouth, forcing his cheeks out like a chipmunk. After gulping it down, he then slurped the rest of his soda and unleashed a loud, carbonation induced belch. As the boy set his sights on the salty fries, his demeanor changed slightly as he began to leisurely munch on the potato sticks, two at a time.
"What's your name?" the man softly prodded, careful not to come off too strongly. With the boy seemingly more at ease, the last thing he needed was for him to retreat into his shell.
Instead of replying the boy just stared at the man. His first eye-to-eye contact; this was progress. Through the long unkempt hair, the man could barely see the stoic light blue eyes. There's no telling what was going through his young mind. The man slowly reached out to offer a reassuring grip but instantly retreated when the boy flinched at his touch. Stoic transformed to fear.
"I won't hurt you," the man promised though unsure if the boy believed him. After a moment's pause, he ventured again, "what's your name?"
The boy looked down at the table as if the answer would be written on it. Then spotting the tattoo on his wrist, he began reading off the serial code. Quickly the man clasped his hand around the tiny wrist, earning him a startled gasp.
"Shhh," he whispered, motioning with his free hand for the boy to remain calm. "Not that. What I want to know is….do you have a name? Is there something else people call you by?"
The boy bit his lip while staring at the large hand that pinned him down. Wanting to earn his trust, the man loosened his grip, allowing the child to retreat his hand back into his lap. Clearing his throat, the man gave another attempt.
"My name is Lustro Scientia. I was told to come look for you after we received your encrypted message. How should I call you?"
The boy stared into his lap as his fingers fiddled with each other. Just as Lustro was about to surrender to a lost cause, the boy whispered, "A-Ar-Argentum….Prompto Argentum."
As the waitress returned with the bowl of fruit, the malnourished boy clammed up and began devouring the brightly colored chopped pieces. Lustro watched, wondering if the boy had never seen food in his life as he treated each item set before him as an indulgent novelty.
What exactly is your story, Prompto Argentum?