Author's Note: So this was a little plotbunny I was messing around with on Tumblr. It stuck with me after I beat the game that there must have been a moment in those ten years of darkness when living beyond the safety of Lestallum's lights became infeasible. So I hope you like this little oneshot!
I know that the night must end and that the sun will rise.
It hadn't been home for a long time but now that it came time to leave Iris felt an unexpected sadness.
Life outside the Crown City had seemed a detached adventure at first. They had made the fleeing break to Lestallum the day of the treaty-signing in a haze of panic and incomprehensible shock. They had almost reached the Disc of Cauthess when news had reached them of Insomnia's fall; the remaining journey had passed in numb shell-shocked silence.
His Majesty was dead, the other council members ... her father. Her big strong father who had been so busy he had even slept at the Citadel in the days leading up to the treaty-signing. She had turned that last day over and over in her head – going to the Citadel with his change of clothes and returning home, meeting the limping Kingsglaive man on the way and helping him with his crutches.
It seemed like an age ago now, not a few years. Her thoughts had been different then too; school would return after the treaty-signing and she had hoped to finalise her career thoughts. Thumbing the end of her scarf, she smiled and wondered what her teenage self would have thought of a daemon-hunting occupation.
Back then she had convinced herself it was all a simple vacation; they would spend a little time in Lestallum and then head back to the Crown City, finding all of the reports had been lies spread by Niflheim. Noctis and Lady Lunafreya had been reported dead and both of them were sighted alive in the aftermath, so she had silently convinced herself that the other deaths must be false rumours too.
But then Jared had been killed. And with him had been murdered any innocent ideals she had held for the darkening world around her.
Cape Caem had once been a beacon to passing ships and she looked on the lighthouse from a similar perspective. Insomnia was in the past. Being a slave to the past could consume and corrupt, but giving a future to those who wanted to see it was everything.
That was the mantra Iris clung to and she woke every morning with an excited vigour; her father would want her to be happy. Her brother had his own worries to contend with, so she smiled and made herself happy by helping those around her. She wanted to see the future and she would do so.
She remembered how difficult those first few weeks in Caem had been; people had to learn to live together and make do with what was left. The old house had been in utter disrepair when they had arrived and it had taken them almost two days to move the massive boulder that had crushed the veranda. Talcott had retreated into himself by then and she couldn't convince him to be of any help. Instead she, Cindy, the restaurant owner Tony and Monica Elshett of the Crownsguard had cantilevered the boulder four feet and away from the house's crushed stairs and veranda.
Cor had arrived the next day and Iris had felt so relieved by the Marshal's presence. He was a man of legendary acclaim but with a calming aura that could quieten any confrontation. Talcott had been grieving and angry and Cid had been tired and mourning too ... and the two had been in the grips of a shouting match when Monica led Cor to the house. A half-hour later and the Marshal had not only convinced Cid to resume work on the King's boat, but had recruited Talcott in relocating the boulder to the fence. She had found him later that night working by lamplight with Monica, his katana carving Jared's name into the boulder.
"Hey Iris, c'mon darlin' – the truck's ready and Aranea sent reports of daemons by Ol' Lestallum."
The radio on her hunting vest crackled to life and Iris shook herself at Cindy's voice; they were running one of the last convoys from Caem to Lestallum. The Starscourge had settled over Eos a few years ago and the only place still with power was where they had first fled to. Irony was a funny thing.
Gladdy, Ignis and Prompto were on-hand to help with the latest relocation of civilians; they had some refugees from Altissia this time and Cid had finally given in to Cindy and agreed to settle in the safety of the town, downright sour about it too. They would drop off the newcomers and then head on to Hammerhead to convene with Dave and other hunters at their makeshift stronghold.
But why was it so hard to leave this old house that had never been hers? The fields were long barren now; nothing grew in the unending darkness and no fish bit at lures. Turning on the spot to take in one last look around, she smiled and saw residual memories play out before her; the morning Prompto had almost fallen down the stairs and Monica of all people had snapped a photograph of it. Then the night she had finally plucked up the courage and asked Cor to train her alongside the boys. A glint caught her eye and she smiled and picked up the renegade Cactuar figure; she thought Talcott had rounded them all up for the move.
It had been years since Noctis disappeared and they awaited his return with steadfast faith. All of them had changed in those years; Cindy was always busy but she had recently softened to Prompto's constant marriage proposals, Gladio worked a lot with Aranea and Iris had joined Ignis on a handful of hunts between her travels with the Marshal. But Talcott was the one who had changed the most; gone was the little boy and somewhere over the years she had helped to raise a fine young hunter. He was tall, strong and the kindest young man – all thanks to an amalgamated effort from everyone; even Dino Ghiranze had begun to teach him how to forge accessories.
But one thing never changed; he still loved Cactuars.
"The way is clear to Lestallum, but we have Red Giants and Necromancers spawning by Malmalam Thicket. I don't mean to hurry you, but ..."
Turning the figurine over in her hand, Iris smiled and nodded as Cor appeared in the doorway and spoke lowly. The small Cactuar looked to be made of some kind of glass material, a purple string hanging from one of its arms. She followed the Marshal out the door and down the rebuilt steps, slowly walking away from her home.
Talcott had collected so many of the models over the years she idly wondered where on Eos this little one had come from. Turning it upside down, she squinted at the rudimentary label on its base. Cor's jacket light helped her decipher the faded handwriting.
"One of a kind, Talcott – made in Galahd for a hero like you. Nyx."
She looked up at Cor in silent query and he merely shrugged. Galahd had been an island region to Insomnia's north-east but the Empire had raided it many years ago. The model had probably been found and sold on by some street vendor.
Finally making it to the cavalcade of trucks, Iris pocketed the Cactuar and smiled as she recognised a few faces; Weskham from Altissia, Camelia Claustra and that limping Kingsglaive man she had once helped with his crutches. A woman and little girl accompanied him; there was a future and these people would see it. That was everything.
A/n- Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it! xxxx