A new chapter! I hope you'll like it, for it's mostly chocobros and brief fluff mixed in there. Enjoy this short chapter!

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Calling Umbra

Chapter 5 – Forget the future

Walking back to the Leville felt like a walk of shame. Noctis and Ignis did their best to talk about normal things, but it was clear how eager Noctis was to reunite with Luna, while Ignis wanted to get his hands on food. He wanted to prepare the king's favorite meal as an apology for punching him out of nowhere.

"I was hoping we could stay for a few weeks. Is that… alright with you?"

"I can't pretend I'm eager to be blind again," Ignis declared calmly.

How jarring to hear him refer to his wounds that way…

"Iggy…"

"I'm still coming to terms with it, but that loss isn't…"

"Stop trying to be the bigger person. You think breaking down for half a minute is enough to get over it?!"

A slap behind his head made Noctis look up at him furiously and Ignis glared right back at him for a few seconds more.

"I made my decision Noctis and if I was to go back, I'd let things play out in the very same way," the advisor stated, "Gladiolus would lay down his life for you and so would Prompto. Is it so wrong that I'm no different?"

Except you're no pawns. You think my father was happy to lose soldiers? You think I want you to sacrifice yourself for me?

"Well, travelling through time might not undo the ring's magic. But once I have regained the crystal, I won't be as limited in my powers. I might even be able to do something about that toll my ancestors asked of you."

Hope again. How badly Noctis wanted to give him hope. Because he was seeing a happy ending in front of him, he couldn't stand for his friends to remain in a dark place.

"How about we stop acting as if I need fixing in the present?" Ignis asked, making an effort to keep his voice steady.

He felt broken as it was and knew his own attitude wasn't helping. Getting over his handicap would take time and it was the one thing they had aplenty now. Noctis squared his shoulders, wishing he had the right words to comfort his friend.

"I can try. Will you go off on your own again during our stay?"

"Might as well enjoy the chance I have now. I most certainly can convince Prompto and Gladio to follow me on a few escapades, since I'm sure you'd appreciate more time alone with the princess."

Ignis was glad he could see Noctis's blush. It had been a long time since he'd seen his friend flustered.

"I hope we can try to spend time together, I mean the five of us."

"That'd be nice."

…

"What the hell happened to your faces?!" Prompto exclaimed as both men stepped into the room where Gladiolus, the gunman and the Oracle waited for them. Luna was sitting on her own couch, with Pryna's head on her lap and Umbra lying at her feet.

Noctis couldn't help but notice the distance the guys kept from her and wondered how awkward things would be between the woman he loved and his friends for the time they would spend together. And if that awkwardness would remain when she'd get back to the present with them.

"We may have…"

Ignis wasn't quite sure how to describe their altercation, so Noctis stepped in.

"…Argued?" he supplied his friend. "Ignis lost his patience and punched me square in the face. So I repaid him in kind."

"You did not…?!" Gladiolus asked the advisor, a large grin threatening to take over his features. "When I barely shove him around, you go ahead and…"

"I think I have good reasons to lack self-control," Ignis defended himself almost instantly, gesturing to push his glasses higher on his nose only to realize he wasn't wearing his glasses with a scowl.

"Wow. Did we pack ebony recently?" Prompto asked, feigning worry.

A small laugh was shared among the guys, although Noctis didn't fully feign offense at the clear meaning of Gladio's jab.

"How come you all act as though I should be punched?!"

"So self-centered," his shield commented, as though that should answer everything.

"I beg to differ," Luna interfered, gathering the four men's attention, their easy smile shifting to seriousness. The sudden weight of their gazes on her made her blush despite how used she was to speaking in front of a crowd. "I mean… Noctis might have pushed you to come to this time, but…"

"You never told us how cute your princess could get."

"Gladio!" Noctis instantly chided him.

Prompto wasn't sure how to help the Oracle regain her composure, but she got to her feet, decided to tackle the situation from another angle.

"I can fix that bruising," she started. "While I don't recommend making it a habit to punch each other..."

Ignis frowned, while Noctis seemed ready to protest, but Luna had already stepped over the distance between them. Seeing her alive, standing in the same room was still quite surreal and the prince couldn't oppose to her touch as she gently cupped his face. His friends sensed the intimacy in her touch, Gladio himself feeling as though they were intruding on a moment that should have stayed between the royals. Still, they couldn't look away, having never seen such a pure magic before.

A prayer and a brush of their foreheads and the bruising and tightness to Noctis's jaw vanished, along with a few aches he hadn't even realized in his joints. He'd barely had time to process what her magic felt during the covenant, but now he could tell how warm and gentle it was. Unlike the crystal and his elemancy, which made his skin burn, freeze or itch with pinpricks of lightning bolts, her light was just as soft as her skin. He wanted to pull her in his arms, afraid her legs might not hold her. She'd been so weak the other day and he didn't want her to push herself and had no idea what using her magic did to her after carrying his father's ring for so long. Recalling that his friends were still around, he settled for a light squeeze on her shoulders and giving her a warm smile.

"That's… Thank you."

Lunafreya seemed just as content to have the chance to heal him. After all these years, after Leviathan and Ardyn, they were together.

It won't kill her either. It's just a tiny bruise. She's fixed far worse, he reminded himself.

He could tell the princess didn't want to part from him so soon, but she still took a sidestep to get a better look at Ignis's own shiner.

"There's no need," Ignis declared, raising his hands in objection.

"As a healer, I strive for equality. And you've paid quite a price to protect our chosen King."

Wasn't it the least she could do?

"You should rest instead of…"

His voice cut off as the Oracle stepped closer. Healing meant comfort and comfort might take away what little stability he had. He felt so raw and her eyes held so much care.

Even if we save her, Noctis is still going to…

He flinched backward as she tentatively reached out and the rest of the guys exchanged worried glances. They'd never seen Ignis quite this tense.

"Maybe this would work better if we were alone," Lunafreya offered, giving a brief look to Prompto and Gladiolus. The guys didn't have to be begged and walked out of the room, Noctis following them as Luna gave him his own pointed look.

Ignis had half a mind to walk out too, since he doubted removing the bruise on his face would be enough to take away the turmoil in his heart.

"I mean only to ease your pain. I don't need to touch you if you do not wish for it, but I don't want to force my magic on you, Ignis."

He sighed deeply. He hadn't imagined those to be among the first words they'd exchanged.

"I had hoped to make a much better first impression, lady Lunafreya," he confessed, straightening his shoulders.

The smile she gave him was so kind, he wanted to ask the gods how they could accept her passing.

"You can call me Luna. And don't believe I wanted to appear as a frail thing ready to collapse when I'd first meet Noctis and the friends he told me so much about. You looked after him for so long… Thank you."

She bit her lips as she realized a little too late her choice of words, but Ignis didn't let his newfound bitterness take over. He didn't need his eyes to look after the prince. This time, when she took a step forward, he merely tensed up. And her magic gently eased the smarting in his cheekbone. Her prayer was so low this time, he wondered if the words were spoken in another tongue. Her light soothed his nerves, taking away a good part of the tension in his limbs. It was terrifying to realize his body could be changed so easily, but Ignis didn't feel threatened like he had when exposed to the ring of Lucii.

Her light gave him peace for a brief instant. He wasn't sure he remembered a time when his mind was at peace, with everything he had to worry about during his entire life. But that reprieve was so welcome, if the bruising had been any worse, stretching out her light for even a minute longer, he might have wept.

"I wish I could do more," Luna told him.

I know the feeling.

…

Noctis was torn between his urge to spend all his time with Luna alone, but his friends were all worked up by the recent events and he realized they needed to be around him. Prompto suggested the five of them go out to enjoy dinner together and Ignis agreed to wait one more day before letting the Oracle sample his cooking. He was really eager to cook, but Gladio convinced him that he was owed a longer break.

For the first few steps on the street, Luna felt the need to hide herself again, but it soon became clear that no one was interested in bothering the Oracle, or was even capable of recognizing her. Ignis had gone through the trouble of procuring her new clothes and it was with a blue and white dress flowing around her calves that she stepped into the restaurant Prompto had spotted on their earlier stay in Altissia. The conversation was mostly the guys talking about their trip to the city of water, Lunafreya listening with a growing smile at the many anecdotes they had to tell.

"And then that guy acts like he's doing us a favor by letting us help him fetching that stone for him," Gladiolus explained.

"I have pictures of that bird!" Promto said excitedly.

"You're going to make her dizzy with every picture you took," Ignis cautioned.

"I love them. It looks like you four had a lot of fun during your travel. Is this a swamp?"

"Yeah, that was Steyliff grove. That place was crazy, the ceiling was water!"

"Amazing. I only ever read about it."

"I remember Noctis falling down with crumbling bridge and right into a red giant arm," Gladio teased the prince.

"That's not how it happened!" Noctis tried protesting, but Luna's hand on his calmed him down.

His friends wanted to have fun for once and they all needed a good laugh, even if it was at his expense here and there. Gladiolus insisted on ordering some wine to celebrate this improbable reunion and Luna surprised them all by downing her glass with ease. She blushed at the admirative whistling from the Shield and Prompto's "whoot", inching just a bit closer to Noctis on the bench they were sharing.

"Are you nervous?" Noctis asked her as lowly as he could.

He didn't want to embarrass her, but she flushed a little more and gave a curt nod.

"I can't remember the last time I did something like this."

Noctis couldn't help his heart swelling at the sight of her smile and the need to wrap an arm around her to hold her a brief instant took over his shyness. He still needed the reminder that she was really next to him, this wasn't a dream.

"Careful there, lover boy," Gladio chastised him. "If you make this princess blush anymore, the waiter might think we're trying to get her drunk."

"I'll have you know it takes a lot more to get me drunk," Luna objected, squaring her shoulders with a proud look on her face.

"Oh my gods, is that a challenge? We're not doing that on our first night out, are we?" Prompto asked.

"Of course not. Neither you nor Noctis can hold your liquor," Ignis joined in on the teasing.

"This sounds interesting," Luna whispered, raising one curious brow at her fiancé.

"Guys, do you really need to embarrass me like this?"

"I'm sure the princess loves it when you're flustered," Gladio laughed.

"We need to get her caught up on a lot of things," Ignis added.

"And Noctis is a happy drunk. He hired two guards for the castle just because he liked their smile."

"Dear Carbuncle!" Noctis swore through clenched teeth. "You hired three maids that night, Gladio."

"They were too lovely not to keep them around," he said, his eyes searching the restaurant for their waitress who was just as lovely. Prompto had covered his mouth, while Lunafreya exchanged questioning looks with Noctis and Ignis and Gladio realized the potential misunderstanding. "Oh, that sounded sort of bad, didn't it? I don't usually pick up girls by giving them a job at the Citadel."

"You did for your manor though," Ignis was quick to remind him.

"Only once and she became Iris's best friend and my worst enemy! I have mental scars from it!"

"Uh huh…"

"Gladio's great at starting relationships, but not at making them last," Noctis told Luna from under his hand.

"Noctis, don't lie about me."

"I would never!"

The discussion shifted to Tenebrae and Pryna, because Prompto loved that dog too much not to inquire about her. They enjoyed a second bottle of wine and a full plate of desserts. Luna wanted to resist the temptation, too use to passing up on sugary treats because the empire dictated it so, but Noctis wanted to spoil her rotten. He made sure to touch her every time he could, holding her hand under the table, letting their arms brush and to his amazement, she smiled for each and every attention, making it a point to also reach for him whenever she thought the guys weren't looking at them.

When Prompto suggested a toast for the lovebirds, the pair of royals blushed, but allowed them their fun. If this was a simple reprieve they would enjoy it as best as they could.

By the time they were getting ready to pay, Luna couldn't helped her eyes drifting to the streets outside, bright with lights and the moon reflecting on the water. There was something so peaceful about this place, she could just…

A brown head caught her attention from the distinctive hairstyle and she gasped, pulling on Noctis's hand as she took a step forward.

"What is it?" the prince instantly asked.

Luna barely looked at him, tugging on his hands even more, looking pale and even terrified.

"I saw someone. Nyx Ulric."

"Who?" Prompto asked, while Gladiolus frowned and Ignis quickly made an inventory of the persons he knew by that name.

There was only one.

"Maybe he came here on vacations?" Noctis suggested.

"That's impossible. That man died in Insomnia."

Which raised a very important question to the whole group. Were they really in Altissia? And if so, when exactly were they?!

To be continued…

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Da da dan! I have no shame. And it appears that I write more when I'm sick. It has more to do that I can't focus well on school when sick. This story might get longer than I first planned, but we'll just see how things go. Please, please review!