Chapter 7
Oriana awoke when she rolled over, bumping something which said, "Whoa, there."
She blinked a few times, slowly taking in the surroundings. A waterproof ceiling and Gladiolus's face hovering in her periphery. A tent? She groaned at her headache.
"Good morning, I'd say, but I don't think you're thinking that." Gladiolus's deep voice chuckled.
"I'm in one piece. That is a good morning." Her head instantly shot up. "You, the others, are you all-? Ugh." The quick movement spun her head more and Oriana sunk down.
Gladiolus nodded. "We're fine. Our friend the Adamantoise we wisely chose to tackle another day. I saw you going after Ignis. What a crazy stunt. I don't know what was more insane, you getting in the fray or those two boneheads yelling at each other while shit is going down around them."
Carefully, Oriana raised herself to a sitting position. Her blanket fell away. It was unusually bulky and she gripped it. The fabric felt sublime and she curiously glanced down.
A black leather blazer was draped over her. Faintly clinging to it was a warm scent. Wasn't this…?
A smile tugged Gladiolus's mouth. "The guy took a serious hit and refused to rest until we got back here and…" He gestured to Ignis's jacket on her.
"Oh." Oriana uttered softly. "Is Ignis ok?"
"Yeah, thanks to your batch of goodies you gave us. He received a strong dose of poison. We nipped it with one of your antidotes."
Perusing the tent, she saw Ignis dozing inside a snug sleeping bag. On the other side of tent, Noctis and Prompto were checking out something on a cell phone. They waved when she caught their eye.
"Are you doing better?" Noctis asked.
Noctis. Pieces of her memory clicked and she recalled her discovery. Knowing he was King Regis's supposedly deceased son, Oriana wondered if she should act differently.
Then another thought dawned on her. If Noctis was a prince, surely these three men knew about it. How could they not?
For a moment, Oriana felt like she was sitting with a bunch of strangers.
"Oriana?" Noctis prompted with a quizzical stare when he saw her expression change.
"Yes. I'm ok." She resisted the urge to call him Prince Noctis, as this group must have a good reason to traverse incognito across the land.
Gladiolus rubbed her shoulder. "If you're still not feeling the best, take a nap. We'll be hanging out here until Iggy there is back on his feet. We can have lunch in an hour or something."
"Thanks." Oriana probably would take his advice. Her head was still woozy.
Turning to his phone-jeering friends, Gladiolus muttered, "All right, you two. Let's give the injured some quiet before we have a meal."
Noctis yawned. "Maybe I should join them, too. Still sleepy."
Observing the prince -Noctis, that was- being so groggy and knowing he wasn't an early riser made Oriana titter.
"Ooh, she's making fun of you, Noct," Prompto hissed in good jest. Oriana only grinned and waved them away in response.
When the interior of the tent had been vacated, Oriana sat still, taking in the silence.
Silence which Ignis's sedate breathing broke. She smiled and hugged the jacket in her arms more closely.
Ignis was going to be fine.
Ignis's eyes fuzzily opened, groaning when daylight shone near his face. What was going on? Where was he?
Pressure along his side made him lift his head. Bad move. His forehead pounded and he settled down. His whole body felt like lead. He had been poisoned in the past, but he couldn't recall feeling as terrible as this.
The typical dark green of the ceiling tent was his luxurious view.
Was it? Soft hair brushed his chin. He lifted his arm to find it clasped against a dozing Oriana's chest beside him. Her warm breath tickled his neck.
Ignis lightly brushed her bangs with his free hand. She sighed and buried her face into the crook of his shoulder. In spite of his pain, he smiled, continuing to trace her cheek, her shoulder, down to her hip.
A shiver coursed through Oriana's body and she pressed closer to his side. Ignis shifted to lift part of his sleeping bag to toss over her. Then he saw his jacket tossed around her shoulders.
Oriana must've worried all through the night. Ignis grimaced at causing her inner turmoil.
Oriana's steady breathing became uneven as she began to rouse. Her eyes fluttered opened to find Ignis studying her intensely from mere inches away. He didn't need lenses at this lovely distance.
"Ignis! Whoa, I'm here. I thought I was there-" She reddened cutely and took in her awkward position on the sleeping bag. She shot up to sit when she noticed how she was practically lying on top of him. Not that Ignis found the idea repulsive in the least.
"Good morning." His teasing lilt came with a chuckle.
"Morning. I'm so glad you're awake." Oriana smoothed out her clothes. "How do you feel?" She reached for a canteen and his mug nearby.
"Horrid." Ignis began coughing at the scratchy sensation in his throat.
"That poison was a very potent one. I had an antidote mixed in with the supplies I gave you. I didn't know if it worked until- well, it did." Her voice quavered slightly as water filled the mug. Oriana promptly held out the full mug.
Ignis gestured to his aching head and Oriana slid her hand behind his neck to prop up his chin. She tilted the water against his lips.
Ignis coughed a little more as the cool liquid eased down his esophagus. He could feel slight tension running through her fingertips and her eyes roved his face as though seeing him for the first time.
"Something interesting you're seeing?" Ignis smirked.
"No glasses is as interesting as with." Oriana lightly kissed his temple.
A flush flared up his neck at her intimate gesture, so soothing.
Behind his neck, Oriana inadvertently began rubbing circles with her thumb. Ignis sighed at the pleasant sensation, but she didn't seem to understand why. When he finished and laid his head on the pillow again, he saw Oriana's eyes transfixed on his mouth.
Oriana started and rubbed her tired eyes. "You should sleep more."
"It's fine. I feel better than I did during that unbelievable fight." With some effort, Ignis sat up. "The duel could've gone all day. I wondered how far we would've gotten if we did."
"Sorry to bust in on your parade," Oriana joked, shifting away to set down Ignis's cup and flask.
"What were you doing there?" When Oriana settled again at his side, she was met with a piercing hard gaze.
"I was helping?" she answered as if stating the obvious.
"I told you not to come into the battlefield."
"You were hurt and everybody was too busy not getting flattened by that gigantic monster. I was going to drag you out."
A muscle in Ignis's cheek clenched. "I would have been fine if I hadn't been distracted."
Oriana crossed her arms over her chest. "I was a distraction. I'm sorry. I didn't think giving assistance was a crime."
Ignis rubbed his face. "There was so much happening. I was poisoned. Then you were there and the next instant you and Noctis had fallen." His worst contingency: incapacitated, multiple friends toppling and not enough of him to get to them.
"I wasn't planning on falling off a Chocobo, that was for sure!" Oriana retorted.
"Of course not. When you did, I lost my concentration. I had specific actions in mind to fight the Adamantoise." That battle was a precarious one. Ignis couldn't help the resentful tone in his voice.
To which Oriana flared. "So I try to help you and this is the thanks I get?"
"You shouldn't have been there!" Ignis now glared at her. "Did you really follow through on that silly plan of taking photos of me? Foolish!"
Oriana looked flabbergasted. "What? You can't possibly think that!"
"Evidently, I am."
Both of their glares wouldn't back down.
