Here we go with chapter seven! As for this chapter, well its been a long while coming. I've been planning this one a while, and its where the other kids finally seem to start liking Prompto, which helps him come out of his shell. There's going to be a whole bunch of crazy things going on right now and its going to be so much fun. Though I probably changed some of the group's actual abilities as well. Whoops.
So here we go. This doesn't need much more introduction than this. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story and feel free to leave a review below.
Chapter Seven: Daemons and Men
The concept of fun still remained a rather new idea for the young MT, but he found that he did enjoy taking photographs, almost as much as he enjoyed being in Noctis's presence. There was something satisfying about it, and he was pleased that it helped ease the fighting protocol that had nearly been drilled into his brain at this point from the time he had been in the empire. It almost made him forget about all of the heartache and pain that had been involved in becoming a MT.
Ignis had tried to breach the subject only once, to which Noctis had simply replied Prompto had once told him that he remembered every single detail form the time. Whether all of the children were too disturbed to ask more, or they respected his privacy, they left him alone about it after that. It was a subject that all of them avoided if they could, even his former bullies. While none of the children but Iris and Noctis were outwardly friendly towards him, they weren't nearly so cruel, which was much preferred in his opinion.
This, coupled with the fact that people would compliment his photographs even if they were obviously afraid of him had brought him a little out of the wary shell he wore. While he was often silent when too many strangers were present, he was getting used to actually speaking to those people he did know when they talked to him, which was almost a battle with Iris. It was as if she had forgotten he'd known how to speak in the first place. But the friendliness of the other children could perhaps be because of their training.
While Gavin, Ignis and Gladiolus weren't training with the other four many times, the fact that they had all survived this training for nearly two months already was a feat in and of itself. Most of the school was talking about it in fact, and most of the city. Many new recruits would drop out nearly instantly and not be able to take the grinding pace, and especially having Cor as a teacher to one of the groups. Even Prompto had gotten some sympathetic glances both inside and outside of the castle when they saw the various bruises and scratches he had received.
And learning to specialize in certain weapons wasn't an easy feat either. Cor, sensing Prompto's good eyes and his previous exposure to such things, had been given training to use various guns. Machinery came naturally to him because of his background as a MT, so there was no trouble there. Iris used mostly daggers and short swords while her partner Yvis focused on guns as well, but also focused mostly on lances. Mitos used swords and shields while Halia used crossbows and javelins.
Ignis was mostly focused on lances, though he was also quickly becoming a magic expert as well. Gladiolus used swords and shields as his main weapons focus. Gavin, the big bruit he was, used swords and axes as his weapons of choice. Noctis however seemed to have an affinity for any weapon you put in his hands. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his Lucian Bloodline gave him some very special abilities.
With each day his back healed more, the harder Cor began to push the two of them. Cor pushed Prompto the hardest, knowing his background and the training he did manage to complete in the Empire made him much more advanced than any of the others in his class so far. Noctis only grimaced and demanded to be pushed at the same level as his partner, so he was also making leaps and bounds that impressed many people around the castle. Noctis had already mastered summoning his weapons from his pocket dimension, but Prompto was having a harder time. He could reach it if they were in contact and he could reach the light in Noctis's mind as Lunafreya had accidentally taught him, but he knew they would not be touching in combat.
The thought of fighting put his teeth on edge. He disliked it, mostly because as a MT, he had been ordered to fight and not stop killing those the Empire marked as its enemy until his objective was finished. More often than not, that objective was simply "kill the threat", but he hated having to attack innocent people. Though he knew that Insomnia was a far more friendly place than the Empire, he could hardly see how it would be any different. So he stood in the practice arena unloading the third clip from his dark black handgun into the target in front of him, which he had nearly sawed the head of the printed person off with bullet holes.
He hit the release and dropped the empty clip to the ground with a clatter, grabbing another from his pocket and slamming it into the bottom of the gun. With the click sounding, he cocked the gun and aimed with a practiced precision, continuing down the line as he fired the gun. His hands no longer shook when he held the gun in one hand, having grown accustomed to actually holding its weight, but he wanted to feel it in both hands now. As he eyed down the sight, carefully making sure each bullet made a hole precisely where he wanted it to, he continued to unload the gun. With a dead flutter the page ripped in half and the bottom of the picture floated down to the ground.
"You've been busy," a voice grunted behind him.
Prompto immediately whirled around, surprised that he hadn't heard the person coming up behind him, but flipped the safety back on the gun and slipped it into the holster on his belt as he looked up at Cor. The man just seemed to watch him for a long moment, as if trying to figure out something as he continued to look at the pup. Nodding to himself, the man put on a more relaxed posture, causing Prompto to nearly immediately imitate it.
"Anyway," Cor continued. "An Annual Ball has come up today. Seeing how nervous people are of you, King Regis asked me to tell you to wait in your room. He doesn't want to take the chance that something could happen." The man held out his hand expectantly.
"Sure," Prompto said with a shrug, unbuckling the belt and holster from his hip and giving the gun and its bullets back to the man. Cor frowned as he weighed them in his hands.
Prompto wasn't sure why. After all, he wasn't sure he'd do well in a party anyway. He was socially awkward at best and didn't talk to very many people. He wouldn't have been comfortable at all in that kind of situation, even if Noctis was there (as he most likely had to attend since he was the prince). As for what the ball was, well he wasn't too sure. People didn't really seem to talk to him about such things. Noctis knew it made him uncomfortable and he made other people uncomfortable. He might not have been listening if Iris had mentioned it during one of her various one sided conversations with him anyway.
"Stay in you deamon form," the man ordered in a warning tone.
This quickly gained Prompto's attention. Obviously, the man was expecting some kind of trouble and didn't want him near it, probably because he would be blamed for it. Why was he so nervous about it that he was asking him to stay in his daemon form? So he could frighten people away? So he would be less of a target because of his intimidating features? He wasn't sure, but the man's no nonsense look was now back on his face.
Prompto nodded, which seemed to ease some of the tension in the man's shoulders. The man simply flicked his chin in the direction of the elevator, which Prompto took as his leave to go. The pup turned and marched straight to the machine, hitting the button to return to the familiar floor. Even as it dinged open and he stepped out, it was obvious that something was happening. People were in formal wear and talking excitedly, even nodding pleasantly to him as he passed. Prompto quickly made his way to the room that he and Noctis shared and closed the door behind him.
The young prince was no where to be found, most likely already down greeting guests though Prompto had no idea when the party was actually supposed to be starting. Remembering Cor's rather unnerving request, he dropped to all fours and returned to his human form, curling up next to the bed that Noctis usually occupied when he was in here. He tucked his nose under his back legs comfortably, though humans looking at him wouldn't see how he could possibly be comfortable in that position. Carefully maneuvering the blades on his shoulders so he wouldn't tear any of the sheets, Prompto sighed and closed his eyes to wait.
The smell of the camp was a familiar one, as was the familiar scents of the various hunters that made up this place. It was late at night, around three in the morning. It was a time when daemons like Prompto were most active, and when humans most feared being outside at night. This was evident by the way the injured hunter kept jumping and looking around with wild eyes. Even at the edge of the hunter's camp, he wasn't at ease.
It was a new moon however, and the man couldn't see where they were. Prompto had to keep doubling back and brushing his shoulder against the man's leg, careful to not cut him with the sharp blades on his shoulders and back legs or startle him too much, just to lead him this far. It had taken several days worth of hiking (only at night since Prompto was a daemon and therefore had a natural aversion to sunlight) to get back.
Tia's father was once again mad at him, and her mother had been convinced that he was trouble. Tia, crying, had kept begging him to not choose between him and her family, which had brought on a coughing fit that, of course, he had been blamed for. He had been tossed outside and left there even when Tia had cried and begged. Fearing the approaching sun he had quickly found a place to hide from it for the day. It was there he had heard that the hunter had gone missing and they were looking for his dog tags. It was the only thing that they could find to identify them and let their families know what had happened.
Prompto had decided to take it upon himself to find the hunter, dead or alive. Since her parents wouldn't let him back into the house, he would have to prove to them that he still belonged there. So he'd gone out and found the stranded hunter. Mostly, he was injured but all right since the daemons attacking him had died with the sun as it rose. Still, he was pretty roughed up and went slower than most humans, walking with a heavy limp.
"You'd better not be leading me to some cliff," the man growled.
He'd been saying the same kind of things since he'd found him. It was honestly kind of a miracle that Prompto had gotten him to follow him at all. The man recognized him from camp, and though he was wary, had accepted his help and had followed him and stopped when he stopped for the day. Maybe it was because he had lost his weapons and so Prompto was the only sort of protection he had out there from the daemons, but their journey had finally come to and end at last.
Prompto immediately ran forward, leaving the man's side, and running down the familiar stretch of dirt road to the house. Usually the camp would be lit, making him hesitant to come through the area if he was outside, but now the lights had been left off. Upon reaching the familiar front door he let out a back and started scratching insistently on the wood with his strong claws. There was no reply from inside, so he jumped up on his back legs and scratched louder and faster with both front legs, barking again.
He couldn't leave the man alone for too long though, and had to return to check up on him. The frightened man hadn't moved at all though, and continued to watch with wide eyes. It was too dark for him to recognize the camp. Satisfied that nothing was going to harm the man for a moment, Prompto returned again and barked, scratching on the door. There was a loud swear from the other side of the door, and the sound of a gun being grabbed. It made him quickly retreat from the door and shudder. He'd faced too many guns not to be wary.
After that, only silence reigned from the house. Slowly, the door opened and a familiar man was peering out into the darkness, blinking and trying to see. Prompto let out a quiet bark in greeting to let the man know he was still there, and he turned. The daemon knew that face anywhere. He was well tanned and well muscled, with lines on his face that hinted at his rugged lifestyle. He wasn't that old, only around thirty three or so, but he looked older. His hair was raven black, and his eyes storm gray. Slowly the man flipped on the dull porch light.
It was very little light, but it made Prompto yelp and retreat to the edge of the light. He remained as far into the light as he could force himself to, knowing the man wouldn't see him if he wasn't there in the light. He turned in a circle twice, hoping to gain the man's attention. All he got was a scowl in return. Before Prompto could think of what else to do, he heard the man give a startled cry. He bolted back towards the man to check on him, leaving Tia's father startled behind him by his sudden disappearance. The man had attempted to find him in the darkness, unable to see the light from here, and had tripped over a rock. After assuring the man he wasn't leaving him, he once again left him to return to the familiar house.
Now Tia's mother had joined her husband at the door, looking just as confused about the situation. She was a pretty thing, but also looked older than she should have. She was covered in scars that marred her pretty features, but he could see she was still beautiful. Her hair was a dark crimson color, contrasting to her husband and daughter, and her eyes were sky blue. Stepping again into the light he let out a whine and turned a circle.
"What do you want, pest?" the man hissed at him. "You've been gone for days, and now you show up now in the middle of the night? Tia's sick, you know!"
"We'd hoped you would have been gone for good this time," the woman added, though there was a note of almost relief in her voice despite her harsh words at seeing him again.
Despite being rather confused by her contradicting words and tone, and feeling guilty for possibly waking Tia up when she was sick again, he turned a circle again. He had more pressing matters at the moment, like a man who was too petrified to currently move much from where Prompto had left him. The daemon growled as he stepped farther into the light and then turned, raising a paw and going straight as an arrow as he pointed with his nose towards the man. It was a ridiculous pose, but one that humans understood easily enough.
"What?" the man asked, this time sounding surprised. "You want us to follow you? Out there?"
Prompto spun in a circle again and barked louder this time, trying to tell them that yes, that's exactly what he wanted, and they didn't have enough time. It was too bad humans couldn't understand him when he spoke, though he supposed it wasn't really a language like theirs. They could be rather dense sometimes though, and it was annoying. Right now he had to keep his cool though. Other porch lights were turning on as people heard him, coming out to investigate. Next door, a woman came out with dark brown hair and brown eyes, not looking that different from the man he'd led to this place again. It was the man's wife, and the dark circles under her eyes suggested she hadn't been sleeping. Ignoring the growls, questions and distrust from the hunters around him, he ran to the woman and spun in a circle, barking at her.
She jumped as he drew close, and again when he barked, but she seemed to pause for a long moment and stare at him. Something flashed behind her eyes and she nodded to Prompto, making the pup turn and trot slowly back to where he'd left the man. Now with a small army of hunters behind him, Prompto returned to the injured man, making sure to keep just within the range of their flashlights until they reached the place.
Weeping, the woman threw her arms around her husband's neck and began to cry. Astonished cries and those of relief came from the various members of the camp as Prompto sat and watched them all. He couldn't help but feel a little pleased with himself for the turn of events. This time he hadn't just waited until someone found them the next day, but led someone all the way home. There were no dog tags to be returned now, but a living and breathing human being. To his surprise though, the woman grabbed his head and kissed it, making him yelp in surprise. This gained some chuckles from around the group, but everyone seemed in higher spirits now.
The man and woman (it seemed rather rude to call them such, but he'd never really bothered to learn any other names but Tia's. She was the only one who was ever nice to him after all) who were his "owner's" parents frowned to him. The man motioned for him to follow and Prompto stood, carefully making sure not to draw too close to the man to get a negative reaction from him. He didn't feel like being shot by a shotgun. They walked in silence back to the house, where the man opened the door and simply stared.
Getting the message, Prompto stood and made his way quickly inside, pausing just a moment as the two entered the house behind him and closed the door. His nose twitched, catching the unfortunately too familiar scent of sickness in the air. Turning towards the source, he crossed the small house and entered the open door of the bedroom. In the bed was a familiar face, Tia's to be exact. She looked too pale and shivered occasionally. She had always seemed to have gotten sick when he was told to leave, though this was the worst so far.
Her pale face was hidden under her long locks of black hair, and her brown eyes flicked behind her closed lids. Carefully Prompto jumped up onto the bed, laying down behind her and turning the blades on his body towards the wall so she probably wouldn't hurt herself if she turned over. He laid down then, pulling himself close. He felt her press her body close to him as if for the extra warmth he gave off. She seemed to relax.
Prompto was aware of her parents watching him from the doorway, but closed his eyes and didn't look up at them. He knew they hated him, so he'd rather not see it on their faces. Despite their poor treatment of him, they had still been far kinder than his pack. At least they let him stay with them and kept him from starving. His ear flicked though at the sound of a Magitek Engine going overhead. Living in the Empire had some pretty bad moments, especially with the Empire taking such an interest in daemons, more than usual.
It was well known they made weapons out of them, the so called MTs. The rate at which they were capturing daemons was alarming though, even to the pup. It was like they were preparing for war or something.
The sound of an opening door and grown awoke Prompto from his dream about as quickly as he had fallen into it. He yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed despite the sadness that washed over him at the dream. He wasn't even sure if any of the hunters had survived the attack the MTs had launched on them. And why? Because for some reason they had finally decided they liked him (or he was useful enough) to not give him to them.
As touched as he had been, nothing had prepared them for that attack. Rather than letting them all die for them, he had attempted to give them a chance to survive and had allowed himself to be captured that day. Unfortunately the MTs didn't stop their attack. He had been drugged after that, and only remembered waking up in Nifilheim. He had no clue what had happened to them, and the fear of finding out along with his panic after his escape had driven him in the completely opposite direction, towards Tenebrae.
He wasn't too sure if he actually regretted it or not, and turned his attention instead towards Noctis as the boy groaned and sat down on his knees next to him, pressing his forehead into the top of Prompto's head. The daemon let out a soft whine. The prince looked far more worn out than he remembered him seeing after any training. At least he managed a smile when Prompto made his sound of concern. Prompto yawned again, glancing towards the window. Was it already dark out? How long had he been sleeping?
"You all right?" he asked.
"Yeah," Noctis sighed. "Just...worn out. I never have liked parties. Not since my mom died. Today's supposed to be fun but...I don't know it just wasn't the same without you there."
"Probably safer for both of us if I'm in here though," he remarked, flicking an ear. "Did you at least tell someone you were leaving?"
"They wouldn't have let me go if I did," Noctis mumbled. Now Prompto's ear flicked in annoyance.
"Yeah but they'll panic and think you've gone missing," he pointed out. "Cor was really worried that something was going to go wrong tonight."
This seemed to get Noctis's attention, mainly because both of them knew that their teacher wasn't one to just say things without meaning to. He wasn't the kind of man to just make casual conversation either, so it was highly likely that Cor had noticed something. While he hadn't told them, he'd certainly given Prompto enough of a warning to gain his interest. Standing again and walking towards the window, Noctis thoughtfully looked out of the window, as if staring at the gardens below would give him some insight into what was going on. Prompto watched him for a long moment, trying to see what he was thinking. Just like his fathomless eyes however, the rest of him was a mystery as well, one that Prompto still couldn't solve.
Someone was approaching from the hallway. They weren't making any efforts to really be quiet, so he didn't pay much attention to it. Probably a servant trying to see if Noctis had run back to his room after they noticed he was gone from the party. Surely seeing the prince no longer present would cause quite a stir even if people weren't apparently on high alert. The door opened, and his ear flicked. He turned, bristling as he saw a man in all black. His face was covered and he had a gun in his hand. Prompto let out a feral bark before the man raised his gun.
Prompto yelped loudly as pain exploding through his skull, chest and left shoulder. He crumpled to the ground, waiting for his head to stop spinning and the pain to ebb, forcing himself to keep silent. Had he just shot him? Probably, if the far too familiar feeling of pain he felt was true. Being a daemon, he already would be hard to take down even with a shot to the head and chest. Being a MT however, he was even harder to kill because of the various metal fused into his bones specifically to make him more durable in battle.
The man was probably underestimating him because of his size, which was good for him. Closing his eyes until he was barely able to see through his lashes, waiting for the man to make a fatal mistake. He let out a silent sigh before raising his gun threateningly and turning to Noctis again. It took all of his will power to not growl and bristle at the man. Noctis turned with wide eyes, freezing as he saw Prompto's still form and the blood pouring out of him.
"P-Prompto," he cried, horrified.
He turned his attention instead to the man who was stepping past the Thunderdog now, holding the gun in his hand. Prompto mentally growled, wanting him to turn his back to him so he could more easily move. If the man saw him move he might spook and shoot Noctis, which Prompto wasn't about to happen. Prompto hated fighting, and he hated everything to do with hurting innocent people. Someone who was going to hurt one of his friends though was another story. Prompto was more than willing to fight to protect someone he cared about. He didn't particularly like fighting, but it wasn't like it wasn't part of his life before. He just hoped his leg would hold his weight if he tried to stand. The shot had hit him just above the elbow.
Someone else was running down the hallway, several small pairs of feet. Prompto carefully glanced towards the door without letting anyone realize he was still awake and responsive to the people around him. He had to resist the urge to groan, seeing that the whole gang was here. He was a little surprised to see the anger flash across Gavin's and Gladiolus's faces, the horror across Halia's and Iris's faces, and the shock across Yvis's and Mitos's faces. Ignis on the other hand however looked attentive, as always. Prompto caught him nodding silently to him.
A smile flicked onto his lips for a few seconds before falling away again, which Ignis immediately noticed. Of course, he would notice that there was no way that he was dead. Ignis was practically a walking library at this point. Not that he minded. Prompto actually quite respected him for it. Unfortunately, it didn't look like there were any adults present, and all of them were still in their party attire. It certainly didn't stop them from charging towards the startled man however.
He seemed to hesitate to raise his gun, as if not believing that he was being attacked by a bunch of kids. Iris quickly slid across the ground, ignoring her dress which ripped as she did so, taking one of the man's legs out from under him. He stumbled a little, and Gavin and Gladiolus leaped on him, trying to grab the gun away from him. Yvis and Ignis quickly ran to Noctis's side, who had seemed to recover enough to remember to summon some daggers he had. They were used for practice and not very sharp, but it would still be plenty if used correctly.
Mito made a grab for the gun, but the man threw Gladiolus off enough to smack into him and send them both tumbling to the ground in a mess of limbs. Gavin couldn't hold a fully grown man down on his own and was sent tumbling off into Yvis and Ignis. Turning his gun again, the man grabbed the first hostage he could find. That happened to be Halia, who had been trying to grab the gun while the man was distracted. She froze with wide eyes as he pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of his head. The other children also stopped, watching the man fearfully. This was probably the first life or death situation they'd ever been in. Ignis was the only one who looked remotely calm and collected, and he was the only one fully facing Prompto.
The man's back was finally turned to him, so Prompto silently snarled as he forced himself to stand. His left front leg shook under him, and another wave of pain shot through the various wounds he'd already sustained. But he didn't have time to pay attention to his wounds. He'd had worse during training as a MT, and Halia needed his help. He carefully inched his way closer, his feet absolutely silent on the carpet that was in Noctis's room. Too bad he was bleeding. The servants would probably have a fit about that. Ignis pushed his glasses up on his face, letting out a slight huff.
"What's so funny?" the man with the gun growled.
"Nothing really," he responded. "Except how gullible you are. You do realize MTs have metal infused into their skeletons right? Three shots like that wouldn't have even taken down a daemon, let alone a MT."
The man's eyes widened in horror and he began to turn, but far too late. Prompto let out a bark as he leaped up and sank his teeth into the man's wrist, effectively pulling it away from Halia. A shot went off, missing Iris's head by a millimeter as he let out a panicked screech. He turned his other hand, punching Prompto squarely in the nose and making him yelp. He only growled more and pulled back hard, hearing something break as his grip grew tighter. Prompto dragged the man several steps away from the children, screaming the whole way in panic.
This time he managed to hit Prompto's nose hard enough that he let go, shaking his head and whining pitifully as his blow caught the sensitive appendage painfully. Noctis and Ignis leaped on the man though, managing to wrestle the gun out of his hurt hands. Noctis gave the man a painful poke with his daggers, managing to draw blood. The man reached for Ignis this time, trying to grab the gun, and Prompto leaped onto him. This time his teeth closed lightly over the man's throat. He made a panicked yelping noise but stopped moving.
Prompto continuing growling, managing to not sigh in relief when the man simply stopped. He was worried how the others were going to react to seeing such a display of savagery from Prompto when before he'd been...well rather docile for a MT. To his surprise though, it was Halia who ran over first, looking at the wounds he had gotten with concern. She quickly ripped off the hem of her dress, gently patting away some of the blood that had sunken into his pretty golden fur. He flicked his ears but didn't pull away.
"Prompto are you okay?" Gladiolus asked.
"Well he'll live," Ignis's reply came, rather humorlessly but sounding relieved all the same.
"Yeah but he's hurt," Iris said, sounding concerned.
"We need to go get someone," Noctis said. "Before he tries to-"
The man, panicked, punched Prompto's injured left leg, making him yelp. His teeth clamped down harder though even as the leg gave out. Before the angered children could punish the man for his actions, Prompto's eyes flashed dangerously and his coat sparked with electricity. He kept the shock minimal, but the man still screamed as the lightning coursed through him. Prompto couldn't generate much lightning naturally, but being struck by lightning could help with that, which is why Thunderdogs lived in the mountains usually, where the thunder struck more often. The man whimpered but stopped struggling abruptly again.
"Is that why they're called Thunderdogs?" Halia managed, surprised.
"Indeed," Ignis replied. "Even the young can generate small amounts of electricity naturally. Being struck by lightning increases the potency. They also live in large packs for this same reason. Striking another with a lightning attack can cause a chain reaction and strengthen all of their attacks substantially."
"Kind of makes me glad he's on our side," Yvis muttered.
"I-I'll go get someone," Mitos added quickly.
"I'm going with you," Gavin growled. "You guys make sure that guy doesn't try to hurt Prompto again."
Prompto continued to growl, standing again and leaning farther onto his right side to ease the pain now throbbing through his left leg. The frightened man however luckily seemed to scared at the thought of being shocked again to try another stunt like before. Not that Prompto was going to let go any time soon, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. Noctis however had his blades ready, dull though they were, and was glaring at their attacker as if daring him to try and hurt his friend again.
More annoyingly, the blood on his head were beginning to fall into his face and drip into his eye. It stung and made him even more annoyed about the situation. Halia started dabbing at the blood on his head again, which relieved the problem a little bit, but it did little to stop the pain. It didn't take long for Gavin and Mitos to return with a bunch of the Crown's Guard to come running, including Cor and Clarus.
Clarus immediately ran to check on his two children, seemingly fine with ignoring Prompto. Cor on the other hand materialized his lance in his hand and flicked in, making the pup knowingly take a step back. The blade of his lance was soon pressed firmly to the man's throat, who whimpered.
"I see you were trying to attack our young prince," Cor growled in a voice that made Prompto growl, adding a terrifying punctuation that the sentence didn't need. "I think we're going to have a LONG chat."
He lifted his lance, motioning for three of the Crown's Guard to grab the man. They quickly did so, dragging him away down the hallway and away to one of the many interrogation rooms. Cor turned his attention instead to the group, searching for any injuries that they may have gotten during the fight they had. Seeing that the only one really hurt was Prompto, he turned to look him over instead. He knew he was more favoring his right side, and he had been shot both in his head and close to his heart. As painful as it was, he knew it probably looked worse to the children than it did to Cor's eyes. The man didn't seem to care about that though.
"It seems we need a lesson in daemons," Cor said to the children suddenly. "You're damn lucky he underestimated Prompto and shot him. Prompto's going to the infirmary, and then tomorrow we'll start our lessons. Let this be our first one. Even if you think you've downed a daemon, don't ever turn your back on it until you think its dead."
With that rather ominous sounding proclamation, he turned and motioned for Prompto follow him. Stiffly and painfully he made his way after his teacher, knowing it would be easier for him to heal now once the bullets were out of him and he stayed in this form. He particularly didn't like to change forms after he got hurt so bad because it changed where the wounds were and often aggravated them. Still, he felt a sense of pride in knowing that he would fight to protect his friends, even if they didn't all think of him as a friend.
And finally, here's the end of chapter seven. Chapter eight will have a bit of a dramatic change in the way a lot of characters are going to be treating Prompto, especially the OC's that he's been closest to at this point. Other random characters will be changing as well, and that's finally going to be making him come slowly out of his shell. Soon he'll be pretty much be the same lovable, hyperactive dork we all know.
Next chapter will be explaining some of the things that will be staying the same through the story. I'll be changing a whole lot, so there will be things I'll be keeping the same. Thanks so much for all the support that you guys have been giving me so far. It really means a lot.
