Here we go with chapter ten. Those of you who are wanting the story to actually get started are in luck. This is the last chapter before we do a huge time skip and the storyline of the game actually starts. So don't worry, things will actually get going soon, but I wanted to set up a few relationships and some more characters that will appear later. As for the fates of all the main characters, well keep reading.
Anyway, if you guys are as ready as I am, we'll get on with the next chapter. Hope you're enjoying the story, and feel free to leave me a review down below!
Chapter Ten: Monsters of Men
Crystalline blue eyes kept trailing over the two of fifteen year olds as they were ready to begin their first mission as Royal Hunters. He wore black, often typical of the Glaives that were ready around the castle of their king's command, and as pleasant as the man was, Prompto sometimes wished he would just back off. Though he wasn't quite to the point of groaning about it every few steps. The young man's brown hair was perfect, as always, and he was covered in small and subtle tattoos, including a "crow's foot" on his right cheek, and a line and a dot under his left eye. He had markings on his ears, a line down his neck, one around his right leg and a line down his middle finger of his left hand, and another down his forefinger on his right hand.
Prompto couldn't help but start chuckling as his friend continued to groan about needing an escort like Nyx Ulric following them around, not caring that the amused man could clearly hear them from where he was in the front of the car. Obviously, Noctis wasn't happy about being denied any sort of sleep now that they had left the confines of royal city of Insomnia behind them, and he was eager to get to Hammerhead where the actual report had come in. The sun would be going down soon, and even Prompto didn't want to be out in the middle of no where when daemons could easily be appearing at any moment. Nyx seemed completely at ease behind the wheel of the car though and just smirked at Noctis's newest remark.
"We'll be there soon enough," Nyx assured the young prince again. "Besides, I doubt I'll have to step in. You two were trained by Cor himself, I hear. They'll be hard pressed to get you. I'm just here in case any daemons too big for you too to handle should pop up, and that shouldn't be many, considering Prompto's size."
That wasn't an exaggeration. Prompto's human form was still small, shorter by than Noctis and not that intimidating looking though he did have some visible muscle. He had started styling his hair a little, spiking it up in the front a bit, but he wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do with the rest of it. Noctis on the other hand was the mysterious handsome type that all the girls seemed to swoon over, though he had a habit of sleeping in the day and acting lazy. Prompto had grown to be the best photographer Noctis actually knew (not that it was a large number) and he was now a lot more hyperactive than before. More friendly too. It only took a few years to drag him out of that shell again though, to which his friends were pleased.
Honestly, if someone would have gone up to Prompto years ago and told him how much of a hyperactive goofball he was going to end up being, he probably would have worried for their mental health and tried to take them to see a doctor. He had never before experienced the kind of forgiveness and willingness to help that his friends continued to display, and it had finally gotten him to come around to being absolutely overly friendly towards people, strangers too.
A lot of people underestimated him because of his rather goofy and playful nature, but there was always something in his eyes that spoke of the creature he really was. The MT was never really gone, but its services were no longer called upon regularly so it remained hidden for the most part. But everyone of his friends knew that it was still there, ready to be unleashed at any moment. His instincts were not easily fooled.
Maybe that was the only reason he and Noctis were being let out here to such a dangerous area with only Nyx to accompany them and keep them out of trouble. It was almost alarming how many people either didn't remember or didn't know the creature he actually was. They acted like he'd always just been a child living near Noctis instead of the invader that had accidentally happened upon this point in his life. Then again, perhaps "accident" wasn't the right word for this. Maybe it was more of a fate kind of thing, especially considering the whole prophecy that they had been told. Thinking of it still made Prompto shudder, and of course he had long committed it to memory with an accuracy that would have impressed Ignis. Noctis seemed to have forgotten most of it, but he didn't ever have to ask anyone about it except Prompto. He could repeat it with ease.
Tearing his thoughts away from that, he instead turned it towards other things, like his friend's amusing sleeping habits. Noctis had taken to becoming almost nocturnal, sleeping often when Prompto was most comfortable with sleeping. Since Prompto had once been a daemon, he preferred to be more active at night. While at first it had mostly been to comfort his friend, it had quickly become a habit that the others looked on as a "bad habit". They didn't blame Prompto of course, seeing how it was in his nature to sleep more during the day even if living with humans made him more adaptable to their schedules, his natural instinct was to move during the night and avoid daylight despite the fact that it no longer hurt him.
It also didn't help that Noctis had quickly learned how to crawl up on top of Prompto when he was taking his more natural naps during the day without waking him up. How he managed to do that when Prompto was such a light sleeper was kind of a mystery to everyone, including the MT. Especially since Prompto took up most of Noctis's room now. Good thing the ceilings were high enough to house his daemon form comfortably for a long while yet. He was now coming close to weighing about half a ton, and he stood as tall and as long as the car they were riding in to the shoulder. His head rose just higher, and the plates on his back rose to the same height. He was still small for his species, but an intimidating creature all the same.
No longer the size of a large dog, he no longer walked through the hallways or the citadel itself because he didn't really fit anywhere in his daemon form anymore. When he did change forms, people in Insomnia jumped and turned to look, before smiling and turning away like he was someone's overly large pet. He doubted people outside of the city would be so forgiving of his nature, especially out here where there wasn't a huge wall built to protect the people from the daemons that were running loose through the world. He would have to be more careful about it. The last time he had been on a training mission he had changed to his daemon form and only the fact that Noctis was riding around on his back like an overly large horse kept him from being attacked. News had spread a little of the strange team, but there was no telling how people would act.
Their new mission was out around Hammerhead, and they were driving out kind of late considering the fact that their targets were daemons and not the normal kind of monsters you could find out in this area. Those were the kinds that destroyed habitats and attacked travelers, much more mild nuisances than the daemons that killed humans and then dragged their corpses off to do whatever it was they did to turn them into daemons. At least with monsters, even the more vicious ones that ate people, there was some sort of comfort in knowing that they wouldn't become monsters that remembered their old lives but couldn't help themselves from killing. It was a terrible disease with no cure except the release of death, and that was the only comfort they could give them.
Still, because their quarry only came out at night, Prompto and Noctis had been selected. With both having more nocturnal tendencies at this point, they wouldn't get tired during their first mission and risk getting hurt because of that, and Prompto's nature meant that unless he changed into his more human form or Noctis was spotted while following or riding him, the daemons would assume he was simply a strange daemon and leave him be. It was a much better form of protection than anything else any of the newly graduated recruits had.
Shifting slightly in his seat, he peered out at the desert landscape, looking at the large garage and small gathering of shops and diners, as well as a few places to live that made up Hammerhead before them. It was easy to miss, especially next to a sprawling utopia free of daemons like the city of Insomnia. Honestly the Lucians had it much easier than anywhere else in the world, and he knew this would really be Noctis's first glimpse of how bad it could be. Only a few higher level daemons, like the one that had killed Noctis's mother and very nearly killed him, could ever hope to make it into the city of Insomnia. Places like Hammerhead were small and nearly constantly lit because they were always covered in daemons.
"This is it?" Noctis asked, sounding curious. Perhaps in another life, where Prompto had been brought into his life much later or in a much different way, he would have sounded more condescending. He was the prince of a kingdom behind a wall after all. As it was however, he sounded far more concerned than stuck up.
"It is," Nyx replied, glancing over the small city, a frown gracing his features.
Prompto's eyes immediately made out that there was a fuss going on. What appeared to be a group of people had gathered around someone, who was laying on the floor and looking very injured. One person in particular caught Prompto's attention however. He was an old man, small and beginning to be bent with old age. His lined face didn't distract from the white hair, or the steely brown gaze he fixed them all with as the car pulled to a stop. Wearing all red and a baseball cap, and smelling strongly of grease, he turned and made his way over to the car, looking the three of them over. His eyes lingered the longest on Noctis, and then on Prompto, as if he was sizing the two of them up.
"So," the man said in a gruff voice. "this is the prince and his pet MT?"
Nyx shifted uncomfortably, seeming to recognize the man and unsure if he should say something. Noctis on the other hand immediately sat up and his brows furrowed at the insult towards his friend. Really, Prompto didn't really care anymore, but Noctis -along with the rest of his friends- had grown extremely protective of him. They knew he could take care of himself, but they wouldn't let any attack on him, mentally or otherwise, go unpunished or unchallenged. Even after so long, it still touched him in a way he couldn't quite explain. He placed a hand on Noctis's shoulder, but his dark haired friend shrugged it off.
"Prompto's my friend," Noctis growled. "Not some dumb animal. So don't talk like he is one."
Now the man, along with several of the residents who had been listening but pretending not to, paused and looked up at the boy. The man's eyes were rather blank now, as if he was sizing up Noctis. This finally made Prompto respond, and he began to bristle just slightly. Nyx, now noticing this, let out a quiet sigh as if this wasn't something he didn't know to expect when they got here. Finally the old man gave them what could have passed for a grudging smile, though Prompto wasn't likely to relax any time soon until Noctis finally did. He had seemed to rub him the wrong way, and that didn't help Prompto to relax.
"Take it easy, boy," the man grunted. "Didn't mean no harm by it. Besides, looks like you two're pretty close already. So, you're who they send out? The name's Cid, boy. Better remember it."
"What's going on here?" Nyx asked, glancing over at the man lying on the ground. He seemed concerned about it, but this close Prompto could tell the man was already dead.
"This fella?" Cid asked, glancing back at it. "Looks like he got to close to a bunch o' monsters. He and his wife were attacked. They had a girl with 'em. Out there this late? Probably gonna be daemon food."
This obviously didn't sit well with Noctis or Nyx, and it made Prompto shift uneasily. It was the way of life out here, but Noctis and Prompto had both been trained to be Royal Hunters. That meant they took out monsters and daemons that plagued an area to keep the people who lived their safe. Even if this family wasn't from around here, it was their job to keep the members of their country safe. The kingdom of Lucius extended far beyond the walls of the Crown city of Insomnia, and it was their duty to protect these people. Prompto slowly glanced over at Noctis, seeing that his face had darkened a little with the thought that a girl was out there, probably hurt, and maybe even all alone as nightfall approached.
"Did he say where before he died?" Prompto asked.
Prompto's voice seemed to surprise everyone, and many people jumped. Nyx and Noctis however quickly picked up the fact that Prompto had realized the man was dead. They didn't question him though, knowing his instincts were by far better than their own. Cid too seemed to watch Prompto for a long moment, as if wondering what he was trying to do. Finally though he grunted and nodded with his head towards the man.
"Out north o' here," the man said. "In the desert a ways and by an old shack. That's where you'll find 'em, if ya can. Any reason why though?"
"Its our job," Prompto replied. "both since Noctis is future king of Lucius, and because I know what daemons are capable of more than anyone else."
"Hm," Cid replied, seeming to nod to himself. "There may be hope for you yet boy. Goin' out there, then?"
Prompto glanced over at Noctis, who was still eying Cid warily. He had already apparently decided he didn't trust him because he had insulted his friend, and the behavior had confused Prompto for quite a long time. He realized of course how much damage emotional pain could cause, but this had hardly seemed like it was a necessary reason. It wasn't until Prompto had really though about it that he realized why. All of his friends, though hardly knowing the specifics of his past, could be almost overprotective when it came to any chance that someone could hurt his feelings. After what had happened when he had lost control they made sure he felt as comfortable as possible. Noctis especially had the habit badly.
Before he could comment on it though, Nyx had parked the car and stepped out, prompting both the younger Lucians to get out of the car and follow him. Prompto was already going through what he would need in his head. If he was in his human form, he'd need his guns. They were a common make, but reliable and deadly in his hands. He had also long since mastered using the pocket universe that Noctis could call on. He knew how to call upon the weapons and put them back using sheer force of will and nothing more than the bond he already shared with Noctis. That was the secret of calling upon the weapons no matter the distance between them. After all they did exist outside time and space when inside of that pocket dimension.
Noctis seemed to be more watching everyone around him, as if daring them to say anything. They seemed to be intimidated by him, which made Prompto bite back a sigh. He had a bad habit of being lazy (partly his fault) and coming across as unapproachable (maybe his fault) that people didn't seem to like to talk to him. Those were things that they were going to definitely have to work on as time went on. How could he ever hope to be king if they always ended up making people nervous? Prompto dutifully followed after his young prince though, his eyes scanning the area and watching the man with careful eyes.
"Your targets are daemons this time, right?" Nyx asked, glancing over his shoulders at the two of them. Noctis hummed an affirmative. "Which means they'll probably be out tonight. You two don't have long to try and help that girl if she's still alive. So, what's your call Noctis?"
The prince pursed his lips, probably without realizing it, to think about the situation. He definitely wasn't the strategist that Ignis was, but Prompto knew Noctis well enough by now to tell he was trying to figure out the best way to do this without causing any problems. He kept casting glances out towards the desert, or otherwise towards Prompto as he continued thinking, then once or twice towards Nyx. Obviously it wasn't an easy choice on what to do. Nyx was a better fighter than both of them, with far more experience, but they needed someone to protect all of these people or they would end up getting hurt really badly. Finally he seemed to decide.
"Nyx," he said, his tone becoming far more sure and commanding than before. "Stay here. Make sure no one else gets hurt. Prompto and I will head out into the desert to look for that girl."
"By yourselves?" a man gasped. "You two are just kids!"
"Prompto," Noctis said, ignoring the man.
Prompto nodded, turning his attention towards the desert and dropping to all four paws. It was much easier than it had first been when he had first transformed, even despite the height and weight differences between the two forms. Even so, it must have still looked painful because many people winced even if they didn't mean to, and stepped back in fear. Noctis however, as soon as he was done transforming, didn't even hesitate to leap up onto Prompto's back before he had even stood to his full height. The only thing that visibly marked him as not a normal daemon was the fact that there was a collar around his neck, a black collar with the mark of Insomnia on the front of it, which he often carried along with this gun just out of sight. Summoning it was no problem now, and that's what Noctis carefully grabbed onto so he wouldn't fall off.
"Be careful," was Nyx's solemn warning.
Noctis, if he was offended by the thought that he or Prompto couldn't take care of themselves, didn't show it. Instead he nodded, deadly serious, and leaned closer to Prompto's back, trying to make himself as small as possible. The rouge MT needed no more direction than that, knowing that the daemons would mostly ignore him so long as they didn't see Noctis. He went bounding away into the swiftly approaching darkness, quickly covering ground in his long strides that kept him smoothly rushing across the landscape. Prompto could almost imagine Noctis smiling on his back. They hadn't tried this kind of thing in quite a while, mostly because there was little space. But Noctis had often commented how "smooth the ride was".
Apparently the thought had bothered him for a long time that he was hitching a ride on his best friend's back, and he was always worried he'd do something that ended up hurting him. It took Prompto reminding him several times about his pack mentality, the metal infused bones, and the fact that he just didn't mind for him to finally relax about it enough to let him carry him. Just like Prompto pointed out, he didn't feel weird about it. He would honestly rather know that Noctis was safe than worry about being "tame" or as Noct had put it "acting like a pony rather than a dog". Besides, he had no problem carrying his friends.
Night fell like it always did on Eos, thick and dark. Even if the moon was shining brightly overhead most people couldn't see very far in front of them without a flashlight, as if something dark had long ago obscured the beauty of the moon. Luckily, Noctis was smart enough to not turn on his Flashlight and bring attention to himself sitting on top of the back of the MT. Despite his odd coloring, it was true that the daemons appearing from the ground hardly even glanced at him. If they sensed the human on his back, they seemed to write it off since as a MT he already carried a human like scent anyway. Instead they were turning their attention to the sound of screaming, which had Prompto's ears twitching even if he knew Noctis couldn't quite hear it. When Prompto abruptly changed directions to follow the other daemons, Noctis just hunkered farther down into his fur to hide, trusting his much better night vision to take them where they needed to go.
That's honestly what touched Prompto the most, that he would trust him that much. It had been years, and he knew that he could trust all of his friends with his own life, even as hard to take it as it was. Not even just his health either, but his mental health. They were always there to help him, even when he was at his most vulnerable. And yet something always still touched him no matter how many times they simply demonstrated just how much they really trusted him. Even if it was only standing in the room with him as he trained, it was enough. Maybe it was because he was tired of living a life where people didn't trust him. Tia had only really been the only one to trust him, and never so completely as these kids from Insomnia.
The thought honestly made him sad. He still loved Tia, in a way. She had given him his name, given him a home and a life. She and her family could be dead, and he hadn't even bothered to learn any of their names. Part of that could be blamed on his more animalistic mind at the time, and the fact that he only ever associated good things with Tia. But now, living in Insomnia and trusted and loved for simply being who he was, it was more than magical. If anything, it had only made him love humans even more. If all those hunters were still alive after all this time, the first thing he was going to do was thank them for at least helping him live. Without them he wouldn't have ever made it here, and he was grateful for them being part of his life, small though it was.
But he snapped his mind back to the present with a low growl as a goblin came too close for his liking to the prince perched on his back. The creature, sensing the much larger and powerful creature, wisely backed away. So far there were only a few goblins in the area, nothing too overly dangerous. They were their quarry as well for this hunt, but he would really rather not end up having to fight to save Noct right now, mostly because there was no telling that girl was going to last. They were quickly approaching, leaping past rocks and other obstacles like it was nothing, close enough that Noctis could now hear her as well. He leaned closer, as if to urge Prompto faster, and he quickly obliged. Upon reaching the car, Prompto noticed several things.
First, the weak goblins immediately scattered and began chattering nervously at his appearance, but that alone wouldn't hold them back for long. The car was broken down, though the monsters that had attacked had long since fled for the night, leaving only daemons. There was blood everywhere, but no corpse of the mother so she had most likely already been dragged off to become a daemon. The only other living thing in the area was the girl. She as around their age, small and pale. She was shaking, blonde hair framing her face and her brown eyes shining with fearful tears. She was holding what appeared to be a broken windshield wiper in her hand as a makeshift weapon, and she looked rather defeated.
Until of course Noctis jumped off of Prompto's back and summoned his daggers, standing in front of the girl and eying the now angrily chattering daemons. He nodded to Prompto, who quickly returned to his human form, summoning a revolver as he did so. Needless to say, everything in the vicinity other than Noctis was shocked. Even the daemons seemed to pull back a little as they realized they were looking at a MT, and he heard a small eep of surprise from the girl behind them. Noctis just smirked, raising his daggers.
"Prompto," he called. "You're up."
Prompto smirked, reaching towards his back pocket where he kept a very special bullet. He didn't have many of them, though it wasn't difficult to make more. Luna had shown him how he could pour his own natural light into an empty casing (of a certain variety of course) that would allow him to create a "starshell". They were usually rare, since only people like the young Oracle could create them, and she didn't have enough light to keep up with the staggering demand. Prompto however, knowing his own limitations, could create his own with the same technique. It allowed him to create a bullet that would explode in the air like a flare. This created a star that hung in place ahead, which was useful for lighting their way as well as hurting any daemons in the area and weakening them. While not as effective as the sun's natural light, he always had some of the empty silver shells to make more of the special bullets for their use. This one was already created and ready, so he snapped it into the currently empty gun and raised it. Once it was over his head, he pulled the trigger.
"Let me brighten your day," he mocked the daemons.
As soon as the shell exploded a good distance above their heads, the daemons shrieked in pain in the light that was caused above their heads. The girl blinked in the unexpected light, but Prompto had already summoned the bullets from the pocket dimension, shoving them expertly into the gun to reload them. He'd have to stock up after this, but he really did prefer to use the simpler guns. Noctis wasted no time in jumping into action towards the daemons, flipping and warping around like everything was normal. The girl, stunned at their training or too tired to move, retreated to the car where her parents had just been before they had met their ends.
The new couple of minutes was just a flurry of motion, an easy and steady rhythm of battle that Prompto was unfortunately way too familiar with. His aversion to fighting had eased a little, mostly because Noctis was here. He knew the prince to be kind and loyal to his friends, and if Noctis were to order him to attack a person...well he wouldn't like it but he wouldn't question it. That's how much he trusted him. Prompto, though being a MT, was kind of small so he usually stayed to the back of the pack where his friends usually shoved him anyway. He raised his gun, shooting one daemon and making it flip from the force of a bullet. Within a second he felt Noctis flash past him, a lance raised as he slammed it down and flipped over the top of it, landing and jabbing at another that had been trying to sneak around Prompto.
Prompto leaped back, nearly stumbling over a body but allowing his reflexes to take over. It didn't stop the goblin from leaping forward to slash at him with its claws, which he wasn't quick enough to dodge. The claws shallowly cut him across the chest, making him growl loudly and raise his gun in retaliation. Another shot rang out in the night, making the daemon scream and leap back. Noctis, noticing his friend's distress, quickly warped into the creature's back, which made Prompto's eyes flash as he realized the opening it had created. Noctis reached over and took Prompto's gun even as the MT had reached for the great sword that he was now carrying, having switched just before the warp strike. Prompto rolled over Noctis's back and slammed the heavy sword down even as Noctis shot, quickly downing three enemies at once.
"Doing all right?" Noctis asked as they passed their weapons back.
"I'll be fine," Prompto replied, raising his gun and shooting a few more rounds, knocking down a daemon who had come too close to the girl for his liking.
Noctis just nodded and reached behind him, as if to grab something. When he released the sword, it turned to a blue substance that faded with nothing more than a sparkle on the wind. With a quick dance backward, he grabbed two daggers, which materialized in much the same fashion. Prompto had never quite gotten the beautiful and graceful way that Noct had fought, but he still couldn't help but focus on practicality in battle rather than finesse. Not that the prince wasn't good. On the contrary, under Cor's guidance he had gotten frighteningly good. Still, there were still enemies left, so Prompto snapped his attention forward as the goblins surged forward.
"Prompto," Noct called again.
This time, when Noctis called for Prompto's attack, he focused on using his "piercer" bullets, which were another special bullet. They were less flashy than the starshells, more perfectly suited for ripping through enemies and going immediately for kill shots. The few goblins that were left met a swift demise at the bullet that could rip through several enemies at once. That left only a few, one of which that leaped onto Noctis while Prompto struggling to quickly reload. Noctis hissed but slammed his elbow into the creature's ribs, making it yowl and go tumbling away into its comrades. Far from being finished, Noctis turned and jabbed the two remaining creatures with his daggers, killing them, before turning to assess the damage on Prompto. Of course, Prompto tolerated this, but not without secretly surveying Noctis's wounds too.
He knew that Noctis wouldn't be happy if he found out he was looking to see if he was all right. Definitely not because he would feel insulted, but because he insisted on worrying over all of his friends more than himself. Prompto could see him making a good king, but those thoughts always brought back the thoughts of that prophecy again. What exactly was supposed to happen as he got older? Still, it was a comfortable and familiar feeling, knowing that he could trust Noctis to watch his back. The gun disappeared as Prompto couldn't help but spin in surely on one finger and whistle a little tune at the success.
"Nice one, Prompto," Noctis praised. Prompto laughed in an embarrassed way at the words.
Prompto's response died on his lips however as he heard something else, a kind of moaning on the wind. Even as Noctis turned to the girl, trying to coax her out of her hiding spot, he felt himself tense. Something seemed off, as if he had just found something far more dangerous waiting out of sight. His eyes flicked around the area, even as the light of the starshell completely faded, leaving them in darkness again. Something was moving, having caught their scent on the wind, and it made him bristle. As if some part of him knew that a bigger, badder hunter lay in wait, ready to appear at a moment's notice. And there would be no hiding Noctis now, let alone the girl.
"Hey," Noctis called to the girl, who was trying to disappear into the smashed car. "Its okay. We're Royal Hunters, uh, Crowns Guard. From Insomnia." Not technically true, but most people outside of the city often confused the two. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Wh-What about that thing?" the girl asked in a small voice, probably pointing at Prompto. He didn't respond, but Noctis bristled slightly.
"He's my friend," Noctis snapped, making her jump. He sighed and then tried again in an only slightly more civilized tone. "Look. He's not a regular MT. He's considered a rogue MT and well, even Lu- the Oracle said that he was all right."
"Lady Lunafreya did?" the girl asked, sounding more curious now but still completely uneasy around Prompto. Her accent was now much more pronounced, more like Cid's. Must be a dialect. The MT however was tensed. It was nearly here.
"Noct," Prompto called out suddenly, tensed. "We need to move!"
Noctis, for his part, didn't question Prompto's instincts. He turned instead and nodded as Prompto dropped again to all fours, his belly low to the ground as his eyes scanned the world around him. Noctis had a little trouble finding him in the dark, even with his coloration, but hauled himself up with a practiced ease onto the Thunderdog's back. Noticing that the girl was now even more terrified, Noctis sighed and tried not to growl his frustration at her. Prompto really wanted to remind him to mind his manners, but he felt too tensed to notice. The young prince could feel this though, if his hands tightening just a moment into Prompto's fur was anything to go off of.
"Come on," he hissed to the girl. "We can't stay out here. I don't know if you've noticed, but its night."
"B-But I," the girl started, Noct's harsh tone seeming to bring on tears. "I can't just-"
"Look," Noctis said. "There's nothing else we can do here. Would your parents want you to die out here? Do you want to die out here?"
This finally seemed to spur the girl into a reluctant action, though whether she had noticed his use of the past tense for both of her parents or not Prompto couldn't tell. He wasn't paying enough attention to her right now to even tell if she was crying. He felt her hesitant hand touch his side, but he didn't move, his eyes still nervously scanning the area. Not long now. He could feel it starting to manifest itself, something big. They usually appeared on the road, where it was easy to cut people off and draw enough energy to appear. But where they were, sitting here for too long, it had plenty of time. Prompto winced a little as the girl started trying to climb up his side, pulling his fur.
Noctis noticed and immediately grabbed the girl, making her loudly yelp and Prompto flinch at the sudden noise. This might have been enough to spook the girl away from the half ton animal, if not for Noctis practically holding her onto Prompto's back. Honestly the MT wasn't sure if it was just because he was already angry at Cid's reaction to his friend earlier or that he was just angry at the way that the rest of the world viewed him. Honestly, Prompto couldn't have cared at this point. As Noctis fought to keep the spooked girl from bolting back off of his back, the MT's eyes finally made out the signs of a large dark circle bubbling up from the ground, where a groaning of metal could be heard clearly. If the other two heard it, they didn't seem to react.
"Stop it," Noctis growled to her. "He's not going to hurt you. Listen I trust him with my life, so calm down." But she had already stopped, turning towards the arm reaching itself out of the ground in front of them.
"Oh gods..." she whimpered.
"Prompto," Noctis gasped.
The MT wasted no time in following the order, turning 180 degrees and immediately fleeing from the Iron Giant pulling itself out of the ground. It wasn't fast, but he knew just how utterly dangerous this thing could be even for a seasoned Royal Hunter. Ignoring the throbbing in his chest, he bounded over a rock and slipped into the fastest run he could manage, pushing his body to its utmost limits. He could feel the girl's panic on his back, and Noctis's own fear, and it snapped his pack instinct to the front of his mind as it sometimes did. His eyes, taking a more beast like state, narrowed as they darted around looking for a place to hide his two smaller companions if a fight had to break out. Flee first. Fight if need be.
A pull started as the creature groaned, making Prompto snarl and dig his claws into the ground to keep from being dragged back towards the massive creature. He knew they were capable of creating black holes in their hands that could drag victims or opponents towards them and cause damage as well, but he hadn't wanted to find out how strong those were the hard way. Noctis and the girl yelped, holding onto him as tightly as they could, and Prompto didn't protest when he felt one of them grab a fistful of his fur. At the very least they didn't fly off. Prompto skid backwards about a foot, but his powerful claws finally caught on a rock, holding them fast.
The creature growled as it released this technique, unable to keep it going for long, and that was all the break Prompto needed. He leaped forward again, running and not looking back in the direction of Hammerhead. Honestly, with the anti-daemon lights on there, it might be the only safe place around for miles. He could hear the frustrated creature swinging its sword towards them, and leaped to the left. It came crashing down with a bone jarring thud, which might have knocked Prompto over had he been in his human form. As it was however, he landed and ran past the roaring creature as it tried to pull its sword loose from where it had become stuck from the force of its swing. Prompto ran past, not daring to see if it was following. Safety first.
If the creature's enraged rumblings were anything to go off of, he'd managed to evade it. Prompto just kept running, hoping to avoid any other daemons in the area and make it back to Hammerhead. Both of the children on his back were quiet, gripping at him tightly. He could feel them both shaking, but thankfully they seemed to understand that they needed to be quiet. Prompto felt too high strung, too on edge even as he continued to run. This was exactly the reason he hated fighting daemons at night, because it put his friends into far too much danger as it was.
It was then that Prompto almost tripped as he ran right into a shield of some kind. Grinding to a stop, he turned and raised his head, looking around. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it felt as if he shouldn't be here, as if he'd stepped somewhere that he shouldn't have been able to go. He finally found it, the blue signs marked into the earth and the smoke rising above a glowing blue firepit, as if beckoning them further. Prompto felt himself psychically relax, knowing that they were out of danger from any daemons or MT's that could appear simply because they had managed to find this place. He turned, trotting up the rock formation to where the others could clearly see it.
"A haven?" the girl gasped. "but shouldn't he…?"
She paused, probably glancing down at Prompto, who just yawned and carefully laid down so that the two of them could slide off of his back when they were ready to. He couldn't practically feel Noctis's agitation as he slid down off of Prompto's back, quickly running in front of him and tapping the bottom of his chin so he could check the damage to his chest. Frowning quietly to himself, he pulled out a potion and smashed it over his chest, making Prompto quietly sigh in relief despite himself as the pain began to ease. He let out a quiet growl, giving Noctis a pointed look, which the Prince replied to with a playful eye roll. Knowing though that Prompto would force him to attend to his own injuries if he didn't though, the prince also used a potion on himself before turning back to look at the girl. He was rather tensed, crossing his arms to eye her. Prompto made sure not to move, not wanting to spook her now that she was somewhere safe.
"I told you," Noct said, sounding defensive again. "He's not a normal MT."
"He's just on edge," Prompto offered, making the girl jump. "Don't worry about him. Are you going to stay up there? I guess you're welcome to if you'd like but it can't be all that comfortable."
This finally seemed to make the girl want to move, and she quickly slid off of his back, trying her hardest to not cut herself on the large spines on his back when she did so. She looked unsure who she should shy away from more, Noctis or Prompto. The prince seemed to decide for her though, scoffing and turning to sit at the very edge of the rock, letting his eyes wander over the darkness of the area. Too bad they hadn't thought to bring any tents or supplies to start a fire. It would have been much more comfortable. As it was, the desert air was already starting to grow chill, and the girl shivered. Not that he could blame her. She was dressed in a thin shirt and shorts, nothing like what was needed for a night time venture out here.
"You can always curl up next to me if you need to," he offered her. "I don't bite. Well, not humans anyway, unless they're jerks. Then its fair game."
This seemed to be calming enough, because as he'd hoped she'd giggled a little. The sound quickly faded though, leaving her looking miserable again. Slowly she looked at him, and then decided she apparently needed company or trusted him enough now after that whole episode to sit down against his shoulder, leaning back and staring up at the stars that were visible beyond both Insomnia's and Hammerhead's light pollution. For a long while only the sounds of the moaning Iron Giant and other screeching daemons could be heard as the three sat in utter silence, as if waiting for someone else to talk first.
"My dad," the girl began, sounding as if she's trying hard to not cry. "Is he...he went to Hammerhead to..."
"He was dead when we got there," Prompto said softly, his voice full of apology.
This brought on a fresh wave of tears, loud and agonized sobbing from a person who had knew it was true but didn't want to hear the words. Even Noctis, who was trying to give the girl a cold shoulder, glanced just slightly back towards her when he heard it. He understood the feeling after all, even if he wasn't completely alone like this girl was. That gave Prompto an idea, who sent Noctis a silent apology with his own glance before looking back at the girl. He nudged her gently with his nose, which made her jump and freeze, no longer sobbing loudly at the unexpected motion. Not quite what he'd meant to do, but at least he had her attention.
"You know," he said. "Noctis may not look like it, but he understand what you're going through in a way. His mother died in a daemon attack that had very nearly left him paralyzed for life. Luckily he recovered, and that's about the time I met him." He chuckled a little. "Both him and Lady Lunafreya. I'd never met two children before who found me more fascinating than terrifying. Though, maybe me helping to save Noctis's life helped with that."
Prompto wasn't even sure how much she was listening to him anymore, at least not at first. He just started talking, about how he had Noctis had met, about the funny things that had happened over the years and the jokes that had sprang form them. He talked about life in the Crown City and all of the people he had met there. Not once did he really talk about being a MT or the fact that the Empire had made him into what he was, but she didn't seem to mind. After a long while she slowly turned and watched him as he talked, laughing a long with him as he continued to try and give her some kind of distraction. It wasn't long before Noctis joined her, sitting down against Prompto's flank far enough away to not be touching her, and rubbing his chin.
Prompto fell silent at this, simply allowing him the time to collect his thoughts and just think for a moment. The girl fell silent too, not bothering to talk for a long while as she seemed largely uncomfortable in the presence of the two relative strangers. Noctis continued to frown in silence for a while, though he couldn't help the little bit of a smile that appeared when Prompto leaned into his touch and almost knocked him over on purpose because of it. Finally he seemed to remember that the girl was there, and turned to look at her.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Oh its," the girl said quietly. "Cindy."
"Hey," Noctis said lamely, then sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look. I'm sorry about earlier. I just...get kind of protective around Prompto. We all do. He's just been through a lot in his life. Really, with what they probably did to him when he was younger...I'm kind of surprised his so friendly, let alone sane."
"Did you never ask him?" Cindy asked.
"Would you?"
She shook her head slowly, looking down at the ground instead and focusing on the dirt covering the rock beneath her feet. She shivered a little, backing up closer to Prompto's side where it was at least a little bit warmer. He shifted his back legs to curl around the two more and hide them a little more from the biting wind. This time Cindy didn't seem to jump when he moved, almost as if she didn't realize that he was still there.
"Mom and dad were," she said, pausing before swallowing thickly and starting again. "They were coming out here for a job. To learn how to work the garage that old Cid has. Said he's real famous round these parts. But then dad when off the road and..."
"Look," Noctis sighed. "Its not going to be easy. I won't lie and say it will be. My mom's dead, Prompto's just overall had a shit life...things happen. You're alive, so I guess what I'm saying is that you need to keep living because it's going to get better."
"Wow," Prompto couldn't help but chime in with a grin. "You suck at this, Noct."
"Shut up," Noctis snapped back, shoving his head playfully. "like you're any better!"
But Cindy was already laughing at the two of them, apparently having decided that they were amusing enough at least to keep her company in her grief. Prompto couldn't help but smile as well as he heard it. Noctis tried to hide his behind his facade of being cool, but Prompto could see right through it. Now much more relaxed, the girl leaned back and smiled as Noctis started recounting some older stories form his life, from times before Prompto had ever entered it. He talked about his mother and father, the weight of the crown and the fact that it had aged his father prematurely and would one day age him the same way. It wasn't all happy, but neither was it sad.
Prompto had already kind of tuned the sound out, not because he wasn't curious, but because he'd heard a lot of these things before. The sound of the two kids curled up into his fur laughing as they shared stories of their own lives, of all their triumphs and their failures, it just felt right. Like he couldn't ever imagine a life before. Slowly Prompto put his head down, quietly closing his eyes to sleep away the exhaustion creeping up on him from the day's events.
Prompto was awoken by someone leaping onto the bed, making him jump and growl. Now more than ever he wished he could talk, to tell Tia that he didn't appreciate it. If he hadn't been more used to the fact that he sometimes spent his days inside of a human home he might have even bitten her! That's when he realized how dark outside it was, but more frighteningly, the sound of a Magitek Engine. The familiar sound brought with it a sense of dread as he found Tia's scared face in the darkness. She was reaching out, trying to find him without turning on the lights. As soon as her hand touched his nose she let out a choked sob.
"Prompto," she called quietly. "Prompto you have to go! I don't want them to take you!"
Now he was fully awake, sitting up quickly and whining at the girl, licking at her hands. He was unsure what she meant, but he had always put her first ever since she had saved him. When she started panicking like this, sometimes she wouldn't be able to breathe. He didn't know why that was, or if there was someway that she could end up getting healthier over time. But he knew that right now, she was freaking out about something and he didn't want to see her getting sicker. His attempts to calm her seemed to be doing the opposite though, and she started crying harder, reaching out and grabbing onto his scruff in an attempt to move him off of the bed he had been laying on before she had abandoned it during the day to help her mother on a small hunt.
Honestly Prompto had been both relieved and worried that she seemed to be getting better. After about three years of living with the family here, he had grown very little but she had grown less. Except that with each passing day she had seemed to get better, except for those rare occasions that she had gotten sick. She was still sickly, but nothing like when they had first met. She was no longer always sick, strong enough to go outside. Whenever the rare time happened that she joined in a night hunt he had always been right there beside her to help her. But as she got stronger, the hunters began to look at him more, probably trying to decide when he could be thrown out.
It had even seemed like Tia had begun growing more and more wary of him as time went on, as if she had finally realized what he was. They had continued to look more and more towards the skies, and Tia had grown increasingly more willing to let him spend time outside of the house. Like they were kicking him out. This new development, since he had felt pushed away from these people for nearly a month now, was more distressing than her just telling him to leave and never come out. What was she so scared of? He didn't fight her as she tugged him out of her bed and to the closet, shoving him in and closing the door before shushing him.
He didn't ask why, not that he could, and he didn't know why. But he could basically smell her fear coming off of her in waves, the anger and frustration. If she was trying to make it look normal, she failed when her parents entered the room. Prompto couldn't help but be confused as he felt the utter fear that jolted through the two of them as they looked into the room. Tia, trying to not look nervous and trying to not let them know that apparently he was here, but that only seemed to make them more unnerved.
"Tia," her father cried. "Where's Prompto?"
"Why do you want to know?" she asked, her voice sounding defensive.
"Tia," her mother cried. "This is important!"
"No," Tia cried, sounding close to tears. "I won't let you give him over to those monsters! I know that he's a daemon, but he's never been anything but kind to me! I don't want him to become one of those things! I won't let you take him!"
"Tia," her father snapped, then sighed, trying to reign in his voice. "We don't want to hand him over to them."
"But the meetings-"
"You saw those?" her mother sighed. "No wonder you're in such a panic. Tia," her voice got softer, gentler. "Listen. We don't want to give Prompto up. We can't. He...may be a daemon but he's done so much for us...he's not like the others. There's something different about him."
"We're planning on causing a distraction," her father continued. "Hoping that he'll be able to run away in the confusion. Who knows. Maybe we'll see him again someday."
"Right now," her father interrupted. "We have to find him so we can make sure he has the chance to escape."
There was silence for a long moment as Tia just seemed to think for a long moment. Maybe she was trying to see if they were telling the truth, and honestly it touched him that she wanted to protect them. But all of them? When had that suddenly happened? He knew he really wasn't that well liked around here, so of course it surprised him that they were so willing to protect him now. He at least could tell that they were being truthful, even not able to see them like he currently was. Tia had told him to be quiet though, and he was nothing if not loyal to her. Finally he heard her move, walking over to the door of the closet and pulling it open. He slowly crept out, and he could hear their relieved sighs as they saw him. He turned his eyes towards them quizzically.
"Do you think he'll understand?" Tia's mother asked, sounding more worried than ever.
It hit Prompto right then hard, how much he didn't know about these people, how much he just hadn't cared. He wanted to thank them, for being willing to try and save them (they all knew what the Empire was doing with daemons). He wanted to know all of their names, learn who each of them actually was more than just hunters. He wished he could ask for their names, something to call them and know them by, but he couldn't talk in a way they would understand. Instead, he tried to convey how much it meant to him by whining and coming closer, leaning slightly into their legs as he'd seen dogs do before when they wanted attention. If Prompto could have cried he might have.
Both the man and the woman froze at the unfamiliar contact, but he could feel them physically relax after a while. Slowly, hesitantly, he felt them run their fingers through his fur. Both of them had calloused hands, far stronger than the gentle pats that Tia had given him before. Part of him wanted to rebel at the touch, to pull away and have nothing to do with it. The other part of him made him lean farther into it, coaxing them to continue. What if he didn't see them again? What if this was the last day he was even alive? What if it was their last day?
"He seems to understand enough," Tia's father said, his voice a low rumble that gave Prompto the impression that he was trying to keep his composure. Then he shoved Prompto away, giving him a stern look. "Night's fallen. Get out of here. We'll keep them distracted long enough for you to escape, and if we didn't give you enough time its because we're dead."
Prompto whined quietly at that. He didn't want them to die. They were the closest thing he had to a family left, but they were both giving him that look. They wanted him to leave, to live. Was life worth living when you were completely alone, when everything you had ever known could be gone and you would never know if it was? He wasn't sure, but he'd also never seen emotion like that in their eyes before. Hope, pain, sorrow, despair, guilt, so many things held in all of their gazes. He slowly stopped, taking in all of their appearances and drinking in their faces like he had never done before. If this was the last time he saw them, he didn't want to forget.
Then he turned, bolting out of the still open front door of the house and into the night surrounding him. The thrum of magitek engines was steadily drawing closer, and the shrieks of daemons coming out to prowl at night was slowly growing louder as well. Hunters were moving around the camp, grabbing their weapons and what little armor they did have in order to face off against the MT's that were growing closer with every second. When they saw him pass, many sent him fleeting smiles or grim nods of encouragement.
As much as he wanted to, that his instincts screamed at him to help his pack, he didn't turn back. It was probably the first time in his entire life that he hadn't followed his instincts. It wasn't quite that he was following his heart either, because it had been shattered in that house when they told him to run, to leave them to die. He wasn't sure what he was doing, running away. Every step brought him more pain, until finally he had stopped, turning to look back. The night sky was on fire, lit up with the sounds of screams and gunfire that made it possible to see the hunter's camp from so far away. Prompto let out a quiet whine.
What was he doing? Running like a coward? These people had done so much for him, much more than they probably realized, and this was no way to pay them back. He turned, not caring what they said about him running away, running back towards them. He had to help. He had to save them. Too many creatures both big and small had already been hurt by his existence. Why would Prompto turn away from these people who had helped him to survive and thrive despite his own nature? One thought lodged itself into his mind, something that overpowered any fear or instinct that might have popped up when he saw the first MT unit.
If he gave himself to them, would they leave the humans alone?
Prompto started awake with a snort, glancing around. It took a moment for him to return from the past that had visited him in his dreams and to the present. He slowly turned to look down, noticing both Cindy and Noctis curled up against him. He had shifted at some point, poking his nose under his back legs. It had created a cocoon of fur that the two were trapped between. He let out an amused huff that his jump hadn't waken either of them, but he supposed it was only fair. They were all tired and dirty from what had happened last night. His fur at the very least had seemed to keep away the lethal chill that could spread through the desert at night, so the two children were just fine. Prompto turned his nose skyward, noticing that his breath wasn't puffing out in a cloud like it had been before. The sun was rising, steadily bringing stifling heat.
Prompto shifted, carefully bumping his side so that the other two would awaken. They groaned out protests of being woken, and Prompto snorted a little in amusement as he walked away, stretching. He winced as several bones popped. He'd probably overdone it a bit when he'd been running away from that Iron Giant, but it wasn't anything to worry about. He'd be sore for a while, but any increased damage had already been taken care of by the potion Noct had given him before the night had been up. Besides, with metal in his bone structure it made it harder to injure him, even the muscles surrounding that bone structure.
As Prompto yawned, revealing all of his sharp teeth, he found his mind wandering back to the hunters who had first taken him in. It had been quite a long time ago. Tia had to be at least almost twenty now if she had been alive, especially since he had only been around five human years old at the time. He had no idea how old any of the rest of them were supposed to be, but he couldn't help but hope that they were alive. He couldn't remember much of what had happened after he'd first seen the MT. He could assume they jumped on him as quickly as they could, grabbing any other daemons in the area that had responded to his pained cries.
A hesitant hand laid on his side, and his turned his eyes down. He was almost surprised to see Cindy frowning at him in a concerned way. Noctis wasn't far behind her, also looking at him with a face that clearly said they were going to talk later because he wasn't letting him bottle it away this time. Prompto managed a smile though, which seemed to put Cindy at ease. Of course Noctis could read him like a book, so he knew he wasn't as fine as that smile was trying to portray. Instead he just sighed and returned to Prompto's side, easily scaling his fur.
"Come on," Noctis said, seeming much more relaxed about Cindy. "We'd better get back to Hammerhead. Bet Nyx is worrying himself to death."
"Probably," Prompto chuckled as he lowered himself to allow Cindy to crawl onto his back. She was much less practiced than Noct, and it made him wince a little as she pulled fur. She flinched, but he could feel her discomfort even as she scaled his side. "You okay?"
"I don't know," she quietly admitted. "What am I supposed to do? Where do I go?" Prompto flicked an ear, and he felt Noctis rub his head gently.
"Relax," Noctis said, no real bite to his voice anymore. "It'll work out. Trust me. My life's worked out so far, and Prompto's has been way worse but he's still here."
This seemed to calm her a little bit, and she pulled herself the rest of the way onto Prompto's back. He turned, making his way again back to Hammerhead with two teens in tow. He wasn't running this time, seeing how their lives weren't in danger and it would probably already freak enough people out if they saw him come crashing into town that it would set Noctis off again. The pace he set was much more leisurely and calm, and after a while Noctis just lounged on his back and Cindy slowly released her grip on his fur. He felt her rubbing circles into the spot she'd nearly ripped his fur out with her fingers, whether because she needed comfort or was apologizing, he couldn't tell. Whatever she was doing however made Noctis laugh though.
"Little strange, isn't it?" he asked. "to be riding what was once a daemon around like a horse? Heck if I didn't know any better I'd say he was tame." This got a quiet giggle from her. It was too high, like she was nervous.
"You two are really good friends," she observed. "I hope I can have friends like that one day."
"You do," Noctis replied, to Cindy's shocked silence. "Us. What? Didn't think we'd be friends? We basically shared our life story at this point. Besides, I kind of like having friends like you and Prompto. People who want to be friends with me because I'm me, not the Prince of Lucius."
"P-Prince?" she gasped.
"Didn't realize it?" Noctis asked, amusement but also disappointment entering his tone.
"W-Well," she said. "I just...I don't know...you didn't..."
"Didn't seem like the type?" Noctis asked. "Appearances aren't everything you know. Prompto looks like he could rip us to shreds but he carries us around like a huge horse." Prompto felt Noctis lay down on his back, arms crossed behind his head as he looked upwards. After a few seconds he felt Cindy relax as well.
"I'd like to be friends," she said quietly. "With both of you. I think...I'll need them. We'll stay in touch...right?"
"Definitely," Noctis said, a smile evident on his face. Even as they began nearing Hammerhead, he was giving Cindy his phone number so she could contact him later (and Prompto's as well, because she'd seemed to warm up to him too).
Prompto's ears swiveled forward catching sight of Nyx as he spotted Prompto's easily seen figure against the dusty terrain. He seemed a little nervous, but not entirely worried since he could see Prompto's gait was steady and not at all uneasy. If Noctis had been hurt, or his other passenger -which of course Nyx didn't really know about yet- had been injured beyond what help a potion or elixir could give them he wouldn't be so calmly strolling back into town. Soon both Cindy and Noctis could make out the town as well, and within a few moments Prompto had hopped onto the street and strolled into the parking lot. Nyx didn't hesitate to smile and lay a hand on Prompto's shoulder despite the obvious height difference.
"Things went all right?" he asked.
"As well as they could," Noctis replied. "Goblins go down easy, but we ended up hanging around too long. An Iron Giant appeared. Prompto got us out of there fast, then we ended up spending the night a nearby Haven."
"In the desert?" Nyx asked with a raised brow and smirk.
"Prompto's fur's plenty warm," Noctis countered back.
Nyx just chuckled and shook his head, finally seeming to notice Cindy. He walked over to her and offered her a hand, which she hesitantly took. Nyx was careful to help her get to the ground without any incident, his practiced eyes flicking over her to check for any injuries. Other than still being mentally exhausted and dirty she didn't have any other injuries. Satisfied, he nodded to himself even as Noctis easily slipped back down to the ground and patted Prompto's side. He took it as a sign to change forms again, noticing the people pretending not to watch wince again. They were obviously still nervous of him. Yet another reason Prompto preferred his human form.
"So," Cid's voice barked out in the background. "ya found her, didya? Reckon yer tired, girly. Why don'tcha go rest a bit? In my house. Its open for ya." She shifted a little nervously and then looked to Prompto and Noctis for help.
"We'll have to be going soon," Nyx reminded her gently. "We have to make a report to the king."
"I-I don't want to intrude," she said quietly, hardly loud enough for them to hear.
"Who said ya were?" Cid countered. "It was supposed to be open fer you and yer folks, but they ain't around anymore." Cindy's eyes fell, and Prompto could see Cid's soften just a little. "Gonna need help around the garage," he continued, his voice not quite a growl anymore. "That was the job yer old man was supposed to have. Guess you'll do."
Noctis had started bristling again, eying the man warily. Cindy's eyes prickled with tears though, and Prompto smiled. Both of them at least could see it for what it really was. An old man trying to assure a girl who'd lost everything that she wasn't going to be thrown out on the street. Cindy nodded, then turned, quickly throwing her arms around Noctis's neck and then Prompto's. She tried, unsuccessfully to wipe the tears away before smiling at them.
"Thanks a ton," she said. "Make sure to stay out of trouble, ya hear?"
"We'll try," Prompto replied quietly. Noctis just nodded.
Soon goodbyes were said, and Cindy was running after Cid to the garage to see what she needed to get done. Nyx was starting the car and getting ready for the trip back home, and Noctis was still frowning after Cid. Prompto couldn't help but laugh at his expression, wondering if he was really just getting this way with all of his friends, or it was only blondes that caused him to get overprotective. Noct's lips twitched into a poorly hid smile, and he raised a brow at his smaller friend even as Prompto made his way over to the car.
"Something funny?" he asked.
"Admit it," he replied instead of answering. "you're warming up to Cid for taking her in like that."
"Whatever."
But just like Noctis could see through Prompto, the MT knew that the young prince had definitely warmed up to Cid.
This chapter was so hard to write for some reason! Don't worry though, next chapter we'll be officially embarking on the game's story line, though it will be changed around quite a bit? Why? Because I want to write a happy ending for the story! The other story I'm working on, Oblivio Deorum, is also a "fix it" story but sadder than this one. And then I even have another idea for yet another story that will be an even farther fix it, but I probably won't start that one for a while yet. Help! I'm obsessed and have too many ideas!
Anyway, despite how awkward this chapter felt to me, it's the final one before we actually start the game's story line. I'm trying to keep Noctis in line as a character but I'm having a bit of trouble with him, mainly because everyone's so freaking protective of Prompto. Let's all admit it though. He's a precious child and needs protecting.