Momentis
Part III: Beyond the Wall

Taking Stock
by Philippe de la Matraque

Bina and Dr. Pyn were married on a Sunday morning. She had asked Ignis to walk her to the altar as her parents were no longer living. He did so, though, in truth, she walked him more than the other way around. The ceremony was at the Old Outlook, outside the gates. There were cars all around providing light and an absence of daemonic interruptions. All the ladies from Administration were in attendance, as were most of the doctors from the hospital. After the ceremony, there was a light supper and a cake for the bridal party and guests.

The Pyns chose the Vesperpool for a three day honeymoon. Ignis and the food workers prepared simple meals they could reheat over the fire, and others loaned them camping supplies and equipment. They took a small truck and set out one hour after the ceremony had ended. Bina checked in every day to let Ignis and her colleagues know they were safe. He passed the information on to Dr. Marin at the hospital. Thanks to the new headlights and the magic of the havens, Bina and her husband returned safely Wednesday evening. By then, new quarters had been found where they could live together. Two individuals, chosen by lottery, were moved from communal housing to their previous units.

Ignis was glad Lestallum was in a position to offer a honeymoon and shared housing. Things were still tight in some areas (food and housing chiefly) but it was no longer simply survival at its basest. People could live lives now. They could meet, fall in love, get married, move in together. They could divorce. Not a happy occasion perhaps, but it was part of life for some. Children were being born and educated. Teens were beginning to choose internships. Young people were graduating into their new professions, or even forging new ones.

Everyone now had two days off a week. They had leisure to engage in hobbies. Lestallum now had a theater and orchestra all manned by workers in their spare time. Some instruments had survived, some were found, and some were fashioned out of what could be found. There were books being read, a few being written and passed from reader to reader. A soccer ball had been found. Teams were formed. The pitch they played on was the street blocked off for training. It was shorter and thinner than the real deal, so the goals were smaller to keep it challenging.

Vyv's newspaper was getting thicker. There was more to write about both locally and in the wider area. There were new journalists to do the writing, and new sections covering the arts and sport. Dino had a little workshop he shared with his ex-girlfriend who did hair. Both worked on barter. Jessica showed Ignis new murals every few weeks by one of the local artists.

Prompto was partially right. Lestallum still had to survive her challenges, but she was doing more than that now. They were beginning to thrive. Ignis felt that left him some leeway to muse about the rebirth of Insomnia. He couldn't make any official plans, not yet. He only had the vaguest information about its current state of disrepair. But he could imagine that building materials, in the form of bricks and blocks of rubble, would be plentiful. Iris had told them, when they first met her here after learning of the fall of the city, that some outlying neighborhoods had survived. Most were picked clean by now. Lestallum would likely have to assist in the early days, with food and manufactured items. He'd need people from every primary profession to move to Insomnia to begin rebuilding, cultivating land for farms, renovating factories for manufacturing, starting schools and medical centers.

At least this time, Ignis knew he had time to plan. There were still some years before Noctis returned and brought back the sun. When the dust settled, Ignis hoped to already have a detailed plan to rebuild the city and the rest of Lucis. He hoped to eventually be in a place to help Accordo and Tenebrae rebuild as well. Lestallums residents would have the world to spread out.

Bina interrupted his musings. "Talcott Hester is asking to see you, Ignis."

That was unusual. School had ended for the day but they often saw each other at dinner and still met regularly at the library. He was curious as to why Talcott had come to his office. "Send him in."

"Thank you for seeing me, sir," Talcott said as he entered. "I have a proposition considering my upcoming internship." Young people Talcott's age were still in school, but starting to explore various professions before they chose their internships at seventeen.

"You'll be exploring different jobs next term," Ignis replied. "Why discuss it now?"

"I already know what I want to do," Talcott replied. "I don't need to explore other professions."

"I'm listening," Ignis told him.

"I want to have two internships," Talcott said. "I want to be a historian and a hunter."

Few people tried to have two internships. Internships started during the last year of school. Two would be extra work. "Two internships in addition to your schoolwork?"

"One is an extension of my schoolwork," Talcott pointed out.

"The other is physically demanding. Why a hunter?" Ignis thought he knew but he wanted to hear Talcott's reasoning.

"I want to go with you to explore the tombs. I know the history better than the Commodore and can help work through what we find there. But I don't expect you to always protect me. I want to be able to fight anything that stands in our way, daemon or beast. I'm learning to drive, too, so we can get to those tombs safely and easily."

"And what about when our searching is done. When we've seen all the libraries in the tombs? You should think long-term. Internships become professions."

"Yes, sir," Talcott agreed. "I figure we'll still have to analyze everything we bring back. And after the king brings back the sun, I can still be a historian."

Ignis tried aging up the image he had in his mind of Talcott. It wasn't easy having not seen him. The boy was fifteen. That was the same age Ignis had started training with the Crownsguard, while still attending school and keeping up with his other responsibilities. Finally, he decided. "Your present term ends in two months. Next term, you can try to find an historian who'll take you on—on a part-time basis. You will also begin hunter training with Gladiolus and/or the Marshall or anyone they assign you to. If at the quarter your schooling has suffered, you'll have to give up one of those internships. If at semester, it still suffers, you'll give up the other. You'll have leave to try again the next year."

"Thank you, sir," Talcott said. He took Ignis's right hand and shook it across the desk. "I won't let you down."

"Just do your best," Ignis told him as he headed for the door. "See you at dinner."

Bina stepped back in. "Do you think he can do it?"

Ignis smiled. "Yes, actually, I think he can."