The entrance to the tomb was obscured behind the fallen body of the malboro. With some side-stepping and pressing themselves far closer to the moss covered wall than they were comfortable with, Lunafreya and Noctis were able to get themselves into the tomb.
"Gonna need a four hour shower." Noctis complained once inside.
"I certainly cannot argue." Lunafreya replied, and mused over how much control she thought Noctis had over his Fira spell and if he could burn off the unmentionables coating the pair of them without putting them both in a burn ward. Or giving them frostbite. Perhaps using his fire to melt blizzaga to drench them? She shoved the thoughts aside as Noctis approached the stone carving of his ancestor. Stepping beside him she suppressed a cringe as she placed her hand on his slick shoulder, giving him a smile and a nod. He brought his own hand up to cover hers, taking a deep breath. She stepped aside, giving him the space they needed for the now familiar dance of collecting the arm. Being the eighth did not stop her from flinching as it drove into his chest, adding the bow to his arsenal.
The rest burst out, and she yelped, once again taken aback by how much black writhed and sparked amongst the once brilliant and glowing blue. Noctis groaned, bringing a hand to the side of his head, shaking it and Armiger dropped as fast as it had appeared.
"Noctis… I fear you must stop using Armiger." Lunafreya suggested. He turned to her, and she took his silence as her cue to keep talking. "Please simply observe! Look how you feel when you call upon it!" She pleaded.
"How else can I fight all of this? I don't have the ring. I don't have all thirteen arms." He bit back and winced, shaking his head and sighing hard. He ran a hand through his hair and tugged it lightly. "It's all I have to fight."
"You have me. You have your elements, you have Ignis, and Gladiolus, Prompto, Aranea, and Crowe! You have far more than a blighted power! I fear this blight shall find its way inside of you." Lunafreya continued.
"I still feel okay." Noctis replied, without giving his statement any thought. He wasn't feeling okay but wanted to insist who could? With their world blighted, with the empire chasing them.
"Please." Lunafreya pleaded. She wanted to reach out and open his jacket, lift his shirt, inspect him for herself. She clenched and unclenched her fist, feeling the dried mucous coating her skin start to crack and thought better of it.
"I… I need to." Noctis replied.
"At least allow me to find the blight within you, purge it. Perhaps I can find where within you the magic is that stores your ancestors. Do you not see the black when you call upon them?"
"Your magic is slowly eating you unless you chug ethers for a day and a half and you still use it!" Noctis accused. Lines appeared between Lunafreya's brow, her jaw tense making the muscles stand out.
"I am not calling upon a magic infected with blight. I call upon my magic to purge our star."
"Our goals are the same then!" Noctis insisted. "We both risk everything because that damn piece of rock back in Insomnia decided our families were special and gave us murder-hugs full of magic telling us to curse a magic parasite! What else can I do! A normal human can't fight this shit…"
"We will save our star, Noctis, you do not need to risk yourself to do so." She tried to insist, wincing at her own words, but refusing to drop her eyes away from his even as her own fears began to settle in her stomach. "We best get to the others. Ask them of your Armiger, tell me then if you think it wise to continue to call upon it." She asked.
"I'll bring it up after we all take a shower and… well I was gonna say eat something, but I don't think any of us have much of an appetite." He chuckled. She smiled, accepting the compromise as the most headway she was going to make with him. Lunafreya tilted her head, saw that he had a small somehow clean spot on his jacket.
"Well now, an Oracle cannot have dirty hands." And promptly addressed it.
Outside their friends were waiting, Prompto bouncing restlessly.
"Hey gonna show it off? What was this one?" he asked.
"We discussed this!" Ignis barked. "Noctis, don't humor him please." Noctis grimaced, wondering now if everyone was noticing the problem but him. He felt sore, and had a bit of a headache, but surely if the very core of his magic was blighted he'd be the mother of all demons by now. He cringed as he remembered the half-rotted living corpses back at the experimental medical base of the Nifs and looked down at his own palms. The skin was coated in dried green and brown, but he couldn't see lines of black twirling around his skin. He didn't feel feverish, or unusually tired. He brushed the thoughts off as exhausted and overprotective friends.
The walk out of the mines felt longer than the walk in. The climb up the various ladders and tunnels left them with aching legs and throbbing feet, everyone dropping into the dry dirt outside despite their agreement to get into the Regalia immediately and get clean. A few minutes to ease their bodies before they attacked the next set of rickety stairs, the metal creaking beneath their feet and rust dust raining on the heads of the retinue on the floor below those at the head of the pack.
"C'mon man! You're gonna dye my hair red!" Prompto barked up to Gladiolus.
"Hmm… red might suit you." Aranea replied.
"Blond forever!" Prompto insisted.
"You're only saying that because Cindy said you have cute hair once." Gladiolus called down.
"She called my hair cute?!"
They made it to the top, getting themselves sorted and started the drive to the nearest rest stop to rent beds, and showers.
"So much better!" Noctis announced as he threw himself onto the bed. "Even if the water did smell funny."
"Perhaps it is merely an old building." Lunafreya replied. The hotel had limited private rooms, and Notis had pulled the I'm the Prince card to get one of the two available. Ignis called the second one, Aranea saying she would bunk with him not trusting anyone else in the retinue enough to share a bed. Gladiolus had some choice teasing, earning him a middle from Aranea and insistence that Gladiolus could microwave himself some cup noodle that night and not partake in dinner.
Crowe, Gladiolus, and Prompto were given the third room which had two beds, Crowe immediately stating she was taking one of the beds for herself and the two men could figure out how they would fit. Perhaps with some spooning. More middle fingers were exchanged.
Noctis had slipped the do not disturb tag on their doorknob to keep housekeeping away, though he was certain it wouldn't last if Gladiolus walked past their door for ice or to get cup noodle from the vending machine if Ignis lived up to his threat. Noctis had tried to suggest that they just order room service, but Ignis wasn't going to hear it. Until he realized their hotel rooms did not have a mini-kitchen. So room service it was.
"I believe we should remove the do no disturb sign then?" Lunafreya asked. Noctis shrugged, tucking both his hands under his head. Lunafreya shifted from her position at the headboard, scooting to the foot of the bed where Noctis was lying with his legs dangling off the bed. "Now that we are clean, will you not allow me to assess you?" She asked.
"Your hands are cold!" He winced, squinting as she placed her hands on his cheeks. She chuckled and shook her head at him, trying to focus her mind on her magic and not on the cheeky grin on his face or the heat on her cheeks that was starting to travel lower. She let out a hard breath through her nose and re-focused her mind. She pressed her hands against the sides of his face, his head now in her lap as she moved to the end of the bed and crossed her legs.
"I'm facing the wrong way." Noctis complained, shifting his head in her lap, her hotel bathrobe hitched up to her hips with the way she was sitting. The heat grew more intense and she cleared her throat.
"Noctis! Let me focus!" She complained, but couldn't help noticing the way he grinned and licked his lips.
"Hey! You started it." Noctis insisted. She was about to call him a child when she realized that her bathroom tie had come undone, and she was giving him an eyeful of her breasts. She huffed, releasing his face and trying to tie the robe again. Noctis reached up, fingers slipping around her wrists and pulled them away. "Nope."
"What nope?"
"Covering them up!" Noctis insisted, his eyes not on her face.
"Honestly." She sighed.
"Fine, I'll even the odds." Noctis offered. He wiggled himself off of her lap and opened his own bathrobe. Both their sets of clothes were put in the bathtub to deal with in the morning, leaving him wearing nothing under his robe. It seems her limited contact had put ideas into his head, her eyes drifting to the evidence of his desire between his legs.
"Quite the subtle man." She stated.
"Subtle woman." He answered. She flushed, and brought her eyes back up to meet his gaze. "A woman is allowed to feel longing after some time has passed." She insisted.
"Is that your ways of saying you missed me? Or just-" He paused, and with his hands on his hips gave a little wiggle and a hip thrust. Lunafreya rolled her eyes, and felt heat in her cheeks as she acknowledged he wasn't wrong. In response, she rolled her shoulders and let her bathrobe slide off of her entirely and showing exactly what she wasn't wearing underneath it. Noctis smiled and stepped back to the bed, kneeling on it and pushing Lunafreya back. His lips crashed against hers, and she replied with a quiet moan, which nearly caused Noctis to become undone. Her arms came up and wound around his neck, both of Noctis's arms were on either side of her to hold himself up as lips and tongues clashed.
"I suppose now you can say with confidence by the gods I've missed you. Even if you do smell quite odd." Lunafreya whispered.
"Well you smell weird too." Noctis replied. Despite their complaints tongues rolled across bare skin, fingers traced, both would bear purpling marks of exchanged love-bites. Lunafreya maintained the sense to keep her marks where Noctis's clothes would easily cover, but lacking a scarf she wouldn't be so lucky.
Through the early evening they were sure they heard knocking at least once, but it wasn't enough to force them apart. Feeling sore and sated they curled together under the sheets, almost feeling like they needed another shower but decided on one more round before sleep rather than shower, compromising by saying they would simply shower again in the morning.
Hard knocking in the morning was what woke them, and they decided not to ignore it for more shenanigans despite Noctis cupping Lunafreya's bare breasts from behind, whispering in her ear and nibbling her earlobe in a way that made the temptation to ignore their friends far too strong. But having ignored them throughout the night she tossed the blankets off herself, sure to cover Noctis's head, and slid herself off the bed calling at the door that she would be right there.
She picked up the discarded bathrobe off the floor, wrapping it right around herself to get covered as best she could, and crossed the small room to open the door. Ignis stood on the other side, and was oddly wearing a bathrobe rather than his usual garb. Though, she had no idea when he would have had the time to both clean, dry, and then finally press his clothing into an acceptable state.
"I am sorry to disturb you so early. But I was wondering if the water in your room was a bit off as well?" He greeted, bypassing his usual formalities. She cleared her throat, hoping to chase away the residuals of sleep from her voice.
"I haven't checked yet this morning. Did you and Aranea sleep well?" She asked, her half-asleep brain forgetting to filter her words.
"Quite soundly." He replied, and she was unable to detect any subtext from his voice.
"I'd invite you in, but I fear Noctis is still asleep and not quite prepared for company." She replied, then felt heat flash across her face, tossing a glance over her shoulder to Noctis's bathrobe still discarded on the floor at the foot of the bed and knew that Ignis's inquisitive mind could put the clues together.
"Mind if I ask you merely to check the water?" He asked.
"Certainly. A moment." Lunafreya bobbed her head, shutting the door behind. She pressed the back of her fist to her mouth to cover a yawn, rubbing at her eyes and walked into the small bathroom. She reached for the knob for the cold water, hoping to splash some onto her face to wake herself up better and winced when dark-grey water came out the spout and the odd scent from the night before was strong enough to cause her to cough and turn the water off, backing away with a hand over her mouth to keep herself from vomiting into the sink.
"Oh." She squeaked, her voice high-pitched. Her chest rising and falling quickly. She staggered away from the sink, her back colliding with the towel rack with a loud clang and knocked the towels to the floor. She could feel the lingering dampness on them and screamed, jerking forward and dashed out of the bathroom. She looked at the towels on the floor and couldn't see any sign of the blackness but could feel the slightly damp in the bathrobe against her back. Her breathing quickened, ragged to her own ears, dropping the bathrobe and kicking it away from her.
She looked at her arms, brushing at the skin looking for any sign of the curls. She saw no signs of it on her, and climbed onto the bed and jerked the sheets back. Noctis grumbled and opened his eyes at her, mumbling questions that failed to register to her ears. He called her name, but it wasn't until he barked it loudly for the third time to snap her out of the scratching at him before she finally stopped, and he grabbed both her wrists.
"Luna!"
"Noct… I don't see any on you…" She replied.
"See what? Did you have a nightmare?" He asked. He yawned, working his jaw and she tried to stare into his mouth. She couldn't tell if she was seeing any black, or it was her wild imagination bringing her fears to life. She clambered off the bed, Noctis just missing her arm to drag her back and watched, perplexed, as she charged at the door. She ignored him calling her name yet again, opening the door, stark naked, to a very shocked Ignis.
"My Lady." Ignis cleared his voice, spinning on his heel to turn his back to her. "You're… uh…" He stammered, bringing a fist to his mouth. "I can wait until you are decent. The information I asked of you is not so pressing." Lunafreya worked her jaw and looked down, squeaking when she realized she had dropped her bathrobe but not put it back on. She slammed the door with an apology, turning and leaning back against it trying to regain a grip on herself.
"Noctis…" She whispered, trying to gain control of her breathing. "Ignis asked of me to look at the water. It's black." She told him.
"Probably a burst pipe." He grumbled. "It used to happen at my old apartment." Noctis slid off the bed, picking up his bathrobe off the floor and picked up hers as well. He held hers out, and she initially flinched away from it. "Look the water last night was clean, right? Burst pipes don't bite. They just smell bad and mean you need to eat cold food for a few hours." He tried to assure her.
"This is no burst pipe Noct, and you and I both smelled the water was off last night." She replied. She stared at the bathrobe, a perfect white as typical of the towels and sheets of a hotel. She grabbed it, slipping it on after inspecting both sides for any sign of color. She could smell a light scent from it, unsure if she was merely smelling herself, the bleach the hotel used to clean them, or the foulness of the tainted water.
"Luna, think. What's more likely, creepy water, or just a burst pipe." he asked her. "Also, did you really just flash Ignis? I should be jealous." He grinned at her. Her eyes widened and she buried her face in her hands.
"Oh gods! I really did flash him!" She said, feeling like her whole body was made of hot lead. She walked away from the door, sitting down in the small chair next to the wooden table that held up a television that only seemed to have ten channels of static then one AV output for a broken DVD player. "I'm sorry." She managed, and tried to get her thoughts together.
"Did you have a nightmare? I've never seen you like that except for when you have nightmares." Noctis asked. She shook her head, looking down at her hands and expected the swirls of black crawling across her skin. What would happen to the Star should those lines appear? To Noctis? To her friends? If she could no longer hold it at bay what hope did they have. She looked up, trying to see if it had touched him, his clear skin not assuaging her fears.
"Maybe." She conceded, though she couldn't recall one. "I best explain to Ignis... " She suggested.
"It's Ignis. I'll give him a hard time and he'll try to pretend it never happened." He tried to reassure her. "I'll go talk to him. Curious what he asked to get you to do that. I normally have to badly flirt with you for a while first." He tried to tease. She jut her jaw and glared at him, and he just smiled and chuckled.
"I just mean I'm not mad, okay?"
"Gods I really did answer the door utterly naked." She moaned, burying her face into her hands. But the image of the black water hung on the back of her eyelids and she knew she had to swallow back her pride and bruised dignity. They needed to know what made the water black, and she hoped Noctis's dismissive answer of a broken pipe was all there was to it.
