I wanted to belt out a fun chapter to make up for my long absence
Lunafreya pulled on her old white dress, Noctis zipped up the back for her and fastened the small button to hold the top in place. Her sneakers were still drying from the night before but her old heels would do in the meantime. It felt odd to be back in her formalwear, and she was nervous about being recognized. She sat down on the edge of the bed, a familiar ache in her ankles already from her few minutes in heels, trying to gather up the courage to exit the room and face her friends, which included Ignis.
Noctis had an old outfit, and Lunafreya couldn't help a giggle when he emerged from the bathroom in it. It had been picked out by Prompto, and certainly looked more his style. A white tee-shirt with a pattern on it from some old video game she never got the chance to play as a child paired with bluejeans, and she was a little surprised to see him not wearing any black. A white baseball cap covered his unfixed bedhead, and he walked around with only socks on his feet since he left his spare pair of sneakers back in the Regalia and his boots were still too covered in too much diseased filth to risk wearing.
They left the room and knocked on the door across from them, the rest of their company crowded into the small double-bed room. Everyone sat scattered about the room, and Lunafreya felt heat in her face and ears when she saw Ignis, and was grateful he was sitting next to Aranea on the opposite side of the room and his eyes didn't catch hers. She eased herself into the small armchair in the corner and the general chatter in the room quieted down with the entrance of the two royals.
"So uh, Luna, just how screwed are we with this whole black water? Cause I dunno if I splashed some on me or something because I turned the water on to shower and had to stick my arm in there to turn it off but some might have splashed out and I don't know if I touched it and am I gonna turn into a demon or melt like the people at that base or something?" Prompt asked, half his words slurred together into one long sound.
Lunafreya got up from the chair, holding her hands up to try and urge him to stay sitting on the edge of the bed where he had both his legs bouncing on his toes just touching the floor.
"Let me see, first. May I?" She asked. He nodded and hummed his consent and closed his eyes when she reached for him. Her forehead touched his, soothing despite how cold her fingertips felt. She whispered her prayer, warmth surging from her hands and he was only distantly aware of someone saying old sparklefingers quickly followed by an ow and possibly fuck off Gladio but the voices were faded and distant compared to the sedation that was surging through him. An ache in his joints faded, muscles relaxing. A headache he had only been half-aware of disappeared and he felt like he had just gotten a full night's sleep, a mug of coffee, and the world's greatest shower.
"Thanks Luna!" He cheered as she drew back, and the smile vanished immediately when he saw her expression.
"You are quite well now, but the blight had found its way inside of you. I should check all of you." She suggested, catching Noctis's eye who dropped his gaze and drew himself in.
She went to Crowe next, withdrawing her hands sharply at Crowe's yelp about her cold hands before trying again, simply nodding when she suggested that she warm up those sparklefingers before torturing everyone in the group. Her magic surged and she once again felt the blight taking root, this time more intense than Prompto. She was surprised her Shield felt so good, and wondered if she had been hiding it. Her magic chased the blight, as a light cast upon shadow makes the shadow vanish.
Gladiolus was easy, the blight haven barely taken hold. She stepped up to Ignis next, trying to overcome her sense of humiliation.
"My Lady…" He trailed off, biting his tongue and let her perform her rituals. She heard Aranea snort, but she kept her attention on Ignis. Like the others, she could feel the blight within him. She drew back, feeling nauseous and somewhat dizzy. But she managed to step over to Aranea who smirked and winked at her before agreeing to the prayer.
"You okay there Sparkes?" Crowe asked when Lunafreya stepped back from Aranea and needed to catch herself with a hand against the wall, the other pressed hard against her temple. She nodded, blowing out a breath and walked over to Noctis, giving him a stern glare and he posed no opposition to her attention. Her hands came to his cheeks, feeling for the blight. She wanted to find his pocket of magic, find his Armiger. Put an end to the argument once and for all. But she could only feel his body, and the echoes of Blight through his body. She tried to chase them away, a tremor formed in her arms as she poured more of her magic into him. Her pulse started to throb harder in her ears and her breath quickened. The others said her name, but she was deaf to their voices. Finally, hands on her shoulder pushed her away and she momentarily looked at Noctis's blurred face before bubbles formed before her eyes and blackness closed in.
"Sparkles!"
"Luna!" She was close enough to the bed it was easy enough to guide her collapse against it, Crowe going to the other side of the bed to pull her body fully over her. "Luna?" Noctis repeated, pushing on her shoulder. "She's healed lots of people before, why is just the few of us knocking her out?" He asked, looking to Ignis.
"We have endured quite a lot recently, perhaps she failed to sleep adequately after our fight in the mines last night." Ignis offered, a pitious frown on his face.
"She's tough shit, she'll pull through just needs a nap." Crowe added, patting Lunafreya's shoulder. She was only unconscious for a few seconds, coming to without intervention. She groaned, her head felt too light and she still had spots in front of her eyes. "Welcome back." Crowe said, sitting on the bed next to her.
"I perhaps overdid myself a bit." She admitted. She gave herself some time for the dizziness and spots to settle before she sat up, pinching the bridge of her nose and squinting with a fresh dizziness before she felt somewhat normal.
"I ran out of energy drinks so I can't give you an ether." Noctis apologized, grimacing at his ill planning. "How you feeling?"
"Better." She insisted.
"Once we are prepared to leave we can stop at a store and stock up." Ignis suggested.
"With what money? You got a secret gil stash up that tight ass of yours?" Gladiolus asked. Ignis grimaced, Aranea beside him trying to suppress a smirk.
"We can see if there is a wanted poster." Ignis responded. "It has been quite some time since we've tried to earn any money."
"I'll go look. You start this council of Elrond." Gladios waved, and left the room.
"Oh. Quite right… we have matters to discuss." Ignis said. "I'm sure you all noticed the water this morning." He was staring steadfast at Noctis, and Lunafreya was staring down at her own hands while she nodded her agreement with him. Prompto whimpered again, and started to rub his palms against his pants.
"We should see if it's just the hotel or not."Noctis replied.
"That we should. We can ask to use the public restroom of the convenience store." Ignis suggested. They talked for a few minutes, mostly to confirm all of them experienced the black water and Lunafreya assured them all she eradicated any trace of blight she could find in them, though she bit her tongue about Noctis, knowing they would need to talk more about his Armiger.
"I'm hungry." Prompto complained. "And tired. Anyone else want a coffee?" He asked.
"I wouldn't recommend that." Aranea replied, scrunching her nose.
"Why?" he asked.
"Think for a second about how coffee is made?" She replied. He paused, then scrunched his own face and shivered.
"Oh ick! Blech! You think they'd be dumb enough to use tap water if it's all black and creepy?" He asked.
"If they weren't paying attention or they have wall-mounted units that refill themselves with water direct from the tap. Either way not really safe. But we can get a few water bottles from the convenience store." She explained.
"I guess we really do need to do a hunt, huh?" Noctis asked, feeling his stomach growl. They were out of food that was quick to eat, any proper meals would need to be prepared by Ignis. Unless the idea of eating oats directly out of a can sounded appealing. They were even out of bread. Gladiolus came back after a few more minutes of talking about if the black water was simply a broken pipe, but each alternative to the Blight was quickly shot down.
"They have three hunts up, two are five kilometers east of here, and the third is about ten kilometers north. With the Regalia we should be able to do all three before dark, and if we feel like our balls are big enough they had a forth one for after dark killing some demons. With all four we should be set on money for a while." Gladiolus explained, then cupped his balls, jutting his jaw in an exaggerated pensive expression. "Yep balls big enough. Actually, hey, Crowe, can I borrow your bra? These boys need some support." He called across the room, and got a shoe thrown at his head.
"Ugh this is gonna be a long day." Prompt whined.
"Well just think of all the snacks we can buy." Gladiolus barked back. "Now come on, let's go kick some ass."
"Luna why don't you stay here and rest? You still look dizzy." Noctis suggested when he saw he stand up with the others.
"You may need healing." She countered.
"We held our own against a Malboro, we can lick our own wounds until we drag our sorry asses back here. We need you in tip-top shape to keep the blight at bay with how fucked up it's getting." Gladiolus suggested. He crossed the few steps to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're not delicate. I've seen you fight too many times to be stupid enough for that." he told her. She pinched her lips, but nodded and dropped her gaze. She sat down on the bed, trying not to voice her discouragement at being left behind.
"I'll keep you company. Besides, what kinda Shield would I be if I ran off for vain glory when my charge is sitting here bored?" Crowe finished scooching across the bed and sat next to her.
"Girl's day sounds fun." Aranea called across the room.
"You're not coming with us?" Ignis asked.
"Nah, you guys are broke. Can't pay my fees today. I'll play bodyguard to the Oracle with Crowe here out of the goodness of my heart." She replied, then winked at him. He smiled back at her and reached for her hand, bringing the back of it to place a chaste kiss upon her knuckles.
"I shall fight valiantly in your stead." He promised. Lunafreya smiled at the subtle smile on Aranea's face, which broke into a snort when Gladiolus reached his arm around Ignis's shoulders and tugged him close, giving him a mock-punch in the stomach.
"Well I think you and I have catching up to do! When did you become the ladies man in the group?" He asked, and started tugging him to the hotel door. Noctis reached over to Lunafreya, brushing his thumb against her cheek and she shrugged away, whispering his name and trying not to smile.
"I'll miss you, but enjoy your day with your friends okay?" He asked, and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Be safe." She asked. He smiled and nodded, joining Prompto and following Ignis and Gladiolus out of the room.
"Well with them gone, what do you say we get ourselves something to eat since most of our food is in the Regalia?" Crowe suggested.
"Is not the point of the hunt that we are short on funds?" Lunafreya asked. Crowe smirked, digging into her sock and pulling out a money clip with a few bills.
"I've been conservative. Come on, my treat. I should have enough to feed the three of us if you think we can survive without alcohol for a meal." She asked.
"I wonder perhaps if the food at the diner would be safe or not." Lunafreya asked.
"We're short on options. We can eat and risk it, or go hungry." Crowe replied bluntly. Lunafreya winced, but admitted she had a point. Aranea also produced a clip of money, and Lunafreya admitted most of hers had been spent on clothing the last time they were in Lestallum together.
The diner was across the street and two buildings over. They were happy to find it empty, and the waitress seemed glad for customers. Told to sit wherever they like they sat at the booth closest to the door, Crowe beside Lunafreya sitting across from Aranea who initially sat sideways until Crowe kicked her and called her rude.
"What can I get you ladies?" She asked.
"Your orange juice in a jug or you reconstitute the stuff with water?" Crowe asked.
"Fresh squeezed if'n y'don't mind." She replied, a bite of offense hidden beneath her smile. The trio ordered orange juice, but passed on coffee. They ordered their food and the waitress barked what sounded like another language through the open window to the kitchen.
"So." Aranea started, folding her arms over the table and leaning forward. "I've been dying to ask you all morning. Did you really flash Iggy?" Lunafreya stiffened up, palms slapping down against the cracked cushion of the booth seat. "Hah! that's a yes!" She laughed.
"I-it was unintentional!" Lunafreya replied, feeling simultaneously hot and cold.
"Oh calm down I'm not mad." She laughed. "Jealous maybe, not mad." She nodded, as if she was thinking about it.
"If you're gonna be jealous of anyone be jealous of Princy boy he gets to touch them."
"Guys!"
"Ah true. they look like a perfect palmful too." Aranea concurred, staring blatantly at Lunafreya's chest. She pinched her lips and wrapped her arms around her chest, whining Aranea's name and dropping her head.
"Hey what's wrong with that?" Crowe asked, then looked at her own chest. "I think I got a healthy handful too. And hey, bonus points, they fit into a sports bra so I never need to wear one of those infernal metal-wire contraptions. Screw cleavage, I like my ribs to feel normal at the end of the day. What about you? I see you're back in that dress, the empire make you wear boob-traps?" Crowe asked, nudging Lunafreya with her elbow.
"At least in the military, I got a sports bra, better to crush everything into my armor." Aranea explained, "the occasional use of an actual bra is nice."
"I'm sure Ignis appreciates it." Crowe smirked.
"But the blonde bombshell here just had to go flash my boyfriend." Aranea replied, nudging Lunafreya's leg with her own.
"I told you it- did you just say boyfriend?" Lunafreya asked. Now it was her turn to smirk.
"I knew there was something up with you bunking with him in the only other one-bed room!" Crowe laughed. Their talk was interrupted by the delivery of the juice, a round of thank yous, and attention went back to the smirking Aranea.
"I need to know when you graduated from flirting to official." Crowe demanded.
"I don't think it some grand announcement. You know how he is. Just grabbed my hand and said fancy-speak for 'hey keep me company?'"
"So ya fuck last night?" Crowe asked. Lunafreya coughed, thumping her chest to keep herself from choking on her sip of orange juice.
"Crowe!" Lunafreya managed, needing to clear her throat of lingering juice.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you're not curious."
"It is not business of mine!" Lunafreya responded.
"Well for the record no, he was a perfect gentleman. We did cuddle though." Aranea explained. Crowe immediately brought her hands up to form air quotes.
"Cuddle."
"I swear he was a gentleman. Totally respectful." Aranea insisted.
"Did he at least cop a feel?"
"No he did not." Aranea clarified.
"Oh boo I was hoping more than just this one was having some fun." Crowe replied, thumbing at Lunafreya.
"Crowe!" she whined again, and was certain her entire face had to be on fire by now.
"If I break this dry spell trust me ladies, you'll both be the first to know."
"Is this what typical girl-friends speak of?" Lunafreya asked. Crowe reached around her shoulders to tug her in a rough side-hug.
"Welcome to being normal. Well almost normal. We're a weird bunch. But not as weird as the Oracle. So yes. this is what gal pals talk about." Crowe assured her. Lunafreya gave them a smile, feeling a sudden happiness that made her eyes burn and she quickly blinked away the sting of unshed tears, feeling like a normal girl.
