The utter idiot. Ravus didn't think he'd ever be able to even start to comprehend how it was that an individual could be simultaneously as intelligent and stupid as Ignis Scientia.
The man literally looked ready to keel over and die on the spot, and yet he was still attempting to fight off the medical staff and leave. Not to mention the entire leadership of Lestallum had already spotted him. Did he truly think running off now was going to keep his secret from getting out?
Ravus wanted to chalk it up to the probably twelve different types of toxin in his friend's system at the moment, but... well this was Scientia. He likely would have done it anyway.
"Sir, you need to get back in bed!" the nurse said as she attempted to direct him.
Scientia shook his head, the motion jerky and uncoordinated. The glaze in his eyes was still very present. And rather disturbing with their usual glow, to be honest. "Can't stay here... I can't... can't stay..." He kept trying to push her hands away.
"Ignis..." Lunafreya started to step forward, but Ravus cut in front of her. He had a feeling that her presence would be anything but calming right now. Ravus himself, however...
Hopefully Scientia's delusional self would still recognize his presence as a welcome one instead of a cause for panic.
"Scientia, you need to remain calm." Ravus stepped up and firmly yet gently grasped Scientia's biceps so he could direct him. "You've been poisoned and you need to let us assist you."
Scientia struggled marginally less in Ravus' hold, eyes flitting about Ravus' face as though he were trying to recognize him. "…I have to get out of here. Can't let him find out…"
"We will figure something out once you are well." Ravus said. Damn it all. He was terrible at comfort.
"No… No time… I must… I have to get out of here…." Scientia twisted weakly, seeming to try and shake off Ravus' hold. He was too weak, though.
The nurse behind Scientia held up what Ravus knew had to be a sedative, and Ravus gave her a subtle nod.
Scientia didn't see it coming at all. He just struggled a bit harder for a few moments after the injection and then slumped into Ravus' hold.
"If one of you could kindly brief those unfamiliar with his lack of danger in terms of turning into a daemon, it would be appreciated," Ravus tossed over his shoulder as he began hauling Scientia back to his room.
"But is Iggy gonna be okay? He looks awful!" Prompto all but wailed.
Ravus winced at the pitch. He hadn't wanted to smack Prompto so greatly in a long while. He thought he'd grown out of that annoying habit.
"He barely looks like Iggy at all…" Gladio muttered, running a hand over his jaw.
"He's gonna look worse if we don't get him back in bed and start dealing with all the crap he has in his system," the nurse said sharply. It was a less than subtle nudge for him to hurry up.
Well, if he was assisting with that, at least he couldn't be interrogated by the others–
No. He'd been over this with himself already. Damage control. That was down to him.
…Ugh. He really didn't want to.
"Can you not just dump an antidote on him?" Prompto shrieked, actually making Cor wince as he currently standing right next to him.
"We're waiting on the shipment from Crestholm. We'll have to stabilize him and wait. Now get him back in the bed!" the nurse snapped.
Where was kind, patient Delilah when she was needed?
Ravus complied all the same, dragging his friend closer to the room. "Might I make the recommendation that we keep this discovery to ourselves for the time being?"
"Um…" said Prompto.
"That hardly seems fair to those such as Aranea and Evan," Lunafreya protested.
Two of the medical personnel met Ravus at the door, relieving him of the burden of hauling his friend around.
Damn. Now he had to stay and explain his reasoning in detail to the others.
He kept his back to the rest of them under the pretense of keeping an eye on Scientia. Most of them had played an extensive amount of poker with him, so the less they saw of his face right now the better.
"Would you rather them have to suffer through his death a second time if he doesn't pull through?" Ravus said bluntly.
A pause.
Excellent. He'd logiced them into accepting his point.
Logiced? By the Six, he'd spent far too much time around Prompto and his asininely informal dialect.
"There is nothing we can do here," Cor spoke up finally. "We should leave the medical professionals to do their work and discuss this in a more private area."
Why didn't he just say the meeting room? It was as though they met anywhere else when they needed to keep matters away from prying ears.
…Ravus' irritation was making him very petty at the moment, he admitted to himself.
"Um," Prompto repeated, louder than before. He looked… incredibly guilty.
"What?" Ravus asked flatly, glancing over his shoulder.
"Prompto, what have you done?" Lunafreya said tiredly.
Prompto blinked a few times, his mouth open like he knew he should be speaking but didn't want to. "I… kind of already texted Aranea."
"You did what?" Ravus roared, fully facing the boy and stalking forward to tower over him.
Prompto shrank back with a yelp. "I'm sorry – I'd already sent it by the time you said to keep things quiet!"
How? Ravus hadn't even seen him pull his phone out. How had he been so damned fast? And how did he still not understand the need for discretion after all this time of helping run the city? Not to mention traveling with Noctis when the whole Empire had been attempting to hunt him down…
"Why are you so set on keeping it a secret?" Amicitia asked, his eyes narrowed.
…Blast.
"I just said a moment ago," Ravus snapped. "Does your hearing need adjustment?"
"Ravus, you're seeming rather unsurprised at this development considering your connection with Ignis."
…Oh bloody hell. Lunafreya was using that tone of hers. And she had her arms crossed. He was done for.
Ravus met his sister's eyes, but he said nothing.
"You knew he was alive," Cor said. It was not a question.
Ravus was going to have to word this very carefully if he wanted to avoid fending off the Shield, Immortal, Oracle, and whatever the hell heroic title the population had dubbed Prompto.
"I… discovered as much some months–"
Ravus registered his backside hitting the ground slightly before the flare of pain on his face.
Ow. Unsurprising that Amicitia would be the one to punch him in the face, but still unpleasant.
"Months? You knew for damn months that he was alive and you didn't feel like sharing that?" Amicitia bellowed.
It was a testament to how pissed off his sister was, that she didn't protest at all to him being assaulted.
"Are you kidding me?" Prompto shrieked. "We mourned for him! We've been mourning for him for almost two years!"
Ravus touched his jaw gingerly, rising back to his feet. "I swore to him that I would keep my silence." He spared a moment to brush off his coat as he let those words settle in.
He almost rolled his eyes at the shock he found on their faces.
"What?" he demanded. "Were you all under the assumption that he physically couldn't return and speak with you all this time?"
None of them got the chance to reply. Not when the click of Aranea's heels sprinting towards them reached their ears.
"Prompto!"
"Here, 'Nea…" Prompto said weakly, probably not even loud enough for her to hear.
She stopped abruptly upon reaching them, chest heaving with short breaths. She must have run from a fairly sizable distance – Ravus didn't see her stamina this drained very often.
…Nor did he often see her expression so wild and unguarded.
"He's really…?" Her voice caught in her throat, but she made no effort to resume her question. They all knew what she was asking.
"For the moment, yes," Ravus answered her. "Scientia is alive."
And the Six only knew how many might now die because that fact was known. How long would it possibly take Ardyn to receive word of this? And what would be the level of his reaction? Lunafreya had… tamed him somewhat with her undying kindness and patience, but what if the deception of Scientia's false death undid the fragile dynamic that had grown in his absence?
…Although, to be honest, Ravus was more scared of physical harm from Aranea than Ardyn right now.
It was probably best he get his will in order in the next minute, because once she found out that he'd known all this time, Ardyn would most likely be the least of his problems.
She was going to spear him. And his own sister would help.
