—

The journey to Crestholm was a taxing one, but Ignis was ready to get to work upon arrival. Which was good, because he didn't suspect a nice leisurely night to settle in. That was not generally the case when one was summoned to assist those drowning under an extreme workload.

"Ignis!"

Ignis smiled, recognizing the precise accented inflection in the familiar voice that called him. He hadn't even made it fully down the ladder yet, but Evan was there and beaming at him.

Dear Astrals. The boy looked worn to the bone. That was quite an accomplishment given the strenuous life he'd been born into. He and the others really must have been running themselves ragged. Ignis could only imagine how the regular humans were fairing.

"Hello, Evan," he greeted pleasantly, dusting off the palms of his gloves as he hopped off the last rung of the ladder. There were less people milling about the entrance than he expected. Really only Evan and a couple of other men that Ignis suspected were there to assist with the supply.

"It's good to see you!" Despite the dark circles and pallor of his skin, Evan looked genuinely happy. Beaming further, in fact.

"And you." Ignis reached inside his coat, extracting the folded letter that he'd tucked away at the start of the journey. "From a certain Amicitia. She was quite keen I take it to you."

Evan perked up even further, snagged the letter before Ignis had even fully extended it.

Ignis resisted a chuckle. Not even a world this bleak could completely stifle the joys of those who were young and in love.

It was entertaining to see Evan's rush to open the letter and desire not to tear it conflict.

Ignis hated to rob him of that joy, even if only temporary, but he needed to all the same.

He cleared his throat. "I don't believe that letter is going to go anywhere in the next few hours, Evan."

Evan sheepishly stopped picking the letter open and tucked it into a pocket instead. "Of course. This way."

Ignis rolled his shoulders as they walked, trying to relieve some of the tension he'd been building up from the long journey. Walking from place to place had most definitely been slower, but it hadn't given him the same soreness and knots as riding. He supposed he'd best get used to it, though. He hardly wanted to walk the supplies from city to city.

Of course, before that he was going to need to–

"We have a chocobo ready for you. He's been trained a fair bit, but naturally you're going to have to train yourself some as well. Get used to each other," Evan said, weaving around the few people they'd run into thus far. Ignis had a feeling there were going to be a lot more given the echoing bits of activity he could already hear, though.

Yes, his own chocobo. That had been exactly what he'd been thinking about. It made sense that he was going to have to have his own. Using Loqi's while he was in the city wouldn't be a wise idea. It would be too used to its other rider to effectively be used by him.

He hadn't expected them to have his job partially done for him, though. He wondered how long it would take to fully train an already partially trained chocobo.

Perhaps he needed to speak to Prompto. He'd likely know.

"Loqi and Ravus are dealing with other matters, so we'll have to speak with them later," Evan gestured for him to keep following him down a tunnel that Ignis had never ventured into before.

Most definitely where they kept the chocobos, going by the smell. It was a larger area than he'd expected – a lengthy stretch of tunnel that would take even chocobos a good jog to get down.

He always forgot just how large Crestholm was. He wondered just how far it went under Insomnia, but it was impossible to tell without great effort and time given its singular entrance. He doubted anyone had the desire to walk a measuring tape through the daemon infested city above.

Ignis hummed inside his head to pass the minutes, mulling around a few words he might say once he arrived. He'd never much been for planned speeches. Helped Noct with them? Of course. He just didn't usually plan them for himself. But given the situation into which he was walking, something to ease the tension might be wise.

Fortunately, Ignis already had a good foundation on which to build. The boys all liked him to some degree or another, as far as he knew. He'd hardly ever spoken to Delilah, but she seemed nice enough. He just wondered how she would take to him supposedly taking over the lead position. He hoped it wouldn't rub her the wrong way. She was most definitely the more experienced with the work, and he knew he would rely on her much, but his… additional advantages just made him the right choice to take point in the field itself.

They would work something out. They had to. Even if they ended up hating each other, neither of them were foolish enough to let that get in the way of their work to save lives.

If Petra and Loqi had been able to set aside their differences, almost anyone could.

"Tighten up your turns a bit, Dino!" Delilah's instructing tone reached them just before Ignis caught sight of her.

…How interesting. It appeared Dino and Echo were leading their chocobos around some barrels for maneuvering drills.

Ignis could tell from the way Evan shifted that he was about to call out to them, but Ignis lay a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Let them finish."

It wouldn't do well to break their rhythm the moment he arrived.

And so they waited.

It wasn't time wasted, however. Ignis was already learning their tactics.

It didn't take Delilah too long to notice him, though, and she called the boys to a halt a few moments later

Ignis had their full attention after they'd dismounted, and he realized that they were all waiting on him to speak first as they gathered around him.

Ignis took a breath. "I'll not insult you by pretending that matters are ideal, and I am well aware of the fact that you all would rather not have me here."

Evan opened his mouth in clear protest, but Ignis hand up a hand.

"No, Evan, it is the truth. We may all get along quite nicely overall, but this has been Loqi's operation from the start. He should have always held leading position, but that is unfortunately not an option at present. I assure you all, I am not trying to replace him. I am here for his – and your – benefit only."

"No," Delilah corrected. "It's not just ours. It's the cities. It's everyone's. We know that."

Ignis conceded that with a nod. "We all know what we must do, personal feelings aside. But I do hope we can reach a point that is better than one of mere tolerance. I may not be Loqi, but I can still be your comrade and friend."

He skimmed each of their expressions.

Evan was perfectly accepting, as he'd suspected. Bless that boy's true heart of gold. He'd missed him. They'd never quite gotten back to their relationship after Ignis' return to the city. Perhaps this was a chance for that.

Dino also seemed happy, although to a lesser extreme than Evan. Tired, most definitely. Perhaps he didn't care so much about who was leading so long as things became more normalized for him, and he got to stop running himself ragged around the city.

Delilah… well, Delilah seemed neutral, unsurprisingly. That wasn't exactly positive, but it wasn't negative either, and that was a start.

And then there was Echo.

Ah, yes…

Without him ever speaking, it was difficult to tell how exactly Echo felt in regards to anything, but he was the closest to Loqi. His scowl wasn't unexpected.

He was going to be Ignis' toughest case, for certain

"Echo…" Ignis smiled gently. "I hope that you can get Loqi back here in the future. I truly do. But until that time, I'll just have to do."

Echo looked away from him to his chocobo before swiftly mounting it and restarting his practice.

Delilah sighed. "Well, from what I've gathered, that's his version of telling you that you better keep up." She extended her hand for him to take. "Anyway… welcome aboard."

Ignis accepted her hand and shook it firmly. "My thanks. And I will do my best."

She snorted. "When do you not? Come on. We'll show you the ropes."

This was the start of something that was going to be quite life-altering for all of them. All they could do now is see how it went and hope for the best.

Seven years. Seven years of this now.

How much longer could it possibly be?

Noct had to return soon. He had to. He couldn't save humanity if there was nothing left, after all.

—