Untold Omens
Chapter Four: Motivation
Moaning groans and screams blasted out from the speakers, followed by violent gunshots and gory explosions. Noctis stood placid in front of the zombie game among the flashing and upbeat music in the arcade. His stance straight, his arm held out in perfect balance as he shot idly at each zombie that appeared on the screen. Compared to his weapons' training, arcade shooter games were nothing.
The gun had no knock-back causing no ear ringing. Best of all, no Gladio hovering over him watching his every move. It was just him, a limited health bar against the endless horde of zombies. He was alone and that was all he—
"What happened to staying irregular? Are you trying to get caught by Gladio?" Aracelis' voice drew his focus from the game. His character died a gruesome death in his inattention.
"If you're here, it's a safe bet that he isn't," retorted Noctis, glancing at her with mild annoyance. "You're trying to avoid him too."
"Fair enough," agreed Aracelis, dropping her bag next to him to dig out her coin pouch. With a grin, she pulled out the gun and jingled the bag of coins. "Round two?"
"If you're paying, sure." Noctis shrugged, resuming his stance.
Playing together became an odd routine for them whenever they ran into each other at the arcade. He never said much during the meetings, but this didn't seem to bother the older girl.
"So… are you and Prompto friends by any chance?" asked Aracelis during the pause when they decided to switch games.
"That blond kid that got hit by a car?" Noctis recalled the teen, half-wondering why she brought him up so suddenly.
"Ah, I guess not if you're still referring to him as that blond kid," muttered Aracelis with a shake of her head.
He'd ask why she brought up the question at all, but she seemed to have gotten over it. Aracelis was often odd that way. The raven haired prince couldn't quite figure her out just yet.
Most of the girls at his school were busybodies with weird notions of who he was and what it was like to date him. Everyone thinks he can't hear them in passing, but he's overheard almost every possible variation of teenage gossip on him. From liking shy quiet girls to being an enigmatic badass the majority of it painted his character akin to prince charming, albeit he'd most definitely admit this was false.
Conversely, Gladio has called him prince charmless behind his back on more than one occasion. Then again, his future shield viewed him as lesser than dirt on most days so it was hardly a fair assessment.
"It's getting late. You might want to head back soon," noted Aracelis, always at a time that will allow him to get back to the Citadel by public transportation at a reasonable hour.
Apart from when she rushed to the hospital she seldom drove him back to the Citadel. He reasoned it was so Gladio would be none the wiser to them shirking their duties.
Despite being friends with Gladio, Aracelis didn't seem to view him in the same light as that muscle-head. On the contrary, she offered advice on how to effectively avoid the Amicitia heir. She even provided the occasional anecdote of how difficult the older teen could get whenever he fell into a mood.
As inconvenient as it was to take public transportation, he'd much rather keep this odd correspondence with the older girl. It was nice to know he wasn't the only one who needed to run away from time to time.
"Prompto, Prompto, Prompto! You're killing me!" Face buried in her pillows, Aracelis laid flat on her bed with a single arm dangling off the edge.
Apart from the growing piles of research notes and books throughout, her bedroom was immaculate. Blackwood shelves lined with various trophies decorated the modestly painted walls. The elegant vanity, chair and desk arrangement suggested formal sophistication, save not for the giant teddy bear leaning against her black curtained bay window.
It had been weeks since she lucked out with the meeting between Noctis and Prompto. Considering how well the two interacted, she was certain there was nothing more to be concerned about. Except that for whatever reason, the blond never initiated their friendship.
To make the situation worse, Prompto's initial onslaught of endless texts and calls had more or less stopped entirely. She had no clue why but she lost her only valid reason to contact him. Instead, she checked up on Noctis today in order to gauge the extent of their relationship.
Her encounters with the prince at the arcade were hardly by chance. She meticulously calculated the possibilities of where he would show up at any given day. As well as keeping track of how often she so "happens" to run into him to keep his suspicion down.
Of the people the prince should worry about, Gladio should be the least of his concerns. If he knew how much work and effort she put into keeping track of him, no doubt he'd run screaming or tell his father to have her arrested. Honestly, she's surprised that Crownsguard hasn't shown up at her front door to demand her parents to release her into their custody. If they kept track of the prince half as well as she did, they would have noticed her absurd stalking by now.
Knock, knock
"Honey, are you okay?" asked her mother, Selene Hester, through the door.
"…I'm fine," came her muffled response.
She was far from fine.
The doorknob jiggled with a soft click before it carefully swung open. Aracelis didn't bother to face the door, recognizing Selene's waddling steps from her rotund pregnant belly. Selene Hester was a kind yet overly doting woman. There was no comparison to be made between her and the absent mother of her previous life. Her father was a serviceman so she grew up a "military brat", hopping from base community to base community alone during his long deployments.
"You don't sound fine to me," commented Selene gently as she planted a hand on her head and ran her fingers through Aracelis' dark locks. "What's wrong? Is it school? Or the work you have to do for Grandpa Jared?"
"It's nothing I can't handle," lied Aracelis.
Selene was in her last weeks of pregnancy and her body had swollen immensely in her hampered state. It will not be long now before Talcott is born. Aracelis dreaded the day. She had some experience with Iris when it came to younger siblings, but unlike Iris, Talcott would eventually trigger the events that lead to their grandfather's demise.
"Are you sure?" asked Selene as she clasped both hands over her daughter's. "You seem tired and stressed as of late."
"I promise, I'm fine," reassured Aracelis. "I'm… dealing with it."
"Hmm?" Selene hummed playfully. "By it, do you mean a boy?"
"…Mother," growled the younger Hester as she pulled away. "If this is your attempt to get me to start dating—"
"But honey," whined the older woman with a teasing tone. "You're young, smart and beautiful! Any boy would be happy to—"
"We've been through this mother," grounded Aracelis. "I—am—not—interested."
"Oh," pouted Selene. "What about Gladio then? You two get along."
"Mother." Aracelis grounded as she pointed to her door. "We're done with this conversation."
"But sweetie!"
"OUT!"
"Fine, fine, break your dear mother's heart," huffed Selene with mock hurt as she grabbed onto the four-poster frame and pulled herself up. "But in all honesty dear, you need to relax more. Make a friend and go have fun while you're still young. All this stress is not healthy for you."
It took a moment for her to waddle out of her room, but Aracelis waited patiently for her to leave before rolling off her bed to close and lock the door. Despite her jesting, she knew the woman was trying her best to look out for her. Maternal affection was something she's yet to get used to even though she lived with the woman all these years.
Not that it made her care any less for her. In fact, she worried immensely, since neither her mother nor father were mentioned past Insomnia's fall. They could have very well died by then or even before. While maternal mortality in Insomnia was low, it certainly wasn't impossible.
After all it did happen to…
Aracelis closed her eyes, pressing her head against the door, murmuring quiet reassurances to herself.
"It's not going to happen again. You're just freaking yourself out."
Her world felt like it was spiraling out of control and she had no way to stop it. Prompto aside, Gladio was the same as ever when it came to his disdain towards the prince and she had no clue where to even start with Ignis. The straight-laced young man was impossible for her to read. She's half-convinced that he thinks of her as some sort of alien or something along those lines. Why he still bothers with her ruse was a mystery to her, but at this point, she'll take whatever she could get.
"It'll be fine." Aracelis murmured with renewed determination. "I can do this."
The warmth of the sun, the gentle chirping of birds and the occasional soft breeze was commonplace. Yet, somehow it seemed more remarkable today. Ignis wasn't sure when he started acknowledging the little things around the alcove he frequented in Valetis' lush green courtyard. He's sat there many times before, but he'd long forgotten how to actually take in his surroundings. Even the sunlight peeking through the rustling leaves felt different somehow.
"…Why do you always pick such an out of the way place to have lunch?" sighed Aracelis as she planted a routine cup of coffee next to his food on the decorative garden table.
"It's…" Ignis paused to consider the question. He closed his eyes and took in a relaxed breath. "It's pleasant."
"…Uh-huh…" Aracelis deadpanned. "You enjoy that."
Ignis opened his eyes once she left. Belatedly, he noted a difference in her usual cadence. Over the past few weeks, he grew familiar to her quick driven steps whenever she dropped off coffee for him. At first, it sounded almost terrifying as though he was being hunted down like prey. Now that he found himself acquainted with the sound, her slow light-footed steps were notably uncanny. He couldn't explain why, but this was bothering him.
In the past, he scarcely thought to stray his attention from his lessons to let his eyes wander about the classroom. There was little of interest regarding the students within the four walls of the classroom. His peers were either attentive to the lecture or dozing off. Aracelis being a top student like himself, logically should've been part of the first variety.
However, when he allowed his attention to stray towards the freckled-face girl, he found her resting her chin on an open palm staring blankly out the window. Since he never bothered looking at her before, he couldn't be sure if this behavior was unusual.
Her grades and work ethic outside of class implied that she wasn't the sort to daydream or ignore her course load, but he could be wrong. Contrary to what he initially assumed, the girl has proven to be unpredictable. Unable to come to a conclusion, he returned his attention back to the lesson.
As expected, the droning voice of their lecturer placed the less enthused students to sleep, while the rest of them scratched away with their pens to take notes. By the time their classes ended, it was evident to him that Aracelis was unaware of the dispersing activity around her. With deliberation, Ignis took his time to pack up for the day, more slowly than all the others. The girl remained seated still lost in thought, shrouded in the orange hues of the late afternoon sun.
"…Aracelis?" Ignis called out once he finished packing his things.
"Hmm?" The girl jumped at the sound of her name and glanced around, finally realizing the room was devoid of people. "Oh… class is over."
"You look like you have a lot on your mind," commented Ignis. "Something bothering you?"
"It's…" The brunette looked ready to deny his claim, but ultimately gave up and allowed her shoulders to sink. "Yeah… a couple of weeks ago, I nearly ran someone over."
"You ran…" Ignis stopped himself and hastily changed the direction of his words. "Is he okay?"
"He got hit by a different car a week later," muttered Aracelis darkly.
"A… rather accident prone individual I see," continued Ignis, barely able to keep his composure from turning into disbelief.
"Would you believe if I told you he got out of that relatively unharmed, but then ends up not being able to walk home because he overexerted himself?" groaned Aracelis as she buried her hands in her hair in frustration. "I almost prefer having him give me a heart attack every time he calls me. At least then I know the idiot's not dead in a ditch somewhere."
"You said he called you, correct? Then surely you have his number," reasoned Ignis. "If you're that worried, why don't you just call him?"
"…Oh yeah." Aracelis lit up in realization, quickly digging out her phone and flipping through her contacts.
Ignis watched uneasy in silence, not anticipating she would do so this very moment. She seemed more the sort to take her calls privately, away from spectators.
"Prompto?" greeted Aracelis the moment the call went through. However, the concern turned to fury as she began to scream into it. "Gladio? Why the hell do you have Prompto's phone? What did you do to him, you muscle-headed lunk!"
"…Muscle-headed lunk?" repeated Ignis quietly.
Surprised by her sudden fury, he had never seen her so fired up. Even when she dealt with Flavius, she at most acted sardonic and dismissive. With this Gladio individual, she sounded absolutely infuriated.
"If anything happens to that boy, I'm going to gut you and string you up like cured meat," hissed Aracelis, pausing only when she heard laughing from the other end. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!"
Even under the threat of pain and death, this Gladio certainly sounded fond of her. Ignis couldn't remember if anyone in Valetis went by that name. While he personally didn't speak with any of their peers, he'd often glance over the names posted within the exam results.
"I swear, Gladiolus Amicitia, if you don't tell me where you two are right now, I will burn your trashy romance novel collection."
Amicitia.
Ignis finally recalled the name of the family that served as the King's Shield. He didn't realize her relationship with the family of her future employer would be so close that she could openly threaten to destroy his property.
Regardless, Aracelis seemed re-energized by the call. He needn't concern himself about her lackluster behavior. Now satisfied, he quietly moved to leave. However, before he managed to take two steps, he felt a familiar death grip clenched around his arm.
"Wait!" Aracelis shouted to him before growling into the phone. "Not you Gladio! You and Prompto stay there! I'll be there real soon."
Déjà vu washed over him as he watched the brunette end her call. It was like that day she approached him all over again. So fervent and distracted by her own goals, she never realized she kept his arm hostage.
"Yes?" asked Ignis patiently, waiting for her to realize the issue.
"Look," started Aracelis uncomfortably. "I'm going to go check on Prompto, can you come with me?"
"…Why?" asked Ignis, startled at being asked to tag along.
"Because I need a witness," muttered Aracelis quietly.
"A witness?" Ignis frowned. "What for?"
"So I don't end up murdering Gladio when I see him," growled the girl darkly. "I don't want to go to jail for the likes of him."
"You're utterly terrifying," quipped Ignis, straight-faced.
"Will you come?" huffed Aracelis, her grip tightened out of agitation as she met his green eyes. "You being there will help."
Ignis didn't think he had a choice with how hard she kept her hold on him. While he was growing used to the girl's odd requests when it came to research, this was a whole other level of strange. No one had ever gone to him for confidence.
"…If it won't take too much time, I suppose I'm available to act as your conscience."
Aracelis' grip loosened, a smile tugged at her lips as her body visibly relaxed with relief. Idly, Ignis wondered why she found such a need for him to tag along. The girl was impossible to read.
"Looks like Arie's on her way here," commented Gladio offhandedly as he tossed the phone back to Prompto.
"What!" Prompto screeched, frantically trying to catch his phone mid-air, but ended up diving onto the grassy park grounds to catch it.
"Ha, nice catch blondie." Gladio squatted down to ruffle the scowling boy's hair in amusement.
"Gladio!" Prompto scowled, swatting the older teen's hand away in annoyance as he scrambled to sit up on his knees. "Why is Aracelis coming here? I thought I was doing good with not calling her. She sounded angry!"
"Guess she's just worried about you." He dismissed.
"But that was what I was trying to avoid!" The freckled blond clenched his fists in frustration.
Ever since Gladio agreed to train him, Prompto made an effort to cut down the amount of times he called Aracelis in a week. He still could not fathom why she was so nice to him, but he didn't want to burden her with his problems any longer.
"Well, she's going to be here whether you want her to or not," continued Gladio as he stood back up. "We can either keep training or you can freak out until she gets here."
"How are you so calm?" snapped Prompto.
"Listen, if you're going to freak out over every little thing that comes your way, you're not going to get anywhere in life," lectured Gladio. "Do what you can and improve on it."
"…I guess." Prompto's shoulders slumped.
Seeing there was no point in whining, he pushed himself off the ground to resume the rep sets the Amicitia planned for him.
Much to his surprise, Gladio was far more patient than he assumed. The older teen remained supportive despite his constant failings. Correcting him where he went wrong and advising him on how to improve. For once in his life Prompto felt he was truly improving himself.
"Prompto!" Aracelis' sharp voice cut through.
As he was halfway through his next squat jump the unexpected shout sent him jumping further than he expected.
"A-Aracelis!" His arms flailed in an attempt to rebalance himself, when his face didn't end up planting into the ground he turned to the older girl with a sheepish grin. "Um… hi…"
"You're… okay?" The puzzled older girl grabbed him by the face for a better look over.
"I'm fwine!" whined Prompto through his cheeks being squished in her hands. "Gladio's jhust treining me."
"What did you think I was doing to the kid?" Gladio crossed his arms, resting his weight on one leg.
"Knowing you? You get overzealous with your training methods." Aracelis released Prompto's face and turned her attention on him instead.
"Whatever." Gladio dismissed, his gaze drifting to the classmate that came with her. "So who's this guy? Another hopeless case like Prompto?"
"Ignis Scientia, a classmate of mine," said Aracelis firmly, but paused to reconsider her words. "He's… important."
If Prompto hadn't made the mistake in assuming Gladio was Aracelis' boyfriend last time, he might've done the same with Ignis. The girl's introduction was absurdly ambiguous, to the extent that even Ignis and Gladio looked to one another to confirm they heard her correctly. Then again, he found himself reminded of the awkward exchange the day he met the prince after she picked him up from the hospital.
"Anyway… I'm glad you're okay Prompto, but what drove you to train with Gladio?" asked the girl curiously. "He's not known to take it easy on people."
"Hey!"
"Well… You did so much for me. I felt like I was being a bother so I didn't want to worry you." The blond shifted uncomfortably at the attention. "There's also someone I think I want to be friends with… but I don't think I can do it until I lose some weight."
"Until you lose weight?" Aracelis repeated in disbelief. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"I know, but I…" Prompto fidgets absently. "I just thought I'd feel a bit more confident if I could be a bit more like Gladio first."
"A bit more like—" Aracelis cut herself off.
Huffing in annoyance, she stomped over to her childhood friend. Gladio cocked an eyebrow when she stopped short in front of him to yank up the hem of his shirt without warning.
"Okay Prompto, you see this here?" The girl swung her hand back before slapping it loudly against Gladio's washboard abs.
"Um…" The freckled-face blond watched uncomfortably as the sound of slapping flesh rang in the air.
The Amicitia's abdomen tensed when struck, but he remained unfazed by the girl's questionable action. Behind them Ignis gaped, openly mortified. Like Prompto, he didn't expect Aracelis to do something so bold and strange at a whim.
"You think this happens overnight?" Aracelis slapped his abs a handful more times in demonstration. "This here is years of hard work and dedication! You think you can get this physique in just a couple of weeks?"
At her sudden praise, Gladio's chest puffed up, preening at her words with his head held high. Prompto never imagined the older teen as the vain sort, but after seeing this, he's quite confident that Gladio enjoys his ego being stroked from time to time.
"Umm… yeah." The blond rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, disheartened to admit his own failings out loud. "…I didn't think I was going to get to Gladio's level overnight."
"Not the point I'm trying to make." Aracelis interrupted.
Prompto fell silent, unsure where she was going with this lecture.
"I'm not saying this to stop you from improving yourself," amended the older girl. "Rather, you shouldn't be using self-improvement as an excuse to hide and run away. If you want to befriend someone, go for it! You don't need to change who you are!"
At her reprimandation, Prompto found himself reminded of the night he met Gladio. The more he saw of the two of them, the more similarities they both shared.
"If you don't want me to worry then stop giving me a reason to."
"Y-yes ma'am!"
"Have some confidence in yourself."
"I… umm…"
"And break that stuttering habit of yours. It's—"
"Enough already!" Prompto exploded, unable to take any more of her chastising.
At his sudden outburst, Aracelis fell silent. Prompto, realizing what he had done, slapped a hand over his mouth and stared at her in horror. Her steady gaze focused on him, studying him carefully with the intent to take heed. As she made no move to resume her angry chastising, he took the opportunity to finally voice out his thoughts.
"I'm… really sorry." Prompto lowered his hand from his mouth, wringing his hands together until his knuckles were white from the loss of blood flow. "I never meant to take advantage of your kindness. I was really trying to be less of a burden and a nuisance, but it seems like everything I try just makes it worse!"
Aracelis remained silent, patiently listening to his nervous admittance as he did his best to get everything out in the open.
"And… and! You're way too scary when you're worried about me!"
The blond wary a shy glance at the older girl's pensive expression. Pale and flustered, regret rattled his bones. He couldn't believe that he shouted at her like that when she was the last person he wanted to push away. What if she didn't want to talk to him anymore?
A sudden deep bellowing laugh came from Gladio. The Amicitia was immensely amused as he stepped forward and clapped a firm hand on the blond's back.
"Good job kid, I guess you're not completely hopeless if you can tell Arie off."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Prompto was close to tears at his praise, but the fear of being ostracized by his outburst made him unable to hold the apologies at bay.
To his utmost surprise, his lingering fears alleviated when Ignis spoke up and made his presence noticed for the first time since arriving.
"If you're concerned with Aracelis being vexed with you, maybe you can send her the occasional update to reassure her worries." Ignis suggested as he adjusted his glasses. "While Aracelis is known to have high standards, she is not completely unreasonable."
"She might still bitch at you though," added Gladio wryly. "But that's normal."
"Shut up." Aracelis cut in, directing a pointed glare at her friend.
Gladio's laughter in response drew another wave of relief over Prompto. It was strange to have others encourage him. Aracelis and Gladio bickering seemed almost like a lost memory of siblings never had, yet sorely longed for.
Ignis grew silent once more. The bespectacled teen wore a soft smile observing their endearing banter. Prompto wasn't quite sure what to make of the quiet young man.
"I'm…" started Prompto meekly, but grew ever more confident. "I'm going to do my best!"
In hindsight… it was easier said than done.
Despite his promise to Aracelis and Gladio, drawing up the courage to talk to the prince was no less terrifying than what he claimed in the heat of the moment. Hands clammy with sweat and his heart racing as it threatens to escape from his chest, the school came into view sooner than he would have liked.
"I can do this. I can do this." Prompto reassured himself, smacking his cheeks soundly and exhaling a deep breath in an attempt to expend his nervous energy. "I got this!"
With renewed determination, he adjusted the strap on his wrist and marched through the school gates. Pointedly, he ignored any looks garnered from his attempt in calming himself. Normally he would duck his head down and hurry his way in. Today however, he kept his eyes peeled in search of any signs of the dark haired prince. He hoped to catch the other boy before his confidence ran out.
Unfortunately, the prince was nowhere to be found. As he glanced about, he noticed there weren't many other students around. Belatedly, he realized he must've arrived too early. His confidence all but deflated as he trudged the rest of the way in.
So much for working up the courage to talk to the prince, he's not even here yet.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Prompto muttered under his breath after seeing no one through the classroom door's window.
Dejected, he planted his forehead against the door with a loud thump. Why were the fates so cruel to play with his nerves like this? He just wanted to be friends with the other boy, was that too much to ask? Did he do something to piss off the gods? Why was this his—
"…Not sure what the door did to you this early in the morning, but are you going to go in?" An unenthused voice drew him out of his self-deprecating thoughts.
"I'm moving." Prompto moped, peeling himself off to open the door. He took two steps in before realizing the person he was looking for was right behind him. "Prince Noctis!"
The prince only stared at him with a cocked eyebrow.
"I was looking for you!" He blurted out, but then immediately amended his words when he realized that could be misconstrued. "I mean… I'm Prompto Argentum. I don't know if you remember me but um…"
"Who could forget?" replied Noctis in amusement.
Prompto looked at him hopefully, maybe this wasn't a lost cause.
"Not everyday you meet someone who got hit by a car and who also happens to be an Assassin's Creed nerd," commented the raven haired boy as he walked past him.
"…Oh." The blond lowered his head in defeat.
Of course the prince's memory of him was that of an accident prone nerd. He should've expected it. His pipedream of becoming friends with him was impossible after all.
"Are you just going to stand there?"
The unexpected question pulled Prompto out of his depressing thoughts as he quickly realized the prince was still talking to him.
"It'll be awhile before anyone else gets here," continued Noctis offhandedly. "I managed to beat that boss battle I was telling you about in Arie's car."
It took a moment to process his words, but when it finally sunk in, Prompto had the biggest smile on his face. All the worries he had up to this point suddenly disappeared. It was as if a weight was lifted off his chest. Not wanting to waste a moment more, he followed the prince into the classroom. Nearly dropping his bag off the edge of his desk as he engaged the prince in a conversation over their favorite game.
It turns out, Noctis would've been his friend had he just spoken to him. Losing weight was just an excuse he made out of fear. Now that they were finally talking, he wondered why it took him so long.