Noctis winced at the way Crowe jerked Lunafreya to her feet, but there was no time for slow gentle prodding to make sure she could regather her senses. He felt Gladiolus give him the same treatment, jerking him to his feet and dashing in the direction from which they came. A cursory glance up reminded him of the large leap they had taken to get down here.
"Is it just me or is it somehow getting even hotter?" Noctis asked, trying to make better sense of their surroundings. The pact with Titan had vanished the pain consuming every cell in his head, but in its place was a sensation of having been swimming for too long. His muscles ached, his chest burned, and his whole body pleaded for rest. He looked back at Lunafreya who was supported by Crowe on one side, Aranea stepping up beside her to support her on her left. Blood stained the front of his shirt and he tried to force his concern aside as his gaze turned up at the meteor falling in slow motion.
"We have to get back up there." Noctis insisted. "I can warp everyone up." He declared.
"Do you retain the magic for that? We gave Luna the last of our Ethers." Ignis answered back.
"We don't have time for debate," Gladiolus barked. He stepped up next to the sharp incline and cupped his palms together, "I'll hoist everyone up. Noct, you warp me up. As soon as you get up there run like hell, path is too damn narrow to patiently wait for each other." He instructed. Noctis stared at his friend, surprised to hear a tactical decision come from his shield. He shifted his stance, pacing in place to keep the sensation from leaving his legs and looked down when his feet began to feel far too warm.
"Oh shit." He cursed, and saw the black webbing that had curled around Titan and the meteor was spreading as the great mass fell, glowing cracks appearing as the ground gave way to the stress, steam hissing through microfissures in the stone. He stepped back, feeling slightly stuck to the spot and curled his leg, looking down at the distortion of his partially melted shoes. "Move!" he barked.
"Won't hear me complain!" Prompto stepped forward and accepted Gladiolus's hoist upwards, spinning around quickly to hold a hand out, "I'll help Luna up then we'll run like you said, okay?" he shouted down.
"I…" she feigned a protest at this decision but was pushed forward by the two women holding her up. She stepped into Gladiolus's cupped hands, yelping as he tossed her upwards and she reached out quickly for Prompto's extended hand. She grunted when she impacted the stone, sneezing another clot of blood at the way the sharp exhale tickled her nose. She reached up with her free hand for the edge of the cliff and Prompto grabbed that wrist and groaned as he pulled her up, staggering away from the edge.
"Go! We'll catch up, like Gladio said we'll get all congested if we try to wait for eachother path's too narrow." She bit her lip, taking a hesitant step backwards. I can't leave everyone behind. She tried to protest, but the words stuck in her throat. She stepped back, and found herself noticing the same stickiness as Noctis before her, the tread on her sneakers warped by the extreme heat in the stone beneath her feet. She pressed a palm to the rock wall beside her and hissed, jerking her hand back.
"How are you not getting burned?" she asked the blond man as she watched him lean back down against the rock to reach down for the next person,
"Fix me up later, deal?" he provided in answer. She nodded, hesitating for a moment more as he reached down to pull Crowe up next and she ran. The tread on her sneaker had warped and smoothed between the heat and her run, making the trek back even more difficult as she struggled to keep her balance on the narrow tipped ledge with now improper footwear. She threw a glance over her shoulder and saw Crowe coming behind her making a keep going! gesture at her, and she bit her lip again, running a hand under her nose and feeling the sticky warmth recoat the back of her hand.
Her head felt simultaneously heavy and light, the edges of her vision beginning to close in. Her narrowed vision left her heart in her throat, finding keeping her bearings between the burning rock and the lethal plunge more difficult with each step. Keep going Luna. If you slow down you slow everyone down behind you. Don't trap them in this oven. She chided herself. But a few more steps and she staggered, falling down to her hands and knees. She drew her hands back quickly, shaking them in the air as she exhaled sharply. She tried to find her balance to pick herself back up, but was no longer sure which direction was up.
"Sparkles! Come on we gotta move!" Crowe sounded far away, and she tried to figure out where she was standing. She turned her head, and started to lean to the side. The collar of her shirt jerked around her neck causing her to gag at the sudden pressure, and an arm wrapped around her chest and she was lifted up. She tried to place her feet below her, and found the source of the voice shouting in her ear.
"Crowe…" she mumbled.
"You're in bad shape… come on." She pulled Lunafreya's arm around her shoulder and tried to hold her tighter. They were perilously close to the edge, Lunafreya unable to set her left foot down as Crowe hugged the burning wall causing her to periodically gasp or curse when bare skin brushed against it.
"Everyone?"
"Behind us, move it girl." They followed the path and came up to the first ledge they had jumped from. "This one isn't as high, I'll push you up just don't die on me until I can get my ass up there. Will make me look bad." She instructed. "Like with Gladio." She instructed. "Can you stand for a second?"
"Umm… I. I think?" She tried to keep her balance, but wavered. She grunted in frustration, and set modesty aside to lift her shirt over her head and wrapped it around her hand so she could press it against the wall. Even through the fabric she could feel warmth. She wanted to look at the meteor, see how close to the ground it was. But any movenement of her eyes or head left her spinning and she was forced to squint.
"Luna!" Crowe snapped. She flinched at the harsh tone, but was glad for it as she carefully lifted a leg into Crowe's extended palms and let herself be lifted up. She pulled herself against the stone, glad that it was not burning her skin as it had done further done the path.
"You?" she called down,
"I got it." Crowe insisted, leaping up and grasping the ledge, thanking the gods for how much she had her ass kicked during glaive training. She grunted as she finished pulling herself up. She grabbed Lunafreya under her arm and jerked her to her feet, cursing as she lost her balance at how much of a dead weight the woman was becoming. "Come on! Get up!" she urged, "we're a little low on time!" she turned and looked over her shoulder, much of the meteor now obscured and the path behind them blurry with black and red dust. "Oh shit." She cursed. "Sparkles I'm pretty sure that black dust is fucking bad news! Move it!" she pushed her with her shoulder and Lunafreya started to stagger forward.
She half walked, was half-dragged by Crowe as the path slowly widened, Crowe trying to encourage Lunafreya we're almost there Sparkles! Come on! An ache pulsed through her limbs and she felt like she was wearing a lead suit. In spite of the heat she felt a bit cool, wondering when she could put the shirt wrapped around her hand back on.
"Luna!" Noctis's voice came from somewhere behind her, echoing off the stone around them.
"Just get to the car!" Crowe shouted back. "Get all over-protective once we get our asses out of here!" "Everyone make it up?"
"Yeah! We're all here!" he answered her. "Give her to me go get the bike started." He shouted, catching up to her and sliding an arm around Lunafreya to pull her off of Crowe and allow the Shield to charge towards the motorcycle parked behind the Regalia.
"I sure as shit hope she starts or we'll all be getting super cuddly." She commented, fumbling through her pockets for the keys. She mounted the bike, sticking the key in the ignition. As if to mock her it stuttered for a moment, and she cursed, slamming her fist against the engine case. "start you son of a bitch!" she turned the key again, wondering if it was overheating. "Noct!" she shouted, seeing him in the process of pushing a very limp looking Lunafreya into the car. "I might need some ice over here!"
"I haven't gathered any!" he snapped back. "I don't have any vials of ice on me!"
"Shit!" she cursed. "Come on come on." She pleaded, turning the key again. It sputtered, and after a few seconds turned over. "yes! Oh I could kiss you if it wouldn't leave me with lip blisters!" she cheered, lolling her head back. "Blondie! Get on the bike!" she shouted to Prompto. The man simply followed her instructions, running over and hopping onto the back of the mortorcycle as Aranea scrambled into the back of the car after Noctis, Gladiolus taking passenger and Ignis starting the Regalia. It started on the first try, prompting Crowe to once again accuse the motorcycle of taunting her before kicking it into gear and pulling away from the rising dust.
The rumble of the Regalia followed her, a high-pitched whine carrying through the narrow rock corridor as Ignis pushed the car to its limits. She checked the mirror on her handlebar, seeing how obscured the path behind them was by dust. She could no longer see the meteor, but the air became blissfully more breathable as the heat began to dissipate the further away they drove.
"Oh shit we did it! We got out of there!" Prompto cheered from behind her. Noctis watched the same sight as Crowe through the back of the Regalia. He had an arm awkwardly around Lunafreya who was slack against him, mumbling semi-coherently.
"Gods we gotta get her to a hospital guys." He commented. When pushing her into the car he had noticed her missing shirt, but the actual fact of it only struck him as the panic began to subside in his heart. He reached across and began to unwrap the shirt from her hand, grimacing at how damp it felt. Blood stained the once blue material, streaks of pink in her platinum blonde hair. He could see how extensive the odd red rash was across her skin, and he bit down on his lip when the others all immediately agreed to bringing her to the nearest hospital. He unfurled the damp shirt, but quickly changed his mind and balled it up to toss onto the car's floor and slid his own shift off over his head and struggled to dress her in it, her sluggish movements only making him worry worse.
"I'll… be okay." She insisted, "I just need. I just need a little rest." She tried to protest, not liking the idea of going to a hospital. She didn't want people near her with needles, her nose invaded by the smell of bleach, alcohol, sterile plastic and metal. She squinted away memories and a new wave of lightheadedness, whining as she pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead leaving a light print.
"You need a doctor Luna. None of us is going to just shove a potion down your throat and call it a day." Noctis insisted. His heart rate that had begun to settle picked back up again, and he could feel that dull ache in his muscles and a burning that felt like it went down to the bone. Once we get her into the hospital I can nap for the next three days. He tried to promise himself. Even the idea of passing out in a stiff chair next to a hospital bed sounded like a tempting luxury.
"You were badass back there, let us take care of you now." Aranea added. "You don't need to keep up this warrior princess bit now that the fight's over." she reached across Noctis to give Lunafreya a light punch on the arm. Gladiolus began to hum something from the front seat, and Noctis straightened up as he recognized it and laughed.
"Dude! I freaking loved Xena!" he shouted,
"Hmm… I never watched." Lunafreya added.
"Oh man Xena, warrior princess? Show was awesome!" Noctis cheered. Then a mental image of Lunafreya in Xena's uniform invaded his mind and he snorted at the idea, and the snort turned into a full laugh when he pictured Crowe in Gabrielle's dress beside her.
"Oh I forgot all about that show." Aranea mused. "I didn't' watch much TV really but that's something I can remember."
"They let it air in Nifleheim?" Gladiolus asked, Aranea immediately rolling her eyes.
"Pick up a book once in a while. It's called pirating." She explained. Gladiolus huffed at the insult,
"I read plenty." He insisted. "And how was I supposed to assume you stole it?" he asked.
"Instead expected the more honorable route from me? Is this a sign you're pulling the stick out of your ass?" she asked.
"Guys!" Noctis snapped, not wanting them to devolve into further argument. The light atmosphere in the car had felt good for the blissful minute they were allowed before the dragoon and Shield went at each other's throats. "Okay so we got our asses out of the metoer it seems. How's the Regalia? Overheated?" He asked.
"She is performing quite optimally." Ignis insisted.
"Okay nearest hospital?" Noctis asked.
"We can either inquire about local hunter camps or head directly for Lestallum." Ignis offered as their choices. Noctis chose the latter, knowing the city wasn't terribly far away and would likely have more advanced medical supplies. He wondered if their plan to remain incognito would blow up in their faces the moment the battered group showed up at a Lestallum in their pathetic state dragging a blood-soaked oracle with them. Said woman was leaning against Noctis, her breathing had slowed as she too began to relax with the panic ebbing away.
"Honestly… just rest and some Ether. I should be right as rain." She tried to insist again, getting four immediate disagreements, and the promise that their other two companions would also insist she get some damn help. Up ahead of them Crowe pulled the motorcycle over to the side of the road, sticking her leg out and looking over her shoulder as the car pulled up beside them.
"Okay now that we survived that nightmare-inducing hellscape, what's the plan?" she asked as soon as Gladiolus had rolled his window down far enough for her to bark in their direction.
"We are bringing Lady Lunafreya to a hospital in Lestallum. The young woman clearly needs medical care." Ignis explained.
"Don't you protest back there!" Gladiolus shifted in his seat to glare at her.
"She still conscious?" Crowe asked, grimacing and leaning forward to try and get a better look through the tinted windows. Gladiolus turned around again, soft words exchanged between him and Noctis before he turned back around and shook his head.
"Sleeping." He explained.
"The Prince still in one piece? The last covenant kicked his ass too." Crowe asked.
"Yeah pretty surprised to see them both still, like, okay-ish. Or. Umm, not dead." Prompto agreed.
"Yeah." Noctis agreed, knitting his brows together. "Kind of weird. Maybe just suicidal-thought inducing pain was Titan's cost, and Ramuh just likes to hit things with lightning." He suggested. No one could really provide an argument to his point and decided to worry later. The rush of adrenaline was easing out of their systems, and the collective fatigue was beginning to show in the way everyone's posture began to slack, voices were slower.
"Do you know where the hospital in Lestallum is?" Crowe asked.
"Pull over." Lunafreya's voice interrupted, startling Noctis whom she was resting against in a semi-sleeping state.
"Luna?"
"Pull over…" she repeated, pressing a hand over her stomach and the back of her other fist pressed over her mouth. Ignis guided the car onto the shoulder of the road, and it had hardly come to a stop when the door slung open and Lunafreya staggered out, retching onto the pavement. Noctis scrambled out after her, leaning over to rub her back, and wincing at the look on the ground.
"Shit… I mean I know ebony is supposed to be really good coffee but you don't need to go eating the damn grounds." Gladiolus tried to tease as he rounded the car, his tone lacking any humor.
"Is… is that the blight?" Noctis asked, his voice quivering as she retched up more black-brown fluid. But she was quick to shake her head, holding a hand up in the air to forestall him while she retched again. She eventually stopped, righting herself and panting to catch her breath from the effort of vomiting, stepping backwards so she could lean against the car and let out a sharp exhale.
"Oh goodness…" she moaned, wincing at the burning in her sinuses and sniffling a bit. "It's likely from the bloody nose." She started to explain. "Swallowed a lot of blood," she nodded at the emesis on the ground, "it looks like that."
"You puke up blood that often?" Gladiolus asked. Noctis grimaced, tracking his Shield who ducked his head into the truck of the car and rifling through some things, and glad the man had asked the question that he himself was wrestling with. He knew she disliked when he fussed over her too much, and had been hesitant to press her any further than he already had.
"I'm a healer." She clarified, stifling a whimper and pressing the back of her fist to her mouth again, squinting hard to try and fight the wave of nausea but retched up watery dark colored bile. "I see many a condition." Noctis noted a flicker in her expression, and a wave of nausea struck him as well as he knotted up, remembering the Nifleheimer soldier beating her as a teenager, and wondered how often such punishments were rained down on her for her to be so familiar with this particular odd side of a bad nosebleed.
"Here," Gladiolus had fished a towel out from his belongings in the trunk, insisting that it was fine if she soiled it up as much as needed. She smiled and gave him a small thank you, wiping her face and sniffling.
"We should hurry up." Noctis suggested, but she shook her head.
"No. I don't think going to Lestallum is wise. We should go somewhere more discreet, perhaps a hunter hub. I imagine hunters are injured frequently and at least minimal medical facilities would be necessary for such a profession to exist." She explained.
"You need like, real medical care." He countered, only to get her shaking her head again.
"We need to remain under the radar. I highly doubt we could get through Lestallum and through a hospital unnoticed. What if news of our whereabouts reached Nifleheim? What do you think they would do to Lestallum in their mad rush to get to us?" she asked, sniffling and wincing at the way it made her sinuses burn. Noctis met her concerned gaze, his own brows knit together in a mirror of her own expression, grimacing and biting down on his tongue.
"I…" he wanted to counter, but he couldn't find a proper argument. She was right. Images of his home burned behind his eyelids, his body stiffening as he remembered looking out over the water while Insomnia burned. It overlapped for a bare moment with his memory of Lestallum and he shook his head to keep the mental image from fully taking form. "Fine. But if the hunters think you need a real hospital… then you should really go."
"If they insist I need the care of a hospital we can discuss the risks again at that time. It is not merely my wellbeing we are debating, but the safety of the citizens of Lestallum." She answered back hardly waiting for Noctis to finish speaking. She winced again, squinting her eyes and pressing the back of her fist over her mouth, a belch coming out in place of further black emesis. "Oh Gods! Excuse me… how embarrassing…" her pale face flushed pink, and she felt the burning extend to her ears at the light chuckle coming from Noctis and the way Crowe pat her hard on the back,
"Damn! I give that one a six!" the Shield laughed.
"Have you ever even heard a belch before?" Gladiolus quickly cut in, "That was barely a four!"
"Okay you have to take into account how tiny she is, that sound from you would have been like, a two. But from her that's a six. Easy." She argued. Gladiolus shifted the weight onto one leg, crossing his arms as he stared out the corner of his eye clicking his tongue as if deep in thought,
"Hmm true."
"Perhaps we must take into account this mass-to-decibel ratio when discussing the intensity of a burp." Ignis added. "We can mull over equations while we drive the Lady to the closest hunter hub." He added. He asked for Crowe's assistance in reviewing their map for the closest spot, settling upon a camp that was about fifteen miles out from Lestallum. Feeling reassured that they would be much closer to the city, Noctis was willing to cave to Lunafreya's admittedly prudent decision to forego the better resourced hospital in order to reduce the risk of a Nifleheimer attack.
Lunafreya side-stepped away from the Regalia, swaying on her feet. She tried to reach her arm out at the door to right herself, but felt her balance tipping away. She grunted when her back collided with Noctis's chest, flushing that she was finding herself in such a state. She grunted, arcing her back to try and push herself back to a standing position but only elbowed Noctis in the stomach, almost causing him to knock her over when he grunted and bent forward. His arm gripped around her and tugged her to keep her from falling against the car,
"Ah! Careful…" he grunted, wincing at the new ache in his stomach. She whispered an apology, letting him help her right herself. Standing straight her head felt like it was suddenly filled with air and she had to squint and press the heel of her hand into her forehead to keep her from swaying against.
"I should sit back down." She suggested, biting the inside of her lip. She reached for the door and gave it a tug, grimacing at how heavy her arm felt from the simple action. She groaned, climbing into the car with Noctis and Aranea on either side of her. Ignis pulled the car back onto the road and continued driving in the direction of Lestallum, eventually pulling onto a dirt road with a broken sign that had been replaced by a spray-painted stop-sign. The passengers in the belt-free Regalia grunted as they were jostled against each other on the uneven road for the remaining twenty minutes of their drive until they finally pulled into the small designated parking area of the hunter hub, primarily occupied by motorcycles, a chocobo, and one bicycle.
"Gods, finally." Aranea complained as she nearly threw herself out of the Regalia. Gladiolus was equally impatient to get out of the car. Noctis moved slower, feeling stiff from the discomfort of the ride, turning to hold a hand out to help Lunafreya stand up. She gave him a small smile of thanks, gripping his hand firmly as she got up, whimpering for a moment.
"How you feeling?" he asked her, his brows wrinkled together.
"Nauseus, but I doubt I have much left in my stomach to let up." She answered, and upon seeing his expression quickly cut back in "But all right. Honestly. I think some rest and I'll be okay." She kept her tone low, not wanting to be fussed over again by the rest of the crew.
"Gods not sure I'll ever regain feeling in my ass…" Crowe complained, rubbing hers as she walked up to the rest of the group. "Speaking of asses, how's my favorite pain in mine?" she asked, lightly punching Lunafreya in the arm. She flinched, reaching up to lightly rub the spot, offering her Shield a smile and a shrug,
"A bit of rest and I'll be well." She was leaning against the Regalia, a bit embarrassed to admit to the dizziness swarming in her head. Her vision was blurred at the edges. The effort of standing was bringing a heavy ache to her limbs. "Enough of me. Noctis, are you well?" she inquired.
"Feel like I've been trampled by a chocobo." He admitted. "The Astrals clearly don't like me much. Maybe the crystal made a mistake." He grumbled.
"Yeah here we all thought the crystal's chosen would be some supreme hero, a mortal god upon the earth, the beacon of peace and light to walk hand-in-hand with the Oracle of Light," Crowe recited, punctuating her words, "and here we get saddled with emo prince." she clucked her tongue, shaking her head.
"Gotta agree with you for once." Gladiolus added. Noctis groaned and rolled his eyes, and then jut his lip and narrowed his eyes when Lunafreya giggled at the banter.
"Not you too!"
"Oh come now, it is funny… we are hardly the heroes of lore one would expect to read about in books." She quipped, though her tone was low. She tried to step away from the Regalia but Noctis quickly slung an arm around her waist before she had the chance to lose her balance. She wanted to insist she was okay, but could tell by the heaviness in her limbs and the ache throbbing her legs that any attempt to walk unsupported was going to end with her in the dirt.
"Come on… let's find some help." Noctis suggested, and she simply nodded. They walked away from the car and made slow progress towards the first building. Upon entering it a tall man with dirty blonde hair and week-old stubble on his face looked from his desk, eyes widening and color draining from his face.
"Holy shit! Someone get the medic!" he shouted at a door behind him.
"Oh please don't make such a fuss over me." Lunafreya held up her free hand, and upon seeing the tried blood on her palms and the backs of her hands gave herself a proper look. The front of her shirt was stained with blood, drops of it on her pants, on her shoes. The marks of bruises and broken capillaries hadn't had the time to fade. Despite her warning her attempt to step towards the concerned hunter ended in her stumbling as the dizziness washed over her, her words slurring as she attempted to state her assurances that she would be okay with some rest.
"What happened to… is this the Oracle?!" the man exclaimed once he got close enough to make out her features. "That means-"
"Please keep it down." Noctis interrupted quickly. Should I tell him we're trying to stay away from the Empire? What if mentioning it makes him look for the bounty that must exist on our heads. He worried. And then couldn't help wondering how much he and his crew were worth. Was it enough for them to betray their own country?
"Sorry…" the man apologized, "What happened my Lady?" he asked again, this time bowing at her, the gesture making her frown. Another man burst through the doors at that point, a fury of red hair sticking out in every direction.
"What's wrong?!" He asked, then turned to notice the royal retinue. "Oh my gods!" he bent down bow as well, "Lady Lunafreya!"
"Please stand. And it was a bad nosebleed." Lunafreya provided, trying to give the two men a genuine smile as they stood back up.
"From what? A hammer to the face?" the blond asked, then blanched again. "Sorry I-"
"Please you can talk plainly with me." she insisted. "I know I seem to be in… quite the state," she answered after a brief pause. "But I am not as bad as I look." She felt Noctis's grip on her tighten, but she kept her gaze firmly before her, sure that she could practically hear the disapproving grimacing that likely pulled on Noctis's face.
"Stop downplaying Sparkles. She bled all over the place, barfed up some blood, and look at her arms." Crowe added, Lunafreya staring at her for a moment debating the wisdom of countering her explanation but then remembered how much blood was soaking her clothing and thought better of it. The man looked at her arms, though his expression didn't change as he didn't seem to know what he was supposed to be noticing.
"Well come on… let's get you lying down first." The blond man suggested, "Gunther, please get San." He asked. The red-head vanished through the door again before the blond walked around the desk. "Let me show you to the medic's tent. San's taking a break, she had a long morning but she'll meet you there once Gunter gets her." He explained. Noctis supported Lunafreya as they started making their way over to another small building. She pressed the back of her fist to her mouth and whimpered,
"I need a bin…" she mumbled, squinting hard to try and control the wave of nausea. Her limbs were feeling even heavier, her head lighter. She turned her head to look for an outdoor rubbish bin and her vision closed in around her. Noctis grunted as he tried to catch her and guide her into a gentle fall to the ground,
"Luna!" he shouted.
"Oh shit." Crowe cursed over the various concerned whimpers or exclamations. The blond man leading them spun around, kneeling down beside the unconscious woman as Noctis tried to support her in his arms, his legs and lower back throbbing from the sudden weight of her dropping.
"We really gotta get her to San." He said. Noctis nodded, trying not to panic and picked her up, getting to his feet with a wince. A loud echo of pain roared through his body with the effort and he staggered in his attempt not to drop her as a result of it. He squinted, shaking his head and looked up to see the blond man staring at him with another pale-faced grimace. They all followed into the building, Noctis letting Lunafreya down on one of three beds in the small building. The other two were occupied.
One man had the blankets pulled up to his neck, a small line of black poking out through the tip of it and Noctis winced, recalling the mangled bodies of the men at the Imperial research base. The other had apparently thrashed about recently. Her hair stuck to her face with a sheen of sweat dampening her bangs. A deep red flush stained her otherwise pale face with reddened cheeks. She was lying on her side, having fallen asleep after whatever fit caused her to throw her blankets to the floor. Her shoulder-length hair had amassed into a mess of tangles, her clothes either wrinkled or bunched up in places. The man who guided them into this room excused himself for a moment to rush over to her, picking the blanket up from the floor and draping it back over her.
"Like I said, San had a bad morning." He explained.
"Noctis, I will be outside. Would you like me to call the King and update him on recent events?" he asked, standing rigid at the foot of the male's bed. Aranea was beside him, her eyes flickering between the two beds, letting out rapid huffs of air through her nose before she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to let it out very slowly. The noise apparently prompted Ignis to do the same, as he also took a deep breath after finishing his question.
"I should really call him myself," he answered, his eyes downcast on the unconscious Lunafreya.
"You watch over the Lady, I will update our King and pass on your wish to call him once you have the opportunity." He suggested. Noctis paused, and nodded at his advisor, willing to place his trust in him. Ignis left, Aranea close behind, the others all watching them, Gladiolus elbowing Prompto,
"I think our Iggy's got himself a shadow. Should we let him take the tent tonight?" he mused aloud, getting a nervous snicker from Prompto.
"I'm gonna wait outside with them. Pretty small in here and that red-head is going to be here any second with that San person. Keep us all updated on Lady Luna, okay Noct?" he asked, getting a nod from the Prince before he left. He had to side-step once outside to dodge Gunther and the petite woman following him.
"Hello, I'm Sandrina." The woman held out her hand, gripping Noctis's with a firm grip and shaking hard. "please, bring me up to speed on what happened." She asked, gesturing down at Lunafreya. There was another pause as Noctis debated how much to tell this woman,
"She got a really bad nosebleed." He answered. Sandrina looked down, and clicked her tongue, bending down and lifting one of Lunafreya's arms,
"Does she take medicine? Like a blood thinner?" she asked. "her arms are covered in petechiae, blood all over her clothes…" she mumbled.
"Umm… she threw up what looked like coffee grounds. She said it was because she probably swallowed blood from the nosebleed." Noctis added.
"Not unheard of." She answered, almost absentmindedly. "When did she loose consciousness?"
"Only a few minuets ago." Sandrina clucked her tongue again, reaching out to pull down Lunafreya's bottom eyelid. The stimulus was enough to cause her to blink hard, expression wincing slightly and a moan to escape her throat.
"Well well, welcome back. Bet you feel like a million-gil, huh?" she asked. Lunafreya stretched her face for a moment, eyes blinking rapidly as she looked around her,
"Why am I… in a bed?" she asked.
"You passed you honey," Sandrina answered her. "You lost a lot of blood." She stated. "I mean, I can find most of it on your clothes unfortunately that doesn't help your situation much." She explained.
"May I sit back up please?" Lunafreya asked.
"Lying down is better." the medic insisted.
"I fear I might vomit again soon." She explained, cheeks turning pink. Sandrina then helped her to sit up on the bed. Lunafreya looked up at the woman with wide eyes, Noctis noticing the flare in her nostrils as she tried to retain control of her breathing. He reached out and gripped her hand, the gesture causing her to flinch and switch her attention to him. Sandrina took note of her body language, and withdrew her hands for a moment,
"Did this just happen suddenly?" she asked, gesturing at the blood on her front. Lunafreya knit her brows for a moment, then they shot up when she heard the context behind her question.
"I was not struck in the face if that is your concern." She answered quickly.
"So what happened?" she inquired. "Are you on any meds or anything?"
"It was sudden, no I am not on any medication." Lunafreya answered. She mulled around her head the idea of talking about the covenants, and wondered if they were common knowledge or everyone simply dismissed the Crystal as myth. Everyone just accepts the blight as a fact of our world.
"When did this rash start?" she asked, gesturing to the small red dots peppering Lunafreya's otherwise pale skin. She looked down at her rash, turning her arms and wincing as se realized the extent of it. She found it curious that it neither hurt, nor itched.
"The same time as the nosebleed." She assumed, though she hadn't taken much notice of it.
"Did you realize the blood vessels in your eyes broke too?" The medic clicked her tongue and wrapped a sphygmomanometer around her arm, pressing the stethoscope to the crook her elbow and inflated it, asking her to be still for a moment. She inflated it, it deflated. Sandrina's brows knit together and she cocked her head, reinflating the device and letting it deflate slowly. She huffed air out her nose, standing back up after unwrapping the cuff from Lunafreya's arm.
"Your blood pressure is low." She answered. "I'd like you to stay lying down in bed. I think we need to do some blood tests but that is… more complicated than it sounds." She sighed, placing a hand on her hip as her eyes went distant for a moment. "We need to call Lestallum to send over someone to draw some blood. I'm worried you lost a lot of blood with this… nosebleed of yours, and I'm wondering what's caused this."
"I feel quite a bit better than earlier." Lunafreya tried to insist, and felt Noctis's grip on her hand tighten enough that she looked up at him, trying to keep her expression impassive as she stared up into his frown. "Honestly." She added. It's not entirely a lie. She tried to reassure herself, as she did indeed feel better lying down. The ache throughout her body had eased, and her head no longer felt filled with water. Though she knew if she attempted to stand that would quickly change.
"I'm going to place calls. I think it's important that you rest, and you stay in that bed. I don't want you standing up and passing out on me." Sandrina instructed. She scribbled a bit in the notepad she had brought into the room, and turned to check up on the other beds in the small room. Noctis sat down on the edge of Lunafreya's bed.
"Instead of having her call someone from Lestallum why don't we just take you up there? It sounds like they can't do everything they need to." Noctis requested again. Lunafreya sighed, not wishing to belabor their debate again and shook her head.
"We've been over this." She replied. Her eyes looked up at Gladiolus leaning against the wall between a shelving unit and a chair, Crowe having claimed it for herself. She opened her mouth to suggest she wouldn't feel slighted should the pair of shields wish to join the others outside and closed her mouth, attention returning back to Noctis.
"Yeah. Sorry." He mumbled. "Well try to get some more rest until we know what they want to do." Noctis suggested. He reached an arm behind him to rub his lower back, wincing at the ache there that was crawling down his leg. An old scar sprawled across his back and began to burn, his face curling as he tried to knead the hardened pink skin.
"You should rest too." Lunafreya answered him, brow furrowed as she frowned at his grimace.
"Here, I'll get my lazy ass up." Crowe answered before Noctis could offer the protest she was sure the stubborn man was already forming if the way he quickly righted himself was any indicator. "Not exactly a hotel bed with fluffy pillows but beats sitting on the edge of some cot." She stood up and side stepped, gesturing at the chair. Noctis hesitated for a moment before nodding, dragging the chair closer to the side of the bed. He dropped himself into it, slouching and trying to get himself to settle.
"This is the point where I say I gotta go outside for a smoke. 'Cept I haven't had a cigarette since I puked on one when I was thirteen. So insert some random bullshit excuse while I go outside so I don't look like a shitty Shield." Crowe clapped her hands together, grinning and giving a parting set of thumbs-up, wiggling them at Lunafreya and smiled when she managed to get a chuckle from Lunafreya.
"I'll join ya. Can I bum one of these imaginary butts from you?" Gladiolus asked, tapping his foot and stepping away from the corner he had wedged himself into, stretching his arms above his head for a satisfying pop in his shoulders.
"Yeah, sure." Crowe shrugged, and the pair of Shields walked through the short room and joined their friends outside. Noctis, with his friends outside, turned his attention back to Lunafreya. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles, half-lidded, nostrils flaring as she breathed a little harder than looked normal for someone resting. He bit down on his lip, swallowing back the multitude of concerned questions swarming around his mind. She's in a hospital with a doctor looking over her. Calm down man. He reached a hand out to find hers, giving it a squeeze. A brief smile flickered over her face, but it seemed the urge to sleep was winning over her and he could feel the same desire beginning to take hold in himself.
His eyelids felt heavy, as did his limbs. His body was weighed down by pain, the ache growing as his fear and anxiety began to fade away. He sighed, trying to find a comfortable way to slouch in the small chair that was better suited as an old dining chair than it was a hospital visitor's chair. But it beat sitting up on the edge of her cot, or leaving her side to go sleep in the Regalia. Lunafreya's grip on his fingers began to loosen and his fatigue took over.
Noctis looked down at her and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Still feeling stiff and achy he decided to get up to walk around a little and get the blood in his legs moving around. He reached down and brushed some bangs from her face, testing that she was indeed asleep. He left the small room. Ignis was standing outside with Aranea beside him.
"Hey where is everyone?" he asked, taking a brief look around. Aranea thumbed at Ignis while she shrugged, flicking at the screen of her phone clearly entranced by a game and he was certain he was recognizing the sounds of King's Knight. He cocked his head for a moment before Ignis's voice pulled him back.
"Oh. Gladiolus suggested that we take on a few hunts to replenish our… severely dwindling wallet." He explained. "The Lady?"
"She's sleeping. They did some blood tests so we'll know more later I guess, but it looks like her nose stopped gushing blood everywhere. Need me to come on that hunt? One more sword?" Noctis asked, but the advisor shook his head.
"You stay here with the Lady Lunafreya. I'm concerned the stubborn young woman would find a way to sneak away from this hub to find us should she discover upon waking that you are not beside her." He explained. Noctis chuckled and nodded, eyes downcast. He knew his friend was right, but he still felt a pant of guilt at the idea that his friends would be going off on a potentially dangerous hunt to earn some money while he relaxed.
"Just don't take on anything too crazy." Noctis requested.
"Gladio and Prompto are looking over the available hunts using Crowe's credentials."
"Reasons why I'm worried. Next thing we know they'll pick a hunt to take on the mutant love-child of a behemoth and a zu after it got into some amphetamine warehouse." Noctis rolled his eyes, concerned about the results of Crowe and Gladiolus's combined egos.
"Well pretty sure you and the Lady have earned your rests. You should go back inside and let us worry about our finances. 'Tis my job afterall." Ignis suggested.
"She's sleeping a little and my body hasn't decided if it wants me to walk around or sleep for a month." Noctis replied. "So why don't I do both, walk around a little then go sleep for a mont."
"Pretty sure you could sleep for a month even without pissing off gods." Ignis replied with a sly smirk, earning him a middle finger.
"Ma'am?" Lunafreya's eyes opened, stretching her brows as he flexed the muscles in her face. She felt like the static she would see on her television as a kid when tuned to the wrong station was running throughout her skin, and it was like her bones themselves tripled in weight. She groaned, looking around to try and gain her bearings. The water clouding her mind began to drain away and she saw a young man standing next to her bed. She looked over to the other side and saw Noctis still fast asleep.
"Hmm… yes?" she asked, licking the roof of her mouth and her lips when she heard how croaky her voice was. I feel like I swallowed a glass of sand. Her throat burned, as did her eyes. Sleep tugged at the back of her mind begging for her to simply close her eyes again.
"I'm here from Lestallum… to draw some blood." He held up a box that looked like Noctis's fishing tacklebox. She nodded at him, shifting to pull her arm out from under the blankets, holding it out to him. She closed her eyes, wanting to answer sleep's pleading. She felt a brief prick, half-aware that the man had warned her of such. Then the prick vanished, some pressure, then something sticky and she heard him mention something about being finished before pulling her arm back under the covers. She mumbled a small thank you. Though she was unsure if the words swam around her head, or if she had somehow managed to say them aloud. She licked her lips one more time and swallowed, blinking several times to try and pry her eyes open and look for any water near her bed, but upon not seeing any let herself drift back to sleep.
"Hey… Luna…" She opened her eyes again, feeling like she had just blinked. She groaned, shifting uncomfortably in the small bed, everything felt too stiff and too heavy. The static sensation in her skin remained, and she shifted herself on her side hoping that the change in position would help it fade. She shifted towards the source of her voice, and saw a sleepy looking Noctis gazing down at her.
"Morning…?" she asked.
"No, only… seven. At night. But they got your blood test results," he pointed over her shoulder and after a moment of confusion Lunafreya shifted back onto her back and saw Sandrina standing on the other side of her bed.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized, but the other woman smiled and held up a palm,
"You're tired, it's okay. So I looked at your blood test results because I told them to rush them over to me. You need a blood transfusion." She blinked, fighting through the fog of her fatigue and she shifted in the bed trying to sit herself up, but almost instantly felt lightheaded and sat back.
"Just rest…" Sandrina insisted. "Luckily when they sent over someone with the blood test results they sent the phlebotomist wit his kit, we need to do more blood tests." She explained. She held out a clipboard with a piece of paper on it, "with your permission I want to test your blood type so we can get the right blood type and start a transfusion." She explained. Lunafreya tried to search her mind for an excuse to politely turn down this treatment option, sure that with some rest she would recover. Her hesitation to grab the pen from Sandrina clued the woman in, "Your numbers were very low, and while your nosebleed appears to have stopped I'm not sure whatever happened is over." She continued. Lunafreya paused for a moment longer before reaching out for the pen, and signing her name on the line marked with an X.
A short time later a young man came in, Lunafreya unsure if it was the man who drew her blood earlier or not, and drew more blood samples before bidding her good day and leaving. She sighed once the medical personnel were gone from the room.
"Everyone is worried about you." Noctis started. She frowned slightly, bringing both her arms back under the blankets but it failed to hide the fact she was shivering from him. "They've been popping in while you were napping." He wondered if her sense of being an outsider had started to fade, realizing that she was surrounded by friends.
"Oh." her brows lifted slightly, and he frowned at the genuine surprise on her face. "You can assure them I am feeling better after some rest."
"And letting these people take care of you." He interrupted, wagging a finger. "No pretending we can get back into the car and drive off to the next crazy task on our real life RPG adventure." He insisted. She knit her brows for a moment,
"RPG?"
"I should revoke your fantasy-lover card." Noctis teased. "Most RPGs are fantasy based. Or the ones I played…" he ambled off for a moment. He gave her a simple explanation, and when he offered to show her how to play one her face lit up,
"I would love that." She smiled, and it reflected onto his face. He leaned over her, planting a kiss upon her lips.
"Get some more rest, I'll find a good one on my phone meanwhile. The old ones are pretty great. Just don't tell Gladio I'm betraying King's Knight." She chuckled again,
"Promise."
