Disclaimer: not mine

Just played the demo for the FFVII remake, pretty sure I'll buy it. Maybe once I've played it I can do more than just read fics. Had a few oopses cause I'm so used to the buttons for FFXV. The attack button for VII is the one that makes Noct run so yeah. You'd think they'd keep those things consistent across the games.

Chapter 2

He sat on the floor, carefully trying to stay in the lines. He liked this place better than the old one, it was bigger and the…bed, was nicer than the cot. He got to have baths whenever he wanted too and they were warm! He still didn't like the place more than home though, it was too noisy and smelly and weird. He really liked Regis, he was nice, he never got mad or hit him like the others had until the ones in black came and brought him here.

Everything was so different, why did they cover their bodies? Why didn't they have wings? What was the weird thing in the room with the bath for? He ate the food he was given but it wasn't enough, that was why it was good Regis visited so often, letting him feed off him by touching him all the time. He obviously knew Ignis needed that more than the food. It helped a bit but it was long dead, there was very little sustenance in it.

He was learning a lot too, learning to talk like them, even if it was a weird way to do it. Making sounds wasted so much time and didn't tell everything. Then there was the weird way they showed what they felt, it was very different but he was learning to mimic them. Regis used one a lot around him, he called it smiling, he did it when he was happy but also sometimes when he wasn't so it was hard to work out what it was meant to mean.

He looked up, feeling Regis coming and he got to his feet, smiling before the door opened to show him he was happy. Regis smiled back at him and he felt happy too. He walked over and rubbed his hand in Ignis' hair which felt nice, especially since it had been cleaned and cut. He leant happily into the touch and showed him the 'colouring' when Regis asked if he could see it.

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Cor slowly opened the door to find Ignis eyeing him warily, somehow the kid always knew when someone was coming…and who it was. He was always eagerly waiting for Regis and yet somehow the kid obviously knew he wasn't Regis coming to see him. "Hello Ignis," he greeted calmly.

"Hello," the boy answered, his language skills were improving seemingly daily. "Why you…why are you here?" Ignis asked.

"Regis wasn't able to come, he has a very big, important meeting today that he can't miss. Do you know what a meeting is?" Cor asked, seeing a flicker of confusion on the boys face. "May I sit?" he asked, indicating the couch and Ignis hesitated but then nodded. "Thank you Ignis." He walked over slowly and sat. Ignis shifted away slightly and Cor bit back a sigh. "I won't hurt you Ignis. Regardless of the fact it would make Regis mad at me, you are a child and I do not hurt children," he told him firmly. He slowly held his hand out to the boy. "I won't hurt you," he promised.

Ignis hesitated, torn, but then he slowly reached back. He gently tugged him closer and then picked him up, feeling him beginning to tense, but all he did was gently set him down on the couch beside him.

"Do you know what a King is?" he asked and Ignis shook his head.

"No, sorry," he answered and Cor nodded.

"There is no need to apologise for not knowing something," he assured him. "A king is the leader, ruler, of a large group of people. Regis is the King of Lucis which is this whole land. It is a very important job. Lucis is also at war," he went on to try and explain the war and what it meant and why they couldn't just surrender to stop it, Ignis soaking it all up, and he was surprised when the boy slowly leant against him. Gradually Ignis began doing more than listening, asking questions.

Where did he come from to not know anything of the war or those involved in it? He had spent enough time at Court to be able to tell when people were lying or faking emotions, Ignis' ignorance appeared genuine to him.

Ignis was obviously highly intelligent, learning language swiftly, but also learning behaviour from observing them. That wasn't all he seemed to be learning by watching them, Cor had watched the footage, Ignis had never smiled…until Regis had several times. Except for the original defensive and fearful behaviours, he had shown no visible display of emotion until after observing others doing so. And when it came to talking, he never spoke anything but what he learnt from there, there was no sign of a native language. Did his kind communicate in a different way?

They had been scouring the records, modern and ancient, searching for any information that could give them a lead as to what Ignis was. Without knowing anything about his kind, they could accidentally harm him while trying to help. They didn't know what he needed to grow and thrive or how to help him if he fell ill or was injured. Would he grow like a human child? There was so much they didn't know.

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Regis sat on the couch, watching Ignis colouring. He was very good; Regis didn't think a human child of his apparent age would be that good. When he was done Ignis brought it over for him to see and then Regis put it up on the wall, getting a smile from Ignis. Once that was done, Ignis sat on the couch with him, curling into his side. It was amazing how spending time with Ignis could lift his mood, no matter how bad his day had been.

"Ignis?" he asked and the boy looked up at him. "Do you want to learn to read?"

"Read?" he asked curiously and Regis summoned a child's book he had borrowed from the Citadel library, watching Ignis' eyes go wide as they always did when he used magic. He opened the book and Ignis leant in, staring at the page with colourful pictures and basic words before looking back at him in confusion.

Right, he'd never taught someone to read before but how hard could it be? And it would be good practice for when he had children of his own.

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Ignis lay on the bed on his stomach, wings absently moving, keeping the muscles strong. He turned the page, devouring the words on the page. It was amazing, all the information and all recorded so anyone could have it. He was allowed to read anything and everything he wanted, Regis, Cor, and Clarus always brought him new books every time they saw him.

He missed being outside, flying where and when he pleased but…he'd be sad if he left. It was a weird way to feel, he wasn't used to it. The ceiling was too low to fly and the room to small as well. Maybe… he could ask to go flying somewhere? He'd promise to be good.

He smiled as he felt Regis coming, scrambling off the bed to meet him and the human smiled at him, ruffling his hair.

"Hello Ignis, how are you today?" he asked as he always did.

Ignis smiled back at him, leaning into his hand. "I am well," he answered. "I like the books very much."

"I'm glad," Regis looked at the one he had been reading. "You've learnt so quickly."

He had? It was easy though once he understood what was meant to be done. "There's so much to learn."

Regis chuckled. "No one can ever learn everything Ignis."

Why not? If he worked hard, he would. He sat down and leant against Regis, the human wrapping an arm around his shoulders, always careful not to hurt his wings. He closed his eyes, feeling that he was sad about something so he gently began tugging the emotion away from him, soaking it up, feeling the hunger fade. "Can…can I ask for something?" he asked as the sadness faded.

"For what Ignis?" Regis asked, stroking his hair.

"To fly," he whispered.

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Regis looked down at the small child curled against him. he should have expected that, it was actually surprising he hadn't asked sooner. The wings definitely appeared fully functional and the suite wasn't really big enough for him to do more than hover. There were many rooms within the Citadel large enough that he could fly laps of. It would be getting him there unseen that would be difficult…but seeing the hope in his eyes, how could he say no?

"There are rooms many times the size of this one, I will arrange to take you to one so that you can fly," he promised and Ignis smiled and yes…he could see what Cor had mentioned, he smiled because it was what they did when happy.

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Ignis looked up, seeing the height of the room, how long it was and then glanced at Regis who nodded. He kicked off the human shoes he'd been given, they weren't really comfortable but everyone wore them so he needed to too. He ran several steps and then launched up into the air.

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Ignis looked from Regis to the stranger, studying them. The clothing was very different to everyone else he'd seen and….the chest was weird…oh! "Are you a woman?" he asked and the stranger blinked before smiling.

"I am, my name is Aulea. It's nice to meet you Ignis."

"It is nice to meet you too," he smiled back at her. The books had explained but he hadn't seen a human woman before. It made no sense to him to be different like that. Then again, a lot about human biology was very strange and confusing, but it did explain why they kept giving him dead and cooked things to eat. He now suspected Regis didn't know he was feeding him when they sat together but he didn't know how to ask, worried that maybe it would mean he wouldn't come back.

The two humans sat on the couch and he followed them over, seeing the space between them. Aulea smiled and patted the space so he scrambled up, it was nice to sit between them.

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Aulea shook out her hair, smiling when Regis ran his fingers through it, leaning back against him. "You're right, I feel…better, since seeing Ignis," she admitted. "Happier. You think Ignis is causing it?"

"I think he can affect emotions somehow, it's never anything really big but it is noticeable," he answered before beginning to ready for bed.

"Some kind of empathic ability? If it was strong surely he would have been able to influence those who captured him into letting him go?" She asked.

"Maybe, perhaps it will get stronger with age or there were too many?"

They got into bed and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her and she smiled, snuggling in. "What will happen to him Regis? You can't keep him locked away in there forever."

"I know, but we can't just let him go," he sighed but then shook his head at her look. "No, I don't believe he's a danger to anyone. But no one looking at him will believe that, how can we send him away to die at the hands of a hunter?"

"He must have people out there somewhere."

"If he does, he hasn't spoken of them once. When he's older, maybe something can be done. We will work out some way to give him freedom," he promised.

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Cor watched as Ignis flew around the room. He was incredible to see in the air, the way he moved… made Cor wish he had wings sometimes. Ignis had been with them for almost two years now and he was far better behaved than any human child he'd ever heard of, especially if he listened to Clarus' tales of what a little terror Gladio could be.

Ignis had barely changed at all physically either when young children usually grew and changed a lot, especially in the span of years. His hair grew, though slowly, which considering he preferred it short had them all wondering just how long he'd been on his own for to get as long as it had when he was found.

He'd learned a lot, and fast, if it wasn't for the physical differences, it would be easy to think he was human. He spoke like a normal human, though older than his apparent years. He had learnt to interact as one of them though Cor got the feeling he still didn't always understand why he had to act a certain way. He'd learnt to use their titles correctly though he wasn't made to use them, it was with the understanding that if ever in public then he had to use them.

They were still trying to work out some way to give him more freedom. Few knew of the winged child hidden within the city. They all did, a handful of scientists who still wanted to get a better look than they would ever allow, and several members of the Guard who had been sworn to total silence on his existence. He wasn't worried about the Guard, he'd seen several of them slip Ignis sweets or new books, they all liked the kid. The scientists were the concern and he knew Regis would prefer to reassign them outside of the Citadel, but then they ran the risk they would talk. If news of Ignis spread it could cause panic, no matter how many times they would assure people the boy wasn't a daemon or any kind of monster. It was human nature to fear what they didn't understand.

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Clarus sat with Ignis, showing him how to use the tablet, watching glowing green eyes go wide in wonder. It had been decided to give him access to LucisNet and all that entailed. The device was monitored of course, despite how much they trusted Ignis, they were not fools.

It didn't take long at all for Ignis to be totally absorbed, not in games like most children, but in information. "Thank you," he whispered and Clarus ruffled his hair.

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Aulea smiled as she sat with Ignis in the small garden room. The tablet was between them and they were working on Ignis' lessons. She had been the one to suggest formal schooling and Ignis had been happy to do so. Clarus and Cor had created an official identity for him, Ignis Scientia, Son of House Scientia, a family of royal retainers.

Ignotus Scientia had recently retired and when contacted about an orphan child needing a family to sponsor him and Ignotus had agreed, his family had served the Crown long enough for him to know there was a lot more to the story than he was being told, but he was also the last of the family and in this way, their name would live on.

Ignis loved school and was already working on high school level work. He could be such a serious child but they all knew now it was because sometimes…he just didn't understand. Despite the fact they were positive Ignis could sense their emotions he didn't always seem to understand them or how he was meant to react.

He looked up from the tablet and stared at her, looking confused.

"Ignis?"

"There's something….there," he pressed his hand to her belt and Aulea blinked in shock.

He could feel her baby? She hadn't even had confirmation yet! She had only begun suspecting she might be pregnant in the last few days. Guess she had confirmation now. "I'm going to have a baby Ignis, a little Prince or Princess," she told him, watching his eyes go wide.

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Ignis went over everything he could access on having babies, curious. He'd seen mentions before in his studies but now he wanted to know everything! What he read was shocking and …well….ewww….but also scary. Humans died having babies, babies died before being born, during, or after. It was so dangerous!

How did humans become so numerous if reproduction was so dangerous? Their way had no risks at all and didn't involve the very messy conception humans needed. They actually enjoyed the act too which was just very strange. That was definitely one human experience he would be glad he couldn't experience. According to his biology research, he lacked all the necessary parts to do so.

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Regis watched as Ignis petted Aulea's expanding waist, smiling and laughing, wings flapping excitedly, and he wondered what Ignis could sense from their unborn child. He hoped Ignis would show such interest after the birth, that they could be friends. It would do Ignis good to have a friend closer to his age.

They'd been talking about introducing him to Gladio, the future Shield was three now and getting out of the terrible two's range finally. It was a good age gap between him and the future Prince or Princess. If Ignis could become friends with both children…well, it was a fond wish, but impossible given his appearance. It was not fair, but the human refugees and immigrants had a hard enough time being accepted, it would be ever so much worse for someone who did not look human.

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Ignis sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed as he breathed deeply. The baby was going to be born soon and…he wanted to see it. wanted to see Clarus' son, Gladio, and be accepted, not called monster like he'd heard a woman whisper before the Guard had dragged her away, Monica had given him extra sweets that day when she had come. He knew it was possible, he just didn't know exactly how. He…he wanted to fit in.

TBC….