Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 3

Noctis drank deeply, fangs buried in still warm flesh as he drank his fill for the first time since he had been attacked. His eyes snapped up as he heard motion approaching, instinct screaming to defend his meal. The movement stopped and he struggled to focus past the blood lust, finally recognising Prompto, who crouched nearby, gun in hand and eyes on the horizon. He was guarding him! The rest of the Spiracorn lay dead around them, some from gunshots, others from his own sword. He drained the last of the blood and pushed the corpse away.

The early morning sunlight was increasing but with fresh blood, even if only from an animal, he could feel his strength fully return, magic surging through his body. He got to his feet and stretched, glancing back at Prompto, looking for any sign of fear or disgust, surprised but also happy to see none as the hunter glanced back at him.

"Full?" he asked and Noctis nodded. Prompto straightened up to stand as well, holstering his gun. "You look healthy finally," he flashed him a grin and then went to work taking the proof of the successful hunt and Noctis moved to help him. Once done they headed for the truck and back to the outpost.

Noctis got out as well, face shaded by a cap, but he was tired of being stuck in the truck all the time and with the fresh blood in his system the sun didn't burn. There were many humans in Insomnia but the scents here were so different, stronger, especially without the filter of the trucks air conditioning.

"Okay?" Prompto asked quietly.

He nodded, looking around while trying to not look too out of place. He'd likely never again have the chance to see the rest of Lucis and he wanted to make the most of the opportunity. He followed Prompto into a building with a sign announcing the Crow's Nest, fighting down the urge to grimace at the smells of cooking food. He took a seat beside Prompto who began chatting with the man behind the counter, handing over the proof of the hunt to receive gil in return. He then ordered food to go and they left the building to go sit in the shade where Prompto ate and Noctis pretended in case anyone was watching. Once done they headed to the hotel to rent a room for the night.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Prompto dropped his bag on the bed, the weapons bag next to the small table, before kicking off his boots and slipping out of his jacket, stretching. He removed his holster and hung it off the table beside the bed closest to the door. "Want first shower?" he offered.

Noctis shook his head. "You should go first; cold water doesn't bother me."

"Sure?" he offered again and Noct nodded. "Okay." He grabbed clean clothes and toiletries before heading into the bathroom. It would be nice to have hot water again. He scrubbed down thoroughly, washing his hair too, but made sure to leave some hot water for Noctis, cold water may not bother him but that didn't mean it was nice to wash in. he dried off and dressed in loose pants and shirt since he didn't plan to leave the room again for the night. "All yours," he grinned and then went to the table to clean his guns.

"Thanks," Noctis grabbed the things Prompto had bought for him two outposts back and headed in to clean up.

Prompto worked quietly on his weapons, mentally going over their route. They would pass through the Paralleth Pass tomorrow and that left them with a choice, did they head for Lestallum or go straight for Rydelle Ley and onto Alastor Slough? They would need to stay somewhere around the time they would likely reach the turnoff for Lestallum, but the town was dangerous for Noctis if he was recognised. Technically it was occupied by the Empire and even if it wasn't, the place wasn't very friendly for those like the Prince. He would be glad to cross over into Duscae, things weren't as bad there, with less Imperial presence.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Noctis left the bathroom to find Prompto finishing up his weapons maintenance, mind obviously elsewhere. He looked different in such casual dress, younger, softer. He couldn't believe Prom had been with the hunters since he was twelve, he was nothing like he'd been taught the hunters were. But there was something else about the blonde… he never spoke of his life before then and while Noctis could respect his privacy, it niggled at him. He sat down and picked up the provided newspaper and he realised what it was as he looked at the picture of the Emperor and his top officials. He froze as he stared at the picture, heart sinking, even as he tried not to give himself away. It really had been too good to be true.

So why was he still alive? What was the plan? Why hadn't he been dragged to Gralea yet? Was he freaking out over nothing? No…Prompto was too blonde, too pale for a native Lucian. Even Iggy wasn't that lightly coloured, and his family originated in Tenebrae. And…even in a slightly blurry photo, there was a resemblance to one of the men beside the Emperor, his top scientist, Verstael Besithia. Surely if such an important man had a family, they would know about it? What did it mean? Maybe…Prompto was an unwanted bastard? If he was then maybe he had run…maybe this wasn't a trap.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Prompto glanced up, sensing something was wrong, and he saw Noctis staring at the paper. He saw him tighten his grip on it and then it hit him, he'd glanced at it when he sat down but hadn't bothered to read Imperial propaganda. And it was clear, Noctis had put at least part of the puzzle together, the question was, how much? "Noctis," he called softly, and the Prince looked at him, obviously trying not to give anything away. He put the last gun down and then got up and moved away from the table and the weapons to sit on the bed.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Noctis watched as Prompto stood and moved away from all of the weapons to sit on the bed, so much for not giving away what he'd realised. He even sat with his hands under his thighs and Noctis swallowed nervously. "Who are you?" he demanded since Prompto obviously knew he'd realised.

"Prompto Argentum," he answered calmly. "And yes, I am from Gralea originally. I've lived in Lucis since I was eight, on my own. Dave saved me from a pack of voretooth when I was twelve and took me to Meldacio. This isn't a game or a trap. I swear, the only plan here is to get you home safely. I don't want the Empire to win anymore than you do, I lived under their control for eight hellish years."

He couldn't smell a lie and his heart rate was remaining steady. He didn't want this to be a trap, but he couldn't let himself believe because he wanted to. He stared in shock as Prompto lifted his hands, pushing back his sleeve to bare his wrist and lift it up in offering. He couldn't be serious!

"There's one way for you to know for sure."

Would he really be offering if he wasn't telling the truth? Or would he offer knowing that he would think that because of the offer? The last few days with him had been good, other than his sleeping to heal. Prompto had freely given blood to help that. He took a hesitant half step towards him and then stopped, torn. He knew in theory how to do what Prompto was suggesting, but he'd never actually done it. "Your name is Lucian," he said and Prompto shrugged.

"I picked it to fit in," he admitted. "I didn't have a name before that. It's….very different growing up there," he finished softly.

Noctis reached out and ran his fingers over the wrist, feeling the warmth of his skin, the blood pulsing through the veins, watching as goose bumps formed from his cool touch. He glanced up into bright blue eyes, seeing his nervousness. There was nothing stopping him from draining him for being an Imperial…but that would make him no better than them. He felt his fangs descend as he lifted Prompto's arm higher. He glanced up one last time to find Prompto waiting patiently. He drew up his magic and bent over the extended limb, carefully biting down, feeling the hot rush of blood over his tongue.

His magic surged up and out, using the blood as a conduit and he heard Prompto gasp at the sensation. It was so different to drinking from a cup or bag or animal. His blood tasted even better from the vein than from the cup. He swallowed several mouthfuls before carefully sinking his magic deeper into Prompto, holding eye contact, seeking the truth. Images flashed before his eyes: Prompto finding him and taking him to his apartment…a few scattered hunts…a smaller Prompto being overwhelmed by the pack of voretooth and a man coming to his aide, carrying the injured child to safety…..a small blonde boy scavenging on the edges of settlements, stealing occasionally….even smaller, huddled in the storage room of a ship….a train…he was so small, way too skinny, battered and bruised and terrified of people…he saw the boy sneaking through a city to get to the train, dressed in little more than rags despite the snow. He pulled back, licking the wound to seal it, breathing deeply to free himself from the memories. Cor would tell him off for not going back farther to see why Prompto had been in that condition, to see where exactly he had come form, his family. But he had felt Prompto's terror, pain and hopelessness from those early memories and he hadn't been able to hurt them both by going back.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Prompto was surprised but grateful Noctis had stopped when he did, he hadn't wanted him to see what he was. He was breathing heavily but so was the Prince, both overwhelmed by the memories, emotions and magic. So that was the magic of the Lucis Caelum…no wonder the Empire feared it. He finally broke eye contact to fall back onto the bed, feeling Noctis let go of his wrist.

"I'm sorry," Noctis whispered and Prompto leant up to look at him. He reached out and snagged Noct's wrist, tugging him down onto the bed to curl around him, sharing his body heat. He felt Noct stiffen briefly before relaxing in his arms, trembling slightly.

"It's okay," he promised as he forced the memories back where they belonged. He ran his fingers through fine black hair, trying to comfort him.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Noctis lay in Prompto's arms as he struggled to assimilate the memories without being overwhelmed. He could understand why that was not an ability to be used lightly. He heard Prompto's whisper, felt his fingers in his hair trying to offer comfort and he felt sick. He should be comforting Prompto, not the other way around. While he had lived in luxury, never wanting for anything, Prompto had been scavenging in the rubbish, half starved. He reached back, finding Prompto's other hand to tangle their fingers together, squeezing gently. "Come to Insomnia with me," he whispered, feeling Prompto stiffen in shock.

"Noct?"

"You'll never go hungry again, never have to fight," he promised.

"I'm an enemy combatant twice over, Gralean born and then a hunter."

"You saved me, gave me your blood. I'm the Crown Prince, if I say you can stay then you can. Cor would insist on surveillance, but you'd be able to live in peace." He would do whatever it took to make them see that Prompto wasn't a threat, even if he was related to that monster of a scientist. If he was then the bastard idea seemed most likely, a wanted child would not have been in such condition, right?

"We've still got a long way to go," Prompto finally answered. It wasn't a no, he had time to convince him. "Get some sleep, we'll leave early in the morning."

"Where next?"

"Rydelle Ley and then Alastor Slough. There's several Havens and an outpost where we can top up on fuel, take a few hunts."

"Isn't that near the Nebulawood and Chocobo outpost?"

"Yeah, you like Chocobos?" Prompto asked and Noctis smiled at hearing the slight excitement in his voice.

"Who doesn't? We have a specially trained stable since most don't like us. I used to ride as a kid, don't have as much time for it anymore. Where from there?"

"Up to the Prairie Outpost, though we may not stop. It's the last hunter outpost, the only one in Leide. There's an Imperial base near there too so it's not going to be a very safe area. We could detour to avoid the outpost, head down through the Longwythe Rest Area and then up to Hammerhead."

"So you'll come into Leide?" Noctis asked and Prompto nodded, he could feel it.

"I'll get you passed the base and outpost, after that…I…"

"Okay," he wouldn't push any further tonight. It was weird, trying to switch his sleep cycle around so that he would sleep at night when Prompto did. As long as he could feed on hunts then he would be okay in the day, he'd keep out of the midday sun though to be safe. "Think we'll see a Catoblepas?" he asked, feeling Prompto relaxing at his back, beginning to doze.

"Yeah," he mumbled sleepily.

How much blood had he taken? He hoped it wasn't too much. "Prom? You should drink something," he sat up and nudged Prompto into sitting, going to the food bag and digging out a bottle of juice, giving it to him before moving the rest to the small fridge in the room.

"Thanks."

Noctis looked at Prompto's weapons on the table and then got out the Engine Blade, performing his own maintenance and cleaning on it and then a few of his smaller weapons.

Prompto finished the juice and then got under the covers, curling up on his side, watching sleepily.

Noctis finished and got up, moving back to the beds, hesitating beside the second one, glancing at Prompto who blinked but then lifted the blankets in offering, surprising him. He hesitated but then crawled in with him. Why would Prompto want to sleep with someone who radiated no body heat? But for tonight at least he was glad for the comfort. He relaxed as an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him up against Prompto's chest.

"Sleep," Prompto mumbled, body relaxing and breathing deepening as he fell asleep.

Noctis lay still and awake for a while longer, enjoying the warmth of his body and the blankets. It was nice not having to camp for a change. As the night fell the outpost went quite as the people retreated inside to sleep while the daemons roamed. He could hear them roaming beyond the safety of the lights, imps, goblins, even red giants. He heard the whispers of young children, scared of the daemons lurking in the dark and he felt a surge of guilt. Was it any wonder the rest of Lucis despised them? they lived in utter safety and luxury under the Wall while those outside of it lived in scattered settlements, their technology a good fifty years behind Insomnia's. There had to be something more they could do or else how did they deserve to be the Kings of Lucis?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Prompto approached the intersection that would take them either to Lestallum or the Slough and glanced at Noctis who was watching the countryside. Making his choice, he turned towards the Slough. It would mean camping again but it wasn't worth the risk to go to Lestallum.

He was worried, though he was keeping it from Noct. Those wolves hadn't looked like they had the funds for a Collar so where had they gotten it? Stolen it? Or been given it and sent after Noctis since he was away from the protection of the city? If they had been sent, were there others out there, hunting him? he was sure he had taken out the whole group that day, but if they had been in contact with others, it would give other hunters a good starting place. Travelling by truck would make them harder to track, so would his scent helping to cover Noct's, but there were only so many ways they could go to get back to Insomnia. It was why Noctis had to be returned to the city as quickly as possible and why it was confusing that he hadn't spotted any increase in soldiers. There was no way they were lucky enough to have no one hunting them.

TBC…