Today's chapter is the longer yet in this story. We focus on Noctis and Luna and on Prompto and Cindy. Fun times between friends and a covenant! To think the first time I write the covenant with Leviathan is in Stranded… It feels a bit weird, but I think I'm happy with the end result. Without further ado, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! 😊
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Stranded
Chapter 9 – Hydraen's wrath
"You're trying to tell me that this covenant is going to save us?! You have a lot of nerves, lady Lunafreya," the first secretary of Altissia warned.
Lady Camelia was a patient woman, well-versed in politics, but after two and a half hours of going back and forth with gentle but firm declarations regarding what the Oracle expected from her and what the people of Accordo needed in exchange, Luna had lost of her cool.
"I know this evacuation call looks bad, but I can't guarantee the safety of your people otherwise and the last thing I want is to put anyone at risk."
Noctis was glad Prompto wasn't there to object in any way. Because these negotiations weren't going well as it was.
"What if the covenant didn't take place in the city?" he asked, even though he hadn't made a single intervention since the curt nod he'd given to the first secretary.
Both women turned to him, the older with one raised brow, the younger wearing a curious but cautious expression.
"Cael was it?" Camelia asked. "Why does this name sound so familiar…"
Noctis knew his father had visited Accordo years ago, and the female politician had to be already around back then, but the last news of him as the first-born Lucian prince dated back to his exile. With all the shit the empire had pulled recently, this was old information.
"Is it even possible?" Noctis insisted, his eyes focusing on Luna.
"It's… While the altar northeast of the Leville would be the most potent place to start it… I don't see why it couldn't work on an island neighboring the city. This way, the potential damages would be kept to a minimum. We'd need a boat of course."
Lady Camelia squared her shoulders ever so slightly, unamused by how simply Lunafreya made demands. Noctis held back a smirk at the sight of the power struggle between both women. Luna wouldn't leave without permission for the covenant and everything she needed for it to work guaranteed by the first secretary, while Camelia refused to simply throw in the towel and accept everything the princess asked for right away.
It took one more hour of consulting a map, making a few phone calls and Camelia accepting to give away the boat with a discharge paper and to guarantee the princess and her retinue a rescue party should she need it. In exchange, Luna would visit every hospital in the city of water and cure every person infected with the blight before the Covenant. If she could treat people affected by other illnesses, she would heal them too.
"You're going to burn yourself out," Noctis warned her when they finally walked out of the embassy.
"I'll just need plenty of food and sleep to make up for it. Let's hit the first hospital right now."
Like Noctis predicted, Luna healed people over and over until she collapsed on her feet, her bodyguard catching her in his arms and having to carry her back to their hotel room. On the following day, when she insisted she could get out of bed, Noctis had to corner her in his arms.
"I'll drug you to make sure you get some rest if that's what you need," he threatened.
"You wouldn't!"
"I'm serious Luna. This covenant is going to take a lot out of you and you can't deplete your energy like this because you want to get it done sooner. Only you can heal those people…"
She didn't have to tell him how she regretted not being able to heal them sooner due to her constant fight with the empire to keep Tenebrae safe. Her true calling was to heal people, even though she was more of a warrior after all these years of outright rebellion against the empire. The following week was all about getting Luna to complete her end of the bargain at a human pace and her bodyguard needed all the help he could get to succeed.
Cindy offered to watch over Luna to make sure she would get enough rest, while Prompto suggested tying her up with a mocking tone that nearly earned him a punch from Noctis. The covenant was drawing closer and both men were growing a little more restless. They would disappear to train together, either with swimming race, sparring together -Noctis would use his blades while Prompto gave him a run for his money with his short blade and daggers- or their own version of a shooting range. Noctis had no idea if his magic could damage an Astral, but after stumbling on a electric shard deposit by a weird painting down in the lower quarters, the exiled prince wanted to make sure he had full control of his newfound powers.
Prompto was still a wise-ass, but his teasing to Noctis and Luna's bedroom exploits came to a minimum that was tolerable. Cindy more often than not managed to get him tongue-tied and the royals were more than happy to use that to their advantage. While going out on one more date, Noctis and Luna were quite happy with cuddling and snuggling together, even though they had their own hotel room. They were trying to catch up on the "normal" relationship stuff they'd missed and slowly getting use to the fact neither of them needed to be convinced to stick around. Noctis surprised her with breakfast in bed, which turned out in egg yolk on the sheets, while Lunafreya insisted on preparing him a meal, complete with three servings and a dessert that would give diabetes to even the healthiest man.
Prompto nearly got emotional when they offered him a slice of cake, to everyone's shock and the four of them insisted on making a feast on the night before the covenant.
"No, Cindy, for the nth time, I am not getting wasted," Lunafreya objected to her friend.
"You're the funniest drunk, Lu!"
"Is she now? What's the worse she ever did?" Prompto instantly asked.
Noctis chuckled, just as interested as the gunman and Cindy pursed her lips as she leaned her chin on her hands, considering the possibility of giving them a straight answer. Luna shook her head, giving her a light push with her shoulder.
"No way, Cindy, you can't…!"
"Oh come on now, I need some incentive to keep my mouth shut. Drink with your gal friend and my lips will be sealed" Cindy shot back.
"We can make this fair by sharing equally embarrassing stories," Prompto offered, since he really didn't want to pass up on the anecdote. "What do you think, bro?"
"I have gotten drunk a few times back in Insomnia. I think we made the paper once. Wasn't my greatest moment."
"That sounds promising. So, do we all fess up or our princess needs us to make a pact first?" the gunman went on.
Luna rolled her eyes at him, her shoulders lowering in defeat.
"Fine, fine. But this better not leave this room!"
They also convinced Luna into drinking with them, sitting together in the private lounge of the Leville, raising their glasses to toast to the success of the covenant and the short trip they would embark upon. Cindy had joked about sun bathing once the ordeal was over, if only so that Luna would look less pale, but both Prompto and the princess had disagreed with the plan. When exposed to the sun, they burned before developing a tan.
"There was a big gathering in Tenebrae, Cor had organized a summit on battle techniques and warriors from all over the world had come for it. I had assisted with the opening ceremony, but I had little to do in there, the summit couldn't be politicized. There was this big feast for the closing ceremony and Cindy here insisted on dragging me there."
"The girl never has any fun, it's always training, reading, studying, praying and training some more."
"Not so sure about that," Prompto observed, elbowing Noctis in the ribs which earn him a slap to the back that sent droplets of beer flying.
"You know Prom, I wonder how you survived so long in the empire while being so impertinent." Luna declared, giving him a warning glare.
He snorted at that.
"I thought very loudly instead of speaking up. But appreciate the liberty of expression you grant your soldiers, your Highness."
"She's trying to get out of telling that embarrassing story," Noctis chimed in. "What happened at that feast?"
Lowering her shoulders a few notches, the Oracle accepted to confess.
"Sometimes, when I get drunk, I have the urge to sing."
Both men looked at her with eyes as large as saucers. Cindy giggled, her hands moving haphazardly as she expanded on Luna's admission.
"She's a good singer normally, but she's awfully off-key when drunk. And she decided to give us a concert. She was kneeling on the punch table, taking requests and singing her heart out."
"Oh my gods!" Noctis slapped his thigh while Prompto remained speechless, staring at Luna with incredulous eyes.
"I saw you get wild on the battlefield, but a concert with requests next to the punch bowl?"
Her shoulders lowered even more as she shook her head.
"It wasn't my best night," Luna desperately tried to defend herself. "And we were promised equally embarrassing stories from you two."
Prompto had a deer caught in the headlights expression, as though he doubted he had anything that could equal or even top that level of embarrassment.
"Okay, well, I had a competition with my friends back in Insomnia," Noctis started. "Gladio is a behemoth of a man, nearly three times my size, while Ignis is super lean. We were convinced we could drink Iggy under the table. I forgot that Gladio easily started fights when he was drunk and that Ignis was a tricky bastard when it came to competitions. We were pretty wasted by the time Ignis slipped up about bribing the barman. Ignis wanted one of us to stay sober so he could assure our safety, and he also loves to win. Gladiolus snapped and hurled his chair across the room."
"He what?!"
"Hell, he could have done the same with the table if it hadn't been screwed to the floor."
Noctis told his story so well, it took Cindy pointing out that between Gladiolus fighting things out with a lady immortalized on a newspaper cover and Ignis drenched in rum from a rough tumble with a fellow patron into a keg… well they had no idea what Noctis had been doing.
"You fought too, didn't you?" Luna egged him on.
Noctis looked away, his ears turning red even though he knew there was no use being embarrassed about something that was all in the past.
"Not really. I tried but… I got knocked out at the first punch. I was so wasted, my body was like a pile of marshmallows. I came to quickly, but I was too groggy to move."
"Aww, what those alcoholic beverages do to us," Prompto quickly interfered, clasping his chest with a dramatic look on his face. "While your inaction might be embarrassing, I think I have the best story yet. We had had the biggest party with the clones in our camp and it just so happened that a few female scientists were hanging out with us. A rare occasion indeed and this birdhead was determined to land himself one orgasmic night, you know, of the kind half this team is so happy to share with us bachelors…"
Cindy snorted while Noctis let out a disgruntled groan, Luna heaving a sigh.
"So I was chatting up this gorgeous girl, all charm and racking up points when my stomach decided he wouldn't cooperate. Next thing I knew, I was on my feet, while the geography lady blinks and blurgh!" Prompto emphasized with grimace, his arms expressively moving by his sides. "I barfed all over her. There was puke in her hair, in her eyes, in her glass, it was awful!"
"Prompto! We are currently drinking!" Luna protested to the details.
"So was she!"
"Ugggh," came the general disgust.
"She was so classy, she didn't even throw up on me. She did it on the girl on her left. It was a nightmare," the gunman sighed, looking a little green as he remembered how ashamed he'd felt that night.
They needed some time to digest the story, although they did laugh at Prompto when he told them who did his evaluations the following day.
"I've wanted to die many times in my life, but that might have been the worse one of all."
Cindy still insisted on throwing open a bottle of champagne after their third beer, convinced that celebrating now was for the best. They didn't know how things would go with the Astral and with all the precautions Luna felt necessary to take, they couldn't pretend things would be easy.
"What about your own embarrassing story, Aurum?" Noctis asked playfully.
"Oh, is that… I guess it is necessary since I started this. I swear Prompto, this champagne tastes weird and it's all because of your..."
Argentum retorted with a grimace, mimicking someone vomiting and Cindy set her glass down as she fought against a wave of nausea, one hand covering her mouth. He stopped his imitation quickly, noticing how she'd shivered as she tried to keep her stomach settled. His eyes felt soft and he tried to push away that softness, his voice coming off as a whisper as he teased her, "You got quite the fragile stomach."
Cindy simply rolled her eyes at him, nudging him in the shoulder.
"Let's see who has a fragile stomach when we take that boat tomorrow!"
"Cin, Noctis asked you a question," Luna reminded her friend.
"Okay, okay, sorry for being distracted by our little joker here. So, what was it… I think I tried fixing something after spending a few hours drinking with my pawpaw's crew. I was so unfocused that I cut my palm open up to my wrist. I needed stitches, but I didn't feel any pain. My pawpaw still took me to the hospital and the male nurse who was assigned to me had quite a hard time doing his work. He was cute, and my brain was half gone so I insisted on being fine and flirting. I think I had to be held down for him to do the stitches."
"The poor guy was covered in blood since she wouldn't take her paws off him," Luna chuckled.
"I thought you didn't do flirting?"
"Well, I clearly don't get how it works," Cindy shot back, laughing at herself. "Enough with that weird night at the hospital though. All those bubbles are weird. I need more beer!"
They talked some more, Prompto insisting he could hold his liquor down fine, while Cindy bullied Luna into singing one of her favorite songs. Since they had been reasonable, Luna wasn't off-key and earned herself a string of compliments from the guys that made her blush even more than remembering that improvised concert she'd given. They played a few games of cards, but as soon as Prompto suggested strip poker -how was he supposed to get his mind out of the gutter- the gunman and the prince were both chased from the party table and had to entertain themselves through other means. A set of dart games threatened to turn violent, since Prompto was missing his intended target every time and managed to throw a dart at Noctis when he thought he was leaving the target alone.
"Owww! I had one more dart to pick up!"
"Sorry! I swear I didn't see…"
They agreed to leave the darts alone and sat down with the girls for maybe a few more minutes before feeling the urge to walk out of this lounge and the four walls. Cindy insisted on seeing the haunted painting, Noctis and Luna more interesting in walking hand in hand and enjoying the night air while Prompto tried to help Cindy taking the right flight of stairs and turns in this mazelike city. They were noisy and carefree, laughing as they got lost a few times. It was no surprise that they lost sight of Noctis and Luna after an hour of traipsing around the city, but Prompto didn't expect the change of mood that came with being alone with Cindy.
The pilot was wearing a blouse and a pair of jeans, her yellow jacket forgotten back in her ship, her blonde hair tousled by the wind.
"I wish I could skip on sleep and enjoy the whole night. This place is so amazing under the starlight…" she whispered, jumping on a low ledge of concrete to test her balance.
"Who said you can't? Luna already suggested to hire a driver for the boat to drop us off and pick us back up instead…"
"If you're going to bed in an hour, who's going to keep me entertained?" Cindy teased him.
"You want entertainment? I don't sing so well."
Her right foot slipped, or maybe she missed a step, all Prompto knew was that she was falling and he caught her on pure instinct, his arms around her waist, her head a few inches higher than his.
"Suggested more than you could handle?" he offered.
Cindy shook her head, her hands digging in his shoulders as she tried to regain her footing.
"I want to ask something, and I don't think I'm drunk, but… I don't want you to think of me as a teaser…"
"Ask away," Prompto laughed.
It had grown easier to be alone with her during the past few days, both blonds realizing they had a lot in common. They both liked to tinker with things, Cindy for obvious reasons and Prompto because he needed the distraction. He had disassembled his various guns so many times around her, Cindy had asked him to prove he could dismantle other things. She'd let him experiment with a broken camera. He'd sat in silence for over five hours, much to her amazement. He'd bought lens all of his own accord and had snapped her pictures too many times for her to keep count.
She looked into his eyes as he helped her off the ledge, her hands not leaving his chest and her hesitation made him feel a distress he'd never experienced before. He didn't like how lost she seemed to be.
"I'd like… All those beers and I can't stop thinking yet of everything that could go wrong tomorrow."
"Worried about Luna?"
"Of course I am! This time, it's the tide mother, not just the god-version of the lady who took care of her as she grew up. Aren't you…?"
"I'd like to stop thinking too," he confessed quickly.
The idea either his first real friend or himself could die tomorrow had grown harder to bear with every passing day and now all they had left were hours. Noctis might say he was ready, but Prompto didn't feel ready.
"Okay… Don't make fun of me, I'm all nerves. This is all nerves and booze."
"Cindy, does not thinking involve…?"
"Redundancy? I'm more direct usually. If you kiss me, can you keep your hands above my clothes?"
He blinked, even though his imagination had been hoping for a similar question.
"I knew I should have brushed my teeth."
"We both drank," she reminded him. "And let's be clear, this is a comfort thing."
"Okay. I hope I can be comforting."
"Prom, it's not a one-sided thing, okay? You'll get comfort from me too."
His breath caught in his throat and he wasn't sure if he was lobster red or pale as a sheet. He hated when his nervousness showed, so the gunman decided it was time to give her what she wanted. He kissed her hoping it would push away the fragile impression in his heart. No one had ever offered him comfort so simply. Like, for free, as though he could give it back and was worth…
Her lips were soft, parting almost instantly under his touch. He pulled her closer, hips aligned and chest to chest as they both tried to find the right touches. Touches to say things would be fine, or to ground them in the here and now. Her nose was cold against his cheek and so were her fingertips on his neck.
"Damn girl, if you wanted me to warm you, you should have said so…"
"I said kiss me," Cindy insisted with a playful voice.
There was no need to ask at this point, because the first contact hadn't been enough and he claimed her mouth with less hesitation this time, enjoying the taste of her lips and the way she toyed with his hair. Breath mingling, tongue darting and stroking in a gentle dance, they instinctively backed away from the street, Cindy sitting down on the ledge and pulling him down to her level. He cupped her face with both hands, finding some sort of balance with his elbows on her thighs as he crouched in front of her. A part of him wanted to kneel, but then she'd have to bend her neck and how was that comforting?
They broke apart for air, Cindy gripping his collar with just enough strength to feel demanding. Their eyes met, forehead pressed against one another, cheeks flushed.
"How about… slow and lazy this time?"
"I'm more of a rusher, but I can surely do that," he whispered.
The hunger to his words made her shiver and she surrendered herself to sensation as he kissed a path up her chin, before to nibble at her lower lip, following the tug of her hands. It was slow, somehow lazy, but there was an urgency underlying every brush of skin. If they could only think of this right now, they might forget the risks they were about to take.
"This has to be uncomfortable…" Cindy noted when they parted for the third time.
"Can you sit in my lap?"
"Wha…"
"No one's walking by and I won't grind into you like a dog, I just… Can I ask things too?"
"Of course you can," she looked ready to laugh at his uncertainty, but he gulped down, hard enough for it to be audible.
He was so damn insecure beneath all his jokes, almost clingy in the way he held her. Despite that, his hands felt light on her, ready to back away at the slightest warning. She squeezed his bicep with one hand, her fingers tracing a path up his abs.
"You can touch too, you know."
"I told you I've been pretty frustrated lately…"
"And I told you our clothes were staying on."
Prompto was pretty sure wicked things could happen with their clothes on. He tentatively kissed her jaw, his lips veering to her neck. She moaned into his ears and if it wasn't for her phone suddenly buzzing, the gunman couldn't tell what he'd done. It was getting late though and Luna was checking on Cindy to make sure she'd make it back to her hotel room soon.
"Since when do you give me lessons, Lunafreya?" the pilot teased her friend, not realizing she was now fully straddling Prompto and shifting a bit as she spoke on the phone. He held her waist tighter, hoping she'd get a clue, but her eyes were sticking to the white lines on his shirt and he couldn't find the strength to look away from her lips. They were swollen and a bright red-pink. He couldn't remember the last time he'd kissed anyone like that, if ever.
"We'll be on our way, I hope you and your prince do nothing but sleep tonight," Cindy told her warningly.
As she shifted a bit more, she finally noticed Prompto's growing erection. Silence followed the disconnected call as the pair stared at each other, neither of them daring to move.
"I'm flattered," Cindy tried to sound casual, her growing blush mirroring Prompto's red cheeks.
"How am I supposed to answer that? Flatter me back?"
Cindy obliged him, with a peck on the cheek and a quick gyrating motion that titillated him further.
"You're a good kisser," she told him.
"And you're my torturer. Get off."
"But I'm thinking again."
"Cin, please. Don't make me embarrass myself."
"Oh come on, you can't really be a minute man."
"I am not! I just…"
It had been a while. And he'd never met a woman who wanted to be satisfied. He was a clone, thus a pile of flesh replaceable and undistinguishable from all the others. Sex never involved feelings, or being held or even kisses or…
Get off the depress train, he mentally chided himself.
"Should I really leave you like this?"
"I think you should, or I won't let you sleep. Or find a room with a door that locks."
It was harder than she'd thought to extricate themselves from each other, but they got to their feet, as awkward as the situation felt.
"After the covenant, we need to find time to see this through," Cindy declared.
"More comfort?" he asked as they tried to find their way again through the streets. He was careful to keep some distance with her. If their hands were to brush, he was pretty sure he'd let out a whimper of need and she was too casual for him to let her see how shaken he was.
"Only if you're willing."
"I am if you are."
It was just a comfort thing and who was he to say no?
…
At first, Noctis had been convinced he was too nervous to fall asleep. But the alcohol had numbed him a bit and Luna insisted on easing his mind with her magic.
"It's too bad you can't do that to yourself. How does it work? Is it some kind of brainwashing technique?"
She huffed at the choice of words and slipped out of his arms to pace around the room. Noctis shifted on the mattress to lean on his side, following her as she moved. She was so energetic despite everything, it was hard to believe she was stuck on bedrest every two days of the past week.
"My magic doesn't work like that," Luna explained to him. "I ease pain. Mental pain is harder to work with, but…"
"Hey, no need to be offended. I feel a lot calmer. Promise you won't use this trick every time I'm worked up?"
"Only if you help me fall asleep."
"Maybe you could start by lying down."
Luna did and sat back up almost instantly.
"I don't think I should do this."
"What?"
"Cindy told me that Prompto thought he was a life container."
"Prompto is always joking," Noctis tried to reassure her. "How does that prophecy go?"
Luna was too on edge to remember about her boyfriend's situation before to explain her fear more truthfully than she'd ever done.
"It takes a chosen King using the powers of the gods! I can gather all the Astrals, but I'm not even sure what I'm doing. Shiva would follow me, but this…" He heaved a sigh against her waist, pulling her down to lie next to him. "I'm being unfair, Noct."
She wanted to apologize more, but he welcomed her into an embrace, and she hid her face against his chest, liking the way she could listen to the words reverberate through him.
"No, you're right. The chosen King is my brother," he paused on the word, wondering once more what Ravus could be up to. Had there been any change in his magic since Noctis's powers were shifting? "He's the one supposed to take away the scourge. He should be doing this shit, not you. He should also be gathering royal arms, but I could collect them when I tried and my magic works after refusing to function for years. What if the telltales were true? What if my brother stole my powers somehow?"
"How does that even work? You could already phase and warp around as a child. When you did the tests with the crystal, how old was your brother?"
Ravus had been a baby, far too young to understand anything about the crystal. Noctis was surprised he could talk so freely about the crystal and his brother and wondered if Luna's magic hadn't something to do with it.
"Let's keep those chosen King questions for later, when I have Ravus in front of me and can know for sure whether the bastard will help you with the Scourge," Noctis suggested. "Luna, if you're worried about me and Prompto, you should know we're a hundred percent behind you. So is Cindy."
"I know! I just… The idea of sacrificing myself is easy, but others…"
His eyes hardened at that, but she couldn't see since he was holding her close to his heart.
"You're not sacrificing yourself, Luna. You said you wanted a future with me."
"I still do. I'm being silly," she started apologizing again.
He talked her to sleep, Luna slowly relaxing as she listened to his breathing and tried mimicking it. In the morning, they exchanged a few but tender kisses to cheer each other up before heading out. The boat ride to the designated island was uneventful and Prompto was a ball of nerves by the time they touched ground. Luna needed both Noctis and Prompto close to her during the covenant, but Cindy could keep her distance. Their boat had been tied to the only dock on this island and the pilot had planned to watch over their ride back the whole time. The sea would grow violent due to the covenant and neither of them wanted to be estranged from civilization even for a short while.
"Okay, Prompto, keep your guns in your holster. The only weapon we need should be my trident. I have to do the prayers now. It might take a while," she added as a warning, slowly kneeling on the sandbank.
Noctis didn't like the idea she was so close to the sea, where Leviathan was all-powerful, but Luna had insisted that she needed to be as close to Altissia and the altar as possible. The magic was harder to reach from here, but she wouldn't put the people of Accordo in danger. Her endeavor was to save them, not to make more victims in her quest to remove the Scourge from Eos.
The first two hours stretched by, Luna not moving from her spot, Prompto unable to hold his tongue and whispering to Noctis that the poor girl's knees had to hurt a great deal already.
As soon as the words were uttered, thunder roared above their head.
"Oh shit, I'm a bad luck charm now!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Prom..."
The wave that rose to the bank nearly pulled Luna into the ocean as it rolled back, and she had to jump to her feet and plant her trident in the ground. A storm had never brewed so fast, at least, not a storm Noctis had ever witnessed. The wind grew, hurling drops of salty water around as lightning struck.
"She's here!" Luna called out.
The next waves made a literal wall of water, crashing over them with the violence of a thundering charge, leaving them coughing and gasping for air. Both men had to blink to keep a good view of the scene unfolding before them. Luna stood against the elements, her ceremonial dress clinging to her skin, hair saturated, barely holding her trident straight. The sea was raging, more waves rushing back and forth. And among them, something like a typhoon, no, it was a serpent, a sea dragon… Its scales stretched infinitely, shimmering under the thunder.
Leviathan rose herself in a roar that left them all on their knees with the exception of Luna, who simply shook her head to remove the salty water from her eyes.
"Who dares to wake me from my sleep?"
"I'm the Oracle, speaking in the name of Eos's people," Luna explained quickly, her voice holding steady despite the new wave pushing her back on a few feet. Her boots were digging into the wet sand, threatening to stick there. "I have made a pact with Shiva already and…"
"Insolent human. You dare disturb me for you? What strength do you have? You need a crutch to even stand before me."
"I'm not calling you for myself. The Scourge…"
Leviathan sneered at Luna, her tail whiplashing at the water's surface, sending sand, scales and more waves forward. The young princess had to shield her eyes with her forearm, a scale grazing her shoulder leaving a trail of blood on her right arm.
"You're so fragile. All so fragile. Are those tiny men supposed to serve as my dinner? A sacrifice to appease my wrath?"
"No," Luna retorted, trying to control her anger. How did one communicate with an angry goddess? "Normally it would be I who should pay the price for the covenant, but the chosen King hasn't shown the intention to take his responsibilities yet."
"Foolish thing a king. Look at me, Oracle. I rule the seas. Do I wear a crown or ask people to bow to me?"
You sure are full of yourself nevertheless, Luna thought bitterly.
"Test me if you will, Hydraen."
"Certainly, tiny princess. If your trident can touch me, I'll do this covenant."
Noctis caught only a few words of the whole discussion, but he tensed even more than before as Leviathan rushed into the air, flying above the water, hovering above them with angry eyes. With a single movement of her gigantic body, she could have tidal waves moving, she could call on the wind and the sea with a flick of her scaly snake-like form. And she swam in the air, higher and higher, apparently impossible to reach.
"Do we have to fight that thing?" Prompto asked over the thunder.
"I have to," Luna called over her shoulder. "Noctis, can you warp me up there?"
"I… I can try, but if we get hit up there, it's…"
Death would be swift but still painful.
"What am I supposed to do? Shoot at that thing?"
Prompto's voice was higher than usual but neither of the royal blamed him. Shiva had been impressive, but this…
"Just stay alive," the princess asked him.
Noctis had wrapped an arm around her and threw his engine blade in the air. They zipped off in a blur of blue light.
It wasn't raining, but it could have been. There was so much water in the air, it was hard to breathe. Prompto ran back to the spot where he'd left his sniper rifle, along with a few first aid items Luna had insisted on bringing. He needed all the range he could have and knew that hitting a moving target was almost impossible in the given circumstances. His visor helped him keep track of his friends.
Noctis had to throw his engine blade over and over again, alternating with a weapon the gunman had never seen before. It was a large axe and somehow, Noctis could use it as a foothold.
A few hundred feet above the ground, Luna had the urge to make herself small enough so she wouldn't hinder Noctis. Her eyes shone with a golden hue as she froze a few gales of water midair, giving Noctis more footholds. The ice shattered right as he stepped on it, but it was enough to give him another boost in their surreal ascension. Leviathan didn't stay idle, whipping her tail around to try and throw them back to the ground. Evading her attacks while getting higher was tricky, the worst test of warping Noctis had ever been through in fact.
"I'm the one she wants to fight," Luna told him. "So no… heroics…"
It was hard to speak as she felt nauseous from the warping, with the wind pushing her hair in her face, the prayers still running in her head. Leviathan was so reluctant to be here in the first place, she couldn't help but worry the goddess could decide to up and leave at any point. A part of her was imagining what would have happened if Leviathan had appeared inside of Altissia.
Focus, Luna. Focus or you've doomed them all for nothing.
Noctis was straining himself, his next warp less precise and a scale scraped the skin on her thighs, ripping off a good portion of her skirt. Her yelp of pain was lost in the thunder above their heads and she had to blink away the water in her eyes to see if they had long left.
"Brace yourself, Luna," Noctis managed through his gritted teeth.
Leviathan's back was like cold stone and her trident didn't leave a mark on it, although Luna was able to drive the points through the thicker scales. She needed to hold on to this sea serpent monster if she wanted to achieve this covenant. Noctis had more difficulty finding his balance than the princess, but their trainings had been different. He warped left and right to stay on the giant snake, wishing to keep an eye on Luna.
"Pesky little…!"
Walking on a moving/flying/floating and furious sea snake monster was a nightmare. Its scales rose suddenly, forcing Luna to jump and pray she would land on her feet and not thin air. She couldn't see all the way to the island, there was too much hail all around, but she knew they were too high for comfort.
One foot after the other, Luna took a dozen steps forward, having lost sight of Noctis. Her trident stabbed at the rock-like scales, her boots slipping here and there, her body shaking in a feeble attempt against the cold wrapped around her limbs.
"Leviathan!" she called out. "This is your planet too. Your world. Do you really… want to see the Scourge win over mankind? What will be next on its path to destruction?"
That gave pause to the goddess erratic movements. Her voice rose in the Oracle's head, deep like the sea, roaring stronger than the thunder.
"Do you think you can threaten me? Do you believe I haven't seen Eos before your pitiful species was even crawling on it?!"
Lunafreya glared right back into Leviathan's eye. She couldn't see both at the same time.
"As a goddess, you chose this gigantic body of your own volition. Shiva is much smaller than you. What are you trying to compensate for?"
"Belittling me?! You think that because my frost sister accepted to follow you…?"
"My trident is touching you!"
"Pinpricks!" Leviathan mocked.
Luna pushed herself forward at that, using her shield of light to bounce back up as Leviathan trashed about to throw her off. Noctis was screaming in the distance, but the princess had to believe he would be fine. He'd promised to stay in one piece if only to protect her and she knew he kept his word. This right now was her test. She called on Shiva's magic, freezing over the underbelly of Leviathan's body, her trident digging into the ice and drawing dark blood. This time the goddess wailed, her body twisting violently and Luna couldn't hear her own yells of pain. It felt as though her brain was seizing, as though her skull was squeezed in a vice. Blood was coming out of her ears and every sound came muffled to her. Her left foot slipped, and it was only by pushing her trident deeper into the sea snake's flesh that she could hold on.
From far below, Prompto took aim for the nth time and fired. There was a pop and a new screeching, Leviathan's right eye pierced open by the bullet, the tide-mother seething right now.
Noctis had fallen, gotten hit by a few scales that merely bruised him due to luck or the very fragile prayers Luna had whispered against his jacket. Throughout his fall, the exiled prince had warped and phased some more, pushing himself to the limit. He needed to stay high enough to catch Luna if she was to fall too. And he doubted she could do enough damage on her own on that monster. It was hard to know where the ground was. The sky was dark clouds rolling over and over, the ocean was the same dark color, rolling just a bit faster than the clouds. Luna was a white spot in a sea of black, Leviathan coiling and recoiling in the air. He phased through the giant tail for the third time, thanking the stars he could. On the fourth time, he drove his blade deep enough into the sea snake to follow its movement.
It wasn't much sadly, but Luna finally had an opening to cause more damage. Noctis looked up to her, wondering if it was the same woman he knew up there. Her shoulder was bleeding and there were nasty red scratches on her legs, but it was hard to see through the brightness exuding from her. The ice dripped from her fingertips, covered with light, eating away at the goddess's skin. Her trident flashed in and out of her hands, finding articulations beneath the scales. Cracking open more wounds, ice drawing her a path when the sea snake moved too harshly. It was a statement and a warning and her answer to the very challenge given to her.
"As the last Oracle, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, I ask you to lend me your power, tide-mother."
Luna's voice reverberated through the air, speaking in a tongue Noctis barely understood. His heart was beating so fast as he tried holding on, his arms burning, his eyes trying to stay on her silhouette. Her light. Her magic shining too bright. How long could she keep this up? She'd never channeled Shiva's power before. One push, and she would tumble down to a crash and…
I'll keep her safe, I'll keep her safe, just stay close enough.
"Very well, Oracle. You took my blood. You may use my power. But first… comes the toll."
A shot of lightning lit the storm and Leviathan did the one thing they weren't ready for. She dove back into the sea. Noctis ran and warped, calling for Luna, his voice unable to cover the following thunder. The world was too loud, too dark and the light he kept looking for flickered before fading.
Their descent started, a rush of wind, screaming and darts of blue energy. Somehow Noctis reached Luna and somehow she slowed this horrible fall. The landing involved too much phasing to feel safe, but Prompto was helping them up and saying something over the buzzing in their ears and the entire island shook. Leviathan wasn't simply diving. She was sinking herself into the ground, swimming up along the sand, drawing a circle around them, her blood sipping out of the various wounds the royal pair had inflicted on her.
Luna couldn't stand on her own feet, her hands nearly frozen, her whole body shivering and Noctis insisted on carrying her further away if there was still somewhere further away from that thing.
"Can she even handle me? Are you still conscious, tiny Oracle?"
Luna's mind was reeling, veins showing on her neck and wrists, her eyes fighting against a pull, rolling back and into place and back again. She shook so hard; her teeth were almost clattering together.
"Is she…?" Prompto asked weakly.
"She's breathing. She's fine," Noctis whispered.
She had to be fine, or that voice pressing against his skull would.
"She can't pay the toll, can she…?"
Luna gasped as the pressure from the goddess's voice grew stronger.
"I ca.. can…"
It was a struggle to get the words out.
"Look at that doll. To think you could scratch me so badly too… If you want to handle me, you should at least be able to take this!"
A line of scales rose on Leviathan, who shifted her tail so quickly it sent them flying like darts.
"Incoming!" Prompto warned.
Noctis had no energy left to phase and had never made anyone else phase with him either. All he knew was that Luna couldn't defend herself. He pushed her down to the ground, shielding her with his body as best as he could. Prompto ducked closer to Leviathan's body, hoping she wasn't crazy enough to hurt herself while attacking Luna.
Luna was barely starting to regain her senses when she felt the weight pressing on her. The scent of sweat, musk and leather, a leather not common to Tenebrae, told her Noctis was close. Than the metallic smell of blood invaded her nose and she forced her eyes open, her trembling hands nearly clawing at him.
"Noct? Are you…"
He was shaking, his breathing coming out in shudders, his nose digging in her hair.
"You're safe… Safe, safe… Lun… If she does this again, I can't…"
Luna instinctively knew she couldn't move him. There was something warm on her stomach and her heart stopped as realization hit. It was his blood.
The toll… Was this the toll Leviathan wanted her to pay?!
"Why did you do this?!"
His left arm was underneath her, his hand cushioning her head. He'd never leaned his weight on her like this before. He was heavy with pain, trying to collect himself and failing as his system struggled with the shortcuts running through him.
"I'll take my due then…" Leviathan whispered.
Prompto screamed and all Luna could do was wrap her arms around Noctis's head, hoping the goddess would understand he was off limits.
No one saw how the sea dragon shimmered into nothingness or perceived the icy gold in Luna's eyes when the power of the tide-mother shifted to her. The storm was still going strong, Prompto was left a shivering mess, while Luna gently shifted beneath Noctis, trying to ascertain the damage.
Whimpers were coming from his throat and her throat was so tight, it was miracle air still made it through. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. This wasn't…!
"My arm…"
Luna eased herself on one elbow, Noctis still lying on her, one hand stroking his hair in a gesture she hoped was comforting. Her heart was like a stone in her chest. It hurt to breathe. Now she could see the three large scales protruding from his body. One had dug into his right shoulder blade, the second one in his rib and the third… The third was the main cause for all the bleeding. Just one of these wounds would be too much after the strain he'd put on his body, but all three.
"No… No, no, no."
"It's No…ctis," the prince tried chiding her.
He sounded so weak, his voice shivering in an out.
"Don't talk. I'll… I'll fix you."
"Lun… Shit, I can't…"
"Don't move, Noct."
Her face was wet, and she couldn't tell if it was from the rain falling or if the rain was coming from her eyes. Her heart hammered in her chest too quickly and she couldn't help wondering if his own heart would stop. This was her fault. This was all on her. She had barely any magic left in her veins and he was…
"Just stay with me okay?" Luna begged him. "You can drift to sleep, but you'll wake up again."
"It…" his voice broke a little and so did Luna. "Can't think."
"It's okay, Noct, I'll take the pain away, I swear, I just need to…"
He let out a howl of pain when she shifted again to be free of her movement, which meant he leaned further down, his right arm instinctively trying to hold himself up and turning limp instantly. She couldn't turn him to his side, she barely dared to touch him and when his breathing shifted as his consciousness faded, her vision turned too blurry to even see the light flickering at her fingertips.
"Not like this. Not like this, Noct, please, please…"
Her prayers were stronger than before, desperate now as she tried to find the light remaining deep inside. He'd saved her. Now it was her turn.
To be continued…
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A cliffhanger! Next chapter will take some time, but it's going to be filled with hurt/comfort and Noct/Luna. Then I can finally focus on Ignis like I keep saying I will. I have stuff written on our favorite royal advisor, but it didn't fit with this chapter or this arc. Lots of healing in store for Noctis.
Please let me know what you think. I thrive on reviews.