It's been forever since my last update. Saying I've been busy is an understatement. You might have seen me updating a bunch of other stories. I like too many fandoms and am scattered. But I still aim to finish every FFXV stories I've started – I actually have a couple more planned, but am waiting because I'm trying to be less insane lol… Anyway. Today's chapter is the last bridge to what we need to finish this story. So I'm mostly setting our heroes back on their many missions. I don't know how many chapters are left in this story, maybe 15? Maybe 10? I'm eager to reach plotpoints I've planned years ago. I hope you'll enjoy!
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Stranded
Chapter 22 – Walk tall
After the crash, the six of them allowed themselves to rest for a full 24 hours. But considering what Prompto and Cindy had been able to salvage, they couldn't remain stranded for much longer. Noctis was thankful for a dreamless sleep, although the sound of Luna retching waking him up was quite the wake-up call. She insisted that she'd be fine, her despair from the previous day swallowed back down with the bile, the shivers and the crippling dizziness, but they all knew she needed a lot more rest than any of them could afford.
Ignis and Noctis conferred on how to determine where they were and which way was the safest to meet with civilization that wouldn't shoot at them on sight. Being the Oracle, Luna could most certainly find asylum anywhere in the world that wasn't the empire. As far as the eye could see, the mountains extended.
"There's only one city at the foot of Ravatogh's rock and there's no way we can get there in less than a week on foot," Ignis sighed.
"Maybe we can find some wild chocobos?" Noctis suggested wistfully.
"You know as well as I do that wild chocobos don't take refuge in the mountains."
"Guys!" Prompto exclaimed. "Cindy spotted smoke and it's not coming out from our ship. It's about three to four miles of here if I'm not mistaken."
Looking up from their maps, Ignis and Noctis both had to squint to spot the very tiny line of smoke the gunman was pointing out for them.
"Where there's fire, there's people," Ignis stated.
They bundled up as best as they could, Ignis leading the way with Prompto, while Noctis assisted Luna down the slopes and up the irregular hills, Aranea coming last, Cindy trying to keep track of time so they would take enough breaks but still make good progress. Luna didn't want to be carried, but she was getting weaker with every passing hour, her legs threatening to buckle under her weight.
Noctis had to hold her up most of the way and his bad arm was aching both from the cold running through his bones and the exhaustion before long. They were within sight of the smoke source not too long after lunch. Of course, they were wary of a bad encounter, but they couldn't really take the risk of splitting into a scouting team. Ignis, Aranea, Prompto and Cindy could deal with normal humans, but they needed Noctis's magic and Luna's powers to get through a barrage of guns.
What they discovered was very different from a group of soldiers looking for a crashed airship. People dressed in layers of clothes and well-worn coats were picking up winter camping tools, closing down tents and trying to finish their preparation despite the age of some of the kids living among them. They were nomads, but they were also Lucian and Noctis couldn't remember a time when any group of people lived in such a way.
"Who goes there?" A man called out, everyone in the larger group freezing as they noticed the six people who had also stopped moving.
"What's this?" Luna asked.
Noctis held her close, making sure to angle his body so he would shield her properly if things went south.
"I don't know," came his honest answer.
"We're unlucky travelers," Ignis answered the stranger, earning himself a hearty laugh.
"Not with an accent like that, I don't think so, man. Wait a minute. Is this…? The Oracle?!"
Luna motioned to replace the scarf wrapped around her head, but much to her surprise, the man fell to his knees.
"Thank the gods! It's the Oracle!"
"Hey, the man holding her up, isn't it…?" a little girl started.
"Our prince Noctis!" people whispered.
Noct was shocked to hear the word prince next to his name. The people standing closer to them took a few steps forward, looking happily surprised by the identity of their visitors.
"I… How long have you been cooped up in these mountains?" Noctis couldn't help but asked as he wrapped his good arm more firmly around Luna's waist.
"We have radio signals whenever we get low enough and we've heard of your latest exploits. Getting covenants done with the Oracle. The princess kicking the empire's ass."
"Maybe now, we can have a good king again?" a boy asked hopefully.
"Oh, don't speak like that, small one, that's no way to talk about…!"
Frowning, Noctis fought against the ache in his heart at the idea his father had already fallen in the eyes of their people. Their people. Had he a right to think this way after all these years? He realized he was the one leaning on Luna and she wrapped one arm around his waist, her hand sneaking under his coat to pat his back reassuringly.
"What happened?" Ignis inquired, finding words as Noctis's throat was suddenly too tight to function.
"We live here to avoid the battles between the empire and Lucis. And the soldiers in our town. We used to live at the foot of Ravatogh, but it was getting too dangerous," an old man explained. "We were just getting ready to move. You can come with us."
"Just like that?" Cindy marvelled.
"The prince Noctis has fought for us countless times," a brunette observed.
"Wait a minute," Noctis squinted at her, recognition showing on his face. "Crowe?!"
"The one and only black mage, your highness!"
"What are you doing here?!"
Crowe noticed how tired the whole group of travelers looked and shook her head.
"Should we move this talk somewhere warm?"
"I'm fine with the cold," Luna instantly defended herself, tapping his arm gently to be release from his protective hold and show she could stand on her own. Noctis begrudgingly let her go.
"You need more rest," he told her. "We all do," he quickly added. "We're sorry to impose, but…"
"Don't be silly now, we're not going to welcome you like the shooters did. Come, your highness, all of you!" the people said, their welcomes melting together.
Prompto and Cindy were clearly uncomfortable with how many people were smiling at them, Aranea shifting closer to Ignis while the advisor wondered if this wasn't another trap. It felt too lucky after everything Noctis had been through. They followed the villagers to be ushered inside a tent that had yet to be dissassembled and were soon offered tea.
Luna refused, asking for warm water instead, Noctis having her sitting on his lap despite the presence of so many strangers around.
"I can sit upright fine," she swore to him.
"I just want you close," he told her, convincing her to relent the warrior princess image for now.
A murmur of appreciation went along the people, Crowe smiling at the prince.
"I never thought our emo prince could fall in love," she commented, giving him a thumb's up that had him scowling.
"Are any of you hurt?" an old woman asked.
Prompto shook his head, Cindy drinking more tea while Ignis and Aranea gestured to Luna.
"We had a rough landing," the princess stated, "but being the Oracle means I could fix our injuries. And I am doing fine, don't let how overbearing this prince is acting fool you about my health."
"Luna…" Noctis sighed.
"Maybe we should two give you a minute?" Crowe mused.
"No, we need to understand the situation first. I didn't quite catch who…?" Luna started.
Her dizziness was getting so strong, she nearly felt out of breath, but she held herself straight and as tall as she could with Noctis's arms around her. Somehow, she could tell that he truly needed to keep her close to face everything he was learning about.
"Crowe was a crownsglaive," Ignis stated.
"We fought a lot of battles together," Noctis added. "But when did you quit?"
"I didn't quit. I went MIA a few months back. Owed it to the folks here to take me in and nursed me back into shape."
Crowe's face darkened as she assessed what question Noctis must have been itching to ask her. It was written all over his face that he needed to know what was actually going on in Lucis. But it was Ignis who voiced the next question.
"Dare I ask how long it's been since you've had to start living in the mountains like this? You mentioned fleeing soldiers?"
Among the folks gathered in the tent, most children and the elderly, the oldest woman heaved a deep sigh.
"It's been about three years."
"Good gods. Have you ever reached out to…"
"The King? His glaives? Look how much they looked for their own," Crowe cut him off. "Regis has been all about Insomnia and anyone stationed outside the city since Noctis was exiled have been left to their own devices. Some commanders took over the councils in cities to establish new order, make them self-sufficient. Other soldiers have taken these people's homes to house their men. Stole their food."
"And much more than just that…" a woman added, bearing her teeth.
Noctis felt his blood boiling at the very idea, while Ignis shook his head with disbelief. He'd been living here. He'd been keeping tabs on things. Was his network so insignificant he couldn't even grasp the full state of the country?
"How could this even…?!"
"The blight has grown a lot. Exponentially so," the old woman declared. "Even trained soldiers have a hard time against the daemons and the blighted beasts rampaging. These mountains are safer for us with how cold they are."
"But if you move, how do you find safe haven from the daemons during the nights?" Luna asked.
Noctis had told her of the various havens he'd camped at in Lucis and she had been curious to see one. Tenebrae didn't need them, not with its Oracle present, and she knew a curfew had been put in place to make sure no one stayed out after nightfall now that she was away.
"We have scouted most of the mountains in the vicinity. Staying too long in the same place weakens the haven, and since we're a pretty large group, we need them to stay potent," a young mother started, her boy finishing the explanation with a wide smile. "By moving between them, they get enough time to recharge!"
Luna couldn't help her smile, especially since the boy was missing a front tooth in his smile and had such joy in his eyes despite the predicament his entire village lived in.
"I'll have to set people straight and make sure you can go back to your town," Noctis decided.
"I'm sure we're better off where we are," Crowe declared.
"Oh, if Noct can do something, he'll do something. That rascal can't stay put for a minute," Prompto intervened.
"If there's things I can fix…!"
"Easy, Noct, easy," Ignis halted him. "We need a full grasp of the situation and if these people are going to take us in, I believe the best we can do right now is help them."
After consulting the elders and Crowe to determine what was needed, how far they were moving camp and when they should part ways, Prompto, Cindy, Ignis and Aranea all followed Crowe to help with the move. Noctis stayed behind to look after Luna, unsure that she would actually rest unless someone was there to remind her she had just been through a crash and needed to recover.
No one questioned the relationship between the exiled prince and the oracle. It was plain to see how much they cared for one another.
"We have sleds and a couple dogs, so we could bundle you up when we'll be ready to move, if you don't mind."
The doctor of the group had offered her services and Noctis had agreed before the princess could even voice a no. Luna blushed at the suggestion.
"I can walk, I'm not invalid…"
"My Lady, you are with child and you look anemic to me. You need vitamins, full nights rest and less stress."
Noctis saw her tensing at that and bit the inside of his cheek, knowing how worried Luna was about putting any strain on the baby. Which was only adding to her stress. He knew why he'd agreed to this trip despite the circumstances, but he was starting to wonder if stationing her somewhere with trusty people until he reached Insomnia wouldn't be for the best. She'd hate him for it, but she'd also hate him if anything were to happen to their little Darius.
"I'll do what I can," Luna sighed at the doctor's recommendations. "A little walk shouldn't hurt though?"
"Moderate exercise won't harm you."
Luna threw a glance at Noctis, her bodyguard instantly understanding she wanted to see him alone. They had a lot to discuss and a lot of planning to do. Only after taking enough distance from the people actively preparing the moving did it feel safe to talk about what they'd just learned.
"This is insane Noct. We should be heading down to these peoples' village and…"
"And what? Confront the soldiers in town who are making bad decisions to try and survive? There's six of us Luna. I'm not saying it's impossible, and I'll be the last person to say I wanna do nothing about what's going on, but… If we're going to see this through, we need to determine what our priorities are. If I could find Gladiolus and get him on our side, I would send him with soldiers he'd picked and know they could free these towns while we focus on my father and brother. Hell, I'm tempted to recruit Crowe's help."
"Then do it!" Luna cut him off as he opened his mouth to add the reasons why he couldn't do those things. "We're here to help your people. My duty as the Oracle is to look after everyone on our star, not only people from Tenebrae and Accordo. The blight shouldn't be this strong, and yet they say it's been years…"
Guilt rang in her voice and Noctis pulled her to a stop, his hands on her shoulders.
"Luna, you're not responsible for the entire world!"
"Guys, you're being loud, at this rate, you'll scare the kids," Cindy interfered.
A look over their shoulders had the pair realizing their friends had gathered around them as they started arguing. Prompto was signalling for the people working a few meters away to give them some time. Noctis was glad the gunman hadn't grabbed any of his guns yet, since that's was how Prompto usually dealt with crowds.
"Are you too thinking of rescuing the town down by Ravatogh from the soldiers?" Aranea asked. "Cause that's not what I call solving the problem."
Luna shrugged off Noctis's hands, turning toward the dragoon.
"And what are you suggesting?"
"Everyone is going crazy because of the blight. So take away the cause, not the symptoms."
"That's the soundest thing I've heard today," Ignis declared.
"And do you know what needs to be done to get rid of the blight?" Cindy nearly barked at Aranea.
"We have the Oracle to do it," Aranea insisted, pointing at Lunafreya.
Noctis seemed ready to put himself between both of the glaring women, but Luna spoke first, her hands on her hips.
"Only by completing all the covenants can I cure the blight from our star."
"Should our pilot have crashed us on Ravatogh then?"
"Aranea, this isn't…!"
"Don't try protecting me from her," the dragoon warned Ignis. "I'm just stating what no one has dared to say since we decided to visit Lucis! Unless I'm too much of a niff to be told of our objectives. If you need someone to clear the way to visit any Astral, I'll do it, but we shouldn't waste our time and energy on resolving problems that will happen again as soon as we turn our backs."
"I agree entirely," Luna said. "Ifrit is not on Ravatogh anymore. As things stand, the empire stole the Infernian's corpse long ago. So any Astral related expedition would have to focus on Titan and Ramuh."
"Except the doctors…!" Noctis started.
"Noct, I'm not trying to…"
She gestured to herself, refusing to talk about the baby outright. The doctor might have noticed and she was indeed starting to show, but dressed up for the cold as she was in a borrowed coat from the nomad Lucians, she didn't look pregnant. And if the situation was as dire as it sounded, she couldn't postpone the covenants until carrying their baby to term. Darius had resisted Shiva's magic and the toll of the covenant with Leviathan. Hopefully, he could resist more.
"If that's how we can save Lucis, then I'm willing to carry through with it. What about you? And Prompto?"
She was not forgetting the fact both men had accepted to pay with their own lifeforce to help her through the covenants.
"This clone lives to serve, princess," Prompto quickly offered, clearly getting jumpy from the looks thrown at them and how everyone was trying to steer clear of their group.
"You know what my answer is," Noctis declared between clenched teeth. "My life's yours," he added in a soft whisper.
If not for the audience, Luna would have cupped his face between her hands and reminded him she wanted him alive and by her side. Instead, she fought against the tears that threatened to flow past her lashes.
"Titan is our obvious choice then. All we need is proper transport."
Aranea eased her stance, Ignis's shoulders lowering. Noctis hadn't brought him up to speed about everything, but he knew enough to be worried by this new direction they were taking.
"The capital…" the advisor started.
"It will have to wait," Noctis cut him off. "I mean, even if we wanted, it's not like we can bypass straight to Insomnia anymore. No offense, Cindy, we should have protected your ship better to begin with…"
"No offense taken, your highness."
She still lowered her eyes and Prompto sensed her spirit falling even lower despite the distance between them. She was already feeling like she served no purpose now that her ship had gone down…
"Okay," Luna sighed, taking two steps to get closer to Noctis, grabbing his forearm, their eyes meeting and locking together. Their silent exchange ended with Noctis giving her a light nod, the princess allowing herself a smile. "Okay," she repeated, sounding more confident. "We need to reach the Disc of Cauthess."
"The what now?" Prompto asked.
"It's a meteorite impact site. And where Titan holds the meteor," Ignis answered. "Very big tourist attraction."
"Sightseeing. Sounds like your camera will see some use, scrawny," Aranea commented.
"It's Silver Scrawny to you, Spider-woman," Prompto shot back.
Cindy couldn't help a laugh, their little gang soon reminded of the people still hard at work next to them. They were kind enough to mark their maps with the location of the various havens they'd found, dumbfounded as Noctis offered to buy one of their sleds.
"Money doesn't mean much to us up here."
Ignis and Cindy managed a deal, the dog tamer swearing that once arrived at the foot of the mountain, they could simply release the dogs in the wild. Somehow, the small sled dogs always found their way back, despite the night, the daemons and the blight. Everyone on their team except for Aranea knew how to ski, and the villagers insisted that parting with skis would be fine. It was much easier to abandon one sled instead of multiple, since the nomads had a lot of things to carry in between havens. They never left anything behind, in fear it would be destroyed by daemons.
"How is that sport called. Skijoring?" Cindy asked as they prepared for their first descent.
"Oh gods, not that thing," Ignis said, his eyes flashing with nightmares he'd collected years ago. "You know what animal they pick to pull the skier in Nifelheim?"
"Garulettes!" Prompto answered. "The biggest, fatest Garulette you can imagine."
"You're pulling my leg, right?"
"Of course I am. We use Falxfangs and Havocfangs. Light, and fucking fast. If you get in front of them, you're as good as dead."
"Why can't you use chocobos?" Noctis asked, clipping his boots in place.
"Cause we don't have them?" Prompto answered. "You know, some of my brothers were in raiding teams and specialized in skijoring. They'd tamed their fangs to never utter even a whine."
"I'm afraid to ask how many fingers they lost in the process," Cindy said.
"Heh, you've been hearing too many of my stories," Prompto said. "Let's say they lost hands. They got shiny prosthetics in exchange though."
"Noct, how do you stand these… marvellous anecdotes?"
"I can hear your sarcasm, thin man."
"Those anecdotes are Prompto's way of keeping us off-edge, Iggy. He'll buy you a beer once we find someplace decent."
"Why should I buy him a drink? I'm the one providing entertainment!"
Ignis sighed.
"I apologize. I really hate skiing."
"Well, better get on with it so it can be over," the prince encouraged him. 'Everyone is set? Luna, you okay?"
"I'm good," she answered, her voice muffled.
"Aranea?"
"Just great," the dragoon grunted.
She was the one standing on the sled while Luna had begrudgingly accepted to sit down and be bundled up. She couldn't argue that falling off would do her any good and Aranea had actual experience in dog sledding. Ignis was worried about her bad leg holding up, but they needed to move quickly and it seemed to be the best way for all six of them. Neither Luna nor Aranea was thrilled by their sled companion, but with a scream of encouragement, they got going.
After a few hurdles, the group found a rhythm, refusing to call a stop until they'd reach the first haven along these slopes. Noctis was actually shocked that the mountains' paths were so covered in snow. Ravatogh was visible on the horizon, but it felt like they were facing an entirely different climate up here. After the first half hour, he tried summoning snow, managing a large cloud that drifted in front of them. He'd packed up on blizzard magic and made it snow just far enough and light enough to make sure they would have a proper layer to ski on as they went.
"Are you for real?" Prompto managed.
"Hey, gotta use those powers for what they're worth," Noctis shouted back.
He didn't want to give Luna any ideas, but the light snow simply served as an insurance, since he didn't want to overdo it. They made good time, stopping when Luna called out to them, having spotted something weird coming out of the snow. Noctis went ahead to check, closely followed by Prompto, while Ignis stood a few feet back, Cindy stopping by Aranea and Luna's side.
Poking out of the snow was the rock-sculpted feet of an epitaph, sculpted in a style Noctis knew far too well.
"What the fuck is this doing here?"
Calling up fire to quickly melt the snow covering it, he felt the insidious pull of the royal arm dwelling in the stone sarcophagus.
"Noct…?" Luna asked after him.
"It's a royal arm," Ignis mustered. "The closest from here would be the one on Ravatogh's peak…"
"It makes no sense. Unless you're telling me a Zuu snatched it up and dropped it here…"
"You know dude, that might actually make sense. The stone-guy looks mighty pissy, if I was a giant bird, I wouldn't want him around."
Noctis chuckled.
"Well, whatever, I might as well gather this one. There's no way in hell Ravus will drag his ass up here."
Laying his hand on the center of the coffin, Noctis closed his eyes, focusing on the empty space the crystal's rejection had left inside him. The magic hummed in answer, running through him like electricity. He wasn't sure this process was supposed to feel this exhilarating. He knew he wasn't supposed to pick even one royal arm. But there were thirteen of them and… he had already collected six arms before turning his back on Lucis.
Maybe I'm being greedy, he wondered to himself.
Ancient voices rushed through his head, ringing and echoing as blurs of ghost weapons flew in a large circle around him.
Noctis.
The prince frowned, feeling a new tug on his conscience.
Noctis. My son.
"Father?"
Regis coughed across his mind, his voice coming again, Noctis trying to reason with the magic allowing him to hear. Was it real? It had to be real, but he couldn't even fathom how…
Noctis, I don't have much time. I felt you through the crystal.
"Where are you? What's happened to you?"
Noctis's friends stood very still, Prompto exchanging a look with Luna and then Ignis. Luna was struggling to get herself out of the sled, Cindy bending down to help her, while Aranea looked at the blurry weapons spinning faster and faster around the raven-haired man.
I'm sick. Regis went on, another cough, rougher than the last, cutting through him. Sick and… falling into stasis to maintain my flesh somehow.
"What?! Father…"
To think you can gather the royal arms, Noct…
Pride permeated the words, Noctis clenching his fists, his body shuddering as pictures ran beneath his eyelids. The crystal, its dark blue spikes shimmering. The crystal he'd come to hate so much over the years was glinting and sparkling, the light running over it showing him something inside. In the shape of a man. There was a shoulder coming out of the dark hole something ancient and nefarious had dug in the crystal. A bare shoulder, with dark and blue veins showing through pale skin, the arm attached to it almost blue. Noctis felt his heart stopping as he recognized the nails on that hand. And the mark left by a ring worn for too many years.
"You can't be inside that…"
I am and I am not. Noctis, I've been fooled, as was your brother. I should have known better.
"Shut up. I can't…"
He couldn't hear the running footsteps across the snow, but he felt her hands on his right arm, his bad arm, which was shaking so much right now, and the very idea of Luna being there with him helped him calm down.
"Father, tell me one thing. Are you still…?" the words died on his tongue and Regis coughed, the arm coming out of the crystal in the vision spasming violently.
I live. And yet… The crystal is rubbing off on me. It's sick too.
That wasn't new, but Noctis held back on his furious thought.
"What do you need me to do?"
Ardyn must be… stopped. He has my likeness, he has our kingdom. Your kingdom.
"No, no, you don't get to do that. You're passing it to Ravus and we both know he's not ready!"
Please, my son. You've always…
"I asked you if I can do something! I'm not here to pick up after your fucking mess."
Aren't you? My dear boy, I'm very sorry. I wanted you to be free at least.
"Father, please…"
Now he was crying, he felt the tears rolling and yet, he kept his eyes closed tightly. The humming magic was dimming. He felt the emptiness growing in his chest. If he opened his eyes, he would lose Regis's voice.
I feel ill at the idea to order you around. But I… Another cough, raging, burning, Noctis aching at the shivers he saw through the crystal. Gather more arms. Find your brother. Ardyn is… Adagium. He won't die easily.
Another fit, this time followed by retching sounds and Noctis could have sworn the shadow trapped within the crystal was splitting open.
"Wait, not yet, father!"
Walk tall son.
The magic screeched and Noctis felt a thousand burns in his veins, thunder roaring above his head as he was torn away from the vision, left on the cold ground, standing before a grave.
"Noctis," Luna called him.
He shook his head, slowly, wondering how low a heart could sink. Below the ground?
"Noctis, look at me," she begged.
"He said to… This is insane, insane, Luna, he was inside the godsdamn crystal, he…"
"Noct, bro," Prompto tried to sound calming.
"He's dying! He's fucking dying and all he wants is for me to find more royals arms and my stupid brother and…"
Walk tall.
"Iggy, he said… he said Ardyn is Adagium. How do we kill something that can't die?!"
Ignis was at a loss for words, while Aranea cursed, Cindy simply looking at the pair of royals, disbelief written all over her face.
Luna took off her gloves, cupping Noctis's face with both hands to have him looking at her.
"Focus, dear Noct. As long as your father is alive, I can fix him."
"Luna, your magic could…"
Their baby was there too soon, but she wouldn't let him become an excuse. This insane quest was for his sake too, she wouldn't let Noctis forget it.
"We're in this together. The covenants. The blight. The empire. Adagium. We'll topple all of them, all at once if that's what needs to be done."
Noctis wanted to object. As her bodyguard, as her fiancé, as the father of her child. But his voice was a shiver, breaking over itself as his throat clenched with a sob. He'd heard that his father was a captive. That his life was in danger. He'd nearly lost Luna twice already and it would happen again, until one of them…
"I can't walk. He knows I'm awful at it and yet he asked me to…"
Your kingdom.
It was a duty he'd never asked for. He would have taken it if the crystal had deemed him worthy, except he wasn't. He wasn't here to retake anything. He wanted to keep Luna safe. He wanted to help her in making this world peaceful again, so their friends and people could live instead of survive. Was it too much to ask?
"Noct…"
He held her close, as close as he could, his arms trembling around her as his shaky breath brushed against her ear.
"How are you so strong?" he asked her when he finally felt he had control over his voice.
"I'm not," she whimpered, hugging him back fiercely. "But you're with me. We strengthen each other, don't we?"
He sighed in relief, breathing her in, drying his tears on her scarf before pulling back so he could look into her eyes. Their friends had stepped back to give them a semblance of privacy, Noctis barely noticing their silhouettes from the corner of his eyes.
"I really need to step up," he laughed at himself.
"Doesn't mean you can't feel things. This is your father."
"I guess I should focus on the part where he apologized. I just… In another life, I could have you meeting him normally, in teasing and blessed embarrassment. Not asking you to bring him back from some crystal stasis shit."
"You Caelum men sure have weird ways sometimes," she teased him. "I…"
He stopped her with a kiss, burning with need and gratitude.
"I love you."
"Love you too," she blushed, feeling the need to hide between his arms.
Looking up at the sky, Noctis had to blink a few times to fully regain his composure. Luna suspected they would be cuddling as closely as possible tonight. Not that she had anything against it.
"Hey guys! I'm sorry for…"
"Dude, I don't get everything that just happened with the ghost swords, but it sounded heavy."
"Yeah… Anyway, we… we're not changing plans, outside of making a few detours for royal arms where we can find them."
"Which would surely give us more chances to find your brother, since he's still supposed to be gathering them himself," Ignis pointed out.
"Little shit is going to get it," Noctis declared with a dark smile.
…
They were down the mountain by nightfall and found the closest haven between large rocks, Luna shrugging off her coat and a few layers, as Ignis and Noctis started pitching the tent. The temperature change was drastic, but they had Ravatogh to blame for the heat. How the mountains remained so cold was a mystery for all of them. Their camping predicament was evident, as one tent for six was not the best, but Lucis usually had kind weather, so they hoped a few of them could be comfortable under the stars.
After some debate, Ignis and Aranea won the place under the stars, while Cindy and Prompto patented a thin wall of fabric to create a division inside the tent and allow for "pretended" privacy. Noctis and Luna got settled on one side, the gunman and pilot on the other.
They had already agreed to either repair or steal the first car they would see. Their alternative was to find a chocobo station and buy tickets that would activate the whistle Ignis always carried with him.
Luna couldn't help staring at Noctis as he took off every layer down to his shirt, and pants, only keeping his boxers on.
"Are you planning on getting frisky with me, highness?" she asked him in a low voice.
"Considering Prompto and Cindy are one meter away from us, I have the regret to say no. Improper snuggles though?"
His eyes were clearly removing her clothes from her body in his mind, so Luna did him the favour of playing along. Even though they had had no time to freshen themselves, being as skin to skin as possible was incredibly comforting. They laid chest to chest, their legs tangled, Noctis's hands gripping her ass to pull her just high enough for their lips to meet.
"Guys, we can fucking hear you!" Prompto warned from the other side of the tent.
"But you can't hear us fucking!" Luna shot back, making Cindy curse and Noctis stare at her with wide eyes. "What? I'm a hormonal Oracle."
"And now I'm horny," he sighed against her damp skin.
"If we find a car tomorrow, maybe we can test its…"
"Are you guys in heat?!" Prompto couldn't help himself.
"Can you please pretend to be deaf for just an hour?!"
Outside of the tent, sitting against their backpacks at the very edge of the haven, Ignis and Aranea rolled their eyes.
"I guess sex is as good a coping mechanism as any," the dragoon observed.
"Anything you want to cope with at the moment?" Ignis teased her.
Her chuckle was higher than they'd both expected, sending a flock of birds flying into the sky and she covered her mouth, looking at Ignis with lazy eyes as she pondered his offer.
"Shouldn't we be more mature than them? We are their elders."
"I was joking, mostly. Although with every crazy thing happening…"
He leaned to her ear, whispering words that made her blush.
"Gods, I want that too. But the prospect of getting even dirtier is very unappealing."
Ignis agreed with her, already feeling quite sticky and gross. It had been two days without a proper option to clean themselves.
"I guess we'll just traumatize the first motel we can find."
"How would we…?"
"I mean, we're bringing Noctis and Lunafreya along."
"I heard my name!" Luna said from the tent.
"You did not." Ignis retorted flatly, the whole group laughing at the silly exchange.
They were tired and afraid of the impossible task before them. But they would go one impossible step at a time.
To be continued…
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Next chapter will have a little Ravus, unless I jump straight into covenant territory, but I do want to intertwine a few things together. As I'm bringing more details on Ardyn, I want to say that I intend to use part of Ardyn's dlc in this story. I kinda want to cover every bits and parts of the game we got and that dlc didn't fit in Unexpected at all, but I still wanted to use some of it. Please let me know what you think of this chapter, you know reviews make me happy.