Ten years later, . . .
Noctis Cullen could remember nothing before he was eight. He had been found by a hunter near Caem, injured though by who or what was anyone's guess. She had taken him to Lestullem in hopes of finding his family, yet not one had reported a missing child, aside from the missing prince and there was no way a child could travel from outside the Crown city to Caem on foot within one night even without the daemons running around after dark.
He had grown up in Lestullem, under the care of Guin, the hunter who had found him and adopted him. After graduating high school, he became hunter and often traveled between Lestullem and Hammerhead; he never gave much thought about the Crown City. It had been ten years since Guin had found him, and he had been out of school about three months. It was a clear night and he was in a haven cleaning up after a long day of hunting when he had an unexpected visitor.
A tall dark haired woman noticing her, he tried to cover himself.
"I'm terribly sorry, Madame" Noctis said. Although he had pants and his tag on, he was embarussed at how scrawny he was and he hadn't gotten the extentive tatooes some hunters had, jut the one on his arm shaped like a sword. "Can I help you?"
"Just seeing you alive and well is enough, my prince." she said. "I am Gentiana, a messanger of the Gods"
"Noctis Cullen." To say he was nervous was a bit of an understatement. Either she was: a) a psychopath that preyed on lonely young hunters, b) an actress from some sort of festival trying out her act or c) an actual messenger.
"So, that is the name of the Lighting Hunter of Lestullam. But your role as prince and future King awaits." she said. Noctis pulled his t-shirt over his head. "when the boy comes, look after him until dawn; he will be the key to your past and will lead you home."
"Lestuellem is on the side of Luis . . ." He blinked and realized she was gone. There really wasn't much use in trying to sleep after that. Part of him wanted to make a run for Hammerhead and see if old Cid would put him in for the night, but the boy Gentiana spoke of worried him. As a hunter, he knew the dangers almost too well; he had three tags from fallen hunters he needed to turn into the head hunter Dave.
Noctis began to hear the growls of a monster and a child screaming. Without thinking twice, he raced out into the night. He found a small boy surrounded by daemons. The boy was dodging them the best he could, but there were too many. Noctis warped struck one that was closing in on the child and warped to a rock.
"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" yelled Noct. He turned to the boy and whispered "Run."
The boy ran off in the direction of the haven Noctis had been in moments ago, leaving one less thing for him to worry about. He still had the daemons to worry aobut though and they wasted no time in changing their target. Noctis battled them one by one and was able to walk away with some bruised ribs and a scratch on his left arm, but he knew he was lucky; most hunters would've been killed at such a number. He didn't even want to think about what could've happened to the boy had he been a second later.
Noctis returned to his camp. The boy was hiding in the tent and poked his head out just as the hunter entered the safe zone.
"Are you okay, mister?" asked the boy. Now that the campfire illuminated his face, he looked alot like Noctis had at age, aside from the blond hair.
"I'll be fine. It's just a scratch." Noct assured him. "My name's Noctis Cullen, by the way."
"Jaden." The boy was staring at the scratch. Noct would've been able to manage the first aid on his own, but Jaden needed reassurance.
"Mind giving me a hand? The first aid kit should be beside my sleeping bag."
Jaden nodded and bought it to him. Noctis let the boy help him wrap his arm, now grateful for the extra set of hands. Noctis gave the boy a cup of noodles and started talking to him.
"So, how did you wind up out here after dark?"
"The Empire attacked our car. They told me to run and well . . . you can guess what happened." answered Jaden.
Noct nodded. "Something like that happened to me when I was your age. Where are you from?"
"Crown City."
"Okay . . . well, I'm sure Cid and Cindy will be happy to let you stay in Hammerhead until your parents can pick you up . . ." he stopped there.
"Yeah! I bet dad will have the whole glaive look everywhere when he finds out what happened." finished Jaden. Noctis smiled. Maybe Jaden had a chance at a normal childhood afterall. "Worse case scenario, I can become an awesome hunter like you."
"What? OKay, well we'll see." Truth was Noct hunted to keep people safe. As thoughtful as it sounded, Jaden becoming a hunter didn't sit right with him. "Off to bed. Even Hunters have to sleep."