IC CONTACT FOR HUGS

[iustaegis]

IC CONTACT

[ Text ♢ Video ♢ Voice ♢ Action ]

[ Pyra ♢ Mythra ♢ Pneuma

[ new post here.]

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[carbungle]

[He blinks, not expecting the concession. She'd seemed so firm on it. Maybe... she just needs some encouragement. Some... ah.

Some help on remembering how to be brave.]

If you think it's okay, I wouldn't mind seeing it one day.

[iustaegis]

[ It's the biggest concession to a maybe. She can try to meet him halfway. Does the effort even count in the long-run, she wonders...

She nods. ]

....And even if not, I've got a katana to use as well. Somnus left it behind, apparently it was something he got while in world before this one.

[ If he'd ever want to spar with Pyra, that would be the one she'd use. Her own sword's edge is made of her power... And while she doesn't know if Noctis' swords have magic to protect from the energy, she'd rather not melt his blades clean through. ]

[carbungle]

Oh... yeah. He mentioned he'd been somewhere else before this.

[He hadn't known about the sword, but he does remember that the secret of his knowing Pyra had accidentally come out during some incident or another.]

At least I'm used to fighting alongside a katana user now. I've done enough training with Cor after this long...

[iustaegis]

Huh...

[ Now that is serendipitous. ]

That makes it seem like you could teach us a thing or two about katanas.

[carbungle]

Gods, not really. I've only used one a handful of times, it's not my speciality at all. Talk to Cor if you want advice for that.

[He grins, almost sheepish.]

I probably know a thing or two about almost all weapons, but only that much. What's the phrase, jack of all trades, master of none? Or master of just one, I guess.

[He's pretty boss with longswords, at least. The rest is really dependant on how much time he could afford to practice.]

[iustaegis]

Huh, really? [ Not that she’s doubting him, but she’s only seen him favor one type of sword. ]

What else do you know how to wield?

[carbungle]

Uh... gods, that's a long list. Regular swords, obviously. Gladio specializes in greatswords and shields, so we trained a lot using both, and Ignis helped me with dual daggers and polearms.

[That's five down, oops. Starting a new hand-]

I did some training with handguns, though my aim's nowhere near as good as Prompto's. We stole some machinery weapons from the Nifs, and he showed me how to use those, but they're a little slow for my taste. [...Do elemancy flasks count? Nah, they don't count. Skipping those.] Each of the Royal Arms are unique in their own way, and there's some overlap since a lot of them are just swords, but the Rogue had a shuriken, the Fierce had a mace, the Pious had a scepter that I honestly never got the hang of. The Clever had a crossbow-

[-Ah. He's out of fingers again.]

Plus the ring. [Sheepishly:] ...Like I said, it's a long list.

1/4

[iustaegis]

[ She begins listening, attentive and patient. Swords and shields, daggers, and polearms, handguns, stolen weapons... he's resourceful, and it seems he doesn't have any prejudice against more modern weapons, too, and those that are not reliant on magic. That's good. ]

[iustaegis]

[ Then he continues.

A shuriken, a mace, a scepter...

Curious still, but uncertain, she continues to listen. ]

[iustaegis]

[ ...A crossbow... ]

[iustaegis]

O--okay, hold on. Are you serious?

[ A part of her doubts. Another part of her absolutely believes he's capable of wielding all of these things. Most of her wonders why. He might say he's a master of none, but he's very obviously excellent at the sword. She stops walking, turning to face him. Mythra places a hand on her hip, a foot tapping down upon the ground beside her. ]

This almost sounds like a drinking game! [ Take a drink for every weapon he can use! ] What the hell? When did you have the time to learn how to use all of those?!

[carbungle]

[He scuffs a hand through his hair. It is kind of outrageous, now that he's laid them all out there.]

I... spent a lot of time training? And the Royal Arms kind of have a way of teaching themselves.

[Which still only cuts the list in half, but it's... better?]

[iustaegis]

Aren't there over a hundred-or-something Royal Arms?!

[ She only sounds miffed because it is outrageous! ]

[carbungle]

[Oh. Oh!]

Okay, yeah, that would be way too many. Most of the Royal Arms have been lost over the years- I was only able to collect 13 of them.

[iustaegis]

All right, so how are they “teaching themselves”?

[ Seriously, boi. ] You pick ‘em up and learn on the spot?

[carbungle]

...Pretty much, yeah.

[Which sounds way more wild when he says it out loud, but that's how it felt.]

Royal Arms are gained through "the bonding of souls"- that's how Cor phrased it. I absorb the weapon into my armory, and I just kind of... know. I guess it's more like the old kings teaching me, but it's not like I suddenly had a ghost teacher. And I still had to train muscle memory and stuff.

[iustaegis]

[ Mythra straightens up, letting out a low whistle. ]

That’s... impressive. [ Almost as if he was a computer being uploaded with new data.

It also has the potential to be quite frightening, if only because it’s something he has no control. What if a kind had a poor handle on their weapon, what if the magic was interrupted, or corrupted? He would have erroneous magic transferred to him.

Clearly that’s not the case if he’s gotten thirteen of them and is still fine, but she can’t help but wonder... ]

Do you, I don’t know, feel weird afterward?

[carbungle]

Feel... weird?

[His head tilts, arms crossing as he considers this. A lot about his magic - especially the things he'd learned after leaving Insomnia, the Armiger, the summons, and all of it - had been very weird. But how to describe...]

I guess it was intense, more than anything. Like this big rush of adrenaline going through my whole body unexpectedly. You ever feel wired and tired at the same time? It was like that.

[iustaegis]

Erm, such as after a battle? Or a long run? Yeah, that’s relatable.

[ Probably not exactly the same, but close enough. ]

Although I mean... I dunno, like those weapons and power were supposed to be a part of you all along.

[ Another portion of power to collect unto himself, as it were.

She’s interested in his answer. There’s something on her mind. While she doesn’t know how he feels or what he goes through, she imagines that— maybe, should she ever reconvene with her “brothers” it might feel even vaguely similar. Becoming more whole. But for him it could be different. His magic is so foreign to her, and maybe him acquiring the weapons and powers of rulers past is just another facet of the Crystal’s power cultivating within him. ]

[carbungle]

I never thought about it like that.

[He pauses again to consider, hands shifting so one presses against his chest. He can't feel it as strongly now, considering they're in crystal-dreamland right now, but the ghost of it is still there, bound to his soul through the Crystal's magic.]

The Royal Arms are... different. Not like the usual weapons in the armory, which don't act like anything other than what they are, besides the fact that they can be summoned. But Arms are mine- it takes a lot of energy to let anyone else wield them, usually only enough for one or two hits. They trade the energy and life of the wielder for power. I don't know if I was missing anything before I started collecting them, but I won't deny that I never felt totally worthy of the Crystal's power until I got the first one.

[iustaegis]

[ She appears to weigh his answer with some thought, shifting her footing slightly. ]

It gives a lot more meaning to finding all of those weapons too... Not just the the Crystal part. But being connected to your family.

[carbungle]

Yeah... you're not wrong. [He's quiet for a moment, hesitant to volunteer more, then continues in a softer voice,] The last one I found was my dad's. Not in a tomb like he deserved, but in enemy territory, from the man who stole it. I'd lost my powers, and... Dad's sword still responded to my Armiger, like he knew I needed him to protect me. It saved my life.

[At least, he'd thought so at the time. It's possible Izunia wouldn't have let him actually die so early, but it's not like he could have known that.]

[iustaegis]

[ Mythra looks over to him, working through the new information of how an enemy ended up having Regis' sword, and for Noctis to finally have acquired it in such a way...

While she can't exactly emulate the way Pyra delivers sympathy, her voice lowers respectfully, becoming somber. ] 

Fathers... are supposed to be there for their children,  aren't they? [ Human fathers, naturally. The one whom she addresses as Father would never. ] When they need it most. [ Their relationship might have been a little more complex, given their royal status, but if what she's seen of Regis here, it's obvious that the man would at least want to be there for his son. ] He saved you before. [ When Insomnia fell, he knew to send him away from the city. ] He'll probably help you for as long as he can. 

[carbungle]

Mm.

[Even the way things end between them could in a morbid sense be thought of as "helping". By ending his suffering, by pushing him over the edge towards restoring the dawn. It's at his father's hand, through his father's blade, that he'll find his death and save the world.

Mythra probably knows about that, too, being part of the crystal and Pyra's other half. He glances sidelong at her, purses his lips, and looks away again.]

I need all the help I can get, no denying that.

[iustaegis]

[ Mythra looks forward once more. The street before them is empty, as are the storefronts and other venues that line the path they walk. The bell still tolls distantly, but it's louder now that they're within the town.

She wants to ask what it's like having a father, the whole choosing-family thing he had mentioned before, but perhaps now is not the time.  ]

You're not the only one.

Everyone's stronger, when they have others.