IC CONTACT FOR HUGS

[iustaegis]

IC CONTACT

[ Text ♢ Video ♢ Voice ♢ Action ]

[ Pyra ♢ Mythra ♢ Pneuma

[ new post here.]

Comments

[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.

[carbungle]

[He considers that a moment, then shifts closer, bumping his shoulder up against hers.]

That includes you too.

[For all their secrets and magic and near-invincible healing abilities, there must be plenty that Mythra and Pyra need others for. Hell, even if the two are singular yet separate entities, Mythra had needed Pyra, and that itself counts for something.]

[iustaegis]

[ Bumping shoulders with him, she looks over to Noctis, giving him a calm smile. ]

You got me. [ He's absolutely right. Upon Alrest, she wouldn't have been as capable when alone-- capable at cultivating her humanity. That's a strength that can't be denied. But most of those who had fought with her are gone.

But... there are those in this world that she has. ]

[carbungle]

[He walks quietly alongside her for a few moments, enjoying the calm atmosphere and how natural it all feels despite where they are. The silence is a little eerie, but at the same time it's calming in an odd way. He can't put his finger on it, exactly, but it isn't bad.]

So what do you do here, anyway? Don't tell me you spend all your time watching what Pyra gets up to.

[iustaegis]

[ What does she do...

With a smile, ] You might be jealous of my answer. Still want to hear it?

[carbungle]

...Oh man. [He can guess, actually.] Tell me you don't get to sleep all day.

[iustaegis]

Ab-so-lutely. [ A proud hair toss. ] I get to sleep as much as I want while you losers talk.

[ She doesn't sleep all the time, but. It's literally the only other thing she can do while in a world away from her own. ]

[carbungle]

Aw, man... that's so unfair.

[...He's... super jealous, actually... though technically it's what he'll be doing in the Crystal back home for ten years. Maybe it's just how life in a crystal is supposed to be. This place at least has more going for it. ...Hm.]

Are there animals here?

[iustaegis]

[ That's right. He likes animals.

As for Mythra, she looks up. ]

If you'd like there to be, then sure.

[carbungle]

[Huh... it's like that, then?]

I just figured if there were animals, there might be fish.

[A selfish thought, unquestionably. But at the same time, it's something new to do if one ever happened to be bored in paradise.]

1/2

[iustaegis]

[ She seems surprised at the suggestion. ]

...Fish?

[iustaegis]

...You know I could just make up the biggest fish to catch to out-do your record.

[carbungle]

What, is that a challenge?

[A new fish to catch? Hell to the yeah.]

I don't see anyone stopping you.

[iustaegis]

You bet it is.

[ She nods at him. ]

It'll be so big, that.... [ Looking around, she spots a tree lining a street. Enthusiastically, she points. ] --there! It'll be as tall as that! You haven't caught anything that big yet, huh?