I think I'd qualify as ex-rich boy. Especially since I'm pretty sure you guys have more money than I do here.
[Deposed broke royal and all... funds from hunts and odd jobs only get you so far, especially when daemons and Royal Arms chew through his health faster than Ignis goes through Ebony so they're constantly stocking up on energy drinks and flasks for magic. Here, he's obviously kept a steady supply, but he's also paying for a house...
His words are in jest, but it's hard to fully contain the little thrill he gets at something so simple as an honest foul mouth out of them. Like getting the more dutiful types in his life to call him by name rather than Highness or something. It's pretty clear he's got no issue with her sticking to informal.]
[ Aaaaaand she's caught. Here she thought he wouldn't bring it up! ]
That's--....
[ Clearing her throat. ]
It's. It's kind of a big deal, right? Besides, you two are in contact outside of this dimension! We don't need to. [ Yet, her fingers twitch at her sides. ]
[Did he want to... she's really not subtle at all. He could say yes, but now it's kind of fun to fluster her, especially when Pyra usually gets him on the reverse.]
I wouldn't be against it or anything, if you were into it.
[Whoa, it sure is happening. With her hesitation, he'd expected her to leave it at that, but sure enough, her hand is in his. He glances between them, then shifts his grip to hold back more firmly. The way she took his hand is a little different from Pyra, too, but it's warm in a similar way nonetheless.]
[ It sure is happening, his hand in hers. She's quiet for all but a few moments as her palm and fingers adjust further in how she holds his, as if attempting to find the most comfortable method. Her expression settles, distracted and thoughtful. ]
[At her quiet response, Noctis only smiles, softer and more genuine this time. He squeezes her hand and keeps walking with her, silent but content to explore the landscape in her company.]
[ How five hundred years have come and gone just like that. Compared to the rest of her existence, blurred and muddled in eons of memories as they are, those centuries passed both in a blink of an eye and dragged on for an eternity. But now, she holds his hand.
And she also knows there are others who have had it far worse in solitude that she ever had. She knows that while she had been sleeping both in her world and this one, people have suffered. They have died. They had fought in wars. They had performed great magics, or they have made grand frescoes of art. They had lived and then perished, or they were completely forgotten. Some have traveled to different worlds before this one. Others are new to it, like herself.
They are all good people. Worth protecting, helping, honoring, focusing upon, listening to. What wasted time this is, to have used it on herself.
Yet she holds his hand.
The tour ends at the courtyard to a house of worship-- a church. No denomination can be made out, but a humble steeple appears to echo with a bell that chimes. ]
So. That's basically it. [ She waves around her. ] There's more fields over there, but that's the town itself.
[It's weird to be the Chosen of the gods, standing here with five Astral covenants on his arm, but the idea of being at a church makes him feel out of place. Being here and seeing all of the scenery, the town, even Mythra herself- it makes him realize how little he knows about her world, even if the little tidbits he'd been fed or managed to wrangle out of her. He doesn't know what this place is beyond the name and the crystal location, or what the religion might be, or where she truly fits in all of it. She's shared so much just by allowing him to be here, but there's still so many mysteries.
Still, she hasn't let go, so he doesn't, either.]
It's nice. Really... provincial, I guess? But in a good way. It reminds me of some of the outposts in Lucis, outside the city.
All of the above. That part's different... this place is a little too quiet for me.
[Even Havenwell's become more lively in recent months, after how dead it was at the start beyond the normal day-to-day city noise of robotic residents. It isn't a bad place, but the lack of ambiance is subtly jarring.]
Probably, yeah... Prompto's likely to be around soon, and I don't really want to get into the crystal thing if he asks.
[Both for the sake of keeping Pyra and Mythra's secret, and for his own sake. Prompto had been in Gralea for the aftermath of the first time, after all.]
...I'll come back, though. [Hand still in hers, he hooks their pinky fingers back together.] Promise.
Someone wanting to come back to her. Someone wanting to speak with her (or Pyra, even), and wanting to be with them because of who they are, not what they are or what power another could attempt to claim from them.
She should know better by now that that's not him. He'd never be like them.But it's nice to be reminded that someone wishes to see them for, well, them: the sum of the humanity that's been imprinted upon them, the broken and forgotten pieces constructed together to make up who they are, a construct around a crystal, trying their best to be human, and to be worthy of humans, cherishing what humanity they have and others alike... ]
Mm.... All right.
[ ... ] Close your eyes.
[ And as soon as he does so, he'll find himself gently waking from his sleep upon Pyra's lap. ]
[He can be hard to rouse even on a good day, so it probably takes a bit of extra prodding to get him to open his eyes. Carbuncle is still curled up on his chest, and it seems to become alerted even before Noct wakes; there's a shifting of fabric as it lifts its head, ears flicking curiously, then stretches out all four limbs and tail with a soft, squeaky yawn- and tiny claws digging into Noct's stomach. He makes a faint, startled noise and snaps awake to find himself looking up at Pyra.]
Uh... [He blinks a few times, taking a moment to suss out how he feels. It's not the same as when he woke up here after being in his own Crystal; it really does feel like he'd been asleep, kind of. It's not the fully-rested sort of sensation he'd get from a proper rest, but kind of a half-alertness after a power nap. Overall, not a bad feeling at all.] Yeah, I'm okay. Were you watching the whole time, like Mythra?
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[Deposed broke royal and all... funds from hunts and odd jobs only get you so far, especially when daemons and Royal Arms chew through his health faster than Ignis goes through Ebony so they're constantly stocking up on energy drinks and flasks for magic. Here, he's obviously kept a steady supply, but he's also paying for a house...
His words are in jest, but it's hard to fully contain the little thrill he gets at something so simple as an honest foul mouth out of them. Like getting the more dutiful types in his life to call him by name rather than Highness or something. It's pretty clear he's got no issue with her sticking to informal.]
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Anyway. ] You're the one we hold hands most with.
[ It's almost second nature at this point. ]
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[See if he accepts any more of her style compliments at face value again!]
Though I don't know if you can take credit for Pyra in this case... you haven't reached for my hand once the whole time I've been here.
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That's--....
[ Clearing her throat. ]
It's. It's kind of a big deal, right? Besides, you two are in contact outside of this dimension! We don't need to. [ Yet, her fingers twitch at her sides. ]
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[Don't think he's not watching her very closely.]
I just figured I'd ask, in case you wanted to. Didn't want you to feel left out.
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And flustered-- not enough to make her blush, but enough that her voice carries a small trill to it. ] Did.... you want to hold hands?
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I wouldn't be against it or anything, if you were into it.
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C....CAN SHE....---there. She reaches towards his hand before she has a chance to second-guess herself, linking her little finger with his. ]
...It's not so bad.
Like this.
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Nah... not bad. We can do this if you want.
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[ Her fingers shift, and how her hold hand is clasping his. It's happening!
Her first physical contact (sort of) in five hundred years.
His hand feels warm in hers. She almost wishes to remove her gloves, just for the sake of feeling his more purely. ]
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Still not bad?
1/2
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And she also knows there are others who have had it far worse in solitude that she ever had. She knows that while she had been sleeping both in her world and this one, people have suffered. They have died. They had fought in wars. They had performed great magics, or they have made grand frescoes of art. They had lived and then perished, or they were completely forgotten. Some have traveled to different worlds before this one. Others are new to it, like herself.
They are all good people. Worth protecting, helping, honoring, focusing upon, listening to. What wasted time this is, to have used it on herself.
Yet she holds his hand.
The tour ends at the courtyard to a house of worship-- a church. No denomination can be made out, but a humble steeple appears to echo with a bell that chimes. ]
So. That's basically it. [ She waves around her. ] There's more fields over there, but that's the town itself.
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Still, she hasn't let go, so he doesn't, either.]
It's nice. Really... provincial, I guess? But in a good way. It reminds me of some of the outposts in Lucis, outside the city.
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[ Outside Lucis... from what she recalls of some of the photos, it was a desert, wasn't it? Maybe he's speaking of beyond that. ]
With people. Cars. Animals? That sort of thing?
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[Even Havenwell's become more lively in recent months, after how dead it was at the start beyond the normal day-to-day city noise of robotic residents. It isn't a bad place, but the lack of ambiance is subtly jarring.]
Guess that does help with the napping.
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[ She smiles quietly, but adds nothing more on the subject.
Instead, ]
Anyway.... you should be getting back. Can’t spend all day in here, you know?
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[Both for the sake of keeping Pyra and Mythra's secret, and for his own sake. Prompto had been in Gralea for the aftermath of the first time, after all.]
...I'll come back, though. [Hand still in hers, he hooks their pinky fingers back together.] Promise.
[....Wait, how does he get out??]
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Someone wanting to come back to her. Someone wanting to speak with her (or Pyra, even), and wanting to be with them because of who they are, not what they are or what power another could attempt to claim from them.
She should know better by now that that's not him. He'd never be like them.But it's nice to be reminded that someone wishes to see them for, well, them: the sum of the humanity that's been imprinted upon them, the broken and forgotten pieces constructed together to make up who they are, a construct around a crystal, trying their best to be human, and to be worthy of humans, cherishing what humanity they have and others alike... ]
Mm.... All right.
[ ... ] Close your eyes.
[ And as soon as he does so, he'll find himself gently waking from his sleep upon Pyra's lap. ]
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...Wh- hah?
[Oh. He's back? He's back!]
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Her gaze is fond, looking down at him. At his startle, she can't the light giggle that escapes her lips. ]
Well-rested, I hope?
[ It might certainly feel that way. ] Welcome back.
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Uh... [He blinks a few times, taking a moment to suss out how he feels. It's not the same as when he woke up here after being in his own Crystal; it really does feel like he'd been asleep, kind of. It's not the fully-rested sort of sensation he'd get from a proper rest, but kind of a half-alertness after a power nap. Overall, not a bad feeling at all.] Yeah, I'm okay. Were you watching the whole time, like Mythra?
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We can see what the other sees...
[ She lifts a hand, brushing his bangs across his forehead. ] I’m glad you got to meet her.
[ She’s not glad that he had to be put into such an uncomfortable spot of entering her crystal, though. ]
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