The Hotel at Galdin Quay; Leide (Eos). Tuesday Morning [05/24 FT].

Noctis sat on the bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as the sun rose in Galdin Quay. Slightly less sleepy than usual; it seemed as though they'd let him sleep in a little for a change. That was kind of nice, actually, especially with all of Gladio's early morning sand jogs. The next thing to greet him was Prompto's equally sleepy but much more cheerful voice.

"Heya," he said, simply enough, "morning!"

But something didn't sit right with Noctis. Maybe it was just his nerves getting to him, his anxiousness, the fact that nothing on this trip seemed to be going the way it should. You'd think a simple trip to Altissia would be just that...simple, but so far, it had been anything but. Knowing their luck, that Dino guy had been lying about being able to obtain a ferry for them, and they were just about to find themselves snared in another delay. Meaning the next few days would be a whirlwind building up to the wedding, but, hey. Once they finally got there, he and Lunafreya would actually be married. It was honestly kind of a lot, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he hadn't slept well, even with the extra time he'd been given that morning. Sighing slightly, he pushed himself up to his feet, and turned toward where Prompto and Gladio were ready and waiting to complete their voyage, finally.

But then Noctis frowned, noticing a significant absence in the well-lit room. "Where's Specs?"

"Should be back any minute now," said Gladio, and Noctis, impatient, nervous, anxious, drifted toward the large windows looking out over the sea, toward Altissia, the black smear of Angelgard's sweeping peaks dominating the view.

( Then, the door opened, and Ignis stepped through... - CW for war stuff and ~drama~ )

All eyes fell toward their prince.

No. Not their prince.

Toward their king.

Their king who was not ready for this. Not ready for any of this. Noctis dropped his head, staring into his hands in his lap.

He may not be ready.

But he didn't have a choice.

"Yeah," he breathed out, lifting his eyes again. "Let's go."


[[ NFB, NFI, TBC, OOC a-ok. Dialogue heavily taken from Final Fantasy XV, Chapter One: Departure ]]

The Blockade outside of Insomnia; Lucis (Eos); Tuesday Afternoon [05/24 FT].

With the news of Insomnia's alleged fall to the Empire heavy on their minds, the assumed new King of Lucis and his unceremoniously appointed Kingsglaive headed back for the city, through the rain that started the moment they left Galdin Quay. Almost as if there was no use for sunny skies on such an auspicious day as the Regalia coasted along rain-slicked roads, through Leide once again and to Insomnia's borders.

"I hope..." The words felt empty in Prompto's mouth, like ash, but the silence in the Regalia was too much for him, and he just had to cling to something, anything, maybe try and be a little positive, "...everyone's okay."

( Lotta good hoping's going to do... )

There was a long pause, Noctis blinking away the rain and tears on his eyelashes, considering the cold, simple instructions and the reality of the situation and the fact that there was little else he could do.

"Right," he said, and slowly lowered the phone.

Ignis stepped forward, for a moment looking as though he might reach out for Noctis's shoulder, in comfort, in support, but he stopped just short of doing so. His head tilted toward him instead.

"What did the Marshal," he ventured, slowly, softly, "have to say?"

"Said...he'd be in Hammerhead," Noctis replied, just as softly, just as stilted.

There was another long pause, before Gladio sighed and stepped forward. "And the king?"

Noctis didn't answer, nothing except for a short exhale of breath, and that was all they needed to know the truth there. Almost in unison, they each turned toward the smoking wreckage of their once-protected home, while the rain fell over everything they had ever known to be true and safe and good.


[[ NFB, NFI, TBC, OOC welcome, all the good stuff. Dialogue heavily taken from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 1: Departure