Ignis Scientia

It was August 30th, and that meant one thing and one thing only for Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis: the annual fishing trip to honor Noct's birthday. This year, the spot chosen was far up in Upstate New York, near the Canada border, on an island accessible only by boat, which stirred up all sorts of memories about being turned away at Galdin Quay, about having to restore Regis' old yacht at Cape Caem to cross the Cygillan Ocean, and also Angelgard, where Noct had awakened after ten years of slumber inside the Crystal to finally confront Ardyn Izunia and save Eos from the Starscourge once and for all.

Which was to say that it was almost practically perfect. It hurt, of course, to be reminded of all of this, but that was part of the point, to reflect and look back on everything that had happened back then....and everything that had happened since. Respecting the past, hope for the future, and sharing a cold drink (beer and Ebony, respectively, with a few Jetty's thrown in now, too) with the memory for the lost comrade whose importance was almost impossible to put into words.

So they didn't. Not really. They put it into action, by spending a day in a beautiful spot on their new world, engaging in an activity that they all kind of hated but that Noctis had loved almost more than anything, and there was no better way to spend August 30th than that.

[[ NFB for distance, of course, but can be open if you wanted to get in touch with any chocobro or if you just so happen to be on a boat-only accessible state park in the St. Lawrence River! ]]

When Liliana hadn't shown up for his class today, Ignis' first instinct was to be concerned, but his second, much more logical, reasonable, hopeful instinct was to wonder if perhaps he had simply heard incorrectly when he'd gone over the roster. So, as soon as everyone had cleared out of the classroom, he pulled out his phone, directed it to his saved files and had it pull up the roster so he could listen to it again. Alphabetical order by surname, of course, so he had to wait until the very end to confirm that, yes, according to when the list was last sent to him, anyway, she had signed up.

So. Back to concern, then. Worry. And even dread, which felt perhaps a bit....overdramatic, but, well, have you met him? Also, there was a good precedent set for him feeling that way, and with how....off everything had been last night, how...strangely out of step they'd been....stilted conversations, private baths, no doubt a line run into the rug of the study from his endless nocturnal pacing...

It did not exactly bode a great deal of confidence.

And so, naturally, he wasted no time in returning to the mansion to seek her out. Perhaps she'd not been feeling well; that would explain how...distracted and distant she seemed last night. Perhaps the arduous trouble of waking so early for her first class of the semester had simply gotten the better of her and she'd settled in for a nap and merely unintentionally slept through his. But when he arrived and called out her name, and went searching through the various rooms and received a confirmation from the steward that his mistress was, indeed, not home, things went from not boding well to boding even worse.

"Do not tell me she's gone off to Innistrad again."

"The Mistress did not say."

That was not at all encouraging, especially since Ignis could not even be entirely certain of the Mistress truly did not say, or if the steward was just compelled to say she did not say.

And so he called her.

Several times.

All of them bouncing directly to her voicemail. Each time, he was tempted to leave a message. Each time, he hesitated, with that same hesitation that held him back from disturbing her last night. Of not wanting to bother her, or make whatever it was worse, or just getting in the way and making himself more of a nuisance than a pleasure, not to mention his lack of confidence in being able to keep the desperation out of his voice.

But, with the last one, the final one, and then he'd likely be off to pace more lines in the carpeting, he did leave one. Short. Brief. Concise. "Liliana. It's Ignis. Call me back when you can. Please."

So much for keeping that desperation out of his voice.

And, once that was finished, he sighed, and, feeling the need to only have to juggle one potential explosive issue at a time, instructed his phone to make another phone call that probably should have been made days ago, really.

[[ mostly for....myself, brain willing, although the post is certainly open for anyone else who live s there, or might want to visit or call or even fallaciously shout out accusation of gentrification ]]

Even though it seemed like this week had provided copious examples of attempts to the contrary, it turned out that Ignis actually couldn't spend all his spare time with Liliana and would, in fact, spend time with other people, too. Well, with the other person he spent all of his spare time with. He certainly wouldn't want to overstay his welcome, and they were both clearly the sort of people who had lives beyond the blissful bubble of each other's company that they'd come to discover and had other things to do that day...

...Well, it seemed Liliana did, anyway. Ignis...had a make-up training session to attend to to appease his roommate, after which there was to be take-out because he was quite frankly a little exhausted and wanted to unwind a little with food made by someone else for a change and a glass of wine. And to at least make a marginal attempt to distract himself from wanting to be somewhere else and in different company again already.

No offense, of course, to Gladio.

"So," said Gladio from the couch, no doubt already leaving dusting of rice from his take-out container around where he sat, "what should I put on? Cooking shows to make you mad, or sports shows to make me mad?"

Okay, he took that back. Some offense to Gladio, after all.

[[ for those who know who they are and with some helpful little morsels of OCD like the rice Iggy'll find in the couch cushions later; CW for someone almost fucking dying ]]

Even though, through the years, they'd all tended to separate and pursue their own hunts and adventures, there were absolutely some things that brought Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto together to work as a team once more. After all, the world had gotten considerably....smaller, since the Starscourge took over, and while they were constantly embroiled in seeking supplies, tampering down daemon hordes, and otherwise making the attempts to make this dark and dreary existence somewhat better on their own, their paths were frequently crossing. And in the event that they all happened to land at the Hammerhead at the same time, Cindy always had some part she was hoping they could hunt down and scrounge up for her.

But first...a little time to catch-up, to share important information, to discuss a few further plans moving forward. The push to protect the power plant in Lestallum, of course, would always take top priority, but Prompto had been developing a few ideas on maybe seeing if there was any life left in the Magitek generators they'd destroyed in fortresses all across Lucis....years ago. And Ignis had just been telling Prompto about his reservation about such a project...the Magitek troopers from the City had been boldly leaking out; he had a feeling they might be considering regaining a hold on Formouth Garrison, which would only be the start of them expanding their influence again, perhaps they'd better shift their attention to defending the stronghold, and...

"....Prompto?" Ignis paused in his strategical ramblings, frowning as he felt something...shift in the air around him. "Are you listening?"

The only response Ignis got in response was a bark, and, the next thing he knew, he was trying to fend off an eager dog vying for his attention.

"Gladio," he started, finding it odd that he would be so quiet about all this, "please don't tell me that--"

"Well, hey, there, Ignis!" Of course that would be the time that Cindy would show up, her bright voice always a welcome sound through the darkness, although perhaps Ignis would have preferred better timing in this case. "Say, who's your new friend there?"

It was hardly any surprise that Prompto's attention was immediately diverted away from Ignis, and he sighed, adjusting his darkened glasses out of habit more than anything else, and smoothing out his pants a little. Wondering how best to explain this particular phenomenon, especially considering it was hardly something he'd ever have expected to experience again.

"That's...." He hesitated, but decided perhaps the truth would be best here, "actually Prompto."

"Prompto?" Cindy's voice lifted, as Ignis assumed her eyebrows did, too, but then she laughed. "Yeah, that's fair! I can see the resemblance!"

"I...no," Ignis staggered out with mild frustration. "We didn't name him after Prompto, but that is Prompto. It's a thing, that sometimes used to happen back on Earth--"

But Cindy clearly wasn't paying any attention, and the happy, eager barks from Prompto buried half of his words, anyway.

"Well, I'll bet you're just starvin', boy, ain't ya?" Cindy chuckled a little, her focus entirely on the dog and Ignis could already feel a massive migraine building behind his eyes. "We can talk business in a sec. Let's see what we've got in the pantry for ya. Ignis? You just hold tight, alright, while I get Prompto Jr here a little somethin' for that belly."

The sound of her boots receding on the pavement and her idle comments about how he had an awful lot of pep to his step for a found stray told Ignis that it was already too late to stop her, and he sighed, turning his ire instead toward Gladio, for not even moving a single considerable muscle to help him out with that one.

"Gladio," he started, "I--"

But his foot hit something unexpected when he moved, knocking whatever it was over, where it hit the ground with a wince-inducing shatter. Frowning, Ignis knelt down to feel for what it was. Soft dirt, hard shards of what he assumed were some sort of porcelain And some sort of plant. He slipped off a glove so his fingers could explore it with more detail, revealing it to be a long plume of flowers.

Very likely a gladiolus, to be precise.

"Oh, bloody hell," Ignis murmured, realizing now why Gladio had been so eerily silent through that whole exchange, "not this again...."

[[ is it completely unnecessary to transform people off island embroiled in their own plottiness into animals(/plants) for a vacation? Yes. Am I doing it anyway because I think it's hilarious? Also yes. NFB, NFI, blah blah blah ]]

There wasn't much further to go, until they reached Gralea. The very center of the Empire. The train raced through the darkness, which had increased substantially. Unsurprisingly. There had been rumors, after all, of the days shortening, and now they were witnessing it with their very own eyes. And more darkness meant more daemons, and a future far more like those spoken of by various children arriving at Fandom for those particular weekends.

( It had been a long, quiet, difficult journey, especially without Prompto, but they were finally reaching their terminus )

"That's all she's got," muttered Gladio.

"It'll do," said Noctis, after a moment, reaching for the door to pull himself out, and Ignis and Gladio soon followed. A cold rain had started to fall, sizzling slightly on the steam and the hot metal. And even with the rain, even with the daemons still probably not far behind and the Nifs awaiting them up ahead, Noctis paused for a moment and whispered out, "Dad. Thanks for everything."

[[ and so begins Final Fantasy XV Chapter 13 "Redemption". We skipped right over Chapter 12 because I threw it in the trash where it belongs! And, also, it's a Noctis POV almost entirely, so not much use to my FH boyos here besides some points to move the plot forward. Part 1 of 6, it's a hefty one today, so apologies in advance for the spam throughout the day again! ]]

Ignis knelt before the prone body of his king, staring at his still face and marveling how incredibly young Noctis seemed, after all the visions that Pryna had given him. No, not seemed. How young he was, far too young for the burden of the entire world to be on his shoulders, but there was a tightness in his chest as he silently vowed that he would not have to carry that weight alone. Ignis had made a promise, long ago, back when they were only children, to protect him, and, in that moment, while he felt he hadn't done nearly as well as he could have, at least he had managed to do the very least thus far.

And then a voice pulled him out of his reverie, a welcome sound that reminded him that the burden was not just his and Noctis' to bear, either.

( Iggy! - CW for extreme violence against and the permanent disabling of a main character. )

Footsteps, then, one set retreating, two approaching, with one staggering at some point to a very confused stop as Ravus passed them by. The scuffle of feet made Ignis believe that Prompto had just passed him by, and the looming presence now at his side must have been Gladio. Fingers against Ignis' neck for a pulse, a hand against his chest, which seemed a bit…useless, with the way he was very clearly still gasping for air.

".....please….," was all Ignis could manage, straining to open his eyes, though it did him no good, and he turned his head toward the sound of Prompto's breathing, knowing he would have been right there beside Noct. And so he stretched out his hand to reach for him, only to feel it drop like dead weight between them.

"Forgive me."


[[ thus concludes Episode Ignis and now I have to go change all my icons. All of these have obviously been NFB and NFI, OOc is love, blah blah blah,, this should be fun, and there's even a handy tl;dr! ]]

The morning started with politics, and Noctis meeting behind closed doors with the First Secretary of Accordo, Camelia Claustra, a fortuitous first step in negotiating some sort of piece with the nation….and with Lady Lunafreya's release….assuming the new King of Lucis didn't manage to muck it all up. It was that concern that weighed heavily on Ignis's shoulders as he paced the room outside the Secretary's office, where Gladio stood with his arms folded in front of him at the door for the first sign of trouble and Prompto, doing his best, just tried to sit still on one of the plush, elegant armchairs.

It should be a simple matter. Just consider the Secretary's position with understanding and compassion, hopefully make the appeal to a common enemy, and express the importance of the Rite so that Leviathan will grant Noctis her powers. Acknowledge the danger of the situation and the intel that not only is the Empire closing in as they speak, but that keeping Lady Lunafreya in their custody only increases the threat to the city. Ignis had done all he could to brief Noctis on the best course of action, but the Secretary insisted the meeting be held in private. It was entirely out of Ignis' hands, and all he could do was simply….have faith in Noctis' sense of diplomacy.

He was half-certain they were all now officially doomed.

When Noctis finally emerged, he did so with his head down, his steps dragging, and Ignis felt his heart sink. "Well?" asked Gladio, unfolding his arms and straightening at attention.

"What'd she say?" Prompto chimed in, with his own eyes wide and nervous.

Noctis let out a short breath, almost a laugh, and Ignis felt himself breathe a little easier now, too. Even more so at the faint hint of a smile in the corner of Noctis' mouth.

"We're good to go," he reported, almost cheerfully, or at least for him it was. "Luna's going to make an address to the people this afternoon, and then she's going to the Altar of the Tidemother to make her appeal to Leviathan. But it's going to get rough, and the Imperials are on their way to subdue her, just like they tried with Titan. I'll take care of Leviathan; you guys are on evacuation duty."

"Does the Secretary believe it will get that bad?" Gladio asked.

"Oh," Ignis supplied the answer for Noctis, "I'm sure we can count on it. We haven't much time. I suppose a conference with the Altissian guard and its security is in order, then. Or perhaps well overdue."


[[ small set-up for now with more to come later, a very concise summary of the diplomatic meeting between Noctis and Camelia from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 9 - "Callings"! It's also Episode Ignis day, so buckle in, everyone who knows what's coming! ]]

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 ]]