nightcure | airlocked cmo post

[ Well, alright. ]

Keeping me company? Or just there to make sure I'm on my best behavior around him?

[ Both are incredibly valid. Noctis takes a moment to pause the dishes so he can dry his hands and go over to the refrigerator. He looks at Luscinia. ]

Hungry?

[it's both because this bird is smarter than she looks and also incredibly devious.]

[...she is also easily bought with snacks, judging by how she perked up at that.]

Got a winner. What are you feeling right now?

[ He looks into the refrigerator. ]

Greens? Seeds?

[Terrifyingly intelligent small space chocobo may be fluttering her wings in the direction of some fruit.]

[Chosen kid is clearly useful to her.]

Oh, fruit. Good choice.

[ He takes out like.... a bunch of space fruit? And starts chopping that stuff up before he sets the plate down for her. ]

Enjoy.

[You fool. You absolute fucking walnut. (Walnoct?) You have been used for the most devious mama bird's cunning plan. Which was 'I just woke up and I'm hungry'. Nefarious.]

[Either way, Ardyn finally stirred at that, blinking a few times as he focused on Noctis and looking slightly more confused than your average person who had been sound asleep.]

Fratri c-?

[The briefly muttered ancient language was cut off sharply as he woke up a bit more, pressing a hand to his eyes and shaking his head.]

I, er-...sorry, I've not slept all that much the past week or so.

[ Noctis looks over when Ardyn talks, and he's quiet. He doesn't miss the slip up, and while he's not fluent in the ancient language, he knows what fratri means. He's heard it before, when his father spoke to Gladio's dad, and something nudges at the edges of his memory.

You'll never guess whose name Izunia was.

Ardyn's still full of mysteries, it seems. Noctis isn't sure how to even breach the subject ask if his suspicions are right. It's not the kind of conversation anyone'd like to have over breakfast. ]

It's alright. Your bird kept me company. She's a smart one.

[It took a second or two for Ardyn to ground himself in reality most of the time, never mind after he just woke up. The mistake only lasted a second or two, but even that was long enough to leave him quietly scrambling to pull himself back together. He took a deep breath, pushed his hair back out of his face, and looked back to Noctis with a hesitant smile to cover the rest.]

She's hardly a chocobo, but she's been a good companion all the same.

[ Noctis, at least, has the decency to not stare while he does his thing. When Ardyn talks again, Noctis looks over with a light grin. ]

Yeah, I can tell. She's really protective of her. I kind of thought she might fly over and start pecking the hell out of me.

How'd you get her, anyway?

Our...second week, I think it was? For some insane reason Kip decided to surprise us with essentially a flock of them, and I ended up with Luscinia. The others are around somewhere as well, usually outside.

Oh, yeah.

I saw Nari's last night. Riding that little robot. They're all really cute, I'm kind of jealous.

Stand outside with something edible for more than two minutes, you'll likely have four or five scrambling to sit on your head.

[is that a suggestion or a warning about how not to be attacked by space pigeons? yes.]

[Ardyn laughed awkwardly, idly rubbing the back of his neck. ..Then, following two seconds of silent panic upon realizing Noctis had probably seen something he'dbeen trying to cover, he surreptitiously reached for the orange scarf to pull it back into place.]

Good to know. I'll just gather up a bunch of greens and let them descend.

[ Noctis's eyes drifted to the sigil, and he gave a little nod. ]

It's pretty cool. Are you worried I'll see it? 'Cause I already did, when I came in. At least a little bit of it.

[Why is this his luck. Ardyn was never going to be equipped for awkward conversations with his former mortal enemy, but this one least of all.]

...Junpei asked me if the Kingsglaive had any identifiable mark or sigil, before we left that mansion. I gave it to him, and not that long ago they insisted upon the four of us matching. Admittedly I thought it was in somewhat poor taste on my own part after-... [you know what's worse breakfast conversation? Insomnia.] ...well, the point is they're very hard to dissuade once they get going.

[ This conversation's just full of yikes, ain't it. ]

Yeah, I got that. They're about as stubborn as the guys. [ He pauses to make himself a cup of tea and sit across from Ardyn. ] You picked a good Glaive.

Or they picked you, more like.

[honestly it's a minefield of fuckery.]

It's a shocking lesson in 'don't say anything as a joke unless you're prepared to commit to it'.

Or in the fact that everyone I've surrounded myself is mildly insane and refuses to take 'you're being idiots' for an answer.

[ ... he lets out a laugh at that. ]

Would you have it any other way?

...Not a chance.

[ He watches him for a while. ]

They're really important to you, huh.

...I wasn't like you, Noctis. I didn't truly have close companions even when I was still human. [The admission was quiet and came with a strangely serene look on Ardyn's face, Luscinia all but inhaling the last few pieces of space fruit before perching back on his shoulder.] This fractured and broken little family are the first friends that I have ever had.

Were it not for them, I have no doubt I would not be alive right now. Which, surprisingly, is a concept I've grown quite attached to over the past months. There is next to nothing in the universe that I would not do for their sake.

[ He listens--not just to what Ardyn's saying, but how he says it. There's a softness and warmth to his voice that Noctis hasn't heard himself, and he nods. ]

You deserve it. And you're lucky to have each other. [ He sips at his tea. ] I guess that's one thing we can thank these network assholes for, huh?

['Must be a fine feeling, having friends.']

[One of these days, maybe his own voice would stop coming back to mock him at the least opportune times. But it certainly wouldn't be anytime soon, and it would definitely not be today. Ardyn gave a tired laugh and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose like he was trying to ward off a headache.]

...In a sense, perhaps.

We're still gonna beat them down, though.

[ He frowns a little as he flexes his hand. He's been trying in vain to get his powers to work, even though he knows it won't happen. You'd think he'd have gotten used to it, but... ]

Would be easier if I could use my... everything.

It's all still restricted? That's...troublesome, but I can help compensate for some of it should the situation arise. [A pen appeared with a brief flash of familiar white crystals, twirled lightly in Ardyn's hand.] My own abilities remain painfully limited and I can't give anyone else access to the Armiger, but it's enough to get by.

Yeah. I didn't think to ask Blaze to do something before--

[ He cuts himself off with a sip of tea, expression guarded. ]

I've still got my cutlass. And everyone else can handle themselves well. Just would be nice to use the other stuff.

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