Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
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year 5, quarter 3
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[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Noctis had assumed that the person coming through the front door was just another patron of the inn, so he was surprised when he actually recognized the voice. “Tifa?” The streetlights from outside shone against her hair and confirmed that it really was the bartender. At first he was a little confused as to why she’d come to an inn—he’d thought that she had an apartment in town—but she explained that she’d noticed his magic in the dark from the street. “Fair enough. I guess it’s pretty distinctive.” Noctis laughed a bit ruefully and glanced at the clock on the wall to confirm that it really was as late as he thought it was. “Must have been a rough shift. I know your bar’s pretty close by, but I didn’t know it was open this late.” He was probably just revealing how little he’d been able to get out and about in Insomnia though honestly. Noctis had been to a bar with Prompto exactly once after he’d climbed out a window to avoid taking security with him. Ignis had lectured him for weeks afterward.
Needless to say, he wasn’t an expert on the nightlife of cities.
“Hey, I’m actually glad you stopped by. I wanted to say sorry about the other day. I know we dropped in without any warning and then things got pretty intense…” That was an understatement. After multiple yelling matches and a planned jailbreak, he was surprised that they hadn’t been kicked out. Tifa was a saint who deserved every cent of the tips they’d left. She’d even gone outside to calm Alex down, which had somehow worked and was more than the rest of them had managed. He honestly didn’t know how to thank her. “You probably heard everything that’s going on. We’re putting that in motion soon, and…guess I just couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind with that.” There were a thousand ways this could go wrong, and nearly all of them would be his fault. Noctis didn’t want to dump any of that on Tifa though, so he gave her a weak grin as he raised the bottle of wine that he’d pulled from his glaive.
“I don’t want to keep you if you were going home. But if you wanted to stay out a little longer, then I could pour you a drink this time.” Being a bartender, she probably didn’t get that as often as she deserved.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Usually Noctis had no trouble at all with falling asleep. Not just at night either—he used to love sneaking a quick nap in the back of the Regalia while Ignis was driving, and he was still infamous for being hard to wake up in the morning. Gladio was about the only person who could get him up for early training, and that was only because his shield refused to take no for an answer. Thoughts of his friends hurt right now though. They were just a few days out from their big plan to rescue Ignis and Gladio from one of Sonora’s prison camps, so maybe that was why Noctis found himself staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night. His thoughts just wouldn’t slow down this time.
Noctis and Prompto were currently staying at an inn down in the scrapyard of Sonora. It wasn’t exactly the nicest area, but it gave them somewhere to lay low while they made their plans. Prompto was currently letting out tiny snores in the next bed though, so after glancing over at his friend, the prince made the decision to get up without waking him. Prompto wouldn’t be very happy that he’d gone wandering off alone at night, but he wasn’t planning on going far. Anyway, there weren’t any daemons that cropped in the dark on Zephon like they did back in Eos. The biggest threat here was just the other people.
Noctis pulled on his coat as quietly as possible before closing the door behind him and starting to descend the stairs towards the main room. He expected the inn to be deserted at this time of night, and he wasn’t surprised to see that the lights were off except for a single fluorescent lamp behind the counter. The prince hesitated on the foyer and weighed his options before deciding that maybe he could use a drink on the roof. He could warp up there easily enough, and with a tiny flash of blue sparks, he pulled a thin bottle of wine out of his glaive. Drinks from home would get fewer and more precious the longer that he was stuck here, but he could use the nostalgia tonight. So much was on the line right now.
It was while he was starting to move towards the front door that Noctis realized the lobby may not have been as deserted as he had first thought. “Oh.” The prince squinted through the darkness as he tried to make the other figure out. “Sorry. I didn’t think anyone else would be awake right now.”
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]OPEN
Late night feels anyone? He'll share his wine probably lol.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Prompto seemed just as weirded out as Noctis was about the starscourge being here on Zephon, and he pointed out that there weren’t any daemons around. Caius corrected that assumption though—apparently Ardyn had been spotted spreading the scourge around Provo, and there were actually some daemons hanging about there. That didn’t make Noctis feel any better, but it was good to know. Particularly if they’d be spending any amount of time around Provo at night. Apparently there was also some other guy from Eos who had learned how to control daemons, and that news was just the cherry on top of a really bad news sundae.
“Seriously? Is that the guy who tried to kill me when you-...came here? He’s here too?” Noctis didn’t know for certain it was the same guy, but Caius had mentioned dying to save him in an assassination attempt. So either it was the same event, or people really had it out for him once he was king. “I guess we’ll have to keep an eye out for him too…” Their list of items to check on was becoming really long, and they hadn’t even rescued Ignis and Gladio yet. No wonder Caius looked exhausted. Noctis wanted to join him in a nap, and all he’d done was listen to half the shit that was on his mind. Maybe that was why he wanted to help so badly, but he shouldn’t have brought up Ardyn. He knew neither of them would like the idea, but he hadn’t expected Prompto to leap to his feet, scooting the booth forward a few inches when he bumped his knee against it.
His friend didn’t yell at him often, and maybe that’s why he winced more than he would have if it were a lecture from Ignis or Gladio. “I know I can’t fight him yet. Not without the crystal’s full power. But he has answers. A lot more than he’s let on. Some things he said when I was getting pulled into the crystal…I need to know what he meant.”
Once upon a time there existed a healer. Ardyn Lucis Caelum.
Prompto was nearly in tears, and Noctis impulsively reached up and grabbed his wrist without quite being able to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry.” Of course he was upset given what he must have gone through in Gralea with Ardyn. “I shouldn’t have brought it up like that. I don’t know why I did. It’s just…been on my mind.” It might not leave it either. One way or another, this ended with him and Ardyn. Noctis had been certain of it ever since Gralea. He just knew better than to say that to Prompto right now.
On the other side of the booth, Caius agreed with Prompto that involving Ardyn wasn’t a good idea. And of course it wasn’t, but why couldn’t they see that whatever he’d done to end the scourge was deeply connected to the red-haired man? Noctis couldn’t just hide away and pretend that he wasn’t out there. Their paths would always intersect, even if everyone else wanted to deny that. Frustration built up in Noctis, and he let go of Prompto in favor of balling his fists in his lap instead. He didn’t say anything in argument though. He just went silent.
He wasn’t enough of a jerk to deny Caius though when he asked for help instilling some of his magic into Lumina to hold off the parasite. However much he was currently sulking. “...If you think it would help. I’ve mostly just done that to make potions and phoenix downs, or to give someone access to my glaive.” Exactly three people at this point, though Caius probably got his Lucian magic through Noctis too because of future shenanigans. At some point he would have been expected to support the entire crownsguard and kingsglaive like this father had after all.
Caius also said something odd about Alex that made Noctis raise an eyebrow. “You think my covenants with the astrals would make him attack me? I don’t think those apply here.” Not to mention that he didn’t think Alex would fight him. He didn’t know where they stood anymore after the blowout between him and Prompto, but the two of them had hit it off before that. Noctis had considered him a friend. Maybe Caius had more details on that strange comment though. He hoped nothing else had happened with the blond warrior of light that they’d missed.
It was Caius’ last bit of news that really made Noctis freeze though as he looked up at the man in shock. Luna. An amnesiac woman named Luna who was caring for people with the scourge. “...It can’t be her.” His voice cracked a little, and he quickly cleared it. “She’s the oracle. She wouldn’t just be tending to people. She’d cure them.” If she had amnesia though…
Noctis shook his head, not even daring to hope as he thought about his childhood friend that he’d failed to save. “...You really think it could be her?” He may as well hear him out. Even if he really didn’t want to get his hopes up. He wasn’t sure he could handle having them crushed.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Noctis hadn’t really been sure how Prompto would react to any of the negativity that he was dumping. When his friend finally did speak, it was just to say that he’d joined the crownsguard because he hadn’t wanted to lose him. The prince looked up at the blond boy in surprise, not quite sure what to say to that for a moment. “You wouldn’t have lost me.” That wasn’t entirely true though when Noct’s own father had barely had time to eat dinner with him sometimes, so he let out a slow sigh before tacking on a more realistic answer. “At least, not because I didn’t care. I’d just have been stretched pretty thin. If things were different, and I’d actually taken over.” That was a pipe dream at this point. But it was stupid to pine for a throne when he’d never been sure if he’d wanted it to begin with.
Prompto walked back his statements a bit by saying that this was all probably stupid and girly, and Noctis rubbed the back of his neck with his gloved hand. “I didn’t say that. And nothing wrong with girls I guess.” That probably wasn’t what his friend wanted to hear right now, but sometimes Noctis just went with the first thing that popped out of his mouth.
The few times that they’d had a real talk like this, Prompto tended to praise Noctis and tear himself down, and right now was no exception. Like always, Noctis vehemently shook his head. “Just because you weren’t connected to the citadel doesn’t make you nobody. You know how hard it is to even pass the crownsguard exam? The failure percentage every year is huge. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. Plus you’re better with tech than anyone else I know, and your jokes are the only thing that kept the three of us going half the time. We fell apart when Ignis got hurt, but you didn’t see how we fell apart again once you were off the train.” The prince was getting emotional now, and he wrapped his hands tightly around his wine glass to try to calm down. Prompto wasn’t making that easy for him though when he said that if things had been different, he wouldn’t have minded being stuck in the citadel with him.
“Prompto…” His friend was blushing as if realizing that he’d said too much, and he was suddenly babbling about how they could pretend he hadn’t said anything at all. Noctis just ignored that piece. Of course he was going to answer him, damn it. “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore since we’re here, but I wouldn’t have wanted you to stay there just for me. You know what my dad was like at the end. You think I’d want you to watch me hold the wall up and waste away? You should live your life.” His voice was getting a little rough, and he rubbed at his eyes so that he didn’t have to see Prompto’s expression.
“Thanks though,” he added a little quieter. “It means a lot. That you would have stayed.” It meant more than he knew how to say really.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] As Caius started telling his story, Prompto muttered an apology for literally nothing, which meant his best friend wasn’t doing so good. Noctis lightly tapped his boot against the other boy’s in a sad show of support, but it was the best he could offer while they were sitting in a booth together. Anyway, he didn’t want to interrupt the kingsglaive. He was obviously having a bad time of it too. Lumina’s scourge was apparently in its advanced stages now, which made Noct wince and direct his eyes down towards his whiskey. He wished he knew what to say. A king should know what to say, but all that came to his mind was ‘that’s rough buddy,’ and he clamped down hard on that before it could come out of his mouth.
“I figured the two of you were like that,” he said hesitantly instead. “I know it’s not like you to blow up. That’s why I wasn’t mad. I’m glad you have her.” The for now went unspoken, but it lingered too loudly in the silence until Noctis had to take a drink of whiskey just to drown it out. Astrals, this sucked for everyone involved. Most of all Caius though, so the prince let him carry on with his story.
At the revelation that the starscourge had apparently melded with a different parasite, Noctis gave Prompto a look of alarm. That was beyond bad. That was horrifying. “You’re kidding. Is that rare here, or do we have to worry about an epidemic of both of these spreading around?” It probably wouldn’t make Caius feel better if Lumina had the only case, but Noctis didn’t even want to think about what would happen if a stronger version of the starscourge became permanent. That was nightmare-inducing.
Caius said that he was his friend and that he didn’t want Noct to think less of himself for not being able to help. The prince finally raised his head from his drink to look at him as he self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck. That would be…hard to internalize when all he’d done since Insomnia had fallen was blame himself. He appreciated the man’s intention though, so he gave him a small smile that was more genuine than before. “Thank you. Really. I have been thinking though. Ever since that night. If your king-...if I destroyed the scourge. I’m no Oracle. I don’t think it would be like what Luna can do.” Could do. Noctis paused for a moment, choked by the accidental present tense before he continued. “So I keep coming back to the same possibility. Ardyn.”
Noctis glanced at Prompto out of the corner of his eye, aware that this conversation was going to upset him. They had barely talked about the chancellor of Niflheim, and for good reason. For one, rescuing Ignis and Gladio was obviously the priority. For another, even Noct wasn’t sure what all Prompto had gone through at his hands. Not when they’d found him strung up in Gralea. The man was a literal monster.
“He wanted me to take the crystal’s power and come back. And if he’s the reason the scourge is spreading here…then I think we’ll find an answer with him.” No one would like it, but all signs for stopping the scourge pointed to the red-haired daemon. His ancestor. It still made his skin crawl to remember, but he had to remember it. Or he wouldn’t be able to face him.
Caius confided that if he couldn’t find a solution, then he intended to kill Lumina to save hundreds of other lives. And if that failed…
Noctis let out a breath, but nodded his head immediately. “We’d help if it came to that.” After the empire, they were no stranger to killing humans who had been twisted beyond recognition. For all that Ravus had done, Luna’s brother had deserved a better ending than that. “But don’t feel like you have to fend for yourself before that. Once Ignis and Gladio are out, you can come to us if you need anything.” Assuming they all survived this breakout of course, but that concern seemed secondary right now.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Noctis glanced over at his best friend in surprise as he got straight to the point by asking why they were there. That was pretty curt for Prompto. The blond man looked fairly tense too, and he hadn’t even touched the drink in front of him yet. Liquor wasn’t Prompto’s favorite, but he’d usually take a drink or two at least. Maybe he was feeling anxious about being back in Seventh Heaven after everything that had happened. Noctis would have to ask him later. He didn’t have a good way to check on Prompto right now, but hopefully he’d be able to make it through this meeting.
Caius had a lot to say though, so Noctis turned his attention to the former kingsglaive instead. He looked pretty exhausted, and the prince had to wonder what he’d been up to if he hadn’t been traveling. The blond man left that aside for now though, and instead he bowed his head towards both of them and apologized. A frown crossed Noct’s face, and he quickly shook his head to show that it was okay.
“I get it. The king you know…fulfilled the prophecy and took care of the starscourge.” It sounded weird even saying that out loud and knowing that it was him. Ardyn had shown him time and time again how powerless he was. He wasn’t worthy of that kind of title yet, and maybe he never would be now that they were all trapped here. “So it makes complete sense that you’d come to me. I just wish I knew how to help.” Except maybe he did have some idea. He wasn’t an oracle like Luna. There was only one way he could have destroyed the starscourge, and the path clearly laid with Ardyn. His future was tangled up with that of the daemonic chancellor, as much as that made him sick to think about.
His fingers tightened around his glass, and he took a sip of whiskey to hide the twitch. Meanwhile Caius went on to explain that he needed to come back to Sonora very shortly after the breakout plan. For him to do something that dangerous, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together on why he’d risk it. “That woman you mentioned who’s infected. Lumina. She lives here?” That would explain why Caius looked so pale and drawn. That told him all he needed to know about how it was going. “Is she…still okay?”From Caius’ reaction, he had a feeling the two were more than just friends, but that part was none of his business really.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Prompto actually apologized for applying to the crownsguard, but before Noctis could even unpack that, he also mentioned that people from the palace had given him a hard time. “Seriously?” He shouldn’t have been surprised. Other than Ignis and Gladio, no one had even pretended to understand his decision to move out of the citadel. He’d hoped they’d have the decency not to bother his friends about it though. Apparently not.
“You didn’t steal me from my dad,” Noctis muttered, his eyes dropping down to the ring on his finger. “The wall and the prophecy did that way before you came into the picture.” That was heavier than he usually liked to be, but it was the truth. Maintaining the wall had been slowly killing his dad, and there had been nothing Noct could do about it. Then the king had always encouraged him to live a more normal life. He had been the first prince in generations to attend a public school, and his dad hadn’t fought his decision to get his own apartment either. Noctis couldn’t say that he regretted spending time outside of the citadel, but it did hurt to remember how much he had been avoiding his father.
Still, Noct couldn’t help but laugh weakly at Prompto’s description of his first training session with Gladio. “Yeah, that’s pretty much how it goes. You’re pretty slippery at least.” It was his friend’s greatest skill on the battlefield outside of his tech skills. He’d always assumed that Ignis had helped him with that, but maybe it had developed more naturally from dodging Gladio’s blows. That would do it too.
Prompto apologized again, and this time Noctis intercepted and shook his head. “Honestly it might be better you didn’t tell me. I might have been mad,” he admitted. “Since it was already too late, I was just upset. The crownsguard don’t really quit or switch jobs. I didn’t want you to be stuck around the citadel for the rest of your life like-...”Like me.
The wine was making him far too honest. Noctis let out a slow breath before waving his hand. “I guess it doesn’t matter now that we’re here. We’re like anyone else. No princes or guards.” Just a year or two ago, it would have been everything that Noctis wanted on a silver platter. Now, with his dad dead and his kingdom in ashes, he just felt like a failure. He couldn’t even try to save Insomnia, and if Caius was to be believed, then Eos was being plunged into darkness right now. He’d never wanted to embrace responsibility so much now that he no longer had any. It was a cruel irony.
“So don’t feel like it’s all on you. We’ll find somewhere to stay here and work out what to do for Ignis and Gladio, okay?” He definitely needed to write to Caius and Alex to let them know he’d found Prompto at least.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Caius dropped down to the sand to catch his breath when Noctis did, and the prince had to laugh a little at the pair of them just huffing and puffing on the beach. They really had gone all out. Maybe more than they should have for a spar, but the kingsglaive had formally requested that he not hold back, and Noctis had wanted to oblige. He didn’t regret it either. Now he knew that calling the full armiger on Zephon drained his magic dry.
Caius bowed his head to him when Noctis complimented his skills, and then he moved to show the prince a nasty-looking scar at the very top of his chest. “Ouch,” he winced in sympathy, noting the slight glow of magic still laced in it. “Daemonic? I thought the one on my back was bad.” He didn’t often joke about it honestly—it was the wound that a Marilith had given him as a kid after attacking the car he was in. It had nearly left him paralyzed until he’d been sent to Tenebrae to heal. Luna and her mom were the only reason he could walk, let alone fight. That was another reason why everything that had happened to Tenebrae had hurt so much. Noctis had owed them his life, and he’d never been able to repay it.
Caius suggested that he continue working on the armiger with his allies, and Noctis nodded his head slowly. “Maybe I can try to get used to it. I just wasn’t expecting it to be any different than usual.” Privately he wasn’t sure if the armiger was meant to be used here with how draining it had been, but practicing with it wasn’t a bad idea. As long as he wasn’t in a situation where it would be dicey if he lost consciousness of course.
Caius barked at Vordun to stop chasing a chocobo, and Noctis leapt to his feet as soon as he laid eyes on the yellow bird with a saddle on its back. “Oh hell, the chocobo I rented.” He’d lost track of it after the initial sight of Vordun had frightened it into running down the beach, and somehow with everything that had happened he had forgotten that maybe he should have been looking for the poor bird. Finding a kingsglaive from the future had been pretty distracting after all.
After Vordun flopped down in the sand, Noctis managed to latch onto the reins and stroke the bird’s neck. “Hey, sorry buddy. I hope you’ve had an okay afternoon at least.” In an attempt to make it up to the chocobo, he pulled a handful of gysahl greens out of the armiger and let the bird munch on them as Caius came up to bid him farewell.
“Absolutely. Let me know if you ever want to spar again. Maybe I won’t even pass out on you next time,” he said with a slight grimace before getting a more serious expression. “It really was nice to meet you, Caius. I guess I’ll be heading to Sonora now. I’ll write to you if I manage to find Prompto and learn anything more about Ignis and Gladio. The Dragonblades guild, right? I’m sure I can find the address to write to you there.” He had a long journey ahead of him to the north, but it would be worth it if he could finally reunite with his friends.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Noctis had been surprised when Tifa contacted them to let them know that Caius was looking to meet up again. He hadn’t seen anything of either him or Alex since the disaster planning session that took place at the bar. The prince had been planning to reach out to both of them soon since he and Prompto were nearly done with preparations to infiltrate the prison, but he hadn’t been looking forward to it much honestly. There was a lot of bad blood between Alex and Prompto now that might never be cleared up, and then Noctis just felt like he had let Caius down. He wasn’t the king that the mercenary remembered. He knew that, but it had still hurt to see the usually calm and collected kingsglaive get riled up over how useless he was.
He wouldn’t do anything until Ignis and Gladio were safe of course, but it made him want to rethink his next steps. Noct needed to get stronger, or at least to learn more about the prophecy he was supposed to fulfill. And both of those paths seemed to lead to one person. Thoughts of finding Ardyn had been lingering in the back of his mind, but he knew better than to voice them to Prompto. His best friend would just freak out at him, and probably for good reason. Not to mention that the jailbreak came first, so Noctis had just been letting things simmer until Tifa had delivered the note.
The bell overhead signaled their arrival back at Seventh Heaven, and Noctis let out a breath of relief at the warm air that greeted them. Snow flurries blew in after them until the door was shut, so the prince did his best to scuff his boots on the mat before raising a hand to where Caius was seated in a corner booth. It was an off time in the early afternoon, so the bar was nearly empty, which gave them plenty of space to talk. Even if Noctis found himself nervous about what the topic would be. Still, he did his best to keep a neutral expression as he unzipped his coat and made his way over to the blond man.
“Hey,” he greeted the kingsglaive, sliding into the booth across from him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d gone back to Torensten for a bit or not.” He automatically scooted over to take the spot closest to the wall, having dealt with crownsguard protocol for his entire life. Come to think of it, Prompto might not have cared as much as Ignis or Gladio though if he wanted to sit in the open. It was just habit.
Drinks were already set out for both him and Prompto, and Noctis gave him a half-smile at the sight. “Thank you. I’m scared if we’re starting off with whiskey though.” That didn’t bode particularly well, but he’d let Caius take this at his own pace. Noctis took a sip of the drink, letting the liquor warm him up after the frigid walk to the bar. Ignis might have been a little unhappy that they hadn’t seen the drinks get made, but he didn’t exactly think Caius was out to poison them. He probably wanted a difficult conversation though, and that made the drink a welcome gift.
[attr=class,lyric1]i am noctis, prince of lucis and
[attr=class,lyric2]king of fishing
[attr=class,bulk] Prompto protested that being a crownsguard wasn’t a job for him, and then he made a joke that he’d never even gotten paid. Noctis nearly choked on his wine, and he brought a hand up to his face to cough a little as he laughed. “I never even thought about that. I bet the crown owes you three a fortune in back pay.” Odds are that would never get paid out though. Not unless Insomnia was restored and its economy rose from the ashes. Suddenly the joke seemed less funny when Noctis thought of it that way.
Prompto went on to say that half the time he forgot he even was a crownsguard. “I do too,” the prince admitted, glancing across the table at him. “But I think that’s a good thing. Even Gladio and Ignis make it hard to forget.” He loved them of course, but they would always put his safety and their duty above what he wanted. It was just what they’d both been raised to prioritize. Not so much with Prompto, and that was refreshing as hell when it came to his guards.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to feel when I heard you wanted to be a crownsguard,” Noctis said, rubbing the back of his neck with his gloved hand. “Not because I didn’t want you around or anything. I just…liked having someone who wasn’t connected to the palace. And I didn’t know how that would change things between us.” Not as much as he’d thought it would, and it was good that Prompto knew how to defend himself now. His worries had probably just been Noctis being self-conscious about losing the only person who was around him simply because they wanted to be. That was hard to come by when you were a prince.
Prompto brought up his vows, and Noctis glanced away as he mentioned his dad. “That’s what phoenix downs are for,” he said weakly, so he didn’t have to dwell on Prompto’s crownsguard initiation. That ceremony had been one of the last times he’d seen his dad. “I don’t mind making them. Especially if it keeps you from getting hurt.”
His friend was staring at his cocoa, and Noctis lowered his own eyes when he realized that Prompto looked close to tears. “You won’t let me down,” he said quietly. “You’ve always been there for me. Even after I threw you off a train.” He didn’t know if he wanted to talk about Ardyn now, but he was willing to touch on it. “We’re doing this together. Even if it all goes to shit, that’s not just on your shoulders. It’s on mine too.”