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year 5, quarter 3
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The moment Prompto shouted back and Alex essentially said 'Oh ho. Hold my linkshell,’ she knew. He was going to step on everything and smash those building blocks. Just like a child. Could neither of these two talk to each other like adults? They were adults weren’t they? After his asshole piece was said, Matoya was left scowling at the door behind him. She thought about having her Poroggos shoot Alex in the bottom or knock down another door. Just so he’d have SOMETHING ELSE to be mad at. [break][break] But, she decided against such antics as he rushed out the door. After all, who would go fetch the tea if she decided to make his life miserable? [break][break] Instead, she focused on Prompto who was already a nervous wreck to begin with. He completely lost all composure at the reminder of Lunafreya's death. It sounded like she had something to do with this Noctis. A significant other, perhaps, by what Alex had insinuated. She let Prompto grouch and pace without interruption. If she was ever going to get this over with, she needed him to get everything off his chest and calm down. [break][break] “Those close to us can exit our life without warning.” She said softly. “Whether or not you were better, it was her time to go.” She continued gruffly. People needed to open their eyes when they walked their paths. Death would happen. If you chose to fight a war, then even more of it would occur. Best be ready for it. She huffed a sigh and shook her head. “Is this how she wants you to act over her death? Isn’t there a task she left that only you can do?” [break][break] She let the questions linger in the air. There was silence abound. “I’m sure she’d want you to do what you could for those she left behind.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] ”Her...time?” Prompto looked up to see Matoya watching him patiently. She didn’t have to talk him down like this. She really didn’t, but it helped anyway. Prompto sniffed and wiped his eye with the back of his hand. It wasn’t Lunafreya’s time. She’d been murdered. But he didn’t want to argue with a nice old lady just trying to tell him what she thought he needed to hear.
It had all come out of nowhere. Bringing up Luna like that right out of the blue. Why would anyone…?
’Hips to die for, Prompto!’
He shuddered. Something wasn’t right with Alex. He hoped not so secretly that he wouldn’t come back for a while.
”I don’t know what Luna would have wanted,” Prompto said slowly. ”But...I guess it’s to look out for Noctis, right? Which means I’ve got to pull myself together.”
Which was a lot easier said than done. Prompto could only pull himself half together at the best of times. Some Crownsguard he’d turned out to be…
”It’s just...real hard. A lot of stuff happened, and Alex…” Prompto glanced back at the door. ”I want to like him. He’s helped me out a lot, and I mean, he even brought you here! But...the way he talks sometimes…”
Prompto shook his head and fell heavily into the chair across from her. ”I think maybe once I’m done here, I’ll strike out on my own. I mean, I’ve got to if you help me find Noct.” He rubbed his neck then paused, realized he was fidgeting, and forced himself to stop. Eyes on the road. No distractions.
”Noct…” Prompto sat up straight and took a long, deep breath. They were linked, him and Noct. There was a thread of magic between them so strong that the old lady could see it without even trying. He had to trust that she was right.
He knew that she was right.
”Okay. I’m ready.” Prompto looked at her as seriously as he could manage. ”I’m focused so just...tell me what to do.”
Matoya was not one for soothing words or comforting pats on the back. Besides, she had been standing most the day, so her knees would have angrily protested if she got up. So she stayed in her seat, letting Prompto come to his own conclusions. After all, she did not know the person in question or his situation. There was nothing more she could say to help. Hopefully, Alex at least UNDERSTOOD, he should stay out now. After all, he just cost Prompto one way to ANCHOR back to his current body. [break][break] She said nothing as Prompto talked himself down. Her own eyes followed his glance to the door Alex exited, as Prompto vented that the owner of the building was ‘not right’. “You mean he talks like an unfiltered, clodhopping bull in a china shop.” Then again, she did not mean to insult Raubahn - who was quite the respectable man with the brawn to back his words. Her eyes turned back to Prompto and saw that maybe, even if he cried himself to sleep at night, he had some spark of fire to keep him by the side of the person who needed him the most. [break][break] The portal was open before him. The hum of magic filled the stillness. The ball continued to shed its violet-white light and the magic sigils seemed to have a gentle float on an axis about it. It had been open and waiting for him this whole time during the drama. [break][break] She huffed. No one even seemed to give the display a thought in their argument. Don't mind the astral world being wide open with possible otherwordly beings able to slip through. Nope. Go ahead and be petty with each other. [break][break] Now she had to repeat herself. She would scold Alex later. As Prompto stared at her, the aether in the crystal shimmered with the indecipherable whispers. Images, shapes, colors...it seemed to flash too quickly though it was difficult to tell if it was the mind's eyes or in the ball itself. [break][break] “Reach out your hand to the eye’s gateway.” She repeated gruffly. “Close your eyes and focus on the magic you received. Focus on how it feels and then think only of how it binds you to the others.” The crystal would open the way, as long as he did not stray from the path. “Think of nothing else.” [break][break] When he needed to return, he hopefully found his way back. Or she would try to discern if it had been too long, and would try to instruct him back.
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] She was amazing.
That’s all he could think in that first moment when she started her magic. Matoya sure did look like an old witch who lived in the middle of the woods, and boy if that wasn’t the right impression. As soon as the crystal ball (or eye as she’d called it) came to life, it was like something right out of a movie.
Prompto didn’t know much about magic. It was just what he used to call his weapons into his hand, but he thought he could feel something different in the space between him. It was like a sixth sense he hadn’t known he had. He couldn’t say he heard it, exactly, but if he could, it would sound like the purr of an engine. It felt like he’d fallen asleep in the back of the Regalia while Ignis was driving, and he had no idea where he was going or what the world looked like as it flew by, but he knew they were going somewhere, and he just had to trust the driver that they’d end up in the right place.
It felt like that, he thought. Magic.
”Reach out your hand to the eye’s gateway,” the witch said. ”Close your eyes and focus on the magic you received. Focus on how it feels and then think only of how it binds you to the others. Think of nothing else.”
’Think of nothing else.’ It was like when Ignis had tried to teach him meditation and he just couldn’t get the hang of it. He’d sat there cross-legged for the better part of an hour trying really hard not to think, but then all he could think about was trying not to think and then his thoughts had chugged along to wherever else they wanted to go anyway.
But she wasn’t asking him not to think, was she? She was asking him not to think about anything but Noctis. He could do that. He already did it on his own most days anyway.
Noctis. He had to think about Noctis. He had to find their bond, that wisp of magic he’d been given the day he became a crownguard. Prompto knew that feeling. It was warm and strange and foreign, but it felt like Noctis was right there beside him, and if he could only reach out…
Prompto closed his eyes, took a breath and held out his hand.
The portal thrummed in answer. The engine revved and switched gears. Then he was off.
Prompto didn’t have words for what happened next. It was fast and bright and wasn’t at all like sleeping in the back of a car. No, it was more like he’d fallen off the back and was clinging onto it for dear life, screaming for Ignis to pull over. There were lights and sigils and a whole world of color zooming past, and if he could just stop to look at them properly, maybe he could-
Noctis. He had to find Noctis. Only Noctis.
The car, he came to realize, wasn’t just some metaphorical thing he came up with in his head. It was made of magic, his magic. It was like a bullet train dragging him along the tracks that linked him straight to the source. Was this what the witch had seen, always there but always just out of sight? No wonder the witch had trusted him to make it where it was headed. He didn’t think he could have derailed it if he’d tried. Though maybe if he really tried…
Nope. Bad idea. He had to only think about Noctis. He had to find Noctis. Somewhere.
Somewhere…
He saw somewhere that looked like outer space flash like an echo in front of him. Time was slow here. It seemed to drift by in a sparkle of lights and muted sounds-
(the crystal)
-then the car skipped a beat and he was somewhere cold and covered in muddy snow. He came from the sky, he thought, circling above it like a vulture. There was slush and rock and blinding white on the mountain tops, and down below him, a circle of gray. It looked like Niflheim, he thought, but the magic told him that wasn’t quite right either. The train wasn’t moving anymore. It had left him here, right here, floating above some icy wasteland in the middle of nowhere.
Had he done it wrong?
The thought chilled him worse than any snow. He’d messed up. That must have been it. He hadn’t focused hard enough and now he was lost and he’d never find Noctis and would he ever get back? What would happen if he didn’t? Would he-?
The world shook around him, trembling like an earthquake, and he yelped in fear. It was in that moment that he saw something flash before him. It was like a ribbon, thin and wavering. It wasn’t like the one he’d seen before, strong enough to hold like train tracks, but it was there all the same, and it led down.
The world gave another shudder and Prompto grabbed the thread like a life buoy to shore. It didn’t matter where it led. As long as it wasn’t here.
He descended slowly this time like a balloon losing helium. That little gray circle in the snow grew larger and larger as he approached, and the details popped steadily into focus. There were towers, looming up out of the darkness with spotlights. The circle was really a wall sealed up tight and made out of stone. He thought he saw something shimmering over it, a kind of dome made out of glass, and he shivered as he passed straight through.
What was this place? He didn’t know. He didn’t think he wanted to be here.
The yard looked like somewhere Prompto might have seen in a movie about hardened prisoners or maybe a documentary that made him too sad to watch about what happened to soldiers taken by Niflheim. It looked like it had snowed here recently, but now it was all trampled down into gray, slushy mud. There were people here, milling around aimlessly. They looked bad. Some of the men were big and bulging with tattooed arms. Others were way too thin. They all wore the same clothes that were only a little better than rags.
Why was he here? Where had the magic led him? There had to be some kind of mistake. Noctis couldn’t be…
Not Noctis. This magic felt like it had once been Noctis, but it wasn’t anymore. It was something else -- someone else that felt familiar all the same, and as he followed the thread closer and closer to the dismal ground, he felt his heart pound faster as slow realization hit him and then he saw-
”Ignis?
His voice didn’t sound right. It sounded far away as though through water, but that didn’t matter because there, right in front of him, was Ignis. He was tall and willowy and way too skinny and nothing like the put together, “always had it under control” Specs that Prompto knew except for the scar that ravaged its way across one of his eyes and the shaded glasses that kept his glazed eyes hidden.
Ignis. He was here. What was he doing here? In...prison? Was it prison? It didn’t look like any he’d seen before but here was Specs blind and cold and standing next to someone who was built like an ox and looked a lot like Gladio but couldn’t be because…
Because…
”Oh no…”
The magic connected to all of them. There was the thread of magic, and he saw it all. One for Ignis, one for Prompto, and one for Gladiolus, all bonded together by the power of a Lucian king.
They looked bad. They looked real, real bad.
”Hey! Guys!” Prompto tried to shout for them, but they couldn’t hear him, and he couldn’t hear them. Not really. They were talking about something. Fights? Drugs? It didn’t matter. Prompto tried to reach out for Ignis, and his hand passed straight through.
”Guys.” Prompto bit his lip. He was standing beside them now, and he could see every detail. He saw Gladio’s limp as he walked, his strange deformed ears, all the news scars and bruises that were normal for a guy like him but were way too much now. What kind of place was this? How had they come here? Why couldn’t they get out?
”I-I’ll find you. I promise. So just...just stay tight, okay?”
They kept talking, looking past him like he wasn’t even there. He guessed that he wasn’t, really. He felt like he wanted to cry.
No. Stay focused. Keep your eyes on the road.
Where was he? A prison in the middle of somewhere that snowed. He could see the sun which meant that they weren’t on Eos. It had to be Sonora then. He looked for any signs that might tell him more, but there weren’t any. He saw some guards walking along the walls holding assault rifles. Sticking out of one of the towers, he saw a gatling gun aimed towards the outside. From here, he could see that the glass dome he’d passed wasn’t really glass at all. It was made of light all threaded together like a quilt. More magic?
That was all he could see from here, and he was afraid to let go of the thread to try to find more. Prompto bit his lip and turned to his friends again. It was good to see them, but he wished it was anywhere but here.
He didn’t know if they’d last much longer.
”Hey,” he said again. ”I’ll come back for you. I promise. So just...make it until I get here, okay? Stand tall…” He felt his voice crack, and he looked away. ”You trust me, right?”
He didn’t know if they did. He didn’t know if he trusted himself either.
Prompto took a deep breath and squared himself in front of them. He put a hand on each of their shoulders, and though they couldn’t feel him there, it felt right somehow. ”I promise,” he said again and then looked up at the ribbon of magic trailing through the sky. He just had to grab hold of it and then…
And then…
The train had started again, and he was screaming through the sky, past the icy mountain tops, past that strange space in the stars, back to the world of streaming lights and sounds and he held on tight.
It was time to go back. He had to make it back to his body. He had to save them…
The engine roared, stalled, and then died down to a low thrum. His head felt heavy. The world was dark. Why was it dark?
Oh right. His eyes were still closed.
He took a jagged breath and slowly opened them. The front room of Alex’s house swam into view. There was the bar and the table and the vase of flowers that were really weeds. And there was Matoya and her crystal eye. He breathed in sharply then choked on the air and doubled over, coughing. His eyes swelled hot with tears.
”They’re-!” he started and then broke down into more coughs. ”They’re hurt! And trapped and-!” He gasped a few mouthfuls of air and then shuddered. ”My friends! I-I have to help them!”
It boiled over. His temper, and the tea. He'd heated the water too fast. "Ugh!" He groaned, before his temper turned towards Prompto. "What. Is. With that guy?" He asked himself. "I'm trying to be nice to him! Give him a place to stay, food to eat. Kid's obviously lost, and he accuses me of lying to him!" Which, well, he was. By omission at least. He breathed, put another pot of water on the stove, and used a fire spell to heat it. "I mean, yeah. He's lost. Gets chased in Sonora, and here you ride in at the perfect moment to save the day, oh and you have a link to his world. Of course he's going to mistrust you, you are just too good to be true. It's amazing he doesn't think you set that up." He countered himself. It was a way for him to sort out his thoughts. Thank the Twelve he did it in private, he didn't want people to think he was nuts on top of everything else.
The water came to a boil momentarily before he threw some tea bags in. It was the best he could do without the Kettle Nexus. "He could at least show a little trust, though." As he looked at another pot for Prompto. Now that he thought about it, he doubted Prompto would like tea all that much. "Although what you did say was uncalled for." He grumbled, shuffling around in a cupboard above the stove as he pulled out a couple bars of chocolate. Following this up, he took a few steps over to a fridge, opening it to grab a carton of milk, chilled by a large block of ice down below. Feeling the brief chill air escaping, he cast a small ice spell before closing it. He'd have to do it again before it was all done. "For all you know, maybe they are and you're bringing up some history that's a bit raw. You never did ask Noct about Eosian... Courting? Romance? Mating? Customs. Maybe the Crownsguard really does double as like, a battle harem. Maybe you should ask Noct next time you see him, ever think of that? Learn about their culture a bit." A quick fire spell to flash heat the milk... a quick aero stirred it, he didn't want to burn the milk.
This totally wasn't an... oh who was he kidding. It was definitely Cocoa of Sorriness. He sighed in resignation as he dropped two bars in, heating and stirring to melt it evenly into the milk. "... I'll say sorry later. In private. Matoya would never let me hear the end of it otherwise, 'oh he's swallowing his pride' like saying sorry would make me puke blood. For now, he'll just have to make do with this." He remarked, pulling a mug out from a cupboard to his right and pouring some of the cocoa in. For extra measure, he ducked down, opening another and pulling out a bag of marshmallows. He frowned. He didn't have the small marshmallows, Prompto would just have to accept two larger ones being dropped into the hot chocolate. Looking at the pot and noticing some remaining, he was tempted to drink it for himself, but thought better of it as he grabbed a thermos, pouring it in. Matoya's tea should be just about done. It'd be awful, he was sure. No tea would ever compare to that brewed in the Kettle Nexus, but Matoya would have to make do. He poured it into a cup, tucked the thermos between his arm and chest, picked up the cup and mug, and barged back out with his shoulder to push the door.
Quietly, because even he knew better than to interrupt things now, he stepped back in, placing the cup of tea down in front of Matoya and mouthing an apology. He'd have to find Ifrit, Garuda, and Titan here. Or some equivalent to those three. As for Prompto, he waited. Quietly. Stepping back and waiting behind him. He jumped a little when Prompto returned and so violently, too. He said nothing for a moment, letting Prompto have his moment. Hurt. Trapped. Danger. He had to help. That'd do. He reached over Prompto's shoulder from behind, placing the mug of cocoa in front of him, followed by the thermos for when the mug was emptied. "Well, yeah, of course you do. First things first; take a moment and recenter." He pointed at the cocoa. "You just traveled amongst the aetherflow, I'm sure you're overwhelmed." He walked a few feet away, grabbing a chair, its legs scraping against the wood as he dragged it to the table.
He paused for a moment. Maybe if he sat more like the people Prompto's age... he grabbed the chair, turning it around and sitting down, resting his arms on the back. "When you can, tell us what you saw." This made him look more trustworthy, right?
Matoya ground her back teeth. He wasn’t ready for this. The aether took him. She knew the exact moment when he went limp and his blank eyes closed. The light shed by the crystal illuminated him little more than a zombie. The wrinkles in the corner of her eyes deepened as she turned to watch the aether swirl in the crystal eye. Pictures and flashes were shown to her, but in the end she could not see what he was going through. He was on his own. [break][break] Too long. He was in the aether too long. Matoya could force his mind back, but there was no guarantee it would be whole. He had to come back on his own to ensure that. She huffed as she drew her brows together and waited. There was relief when he finally opened his eyes, but she could see the disorientation in his eyes. She was about to shout for Alex to get over his grudge and hurry up with the tea. But he was already there. [break][break] Quickly, she stood as she circled her staff widdershins around the ball. She closed her eyes and made a few guttural incantations. Etheric chains came up around the ball and seized its light before vanishing. The eye stopped its magical humming. The gates to the aether were closed once more. [break][break] “One thing at a time.” She growled at Prompto. Alex approached and she gave him a side glare, as he mouthed an apology to her. She gave a soft harumph, and said nothing more on the matter. It was clear he was sorry. Though the concoctions in her cup… [break][break] She wished she had her old tea garden again. [break][break] She simply stared, unimpressed with Prompto’s outburst. It seemed this was more Alex’s lane. Trying to be helpful to someone, even if he was a little off putting with his eccentric behavior. Matoya had finished her work. “Drinking something of the material plane will reground you.” She huffed as she stared at his hot cocoa. “You can’t help them half here. Do you know their location?”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Alex was behind him. Prompto almost jumped out of his chair, but his limbs didn’t quite work right so he just let out a half-strangled yelp. Alex was behind him. Alex had...something. That something was on the table now. Did he smell...chocolate?
Take a moment. Recenter. That’s what Alex said. Prompto tried.
He wasn’t good at it.
”Y-yeah.” Prompto felt a chill go through him as the humming finally, blessedly stopped. The room felt quiet without it.
”Drinking something of the material plane will reground you,” Matoya growled. Prompto blinked at her stupidly.
”Drink...something?” Then his eyes landed on the thing Alex had left on the table. It was a mug. Full of something that smelled like chocolate. ”O-oh! Yeah. Yeah, I get you.” He grabbed the mug and held it in both of his hands. It was warm. He hadn’t realized how cold his fingers were until now.
”When you can, tell us what you saw.” Alex was sitting a little ways away on a chair he’d turned backwards, his arms folded on the chair’s back. He looked real casual and confident, sitting like that. How long had he been there?
”What I saw…” Prompto looked down into his mug. It felt like something he could hold onto, like maybe if he held tightly enough, he wouldn’t be sent screaming off into the void again.
He swallowed.
”I saw…” Words that had been ready to tumble out of his mouth just a minute earlier were slow to come now. He didn’t know what to tell them. What he’d seen would have sounded crazy if they hadn’t been the ones to send him there, but they had so it shouldn’t have been a big deal, telling them about it.
One thing at a time.
”I saw...a lot.” He gave a short, painful laugh. ”It was kind of scary, hurtling around like that. I...didn’t find Noctis.”
That was the first part, but it wasn’t the most important. He felt his chest tighten with panic.
”But Gladio and Ignis! I saw them. And they’re…” Prompto’s eyes felt hot so he rubbed them with the back of his gloved hand. Stupid. He was being stupid.
”They need help,” he said. ”They’re somewhere cold. There was snow. And mountains…” He’d taken a minute to look at all the details, hadn’t he? So what could he make of it now? ”It was Sonora. It had to be! You know anywhere else with snow this time of year?” It was a question he didn’t expect an answer to. He hadn’t been a whole lot of places in this weird world yet, but he’d heard about a lot of places, and Sonora was the cold one. That was obvious.
”They were in a prison,” he said slowly. ”They looked...bad.”
That was one word for it. He felt sick just thinking about it.
”Gladio and Ignis...They’re my friends. The other crownsguard, you know? I’ve got to help them. I promised…” It was a promise they couldn’t hear, but that didn’t matter. Prompto had heard, and he’d remember it until the second they were free.
”Th-thanks. For helping me.” He inclined his head towards Matoya in a kind of half-bow before he looked at her earnestly. ”Really. Thanks.”
The mug was hot enough that his hands felt like they might burn up. He looked down at it in surprise then smiled at the familiar creamy brown inside. ”Is this hot cocoa? Wow.” He sipped it carefully, humming at the sweet taste of chocolate. It was good. Really good.
”Thanks,” he said again. ”Can’t be sad with cocoa, right?”
Matoya calmly watched Prompto as the warmth returned to him with each sip of his cocoa. The color came back to his complexion as his astral form resettled into his body. She closed her eyes, seemingly needing to ‘rest her eyes’ in her old age. She could sense the grip of the astral plane slowly relinquish it’s grip from him now that the portal had been closed. It seemed he had indeed come back in one piece. When he spoke coherently, she could finally settle in her chair, a little more relaxed. At least, as relaxed as the old witch could get. [break][break] She sipped on the provided tea as she listened. The leaves were still steeping, so she simply enjoyed the warmth of it. [break][break] “Sometimes the journey doesn’t show you what you want. But it shows you what you need to see.” And his friends in trouble certainly warranted something that he needed to resolve. Matoya had less answers for him. She had not travelled Zephon enough to know the location he described. That bugged her greatly. She would need to find the nearest library to reground herself to this world. [break][break] Though, Matoya kept one question to herself. Why were they in prison to begin with? She doubted the answer would deter him. At least, not with the kind of connection he shared with them. [break][break] Then, he turned to thank her. Her eyes widened briefly in surprise, then a small smirk spread on her lips. “Ah. The young man has manners. Maybe you can teach Alex a bit of that.” She was dryly joking of course, her expression clearly showing that. [break][break] She set her finished tea down and stood up. The chair scraped across the floor. “Well, my task is complete. The rest is left in your hands.” She generally did not aid in personal affairs unless some calamity was going to end civilization in some way. [break][break] As if on command, Poroggo came out to meet with her. One was more bruised than the other after the cat attack, but relatively patched up. She only gave a nod to Alex. He generally had a knack for finding her when she was needed. “I will put the price of my services on Alex’s tab.” Another wry grin, before she turned to leave for the door. There was much for her to do while in town.
Alex said nothing. Listening as intently as he could, and occasionally tossing a glance at the cocoa. Did Prompto actually not like cocoa? That would've been absurd, who didn't like cocoa? But the news he heard wasn't good. Mostly. Ignis and Gladio were here, that was a good thing! The bad thing was that they were all in some prison. In Sonora. Alex mentally sighed a bit. Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto all got in trouble with Sonora? Why do I have a feeling that I'll be dragging Noctis out of a fire there if I find him? So far they were three for three, might as well see if they could go four for four, right? But Alex mentally made a note to head to Sonora, maybe find an info broker who could find out something about the prison. Especially before Prompto potentially did something stupid like kill a guard to get in. Though in that case, could he just use the Soul Crystal to yoink him out?
Alex reached into his pocket, pulling the orange, sun themed crystal out and looking at it in the palm of his hand. He thought about trying it to see if he could drag Cassandra back from the Dragonblades... and of course see if the crystal worked. That was the real reason, yes. Best to find out about the Help Button now than when he needed help. Alas, he was pulled away as Prompto finally noticed the treat, shoving the crystal back into his pocket. The cocoa worked? Holy shit the cocoa work--Well, of course it worked. Alex was brilliant and talented and good with people and has never once given anyone any cause to doubt otherwise, why wouldn't it have worked? "You'd have to try pretty hard. There's more in the thermos but ah, no marshmallows, I'm afraid." Don't press it or say something dumb, he'd done enough of that today. There was no reason to spoil this step forward with three steps back.
There was a soft chuckle at Matoya's barb about manners. Okay, fine. "Do not test me, Matoya. I still know Frog Legs. And I'm sure your Poroggos would be delighted for me to give a performance." Frog Legs. It was an incantation like song, picked up from the Poroggo themselves as a Blue Magic spell. To the Poroggos? It was a toe-tapping delight. To literally everything else, it sounded like, as he had heard it once; "a frog being run over by a carriage." He didn't get it. Personally, Alex liked it. Of course, Alex, master of strategy, used this song to its greatest potential; aggravating anything and everything around. It was really handy when you were the one soaking up the ire, which was deceptively often, considering Alex's job. But he nodded his head. "Just make yourself at home. Help yourself to the kitchen when you get hungry, and we'll get a nice bed ready for you." And then she was gone. "There are times, Prompto, when I wonder where Y'shtola gets it from, then I remember."
How was Y'shtola doing? He had no idea.
He wasn't going to overstay his welcome. Mainly because he could already tell he'd probably say something dumb in the next few seconds. Giving Prompto a hard slap on the shoulder, he just spoke rather casually. "Take it easy, get a plan going, and we'll figure it out from there." Truth be told, he'd work on one himself as a just in case. But part of him really preferred Prompto to take charge for something so... personal. He headed to the open space where the front door had once been. Thanks, Matoya. Maybe get some espresso. Things were on a high note right now, so let it stay that way. It seemed to reflect in his mood though, as he began to recite a musical incantation to himself, one he seemed to enjoy.
It sounded like a frog being run over by a carriage.
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] The witch smiled at him. Kind of. It was a dry, crooked smile that made it feel like something bad was going to happen. But he was back now and everything had gone like she’d said it would so he didn’t know what else bad could happen. So he just smiled back. Apparently, she didn’t think that Alex had great manners either.
”You’re leaving?” he asked as she stood. All at once, the frogs were back to accompany her like the world’s weirdest guard. He squinted at them. They were definitely frogs, but like a frog in a cartoon. It walked around and stuff. Kind of like a frog butler, he thought, which would have been just fine on tv but in real life was super weird.
He wondered if he’d hit his head and this was all just a really, really long dream.
Alex threatened her with something called “frog legs.” Ignis had made them all toadsteak sometimes. Did Alex want to cook for her? That didn’t sound right, but maybe he was a really bad cook.
Prompto’s head still felt pretty loopy.
”Bye!” he called out to her as she shuffled out the door. Then he was left alone with Alex and his thoughts. He didn’t know where his thoughts were going. Alex, on the other hand, seemed…nicer.
”Take it easy, get a plan going, and we’ll figure it out from there,” Alex said as he clapped Prompto on the shoulder. It felt like something Gladio would have done. Prompto felt his stomach twist.
”Y-yeah. Got to get a plan.”
Alex left, humming to himself, and Prompto sat there, dazed and confused. A plan. He needed a plan. And he needed it now.
Prompto let out a long breath and stood on shaky legs. Ignis and Gladio, wherever they were, they were in trouble. He didn’t have time to sit around. It would take a lot to find them and even more to rescue them. He’d infiltrated military bases before. He’d even done one by himself in the cold. He didn’t like to think about that one.
”I can do this,” Prompto muttered to himself, and then because he didn’t really believe it for the first time, he said it again. ”I can do this!”
Yeah. That sounded better.
He needed to find them. He needed friends. Friends, he realized, that were not Alex. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Alex could help – he knew Alex could do all kinds of amazing things. It wasn’t that he thought Alex wouldn’t help when he’d done so much for him already. It was more like…he didn’t think Alex should help. This was personal business. Dangerous business too. It’d be a miracle if someone didn’t get hurt, helping him on this one, and if that person was just there because of him...
Prompto would never live it down. That’d be the worst feeling in the world. If Alex got hurt trying to help him. They didn’t really make the best team anyway.
Prompto rummaged around in the cabinets behind the bar until he found a pen and piece of paper. Once he had that, it was just a matter of writing it down.
’Dear Alex,’ he wrote in a style that his teachers had called messy chicken-scratch. ’Thanks for helping today. I mean it. What you did meant a lot. Because of you, I know where to find my friends. They need me. I can’t sit still and do nothing.
’I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. If you hadn’t shown up in Sonora, I don’t know what would have happened! Sorry I couldn’t ever pay you back for that one. Maybe someday when I get back. I really owe you one.
’That’s why I’ve got to go alone. It wouldn’t be fair, asking you to do more for me. I’ve got a lead on someone else from Eos who might help. I met a friend in Torensten while you were gone. I think I’ll ask her about her friend from the Kingsglaive. I don’t want anyone getting hurt cause they wanted to help me out, but if this guy’s a Glaive, maybe he’d know Gladio and Ignis and will want to help anyway. This is my problem. I can’t have you getting shot at for me.’
Prompto paused, biting thoughtfully at his tongue. Then he added, ’Thank Matoya for me when you see her. And thanks again. For everything.
’- Prompto’
He read it over again for any mistakes, crossed out a few words he’d spelled wrong, then left the paper on the bar countertop. Alex couldn’t miss it there. Not with all the time he spent cleaning glasses.
With that done, Prompto went back to his room and packed up his things in a backpack he’d found in a box somewhere. He didn’t really have many things of his own, but he didn’t think Alex would mind if he borrowed some supplies for the road. That’s what he was doing. “Borrowing.” Because he’d pay it back someday if he got out of this alive. If he didn’t then he guessed it was stealing, but he didn’t like to think of it that way so he didn’t.
He borrowed a tent, a sleeping bag, a fire-starting kit, and enough food for the journey. He could pay all that back easy. So it wasn’t wrong. Not even a little.
He just had to keep telling himself that until it came true.
He left within the hour. By sunset, he was out of Provo and started down the road to Torensten. He didn’t have enough gil for an airship or a chocobo. But he was moving, and that was what mattered.
”Don’t worry guys,” he muttered to himself as he shifted the weight of his backpack and quickened his pace. ”I’m coming for you.”
