"Heh. It wouldn't surprise me if Vordun has been catching giant fish and hunting giant animals, perhaps even monsters, when we're apart. His power has grown along with mine, and I'm not talking about just in experience" Caius had to admit, losing himself in thoughts a moment as an idea came to him. "Perhaps you might know more. But lately it has appeared as though Vordun has become more adept in abilities beyond what one would expect from his kind. In fact, they have begun to resemble my own."

To demonstrate, Caius took a small piece off the fish, held it up to Vordun, and then with a great heave would toss it high into the air.

And then the dragon disappeared.

It was only a short distance before Vordun re-appeared again, but the blue sparks, the trail, both Caius and Noctis knew what that looked like. But seemingly blissfully unaware of what it had done, Vordun would snap up the fish in one bite before flapping his wings to glide and landing back in the sand, kicking up a storm of it in the process. Caius quickly projected a barrier to keep the sand from getting on them and the fish he was working on cooking.

"That. He can do that. I don't know when it started. But one day he wasn't there when I came home. I called for him. And there he was. He can't go far with it, not as far as I can. But the fact he can do it at all..."

Well, that would explain why Caius was hoping Noctis might know.

Noctis asked then about the technology in the Lucis that Caius came from. "I wouldn't say revert. There was just... Not a lot left of it" he admitted softly, chewing on his lip as it began to dawn on Caius that he would now have to explain just how bad things had gotten. "Ardyn transformed the Starscourge into more than just a plague. It literally blotted out the sun. Daemons became stronger than ever before, and destroyed much of Lucis. Every day was a struggle to survive, and light became precious. And scarce. As did everything else. People still had phones and things, but I was too young to own one when I lost my family and I didn't exactly have the means to buy one when I was on my own struggling just to eat."

Caius did at least smile slightly when Caius asked if he knew how to cook. "Well, mayhaps not a meal fit for a Prince. I have long since forgotten how to use cooking utensils, though Cassandra is trying to teach me. But I can cook over a fire well enough, and Cass has gracefully lent me a few spices. I may not know how to cook much, but fish is definitely one of those things."

Noctis began a question, but didn't finish it. Strange. Speaking of Cassandra though, Caius could only shrug when Noctis seemed befuddled that the story was that simple and plain. "Fools who delude themselves into thinking they are greater than they are, tend to let their delusions get away from them" was Caius' best guess. Vordun at this point had returned to sit next to the fire, watching Caius begin to roast the fish with a single, solitary focus. The dragon's eyes never left the fish, except in the few short moments that its eyes darted towards Caius as if to ask whether it was ready yet.

"I'm starting to see why the Lucian Royals need Crownsguard and Kingsglaive both" Caius cheeked at the "within reason" remark. At least seeming to find some matter of humor in the whole thing.

Noctis seemed just as befuddled as he was at seeing a dragon do that. It didn't seem like they were going to get any answers here. "A messenger? Like... The ones that the Oracle used?" Caius spoke curiously, tilting his head at the thought that Vordun could be in any way related to their own world. Despite the fact that Vordun himself had hatched on Zephon. "It's true that he looked nothing like the dragon I slew. I've assumed this whole time that it was his mother, and it was why I took the egg, but..."

It was a lot to think about with absolutely no proof of anything, so Caius didn't know if there was much use in trying to theorize on that tidbit too much. There was really no means of progressing that train of thought. And Noctis seemed to be mostly joking anyway. Meanwhile, Noctis had brought up the fact that it made no sense how either of them had their magic at all. Noctis pulled from the crystal and Caius pulled from the Noctis of his own timeline. Neither of which were in Zephon. So the next theory became the possibility that the magic was his own, and he had somehow passed it to Vordun.

"It's possible. Though it's also possible that I'm still drawing from a Lucian King in some timeline or other, and you the crystal" Caius brought up at that. "There was never really anything that covered cross-dimensional travel in the Lucian history books. If there's a distance limit, I've never heard a word about it. Though it doesn't explain how I've passed it to Vordun. You're right it was likely me, though. Vordun's abilities are more limited than that of a kingsglaive. Almost as if the conduit nature of the Power of Kings was able to pass on even when used by a borrowed vessel. If you passed it on somehow by accident, wouldn't Vordun have unrestricted abilities?"

It was all still just speculation. It posed questions of this universe that neither of them had any answers to. Or likely would get at any point.

Noctis brought up how hard it must have been to go ten years without the sun. "Almost half my lifetime. Until recently I couldn't even remember what it was like before the sun disappeared" Caius expressed at that. He didn't like thinking about his life during those ten years, but it was kind of hard to when it was the majority of your life. "The beard probably says otherwise, but I'm probably not much older than you. Which is... Still a shock. You know. Considering you were at least over a decade my senior when I signed on."

He did try to be humorous with the delivery, at least. Things had become pretty heavy. But it was true that things had been difficult. "I still get weirded out when I see a television in Sonora. I'm not used to it. I used to peek at them here and there whenever I'd refill my vehicle in Hammerhead, but that was my only exposure for most of my life. I missed out on... A lot of tech, to say the least, until I became a Kingsglaive, and after that I was too busy to enjoy it. Which is probably why Torensten was such an easy adjustment for me. There wasn't much to take away."

And that explained the cooking issue. Speaking of, Noctis claimed he was used to cup noodles and other travel treats. "Well, if you're somehow still hungry, I should have some cup noodles in the glaive. How does the little pocket dimension keep food fresh anyway? I never quite understood how that works" he asked, the slightest smile hitting as curiosity overrode everything else. Not even Alexander could hamper it. It just got a shrug out of him. "I'll believe it when I see it" Caius spoke plainly, but did nod in thanks when Noctis offered to hash it out. That was appreciated. Alexander wasn't a threat, but the rumors were getting annoying.

"If you wind up anything like your future self, you'll be a king worth serving when you meet the younger me again" Caius brought up at the topic of kingsglaive. "If you can, I'd appreciate if you can keep me from dying though. Dying's not fun."

While he didn't say it however, Caius had a feeling that when Noctis did return to Lucis he would not remember any of this. People had disappeared from here and as if trying to patch up a hole in the timeline, the world seemed to have slowly wiped the memories of those the person knew and had touched. Of course, there was no mistaking the hole where someone had once been. But if the world did that to those who knew someone once they left... Wouldn't the other way around also apply?

It was a subject of concern for Caius. Most likely, all that he knew would return to their timelines eventually. Even Celes and Yuna. Even Claire. But Caius did not have anything to return to. He was dead. Finished and gone. There was nothing for him to return to. Would he have to watch his loved ones disappear, knowing that one day they would forget him and he them, until the day he died for good?

He didn't like to think about it.

Vordun definitely didn’t hear a word Noctis was saying. That fish was sizzling and it was all the dragon was thinking about, the fact he was sitting like a dog and staring at it making that clear as day. If the drool didn’t already give it away. Caius didn’t give the messenger thing that much more thought. He had literally watched Vordun be born into this world, and the dragon didn’t seem to have any real interest in gods. In fact, all he really wanted to do was sleep, eat and collect shiny rocks most of the time. And while Caius had done some studying of Lucis’ gods in his spare time as a Kingsglaive, he didn’t have enough interest to pursue it in dedicated fashion.

Either way, it didn’t sound like Noctis knew much about how Vordun had been imbued with said abilities. Nor why they were limited compared to a human kingsglaive. The best explanation seemed to be that Caius had passed it on in some form, like a miniature conduit of his own. Though Caius did get a laugh out of the visual image of Vordun casting bigger spells or having his own glaive. “I dunno, I kinda hope he does. As terrifying as that would be, imagine how much fish he could hold in there” Caius joked at that. “Even if I’m not sure I quite trust him not to just store every branch and shiny rock he finds. His stable is littered with them. He surprisingly lets me organize them, once he realized I wasn’t throwing them out. I have heard stories of dragons having hoards, though Vordun’s is not quite what I imagined.”

He thought about the idea that Vordun being able to cast Blizzara would imply it came from Noctis, though. “I can cast Blizzara myself, though no further. And Vordun doesn’t seem capable of using anything in the same way I can. At least not yet” Caius mused aloud. “Maybe you should see if you can give kingly powers to your car instead. Many of the glaives knew about the infamous Regalia, and I had seen you use it here and there.”

Of course, Caius didn’t know that he was referring to the second model after the breakdown of the original.

Noctis was 20. Caius had figured he was around that age, but it was even younger than he expected. He was even younger than Caius was. Which was… Well, yeah. Weird. Really weird. Noctis then asked how Caius was, and perhaps it was a little bit concerning that it took him a minute or two of thought to give an answer. “Uhhh, roughly 21 or 22. I haven’t been keeping track of how Zephon’s years work” Caius had to admit. There it was. The mercenary had no idea how old he was. “But I was 18 when I signed on, served for two years. So I would have been 20 when I got here, and I feel like it has been at least a year. Maybe longer.”

Even Caius knew he didn’t quite look his age either. Peering at his reflection in the water, Caius placed a hand over his beard for a moment to indicate what he might look like without it. Surprisingly similar to the Prince himself, actually, if the early drafts of the artwork are any indication. Maybe it’s just a Lucian thing? That, or Caius was some kind of distant relative to Noctis. It’s almost impossible to have a royal bloodline literally only end up having one living person after over a century, it would take a lot of death to make that happen. And even Caius knew from the stories that many kings liked to… Well…

We’re getting a bit off track here, aren’t we?

Still. 20, huh? That was definitely going to continue to creep Caius out even more. Prompto had to be about the same, didn’t he? When did Caius become the elder of this lot? This was far from what he had expected, considering they had all been his senior by a mile before. It was another reminder of just how disjointed Caius really was from the people of his own world.

Even in familiar territory, he didn’t belong.

“She does. Her and her old man. I’ve only met them in passing, myself, just when servicing my car. I was fortunate she didn’t openly judge my car made of scrap. Gave me some pointers on how to keep it together, though” Caius responded when Noctis brought up Cindy. At this point in time, Caius hadn’t met her yet. But they would wind up getting along like a house of fire, and it would later be Caius who alerted Cindy that Noctis and Prompto were here. And then send Iris their way too.

Unfortunately for Caius, he had never thought about the angle that his life had actually been spared when he was sent here, and the universe traversal process had healed his mortal wounds. Considering he had met others who had died, he had simply assumed their souls had been brought here with restored bodies. The idea he was actually very much alive and could actually go back to Lucis should this world’s law ever choose to send him back, hadn’t occurred to him and nobody had brought that up with him either. As for Noctis’ response, Caius simply nodded in thanks as he got to work on taking the fish off the fire.

He'd done well for himself? While the topic of his death still hung over his head, he did appreciate that Noctis thought so. It was almost affirming, all the things he had done. To know that his liege approved in some measure. He listened as Noctis took a guess at how the glaive kept things fresh. He supposed it made sense. But then Noctis brought plates and silverware from the glaive, and Caius made a face.

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

Because aside from dinner dates and things, Caius had barely used either of those things in a decade, that’s why. He was too used to having to live off the land, or scrounge what he could. And make do with what he had available to him. It had just never occurred to him.

Caius did however, have a hunting knife for cutting the fish into proper portions. But considering the size of the fish, it at first looked like the hunting knife might not be enough. Fortunately, Caius had planned for that too. “Fire” he muttered as the edge of the hunting knife was given a light coating of flame. Just enough to heat the blade to make cutting easier. With that, he got to work. The first thing he did was cut some seriously big portions for Vordun, in order to keep the dragon from drooling all over their food. Or worse, stealing it outright. The goal was obviously to ensure Vordun was full and satisfied right away, and to keep him occupied for a good while. Once Caius handed the oversized portion to Vordun, the dragon took it and wandered a short distance away to eat. The portion was too big for Vordun to just snap up, which meant there was going to be some time spent chewing and gnawing on it.

“That shall get him out of the way for a little while” Caius explained to Noctis as he then got to work on their own portions. Noctis’ first, then Caius.

Notably, Caius organized Noctis’ plate of fish a bit more neatly than his own.

There was plenty of fish to go around though. Room for seconds, thirds, forths, fifths… And still enough to pack for home if they went all the way to fifths. Once Caius had finished his own, he dug in quickly. Betraying just how hungry the glaive had actually been from behind his stoic exterior. For a time, there was a bit of quiet as they ate, and Caius had a chance to reflect on how surreal this was. Finally seeing Noctis again, even if things were different. Being able to go and help with busting out his former co-workers for his King in Sonora, actually being able to fulfill his former duties again. It was all pretty crazy, wasn’t it? It was reckless, but he'd do what he had to do for Noctis. Though on the question of reckless, he had to wonder. What would Celes think?

She would say…

Oh.

A thought occurred to him, and a frown came with it as he ate quietly. After some time, Caius let out a sigh. Knowing he needed to speak up.

“There is one issue. Regarding our Sonora plan” Caius brought up finally. “While I can aid however possible. I just realized, I should not be a part of the physical assault itself. So to say, I should not be present at the prison itself.”

Caius chewed the inside of his mouth bitterly. He didn’t like this. Not one bit. But…

“Sonora is a horrible place, run by horrible people. I have no qualms about sticking it to them. I can handle myself should my identity be discovered and bring Sonora’s fellows my way for retribution. However, I am no longer able to think about just myself any longer.”

He found himself glaring at his own reflection by the water. He hated himself for saying this. For feeling like this. For feeling like he was shirking the oath he had sworn.

“If I am recognized, it will cause more trouble for the Dragonblades than I have already brought upon them. You have my sincerest apologies, but I have to look out for them. Just as the people of Lucis were before, they are my people now. I know that this marks me a failure as a Kingsglaive by not being there to aid my King directly, but my duty to them come first.”

It was a difficult position to be in. Caius had never imagined his honor as a Kingsglaive and his duties to the Dragonblades would conflict like this. But he had to do the right thing, even if it made him sick to leave Noctis without his protection in the middle of a Sonoran prison.

It was his responsibility as a leader to put his people first.

“I will however be in Sonora when the time comes. If you still desire my presence. I will continue to do all I can to aid you in preparing for what is to come, and when it does. I hope I can still find a role to play.”

At least Caius seemed fairly cool with the idea that Vordun could potentially develop the ability to use the glaive. Not that Caius thought he would, it seemed like those powers were being capped somehow by the fin-kle forces of this universe. But Noctis seemed surprised when Caius brought up the Regalia as though it were something still going in his time. "I never knew it was broken" Caius remarked, blinking a few times when Noctis, with great surprise, asked as to whether they had fixed it. It was severely vague as to whether Cindy had found and salvaged the vehicle in order to be repaired, or if the grease monkey goddess had just straight up built a new one from memory on the oft chance that Noctis would actually return in ten years. Curse those plot holes. Either way, Caius was not privy to this information. He had seen Noctis driving the thing around Insomnia carrying out tasks for the Kingsglaive before they began the final assault on the Citadel. That's all he knew.

Of course, Caius had no reason to think Noctis weird for his concern over a car. "Have to wonder what happened to mine when I was sent here. Probably junked for spare parts, wasting all my work building the thing" the mercenary quietly mused aloud. "It was far from being in Regalia-scale condition, to say the least. Wasn't very pretty. But it helped me survive where I wouldn't have otherwise. And it was the only company for miles."

Caius identified far more with animals nowadays, but he still had a soft spot for that pile of junk. It had been his only real friend for all those years.

Caius couldn't help a stifled laugh when Noctis clearly looked aghast at his revelation of his age. "I get that a lot" he admitted. Sure, not many of the bigger members had the courage to actually ask for his age, including Celes. But some of the newer recruits had asked. Strangely enough, a fair few had all asked around the time of that blind dating event... Strange coincidence, that. Either way, Caius wasn't too shocked by the reaction. And he laughed a bit more when Noctis remarked about Cid still being alive. "Cindy's taken over Hammerhead nowadays, but I've not been there a day that didn't involve seeing him tinkering in a corner somewhere" Caius elaborated. "Guess hard work can make you live forever if you're stubborn enough not to die."

There was a long period where Caius was content to eat and actually enjoy the meal. It had been a long and eventful day, so a hot meal was definitely the stuff to perk him up. Noctis, eating far from how a King should be, complimented him, and Caius smiled slightly in thanks. His mouth was full, so a thank you wasn't really the best idea right now. He was sure that Noctis was just flattering him, but it made him feel proud nonetheless.

Of course, then came the revelation and Caius' decision. Noctis was disappointed, but... Also understanding. "Thank you" he spoke softly at that. "Not just for understanding, but for trying to make me feel better about it. I know that things are... Different, here. But my oath still feels real to me, no matter if you're older or younger. The Lucian Kings will always have my blade" Caius did his best to elaborate. "I will consider ways to be useful in the coming fight. I may not be able to fight directly, but I have no intentions of being a mere spectator."