hadriel_logs | am I the caller of your keep

Entry tags:

am I the caller of your keep

Who: Guardsmen & you!
What: A open catch-all for the Guard HQ for the month.
Where: Guard HQ
When: March 10th – April 9th
Warnings: TBA

A month after construction finished, the Guard HQ is in great shape. While it retains an air of newness, it's also starting to look settled into.

A sofa by the entrance, in clear sight of the office off to the right, provides a place for visitors to wait if they wish to speak with a guardsman. The office itself is made up of a variety of scavenged tables and chairs, inconsistent in style but providing every guardsman a space to do paperwork and occupy while manning headquarters. Beyond the office is a small meeting room, as well as a separate lounge for guardsmen to socialise and eat in, filled with a handful of comfortable chairs and a low table. Off to the left side of the building is a large, open training area, for guardsmen to train, spar and offer lessons within, safe from the overbearing heat outside. Beyond that is a storage room. A set of stairs at the back lead up to the roof, which serves as the northern watchtower. Like the standalone watchtowers that cover the other cardinal directions, it provides shelter from the elements as well as windows that allow a clear view, wide enough to be shot or fired from with ranged weapons.

The front door is always unlocked.

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For as long as we've been on this planet. I haven't seen it rain once.

[It does beg the question of how the pools don't dry up, but perhaps it's one of those things best thought about as little as possible. As long as they have drinkable water...

Ignis lets out a soft, slow sigh.]

And then for the two or so hours of darkness, it's unbearably cold. There's no way to win.

Seriously?

[ Noctis' thoughts immediately go back towards the lake, and how it seems like it never really shrinks. Or moves, really. Noctis gently bumps his shoulder against his, eyes alight with gentle amusement. ]

Winning happens, sometimes. I noticed there might be stars when it turns into night. Wanna go see it with me?

[He doesn't point out here that he hasn't been on this planet for much longer than Noctis has. His friend doesn't need to hear any more about the endless months spent in an underground cavern than he has already, and Ignis would very much like to forget about it.]

Stargazing, Noct? [He hums in soft amusement, a moment's pause before he gently returns the bump against his shoulder.]

Mm, alright. I don't have a night patrol today.

Remember when there used to be a lot of them?

[ Noctis asks gently, even if it's the suns that blaze on them right now, making him shift in discomfort. Coming from a place where it had been perpetually night, even this is its own kind of relief. ]

When we snuck out to look at them as kids. You'd take me because I asked.

[ Always, without a doubt. Even at that age, Ignis' loyalty was to Noctis himself, not the crown, not those duties -- and perhaps Regis had sensed it, too. Noctis certainly did; he just hadn't recognised them for what they were, then. ]

I remember.

[Ignis speaks quietly, with a small smile coming back to his face to remain there, softening his expression entirely. He smiles like he doesn't really notice he's being watched, his eyes on the horizon but his mind somewhere else entirely.]

And I remember how many times I took the blame for sneaking you out of your room at night.

[Because he would rather he be punished than see Noctis in trouble, even back then.]

[ He's looking out, and Noctis looks over at his profile -- and there's very little else that can draw him away from it. It's the first time he's seen him this happy, like the memory in itself brings back some little core of happiness that Noctis has noticed had been a little lackluster lately.

He grins in turn, before finally looking out and taking a long, deep breath, closing his eyes. Life's... okay. It's not swimmingly great but it's not all that bad when the ones who are supposed to be dead are still very much alive, and there's hope yet for them. There's hope for Ignis, too. ]

You didn't have to, you know. You could've let me get scolded.

I could have. [Ignis admits, his tone light and even gentle as he speaks. With his arms loosely folded, fingers wrapped around his elbows, dressed so casually in a white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a few strands of his hair escaping the usually so carefully maintained hairstyle, one might think that the man simply doesn't have a care in the world at this moment.

That would, of course, be an incorrect assumption. Ignis' cares are many, but his primary one is ensuring that Noctis does not realise it.]

But it was always worth taking the scolding myself.

You always say that.

[ Noctis says, chagrined. There is no heat in that statement, only a kind of warmth that comes from a strange sort of understanding -- an awareness that Ignis would always do that, no matter what Noctis has to say about it.

He observes his friend for a few moments, before he attempts, once again, to give voice to a concern he's long held too close to his chest. Ignis, the one back in his world, wasn't okay, and surely this one isn't much better either, now that he knows; and Noctis doesn't have the hectic drive of relentless running to distract him from the problems he'd used to bury. Noctis realises it -- he's just terrible at articulating his feelings about the whole thing. ]

You'd take on everything if you could.

[Ignis says nothing, but only smiles again and ignores the soft prickle of being observed as his friend looks at him.

He would have to be an utter fool to think that Noctis wouldn't realise how much of a cloud there must be over his mind. With what he knows, with the things he knows are fast approaching in his future, how could there not be? Noctis is his closest, dearest friend. He knows him too well to be fooled by acts of serenity.]

Of course I would. [Comes the light-voiced reply. The tone doesn't fit the weight that the words carry.]

Would you expect anything less?

['For you, I would take on the world.']

[ It's surprising what you see when you really stop to look, when things calm down and Noctis isn't so swept up in the frenetic, punishing pace of moving from one tragedy and emergency to another, when the darkness is threatening to swallow them all up here.

Here, there are two suns in the sky, blazing down on them both, unthreatened by the scourge that will consume their world, and Noctis feels guilty at how he would want to stay here, just here, for a little while longer, where the people he loves are unhurt and alive, and maybe he can protect them better.

It must not be easy to handle, to know the future ahead of time -- Ignis must be having a hard time with it, too, no matter the placid front he puts up. There is a reason why the future is always obscured; it steals from the present, and adds an unimaginable burden onto someone. ]

Yes.

[ He says at last, because he can't lie, not really -- Ignis has gone above and beyond so often, and Noctis finds himself haunted, too, by his sacrifice, that morning in the room when Ignis had moved so deliberately, carefully, that Noctis almost hadn't noticed. Almost. Even in Ignis' darkest hour he had still been thinking of Noctis, and he still doesn't know what to say to that.

What do you say to someone who would take on the world for you? ]

[Ignis doesn't answer immediately. He closes his eyes, and carefully adjusts his spectacles.

They have never had this conversation, and likely for good reason, but here and now without the weight of war and tragedy pressing down on them such topics become more important, more visible, and Ignis has never thought to rehearse what to say should his friend ever put question to the depth of his loyalty.

Even now, he thinks of Noctis. Being apart from him for those months in Hadriel had not lessened his bond to the younger man, only allowed him to stretch free of the roles imposed on him throughout his life. He doesn't want Noctis to know how much he worries, how much weighs on his mind from things he should not, and often wishes he does not know. The young prince has so many cares - ones that Ignis cannot help him with - and he does not wish to be another one.]

Noct... [He says softly, almost wearily, his gaze sliding across to the other young man.] I made a promise to your father. One that I intend to keep.

[ This conversation scratches the surface of all that they have to talk about -- heavy and overwhelming and important; the weight of existence, of duty and responsibility, of everything that Noctis still replays over and over in his mind when he goes to sleep every night. He has nightmares, still, and the fact that nothing's hurtling towards him in this place only serves to remind him that he hasn't yet had the opportunity to process anything.

But he is, now. He understands the depth of Ignis' devotion to him, the way he comes first in all things, and Noctis cannot help but readily reciprocate as much as he can, the weight of his destiny heavy on his shoulders. They will change the world together, create a better one, because surely anything must be better than this.

But the costs... the costs weigh on him. Ignis has been with him all along, quiet and faithful, his loyalty and devotion an incredible, terrifying thing, and he meets his eyes for a few moments before looking away, a lump in his throat. ]

If it's just a promise to my dad, he's not around to hold you to it anymore.

[Noctis, sadly, is not the only one plagued with nightmares though surely his are worse. It's another thing that Ignis keeps to himself, and had kept to only himself before someone else was sharing his bed to know about it. She'll say nothing, though, and neither will Ignis. Another thing that Noctis need not know troubles him.]

He doesn't need to be. [There's a tightness in his chest as he speaks - one that thankfully, blessedly, does not make it into his voice. The words come out as steady as ever, calm and low-toned, but he looks away from the younger man's face to fix his attention on the horizon again.] You are, and as long as you are, I will not stray from my oath.

['Please, take care of my son.']

It was never just a promise to the king. It was one to you as well. To my friend, and my brother.

[ Noctis is silent for a moment, regarding him -- for once, his eyes are unreadable, his own thoughts his own. One day, he thinks, one day, Ignis won't be able to witness a sight like this again, and he can't help a pang of heartache before he simply turns away, acknowledging those words.

Might as well make the best of it while he can. ]

It's getting dark soon. Wanna come see the stars with me?

[He's more grateful for the topic being dropped than he'd express outwardly. No doubt they'll come back to this again, and again, and no doubt something would eventually come of it. For now, though, the segue is all but leapt upon and Ignis turns a curious look to his friend, surprised by the suggestion.]

It would be my pleasure... but I should warn you to bring a coat. I'll not have you catching a cold on my watch.

[ Noctis pauses, then looks down at his getup -- the usual, you know, and then frowns. Of course they'll get back to that subject, but right now it just doesn't feel right.

Now, however, they need to deal with coat-having; Noctis doesn't actually have a coat. ]

I don't have one.

I'll find one for you.

[Ignis smiles easily, slipping into that role of taking care of his friend as painlessly as ever. Lightly, he claps a hand against the back of Noctis' shoulder.]

But I can't leave just yet. My shift here isn't over.

Okay.

[ Perhaps he should go. Do... something. Anything. But he lingers anyway, glancing over at him. ]

Can I stay? I can help.

You can certainly provide some welcome company, which is far more help than I was getting before.

[Ignis casts a friendly, warm smile his way. He's not going to ask him to leave...]

And another pair of eyes never hurt on a watch.

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