[She's missing... more than something. With Ignis' level of fixated devotion one might think he would have talked about Noctis more; said so many things that would have betrayed his attachment to the other man. And yet... this has come as a surprise. Ignis shifts a little uneasily under her scrutiny and looks away, levelling his eyes on the ocean.]
Perhaps.
[Perhaps... But he feels she deserves some kind of explanation. He isn't used to having to explain this. In their circle of friends, Ignis' particular ways had never been questioned.]
Noct is my closest friend. For a while, he was my only friend. [And he was, for some time, the prince's only friend in turn. Royal lineage and a well-advanced education did not lend themselves well to interaction with other young people their age.] When we met... we were very young. I was six, and he was three.
[In that bright, stone-walled room where King Regis had first summoned him, a nervous six year old dazzled in the face of his country's leader... He had ushered a small boy out from behind his cloak and introduced him in a gentle voice. They clasped hands, Noctis holding on so tightly, and smiling so brightly that the memory of it is still crystal clear in Ignis' mind.]
King Regis asked for me. I think my uncle knew why, when he took me there, but he only told me that I wasn't in trouble... 'this time'. [She knows already how often he took the blame for their joint misadventures. Ignis falls silent for a few moments, as if processing a fleeting memory, then he clears his throat and clasps his hands behind his back.]
One cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back. [He speaks quietly here, evidently reciting something from memory, and yet the words have so clearly shaped his own speech patterns that they don't sound strange in his voice.] He asked me to stand by Noctis, always, as his friend and his brother. To lend him a hand when the pressures on him became too great. And I-- [Ignis lets out a sharp, quick breath.] I have put everything into living up to the responsibility that was placed on me. I have stepped in wherever I have been needed. I would do anything to ensure that he never comes to any harm. Even at the cost of my own life.
[So, more than just a friend. Ignis sighs, though - a cooling-off period has at least made him aware of one thing.]
no subject
Perhaps.
[Perhaps... But he feels she deserves some kind of explanation. He isn't used to having to explain this. In their circle of friends, Ignis' particular ways had never been questioned.]
Noct is my closest friend. For a while, he was my only friend. [And he was, for some time, the prince's only friend in turn. Royal lineage and a well-advanced education did not lend themselves well to interaction with other young people their age.] When we met... we were very young. I was six, and he was three.
[In that bright, stone-walled room where King Regis had first summoned him, a nervous six year old dazzled in the face of his country's leader... He had ushered a small boy out from behind his cloak and introduced him in a gentle voice. They clasped hands, Noctis holding on so tightly, and smiling so brightly that the memory of it is still crystal clear in Ignis' mind.]
King Regis asked for me. I think my uncle knew why, when he took me there, but he only told me that I wasn't in trouble... 'this time'. [She knows already how often he took the blame for their joint misadventures. Ignis falls silent for a few moments, as if processing a fleeting memory, then he clears his throat and clasps his hands behind his back.]
One cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back. [He speaks quietly here, evidently reciting something from memory, and yet the words have so clearly shaped his own speech patterns that they don't sound strange in his voice.] He asked me to stand by Noctis, always, as his friend and his brother. To lend him a hand when the pressures on him became too great. And I-- [Ignis lets out a sharp, quick breath.] I have put everything into living up to the responsibility that was placed on me. I have stepped in wherever I have been needed. I would do anything to ensure that he never comes to any harm. Even at the cost of my own life.
[So, more than just a friend. Ignis sighs, though - a cooling-off period has at least made him aware of one thing.]
... And I may have lost my head, a little.