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Who: Noctis and Ignis
What: The boys catch up with each other and are boys again.
Where: The beach, home, probably
When: Happenin' right now
Warnings: None yet???

[ Of late, Noctis has decided to take less and less of these days for granted -- the moments he can spend with his closest confidant are precious, and their interactions here take on a new facet under these different circumstances. Here, it's just the two of them -- Prompto and Gladio aren't here, and sometimes Noctis finds himself pining for them, too; that they could be here and maybe they would be whole again.

But he wouldn't wish this place on either of them, and perhaps it's a blessing that it's only them both. Still, it's not a day for morose self-reflection; Noctis is strolling barefoot on the beach with Ignis, bare feet digging into the cool sand. He doesn't remember having been happier and more relaxed than this in awhile, and perhaps they both needed this.

He bends over then, a glimmer of something catching his eye, and fishes out a pretty shell. It's not very large, but it's the perfect fan shape, smaller than half his palm. ]

All right, how about this one?

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[Noct is certainly not the only one feeling Gladio and Prompto's absence, but Ignis is grateful to have his closest friend still here, for however long it will be the case. At first, he'd been tentative in believing that Noct might stay for longer than a few weeks, then a month or two but now, as his permanence seems to be more definite, he's allowing himself to relax.

Too much of their time together here has been spent in conflict, either with Hadriel itself or with one another. This, though, is a welcome diversion.

Ignis is dressed sensibly against the cool wind off the sea and the constant threat of rain, but his trouser legs are folded half-way up his shins and his shoes slung over one shoulder, the laces tied together. He gave up on trying to keep his hair organised some time ago, and it's fallen out of its usual style into one that he ceased wearing deliberately in his late teens.

He walks a few steps behind Noctis as the younger man moves towards a shell, and looks at it with a small nod and a smile of approval.]

Another good find. [In one hand, he's carrying a small cloth bag already a third full.] Adding it to the collection?

Mmm.

[ Slow days, lazy days, a welcome reprieve to the horror and whatever it is that the city decides to throw at them. Noctis is settling in, and he's stopping again as he spots another, which turns out to be a shell fragment.

Shame.

He resumes walking again, waiting for Ignis to catch up so that he can walk along with him. It's comfortable, being with Ignis like this, even if the future hangs over them like a dark cloud. He observes him faintly, smiling. ]

You know, I kinda missed this hairstyle of yours.

[It is comfortable, and so pleasant even with the slightly grim weather. In this kind of scenario it's easier to put aside what's to come, or at least to shift it to the back of his mind. If he spent all of his time thinking about it, he'd never get around to doing anything, and where would be the use in that?

He lifts his eyebrows slightly as he catches Noctis' eyes on him, then glances up at the strands of hair persistently falling across his vision. It has been a while, hasn't it? He's been wearing his hair like this occasionally, but definitely not often.]

You would be the only one of us who did. [Ignis replies, sounding slightly disgruntled, though he does smile. If he enjoyed having his hair this way, he most assuredly would not put so much effort into making sure it didn't look like this.]

But attempting to battle the winds on this coastline is a waste of time. [He pauses mid-step to crouch and pick up a shell - a small, creamy-coloured conch with pink on the inside.]

[ Noctis huffs a soft laugh, because of course Ignis would prefer being scrupulously neat, hair swept back from his forehead -- makes it easier to fight, after all.

But they're not fighting anything here right now, only walking side by side along the beach in a peaceful moment that has been long in coming. He's looking out at the great beyond thoughtfully, wondering just what's within its waters before he looks back at him, pausing for a moment. ]

Oh, hey.

[ He touches his wrist to get his attention, fascinated. Not too far away from them, a small tide pool is forming. Noctis is circling around it, wide-eyed. ]

Iggy, look.

[He'd followed Noct's gaze, looking out to sea as they walk along the rocks and sand, but the touch to his wrist draws him back and he changes his path to follow his friend to the forming tide pool. Ignis' expression softens into a smile and he crouches down beside it, gently disturbing the water with the tip of one finger.]

Would you look at that.

[It could almost be on any coast in Lucis, for the familiarity of what the can see in there, save for everything being just that little bit off.]

Be careful, we don't know what might be poisonous.

[But he's still leaning close, so curious about the creatures slowly moving around in the water.]

[ Ohhhh, it's like they're boys again, fascinated by something new, drawn in by something that's so ridiculously pretty but strangely off at the same time, and Noctis -- well, he's missed this.

He's missed the simpler, better days, and he briefly watches Ignis with the tide pool more than the pool itself, musing at how he's still so careful with this despite his curiosity and interest.

He's crouching down beside him, playfully bumping his shoulder. ]

Says the guy who just tapped the water.

[He gives Noct a look his lips pressing together in restrained amusement around some blithe retort. It shows in the way the corners of his mouth turn upwards, as much as he might like to hide it.]

We can rule out immediate toxicity via skin contact, at any rate. [Ignis points out smoothly, shifting his weight down to one knee to give himself some better balance after the bump to his shoulder. It's probably fine. Hadriel never seems to want to kill them directly, either by act of 'gods' or the land itself, but one can never be too sure.]

They look uncannily familiar, don't you think? [He hums, leaning in a fraction closer.] The slightest evolutionary deviations, but nothing more.

Or maybe if you get too close, they'll leap up and eat your face.

[ Noctis says dryly, squinting down at the tide pool. He's reaching for a stick, very gently prodding one that resembles a starfish. Not to hurt it, but to make sure it isn't going to suddenly get violent, or something.

And then, suddenly, a very small, neon-colored octopus squirms out of one of the cracks and Noctis brightens. ]

Oh -- look.

[Ignis makes a soft sound of fascination, declining to scold his friend for prodding the poor things with a stick (he's not prodding them very hard, after all, and if one of them jumps up at his face it'll be his own fault).]

I see it.

[Some kind of cephalopod, it seems, though not like any Ignis has ever seen before. The basic shape is the same, but beyond that...

He shifts, lifting his head up to look around them.]

Are there any more?

Mmm --

[ Noctis is careful not to prod what looks like a curious baby octopus, but he's playing with it, teasing as he keeps the little stick out of reach, watching it chase after the thing. ]

Oh, maybe one more, I think it's... stuck?

[ Sure enough, but the corner, a tiny little pink thing seems caught between two pebbles. ]

Hm.

[How something can get itself stuck in a pool like this one escapes Ignis entirely, but as he looks closer he sees that Noctis may indeed have a point. Of course, it might simply be hiding and not trapped at all.]

Do mind your fingers if you're going to try to help it. [He warns gently, shifting his weight and moving around the pool to his friend's side.] Getting to the clinic isn't as easy as it was.

[ Turns out, it's trapped after all -- a stray pebble's been dislodged and it pinned the tiny creature in with it. He nudges the pebble away, watching it zoom out. It's a strange, unearthly blobby little thing with the tiniest tentacles, and Noctis squints at it, bemused. ]

We've got a couple of elixirs in the armiger, don't we? Look, it's out.

[And so the tradition of Noctis simply doing things continues unbroken, but Ignis doesn't stop him and only watches with slight interest in his eyes as the little, alien thing squirms its way free and out into open water.]

We have no guarantee that any healing we know of would work against poisons on these islands. [He points out, eyebrows slightly raised. It's just as well that they haven't actually found anything horribly toxic yet.]

Should we look for other pools? We might find something else.

We don't know they won't.

[ Noctis says pertly, ever the man to live on the edge, with all the faith of one who knows that Ignis probably won't let that kind of bad shit happen to him. Probably? Or find a way to mitigate it somehow.

Pleased with the little alien thing zooming about, Noctis readily rises to his feet, brushing off his pants. ]

Yeah. Are we looking for things to eat?

[Noctis receives no further argument beyond a soft, semi-irritated sigh. If something poisons him because he couldn't keep his hands to himself, Ignis is not helping him.

(Except, of course he is.)

Ignis straightens up with him, lightly tugging on the cuffs of his coat to shift them down.]

Not at the moment, unless you had something to carry things with. I thought we might simply investigate the more harmless local marine life.

We can just toss it in the armiger.

[ Noctis says absently, before he's gesturing him onwards, peering towards another set of tide pools. He's having a good time, right along with his friend -- what better way to spend the day than inspecting all the things this place has to offer? ]

You know, we never got to see much of these back home.

[Quite sure they can manage without tossing a few sea creatures into anything, Ignis shakes his head and falls into step beside Noctis, an expression of quiet contentment settling over his face. This is... nice. It feels like such a long time since they were able to just spend time together like they can here.]

Hm? No, I suppose we didn't. [If they were somewhere rock pools might be, they were always on their way to something. Always moving, never stopping to enjoy the scenery.] Are you enjoying yourself?

It could be worse.

[ Which is Noctis-speak for yes, he's enjoying himself very much. He's relaxed, happier than he ever remembers being, and he's moving ahead, spotting another bigger tide pool and pausing before it. This time, there's a strange-looking baby turtle swimming lazily in the water. ]

What about you?

[Ah, a language that he understands very well. Ignis smiles again, following him to the side of the larger pool and watching the creatures moving within it with an open, genuine curiosity.

As for the question... being around Noctis has always been taken as a valuable use of his time.]

I am. Very much. [A kind of gentle honesty that isn't always typical of him, but speaks volumes of just how much he appreciates what they're doing.]

Ah, look at that. I've never seen one in that colour.

[ Honestly, Ignis is ridiculously fluent in Noctis-speak. He's pausing by the pool to take a closer look at how the colors seem to change in the light, admittedly beautiful and so very strange-looking. It makes Noctis happy, hearing that special kind of gentleness coming from Ignis, and he settles comfortably by his side, crouched over the tide pool. ]

Yeah? [ That Ignis is fascinated, too, is encouraging -- that Ignis isn't just pandering to him by being here. No, he really is enjoying it, a fact that puts Noctis further at ease. ] D'you think they're dangerous?

[After all this time, it would be strange indeed if he couldn't interpret his closest friend when he isn't quite saying what he means.

Ignis is still young, and it's so rare that he allows himself to show it but here, with Noctis and without the weight of duty pressing on him as it always has, he allows that rock-steady facade of unshakeable confidante and retainer to ease, and is simply Ignis Scientia.]

Difficult to tell. [He casts his eyes around, his attention falling on a slim piece of driftwood not far from where they are. It's quickly retrieved, and he returns to his spot beside his friend.

To very gently poke things with a stick? Yes.]

They don't seem to mind that we're here at all. I wonder how long life has developed here with nothing to impede it.

[ ...Iggy, are you going to poke the little critters with a stick...

Noctis is settled comfortably by his side, drawn by the shells tucked deep within as well, the colorful, luminous little octopii seeming to do a little dance around it, moving so strangely that it's possible to believe that they're unlike anything either of them has ever seen before.

He nudges at him briefly. ] You gonna do a study on that, Iggy? Maybe find out how old this world is?

[He's going to poke the little critters with a stick very gently, just to see what they decide to do about it. As it happens, it's not much at all.]

I've considered it. [Ignis murmurs thoughtfully, shifting his weight and using his free hand to brush his hair back from his forehead.]

But I have too many things to keep my mind on already.

Yeah?

[ Noctis asks absently, skimming his fingers lightly over the surface of the pool. ]

What about?

The boats, the docks... [He's involving himself in a lot of projects at the moment, and he could hardly pass the dock-building off to someone else when it was his idea to begin with. No, he has to be there.

Ignis tosses the stick in his hand aside lightly and teases against the surface of the water with the tips of two fingers instead.]

The Guard, patrols, ensuring people don't get hurt immediately on arrival here. We never know what's going to come through the gate along with the people. [He smiles to himself as a couple of the creatures in the pool show curiosity in the disturbance he's making on the water.]

Kate. And you, of course. [Last, but never least. It's important that he has time for Noct. There's more. Concern about the Null, training, all the small things he does day to day...] I can't abide sitting idle.

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