LifeAfter Inbox

[shatteredlenses]

 

This is Ignis.  Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.  Storyteller willing, I may actually be able to read messages left for me soon.
...
And, no, your Highness, this doesn't mean I will be too busy to make sure you eat your vegetables. 

Comments

[nightcure]

[ It's the tiny, shuddered exhale of breath that really gets him. Noctis pulls Ignis into his arms, and he holds him. He focuses on breathing, in the hopes that Ignis will match, to keep him calm in case he breaks. ]

He saved your life?

[ He doesn't pull away, but he sounds so surprised. ]

Even with the scourge, he saved you. That's... something else.

[ Hints of the kind and noble king, pushing to the surface. ]

[shatteredlenses]

He's saved my life twice, in fact. The first time at the cost of his own, though he will claim it only a misjudgment on his part.

[Ignis relaxes into the embrace, his breathing easily matching Noctis' after just a few inhales and exhales. There's no breaking this time. He's done that enough in his king's presence to last a lifetime now.]

The second time is when I really saw the Healer-King for the first time. The island of Monsun was ruled over by a deity of balance. One side of the island pulled out our worst traits and the other side pulled out our best. We made a camp on that second side and he spent most of his time there preferring to die than leave and allow the Chancellor to return.

[They'd forced him eventually, and Ignis will not easily forget the day he had sat with the Healer-King and they had said goodbye not knowing if they would ever see each other again.]

Since then, he has also safeguarded me twice. Once, I'm not even sure he was conscious of. He just placed himself between me and danger without even giving me a chance to object.

[nightcure]

... Sounds about right.

[ Noctis keeps on holding Ignis, because Ignis has always been there--he's always been steady, a rock anchoring Noctis to the world. He can do that for Ignis, now. It's the very least he could do. ]

For someone so old, he can be a real idiot sometimes. Doesn't even realize when he's doing something good, because that's who he was before he became the Accursed. It's like that part of himself keeps clawing its way to the surface, even if he refuses to acknowledge it.

[ Noctis lets out a quiet huff, equal parts exasperated and... well. Affectionate. ]

What was the second time?

[shatteredlenses]

[Ignis can't help but chuckle at that.]

He is the oldest fool I know.

[There is both exasperation and deep fondness in that statement as Ignis slowly starts feeling more comfortable showing his true feelings for Ardyn. He takes a deep breath and then gently pulls away from Noctis, giving his friend's shoulder a squeeze in thanks as he goes.]

As I hinted at with Monsun, islands sometimes come and go here. One that appeared was called Ai'tuoh. It had a great deal of very strict and almost nonsensical laws. Those who broke those laws either on purpose or accidentally were to be 'Cleansed in the Standing Water.'

[The way he says that makes it very clear that this was not a good thing.]

Before we knew it, a very large number of our fellows were captive. We eventually organized a rescue, but it happened at the same time the cleansing did and anyone who fell into the Water became one more who had to be rescued...if there was time. There were only a few left to fight off the militia, he and I primarily, and I was fighting with my back to the water, moving quickly in an unfamiliar area. It's only because of him that I didn't end up in the Water as well.