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[ alisaie is not quite so familiar with ishgard's street and climes as her dear brother, of course, but that did not earn her pity points.

as far as the scions are concerned, prompto is her little project. oh they like him plenty, and he's certainly helpful to their cause - for all he seems quite soft and, to a word, useless, he can actually handle himself quite well in a fight, and he's smarter than he might seem at first glance. he might have been a burden in the beginning, but he has learned, adapted, and grown into this place enough that she does not feel as if she has to carry him around any longer. she can trust him to fight by her side when she needs it, and more importantly, to do the right thing.

he is a kind soul. kinder certainly than she is.

nevertheless, alisaie seems always to be relegated to oversee him anyway. she found him, after all, he is the pup that followed her home, so she has become his de facto caretaker. it is up to her to keep him safe, to teach him as best as she can, and she supposes that is all well and good, so long as it does not interfere with her duties, but so far it has not. he seems keen to help where he can, mayhaps because it is in his nature, mayhaps because it keeps his mind and hands busy, but nevertheless, she does not much mind his consistent company anymore. suffice it to say she has.. grown used to him, even if he is foolishly idealistic and far more bubbly than any one person should ever be.

so here they are, striding over the chilly cobblestones of the foundation, toward a squat building in the near distance, where smoke rises from a sturdy chimney. ]

Nearly there, now. I daresay you shall be far more comfortable in clothing with sleeves.

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[ If you want to be technical, it's been about...six months months since Prompto last saw Alisaie, give or take a few weeks, but to be fair, that was when he saw her while she was...a shell. An empty body, and hell if that wasn't terrifying enough. Krile had confirmed that the Scions weren't dead, but neither were they alive. And not long afterwards, Prompto heard that same voice calling out to him, beseeching him to come, and...that couldn't be right. Whoever that was, whatever this all is, it couldn't be right.

But whether it's right or not, he can't resist the pull. At least when the voice finds him, it's at Alisaie's bedside, where he's been watching over her — the others, too, but mostly her, his brave, strong, wonderful friend. She has to pull through this...

Though, of course, when he wakes up naked in a completely different world finding Alisaie is not exactly at the forefront of his mind.

And so six months have passed since Prompto found himself on the First, spirited away to yet another world, but at least this time, he isn't alone...in theory. He...hasn't actually been able to see any of the Scions yet, and they're all so busy and hard at work in the various regions of the world that it seems foolish and selfish to suppose to take a holiday just to visit them. Especially not when things are so dire here, and especially not when helping out where he can is all he can do to not feel like a waste of space.

The Exarch was kind enough about it, and seemed especially fascinated to hear about Prompto's unsual origins, but...his being here is a mistake. More than a mistake of just the Exarch pulling the wrong people through to this world when he meant to get the Warrior of Light. Prompto wasn't even meant to be in Eorzea in the first place. How could this be anything but a mistake?

But whether or not he should be here, he is, and so he helps out where he can, patrolling through Lakeland, firearm strapped to his back, fighting back the sin eaters and keeping the roads safe. Or, well...safer. There's no safe when every day it seems like someone he's met has been turned. And time just continues to tick away, until...

Until at last the Exarch summons the Warrior of Light, and his first action is to visit Alisaie in Amh Araeng. Something...Prompto had been longing to do for months, since the moment he arrived and learned she was here, really. But the Inn at Journey's Head is not a easy trek to make, and they have...so much to do. He wants to see her, he wants to see her so badly. His heart aches to see a familiar face, to hear a familiar voice, to speak with her, to tell her everything that's in his heart, but of course, he does none of these things.

This time apart has only...convinced him of the depths of his feelings for her, however. They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, but that seems to go about tenfold for him. The letters they exchange do barely enough to scratch the itch for her company, but they never fail to leave him without a smile on his face, or a flutter in his heart. Those letters are what keep him going when he lies down to sleep with the sky still blaring light from above.

With the Warrior of Light dispatched to Amh Araeng to meet with Alisaie, Prompto stays a bit closer to the Crystarium than usual, eager to hear any word of news from the south. What reaches his ears when news does come nearly sends him into a stupor. The Warrior of Light is returning to the Crystarium, and Alisaie is accompanying him.

He can hardly wait. Waiting for her to arrive at the Ocular isn't good enough, nor outside the Crystal Tower. No, it's outside the city gates that he anticipates her arrival, wringing his hands as he watches the curve of the path, waiting for her to appear, waiting for his first friend in Eorzea to finally step back into his life. ]

[ returning to the crystarium feels.. numbing.

the sky above lakeland burns same as the sky over amh araeng, but the land is vastly different, lush and green and thick with foliage, its violet trees shine beneath the light, there is even grass beneath her feet, thick and healthy, as if this very land defies its fate, and the doom hanging like a veil above it.

it could not be more different from amh araeng's light scoured sands and broken, eroded cliffs. the crystallized wall of light hung over the horizon like a wave frozen in time, ever a reminder of the catastrophe that swept the star and nearly swallowed it whole. and beyond that, the blasted lands, sucked free of life and vigor, dead and pale as bone dust, silent and empty stretching as far as the eye could see. alisaie watched it often, climbing the tower to look out beyond the crystal wall and to the endless white beyond it, the world that had been swept away. it was always a good reminder, a motivator to keep her strong when her knees and spirit buckled, to keep her toiling forward on those most difficult days.

amh araeng has hardened her. she can feel it like a stone grown 'round her heart, she can hear it in the edge to her voice that was once softer, she can touch it on her own palms, the rough calluses that have formed where she holds her blade. but alisaie does not despair for these things - it has made her stronger, she has honed herself like a weapon in both body and mind, and now that weapon sings, thirsty for blood, for payment.

tesleen's final words ring still freshly in her ears, and she cannot erase the vision from her mind, the way tesleen's body twisted and warped, the terrible pain in her screams, the black tears streaking down her anguished face.

no one deserves to die in pain.

the warrior has gone ahead, at her request, leaving her to walk on her own, to gather her thoughts. it will not due for her to arrive with tears on her cheeks and red-rimmed eyes, not when there is work to be done, and gods is she ready for it. with every last meal she served, every body she found in the amber sands, alisaie's motivation to help this world had grown and sharpened, but now -

now it is as a raging torrent, and to say that she is not fueled in part by vengeance would be a lie. she will end the cursed beast that took tesleen, she will strike down a hundred thousand sin eaters before she allows them to harm another innocent soul, and she will delight in their screams as they dissolve beneath her blade. enough is enough. the warrior has at last arrived, and it is time that the light and all its twisted, damnable spawn paid for all it has wrought.

the crystal tower is in view, its spire thrust into the sky, shining like a beacon of glittering hope, but alisaie can feel only darkness in her heart, and a fierce, formidable drive to press forward and crash through it all without cease.

she rounds the bend to the main gates, and - ]

.. Prompto?

[ It's her. It's her, it's really her. Alisaie is heading up the path, the same as he remembers her and yet somehow different, and his heart leaps up inside his chest, a dam he hadn't realized he'd constructed all but bursting.

You'd think with all these months, he would have had time to find the words, he would have thought of what to say when he was at least reunited with her. But now that he finds himself here with her, after so long, and knowing it's been even longer for her, he hasn't the words to express the emotions in his heart. Instead, he falls to acting, letting out a joyful cry as he dashes right over to her, folding her into his arms without a second thought. ]

Well, i-if you aren't a s-sight for sore eyes...

[ A laugh rubs against a sob in his throat, and tears are already spilling down his cheeks. Things are still so, so very wrong here in this world, and they have so, so much to do. But it's not the Warrior of Light's presence that now assuages Prompto's fears, but Alisaie's mere presence, the warmth of her in his arms, the scent of her skin...

He doesn't stop to think about how he's never held her quite like this before. ]

[ of course she had known that he was here, on the first. the exarch keeps them all apprised of situational changes, and then there had been the letters - his appearance is not a shock, but it is a surprise. in the back of her mind she had known that she might find him here, but..

.. admittedly, he has not been at the forefront of her thoughts, most recently.

so when he folds her up into his arms all but immediately, alisaie does not know what to do or how to respond. she freezes, her shoulders stiff and her back ramrod straight, her hands lifted and open, as if she does not know what to do with them. alisaie has ever been a guarded individual, but these long months have hardened her even further. when was the last time that she touched another living being with her bare hands and not the edge of her blade? when was the last she felt a hug? and now, especially -

her breath catches, her heart kicking up into her throat, and despite herself she can feel her chest constrict painfully. in this moment, with her heart freshly broken and her spirit in ribbons it feels.. lovely, just to be held, to feel someone so near to her, to smell the skin of another person, and yet a part of her wants to fling him away, the part that is fearful, anxious, closed. gods, the moment she allows herself to grow close to someone they are inevitably snapped right out from under her nose, and there are echoes of tesleen in his kind voice and smiling eyes and gentle soul.

after a moment, her hands at last lay themselves against his arms, snagging the fabric of his sleeves. her voice is thick with emotion, though she restrains it still with a tight fist. ]

.. it has been some time, hasn't it.

[ ...It's as he suspected, then.

Alisaie would never go into great detail what she was going through out at the edge of the world, but Prompto isn't stupid. He knows what people went to Journey's End for, and the kind of grim responsibility that befell the caretakers there. Alisaie was among them. There's no question that she's seen her fair share of sin eaters, and has seen people turn. Too many people. One is too many, but here in Lakeland, so near the Crystarium, it's at least moderately safer. Much safer than out where Alisaie has been keeping vigil.

And now she freezes in his arms, like she isn't sure how to process affection, and for a moment, he thinks to let her go and step back. It...it was pretty abrupt, wasn't it? He should have given her more space. He should have allowed her time to gather herself, to get used to his presence again, instead of ambushing her like this.

But before he can let go, Alisaie at last returns the embrace, and Prompto's thundering nerves quiet just a little. ]

Yeah. Sorry I never visited, I just...

[ Well. She knows how it is here, on the First. How brutal and bleak it can be. How a vacation is the last thing any of them should be taking. ]

I missed you.

[ He murmurs, still not letting go of her, emotion pooling in his words. This world has been so strange and foreign, even moreso than Eorzea had been, and he's been so godsdamned lonely. But seeing Alisaie again, holding her like this...

...it's like coming home. ]

[ the first is not entirely unlike the source - it seems a far closer approximation than eos does, at least, but still it is not home, it does not feel like home, and with all the scions so far flung - even her brother - it has become so easy to feel isolated. for as painful and difficult as her work had been in amh araeng, she had not necessarily felt lonely, at least not until these past few days. the carers at the inn were kind and gentle folk, they smiled more than one might think for the work being done there, and alisaie had grown quite fond of each and every one of them. she never particularly wanted for company.

but it was easy to feel estranged from home and family in that bleak desert. prompto, despite the fact that he is not a native eorzean at all, is still a reflection of home, and with him comes the flood of nostalgia and memory and loneliness, the reminder of how very much more she has to lose. ]

I missed you, too.

[ amh araeng did not offer her much downtime to really feel it keenly, but she had grown used to his constant presence, his easy laughter, and for him - well, cut adrift as he is from his own world and family, she can understand how much more it would mean.

at last she disengages, unwilling to linger in his affection too long, lest her cracks widen and the tears that burgeon against her eyelashes make good on their threat. blinking rapidly to dispel them, she takes a deep, tremulous breath. ]

What are you doing out here?

[ Alisaie pulls back, and Prompto lets her go in return — quickly, and he takes a step back, heat burning in his cheekbones. Of course he's happy to see a dear friend, but even the circumstances being what they are, he can't ignore the fact that he's never exactly...held anyone like that before. Sure, he's hugged plenty of people before, he's hugged her before, but this was different. The scent of her skin and hair still lingers. (In a good way, probably.)

But he'd only done what felt right in his heart, after finally seeing her again, after they've spent so much time apart.

Clearing his throat, Prompto sets his hands about his waist, glancing out at the wasteland beyond them. ]

Well, when I heard from the Exarch that you'd be returnin' to the Crystarium with our friend, I thought I ought to give you a proper welcome!

[ And since Alisaie hasn't been here in some time, he can act as her guide, if needs be. Or just...someone to talk to. Whatever she needs him to be, he'll do it.

He's also curious as to why she's returning now, after all this time, but that's not a question to just spring on someone. Was it just the Warrior's appearance? Or was there some other reason she left her work behind in Amh Araeng? ]

[ alisaie might not have been entirely comfortable with his embrace, she might not.. remember how to act with others in a normal sort of way, but something about his touch, his voice, and his spirit, has breathed life back into her, pried at the doors that she has worked so hard to keep sealed shut. that alisaie is an emotional woman is no real surprise, and always she endeavors to keep it bridled and under control; her time in amh araeng has seen that.. greatly tested. much of the violence and loss had numbed her, but the horror of tesleen's loss, still so fresh in her mind, has shook her to the core. no matter how she might try to keep her feelings in check, it seems an insurmountable task.

nevertheless, she pulls in a deep inhale, banishing the residual wetness from her eyes, and lifts her gaze to the crystal towers. the gates are close. ]

How thoughtful of you.

[ she means it, even chances a tight smile that does not entirely reach her eyes; gods, she's poor company right now. without wasting a moment, she gestures to the path ahead. ]

Let us waste no further time, then.

[ she must move forward, she cannot stop for too long, it is only inertia that is holding her together. ]

[ ...It's changed her, it's changed her greatly, and he can already see the signs of it. Prompto wants to ask more, about what it was like to live out in Amh Araeng, what it was like to...do the work that she was doing, but that is not a topic easily broached. It will come in time. But better they just get used to one another's presence again first. With any luck, they'll have some time to spend together now. The Warrior still needs to visit Alphinaud, after all... ]

So...this is all...pretty crazy, huh? I'm just glad the Exarch finally got the right person here.

[ A light chuckle, even if the topic itself is not all that light. They've all been waiting for this, but there's no telling what it means for their future. Even if they find a way to save this realm, there's still the matter of returning to their own, since they are...force ghosts or some shit now idk. ]

Wonder what they're plannin'...

[ It's impossible to tell what goes on in the Exarch's head. ]

I cannot say.

[ the exarch is as immovably secretive as ever, she can imagine, and it's unlikely that they'll pry any more information out of him than he is willing to give. ]

But I have plans of my own. I can only hope that they will align.

[ her voice is hard, her posture tensing as she looks past him, toward the tower rising high into the sky, near piercing the veil of wretched light above it. she has no doubt that the exarch intends to wipe out the sin eaters if at all possible, but alisaie is on the warpath now - she's ready to move, and ready to not stop until her goal is met, one way or another.

for now, she walks. ]

[ So, she didn't come here to offer suggestions to the Exarch, but to put forward the plan she wants to set into motion, whether or not the Exarch agree with it. If it were anyone else, Prompto might think they were being too hasty...but he trusts Alisaie. If she has her heart set on doing something, then it must be the right thing.

...Still, what prompted this? Was it just the arrival of the Warrior? He shoots her a cursory glance before asking: ]

Oh, yeah? What kind of plans?

[ He doesn't exactly have a set agenda himself. Maybe it's something he can help with — assuming she even wants help with it. ]

[ she cannot imagine that the exarch will disagree with her direction, but alisaie is certainly prepared to deal with it if he is. she respects him, but he is elusive and secretive and that sort of demeanor is very hard to trust, and she will follow him only if she deems him worthy. the jury is still out. ]

To wipe out the sin eaters, once and for all.

[ it sounds an.. impossible claim, perhaps even laughable, ludicrous, but there is no jest in the hard-edged tone of her voice, nor how clearly she states it. something must be done. her time in amh araeng was well spent. it honed her like a blade - not only her martial skills, but her drive. the things she has seen, the pain and loss she have suffered.. they have shaped her heart into a weapon, and she is more than ready to do what must be done, or gods be good, die trying.

there need be no more halrics in this world. no more tesleens. and while alisaie is sure she cannot possibly be strong or fast enough to prevent more needless death and violence before the end, she will damned well try. ]

I am done standing around, waiting for it to happen. We can wait no longer.

[ Isn't that what they all want? What their overall goal has been this whole time? And yet something has changed in Alisaie's countenance, and this doesn't seem like any old reaffirmation of what they've dedicated themselves to while waiting for the Warrior to appear. There's a new fire in her words now, lit by something that Prompto can only guess at, and as much as he agrees with her, it's...worrying, too. That she should at last emerge from the desert like this, on the warpath.

He keeps stride with her — it isn't hard with their height difference, but she is sure beating a hasty trail into the city. ]

Well — okay, I'm with you all the way, but...how are we gonna do that?

[ He's not asking to make her second guess herself. He really wants to know what her plan is, because he's sure she must have something to make that dream more of a reality than it was before. ]

No doubt the Exarch has a few ideas. It is high time we squeeze them out of him.

[ forcibly, if need be. alisaie does not doubt his good intentions, he is maddeningly secretive but his heart seems noble and kind behind the layers of mystery - like as not their desires align. he seeks to bring salvation to the first as much as she does, no doubt.

but alisaie is finished waiting. the warrior has at last arrived, and the blow she had been dealt in amh araeng has kickstarted her motivation with a violent strike. they have to begin. she has to begin. if she spends too long standing still she will dissolve, and despair. ]

And if he does not, I shall find my own way.

[ How literally should he take that threat of "squeezing"? The joke is there, on the tip of his tongue, but he...doesn't give it voice. It doesn't feel right, given the gravity of the situation, and even so, he isn't sure Alisaie would appreciate it right now.

His corny jokes used to get smiles and chuckles out of her, but now...

What will it take for her to smile again?

But even he can concede that there are more important things afoot at the moment, so he nods in agreement with her plan. ]

Let's do it, then. I was gettin' kinda tired of these purple trees, anyway...

[ That is, he's joining her, of course. ]

[ his answer should not surprise her. it may have been a year since they have truly seen one another, but she knew him well, then - gods, but it still feels like another lifetime, like she was another person, another girl, young and foolish and naive. she had thought, then, that she knew what heartbreak was, that she knew loss, and horror, terror, pain. she knew nothing.

nevertheless, he has ever been loyal, kind, and helpful, as willing as any scion to put himself in harm's way for the greater good, no matter whether or not eorzea was his home. but she can hardly question that - the first is no more her home than eorzea was his, and yet she has grown to love it deeply, its people and its places and its energy. she would lay down her life in its defense. how could she question his motives, or whether or not he has the right to them?

still, she casts him a sidelong look. ]

It will be dangerous.

[ she says, low and dark and with great gravity. eorzea is dangerous, yes. lakeland, in a way, is dangerous, all of the first is dangerous, but if they are to eliminate the sin eaters she is sure that they will face even greater foes, even higher stakes. it is not a choice to be made lightly, or easily.

she won't forbid him. she has not that power, nor that right, but she can at least see to it that he is sure, that he has even an inkling of what may lie ahead. ]

[ It will be dangerous, yes, but it is already dangerous. He's already had more close scrapes than he can count, but somehow, he has managed to make it through unscathed. That's by pure luck, of course — Prompto is only as strong as the people around him. So moving forward at Alisaie's side, what does he have to be afraid of?

Just being near her already makes him feel stronger, more capable. Like he finally has a beacon to lead him down the right path. He had that in Noctis back home, but here, it's been her. It's always been her.

So he nods again without hesitation, adding a reassuring smile to bolster her confidence. ]

Then we ought to face that danger with as many of our comrades as we can, don't you think?

[ Maybe he hasn't been a Scion for all that long in the grand scope of things, but they always were stronger united than separate. Perhaps the return of the Warrior and Alisaie's plan will be enough to bring them all together again at last. ]

[ well, he's certainly does not lack for conviction..

she can understand that. alisaie has never possessed his optimism and belief, but she can certainly understand the motivation to move forward, to do what you can, as much as you can, no matter how weak or incapable you might feel. this is his choice, and he has made it.

so alisaie relents, dipping her head in a nod, though she does not look toward him, only keeps moving forward, walking briskly down the path toward the gates. the cool, crisp air of lakeland is in sharp contrast to amh araeng's arid heat, and it serves to help clear her head and uncloud her mind, easing the ferocious, despairing bloodlust in her breast, instead allowing the ache to creep in unfettered.

move forward. ]

Aye. My brother should return soon enough, and we will move forward from there.

[ much as alisaie is sure tempted to strike out on her own to personally kill every sin eater in the entire world, she knows very well that if this is to be done.. it shall take all of their strength, all of their minds. ]

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