adelphoi | (no subject)

[ 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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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. ]