adelphoi | (no subject)

[ being in insomnia again is.. strange. the city is the same as she had remembered, and yet so different, so strange after so many long years in tenebrae. this city seems so enormous and sprawling, sharp and stark in comparison, bright and chrome and full of people. though she remembers her time here, her earliest years, she was still quite young when her parents swept she and her brother back to the motherland, and those tender years of growth had been spent in a city very different, a home that she had grown used to, settled into.

and now they are here again, political tensions spurring her father to emigrate here, to lucis again. the empire has been still and quiet, and there have even been talks of treatise, but alisaie trusts her father's judgment, for all his political involvement. more than national pride, he hopes for his family to be safe and secure, and short of living in the bush, insomnia had seemed to him the ideal location. with the wall so strong, such a city must be impenetrable, yes?

alisaie does not know the details of it all, her father would disclose only so much - she and her brother were to focus solely on their studies, bettering themselves, and not to worry about such things outside of their control. lucis might not be a large nation, but insomnia is safe, and secure. it suits their needs just fine.

still, settling in, for alisaie, is not necessarily easy. unlike the rest of her family, smooth-talkers with political savvy, she has a hard enough time simply getting along with her own peers. her friends in tenebrae had been few and distant, their relationships thin and civil but little more. to have to start over again is.. a nightmare. but she is not here to make friends, she is here to finish her schooling, to graduate and prepare for university and beyond. there's nothing to be afraid of.

yet her knuckles are white around the books clutched to her chest as she climbs the stairs that first day, eyes forward, chin high, and it takes less than a week's time for her to earn a reputation as a haughty, conceited little snob, the little rich girl sort who is far too good to waste her time with those she deems beneath her - everyone, apparently. this is not entirely the case of course, but it suits alisaie's needs just fine. let them think what they want, so long as it affords her a wide berth and quiet time to herself, without the terrifying distraction of working her way into, and maintaining her place within, a social circle.

the weekend seems to take an eon to arrive, but friday is here at last. alisaie sits outside at a table on campus, alone, peeling the crusts distractedly from her sandwich, her advanced chemistry textbook open in front of her. three afternoon classes, and this horrible week will be over.. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ they've both behaved badly, it would seem. not necessarily wrongly, but not well, either. perhaps he'd been insecure and sharp and defensive, but she had been callous and stubborn and distrustful.

what a way to come together again.

only once he's turned away can she look to him again, her throat tight and her eyes still stinging, though she has pulled herself together. ]

N-no, wait..

[ before he can complete his sad walking away scene, alisaie reaches out to snag his hand with her own before she can think better of it, or even think about it at all. her grasp is tight, and sure. ]

I.. I just - I've not had friends. Not before you, and not since. I'm not good with.. with people. I don't..

[ He's prepared to walk away and not look back. To...try and put this behind him, as much as he can, even if it will hurt every time they pass in the hall, knowing what could have been, and what would not be. They may not have been close for several years, but he'd been able to handle that alright because they hadn't stopped being friends because the grew apart, but because she left. But to have the opportunity to be her friend again only to have lost it would be a pain he felt keenly every time he would see her. For how constant a companion loneliness has been in his life, he has never grown used to its presence like he maybe should have.

It will hurt, but what can he do but face it? There's nothing to salvage here.

At least, that's what he thinks until she takes his hand.

His heart jumps into his throat, beating heart, and he turns back quickly, a gasp of quiet surprise slipping out of him. ]

You're...not the only one.

[ And he turns his hand in hers, twisting until their palms kiss, and he can wind his fingers tight around hers and squeeze. For such a small gesture, it says so very much, especially coming from her, and he can't help but feel as if she's thrown him a life preserver, to reel him back in from being lost at sea. ]

Can we...start over? Y'know...a do-over?

[ she's not sure if he will be receptive, or if he will drop her hand and leave - she'd deserve it, for her temper - but if he is in fact still the sweet boy she once knew.. then of course, he will not. this time, she will believe in him.

his hand turns in hers, their fingers knitting, and she can't help the tremulous smile on her face. ]

I'd like that.

[ and to drive it home, she gives his hand a gentle squeeze with her own, for reassurance, and support. she won't mess up this chance again, this opportunity to rekindle something she'd lost, one of the only warm memories in her past that she can call back on. this time, she won't lose it. ]

...Glad to hear it.

[ And really, he is. They've both been stupid, but he's ready to forget about it entirely, to put this in the past, and just...start anew, Prompto and Alisaie, childhood friends rekindling at last. With the luck they've had, maybe the gods have seen it fit to keep them apart, but despite that, they've found a way through.

He lets go of her hand, only so he can slowly, carefully, pull her into a gentle hug. ]

So...can we hang out this weekend? For real this time? Just aheads up - I might be involved in more drama practice.

[ Okay, he has to tease her about it a little. ]

[ o-oh, a hug.

well, she hadn't been expecting it, but perhaps she should have. prompto was such a shy boy, she could never have imagined him being brave enough to hug her, having done it only the once, on the day she had moved. he seems no less shy now than he has ever been, but his fond sweetness must have momentarily overridden it. still, she's flustered!! her cheeks and ears glow a soft pink when she pulls back, but she's smiling.

ahem. ]

I see no reason why I would need to be involved in your dramatics.

[ stop teasing her!! ]

But.. tomorrow, then?

[ As soon as he walks away, he'll probably double over in shock that he not only held a girl's hand, but also initiated a hug with her, but for now, he's too overjoyed that they've managed to get past this stumbling block to think on much more than his relief.

As his nerves are temporarily abated, as he pulls back, it's easy to nod, to nearly fall over himself doing so. ]

You got it. Tomorrow it is. Gonna have the time of our lives, gurl!

[ He can hardly wait. ]