adelphoi | (no subject)

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[ 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.. ]

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[ after the crown city fell, learning to be on her own was.. difficult. she and alphinaud were all they had in the world, with only one another to rely on and take care of. they were young, soft, naive.. it's a wonder they were able to survive at all.

but they grew stronger. more self-sufficient. she learned to survive. things got easier.

now?

gods.

what will she do? losing prompto had been so much more difficult than she had expected it to be, and she can't help but blame herself for it. she never should have let him in again to begin with. she never should have allowed what happened to happen. she never should have allowed herself to feel so strongly for him. she'd convinced herself that she was in control, but she was wrong. much as alisaie likes to fancy herself wild and independent and cold, no woman is an island, and least of all her. her heart has ever been soft and easily bruised.

and now - now here she is, alone again, a child in her belly, her heart heavy as a stone. what will she do? should she tell him? he need not be a part of its life, but still, he should.. know, shouldn't he? should she seek him out? should she keep it to herself?

there are far too many questions in her mind and heart that she has no answers for. for now, she keeps to herself. she delays her hunts, works instead on odd jobs and deliveries, hoping that keeping busy will offer her clarity.

so far, it has not. the cold night air feels as unforgiving as ever as she rides beneath the trees, winding her way back toward lestallum after an outpost run. foolishly, she does not see nor hear wraith that lurks in the night, not until it is too late. it strikes her hard with long claws, knocking her clear off of chobi's back and onto the cold forest floor, the breath kicked from her lungs. fearlessly, the chocobo turns with a battle shriek to deliver a savage blow across its face with strong talons.

where is her rapier? she cannot find it - it's lost in the dark nearby. scrambling, she reaches blindly for it, but finds only handfuls of mud and grass. ]

[ It's pure chance that bring their paths together again. Prompto hasn't followed her trail, not even when he's caught wind of an Elezen woman passing through the areas he visits. He doesn't watch for her at rest stops or campsites. He doesn't do anything which might get his hopes up that their paths will cross again. So, of course, their next encounter catches him entirely by surprise, especially by the very nature of it.

He's out on yet another hunt, his life rote and predictable, as these days pass in darkness and solitude. He keeps moving, because he knows he has to. He knows he has to meet Noctis on that final day. But whereas before there were other things that kept him fight now...so much of the fight has gone out of him. He's just...tired, and there's no rest. Not really. Not without someone to watch his back, and Gladio and Ignis are on the other side of the world from him right now. He is entirely and utterly alone, once again. For better or for worse, he's starting to grow numb to it, the isolation seeping deep within him, turning him inward. It's alright. It's better this way. He won't...hurt anyone else. He won't make more trouble for others than he is worth.

...But even so, he can't ignore the sounds of distress when he hears them. The wraith is not what he has headed into this territory to track, but there's the screech of one nearby, and the sound of a chocobo crying with fury. That...that can't mean anything good.

Thoughtlessly, he spurs his own bird onward, towards the sound of the scuffle, slipping out of the saddle in one fluid motion as he comes across the scene. There is someone downed on the ground, and oh, gods, don't let him be too late, please, let him save just one person...

Drillbreaker appears in his hands a moment later, and he lunges forward with it, piercing the creature's body before jumping back to avoid its claws. ]

Run! [ He shouts over his shoulder at the downed rider. ] Get on your bird and run!

[ Maybe he can at least buy them enough time to get away... ]

[ she's sure she's in trouble - it's dark, she's off-guard, she can't find her weapon. it's looking grim, and thank the gods for chobi, but it isn't enough -

someone crashes through the underbrush, a familiar flash of pale blue light is enough to illuminate the ground long enough for her to see where her rapier fell. but more importantly - ]

.. Prompto?

[ she recognizes his voice, but even moreso she recognizes that light, knows of only a handful of people who can use such an ability. what in the world is he doing here? has he been following her? no.. no, he's all but disappeared from her life, she's hardly seen hide nor hair of him, and though she's distracted, alisaie's senses are generally keen enough to easily discern whether someone or something is tailing her. is it.. truly a coincidence? not once, but twice they've come across one another in the wilds, under duress?

she has no time to really consider it right now, whether it is serendipitous or unfortunate, for the wraith is strong and unrelenting, shrieking its terrible cry. she remembers where the light illuminated her rapier, and as quickly as she can she scrambles toward it,but such daemons rarely travel alone. another wraith coalesces from the darkness to her right, slashing out with its long claws, catching her in the face, gouging deep cuts from her jaw, over her cheek, across her nose. she shrieks with pain and surprise, blood stinging her eyes, her rapier so near and yet still too far. ]

[ ...No. No, there's no way. ]

...A-Alisaie?!

[ He calls back, his voice impossibly strained, but the wraith takes advantage of his distraction and knocks him aside with a powerful blow. His head spinning, he hits the ground with a thud, rolling onto his side just in time to see the second wraith strike Alisaie across the face, her cry ringing in his ears.

There isn't enough time. There isn't enough time to piece this all together, to truly appreciate the odds of this, that they would come together against all odds. If the fates are real, then they must be exceptionally cruel, to keep putting them in each other's paths like this, when they have nothing more to pursue together. And yet, what if he had not been here? She might already be dead. They might die, anyway. Wraiths are powerful creatures, and now she is hurt, on the ground once more, both of the wraiths closing in on her. Perhaps there is something...poignant in that, if they are to die here. That they do so together, despite how much they've done to torch their own relationship.

It seems, as the wraiths approach, that there is no way that more than one of them will make it out of this alive, but they are going for her, leaving him in a heap on the ground, to be dealt with later. She was their first target, and they will take her out and then come back for him. He could escape. He could hop back on his bird and be out of there in a flash, far too quick to be caught by these creatures once they finish with her.

His vision finally coalesces into something cohesive once again, and the wraiths are nearly upon her, as she searches for her weapon in he mud. He can see it, glinting just behind her, but it's too far for her to reach. She'll never get to it in time, she'll never —

He remembers the way she looked that night, under the stars after the prom, holding near to him, asking him to kiss her.

He is on his feet, moving towards them, a ferocious cry tearing from him as he picks up her rapier from the mud. He can't take out both of them. He won't be quick enough. There isn't enough time. But his choice is made. If he can take out one, she...she will be able to handle the other...after.

With a lunge and a great swing, he reaches her just in time to stand over her, the rapier's blade cutting clean through the mid-section of one of the wraith, and it dissipates into dark mist. The other he catches with his body, the blow intended for Alisaie, taken by him to ensure her safety.

It was the only way.

The creature's claws sink deep into his side, a flash of white, hot pain striking through his entire body like lightning. He gasps and sputters, feet scrambling as the rapier clatters to the ground.

In that moment, he finds her eyes in the dim light, and he smiles. ]

...Kn-knock 'em dead, Ali.

[ With an infuriated shriek, the wraith pulls its claws from his body, and he collapses onto the ground next to her, blood seeping from his wounds into the dark earth. ]

[ everything happens so quickly.

her face is a world of pain, she can barely see through the blood flooding her eyes, stinging terribly - only a moment ago she had been riding, and now she is here, and all she can think about is her baby.

everything becomes clear in an instant. she had been worried, her heart heavy with misgivings about the child inside of her. what sort of life could she give it? how could she bring a child into a world so dark and lonely, how could she possibly satisfactorily mother any child when her heart is so bitter? how could she provide for it, living the way she does? would it be right to even keep it? should she give it away? there was so much she needed to figure out, to decide.

but in this moment, with her life at stake, all she can think about is the child she carries, how she must fight for it, protect it at all costs. she cannot die here, she must live on, if only for them.

her chance comes when she catches the flash of her rapier nearby, in prompto's hands - hope floods her heart. together, they can take them down.

but she's fought enough battles to know what's to come, to see how wide open he leaves himself in order to dispatch the first wraith, and before the blow even comes she knows it will hit, she knows where, and how hard. prompto crumples like a doll, and time grinds to a slow crawl, numbness sweeping down from the crown of her head.

why didn't he run? he had every chance to. he could have escaped easily and left her behind.

fury ignites in her breast, and alisaie snags her rapier with a fierce war cry, her eyes wide and wild, running with blood. it takes only an instant to summon a blast of burning fire to send the wraith reeling, the flames catching on its tattered robes, as alisaie follows up with a piercing blow right through its head. the wraith twitches, shrieks, falls still, and like its brother, falls to the ground with a soft whisper, already surrendering to the darkness.

that sweeping numbness and adrenaline still prickles her blood, and she stands in place for a moment, heaving with hard, sharp breaths, but only moments after she drops to her knees, framing prompto's face with both hands, her bloody thumbs gliding along his cheekbones. ]

Prompto? Prompto, can you hear me?

[ Things are growing dim so fast that it's impossible for him to see whether or not she fells the remaining wraith, but he hears it distantly when it happens. Good. She's safe for now. His efforts...haven't been in vain. Maybe now he can let himself succumb, slip into the sweet unconsciousness that comes for him, stealing him away from the agonizing pain that burns through his blood like ice. It hurts...it hurts so damn much...it would be better to just...let go.

What else is there for him now?

But then Alisaie is at his side, commanding his attention. The mud on the ground is thick with his blood now, and he is pale and trembling, his skin cool and damp. It takes so much effort to find her eyes with his own, and even once he does, he can't hold her gaze long. Still...he must. This...this might be his last chance to look into her eyes. He's always loved her eyes...

He whimpers, breath gusting between clenched teeth, the pain that blooms furiously at his side only matched by the comfort that her tender touch against his cheek brings. ]

Hnnn...m...'m s-sorry, Ali...y-you're...hurt...

[ This is still what he worries about, even in his condition. ]

Why? Why did you..?

[ she shakes her head - no, no she doesn't have time for this. alisaie has seen enough injuries to know that this is severe, to know that she must work quickly. to know that even if she does work quickly, it might.. it might not be enough..

she scrambles for her crystal focus, her hands slick with blood, and somehow she manages to produce a vercure to wash over his body. gods, it isn't enough. he's still slipping away. she can't let that happen. ]

Please, Prompto, stay with me -

[ she whispers harshly through the darkness. ]

You - y-you must. Please..

[ he's still slipping. falling away. again, a vercure, and another, her mana reserves drained low, she can hardly manage it. desperately, she holds his face again, brushing the hair from his eyes. ]

P-please, I need you to - to stay - [ tears sting her eyes, mixing with blood. the words spill thoughtlessly. ] I - I-I'm pregnant..

[ He's so tired...so very tired. The pain and exhaustion must be messing with his head, giving him some kind of delirium. She seems so...worried. About him. But that can't be right. He'd done everything he could to open his heart to her again, and she had rejected it. She wanted nothing to do with him. Why doesn't she just go...? She...needs to go...while she still can.

But he hasn't the energy to fight it, to insist she go, and those healing spells, even if weak, bring some small measure of relief, taking the edge off the pain. It's okay...maybe it's better this is how she remembers him. It would be so easy to let go...the darkness is right there, welcoming him, even as she pleads for him to stay.

I'm pregnant.

...What?

His stomach lurches, his heart tightening in his chest. No...no. Now he really must be hearing things. But something like clarity flashes in his eyes, and he finds her own in the darkness, his breathing gone quiet. ]

Y-you...?

[ Pregnant?

They're...going to have a baby? ]

Y-yes. So you.. you..

[ a trembling breath, and alisaie bends to touch her brow to his, her thumbs sliding tenderly over his cheeks, tears running down her nose, splashing onto his skin.

she was wrong. she hadn't listened. she'd allowed herself to believe in her anger and bitterness, and while she still can't even begin to guess why he broke her heart so long ago, she knows now that he must have regretted it. why else would he have done this? why would he have taken a blow that would have laid her low? that would have killed her? no ploy is worth that much. there are so many questions still left unanswered, but she must now believe in her heart, not in her mind. she must trust the warmth in her gut that still aches for him, reaches for him, and drive the shadows of doubt to the back of her mind. ]

S-so you must.. hang on, for them..

[ she'll need him. they will both need him. a sob catches behind her teeth, barely restrained. ]

I'm - I'm so sorry, please.. p-please don't leave us.

[ It would be so easy to let go...but Alisaie is so near, her thumbs gentle on his cool skin, pulling him down and away from that abyss with her touch and her voice. It hurts so much, and he's so very tired.the years of loneliness have taken their toll on him. She'd told him goodbye...

But...no. She's here with him now, cradling h close, telling him to hang on, for her, and for their child. Something powerful rebels in his heart, an absolute refusal to give in, and one of his hands lift to find one of hers, grasping it tight. ]

I-I'm with you.

[ He always has been. And he will be now, now matter how much it hurts. He won't abandon her now.

He has to meet his child. ]

[ the touch of his hand alone is enough to reassure her. he's still badly hurt, her healing spells might have helped to take the edge off, pulled him back from the brink, but they were not enough. he needs attention that is out of her ability to give, but she knows by the steel in his voice that he will stay. that he will fight.

it's the best she can ask for. he's bleeding out because of her. he's alone because of her. because she wouldn't listen. she owes him so much. ]

A-all right. All right. I've - I've got you.

[ she's got a few potions in her pack, chobi is uninjured, and strong, she'll.. she'll get him help. she'll fix this.

and since i'm not rude enough to make you write a starter at work, we'll just timeskip!! it takes a lot of effort and care to get the both of them back to lestallum, but she managed somehow, on a wing and a prayer, and many more curative spells she managed to muster through her fatigue. determination and adrenaline go a long way.

they make it. he makes it. his injuries are seen to, and hers as well, most importantly, the baby is unharmed. though they urge her to rest she does not leave his side, she cannot - what if he does not pull through? he promised, he assured her, but his injuries had been severe, and sometimes no amount of tenacity can overcome a mortal wound. she stays steadfastly beside him, her hands both wrapped around one of his, talking to him while he sleeps, when she can, when she's not slumped over onto his bedside like she is now, her face buried to the crook of one arm. ]

[ It is, to say the least, a devastating injury. He lost a lot of blood before reaching Lestallum, and consciousness well before that, and medical supplies are not what they once were. The medics do everything they can for him, and remark on the fact that it's a miracle he's alive at all. He's a fighter, they tell her in passing, when checking his vitals. Many would have succumbed already.

But he made a promise, even if most of the time, he is only subconsciously aware of the fact. He promised with was with her, that he would continue to be with her. It was an easy promise to make. Of course he is with her, whether she loves him or hates him. His heart has always belonged to her, and he would have done whatever she told him to that night.

...A good thing, then, that she told him to hold on, rather than drop dead.

Still, it is a fight, and there are moments where he nearly slips away, quiet and peaceful in his sleep. But something within holds on, steadfast, striking back against the possibility of leaving this world. There's pain and suffering on the horizon...but even distantly, he knows he must remain here. He must fend off the darkness. She asked him not to leave her...

So he doesn't.

It's some days before he reawakens, his head cottony and empty as he draws out of those disorienting depths that only come with having been unconscious for several days. He is warm, layered with blankets, and...there is a numb ache in his side and a delirium in his head that tells him he's probably...pretty doped up on painkillers right about now. And there are...hands? Around his hand. That's...wait.

Who would be holding his hand?

Carefully, he cracks an eye open, blinking at the light as his eyes adjust, and finding...

Alisaie?

Alisaie, holding his hand, sleeping at his bedside...carrying his child. She'd told him that, hadn't she? Just before he'd blacked out. Gods...

A faint smile finds his lips. Surely, he must be dreaming. There's...there's no way any of this is real, that it can actually be happening. Alisaie...had made her feelings on him clear enough. She wanted nothing to do with him. He wasn't welcome in her life anymore. She...wouldn't be at his side, even if he had saved her. There must be...another reason.

Still...still.

Watching her through sad, fond eyes, his hand slips from hers to gently cup her cheek, allowing his fingers to glide over her skin, mindful of the cuts that are mending. He...shouldn't do this. If she wakes up and catches him in the act, she'll be furious, and that'd be fair enough. But he just wants to touch her one more time, while he has the chance, before this beautiful illusion shatters, and he is alone once again. ]

[ lightly as she is sleeping, the simple touch of his hand is more than enough to rouse her. alisaie's eyes snap open with a soft gasp, and she blinks blearily for several seconds, shaking off the disorientation of a sudden sleep.

it's prompto. he's awake. ]

Thank the Gods..

[ her voice is like a breath, relieved and weary, and without thinking her hand lifts to his, holding it against her face. it's so warm.. ]

It took you long enough.

[ She stirs, and reflexively, he starts to pull his hand away when she takes it up instead, pressing it to her cheek. His heart tenses in his chest, a soft, vulnerable noise sounding from his chest. What...what is this? Is it a dream? If it is, then why does it hurt so much?

His mouth works soundlessly for a few moments as he tries to make sense of the fog in his head. ]

I don't...understand...

[ Why is she here? Why is she with him? Why does she touch him so gently, so... tenderly? She'd made herself clear...

And yet he cannot bring himself to pull away. ]

.. hush. You needn't worry about it right now.

[ he doesn't need to hurt himself thinking too hard on top of everything else!! hehehh

truly though, he has little enough energy to be wasting it with worry and chatter; for now, she's simply glad that he is alive, well enough to be conscious, even if just for these moments. it gives her the confidence she needs to believe that he will make it through this somehow, that he will survive.

gods, she has no idea how she might have coped otherwise. the guilt that eats her now would have been unbearable. ]

You need quiet, and rest. Answers will come in time.

[ That's hardly a satisfactory answer, but even in his current state he recognizes he couldn't handle much more than this. It hurts just to think, let alone piece together how he got here, what happened, why he is in this state..or why Alisaie is at his side, pressing his hand to her cheek.

Maybe it really is just a dream...and he should go back to sleep now. Staying here will only hurt more when he awakes to the cold loneliness that waits for him.

He hums quietly, his eyes fluttering as he leans back into his pillows again -

Wait.

His eyes snap open abruptly, searching for hers with concern. ]

The baby?

[ Is the baby... alright? ]

[ he remembered. though it partly makes her gut clench up with uncertainty, in equal measure it brings relief - relief that she does not need to tell him again, that maybe it was this knowledge alone that helped him to continue to fight when all seemed lost.

alisaie's painful smile broadens, fat tears rolling soundlessly down her cheeks when she closes her eyes to turn her face against his palm. she has so much to make up for, so much time lost, and so very many questions, but.. right now this is all that matters. this is the only thing that is important. ]

The baby is fine.

[ she murmurs, a tension in her shoulders ebbing. ]

We're both fine.

[ They're both fine.

Though he still wonders at her tears, and the way she turns her face against his hand, there is nothing that can surpass his relief in that moment. They had been in very serious danger, hadn't they? That's why he's in this condition. He'd almost died. But he knew there was a reason he needed to persist, and now, hearing her tell him that she and the baby are both okay makes any degree of pain absolutely worth it.

His smile deepens, and Prompto's weight sinks back against his pillow once more as he relaxes, eyes fluttering shut. ]

I'm so glad... [ He murmurs quietly. ] So glad...

[ With that vital question answered, he can rest easy. ]

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