Video, August 1

[littlemhigan]

What's the date?

[You might be somewhat startled by the suddenness of Castor's message, or even by the urgency in her voice. Maybe you're surprised because this is the first hide or hair you've seen of her in seven full days.

Also, she looks like hell; Sallow and wan and with eyes that look just a little bit red. There's also the faint sliver of something dull and metal along the bottom of the camera - an object in her lap that can't quite be discerned. ]

Please I...I went lookin' fer somethin've mine that ended up in the Width an' I...Althyk keep me, this date ain't right, is it?


((oops someone got canonbump'd!))

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private video;

[warpstriking]

[There is, at first, and audible sigh of relief when he sees this. Too many have disappeared lately that he knows and he might have feared the worst.

Then he sees her state and stops himself, automatically responding with a private lock.]

... It is. Looks like you could use a drink, though.

[Because he can take the car and pick her up.]

[littlemhigan]

Might need a few. It's been a long...well, I s'pose it's been a long week.

[warpstriking]

I'll ask Ignis to fix something up.

[Because food always helps, except for the times things lead to a lack of appetite. He knows this far too well.

He's grabbing his jacket, if it wasn't obvious by how the camera sways a little as he fits his arms through the sleeves.]

Ever been in a car before? And is anyone else coming?

[He might be texting Shiro, just in case.]

[littlemhigan]

Some of that Milk Tea of 'is wouldn't go unappreciated.

[She's not really watching the feed enough to notice his actions, but she nods before she finds the words to answer.]

Hunk, maybe. I think. An' no. What's a Car?

[warpstriking]

I'll let him know.

[Three additional people. Got it. He says something to someone off-screen (likely Prompto, he'll have to stop by the cafe to tell Ignis) before turning back to her.]

Remember that black vehicle that sat in front of our house at the Curti Center? That's a car. Mine's a bit... special.

[He exits the house, and flips the device so Castor can see the Regalia Type-F.]

[littlemhigan]

Cheers.

Let me guess: it's jes an airship in hidin'? [There's a weak attempt at levity in her voice]

I'm...not puttin' someone out a bed, am I?

[warpstriking]

Nah. Been fixing up the attic, and a very large couch in the living area if you want that instead.

[He doesn't mention the spare bed that was once Iris's for Gladio's sake. It's a bit too fresh.]

And, kinda? It arrived here with mods I didn't recognize. [Totally didn't fly it over to the camp last month, nah. What are you talking about?]

[littlemhigan]

Either's a sight better than the floor.

[ The admission about the regalia finally gets Castor to actually look at the camera. ]

Yer tellin me it just showed up in the Dream Width doin' things ye don't remember it doin?

[warpstriking]

Yep, but damn if it hasn't been useful.

[Here's looking at you, Gladiolus.]

[littlemhigan]

[It gets a small smile from her if nothing else.]

I'd have words if I caught wind that ye weren't takin' advantage've a private airship.

[warpstriking]

[Hey, a small smile is better than nothing. He gets into the car.]

Yeah, well. Be there soon.

[littlemhigan]

I'm not like to wander.


[ And sure enough whenever Noctis arrives, Castor is sitting on the curb outside the airship docks. Her tablet is set to the side and she seems engrossed by the object on her lap; it's hard to see in the low light, but it's large and metallic. She barely even looks up when the Regalia approaches. ]

[warpstriking]

[He doesn't want to hang up on her, and keeps the line open just in case she calls back. Yet with him stopping by the coffee shop to tell Ignis out of the way, he flies directly to the Center. After sending a message to Hunk saying that he'll be around later to pick him up as well. Whatever he was planning, it would hopefully fit in the trunk.

Hopefully.

By the time Noctis arrives, it's late. He stretches once the Regalia slows to a stop and he puts it in park, the headlights still shining a bright light that catches the glint of something silver in tone in her lap as it briefly highlights it. He opens the driver's side door and steps out after turning off the ignition. He's been flying so long he nearly forgot how to walk.]

Hey. [He greets her as he sits down, calm and reassuring.] Waiting on Shiro to get here, then we'll head out. Need to pick up anything?

[littlemhigan]

[ She looks up sharply as Noctis approaches, and it seems to take her another few seconds to find her words as she puts her object down beside her. ]

Nah. Got in the habit've travellin' light years ago. I've got what's needed on me.

[ She watches his movements as he folds down next to her, and her face slides into something of a frown. ]

Yer stride seems a mite stiff. Leg bein' a bother?

[warpstriking]

Alright. [He doesn't question it. He knows how rough it can be, to an extent. At the question, though, he shrugs... before straightening out his leg a bit.]

Nah, just sat in one position too long. It happens.

[He looks her over.] How are you holding up? No offense, but you look like you've been through hell.

[littlemhigan]

Keep the blood movin, yeah?

I...[She doesn't meet his gaze, turning back instead to her new acquisition. This close, it can be seen in detail; an ornamented shield with a large hole blown out of it's lower half.] I got reminded of the cost've bein' too comfortable. Twice, really. S' been a long few days.

[warpstriking]

Yeah, basically.

[Noctis' gaze follows Castor's to the shield, and his face falls even more than it already has with worry. For her to have that shield, it must have been in her possession at some point, and from the tone of her voice...

Reminded twice. His gaze returns to the black car whose outline is just barely visible in the moonlight.]

You know, when I first heard that Biggs and Wedge had something of mine... I didn't know what to think. Seeing it didn't help, either. Almost like brand new, new mods, and yet... still handled the same way I remember.

[He's silent for a moment, pondering what to say when he just says 'screw it'.] The Regalia here was the last thing I had of my father, when our nation fell. It got us through everything. Collecting the arms of my ancestors, meeting with the gods, so many imperial attacks. When she took that last assault, it was like losing my old man all over again.

[His chin falls slightly, shoulders sagging just as much.] I don't advertise it, because while I'm my people's last hope... I was a fugitive in what used to be my own lands. Noctis Lucis Caelum is my full name, CXIVth in the royal line of Lucis.

[littlemhigan]

Yer...Oh.

[Oh.]

I'd bow, but I don't think my knees'd hold me long enough te manage.

[ Her gaze moves from Noctis, to the Regalia, and then back down to the shield on her lap. ]

He...I was chasin' someone down. Didn't mind my own back, an' didn't see the croney waitin' te take a shot at me. He moved in the way've the blow an...well.

[ She traces her fingers along the broken edge of the shield, and doesn't finish her sentence. ]

I was a fugitive fer a spell too. Framed fer regicide. He sheltered me an' mine without a thought. I can't repay the debt I owe 'im, so I try an' pay it forward. S' not quite the same, but I don' think our stories are too far off, hey?

[warpstriking]

Please don't. [Please never bow to him. While he's gotten used to it by now, he still bristles a little every time someone does. That, and-] Would rather not have to pick you up from kissing the dirt.

[It's a very flat joke, but all the same... he's serious about it, too. He watches her, listening until she's finished.]

Former fugitive warrior framed for regicide and a fugitive monarch of a fallen kingdom... [A sardonic chuckle escapes him.] What a pair we make.

[He regards her for a moment, before his eyes fall to the shield she traces the broken edges of.]

...My dad had a saying he loved to say whenever the council urged decisive action towards others, enemy, Lucian, or refugee: "An act of grace can save the human race." He wasn't wrong, but... pretty sure it applies to more than just humans.

[He moves to rest a hand on her shoulder.]

So whatever you've done since then to pay it forward, you've probably already done it in spades.