agogelogs | [OPEN] what kingly dreams

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[OPEN] what kingly dreams

WHO? Noctis and you (and some other losers maybe)
WHAT? Dreams
WHEN? Whenever both our characters are asleep during this event
ANYTHING ELSE? Possible violence and trauma

[ Dream A ]

[ The decorations on the Citadel almost seem like physical impossibilities, great waterfalls of fabric draped over towering architecture and what feels like a never-ending amount of petals or confetti catching the light as they fall. It's not really all that consistent. It is a dream, after all.

Maybe that's why the crowd that chokes the plaza feels so indistinct, fuzzy background faces cheering for the wedding they're about to witness. Noctis takes a deep breath as he gathers his composure, unable to adjust his collar because fidgeting is inappropriate but it's so itchy. Nevertheless he turns his head from where he's standing at the height of the stairs, looking to what should be his bride climbing the last few. Except... ]

Wait, this isn't right. [ You are not Luna. ]

[ Dream B ]

[ The indignant cheeping of the chocobos in response to their beautiful plumage getting wet is louder at least than the steady rainfall against the rooftop of the Wiz Chocobo Post. Louder still might be Noctis's scoffing at his own hair getting wet, trying his best to smooth it down even as he ducks under the railing of one of the bird pens. ]

Easy, easy... You think I want to be out here either? [ Why is he here? He doesn't know beyond that it's definitely his job to feed these animals; that's a certainty. Did he take up a part-time job or something? One gloved hand smoothes feathers as he calls out to the other presumed worker on duty. ]

Hey, can you pass me that bag of greens?

[ Dream C ]

[ Students are whispering behind him, he can feel it. They always do. He looks younger, feels younger, and the school uniform he's wearing is as uncomfortable as it ever was.

He stares at the board, a complex math equation he's never seen carefully scrawled onto its face as his teacher tuts disapprovingly. "How can we have a prince that can't even solve something so rudimentary? You're so unlike your father," she says, and his discomfort only grows.

This is like a nightmare... How could anyone know the answer? ]

[ closed to Achilles ]

Come... on! Stay down already!

[ The bark of a frustrated yell comes from a visibly irritated Noctis, sword vanishing in an array of crystalline light before being replaced in his hands by a vicious-looking spear. He's facing down a monstrous beast that seems all too intent on slashing him open with swipes of its claws, narrowly dodging each hit. ]

Gladio! Where's-- Prompto, Ignis! Where are you?! [ That spear is hurtled at the behemoth's head as he warps in for an attack of his own, getting in a few solid strikes before he tumbles back down onto grass. Help's always appreciated. ]

[ closed to Midnighter ]

[ Noctis is unused to spending much time in the throne room of the Citadel these days, and it's even harder to remember a time when he's been in here alone. Fingers drag over the smooth surface of one of the throne's armrests before abruptly jerking back, as if he's suddenly remembered it should only be his father's right to place his hand there.

Where is he? He should be here. It's too quiet and Noctis has always loathed coming in here as an adult; there's no reason for him to linger when he expects an advisor or guard to show up and chide him at any moment.

The sudden sound of footsteps has him turning his head, however, the only warning he's given before the doors at the far end of the room burst open and another young male who looks to be close to his age -- but in much, much worse condition -- runs through them. Has he ever seen this person before? No, his mind says, but he doesn't belong in here. ]

Hey! Hey, are you okay? [ Noctis is taking those steps two at a time to move to his side. ]

[ closed to Hei ]

[ It's night.

The starscape in Lucis is stunning, too, a totally unique beauty that he could never appreciate in the metropolis of Insomnia. Out here, away from civilization... everything seems to slow down a little. Everything feels more real.

And it isn't what he wants to see; it's not his friends, or Luna, or the place that he'd most call "home". But it's what he needs to see, his world and the lands he's destined to rule over. Noctis exhales as he drags his fingers through cool grass, head turning to see the shadow of another figure only illuminated by starlight. ]

... ah. Hey. [ Again his gaze turns skyward, even if he feels a greater sense of unease now. ] It'd be good if this lasted, huh?

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[He does not look okay.]

[Stumbling around bruised, he's wearing hospital scrubs, fresh stitches running up his arms. His face is bruised, and one of his eyes is bloodied. He walks with an anxious expression, and when he hears someone call out, he ducks for cover.]

[There's a black-haired boy around his age coming toward him, out of a huge hall, and he's scared. Of course he's scared. Where is he? Why is he here? He ducks for cover behind one of the huge fucking doors, before the computer tells him there's a 98% chance he's already been seen.]

Did we escape? [Breathing too fast, the computer tells him. He's inhaling at only 74% efficiency.]

[ The muffled sound of his own boots echoes in the ornate room, every detail of the architecture screaming exorbitant wealth and making this disheveled teenager look even more out of place against its polished surfaces. Noctis halts for the barest of moments when the -- younger? it's hard to tell after such a brief glimpse -- boy ducks for cover and then speaks, taking a moment to himself before resuming his approach. ]

Escape from where? Don't you know where you are? [ This empty, cavernous room. His hand's placed against the edge of one door, leaning forward to peer around it. ]

You need to let me see you if you're hurt; I can help.

[Do not let the enemy see weaknesses. He takes a moment to steel himself, and try again. It's an imperfect cover, obviously fake coolness, a reverse echo of a memory from waking-]

[He stands tall, his shoulders only slightly shaking. (He could take him. He could. He knows he could.)]

Why are you here?

[Everything is wrong. Start with the basics.]

[ His confusion is worn openly on his face, pairing with the incredulity that that question makes him feel. ]

... I live here. [ Does he? He did, once. So why does he feel so out of place here now? ] How'd you get past the guards? Who... are you?

Your name. What's your name?

[He takes a step back, then a step forward. Don't show weakness.]

[But when he opens his mouth for a name, nothing comes.]

L... Lu... [Words flash through his head. Names and places. Something familiar, but when he says it, he knows it's a lie:] Lucas Trent.

[Yes. He'll be Lucas Trent. That... it isn't right. He knows it's a lie. But it will have to be enough. The other questions... he doesn't have answers to. This place is large, but maybe one person can live in a large place like this? Maybe. Are guards hard to get past? Probably. He isn't sure.]

[ He's patient through the stuttered words, staying quiet until this teen manages to give them a more solid voice. Lucas Trent. It sounds unlike any name he's ever heard in Insomnia but not dissimilar to those used outside its border. So he's not from the city, but that much Noctis could glean already. ]

How did you...

I'll heal you, first. Then you can tell me how you got in here, Lucas. It's a serious thing to trespass within the Citadel. [ The tone's unlike any Noctis has used on the station, that's for sure, far more self-confident and far less honest. The royal manner in which he's been taught. ]

[He goes very still, and tries to make his expression blanker, if possible. It's all imperfect, hiding a boy clearly scared and suspicious, battered and angry.]

Don't touch me.

[That command, however, books no argument.]

Whatever I did, I didn't mean to.

I'm not going to touch you. You want to do it yourself? [ His hand extends only a few inches, palm up as crystalline light dances briefly overtop it before what looks like a simple glass bottle is dropping for him to catch. ]

Here. This is a potion that'll take care of a lot of what's hurting you right now. All you need to do is break the glass. [ Inexplicably. FFXV rules, I guess. ] I'm not putting you on trial here, I just want to know what you know.

[Lucas Trent doesn't feel very trusting today. He stares at the bottle, at the boy holding it, and says nothing.]

[I don't know anything.]

[Saying as much seems impossibly weak, impossibly stupid. Vulnerabilities at every angle. The enemy will overwhelm him. He'll be defeated and destroyed.]

I don't have to explain anything.

[ Noctis holds a frustrated sigh back behind his teeth, burdened by that desire to help and the fact that he's currently unable to exact any useful steps towards doing so. ]

... listen to me. Do you know what this is, behind me? [ One foot slides back so he can turn, gesturing to the throne room. ]

All this. Is any of it familiar?

[How did he know? Did he see right through him? Has Lucas Trent missed some obvious cue, some clue to all of this? His expression remains stony.]

[He searches for a noncommittal answer.]

Why does that matter?

[ This is... baffling. He really doesn't know? What subject of Lucis wouldn't know? ]

Are you serious? Because it's a place only certain people are allowed to be. If you don't let me help you out, you could get into trouble. [ More trouble than he's already been in. And... looking at him, really looking at him, Noctis feels a lump growing in his throat. Blood vessels burst in his eye, rough lines pinching together angry red skin, bruises mottling his face... He's been through hell. ]

So why don't I make the cut?

[It's a challenge, an obvious one. The computer in his head says fight fight fight, and shows all this boy's weaknesses, he can see them. It would be so easy, the computer says, so easy.]

[Lucas Trent looks into this boy's eyes, and he thinks he sees... concern? The thought of meeting that kindness with violence seems... it doesn't sound like something that Lucas Trent thinks he wants to be, but it's hard to tell. The computer is so distracting, and the anger is easier to focus on, so he picks that, aggression and wariness.]

Don't threaten me.

I'm not. [ With a hint more of his usual impatience slipping through that more put-upon persona. ]

I'm trying to help you. You're not part of the royal family, you're not part of the guard or glaive, and you're not an advisor or a member of the council. That's what sets you apart. No one else would be in here unattended.

So you should use the potion and we should get you out of here before someone else sees you. Do you get it, Lucas?

You are.

[Everything is a threat. This boy is a threat. Lucas Trent realizes he's a threat to the boy... he could hurt him, it would be so easy. He realizes, through some future knowledge of an event he doesn't entirely understand, that he is made for hurting. That's what he's good at. The only thing.]

[It's a purpose. It's a reason. He has that, and a name, sort of. That's... something. He'll take it.]

[He turns to leave.]

If you want me to leave so bad, I'll go. [He doesn't understand how he did it, but he escaped the aliens. Maybe escaping is something he's good at, too.]

You're-- Hold on, you're not listening to a word that I'm saying. You can't walk out in front of a bunch of guards unaccompanied. [ Even if they're not here, right now, like they should be. Where are they?

The potion vanishes back into nothingness at his realization that it's unlikely to be used, abandoning that goal in favor of another. One he chooses to execute in an unwise manner, with an immediate grab for Midnighter's shoulder. ]

I said wait.

[Threat detected.]

[Lucas Trent hears the whispers of the computer and its suggestions, and he sees all the ways he could die, be killed, ripped apart, more pain, more weakness, vulnerability-]

[He whips around with more speed than he realizes he has, grabbing the wrist that grabs for him. Lucas Trent uses what little momentum he has to whip the boy over his shoulder, sending him forward with strength that surprises even him.]

[Don't show vulnerability don't look weak don't leave an opening-]

I told you not to do that!

[Anger hides his embarrassment. Somehow, he knows the boy's attempts to touch him weren't fatal.]

[ In one instant he has a hand on him and in the next he's weightless, savoring that for the second it lasts because he's been thrown enough times to know that the pain is coming in fast. Gravity drags him down against that spotless floor with a force he knows will leave a few bruises, but he doesn't stay down long enough to think about it. It's so... surreal to think about someone attacking him here that he hasn't even tried to fight back.

Here. The most well-guarded room in the most well-guarded building in the most well-guarded city in Lucis. Why doesn't that make sense?

Oh. It's finally slipping in.

This isn't the Insomnia he knows.

And the very second he has that realization is the same as the one in which a powerful explosion suddenly forces a shudder throughout the whole of the building, one he instinctively knows is delivered courtesy of a Niflheim ship. No doubt his mind's attempt to correct the fabric of his own dream while he's still in it. ]

Fuck... Come on, now we really do have to move!

They found- [Me? Us? He growls, a feral sound under his breath. This isn't good. Threat detected-]

[He's stronger than this kid. He won't leave him to the aliens' tender touch. No one deserves that. He didn't deserve that. He reaches out for the kid again, grabbing for his hand.]

I'll protect you. [No, that's not right.] I- I'm sorry. [Better.] I'll fix it. [Perfect.]

[ The shift in this teen's demeanor would be more jarring if not for the even more catastrophic changes occurring to this dream world itself, expecting to hear the sound of those robotic magitek soldiers at any moment.

And yet still, hand grasped in his, he stops to look at him again and he feels his heart ache. Noctis couldn't explain it if asked, why that feeling echoes through his own fear and burst of adrenaline. ] Don't worry about that right now; you think I'm angry? Let's go!

[ And he's jerking hard at that hand with a move back through the doors, unsure of even his own destination when another attack comes. This room should be one with paintings lining the walls, illustrations of Lucian history, but right now they're distorted and unrecognizable to him... like someone else's dream is interfering with his. ]

Come on, the elevator's right over here.

The elevators won't work for us!

[It doesn't make sense, and then it does, and the creature that calls himself Lucas Trent doesn't question it. He grabs the boy's hand hard, yanking him away from the elevator.] I tried that. It doesn't work.

[Everything melts into the rusted hallways of a derelict spaceship, creaking with disuse and poor craftsmanship. He pulls them around the corner, and kicks in a ventilation shaft.] We'll have to crawl.

How do you-- [ --know that, words that die in his throat the second the image of a stunning throne room phases into something far more claustrophobic and haunting. That smell... What's that smell, it's something he's never known in his life and certainly could never dream.

He keeps pace with Midnighter as they cut around the corner, finally just giving into a hurried nod. ] Okay... I'm gonna' help keep you safe too, okay? You just tell me what I need to know. [ Aside from getting into this vent, and quickly; whatever they're running from has this boy terrified and he's not wasting any time before ducking down and crawling inside. ]

You can't, [He says, adamant. No one can keep him safe. Lucas Trent is something else, a toy, an experiment, an object. He's not sure he can protect this boy, but he'll try.]

I won't let them turn you into me.

[That's the best he can do, and it still feels like a faulty promise. He pulls the boy along, hands lingering on him, refusing to let go.]

Nothing like that is gonna' happen, oi. Listen-- Lucas? I'm Noctis. [ A hurried introduction, anything to help calm him and ground them both as he twists in that duct. ]

If we're gonna' move fast then I need you to let go of me. Now, will you trust me enough to take the potion yet? It's gonna' help.

[Lucas Trent looks back at the boy-- Noctis. His name is Noctis. That feels... familiar, but he can't place it. It doesn't matter. So many things seem familiar, feel right, and yet the details slip through his fingers.]

[It makes him frustrated.]

[That's another weakness. He holds it back.] What will it do to me? [Those familiar with cornered animals may recognize the look in Lucas Trent's eyes. But he does let go of Noctis' hands.]

[OPEN] what kingly dreams

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