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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[Shinobu is just as stunned as everyone else is, in the classroom, that she apparently got this right? At the very least, she's glad that everyone isn't staring at her wide-eyed expression before she can quickly recover from it, brushing it off as she turns her attention back toward Noctis.]

You really want to know? [She glances around, making sure the rest of the students were gone and the teacher was glancing away before continuing.] It's still a bullshit question that no one, including me, is gonna know. Pretty sure I heard somewhere that forty-two is supposed to be the answer to everything, so I just went with that. Guess it worked that time.

[She shrugs as she leans back a little, putting both hands behind her on a nearby desk to steady her position.] Why is everyone pressuring you so much anyway?

[ 42? The answer to everything? Give him the manga version of this story and he will read it, okay.

Noctis again looks at the board while trying to mentally plug in that answer and quickly finds himself giving up. This isn't his skillset; he's had constant tutoring to get him where he is, to stay at the top of the class. It's what's expected of him.

And so when he's asked that question he ends up bemused, smothering a quiet scoff. ]

Is that a joke? No one wants their future king to be second best, Shinobu. I guess I get it, anyway. [ Her name comes to him out of nowhere, a spark of vivid remembrance. ]

[Shinobu glances at the board as Noctis tries to work through the problem, trying once again to try to make any sense of it herself to no avail. Once it seems like he's done attempting to figure it out, though, Shinobu lets out a breathy sound of amusement.] I told you that shit's hard.

[At the bit of the bombshell he drops on her, though, Shinobu initially stares at him with a piercing look, trying to figure out if he was just making something up. However, from how derisive the response was, she was actually getting the feeling he might not be.]

You're actually not fucking with me, are you? [The name "Shinobu" makes her flinch a little, as that was her assassin name, but it might be okay if it's just this guy, right? If the other students hadn't have left already, it would be a far more serious problem that she herself would have had to deal with. However, before she could say something about there being no kings in the US, she also gets a bit of an epiphany.] You mean of this Lucis place?

[ He would love to be making this up, honestly. If this were a reality that stayed fully within this dream then he could duck a lot of responsibility that seems like it's trying to chase him even in Agoge.

He takes a moment to let sink in the fact that she's still disbelieving, trying to access a feeling of indignation at being doubted but really he's just confused. Everyone here knows who he is. Everyone always has, anyway. ]

Ah... of where else? That's where we are; am I supposed to be the heir to some other throne? Geeze... Maybe I should be getting you to a doctor or something instead. Are you feeling okay?

I'm a transfer student, give me a break!

[From a different world entirely, but since he's already accusing her of being nuts (more than usual, considering her actual profession) she's just trying to minimize the confusion for him.

In any case, even if she's trying to remain calm, Shinobu still feels her temper flare up a little more than usual – her younger self was pretty bad at that, unfortunately. The irritation is obvious on her face, but as she still tries to converse reasonably.]

Who cares about some math problem anyway? Assuming you're good at something else.

[She is genuinely trying to be helpful, but it might not come out that way.]

[ ... why ]

Hah? Of course I'm good at other things... Just it matters that I'm good at this too. You ever heard of a prince not being top of the class? [ He pauses, seeming to catch himself as he crosses his arms and leans against the window sill. Ah. Right. ]

Never mind, if you're a transfer student... I can just tell you that that's how things are. Getting shown up like that looks pretty bad for me. Not saying you can't know it, just... Well, whatever. It happened.

I don't know any other princes, so hell if I know. I highly doubt knowing the answer to every math problem in existence, though, is going to be much of a benefit to anyone.

[There's nothing even close to a prince in Santa Destroy, but not even royalty could save just how fucked up that town was anyway. The way Noctis explains his situation, though, he makes it seem like she caused more problems than she solved. However, she was never the type to outwardly apologize for her actions.]

That's stupid. If you're that concerned about it, show me up next time. Or just drop this class and sign up for something that's more relevant to you.

[Because look, she's going off of American school rules, okay.]

Don't worry, it's in my plans. I'm not gonna' be second to a transfer student. [ Even saying this he doesn't sound especially vicious; there's nothing vindictive about his tone. If anything it's put-on hubris mixed with a genuine competitiveness, squinting up at the ceiling as he crosses his arms. ]

But I can't really drop my math class, either. It's required... Did you think it was an elective or extracurricular? It's math. [ It's math, Shinobu. ]

Good, you've got some fight in you after all.

[Even if Shinobu was completely average at math and expected to get her ass handed to her in the subject regardless. Though weirdly, if this dream were to continue for a while, the challenge alone would almost be tempting to get her to try to learn more.]

I know that. I meant switch to an easier class, so you can focus more on subjects you're into. [Granted, Shinobu was pretty much at the average tier for most of her classes herself – she had to be when her focus was split between school and her profession.]

[ More on subjects he's into? ]

Maa... Maybe if they offered a few extra classes at the arcade. Or a couple in anime, or comics... Pretty sure I'd nail all of those. But it doesn't matter too much. [ And he raises his shoulders in a brief shrug, still avoiding any eye contact out of habit. ]

It's not like I'm the one that picks out my schedule.

Huh... [She passes a judging look over to him. It was true that she liked at least one anime series (to the point she had three charms of the three main characters of a magical girl show hanging from the scabbard of the katana at her hip), but it by no means defined her skill. Shinobu was trying to stick up for Noctis, but she was starting to lose her ground here.] Are you any good at fighting?

[Because for some reason, she got the feeling that having those sort of interests could somehow translate to a pretty damned good fighting ability. Wonder why...]

Who the hell picks your schedule? Tell them to fuck off and have a bit of freedom.

[ Somehow, he feels ill at ease. As if he's being mentally compared to a pizza-eating, wrestling-loving, chronic masturbator. He doesn't know why. Weird. ]

My advisors and my old man. Trust me, this is what I've gotta' stick to. [ However... ]

My fighting skills can't be beat. Now that I've mastered my magic too? Yeah, everyone else can keep dreaming but they're all fighting for second place.

[Shinobu was going to comment that he should really try to gain some more independence, but puts that on hold as he went on about his fighting skills. The part about magic doesn't even really faze her, as she was pretty sure there was an assassin higher ranked than her that was supposed to be a magician – the concept of dealing with magic wasn't entirely lost on her.]

Don't be too sure about that, just be glad you're not fighting me. [Which, from what he's saying, he didn't seem like the type to be interested in entering the ranks of assassins,] But there, tell your advisors that and tell them to chill out.

[ Fuck that magician and wiggling out of his traps tbh. ]

You... really don't get how royalty works, do you? [ But he likes that, honestly. He likes that there's someone who knows less about his duties and responsibilities in a world where people only view him as the sum total of those. Feels... good. ]

Sure, sure, I'll tell them to chill out. So you're pretty tough?

[A bit of a wry expression passes through her brows as she crosses her arms, as if some guy telling her he's basically a prince is not that big of a deal.] Not in the least. That's not really a thing, where I'm from.

[Smugness fills her face as Noctis moves on, though, moving her head a bit to the side to cover up the smirk that formed on her lips.] You've got no idea. Maybe it's not to your level, but I've also got big shoes to fill.

[Even though she still struggles with the fact that she's not sure if her father would actually approve of her career choice, but it was the only path she saw available that could fulfill her quest of vengeance.]

[ He thinks to ask about the political intricacies of a non-monarchy... and elects not to. That sounds like it would get complicated and/or boring quickly, and just because they're in a school building doesn't mean he wants to bring that on himself.

Especially when they could be talking about fighting instead. ]

Whose shoes are that big? Your dad's too? Or maybe like a fighting teacher... I've got a couple.

[He wouldn't have found out much from her anyway – Shinobu could not give less of a shit about politics when they seemingly had no reach in her lifestyle.

Fighting was by far the more interesting topic to her as well anyway.]

I only need one, my dad was the best mentor in the world, where I'm from. ["Was", she kind of accidentally let that slip, along with forgetting that the two of them were not from the same world, in that instant. A bit of melancholy crosses her smile, though she soon shifts it to something more serious.] And only I can come as close to understanding the blade like he could.

[Ah yes, the thing about her being younger in this dream is that she was also more melodramatic back then too. "Straight out of a samurai film", some might say.]

[ He doesn't miss her verb choice, attention snapping back to her a little awkwardly after it's gotten lost somewhere in an idle gaze out the window. "Was"... Yeah, that's tough. But why does it feel so much worse than it should, right now? There's a weird pressure in his chest that he can't define, brow furrowing. ]

Guess we have something in common. That sounds like my old man too... I still get stuck hearing stories about his "fighting days". [ Complete with lazy air quotes. ]

He sounds pretty cool. Your dad.

[Shinobu catches Noctis' expression change slightly, and briefly wonders if he too knew the loss of losing a family member. However, as he continues, the thought is dispelled. Maybe he was just super empathetic or something.

Whatever the case was, Shinobu smiles slightly, but with a melancholic edge to it.] Yeah, I got stuck hearing stories like that too. But... it's not all that bad, really. [A sigh passes as she glances away briefly.] You might miss it someday, you know.

[She manages to brighten up a little, though, at the bit of compliment.] He was no king, or anything of the sort, but yeah. There's a reason a lot of people admired him.

[There's a bit of an awkward pause, after that, until Shinobu speaks again.] So, uh. You wanna get out of here?

[Because yes, she is absolutely suggesting they skip this school. She had nothing to lose, as this wasn't Santa Destroy High and it seemed like this school was pretty lame for Noctis too. Win-win.]

[ Whatever abuses Noctis might suffer within these walls, he can't manage to hate this place. He fought with his father to be here, arguing that he wanted as normal an upbringing as possible until Regis had capitulated and allowed him to be schooled with his peers. That said...

When she mentions ditching class he's of two minds. One, he should probably stay and do his proper duty. But two, he's honestly had enough for one day and no one's ever asked him to do this before, which is a little exciting. He has always had a rebellious spirit. ]

... yeah. You cool to jump out this window? [ GO HARD OR GO HOME, SHINOBU ] I wanna' hear more about your dad on the go.

[While Shinobu, too, had a rebellious spirit, this was also her first time getting to do this. At her own school, she needed the cover to avoid sticking out as much as possible for the other students' sake and didn't have any friends to skip out with anyway, as they'd just be targeted by other assassins trying to take her rank. It was a little bittersweet, knowing that she'd never be able to do this in Santa Destroy, so she had to make the most of it now.

Noctis' suggestion warrants a momentary, wide-eyed look of bewilderment that quickly shifts into a satisfied smirk. Either this guy was out of his mind or was even more interesting than she originally thought. Either way, she could get down with this kind of madness.]

Of course. [FINALLY SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS THE "GO HARD OR GO HOME" MINDSET.] But you better tell me about yours, too. I might be the only person that really knows nothing about you at all.

[True to her word, she goes to the nearest window and opens it. Positioning herself on the sill, she glances down to gauge the distance, glancing back with a challenging sort of grin.] If you wuss out, though, I'm not telling you anything.

[And with that, she jumps down without hesitation, landing below in something that looks awfully close to a cool superhero landing pose. Coming out of nowhere from impossibly high distances was no problem for her, okay. Picking herself up, she takes a few paces back as she waits for Noctis to follow.]

[ From anyone else he'd expect a quick "no" and maybe a follow up "are you out of your mind?" after a question like that. But somehow... somehow, with her, he just knows she's going to go for it. The conversation's hinted as much and she gives off an air of confidence and risk-taking.

Besides.

The window isn't that high up.

He's pushing off the wall just to watch her as she pitches forward in a brave hurtle towards the ground, tempted to whistle when she pulls off that landing. If only he knew how. ] Hey! You okay? [ So instead he yells down at her, grin tugging at his face as he eases back a step... and snatches up a nearby pen. ]

Back up a little! [ The only warning he's giving before tossing that writing utensil down as he takes a deep breath... and it doesn't even hit the ground before Noctis is suddenly vanishing from where he stands, warping to it in a flash of crystalline light. He snatches it up as he straightens, nearly stumbling forward a step but catching himself -- someone hasn't had a ton of practice yet. ]

Ah-- ah, nailed it.

[The funniest part is that the only thing Shinobu thought was a little odd was that Noctis found the urge to throw a pen out of a window for whatever reason. But whatever, whatever floated his boat, she supposed. However, as he shifts away in a blink, soon appearing again on the ground. While Shinobu had seen a variety of fighters already, she had never seen anything quite like that.]

Pretty slick. [In regards to whatever move he just pulled off. However, she soon adds:] Now you gotta work on the landing. Seven out of ten.

[She smiles briefly before looking around to see what else this dream world had to offer.] What the hell was that anyway? You fight with a pen?

Ah, no, it's at least eight out of ten. [ His immediate comeback, in possession of zero shame when it comes to bragging about his combat skills. And this one is a work in progress, so he allows himself a tiny bit of leeway. ]

Wait... [ Noctis lowers his gaze to the pen in his hand, only then shaking his head when he realizes what she means. ] Could if I wanted to, probably, but no way. The reach on this thing sucks... It'd only work for sneak attacks, right? [ He turns on his heel with a shrug of his shoulder to invite her along, gaze pointed back out at a crowded but somehow still neat and tidy cityscape, skyscrapers towering overhead and shadowing strategically planted urban gardens. A rich district. ]

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