hugtopia_logs | [closed] i was hanging with you

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[closed] i was hanging with you

♥ Who: Noctis and Pyra
♥ Where: VR cafe, King's Knight
♥ When: early may
♥ What: cute surprises
♥ Rating: PG

[ Over the past couple of weeks they had resumed some of their usual routine. At his leisure they've trained together, this time both with his magic and her own fire, and they've also found time to play King's Knight. Already they've climbed the dungeons together to the point they've almost reached the end of the game.

It's towards the early afternoon where she leaves her work at the labs, and she sends him a text to meet her at the VR cafe-- today is the day where they finally beat the game. Their last joined saved point had been just as the final dungeon leading up to Ophion. Greeting him with a warm smile, her hand finds his as soon as he arrives. They take their usual spots in the cafe and, donning their helmets, enter the game.

Her hand is still in his as she blinks them open once the virtual reality assembles. Before them is the beginning of the dungeon: a series of crystalline staircases ascending a mountain, punctuated with levels of plateaus and terraces where more treasures and enemies await heroes on their gauntlet; behind them, their last chance to stock up on healing items and equipment before proceeding. The cooler wind-effect of this level gives away that they're already somewhere high-up, and her longer hair within the game flows behind her like ribbons upon a flag.

She turns to him, her head tilting. ]

Oh... New class?

[ And a new level, she sees. It seems he's been playing this on his own time, too! While it does make her question why the sudden change for the final area, perhaps he believes being a Dragoon may help them more against the superboss. ]

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["She wants to meet you."

His eyes widen, not because he's surprised but because she said it. He'd been glad that she laughed, thinking if anything she would gently brush his question aside rather than get upset if it was prying too much, but instead, this...

He's genuinely touched by her trust in him, so after a beat he shares her smile, curious, but wanting to be patient.]

Well, you can tell her the feeling's mutual.

[Whoever "she" is.]

[ He’s smiling, and she doesn’t have the heart to remind him to think of her words. She wants to meet him... Doesn’t mean that she will. Or should.

Something like hesitation flickers in Pyra’s gaze. The only way for him to possibly meet her is being taken in by her crystal, and that is—... She recalls how he had flinched upon entering the VR, as if unused to the sudden darkness, the lack of the world around him, only for it to be reconstructed. Then, he had also mentioned to her that his crystal.... ate him? The wording is peculiar, but she presumes it must have consumed him in somehow.

Even if it wouldn’t hurt him, she worries.

Nonetheless Pyra smiles more easily in response. Her hand relaxes in his. ] Saying something like that... you’re going to make her blush.

[ Being one in the same, Mythra is quite sentimental. ]

[It's hard not to be a little whimsical at that, his smile turning playful.]

Oh yeah? She's not jealous that you get to hang out with me, is she?

[That hesitation hadn't gone over his head, but he wants her to be at ease with him even while talking about this- like it's no different than any other conversation, like it doesn't bother him to know of it. There's no deception in that, either. Pyra is Pyra, even if Pyra isn't just Pyra. Anyway, it's not like she's the only one carrying around additional souls or whatever her equivalent is. He's got over a hundred piggybacking on all his conversations, and she's never complained about it. She's even been there to help him sort of meet some of them. It'd be hypocritical to judge her or not extend the same hand to her passengers.]

[ His strategy works. Already she appears more relaxed.

It also helps that she’s never spoken to anyone else about this. As far as she could tell, no one has picked up on how she might slip with the use of “we”. It feels oddly freeing to have someone that does know—... and someone with whom she feels safe. ]

How did you know?

[ Envious? Yes, but in more respectful ways. She had coveted what goodness she saw in others.... And she does enjoy his company. It’s no lie to hint at that the both of them are very alone in their little personal dimension, and have been for the past couple of centuries as they waited.

A pause, and then she volunteers: ]

Mythra.

Her name.

Mythra...

[Quietly he commits it to memory, rolling it over on his tongue. He doesn't know what it means, if there is some significance of the name in her world, or if it's a secret kept for a long time, another mystery wrapped up in the being that is Pyra. He might never know, or she might tell him one day. He's not especially bothered either way.

He lifts his free hand to wave, a bit clumsy, but not as fussed about appearing that way as he might usually feel. This is... weird! But no more than what Pyra's offered to his own very unusual family situation.]

Hi, Mythra.

[ Her next smile comes more easily than the last, as she raises her free hand to give a little wave in return, then after covering her mouth as she giggles. Always so genuine...

Oh. ] This reminds me—

We have something for you, too.

[ She leans back slowly then falls to the plush grass beneath her. Turning her head partway to look at him, she nods to him with an inviting smile. ]

Come lie with me.

[ DONT GET ANY IDEAS YOUNG MAN— The surprise is best seen from this angle. ]

[If this was the first time they'd done that, he might've gotten the wrong impression, but instead it reminds him a bit of that time she caught him napping in the grass months ago, where she'd just laid down next to him, completely at ease. He lies back next to her, shoulder to shoulder, glancing first at her, then the sky, since there isn't really anything else around besides Ophion.]

What's this for?

[He can't see it yet.]

[ In the moment that he glances at her, he'll only see a secretive smile upon her lips, as if she's holding something back. She replies, turning her head to look at the sky. ]

Mm... You'll have to be patient, just a little.

[ The in-game atmosphere is already nightfall, the mist only needs to clear just a little more. Considering that he had fallen asleep and a lot of time has passed in his world, he might not have remembered the "challenge" she had left for him. In which case, this might make it an even better surprise.

With the superboss resting beside them, the summit of the mountain is tranquil. ] ...Does our local Dragoon know the stories of the stars?

Stories of the stars, huh...

[He keeps his focus skyward, thinking back; he's done plenty of stargazing, but the lore part was more Ignis' thing than his. He liked to listen, but how much of it was actually retained, well... that's questionable.]

I remember a storybook from when I was little about Starcarver, the first anak. You wanna hear it?

[ She still looks up at the sky, patient. Little by little, she sees some false stars she's woven into the virtual, celestial tapestry appear. ]

The Starcarver...?

[ Of course she wants to hear! Whether or not this is a tale from his world or one he's making up for this world of King's Knight. Architect knows she didn't pay much attention to what stories mortals made of stars millions of lightyears away from them, back when she first walked the earth, but now she appreciates each and every single tale and myth and legend. ]

Yeah. The story goes that the first anak crawled out of one of the oldest trees in the world, and he loved that tree like it was his mother. He was nocturnal, though, so it was hard for him to stay awake during the day and spend time with her. One day he decided he'd grow, and grow, and grow, until his antlers were so huge he could gather up all the stars into one so bright it'd shine like the sun, and they could both be together and lively at night. Over the years he worked on that promise, each night stretching out further and further, spearing the stars one by one on his horns.

[It's weird how vividly he recalls it; he'd spent countless hours alone in that room, reading his collection of books over and over, or urging Ignis to read them for him. Who gave him that book? Who did the best voices? The details are lost on him, but he can practically recall the tale word for word. Anak were his favourite for so long.]

[ She listens to him quietly, allowing him to finish. Anak-- they sound like fascinating animals. And this tale is just as grandiose as she would hope a myth of stars to be. He grew antlers that could pierce the heavens to capture its light... all in order to be with his mother.

She's of the mind that the anak did a very dangerous thing, but that doesn't make it any less a captivating and whimsical tale. ] ...He loved his mother that much, mm? To grow star-proof antlers.

Supposedly.

[It's just a story, after all.]

Eventually he gathered too many stars, and his collection was so heavy he could barely hold his head up anymore. So he stretched up as high as he could and left them in the sky, all together in one huge ball. It wasn't as bright as the sun, but it lit up the whole night sky, and he felt like he'd finally done his mom proud. People called him Starcarver because he carved the stars into the moon.

An... anak, was it? [ She hums. ] The Starcarver. I'll remember this story.

[ Growing so wonderfully so as to illuminate the darkness for others, what a wonderful thought. The stars are absolutely among of her favorite things in Creation. ]

Does the Starcarver have his own constellation?

Yeah. Big one, though it's hard to see from Insomnia most nights. We spotted it on the outskirts of Duscae, where all the big trees grow. It branches out like two giant antlers, and those stars shine extra bright when it's aligned with a full moon.

[It's no wonder it became such a legend, really, when the stars themselves support its wild story.]

[ Pyra closes her eyes, exhaling softly with a smile. ] I can just imagine what it would look like.

[ Looking up at the stars, a warm campfire at her side and company on the other, night where they had forgotten about a war... it had been a reprieve from days surrounded by battles. Sometimes, though, she almost wished she had turned her head from the stars to look and interact with that company instead. They are gone, now. (Or mostly.)

When she opens her eyes, the clouds above have nearly parted. Any moment now, and he'll surely be able to spot an obvious silhouette of his Carbuncle. ]

Maybe I'll draw it sometime.

[Might as well put those wasteful arsty skills to good use, lest he fall back out of practice. He opens his mouth to say something else but the words are instantly lost as he spots it- a set of twinkling stars that stand out among the rest, a shape he would recognize any day, any time, anywhere. He actually sits up a little, as if those spare inches could get him closet to the sky.

That's... Carbuncle.]

Pyra...

[ Having another one of his drawings? She'll consider herself lucky if she gets to see it, especially if it's of the stars...And speaking of--

As soon as he says her name, her head turns to look at him as his own gaze remains fixed upon the sky. For weeks she had been wondering if he would be surprised or even like this little gift, so vulnerable he had been when he first reawakened...

She waits for him to finish, watching him with hope that he will, or if this is too much. Which, it could be. It's a more conspicuous constellation, more like Carbuncle's outline drawn in the night sky than a skeletal series of stars. It may even look a little silly, what with the Messenger's eyes given brighter stars to mark them. She's lucky that during his time searching for the Omega Fetter, he didn't grind up and down this last dungeon, or that he had forgotten to look for surprise on his own at all. ]

[Noctis gives himself a few moments to quietly drink in the details, memorizing the shape of it; it's primitive the way all constellations are, but done in such a way that he can easily fill in the details, perfectly envisioning Carbuncle from it- same as the example he'd given her a while back. He'd assumed she had been asking so she'd know the creature when she pet it, but this... yeah, he didn't expect this at all.]

That explains why you asked for a picture, huh. [He whistles up to the sky, lips curving into an easy smile.] That's awesome. It really does look just like Carbuncle...

[ --This is the expression she wanted to see on him, and his smile infects her to make one of her own. It's so easy to smile when he does, she finds.

Satisfied, Pyra closes her eyes. ] I'm... afraid that I don't know of any Carbuncle myths as grand as the Starcarver, but I feel that he's deserving of being up there.

I'd agree with that. Carbuncle's... more unique, I guess, [What with the whole Chosen-specific existence,] but all the gods have constellations of their own. I like the idea of the Messengers getting that, too.

[Now Carbuncle can join Gentiana in having one all to itself- he's interested in finding out what the little Messenger will think when it's told about this.]

Thanks, by the way. It's really cool that you snuck this in.

[It's... very sweet. He's never been shy about how much he enjoys Carbuncle's company, but few get to know how much comfort he gains from its presence. Even just seeing it in some way, be it carving, or drawing, or apparently, stars in the sky... he just naturally feels a little better. He feels safe.]

[ She had obtained its image from the statuette he had lent her, but as for the photo... she keeps it upon a dresser, just in case one day she might wake up and see that she's able to spot it within the picture for herself. It might not be ever, but it's a fun thing to keep as a token in the back of her mind.

She takes his thanks in with a smile. ]

...He makes a perfect addition to the game, too.

Ophion won't be lonely.

Mm... that's good.

[Even if it isn't the real Ophion, or the real Carbuncle, it's a nice sentiment. Here, there's nothing to stop their imaginations from indulging.]

I bet our Messengers could be friends, too.

[ If only Ophion was invisible. That would make her life a lot easier to hide him.... Then again, if somehow an invisible Ophion would be acquired by humans, that would make him even more dangerous. No thanks. ]

Now that I think of it... [ She scrunches her nose, adopting a falsely parental, backpedaling tone. ]

...Carbuncle doesn't have a history of getting in trouble, does it? I wouldn't want it to be a bad influence on my Ophion.

Nah, Carbuncle's not like that. If anything, I'm the bad influence on it.

[He can't think of an instance where Carbuncle discouraged shenanigans, but it's never been a crime to be a gentle enabler of one's more playful instincts. Surely no harm can come to Ophion from that.]

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