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♥ Who: Gladio and OTA.
♥ Where: Everywhere.
♥ When: January 3rd.
♥ What: Gladio finding his feet and meeting the locals.
♥ Rating: PG-13

Another Strange Place:
[Gladio had been walking toward a small group of children, smiling as disarmingly as a man as large and seemingly intimidating as he could. The adults were nowhere to be seen, aside from some of the elderly. He'd hoped to gain some information. Anything, to help...

But between one step and the next... everything went dark. Not not a bad kind of dark. It felt... strange...

... When Gladio opened his eyes to see sky above him, white clouds, blue, clear sky... He turned his head slightly to see... nothing he expected. Instead of rustic houses, dirt paths, wooden fences and children at play, he saw white. White pillars and columns shaped like trees. Red and white ornaments. Strange looking birds. And he was laying down in the centre of it all.

He rose slowly, turned and dropped his legs over the edge of slab of carved stone he lay upon. When Gladio looked down he still wore the same clothes he'd been wearing (black leather pants, dark brown tunic, black cloak), so at least that hadn't changed. There was a sigh as he lifted a hand to scrub across his face.]

Damn train's done it again...

[Was this a side mission? Why had he been pulled away? And where was everyone else? When Gladio looked at his wrist he frowned, his SCA was gone. That didn't bode well. He was just contemplating calling out when a strange robot approached him... and that's where Gladio found out that he wasn't in Irivar anymore.

He was lead from the stone slab into another area to find more robots... he was handed a tablet, some local currency... and sent him on his way.

Gladio stepped out of the, what was it? He looked back and up. Temple... definitely a temple. He stepped out... and immediately sat himself down on the steps in the snow to try and work his head around what the hell he'd gotten himself into this time.]

A Teeny Tiny Fortune:
[Having noticed the strange booth, Gladio approached curiously. These robots were a strange thing, but so was the box that he was handed. He shook it as directed, a small, amused smile on his lips.

Then he was given a piece of paper.]

"The smallest things can bring the biggest rewards." Huh... good things in small packages, right? Thanks.

[Still looking very amused, Gladio shoved the paper in his pocket and turned to go.]

Stuck On You:
[Apparently he needed to look for a place to live. This was a big step up from a small room with a smaller bed shared between four people.

Gladio had taken his cloak off and had it wrapped over one hand. The laces of his leather tunic had been loosened and he was considering just taking that off as well, but figured near stripping in the middle of the street could be frowned upon.

He was so distracted by his surroundings that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Gladio bumped into someone. Automatically he reached out to stop whoever he ran into from hitting the ground... except that never happened. Wait, why couldn't he let go?]

Sorry! You okay?

Taking Stock:
[He'd found his way to the centre of the city it seemed. He'd found a fountain, an interesting structure that Gladio stood for a while, just looking at. He moved around it slowly, looking at all angles, before he sat himself down on the edge.

He stretched his legs out in front of himself and sighed.

So far this place didn't seem to have anything in common with where he had been before... He was starting to get a sinking feeling.

It was cold, there was snow everywhere, but nothing that was going to bother him so much that he was rushing to get indoors. He'd spent so much time inside over the last few months, even the snow was welcome.]

Home Away From Home:
[Houses... Small houses bunched together... And he was supposed to find one.]

Right... so how the hell does this work?

[Gladio walked up the street, then down it again, before he stopped in front of a house that appeared to be vacant. The tablet thing claimed it was unoccupied, so he walked on in.

After having a look around, he laughed to himself and did what was necessary to become the new owner... and then dropped himself down on sofa. Well and truly done.]

Wildcard:
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A train that travelled through the Void. No idea what the Void is. Something about time and space, and... [He waved a hand dismissively... Then his tone quieted.]

Iggy was there... He'd been there on his own for months before I got there. Prompto too. Same time as me. And a few weeks later you did.

Hah, well, not you, but a version of you.

[Noctis lifts his brows at that, shifting his attention to Gladio again. A time space... train? Another version of him, too.]

...Sounds familiar. [Different "versions"... like Ignis, like Luna. He's seen a few instances of this happening.] Guess there's no escaping me, huh?

You're telling me. Few months later another you showed up. You were blind...

And a bit of a dick.

[Gladio hadn't really had much to do with that version of Noct though, he'd been much more interested in Prompto. But he could understand that.]

[Gladio earns a puzzled and annoyed look at that.]

That doesn't sound like me. [He's a very nice guy, thank you very much.] I guess a lot went wrong in that version of Eos.

[More than usual, at least.]

Yeah, a lot. He'd come from somewhere else too. Some fleet... he was a pilot he said. I think...

[Gladio was sure that guy had said he'd piloted a big ship of some kind, but he'd never went into detail with him.]

[Something about what he says tickles at the back of Noct's brain. Besides the questionable nature of a blind pilot, the word sticks out...]

Fleet? Like... [Wait, no way.] Was that in space, too?

Well it was a spaceship so yeah, think so.

Have I told you I hate space? I found that out real quick!

[Really hates space. Like it was an actual fear of his. But he didn't need to go into too much detail there.]

Doesn't sound like much fun.

[He's never been, but he'd seen enough of that endless, empty galaxyscape inside the Crystal, and he doesn't need more of it. He's curious now, though... if this is the same space fleet he's heard about before.]

You should tell Prompto. He was in the same situation as you- came from somewhere else before here, and it was in space. Maybe he knew Dickmode Prince.

Maybe he did...

[Gladio... wasn't sure if he was ready for that just yet, but he'd get there. He was sure he'd bump into Prompto at some point...]

Guess I'll ask and find out.

[Noctis makes a mental note to not ask. He doesn't need to know anything about his unfortunate alternate self. One of him in the universe is enough, he doesn't need to know more than that.]

He's around, though you might want to track him down later. He got sick and Ignis is doing the protective-mom hover. He's supposed to be sleeping.

[Technically so is Noct, but he's had enough of that for now.]

[He frowned, concern in his expression.]

He's sick...? Right, I'm sure he's being looked after. I'll... I'll go say hi when he'd feeling better.

[No point in bothering him when he wasn't well.]

Good.

[He pauses, considering whether or not to say it, and then adds,]

Just be nice to the poor guy, alright? He... hasn't seen you in a really long time. You're the only one who hasn't been here.

[The long months without Gladio for Noct had been hard enough, but for Prompto it's been years. He may not have the same long history as the trio do, but he's still known Gladio for a good chunk of time and the journey beyond Insomnia had brought them all closer. Missing him has been rough on everyone.]

[Gladio went very still for a moment. He'd lost his smile. He kind of wanted to argue, but knew he didn't have that right. All he could do was nod.]

I wouldn't do anything to hurt him, Noct...

[Noctis glances at him briefly, then away again.]

Come on, you know what I mean.

[Gladio's not... usually hurtful intentionally, at least not before things went bad in Altissia, but they all have their way of ribbing on each other. More often than not Prompto ends up the butt of the jokes, and Gladio's less merciful with it. He just wanted to remind Gladio to play nice for a few days, that's all.]

[Gladio gave a low, huff of a laugh and pushed himself away from the doorframe he'd been leaning against.]

I know. And things change.

I'll wait till he's well.

[It'd be easier then, right?]

[There's something to those words that makes Noctis suspicious, but he has no real cause to question further, so he'll file that away for "maybe later". Instead he nods, getting back to prepping the drinks for a moment before he offers out a mug of sweet violet tea.]

You find a place to crash already?

[He took the cup with a grateful smile and nodded at the question.]

If you mean am I squatting in a random house I was told I could have, sure, yeah, I found a place.

[Noctis scoffs briefly at the phrasing, stirring his chocolate.]

Got an open room here for you if you ever want it. No pressure.

[He doesn't bother waiting for a real answer, though- he'd gotten the vague implication of discomfort from Gladio earlier and while he can't quite place it, he'd rather not press. Wherever Gladio wants to be, that's just fine. He's not a baby who needs supervising.]

Anything about this place you're itching to get answered?

[Maybe one day he'd take Noct up on that offer. But after the last place he was at, time to himself was very much needed. Space was needed. A bed he mostly fit in was needed. And quiet. Though Gladio had a feeling the quiet would get to him eventually, so it was good he had an open invite to hang with here if that ever happened.

He lifted his cup to his lips, blew on it to cool and took a sip.]

What's the catch?

Gives you money when you walk in. A free house. Why?

No catch so far, but there's definitely something up. I haven't noticed anything actively untrustworthy about the locals, they're just...

[Noctis frowns, shaking his head.]

They don't know the whole story. They're not lying about what's outside- I've been there, and it's been trashed. Had to go out in a suit like the power plant. Also probably not lying about what the world needs, since we've seen real change since we got here. But the gods, or what happened... I don't know. The "ghosts" tell it differently.

Ghosts? You've ghosts here?

[So far all he'd seen were robots and the occasional person, but no ghosts... unless the people were ghosts, like Danny, which wouldn't have shocked Gladio much.]

And so... what? You're seriously telling me the only way to help this world is... hug it out?

Mostly through dreams, but yeah. They've come through town here and there.

[He takes a careful sip of his chocolate, and smirks faintly over the mug.]

Yeah, more or less. Or handholding, whatever. Time to get soft, big guy.

[He wasn't sure he liked the idea of someone, or something, poking about his dreams... He'd seen that happen to friends, it never looked plesant.

Noct narrowly escaped an eyeroll then.]

You don't have to worry bout me.

[Even a few months away from Eos had done wonders for Gladio's temperament. As well as meeting several people who were very... touchy-feely. It was just a strange way to save a world. He was used to having to fight for that. Now he just needed to... cuddle? So weird.]

Usually don't.

[Gladio's the one who's like... safe. Good with people, good at protecting. And while he isn't the cuddliest with him, he's seen the guy with Iris and girls not related to him to know he's good at that sort of thing.

Yeah, he's not worried about Gladio.]

Lots of people here from home, by the way. [He pauses, gaze drifting towards the floor.] My dad's here, from like twenty years ago.

Yeah.

[Another sip of his tea, things pushed down, waaay way down, locked in a nice little box and hidden away in a deep, dark recess of his mind.

And then he laughed.]

Yeah? Thanks for the heads up. Ran into Ardyn earlier... that was a trip.

[Seeing the King though, now that would be interesting. He'd never had many audiences with him. That was his dad's job...]

You two... good? You and your dad?