hugtopia_logs | those crystal blues

[ When he appears, Noctis is already upon the bed, and the blood stains cleaned. Pyra sits at the edge of it, her hand in Noctis', but when Ardyn appears, her gaze finally tears-- reluctantly-- from him to the newcomer. First his sword, then the man himself. ] Ardyn...?

[ Surprise melts into a pained look, then guilt, before looking back up at him. Ultimately, relief overpowers the rest. He's offered to help in any way he can, even though the worst is over. ]

You... [ Anything he can do to help, and of course he offers that help up as soon as he can. Unfortunately-- ] I think that we're all stuck waiting, for now. Waiting for him to wake. [ His mind needs the rest, the time to process, to allow her crystal to do all the work for him and protect what remains.

As for what happened, she's uncertain as to how to answer, but she starts with this, looking at Ardyn tentatively: ]

Has he... told you anything? About the Crystal of your world?

...I know.

[A short answer, but one that said enough. Gently, he reached out and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.]

He spoke to me of it some time ago. It is not a problem with which I am unfamiliar, though my own experience is nowhere near the full weight of the Crystal's burden on him. Has it finally proved a problem in more than mere confusion and inconvenience?

[ Her free hand lifts up to his hand that rests upon her shoulder, and she looks at him, first forlorn, then her expression cracking. Finally, someone with whom Noctis has spoken about this. She doesn't want to break Noctis' trust in not saying something she shouldn't, and she doesn't know what others know. Being able to speak of these troubles with someone else is relieving.

So very relieving, that her explanation simply bursts past her lips. ] It overwhelmed him. The crystal, I mean... Memory after memory after memory. Millenia's worth of them, I'm certain.

[ He's fine now. 'Fine', in that he's recovering, but she's uncertain of the aftermath, of the wound it might have left upon him in the long term. And while she knows this is something they can all work through together, she herself is still rattled by it. ]

I do not claim to understand what the Astrals sought to accomplish with this, primarily because I can't fathom the reasoning for it.

[It was cruel enough to ask one person for everything and more--this much Ardyn knew firsthand--but to pile all else on top of that was indefensible from where he stood.]

Come here. [He extended his other arm, in an offer of a hug if she needed it.] You must have been terrified.

[ Terrified for Noctis, certainly, and she had questioned it herself, why there would be a need for this, or if it was somehow an error caused by him being here and not in their own world. A pressure as insurmountable the total history of a world, is that's what this is, would have killed anyone born mortal. Some human minds can barely support their own; exactly how would its limitations account for entire centuries' worth of others' memories, if not more?

His couldn't, which is why she had found him collapsed. Which is why she had to step in.

She can't help it, she goes to Ardyn for his offer for an embrace. She is feeling better, now, but. She's worried. ] ...I was so scared for him, Ardyn. I did what I could to help-- [ The crystal upon Noctis' chest is proof of that. ] ...And I know he is resilient, but. I still worry for any damage done.

I'm sure everything will be alright, with time. [He pulled her into a hug, gentle and patient.] You're right to worry, of course--you care about him, so it would be strange not to. But we are, as you say, a remarkably resilient family. If I know Noctis at all, he will manage somehow. And if I know the rest of us like I would hope I do, then we'll be there to mend whatever may need mending.

[ She knows Ardyn's word to be true, and she's able to pull back from the hug to look at him, managing a stronger smile because of it. ] ...You're right. [ Then with a breath, she adds: ] The most resilient family I've met, I'd say.

[ Pyra leans in, this time being the one to initiate the embrace again. ] Thank you. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you, when he wakes.

I don't know that I'd go quite so far, but we do tend to drag ourselves through the worst of things sometimes.

[He of all people would know that. The fact that Ardyn was even so much as lucid spoke volumes to something if not a bloodline tendency towards stubborn resilience.]

He might not be so relieved when I start worrying over him. I have a horrible habit of that.

You have my utmost support in giving him your worst.

[ A softer smile at that. Oh how terrible, a family member worrying over their loved one. ]

I shall do everything I can, I promise.

...What about you? [He glanced down to Pyra's crystal, then briefly to Noctis.] Are you alright?

I'm fine, or... I'm feeling better. It must be the hug. [ She says, grateful.

Worrying for others is just something she does naturally, as he might as well know. Noctis getting into near-death situations is just something he does naturally, too. ]

But, ah... I do have a question. About Eos' Crystal, that is.

I can't promise I know the answer, but I can try.

[After all, he was probably the worst person in the family to ask about the Crystal specifically.]

Edited 2021-10-12 02:32 (UTC)

Is the crystal of your world sentient...?

[Ardyn frowned, not out of annoyance or displeasure but in much the way of someone who had just been asked a question with a complex and even painful response.]

It's... [He trailed off, making a thoughtful noise and twisting the ends of his hair around a few fingers restlessly.] ...well, while it was said that the Crystal was given to House Caelum by the Astrals themselves, it was ever to my understanding that the two were entangled very closely. When Somnus and I spoke of one or the other being chosen by the Crystal, the phrase carried the implication of the stone itself being a sort of conduit for the will of the gods themselves.

But then again, I asked something of the Crystal once and received an answer, in a sense. [He dropped his hands from his hair, wringing them as if seeking to alleviate a burn that no longer existed.] So if you were to ask my assumption over objective fact, I would say that the Crystal bears some semblance of a will.

...Forgive me, I'm afraid Aera or Lunafreya would have been able to give you a clearer answer. Regis might know, I... [He laughed as if trying to brush off some discomfort, making a concentrated effort to stop wringing his hands.]

You may be asking the wrong side of the family.

[ If only she had thought of asking such tings to either Oracle before they had left. Perhaps they'll never know the true answer. Or, perhaps, even if a human would give them an answer, they could be wrong. When it comes to gods and the divine, it's dangerous to assume, even worse to misinterpret a meaning. There were-- are too many in her world that assume such things of the Architect. Or of her brother, or herself. And they do not give their answers. ] Ah-- no, erm... Thank you. Sorry, if that question made you uncomfortable.

[ She has a reason for asking, for wondering, but that wondering puts her in the same category of danger that mortals do when they ask why and assume an answer. Strange, how it feels to be in this position. She's very conflicted, and that conflict appears upon her expression as a pucker of her brow. ] Perhaps it was foolish to ask that.

No-...no, you don't have anything to apologize for. [A gentle hand came to rest on her shoulder.] I'm sorry I can't give a much clearer answer than 'I think so, but I'm not sure'. Why is it you're asking?

[ She hesitates, but ultimately answers. ] I... was wondering, for a moment, about why such a thing would happen to him. Without a failsafe in place, or a god's power to shutter those memories, this would have killed him. [ But he had said it himself,

"I do not claim to understand what the Astrals sought to accomplish with this, primarily because I can't fathom the reasoning for it."

And that's just the thing, isn't it? Attempting to discern the divine's message or meaning is dangerous. ] Maybe there was a failsafe in your world. But here... It was too close. And it-- [ She struggles, attempting to describe how she feels. ] It makes me... [ He forehead knits again. What exactly is she trying to say? It's more than just being upset or worried on Noctis' behalf. It's something akin to anger, but with a want for righteousness attached to it.

Anger is not an emotion she normally feels, and with so little experience with it, Pyra ultimately fails to come up with a term.

She shakes her head. ] I don't know. I'm only sorry we waited to protect him.

[He glanced to the side uneasily, not wanting to say what his first thought was. Of course there was a failsafe; the failsafe was 'not living long enough for this to be a problem'.]

It was a mistake not to be more insistent on seeking out a solution; a mistake we can both share rather than laying blame solely on our own shoulders. But rather than linger upon it, I think it best to accept we misstepped and move forward with a touch more caution.

I don't know what it is you did or how that crystal of yours truly functions, but I trust that you did the best that you could. From here, we'll work together to look after him when he's in need of it regardless of whether he'll admit as much.

[ She mulls over his words. Comforting as they are, they redirect her confusion to something more functional. What can be done now, in the present, takes precedent. At length, she smiles, sighing out some of her worries. ] ....Yes.

[ And, because he's here, and he has a right to know: ] And, please rest assured, Ardyn, that he's safer now than he was before. This crystal he has is that failsafe. This won't happen again.

You need not tell me the details if you do not wish to. I trust your actions and judgment, especially when it comes to Noctis. I know his safety can be entrusted to you, and I'm grateful for whatever it is that you did.

[ After a pause, she answers. ]

I don't mind you knowing. [ A smile that's stronger, this time, and she reaches out to his hand. ] You're... my family, too. And in this case... I'd rather be a crystal that gives answers than leaves another guessing. That is, if you want to know.

Very well, then. [He gently clasped her hand in both of his own, in what he sincerely hoped would be a reassuring gesture.]

If you wish to explain, then I will of course listen to every word.

Memories of the world, of eons. ..It seems like a lot, doesn't it? Too much, for a single person to comprehend or bear. [ Mortals aren't made for such things. Her gaze lowers to their hands, and then she turns her head, looking at Noctis' slumbering form from the corner of her eye. ] He had needed an equivalent power that could contain and process such vast history.

[ Her eyes slide shut, then open. She looks back to Ardyn. ] That is me.

[ He's already seen her once before as a crystal, he's already known some of her other secrets, too-- such as the human-like shell she wears as a form, the bright, golden power just beneath her skin-- even if she hadn't outright explained them. He hadn't judged her, then. Or questioned them. ] So I gave him that protection, by giving him a part of me.

[ She looks at him sadly, some tension returning to her shoulders. She knows how much their family has been effected by their own crystal and gods, not always for the better. She knows she's effect others' lives in her own world, not always for the better either.

But she wants to do better, she wants to do better for others, for those she loves. It's playing favorites among mortals, she knows that, but in all of her existence, who wouldn't love him or his family? ] I... promise you. I don't mean harm, or--... or to give him some other fate, or to make him my own 'chosen'. That's not-- [ She shakes her head, drawing a breath that she doesn't physically need to take. Never would she want to give the impression that she's claiming him as some sort chosen to an entity like herself, as his gods have seemed to mark him. He isn't a possession. He isn't a tool in some fate to her, some part of some grander plan.

He's someone she loves. ]

This is because I love him, and I want to help him.

...Pyra.

[The tone in his voice was light--almost admonishing, except for the faint smile on his face. It was as he said; he hadn't needed an explanation, but didn't mind being entrusted with one.]

[He pulled her back into a hug, with a soft and exhausted attempt at a laugh.]

You've no need to justify yourself to me. I have little doubt you saved his life with that, and we're fortunate you were capable to. Don't feel you have to defend that choice. You aren't-...

[-our gods, our Crystal, not Bahamut-]

...you aren't going to hurt him. I have no reason to doubt this fact, and neither should anyone else.

Ardyn...

[ She's never one to shy from hugs, no matter how often or how little they're given by another. And to think that when she had first been getting to know him, he had seemed far more skittish about engaging in contact with another. Now he's hugging her. Ardyn Lucis Caelum is giving her a hug. She might feel guilty-- something she'll have to work on herself, later-- but moments like these remain untarnished memories. ] Thank you. [ She whispers, her voice weak. ]

I don't want to see him hurt. I don't want to see you hurt, either. You, or him, or Regis-- [ Or Gladio or Ignis or Prompto. ] ... none of your family, hurt.

You all deserve to have peace in this world.

those crystal blues

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tfw you forgot to finish a tag last night

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