OPEN

[this_loser]

♥ Who: Prompto & OTA
♥ Where: Home, out and about, Ainea’s Temple
♥ When: Beginning of November onward
♥ What: Mourning the missing
♥ Rating: E for Everyone

[ Home isn’t sweet ]
[The first day he realizes Kaname is missing, he bolts out of the house and runs. It’s not his usual run. It’s not his usual route. It’s almost frantic. He stops frequently to look inside public buildings. He pauses to check his tablet, tap something out, wait, and then he’s off again.

When he comes home that night, he curls up on the couch (he can’t stand to enter the bedroom just yet) and … well. He doesn’t sleep. If asked, he can’t recall if he’s slept all in the days that follow. He steals blankets from one of the spare rooms, and picks at food, but he’s not really eating either.

The network confirms that others are missing as well. He had really hoped this sort of thing wouldn’t happen here.]

[ Out and about ]
[He does eventually leave the house. Fresh air is supposed to be good. He thinks that’s probably a lie people tell themselves to feel better. Still, he goes out and wanders aimlessly. He brings his camera anyway, and tries to take pictures. But anyone coming across him would see that he seems unhappy with all of them. He immediately deletes anything he’s captured.]

[ Ainea’s Temple ]
[He finds himself outside Ainea’s temple. He doesn’t expect any answers from the god. He just hopes Kaname’s gone back to her own world, her friends and family. It doesn’t make him feel much better, though.

He picks up a rock and rolls in one hand, wonders if he could knock down one of the sculpted mice serving as decoration. Maybe that would help him feel better.]

Comments

temple;

[scourgingstars]

...That doesn't seem a good idea.

[Outside, Ardyn kept to the shade for reasons that may have been obvious to some. His tone wasn't exactly admonishing, but it wasn't hard to guess the myriad things one could do with a rock.]

Is something bothering you?

home;

[carbungle]

[The house is empty when Prompto gets back, but it isn't long after that the door opens and Noctis heads in, a little container with something warm and sweet-smelling tucked under his arm. Dinner, probably. He nudges his shoes off at the entry, calling out.]

Hey, where've you been all day? Did you guys go out somewhere? Wasn't sure if I should grab extra food for-

[He stops, by now venturing further in and getting a look at the blanket bundle on the couch.]

...You okay?

Home isn't sweet

[original_is_best]

[Verstael had first been in touch with Will, and after hearing what he'd said had immediately taken action. Some time had passed since then now. He was still out in the city, with a detailed list of notes, and at this point towards the East.

Besides some minor cuts and perhaps some lingering fatigue, he seemed none the worse for wear after the battle. What he was doing now, though, was questionable. One of the buildings had been damaged, with a large amount of debris blocking off the entrance. Unable to tell how badly the building was damaged beyond the debris, it was possible the inside had collapsed or there might have been some space left inside.

Verstael steadily moved the rubble away. But, being Prompto-sized, it was a large task for one man.

Prompto running around in some sort of uncontrolled frenzy caught his attention. But rather than be particularly concerned what was upsetting the boy - really, Lucians were so overly emotional - he called out to him when he momentarily paused his antics.]

If you have so much energy to spare, then help move this rubble.

out and about; continues my ffxv collection

[pinkmin]

[Fresh air was supposedly good for you. Seemed fake, with how much time Vianca spent indoors rather than outside. Still, going outside was nice every once in a while. Get some sun, get some air, recharge her touch batteries, all that fun stuff.

There was no real rhyme or reason for this crossing of paths though. That's just literally what was happening. The camera in his hands made her curious, so here she was, peering up at him.]

Hello... were you taking pictures?

[this_loser]

Probably not.

[He squeezes the rock hard enough that it will leave indents, but then flings it off to the side, where it bounces off the ground, no harm done.]

Everything. [Because that's what she'd been for him. Everything.] My girlfriend's one of the people that's turned up missing.

[scourgingstars]

...

[Oh. That certainly explained the desire for property destruction and blasphemy, two things that were the least of what he himself might have done over Aera if he thought doing anything still mattered. Similarly, judging by what he’d heard from Will, there wasn’t likely much to be done.]

Might I ask her name?

[this_loser]

[The lump on the couch shifts at the sound of the door opening, but completely deflates at the sound of Noct's voice.]

No.

[this_loser]

[He pauses long enough to hear the request, and thinks to just ignore it and keep going. But then he worries at the rubble. Could someone have been caught under it? The thought is dismissed as quickly as it came. Kaname wouldn't have been in the thick of the fighting, and she knew how to survive.]

I don't have time for you.

[But he pauses again and whips out his camera, on which a picture of her is already loaded up. He shoves it Verstael's way.]

Have you seen her today?

collect away

[this_loser]

[It's a pretty common question, one he hears a lot when he's out looking for thinks to photograph. But he doesn't feel excited about it like he normally would. He lowers the camera.]

Um, no. I mean, kinda. The lights all wrong. [Not quite true. But no matter how good the light or the setting, nothing looks right.]

[carbungle]

[Oh geez, that's- that's actually serious. The food is immediately discarded on whatever closest flat surface he comes across as he heads over, dropping down onto the couch next to Prompto.]

What happened?

[who does he need to fight!!]

[this_loser]

Kaname.

[scourgingstars]

Kaname must be quite something for you to be so distraught. I’m sorry to hear that she’s missing, is there anything I could do to help you?

[original_is_best]

[Lucians. The world always revolved around them. He wasn't going to bother arguing with the boy, he had his own matters to attend to. While he did continue to work, it was obvious matters were going to get tricky for him with some of the larger boulders.

Without pausing, he glanced briefly at the picture. Of course he'd seen her before. Though he hadn't spent much time with her, he remembered her face.]

No.

[The answer was simple but firm, no attempt to soften it. However, he did continue.]

If she is missing I have noted approximately two dozen potential extraction points.

[He shot Prompto a pointed look.]

I find taking action far more likely to end in positive results than...

[He waved his hand slightly in the direction Prompto had been when he was running. Whatever the hell that was Prompto had been doing.] ...that.

[A scolding? Advice? Whatever it was he was finished and hefting up a chunk of rock. He was no Gladio - while he did his fair share of moving large equipment around, this task posed a challenge and that thing probably weighed 100lbs.]

[this_loser]

She was. Is.

[Not was. She's not dead, just ... somewhere else.]

Unless you can bring her back, no.

[this_loser]

I don't suppose you saw Kaname while you were out?

[No. Of course not. He asked if they had both gone out.]

She's gone.

[this_loser]

Extraction points? What extraction points?

[He's going to ignore the unwanted advice, or whatever it was.

He's also going to toss his camera in the Armiger and grab the other side of that boulder. He can't get answers if the guy crushes himself.]

You're going to throw out your back, dummy.

[original_is_best]

[Well. He won't complain about the help. He preferred to live the heavy lifting completely to the lower ranks when possible, but he lacked those here.]

Will was concerned about some missing friends. Given the chaos, there were a large number of buildings damaged. We did a sweep of the city to determine what areas might have people trapped within them.

[And they only needed to shift it some yard away. He wanted to move it, not make things pretty. It would seem a combination of nearby poles and pieces of building had taken a beating during the battle, and were now blocking entry.

If the structure had held up on the inside, there was a potentially large amount of space for people to be inside.]

[carbungle]

[Gone. That's miserably ominous, but he doesn't have the experience of a multi-world traveler to know what exactly that means, yet. Prompto's tone is enough to ramp up his concern, though, and he lifts a hand to rest it on his friend's shoulder.]

Just- disappeared? Was there another attack? We can get her back, or...!

[Even if the wall is sealed, or it's bad outside, there has to be something they can do, right?]

[this_loser]

[He starts shaking his head. He'd run through all the possibilities. Maybe he missed something. But this feels too much like what would happen on the fleet.]

Disappeared, I think. I was looking for her, but...

[He leans more heavily onto Noctis.]

I don't think we can get her back.

[this_loser]

And have you found any trapped people?

[It was entirely possible his perspective was skewed based on his experiences on the Fleet. Even without that, he hadn't been thinking clearly. He looks at the ruins around them. Was it possible she was still here?]

[carbungle]

[Noct's brows furrow worriedly, and his grip tightens a little.]

...But... she's not from-

[Oh. Oh no. The realization hits him at once, and without thinking he shifts closer and slides his arm around Prompto's shoulders. No wonder he's miserable- it's more than just missing her, isn't it? She's not from Eos...]

[original_is_best]

Rescue efforts have just begun. Of the smaller areas checked, no. More difficult areas will take longer to get into.

[To be honest, he'd be doing the same thing either way unless he had definitive proof. Though he wasn't showing a great amount of concern in the way most people might show it, he was at least making the effort to recover whoever could be recovered.]

I have heard that one of the children may be missing as well. They have oft gone out without the company of adults, it would be possible for one of them to caught in the crossfire.

[The explanation came out eerily calm, despite his concerns about her, and he steadily carried on his work.]

[pinkmin]

[Vianca tilt her head, then glanced up at the sunshine. Not quite the right light, huh...]

What would good lighting be? [She held her tiny hands up, making a rectangle between her thumbs and forefingers.] I had a photography class once, but we were using disposable cameras. I never got the hang of lighting.

[this_loser]

[At least Noctis seems to get it, saving him from having to explain why this is so painful. There is every possibility that he will never see her again.

Mind if he just ... burrows into Noct's side for a bit.]

We always knew it was something that could happen.

[It was also not something he'd never really prepared for. How could you?]

[this_loser]

[He nods distractedly.]

Are those other areas being worked on?

[If she's not here, and could be elsewhere, then he was just wasting time here.]

Which kid is missing? I can keep an eye open for them.