Take these stars from my crown

[flawed_immortality]

♥ Who: Lucis Family + SOs
♥ Where: The food testing area
♥ When: Late Nov/Malom
♥ What: The Eosians getting together for a family gathering.
♥ Rating: Probably just PG?

Cor made a point of getting to the tower early so he could make some preparations, setting the table for the full family. Even Will is coming and that is so strange. Cor has never once in his life had a +1 for any kind of event. Yet here he is setting a table for nine instead of eight.

The prep work had taken weeks of going over the correct textures and tastes with the research team, something Ignis had taken on the bulk of the work for while the others worked on the wall. Still he was confident that they were close enough to get a solid match on many foods, leaving some of their bet recipes only very slightly off from the originals. Cor had taken over rolling a large selection of sushi as well as a light starter soup. Some of the more robust recipes had been Ignis' purview but, if nothing else, Cor is an efficient prep cook.

All in all there's a pretty spectacular spread when everyone arrives, something for everyone and a familiar Altissian berry cake for dessert.

Comments

[scourgingstars]

A fair enough point, ultimately. I'm glad it was resolved without overmuch trouble past actually dealing with the problem itself.

[carbungle]

Same here. That region's got enough problems as it is.

[With the empire looming so close after Insomnia fell, on top of the usual wild monsters and daemons roaming about? It's a rough area.]

So the adamantoise was around even in your time? Just how old was that thing?

[scourgingstars]

I can't say that I have ever encountered it, mind you. More that its existence was already the sort of thing spoken of in stories that ended up being halfway doubted more often than not. Some people swore blind that they or their ancestors had seen it, others thought it was just a myth and that nothing could possibly be that large while also going unseen.

...Which is absurd because I've never seen Titan and everyone knows damn well where he is.

So in short, 'quite old'.

[carbungle]

[And here he was about to ask something silly like "did you ever try to fight it". It's very clear what side of the gene pool he's from.]

I guess it was just sleeping most of the time, though I don't know how it could've stayed alive without eating. Unless it just eats dirt.

[Which sounds as absurd out loud as it had in his own head, but it's the only thing he can imagine being in abundance where the damn thing's head was- namely, underground. There's no way a monster that size could hunt anything subtly.]

Never figured out what woke it up, though.

[scourgingstars]

I manage it well enough.

[ardyn...]

Perhaps it only needed to eat every few millennia or so. You would be surprised how warped one's scale of time can actually get, living like that for so long.

[carbungle]

Uh.

[awk....ward...]

Yeah, I guess...

[he would? know? is there literally any good way to address that.]

[scourgingstars]

[Poor Noctis. For his part, Ardyn didn't seem bothered by his own offhand remark--he'd just been stating a fact as far as he was concerned.]

So do you make a habit of eating the strangest wildlife imaginable, or was this a special case?

[carbungle]

[Well at least one of them isn't feeling uncomfortable about it. There's a pointed slump in his shoulders, relieved as the conversation moves on.]

It kind of ended up that way, I guess. A lot of the hunts we got commissioned to handle had some kind of new meat to try, and Ignis kept coming up with ways to cook 'em. All aside from the daemons, obviously. ...And the giant bugs.

[He draws the line at eating bugs. No thanks!]

[scourgingstars]

Oh? I doubt someone that clever in a kitchen failed to think of something to do with giant bugs.

[...is. is he teasing you, noct.]

[carbungle]

[He... might be!? Let's test that out.]

As royal retainer, he couldn't defy the will of his prince. [He absolutely could, he does it all the time.] ...And he was outvoted.

[scourgingstars]

How terrible.

[children, please.]

Gods forbid he should force you to eat anything so terrible as flame-roasted insect legs.

[carbungle]

[Noctis makes a soft gagging noise that is only half-faked.]

Nasty. No thank you.

[scourgingstars]

Oh, who knows. You might even like it.

[carbungle]

If I know it's a bug I won't be able to swallow.

[It's like vegetables. You can get him to eat it if you don't tell him what's in it.]

[scourgingstars]

Perhaps he simply won't tell you.

[carbungle]

[!!! betrayal? by his trusted retainer!? not a chance. more likely than you think]

I'd notice if there were legs sticking out of it.

[scourgingstars]

Not if they were hidden well enough.

[carbungle]

[.....A SUSPICIOUS LOOK.]

Don't give him any ideas.

[scourgingstars]

My dear nephew, Ignis does not strike me as the sort of man who needs to be given ideas.

[carbungle]

Yeah, try growing up with him always around. He picks up ideas from strange places all the time.

[He sits up a little straighter, taking on a serious, rather thoughtful expression... and a poor imitation of Ignis' accent.]

"I've come up with a new recipeh."

[scourgingstars]

...

. . .

[There was a briefly stifled sound from Ardyn at first, a hand quickly brought to his mouth as he tried to process that. But ultimately there was no fighting it, and after a second or two Ardyn started sincerely laughing for the first time in at least two thousand years.]

[carbungle]

[Noctis may not fully realize the extent of this accomplishment, but he does at least acknowledge that this is the first time he's ever heard Ardyn laugh. Even the strange, altered version of him in the future had never uttered more than a rare, derisive chuckle. Like the man himself, this is quite different, and Noctis finds it oddly satisfying. Thus he lets it run its full course, not wanting to interrupt or distract.]

[scourgingstars]

That--that's absolutely terrible.

[you know, like you're TRYING to sound like you disapprove but you're also laughing too hard to deny it's also hilarious.]

[carbungle]

What're you talking about? It was flawless. It- hang on, I forgot the snap.

[He snaps his fingers melodramatically.]

"That's it!"

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn laughed into his hand, trying to at least somewhat compose himself.]

Do you do this when all your friends aren't watching? Perhaps I should be cautious.