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[ What about her? Besides being bonded further with the one she loves--

Perhaps, when she had just been getting to know him, when she hadn't known much of anyone here, she would have doubted him, been anxious if he would abuse her power in some way. But she knows him better, she knows him to be good, so much so that this doubt hadn't even occurred to her in the moment of offering this as a solution.

That it hadn't occurred to her makes her realize just how much she trusts him. ]

Noct...

That hadn't-- with you, I hadn't even thought about that...

[ She struggles to put her thoughts into words as she looks at him, lowering her hand from her crystal to reinforce their already joined hands. ] The first time... [ A flicker of guilt, at this, as it touches onto her past, at which she's always hesitant to share-- ] Who stood before me to attempt to resonate with me-- that, I had no say. I had just been a crystal to which they all reached out for. Among them, I chose one. [ --and then the guilt fades. There. That context, that history hadn't been terrible to provide. It put things into perspective, a bit, of how far she's come. Like him, this is new to her. She blinks twice, her lips parting with a quiet breath as she lifts her head.

This time, she's before him as she is now, "human", and she knows him. ]

I'm choosing to give you this offer.

[ It's different, she believes. Very different. He's not clamoring for her. He's not even intending to use her as some sort of weapon or claim to power. This offer is all her. This. This is a first. Her power, potentially being used to protect... And what an important thing it would be, too: protecting him from an onslaught of memories, hopefully keeping him intact. She wants him to remain him!]

[His fingers curl slightly in hers, taking in those words and rolling them carefully over in his mind for a few moments. That sounded a hell of a lot more certain. Her word choice - or, literally the word choosing - means a great deal to him, considering how it's come up a few times lately. In the past, she too hadn't been given the choices she has now; she'd been able to decide who to select, but not that those not chosen made the attempt to claim her power. Here she can decide... and she's offering it to him.

He, too, has a choice he gets to make in this. He looks up at her, down to their joined hands, then back again, and his eyes soften. Just knowing this... that she'd give this to him, a gift of reassurance and protection when she'd been so, so careful to guard her abilities before... he understands and recognizes the immense decision she's making, here. It must have taken incredible courage just to offer it to him.

And that's why he can't accept now.]

Can I... think it over for a while?

[It's not really a question; he's certain she'll allow it. It's such a kindness on her part, and he can only imagine what a sacrifice it would be if she went through with it. To share a part of herself sounds so much more intensive than the link of power they'd shared with one another thus far. Thus, he wants to wait. He wants to be certain that the choice he makes is right for the both of them before he accepts her gift- that he needs it, that this isn't just a driven paranoia due to so many unknowns. He doesn't want to see her hurt or waste efforts on something self-sacrificial if it's ultimately unnecessary.]

[ He's free to take his time with responding to her, just as much he's free to take his time in thinking over his options and what he wishes to do. She doesn't mind the wait as much as she doesn't mind how his hand grasps hers more firmly for a tentative, but reassuring squeeze.

She smiles at him, replying without hesitation. ] Of course.

[ It's not as if there is a time limit to her offer. That time limit, whether real or merely perceived, lies on his end with the presence of memories just waiting to be awakened.

It's scary to think about. But at present, the best thing to do is to wait-- and to believe in what she told him before, that the Noctis she had seen in the future had indeed been him. ] Ah, you know... I had another thought. A little less-- heavy.

Is it possible that these memories that come to you are ones you subconsciously pull out from the crystal's vault of them? Making a cake-like dish for breakfast does seem something like you want.

Like, literal wishful thinking?

[Her suggestion finally coaxes a little smile out of him, wary, but glad to edge away from a choice he's not ready to make yet. It does feel less heavy now with some kind of solution on the table, whether he takes it or not.]

Yeah, that sounds like me. Think I could be that lucky for once? Just collecting useful memories?

[...ah... but there'd been that one with Izunia, and his daemonic form. That hadn't felt so lucky. It'd at least been useful to the... conversation? Maybe, sure.]

[ Wishful thinking, indeed, and she knows it. But she wants to give him some hope. ]

Ah, that is... it would depend on what sort of other memories you've gotten, and in what context they fell to you.

[ This is the first time she's seen it happen with him. Perhaps the other times hadn't been so bad, either? Otherwise, surely he would have said something... Then again, perhaps not. Like her, he doesn't convey whatever he's bothered by either. ]

Edited 2020-12-05 20:42 (UTC)

Others... I can tell you the ones I remember.

[It isn't a very long list. He gives his jacket a onceover, then tugs at a button so she can see it. The stitching is fine, a complex looping thing totally unnecessary for mending such a simple piece of one's coat.]

A few months back, a button fell off, so I fixed it. At the time I figured I got distracted and was just messing with it, and that's why it looked like that, but... that's when I started to feel it. Like there was something, uh. Heavy. I talked to Ardyn about it, and at some point he looked... different. [He shakes his head, pursing his lips and not going into further detail about that.] It was probably just in my head.

[A memory... something someone else saw, not him? Who would have been there?]

Seeing things... That seems a little different than just being lost in thought and baking.

[ Which is better and which is worse, though? In either case, he has no choice in being delivered these memoires. ]

That's kinda what got me worried. I don't... [He winces, looking down.] I need to be able to trust what I see. It's one thing if I'm just talking to someone, but what if it happens at a bad time?

[A fight, or even just a spar- if the person becomes the wrong thing and his instincts kick in, or he can't catch it in time, how is he supposed to trust himself in battle again? He doesn't want a repeat of what he'd done to Prompto.]

[ She doesn't wish to lose him, and his reality needs to be his own, not someone else's. Trusting what he sees, feeling what he feels... he is entitled to both.

She pets her thumb along the side of his hand. ]

What brought you out of it last time? [ Perhaps it had been something Ardyn himself said that didn't match with what he was seeing. Or maybe it was a matter of time of letting the memory fade. She doesn't know, hence why she asks. This is a new--.... affliction the pressure of his crystal has put upon him, and they need to work through some sort of information. ]

Last time, I think... he said something, and it brought me back. It didn't sound like him, so it threw me off, I guess.

[He shrugs his shoulders, shifting sideways a little to lean against her, a subtle weight.]

It worked with you, too. When you talked to me, it clicked that you wanted my attention, and I forgot about the recipe.

[ So, then, it seems like he's easily shaken out of such visions-- for now. Perhaps in the future others will be more constricting, perhaps not. All they have now is what he's experienced thus far.

She feels relieved that that "for now" means that he's able to bear these short visions and be pulled from them to reality. ]

While I can't guarantee what will happen while we're apart... when we are together, I'll bring you back. Okay?

[ "I'm, um. A big fan of reality, turns out."

They had shared a kiss, then, so now she brings up his hand to her lips, pressing her fingers to the back of his hand. ] Promise.

Yeah...

[His eyes soften, watching her, and he manages another smile, fingers sliding lightly over hers.]

Remember... when I came back- ah, woke up, I mean... we were here, and I asked if it was real. [He squeezes her hand.] You were there to tell me it was. You've already been doing it.

[ She'll do it as many times as it takes, never tiring of it. Nevertheless, she's surprised to hear it from him. ]

You're in luck. I like reality, too.

[ Quietly, ] Far better than being in the dream of Elysium. [ --in which she had spent five centuries after being sealed. She imagines it might have been the same for Noctis being in reality than being within his Crystal, whichever sort of scape it had constructed for him.

Here, she can do many things. Here, she can hold his hand. ]

Better than a lot of things.

[Than Elysium, than the Crystal... he'd much rather be here, with her and all the other people he loves, in this world. For as long as he can be, at least.]

Hey, Pyra... I was thinking... you know, people who've died show up here too.

[ She looks at him, a quiet question on her expression to encourage him to continue.

There sure have been, and perhaps are, people who have passed and wound up in this world. But if he's thinking that he's going to soon be among them... ]

[He glances sidelong at her, catching her look, and belatedly realizes what he's saying, appearing somewhat sheepish.]

Sorry- that's morbid. I just thought, it wouldn't be so bad to come back here, once it's over.

[Once he's saved the world, brought the dawn, died... he wouldn't have to be conflicted anymore. It's the same for her- whatever duties await her back on her world don't have to weigh on her forever. So maybe it's more... hopeful-morbid? A sort of life after death. This world isn't perfect, but it's freedom for people who can't live on their own worlds anymore.]

[ There's no guarantee that he or she will return to Havenwell after they fade from their respective realms. Just their hope. That hope has to be enough.... but it shouldn't be all by which they must go. While she doesn't wish to think about it, some day they must part. Acceptance of an end, and of parting, is what many mortals learn throughout the course of their lives. For Pyra, it had taken her centuries. She doesn't want to undo the lesson learned.

So, there has to be a balance. Hope to see each other again, acceptance that they may not ever. To live in the present with both-- that's... not what she had been doing. She hadn't even consider he would return to this realm and she would see him again. Now with him pointing out this very possibility, she can mix that hope with that acceptance. She can try to live with both. ]

It really wouldn't. [ She speaks softly. ]

It's peaceful here. Plenty of food. No war. Occasional strange hijinks from the gods, but. It's tolerable.

[ He could build a proper life here. She could, too. Neither king nor aegis. ]

Uh-huh. Might be nice.

[He leans over, pressing a kiss to her temple, resting there for a long moment. He's of the same mind as her: it's not a guarantee, and he'd never expect it to be. He's seen people come and go through no choice of their own. That's... well, it's not necessarily fine, but it's understandable. And he's used to not always getting what he wants anyway, so whatever happens, he'll accept it and find the courage to be satisfied with what he has, while he has it.

Might take a while, and he'll grieve if they're separated, but it's no crime to be hopeful.]

I hope it's a little more than tolerable, though.

[ She leans into his kiss upon her temple, turning slightly to look at him afterwards. There's that smile of his again, she's glad it's made a small comeback, even if he still has a lot on his mind regarding the memories, as well as the offer she's given. ]

I'm still waiting for your cat ears to return.

[ In terms of tolerableness, that effect had been far tamer than when they had changed their ages.

(For a moment, she feels as if she's been gripped by a vision-- from her perspective. With him... falling out one of the windows of the temple--? But that can't be right. Oh well.) She shakes her head. ]

You might be waiting a while. I'm not- oh, wait. [He tilts his head thoughtfully.] There's the glamour thing, if you want?

[It's not exactly a perfect replacement, but it had felt real enough at the time. He's pretty sure it still works...?]

Oh, that's right.

[ She laughs into her free hand. ]

But you can't feel when I pet them while they're only a glamour, can you?

[ That's the thing! She wants to give him ear scritches! ]

Um. [He looks a bit embarrassed.] Vianca pet them at the gala, and it felt kinda... [Nice.

Yeah he's fully embarrassed.]

[ ...Uh. ]

Edited 2020-12-07 01:24 (UTC)

Oh--- Noct!

[ She exclaims his name suddenly as an idea occurs to her. ]

That's perfect!

[ She squeezes his hand, insistent. ]

That's how you can be pulled from falling into a memory. Ear scritches! Because I doubt anyone in those memories had ears like that, so it would be a perfect way to ground you!

[ Marvel at her logic, because it is ~~flawless~~. ]

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