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[Ardyn could venture a guess or two as to why he'd been helpful, given what Ignis had told him. But that was the last thing he wanted to dwell on or hypothesize about right now. There were far more important things to deal with. He wasn't sure where to start or how to address any of that, eventually coming up with:]

Was he alright? Prompto, I mean.

not really

he survived and he said he's fine but how could anyone be, after that?

i pushed him off a moving train, we had to leave him behind. the imperials took him to gralea and i know they hurt him.

[The state they found him in, strung up like a puppet in that miserable room, hurt and exhausted, surrounded by tools made to hurt. There's nothing alright about that, either.]

he used prompto as a way to get me to the capital. he didn't even have to, we were going there anyway. just

did it because he could. to hurt me

I already said that I can't possibly blame you for reacting as you did. Honestly, the more you say the more justified you sound.

I want to apologize, but I suspect you'll call it unnecessary. I rather fail to come up with much else of worth to even attempt to say.

i mean we can sit here and blame ourselves or NOT each other and apologize all day but it won't make either of us feel better about it, and that's not what i brought it up for

so yeah don't apologize

i just, idk. thought you deserved an explanation. lot of mind games happened lately, it was hard to know what was real and what wasn't.

and he told me next time we met he'd kill me so waking up to see you was kind of

yeah.

I understand.

I still don't think you were wrong to react as you did. At the very least, I don't want you to blame yourself for it.

no matter the reason, i don't want to think of it as right or acceptable that i tried to hurt my family. not ever.

[It wasn't okay with Prompto, and it's not okay now, either.]

Very well. But you're a good and kind person, Noctis. Please don't ever doubt that, at least not now.

yeah im a real paragon of virtue, great chosen hero

[because ha ha ha, what is accepting a compliment when you feel like garbage.]

you don't have to be perfect, or a paragon of virtue

just yourself.

are you even physically capable of being mean

like for real, would your brain just seize up

probably

i've never much cared for anger and the like, myself.

yeah that tracks.

its weird but not a bad thing

[One more difference, one more missing trait that won't be missed at all.]

i would certainly hope not

[...]

you're still willing to consider me family? even after all this?

[He does hesitate when he responds here, so he can give a proper honest answer. Technically - or biologically, whatever - either version of Ardyn would be family. But that's not the truth of it; he knows that here, at least, he chose that distinction. He can choose it again if he wants.]

it's not you who's changed

i don't see why that would have to change either

i'm glad to hear that

i know this is difficult, to phrase it lightly, but i do care about you. for whatever that might be worth.

it's worth a lot

[The eyes are the worst, he thinks. When Izunia had finally revealed himself, there'd been so much hate in them, let loose after being restrained for gods-knew how long. It was frightening, to have those eyes turned on him.]

it's worth more than you know.

is that right? oh, dear. i'll have to set about reminding you every so often, then.

[....

hah.]

don't go overboard either, say it too often and it won't be believable

me, go overboard? goodness, i wouldn't dare.

please

you're at least a little bit extra, sir granduncle

[that is unfortunately genetic throughout.]

i fear i can't help just a bit. it runs very deep in the bloodline.

great, we're all screwed

that explains a lot about lucis in general actually

oh, you may blame the root of that fully on my brother. i would never have dreamed of outfitting an entire kingdom in shades of black, how excessively serious.

consider the blame passed along

but you have to admit the aesthetics are on point, i look great in black

[He's certainly not about to take after his dad's purple striped suits or whatever the hell Izunia thinks passes for fashion.]

true, white would suit you no better than black would on me. i suppose it worked out, then.

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