The Crow's Nest Diner in the Taelpar Rest Area; Cleigne; Eos. Tuesday [06/07 FT].

Even if he didn't particularly show it, Gladiolus Amicitia had been carrying a heavy weight on his broad shoulders ever since suffering humbling defeat at the hands of Ravus Nox Fleuret, nearly one week ago. Were it not for the Chancellor's interference, Noctis would surely have been dead, or at least apprehended by Imperial forces, and Gladio...would have failed at the only thing that mattered, to serve and protect as Shield of the King.

It had become glaringly obvious to him that he was, after all this time, proven to be unworthy.

And there was only one way in which that worth could ever even hope to be reinstated.

( Gladio made his way through the wilderness, alone now, but not for long... )

His head hung only for a moment, though, before he used the movement to slip off of his stool and onto his feet. "Let's move."

[[NFB, NFI, OOC welcome, and TBC. Episode Gladio's a big one…just like the man himself ]]

The Tempering Grounds; Taelpar Crag in Cleigne; Eos. Tuesday [06/07].

"Did you tell your friends why you were taking off?" Cor asked, as they descended down into Taelpar Crag, the deep, deep canyon that cut through Cleigne like a scar, where the Tempering Grounds and its ancient ruins and lost souls awaited them.

Gladio shook his head as he moved, into the caverns that would lead them through the ruins…broken crates, empty barrels, and tattered banners draped from grim statues and the long since rotted corpses of armored soldiers, all lit by strange lanterns alit from runes on the ground.. "Just said it was 'business.' Didn't want 'em getting all worried about me."

( Or knowing that your pride took a beating. )

"You know," he mentioned, once they made it out, on their way back to the world as they knew it, "he mentioned he lost his arm in battle with a real hot-headed young guy back in the day."

"That so?"

"Whoever it was left a lasting impression on him," said Gladio. "Talked about how the guy had the strongest will he'd ever seen."

"Takes more than will to complete the trial," Cor pointed out. "You need to wield your weapon with a primal finesse. If you fail to prove your might, you get cast out empty-handed."

"I dunno," Gladio hedged. "He didn't seem to think the guy would let it bother him. Said the guy's too old to care about material things anymore. If he's still alive."

"Gladio," the Marshal stopped behind him, and Gladio, sensing it, stopped, too, and turned around. "I hope you feel more confident in light of your success today. Few men can lay claim to such an accomplishment. Not even Cor the Immortal."

"Yeah," Gladio allowed, "but I didn't earn myself a badass nickname like he did. Still…I'm glad I went through with it. I can finally say I'm truly ready to fulfill my duty."

"Good."

"Well," Gladio let out a yawn, rolling his shoulders back and stretching a little, as if he hadn't just been put through one of the most physically exhausting ordeals of his entire life, one that no man but one other had ever survived, "I guess this Shield better mosey on back to his King. Wouldn't want him to get scared without me."

He put a hand on Cor's shoulder, meant for camaraderie but discovering that the exhaustion of the whole ordeal had finally caught up with him, and he might have actually needed a little bit of Cor's strength now that the adrenaline was fading. "Maybe," he suggested, a moment later, "after I get some rest, anyway."

[[ and end Episode Gladiolus! This long-ass text lifted pretty directly straight from the episode, NFB, NFI, and please know that anyone who even deigned to skim all this, let alone actually read it is kind of my hero, but I seriously had a blast writing this up while playing through it for the first time, actually ]]