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MHA #18; Early Friday Morning [12/16].
Dec. 16th, 2022 06:08 am"You seem quiet," said Gladio, setting down the plates of breakfast he'd just finished making, then pulling out a chair to join him at the table. "Thinking more about yesterday's oh so handwavey encounter?"
"Rather hard not to," Ignis replied dryly. He'd, of course, reported back to Gladio the moment he'd returned to the apartment: soon after he'd left the Photo Hut, still rather bewildered over his discussion with Liz, he found himself face to face with none other than Ardyn Izunia, in the flesh, and dragging along with him none other than some sort of Magitek daemon soldier the likes of which he'd only really seen once in his lifetime, that encounter with Ravus Nox Flueret, after being exposed to the Starscourge directly. And as if the implications of Ardyn's return, in the company of a daemon that could actually withstand the light weren't disturbing enough on its own, there was the matter of the exchange that followed after he and his new pet attacked Ignis. Claiming that things were...off. They weren't quite right. How was it that he was the Shield, that he had the Sword? And what did that mean for the other one, which he could only assume meant Gladio. Was he now the one who saw things that others could not? Ardyn had tsked at the prospect, as if disappointed, while Ignis deftly avoided his advances, as well as those of the daemon monster beside him. He was, admittedly, a bit distracted in the moment, but he could swear, underneath the Starscourge and smoke, that creeping black ichor and the throbbing purple veins, he'd seen that face before...
...not even an hour before, in a picture, from Liz's phone.
He'd told Gladio all about that, as well, and, of course, their immediate thought was to try and strategize. Ardyn had left Ignis alone after a while, claiming that things just weren't right, and he needed to attend to why, but there was nothing unusual about that. They were used to the man's mind games, and clearly this was no exception.
"Nothing about this feels right, Gladio," he said. "Nothing makes sense. I know we never truly knew what happened between Ardyn and Noct, but your visions..."
"I know," said Gladio, quietly, a gentle suggestion that he'd rather not be reminded of the things he saw, that night, when the man in question himself nearly put an end to it all, if not for his desperate sacrifice.
"We simply must find him," Ignis decided firmly.
To that, Gladio let out a sardonic huff. "Knowing Ardyn," he said, "he'll have no trouble finding us first."
"Exactly," Ignis agreed. "All the more reason to be proactive and ready. And I can't help but wonder...do you suppose it would reap any benefits, if we were to inquire of Liz about this daemon he has with him?"
But Gladio gently shook his head, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "Sounds like she's got more than enough to worry about right now without adding that to it," he said. "Besides, you said you didn't get that good of a look, right? Could have just been your mind playing a trick on you. That's sort of Ardyn's trick du jour, too, remember?"
There was a deep frown punctuating the silence that followed. "Perhaps you're right," he said. "There was much to process at the time, but the resemblance, even through the Starscourge, was uncanny..."
Gladio just grunted his response, as he kept digging into his food. They were going to need the energy to deal with whatever was about to be thrown at them, he was sure of that much, so they'd better enjoy it while they could.
[[ open! ]]
"Rather hard not to," Ignis replied dryly. He'd, of course, reported back to Gladio the moment he'd returned to the apartment: soon after he'd left the Photo Hut, still rather bewildered over his discussion with Liz, he found himself face to face with none other than Ardyn Izunia, in the flesh, and dragging along with him none other than some sort of Magitek daemon soldier the likes of which he'd only really seen once in his lifetime, that encounter with Ravus Nox Flueret, after being exposed to the Starscourge directly. And as if the implications of Ardyn's return, in the company of a daemon that could actually withstand the light weren't disturbing enough on its own, there was the matter of the exchange that followed after he and his new pet attacked Ignis. Claiming that things were...off. They weren't quite right. How was it that he was the Shield, that he had the Sword? And what did that mean for the other one, which he could only assume meant Gladio. Was he now the one who saw things that others could not? Ardyn had tsked at the prospect, as if disappointed, while Ignis deftly avoided his advances, as well as those of the daemon monster beside him. He was, admittedly, a bit distracted in the moment, but he could swear, underneath the Starscourge and smoke, that creeping black ichor and the throbbing purple veins, he'd seen that face before...
...not even an hour before, in a picture, from Liz's phone.
He'd told Gladio all about that, as well, and, of course, their immediate thought was to try and strategize. Ardyn had left Ignis alone after a while, claiming that things just weren't right, and he needed to attend to why, but there was nothing unusual about that. They were used to the man's mind games, and clearly this was no exception.
"Nothing about this feels right, Gladio," he said. "Nothing makes sense. I know we never truly knew what happened between Ardyn and Noct, but your visions..."
"I know," said Gladio, quietly, a gentle suggestion that he'd rather not be reminded of the things he saw, that night, when the man in question himself nearly put an end to it all, if not for his desperate sacrifice.
"We simply must find him," Ignis decided firmly.
To that, Gladio let out a sardonic huff. "Knowing Ardyn," he said, "he'll have no trouble finding us first."
"Exactly," Ignis agreed. "All the more reason to be proactive and ready. And I can't help but wonder...do you suppose it would reap any benefits, if we were to inquire of Liz about this daemon he has with him?"
But Gladio gently shook his head, shoving a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "Sounds like she's got more than enough to worry about right now without adding that to it," he said. "Besides, you said you didn't get that good of a look, right? Could have just been your mind playing a trick on you. That's sort of Ardyn's trick du jour, too, remember?"
There was a deep frown punctuating the silence that followed. "Perhaps you're right," he said. "There was much to process at the time, but the resemblance, even through the Starscourge, was uncanny..."
Gladio just grunted his response, as he kept digging into his food. They were going to need the energy to deal with whatever was about to be thrown at them, he was sure of that much, so they'd better enjoy it while they could.
[[ open! ]]
