@gaby

[vns]

[ this was supposed to be one of Gaby's days off. in fact, she's not in the safehouse when the message comes in. ]

Turns out that we're missing two new faces around the safehouse.

I'd play a guessing game as to why I wasn't told, but I don't care. These two faces apparently murdered two people that night.

I don't know who they are, but I do know that they're locked up. Any guesses as to what's going to happen to them?

Genuine question. Because I don't know.

Oh, and because some of you think you can do whatever the hell you want around here: don't think the way out for them is a jail break. Don't even fucking try it. And no, Morningstar isn't in the business of breaking people out of jail, because that would be stupid.

[ she's a little angry. no. a lot. but mostly she doesn't know how to handle this one. ]

Look. You know something? Tell me. You won't be "in trouble."

Comments

[fessus]

Why.

If you hate me so much and you don't have to see me, why?

[daemonized]

You've just answered your own question. Because I hate you, Noctis. With every fiber of my being, in more ways than you could possibly hope to understand.

[The empathy bond might have illustrated this hatred, but Noctis felt it for seconds. How much does it twist a man into something no longer resembling himself, after so very long?]

Does my presence make you angry? Does every message from me make you sick with anxiety? Dread? Uncertainty? Am I a shadow, constantly lingering over your shoulder, reminding you of your failures, of your death to come, of a war between nations and a world choking on the dark?

Why would I be kind enough to grant you the respite of leaving you alone?

[fessus]

[ Every word rings true, even if he hadn't realized. They twist their way inside of him, twisting his perception of reality, of himself, to fit Ardyn's. He will focus on his failures now and on the dimming of the world. He'll choke on the obsessive thoughts when he reads his name, and again his eyes squeeze shut as he wishes not for the first time that this weren't his burden. How does a person prepare for this? Where does he find the strength to match what's required of him? ]

Because you want the same rest. If I hadn't heard it from you don't you think I would've heard it from your friend?

[ Because they've certainly talked about him, about this. ]

[daemonized]

[A bold statement like that isn't enough to set his nerves on fire, but it does brush dangerously against them.

Knowing exactly who Noctis is referring to, he shouldn't be surprised. X'rhun would speak about him if he were to make acquaintances with those from Eos a second time; of course he would, when the subject of his fate, of his hatred and resentment, had always been of worrying interest to the other man.]

Don't pretend to know what it is that I want. The degree of what I want.

[And how badly he wants it.]

No, nothing that can be achieved here. And so, in the long meanwhile, I'll keep myself entertained; and you're that means of entertainment as the days pass into weeks, into months, maybe even years. Who's to say? I'm a patient man. I can wait.

[fessus]

[ Pretending? No, not when he's heard it from Ardyn's own mouth. A rest is one thing, peace, but the kind that he craves isn't the kind Noctis describes and as willfully ignorant as he might wish to be, he knows that. What he wants is something that Noctis is incapable of giving him... yet. ]

Then wait. And when you're done waiting see if it doesn't start back over again for you.

This conversation's over.