melodiesofeternity | Event || Camp Curtisy Retreat

Event || Camp Curtisy Retreat

Who: All characters
When: July 17th - 22nd
Where: Nah Nami Reserve
What: Characters go to the campgrounds to do some team building exercises and build CR.
Warnings/Notes: See prompt D for Mognet glitches

A. Arrival

[On the morning of the 17th, Mogaruru directs the outworlders and Curti Center employees who have signed up to the airship headed to the Nah Nami Reserve. Counselors hand out pamphlets with maps, general camp rules, and the week's itinerary. This place loves their pamphlets. Fortunately, most of the rules detail common sense: quiet hours are at 10pm, no smoking or alcohol, no harming the forest wildlife, no setting off fireworks.

After they touch land, the arrivals are free to pick their cabins and set up their rooms before gathering at the mess hall for lunch.]

B. Team Building

[It's not a corporate retreat without ice breakers! On the first day, every splits into groups sharing their names and one interesting fact about themselves. Throughout the day, there's all sorts of get-to-know-each-other events. Maybe Never-Have-I-Ever (alcohol is replaced with juice). A game of Truth or Dare? Trust falls? If it's meant to foster friendships, it's here.

There are also races and obstacle courses for those that want to compete as a team.

Mogaruru oversees the main activities, even leading a workshop in building paper-mache Moogle masks, encouraging everyone to find their passion.]

C. Actual Camping

[There are important life skills to be learned when living in the great outdoors. Hiking, learning about local flora and fauna, and cooking are included in the itinerary. Complaining about the sun and constant reminders about staying hydrated, too.

In the evenings, there's campfires for any type of socializing. Perhaps now is the time to have heart-to-heart chats over roasting marshmallows or swap scary stories about the Camp Lake Ira Killer.]

D. Late Night Hijinks

[After dinner, campgoers are allowed to use Mognet to catch up with news and chat with friends...though considering the glitches that occur during this event, it may prove to be less relaxing considering the glitches that occur in Kupoto's charge.

Things are fine on the 17th. On the 18th, however, messages to and from the Curti Center are delayed by 10 minutes. In an effort to fix this issue, Mognet is down at the Curti Center on the 19th. On the 20th, it's fixed...but all posts are made public. On the 21st, this is addressed, but now every subject line begins with "!Kupo".

Someone is going to have a stern talking-to when Mogaruru returns.

But that's fine. Campers are free to ~~sneak~~ travel outside in a group for totally legal activities. After all, no one would sneak booze or fireworks or play pranks on the other cabins, would they?

At least, if they don't get caught. Otherwise, it's cleanup duty for the rest of the trip.]

E. The Great Outdoors

[The Nah Nami Reserve boasts beautiful forests and a beach. The weather is beautiful. There are no monsters on the reserve...unless one considers the large fish living far from the beach shoreline to be monsters. Or if they are unlucky enough run into one of the larger animals in the forests. Fighting back can be overlooked as long as they don't grievously injure their opponent, ideally escaping without harm to either party. These are protect species, after all. It shouldn't be a problem if they are with Camp Curtisy counselors, but chances are there are some hiking groups that decided to explore the entire island on their own.

The beach includes a long stretch of sand, rock outcrops with tidal pools, and a net for volleyball. Some counselors have "TEAM LAVODE" shirts left from last month's Blitzball tournament, especially the Hypello lifeguards.]

F. Lessons Learned

[Now's the time for the campers to shine. Counselors lead workshops on arts, crafts, survival skills, and languages, but slots are open for all participants to lead a class of their choosing. Want to teach the history of your homeworld? Have any other skills you wish you share? This is your chance to show off what you know!]

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He knows he should be reasonable. He also knows that by now Gladio knows he made a mistake. But Ignis is seeing red and wasn't going to sugarcoat it at all with him. Especially because Iris disappeared.

"What in Six bloody hells were you thinking!?" he hisses out. Then he does what he almost never does- raise his voice. "Tell me! You Shield to the King! Tell me how does one just ups and leaves without a trace! Leaving everyone and everything behind, especially the King he's sworn to protect?!"

And in his rage, Ignis doesn't even notice when he closed the distance between the two of them and grabbed Gladio by the shirt with both hands.

"YOU TWO COULD HAVE BOTH DISAPPEARED!"

The same way Iris did.

Rarely has Ignis ever raised his voice, so it's a punch in the gut when Gladio's best friend of what feels like forever starts shouting at him. He closes his eyes against the onslaught of words, every symbol stabbing him with Ignis' fury - with his worry.

The stupid part of Gladio's brain wants to point out that technically he hadn't left Noct behind, since the young King followed him, but thankfully the rest of his brain wins out and he leaves that bit unsaid. The feel of hands tugging at his shirt, knuckles clenched around the fabric, makes him open apologetic eyes.

Gladio brings his hands to rest on Iggy's, not trying to pry him off or push him away, just trying to reassure the man of his presence (or maybe reassure himself that at least for now, his friend is still here and talking to him). "I know it's not enough, but ... I'm sorry, Igs."

He heaves a sigh and it's like opening the floodgates as words tumble out of him faster than he can think them. "I wasn't thinking. At all. I - " And now tears well in despondent eyes before spilling over because he has literally no dignity left to maintain.

"Knowing I'd end up failing you and Prompto and Noct ... then havin' Iris just disappear... Iggy, I needed to find her. I couldn't fail her too. So I hunted like nothin' else mattered. Hardly ate, barely slept, practically shoved Noct away from me and kept my pace brutal even though I knew he was following me - Nothin' mattered but finding her." Gladio swallows audibly as he continues, tears still trailing down his cheeks.

"But I failed her too. She's not here - not anywhere - and I didn't even ... I couldn't keep her here, keep her safe. Iggy, what purpose do I have if I can't protect anyone? I failed you in your timeline, Prompto and Noct both in theirs, and now my little sister was snatched away to Six know where. An' to top it off my actions hurt you - all of you."

His eyes plead but for what he doesn't know. "What can I do, Igs? What am I supposed to do?"

Gods, he feels so lost.

"Sorry? That is all you have to say?!" Ignis hisses out before Gladio could say anything else. But the hands on his own make him pause for a moment to hear him out. Otherwise, he'll know he'd regret it later for not doing so.
However, the more he listened, the more he got angry.

"Is Noct dead?! Or Prompto captured?? Do I look blind to you!?" Ignis lets go of Gladio's shirt, fury in his eyes. "No one ever said you failed us. What befell us was something we couldn't change. Something no one could've changed. You haven't failed us there. But you almost did fail us here." Ignis takes a deep breath, shaking his head, taking a few steps back, "Because you said you will help me change his destiny. And yet."

Ignis presses fist to his lips, trying to gather his raging thoughts into something more coherent than just yelling. Gladio is his best friend but he's not going to be gentle to him. Not after this.

"He told me. He told me what you told him and that you tried to send him away. I wish- I wish so dearly he punched you in the face right then and there, to show you how actually powerless you are here." Ignis jabs Gladio's chest, "This is not Eos Gladio. Get that through your head, or Six help me, I'll show you."

"There were a LOT of things you could've done! Do you think we would just sit around doing nothing? Did you forget why I opened the coffee shop? Do you think none of us care for Lady Iris!?" Ignis barely slept when Iris disappeared and then sleep became a thought when Gladio and Noct left, with Noct leaving just a note behind.

There is a long pause before Ignis speaks up again, looking Gladio straight in the eye.

"Is this how much we," Noct, Prompto, Hope, himself, "mean to you? So much that you're ready to just walk out without a word?"

He wants to shut his eyes again, unable to bear the ire in Ignis' eyes. But Gladio brought this upon himself and he knows it, knows now that he was wrong.

Hindsight doesn't help any. And now he has to find a way to deal with Iris disappearing entirely as well as with the painful fruits of his idiotic actions. Noctis hasn't tried talking to him yet and Gladio can't go to him until his own shit is under control, or at least better controlled than it is right now.

So he watches as Ignis continues to hammer at him with the harsh truth. His heart aches and shame burns his cheeks and eyes, tears of sadness replaced by ones of remorse. And when Ignis asks that final accusatory question, Gladio lets every wall he's built inside himself drop.

"Of course not. You mean so much to me, all of you." His voice probably sounds a little too desperate, but he truly needs Ignis to understand the truth of his words.

"He should have punched me - should've knocked me on my ass. Hells, you should deck me. Astrals know I'd deserve it. I got so caught up in my own head I stopped thinkin' about how you guys might be feeling and I ... I lost myself." Gods, he really fucked up. He abandoned his friends without a thought, without any sort of conversation or anything - just upped and left. Looking back, there hadn't been a real reason to do that and if anything that makes him feel worse.

Gladio still feels lost, though now it has more to do with him realizing exactly how close he is to losing his friends because of his actions, and it shows in his face. "What would you have me say, Iggy? That I'm an idiot? That I'm an inconsiderate asshole? That I didn't think at all and went against everything I've ever taught Noct? Or how about that I hurt people I swore to protect? That I abandoned the people I care about most? Because it's all true and there's nothing I can say for it other than I'm sorry."

He's panting now, the emotion behind his words all but sapping his energy. "I'm so fuckin' sorry, Ignis. An' I'll find a way to prove that I won't do anythin' like that again."

Ignis had a talk with Noct too. He didn't pass without warnings as well as the fact that Ignis was not happy that he left without any backup and leaving only a note behind. But, it comes down to this- Noct wouldn't have left if his shield had a bit of brain in that thick skull of his. And from what he gleaned, Noct didn't want to talk to his shield either. And he shouldn't- Ignis himself feels betrayed after this and he can't even imagine how Noct must feel.

"I wish beating the living daylights out of you would change anything," Ignis says hotly, hands crossed defensively over his chest. He's not going to budge from this. He's hurting, hurting too much- just the thought that Gladio was ready to leave them felt like he was blindsided.

"I expected everything from you. I knew your temper. But this-" Ignis is not even yelling anymore. There's just sadness and disappointment laced through his voice. "I didn't expect this from you." With unstable breathing, he feels as if he's going to keep repeating himself with the same question of 'how could you'. He tries not to, but the tug in his chest just doesn't want to let go.

There's a long silence after Gladio's apology, an inner struggle between heart and head, but it doesn't last for too long.

"I'm sorry, Gladio. I can't accept an apology like that," he says quietly. "To be more precise," he steps forward so he's properly face-to-face with him again, "I feel like you took my dagger and rammed it into my back." Ignis shakes his head, "I'm... not even angry anymore. Just... extremely disappointed, that you value me and my voice this low."

With that, Ignis shoves hands in the pockets of his pants and turns around to leave.

Nononono he can't lose Iggy like this. With an urgency he's rarely felt, Gladio darts forward to grab at his best friend's arm. His grip is gentle, not wanting to do any more damage to Iggy than he already has, but firm enough to be felt.

"Please..." His voice cracks on the monosyllabic word. "Iggy ... I know I deserve it, all your disappointment and everythin' that comes with it... I deserve to have you walk away right now..."

Gladio's eyes burn and he does something he's never before done in front of Ignis - he lets his tears fall.

"You mean so damn much to me, Iggy. There's no - I can't --" Watery eyes continue overflowing with tears as he finally understands the actual depths to which he hurt his friend, hurt all of his friends.

He actually goes silent, slumping as his hand slides down Iggy's arm and gives a pathetic squeeze to Iggy's hand before dropping listlessly to Gladio's side.

Nothing he says can fix this. Hell, he's pretty sure right now that nothing he does can fix this. He may very well have lost his best friend, one of the men loves and wants to be with, all because he couldn't stop and think before leaving like no one else mattered.

Gladio's voice is a hoarse whisper as he looks down at his own feet. "...you're priceless t'me... Ignis ..."

He can't bring himself to watch Iggy walk away. Maybe he really is a coward.

Ignis pauses his walk, watching Gladio and holding back his own tears. He... never expected things to go this way, for their friendship and trust to break into pieces like this. On the surface he appears to be indifferent but, on the inside, he feels like screaming. And crying. And he now, the one person he confides in with these feelings have turned his back on him.

And Ignis doesn't know how to deal with this. He can't go to Noct or Prompto, he'll just worry them. Once again, he'll have to find iron strength in him and big chain to hold these tears of disappointment and feeling of betrayal back.

At least, until he's by himself. It's already become a habit that he handles stuff like this alone.

He doesn't return the touch, the squeeze and doesn't even look at Gladio. His ears are ringing from his apology but it just keeps cutting through him like a knife instead of fixing things like it should.

"Priceless things- they are not so easily forgotten. Especially when the storm is coming," Ignis says quietly.

"...I need to be alone right now, Gladiolus." Ignis glances at him briefly and then looks away again. "You will have to deal with the consequences of your actions-" an image of Noctis and their conversation flashes through Ignis mind briefly, an expression on Noctis face Ignis never thought he'll see, "-by yourself this time."

When Ignis says he needs to be alone Gladio's eyes snap open, the shattering of something inside him on full display for his (former?) friend in that brief moment green eyes actually look at him.

*'By yourself.'* The words echo in his head as he watches the man who'd never once abandoned him fully turn away from him. Iggy has been his best friend for years upon years - Gladio can hardly remember a time where he hasn't been able to go to Ignis for advice or comfort or anything in between. And it always held true in reverse, Ignis could come to him for the same things and he'd be there.

But now ... now Iggy is going to walk away. Probably for good. Because Gladio had completely betrayed the bond they'd had by leaving.

The magnitude of exactly what he did by leaving - of what he's losing now because of it - renders Gladio almost incapable of breathing. He doesn't feel it when he drops to his knees, the thud of them hitting the ground lost to his ears. All he feels is loss.

And it's a loss he deserves.

With his head bowed, tears dripping onto his thighs and rolling to the dirt, he doesn't beg Ignis to stay. He has no right to. All he can do is whisper, mostly to himself, "I'm sorry, Ignis. You deserve better."

And as Ignis walks away, Gladio remains kowtowed and cries until his tears dry up. There's nothing else he can do right now. Eventually, he'll get up and dazedly wander back to the campfire in order to keep up some sort of appearance that things haven't been completely destroyed.

But he knows the truth, knows that nothing will be okay for a long while. And deep down he's terrified that this damage is permanent.

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Event || Camp Curtisy Retreat

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