Crystalline Chill

[warpstriking]

Who: Residents of house C-01 and friends!
When: All throughout May, see prompts and individual threads
Where: House C-01
What: Monthly catchall for the XV House shenanigans
Warnings/Notes: There's likely going to be spoilers for Kingsglaive and the main game up to Chapter 13 somewhere in the comments.


A. Sometimes you just want to ride...
Late in the morning of the 1st, there is a low purring sound of an engine going down the street. One that wasn't accustomed to travel aside by foot or chocobo claw. Yet, somehow, a certain man manages not to clip a single thing. And it sits there, in front of House C-01, black, shiny, and very much a wonder to a few moogles. Especially since the convertible's roof is airship-grade plexiglass.

B. [Insert "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" joke here]
There was one upside to living with the once-deceased leader of the Crownsguard, and that was one didn't have to go far for a training enthusiast. There was also one downside to this: not having to go far for a training enthusiast. It's the crack of dawn when the nice little symphony of insects and kwehs get interrupted by the sounds of wooden weapons clashing and spells being practiced.

Rest in pieces, light sleepers. They apologize in advance.

C. That's it!
Of course, no one can train or go through the day on no fuel. And one person in particular has taken upon himself to at least ensure a few others can eventually cook eggs without burning them. The real question is: Will Ignis come up with a new recipeh involving that jar of kupo nut butter?

D. I want to ride my chocobo all day~
If anyone is surprised at the fact that there are two or three (depending on the date because Chocobo Eater event) lovely birds, then they clearly don't understand at least 50% of the household's love for the magnificent creatures. The black one in particular seems to be particularly happy with their nice little stack of shiny objects...

There may or may not be a pair of glasses on the top of that pile. Sorry, Specs.

E. Hold my Ebony
(Feel free to come up with your own prompts, guys; these aren't the limits to our zaniness.)

Comments

[warpstriking]

"Thanks." Noct takes the water, willingly, and gives Ignis a look that says he owes him one. For taking that bullet. Ivory in particular looks saddened by this fact, but hugs him in apology. Noct only halfheartedly glares at her.

"I'm sorry, kupo..." It's such a sad existence, not being able to stomach kupo nuts.

Noct waits until the two moogles are done eating and out of earshot before he says: "Can't believe there's something worse than carrots."

[regalblaze]

Hey, this time it's Noct's own Moogle that got him into a bad predicament. Ignis has nothing to do with this. But, the Moogles are irresistible so Ignis can see why Noct couldn't say no to Ivory.

Okay, Ignis can't hold back a chuckle anymore.

"Is that a green light for me? Should I add them in today's curry?"

you know, it would probably help if I'm not on the mod journal...

[warpstriking]

He really isn't, but Noctis did it mostly so Ebony wouldn't insist further with the entire jar. He saw that gentle nudging of the container towards your plate, Ignis. Also he really can't say no to Ivory. It's a Problem.

Though at that comment, he looks super offended.

"Hell no." Ignis, no. It is the first of two things he absolutely refuses to eat. Don't do this to him.

xD

[regalblaze]

Okay, true. Ignis will give him credit for that. Very brave of you, Noct, to try Kupo nut butter.

And now he has to hide the smile behind his fist because, well. Someone will get angry.

"Ah, the wishful thinking," he says, trying to sound sad, but that grin is telling the entirely different story.

[warpstriking]

Noctis fixes him with a stare. He knows the one all too well. And he can see that smile regardless of the fist in front of it.

"Ignis."

[regalblaze]

"Yes, Noct?"

Did something happen? Nothing happened. You saw nothing. That smile is just a smile, he's not amused by your disgust towards carrots. Poor things- what did they do to you Noct? Except taste crunchy.

[warpstriking]

You and everyone else who knows of his disgust for carrots. Except Hunk, who judges him harshly for it. He frowns, but stabs at the last of his waffles. Perhaps with a little more force than necessary.

"What are you smirking about?" Aside from, you know, the obvious.

[regalblaze]

"The carrots, of course," Ignis says, eating his own waffles and eggs a bit more calmly.

"Awfully funny things, don't you agree? Good for the immune system."

[warpstriking]

Noctis groans, rolling his eyes. He swallows before speaking, but the irritation is palpable.

"I fail to see what's so funny about them." Not even going to touch the nutritional facts. He's already gotten the downing vitamins jokes.

[regalblaze]

"The color, the shape..."

Keeping his proper composure is becoming more and more difficult because he's saying stupid things that even he doesn't believe in.

"...the fact that you hate them with everything you have."

He couldn't resist.

"Don't worry, as always, I will keep your portion of curry carrot-free."

[warpstriking]

Ignis is lucky he can't use his powers. Because he is so, so tempted to do something to wipe that smirk off his face. Yet because he can't, the only thing he can do is either sit there and take it, perhaps give back, or walk away.

Of all the things he could potentially be upset about, it's carrot jokes at his expense. It's- kind of nice, honestly.

He sighs, the anger abating. For now, as he takes a couple bites and lets the silence linger for a moment...

"So, saw a couple megalocrabs fishing the other day. Should I kill one for dinner tomorrow?" He says nonchalantly, almost as though he doesn't remember how uppity he gets with large seafood...

[regalblaze]

Now, now Noct, no need to get violent over a small prod about your dislike of carrots. He'll make it up to you, as always, by making the most delicious curry. Carrot-less. Also, no one's stopping Noct from prodding him back.

It's how they used to be.

Ignis raises his eyebrows- where did he spot them? Then again, megalocrabs are big. "That sounds good. If you require help hunting them down, I'm am more than willing to lend you a hand. Or Prompto."

What he wants to say is- don't try things by yourself, have at least one more person with you.

[warpstriking]

Look, the most violent he'd get is a whack on the back of the head with a pillow. And the nearest ones are in the living room. Which he really wishes he could just warp to and come back with one of said couch pillows.

But he can't and this makes him sad.

Noctis raises an eyebrow. "And here I thought you'd complain about how 'what it's gained in size it'll have lost in flavor.'" But, then again, low funds. He guesses it's more a case of how much they can make their gil spread until some of them get jobs (the employment kind)...

[regalblaze]

Pillow fight in the kitchen is dangerous.

...he'd suggest moving to the living room. There's more space and more ammunition than just one pillow. Huh... last time Noct chucked a pillow at his face was when he woke him up on Sunday because he was doing spring cleaning at the apartment.

"While I do lament the lack of flavor, we cannot be picky right now." And hunting down food means free food. "If you can catch it, I will bring the flavor to it through cooking." It's what the spices are for.

[warpstriking]

Dangerous indeed, but at least nothing's on right now, right?

"Whatever you say, Sergeant No-Specs." He smirks faintly, totally not amused by the constant problem of kleptomania in the chocobo stable. "How do you keep getting off the chocobo slobber, anyway?"

Nope. Totally a sincere question and not a bit of ribbing. What ever are you trying to imply?

Still, he has to make the cost of the fishing rod worthwhile... considering his own were stuck in the armiger he can't access. At least he kept his fishing skillz. Which is the only reason he hadn't tried zapping the crap out of those crabs.

[regalblaze]

Ah, the nickname. Of course. Well, Ignis can't argue it when it's correct. He accepts this defeat gracefully. Unlike someone who lost the sparring match and groaned after every bite of salad.

There's a heavy sigh as Ignis stands up to collect the empty plates and to place them in the sink. "Honestly, I do not understand. Black chocobos seem to have a vendetta against me. Both here and back home."

He turns on the water and starts doing the dishes because scrubbing dry yolk is annoying. "Do you think they hate me?"

[warpstriking]

It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't six bowls of it, Ignis. Just saying.

Noctis finishes his after Ignis collects the previously empty plates, so he brings it over to the sink himself. Though in the silence, he contemplates the answer.

"Can't say I know about every black chocobo, but considering how Felix didn't attack you?" He asks, raising an eyebrow. Yeah, he's fully aware how temperamental his bird is. "I think he likes you. And thinks it's playing. Also pretty sure that chick we saved thinks you're her uncle."

[regalblaze]

After Noct brings over the plates, Ignis just grabs them and proceeds to wash them too. Because habit. He doesn't like leaving dirty dishes in the sink.

He also thinks about it, clicking his tongue. Of course, Noct would go out and try to cheer him up about this. But it could be true that some types of chocobos don't like him.

"Uncle, huh?" Ignis chuckles. "...I can't deny they are cute." Stupid chocobos. And Prompto- this is all his fault. His tolerance lowered because of him, he's sure.

[warpstriking]

At least one of them does. Considering all he does is rinse them off half the time. Especially of dairy is involved.

And what kind of friend would he be if he didn't try to cheer him up, in his own way? Really now, Specs. Someone should know this by now even if he's... well, not so guarded any more behind the snark (it's still there, mind), but the future holds enough heartache that being upset about a chocobo with a penchant for pickpocketing shiny objects seems silly to him.

OK, maybe just a little bit. Also don't categorize them by type that's just unfair.

"Would be a bit concerned if you could." Because, really, anyone who doesn't think they're cute at some point has either never seen one or leads a very sad existence.

[regalblaze]

He knows... he knows too well what the future holds. And he begs to every Astral that he what he heard was some kind of dream, a nightmare. But his gut feeling is telling him it's not.

The talk about chocobos and food are keeping the dark clouds at bay for now. Despite them being far away from home the thoughts come back when he's by himself. Having Noct next to him, alive and well, feels almost unreal.

It's not his fault yellow that yellow chocobos are more gentle than black ones.

"It would give Prompto a heart attack as well," Ignis adds. He turns off the water, since he's done, and grabs a towel to dry his hands.

[warpstriking]

"More like 'offend him almost as much as not liking his photos,'" he teases, but not necessarily lying. Noct shrugs faintly, smirking a little, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Ignis isn't the only one whose thoughts drift back to home, and he doesn't even have to be home alone for it to happen. Every time he looks at Ignis' face, he's silently grateful that whatever brought them here, Ignis at least could see this world with weirdly similar things with his own eyes.

And that's the kinder train of thought.

[regalblaze]

Ignis covers the waffles and eggs they prepared for the others when they get up and nods at Noct to head to the living room.

"I cannot tell which one would be worse," Ignis says with a smile. Seriously, both topics are really important to Prompto. And Ignis can understand that- cooking is pretty important to Ignis.

He does wish, however, to be able to translate what Noctis is thinking when he gives him somewhat sad, worried look. And he wants to ask, he really does but- he'll trust Noct to come to him it really is something problematic. (Even though he didn't do it last night when he had nightmares)

[warpstriking]

"Honestly? Me neither." Either one could be disastrous. "Good luck to whoever decides to say both, though." Because the ensuing upset could go one of two ways... and one he'd want to get popcorn for. (The other he'd switch to Ninja and punch their teeth in for.)

Noct takes the cue to leave the kitchen with a nod, already turning on his heels and heading for the couch. Wondering if he should even say anything about what's going on in his head, or let Ignis keep going without knowing the full extent of Ardyn's mindgames.

(Look he just didn't want to accidentally wake up Nyx; who knows what the Glaive would do.)

[regalblaze]

"I miss Prompto's photos," Ignis admits, crossing his legs as he sits down. There was always something there to chuckle about, Prompto catching all of them in weird, funny or embarrassing positions. He really had a sense for photographic timing that's for sure.

"I wonder if there is a way to get his camera back." Is there a shop they could acquire one for him? It probably won't be as good as the one he has back home but it would be something. And maybe it would cheer him up a bit. Their friend looked really down these last few days.

Somewhere vaguely above them, on the second floor, Ebony's singing "Little Miss Muffet"

[warpstriking]

"...So do I," he agrees, resting his hands on his knees. They could use that kind of hilarity right about now, especially with how at least two of them were having difficulty sleeping. Hell, he even misses the photo of his face meeting the dirt and grass.

"Well, they found the Regalia out there. Never know. It could show up." He has no idea if there is a shop like that or not. They don't exactly seem to be very high tech here. Maybe in Von Oktavia? It's worth a look sometime.

Oh, Ebony...

Noctis pauses, before admitting. "You know... I was kind of surprised when Biggs called me saying they found it in the Dream Width. Almost expected to see it like it was when I last...forcibly parked it." It was a painful thing to remember, having to say goodbye to that trusty steed. "And before you ask: no, I didn't wreck it. It took a hit or two when we entered Gralea."

Okay, maybe a bit more than 'two'.