melodiesofeternity | Raise a Glass [OPEN]

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Raise a Glass [OPEN]

Who: The XV Cast and You!
When: June 6th
Where: Curti Center, Jiminy's Juicery (bar)
What: After saving innocents from the Dream Width, some people just need a drink.
Warnings/Notes: Alcohol consumption, possible violence, whatever people do in bars.

Their first foray into the search and rescue business in the Dream Width had been intense, to say the least. Stressful, heartbreaking, exhausting, and enlightening were other words some might use to describe the experience. After a night of rest and a day to somewhat sort things and people out, the next evening brings about a mighty need to head to the local tavern. Some drink to forget, some drink to remember, some drink to relax. There are even representatives of the Bard's Guild providing live music. You can try to make a request, but chances are they don't know your foreign songs.

Maybe you were invited by one of the excitable young men from Lucis, or maybe you came on your own. There's enough room in the bar for quite a few people, so long as they're of age. Sit right at the bar, or pull up chairs around a table, the choice is yours.

[OoC: Make your own toplevel or tag around. Please put content warnings as necessary. Have fun!]

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"Haven't seen you drink since ... ever." Gladio claps a hand on one of Ignis' shoulders and leans a bit into his friend.

"What's got you so worked up that you need to join us barbarians in our ritualistic consumption of alcohol after a difficult time?" He sips on his current drink, whiskey on the rocks, and levels Iggy with a look that says he's got nowhere better to be and that he's not leaving until Iggy gets a least a little off his chest.

"Talk t'me, Iggy."

Gladio showing up out of nowhere was a surprise. A pleasant one, despite the teasing thrown Ignis' way because- he's not wrong. Ignis, indeed, doesn't drink. Well- much. Only for social occasions, but that had dwindled down ever since they left Crown City- for obvious reasons.

"What's there to say?"

...okay, maybe he shouldn't phrase it like that. Gladio didn't deserve it, it wasn't his fault. He's silent for a moment, staring at the glass.

"What is the last thing you remember, Gladio? Before you ended up in the Dream Width?"

Iggy's sharp words take him by surprise, and it shows. Instead of letting irritation get the better of him, he waits.

Clearly there is something seriously upsetting Ignis and he'll be damned if he adds to that right now. He takes another sip, swirling the glass and watching the liquid slosh around, concerned and caring eyes lifting to the Advisor when his accented voice rings out again.

His last memory before being here? "We were in Caem, taking one last night to camp out together just the four of us before leavin' for Altissia. We'd been stayin' in that house, but even Noct didn't mind using our last night on land to sleep under the stars."

Caem... that is even earlier than- Gladio knows nothing of what transpired in Altissia. Of what's going to transpire in the future. Those were... beautiful days in this endless nightmare that seemed to have enveloped them so tightly, not letting them to even breathe.

"My last memory of everything was- Altissia. The angered Goddess struck down Noctis. And Lady Lunafreya dying." Ignis is staring at some spot at the wall, not daring to meet Gladio's eyes. Not yet.

And drinking- it didn't block out a single image that flashed through Ignis' mind at the memory. Words got stuck in his throat for a moment before he willed himself to speak up again, eyes on the glass.

"The Prophecy that we heard so much about, back at the Citadel. Of the one True King coming to save us all and bring back the light. Remember?" He waits for Gladio to answer before continuing, "...I saw it. All of it. And... and the price for it."

Gladio remembers Ravus talking briefly of Lunafreya dying, but hearing it from Ignis still causes a stab of pain to run through him. And what does he mean that Noct was struck down? Ravus hadn't mentioned anything about that - Astrals if Iggy's getting choked up ... that bodes ill.

He nods at the mention of the prophecy - something they always tried to figure out without much success.

"You saw it? Iggy, I can see your burden from here. Tell me - what did you see? What is the price you're talking about?"

Ravus had no reason to lie to Gladio. In fact- the man is brutally honest and Ignis appreciates that about him. What little exchange they had back in Altissia made him understand the man a little bit better.

But.

All of that fell into the second plan as he arrived at the Altar. Six, he wants to forget it- the image of Noct not moving, Luna's light trying to save him, the voices of the prophecy making his head pound with the pain he didn't feel even when Deadeye charged at him with its full might.

He can't say it. He knows he needs to. This is Gladio, he has to know. And yet, every time he opens his mouth, words die on his lips.

Gently, he just shakes his head, bringing his hand up slip past the glasses to rub his eyes.

"...the dawn... he... won't live to witness it..." he finally manages to utter something, voice low that if Gladio isn't paying attention he might miss it.

The pang of worry grows, something awful churning in his stomach as Gladio watches Ignis struggle to speak about what happened (happens?), about what he saw.

And then the words come out.

For a minute time stops.

He says nothing, staring in confused horror and disbelief at his closest friend.

"What do you mean 'he won't live to witness it'? That can't be - I'd die before I let him down an' you're sayin' he dies anyway? Do I at least die for him first?"

He can't allow himself to accept the thought Noct dying, but part of him can find solace in the possibility that he dies first - as is his duty as Shield.

He's not sober enough to talk about this rationally or without feeling like he was going to break down. Just the fact that his King needs to sacrifice his life to save the Star hanging over Ignis' head is crushing.

Ignis shakes his head:"I... I don't know." Taking a deep breath, he tries to compose his thoughts through the drunken haze he's currently in.

"We... we were still alive, according to Prompto and Noct. In the future. We led Noct to the Crystal in Zegnautus keep. I..." am blind he wants to say, but it feels like it's not important right now, "...I don't know what happens after. The prophecy said that," Ignis gulps down a hiccup, "that he will need to die to bring back the dawn."

On the throne.

Gladio knows Ignis doesn't always welcome casual touch, but both of them are far enough from sober - and the subject is so ... sensitive that he's pretty sure Iggy won't mind this time.

Because the little hiccup is enough to tell Gladio that his oldest and closest friend is hurting in a way the Shield thinks he hasn't ever hurt before, so he leans forward to wrap a reassuring arm over Iggy's shoulder. Honestly, there's a burning in Gladio's eyes and he's doing his best to keep them from misting over.

"Iggy... I -" Shit there's no stopping them. A Shield is supposed to be strong, but how can he not crack after learning that his Prince - his friend and brother - is destined to die?

He gives the shoulder under his arm a squeeze and his voice only wobbles a bit when he tries to speak. "That's ... that's not ... how did you see this?" Wet eyes stare imploringly at Ignis, silently asking the man to tell him everything.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Ignis almost doesn't even register the touch- even if he did, he wouldn't mind. His thoughts are swimming in every direction, clashing and then coming back full force. And Gladio's broken voice is not helping at all. Telling him this while drunk was probably not the best idea he had but- the filter was gone, he feels as if there's steel in his chest and breathing is a task he has to overcome.

"In... In Altissia. When we went for the blessing from the Tidemother. The Astral razzed the coast and altar to the ground. As- as I was getting to Noct after the battle, the messenger of Shiva appeared, the- the white one, and... and she showed me. She showed me everything-"

His head hurts as the images come flooding back again. Six, is there a way to stop this? The drinks aren't helping.

"I- I saw Noct- being stabbed on the throne by- by the Kings of Old- all of them Gladio-! All thirteen of them!" There's a moment of silence before a choked sob escapes Ignis, "...king Regis too..."

He's nowhere near drunk enough to handle hearing this well. Part of him rages.

How could it all lead there? To the death of the man he's sworn to protect? What was the point of anything they did if it all lead to Noct's death? Was he supposed to endure the loss of his home and his father as well as the loss of his friend? Were all of them supposed to just ... move on after that? Who the hell did the Astrals think they were, ordaining this damned prophecy in the first place?

Part of him mourns what he hears he'll have to experience.

Noctis, the bratty kid he grew to respect, the angsty teenager he grew to love, the fierce young man he was proud to stand by... Noctis was going to die. He'd be stabbed on the throne he fought harder than hell to reclaim by all thirteen Kings of Old, by his own father. And he'd be suffering and dying alone considering Ignis never mentioned anyone being beside him. How was that fair? How was that okay?

Iggy's choked sob brings him back to the present and he throws any sense of public decorum out the window, wrapping both arms tightly around his closest friend.

"Iggy... " Fuck, he doesn't even know what to say. What the hell can he say?

Tears leak out of his amber eyes as he meets Ignis' eyes. Every worried, angry, miserable crease in his face conveys what he can't put into words and he tries to comfort Ignis as best as his fairly drunk-self can.

"I have no idea what to say, Ig. That's ... a lot. An' I have no idea how you held onto all that by yourself but you don't have to now. M'here an' we can figure this out - we will figure this out."

Ignis has been asking himself those questions for months now. Ever since he arrived with the knowledge of what is going to transpire, Ignis' mind had never once been calm, despite Ignis' attitude. No amount of cheerful chats, cooking and spending time with friends could push aside the fact that... that this is what awaits them when they go back.

He'd endure seeing the vision over and over again if it could stop the future from happening. Is it... selfish that he doesn't want to go back? This place gives him a bad vibe, but here- Noct doesn't have to die. He won't be killed on the throne, by his own father, leaving them all behind. Alive. With guilt welling up inside of them that they didn't die for and before him.

But that's not what Noct wants. And Ignis... Ignis swore to always respect his King's decisions.

Ignis shakes his head, head buried against Gladio's chest. There are loud noises in the bar and a lot of people so no one really pays attention to them. The sobs are shaking him from the core:"G...Gladio... I feel...- I feel like I'm leading him to his death- I can't-!"

He takes a shaky breath, pulling away and gripping onto Gladio's jacket:"Keeping him safe just to slaughter him at the right moment- Gladio- this is not right!"

His yell makes few people stop and glance at him, but Ignis doesn't spare even a second for them.

Gladio doesn't give a rat's ass who stares at them, lowering his forehead to touch against Iggy's.

"It's not right, Ig. An' we'll find a way to stop it. Fuck them..." His eyes close briefly then shoot open, fire burning within them, and he pulls back this time to tilt his head up and let out a battle cry.

"Fuck the Astrals!" Chest heaving, he meets Iggy's eyes and continues with a harsh voice that promises pain to any who dare attempt saying otherwise. "Fuck them an' fuck their damn prophecy."

There has to be ways to alter it. To make it so Noct can bring back the dawn and survive. He won't accept that his friend's destiny is to suffer and suffer and suffer only to die in order to restore light. What kind of Shield will he be if he can't shield his own Prince - his King - from an unfair and unnecessary death?

"No. No, this won't happen. We'll make it so it doesn't. I swear to you Iggy, we won't let him die. I'll make sure of it."

Gladio's not going to let his best and oldest friend continue to feel as though he's leading Noct to the slaughter - he's going to find a way to make this change. Later. Not now. Now, he yanks Ignis back to his chest and holds him tightly as he raggedly whispers.

"It's not right. An' we'll fix it. I promise. We c'n figure it out when we're sober. We will. Figure it out. Right now I wan' us to get so wasted we can' even think about it. Y'with me?"

"I've... I've tried. I scoured the libraries here but- there's nothing we could use. Nothing that can help- I just don't know..."

By now, Ignis' talking has turned into low muttering, eyes closed as Gladio's forehead rests against his own. He jumps a bit when he yells but not enough to pull away completely. His brain is completely razzed with pain, alcohol and the neverending feeling of helplessness.

Gladio's hug does help Ignis calm down a little and he relaxes in his hold. Somehow, whenever he says that things will be alright, Ignis believes him. Even though his rational mind is supplying him with reasons that this is not the case.

Ignis manages to nod, wanting nothing more than to drink himself into oblivion so he won't have to think about all of this.

"We'll... fix it. He won't die. And we'll get drunk-! Eb... Ebony- bring us drinks-!"

His Moogle floats over, tilts head curiously at them and then leaves to get them the drinks.

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Raise a Glass [OPEN]

II. Drinks and chat

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