Final Fantasy Oneshots and Drabbles

A Tale of The Sea: FFXV Mermaid!AU

"Prompto, we've seen this rock before."

"What? No! Come on Iggy, I would've pointed out how weird it looked!"

"You did point out how weird it looks. Twice. Give me the map back."

Noctis sat down on the "weird-looking" rock and listened to his party bicker about directions for the next five minutes. Gladiolus sat down next to him, looking just as bored. "When did we leave Hammerhead again?" He asked the other merman. "Two hours ago," Gladiolus replied, pulling out his book. "And I think it's gonna take two more hours to get anywhere else."

The prince sighed, flicking his black tail. "Guys, how about I take the map? Galdin Quay is really close, I can almost see the lights. It won't be for long." Prompto and Ignis stopped bickering for a second and glanced at him. "I suppose you could, Noct," Ignis muttered, looking like he was already envisioning every disaster that would befall them if he let go of the map. "Just make sure to stop if it gets even darker than now." He handed the map to the prince, after pulling it out of Prompto's hands.

"You know, maybe we could've stayed the night in Hammerhead. It would've been nice to, you know, sleep on a bed instead of camp." Prompto threw in as the group started again. "What's the real reason Prompto? Did you want to keep flirting with Cindy?" Gladiolus interjected with a smirk, causing the blond merman to blush and immediately double back. "What? No!...Maybe?"

The other three mermen laughed, causing Prompto to blush even more, and he immediately changed the subject. "Hey, speaking of, Noct, are you excited to get married?" Noctis stopped and thought about it for a second. He was excited to see Lunafreya again, but at the same time, he was apprehensive. His father had rushed him and the rest of his group out of Insomnia two days before the treaty signing without so much as a farewell, and he still didn't know why.

"I guess I'm excited." He replied quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway, would you look at that, we're here!" He handed the map back to Ignis, who also looked concerned about his friend's behavior. Noctis ignored that and started toward the sparkling town beneath them, empty land beyond barely hiding a winged rock formation and other scattered oddities.

"No transport is running," Ignis commented grimly, swimming up beside Noctis, who had stopped near a restaurant. "That's not a good sign." Noctis nudged the other man with his elbow. "Hey, maybe it's nothing-"

"I'm afraid you're quite wrong." A new voice interrupted Noctis, causing him to whip around with the rest of the group to see a stranger leaning against the wall. "No transport will be running for quite a while, thanks to the...productive events in the city." The stranger in question was a red-haired man at least a good few years older than Noctis, absentmindedly flipping a coin between his bloodred tail and his free hand, the other shrouded in a black wing accessory.

Looking at him was making Noctis uncomfortable, and evidently, he was disturbing most of the group as well. "How would you know that?" Prompto interjected, not reading the room. "And who even are you?" No one caught the death glare the man shot Prompto before he just smirked in response. "A man of no consequence." He balanced the coin on his tail tip, which glowed a dark purple, and flung it at Noctis, who didn't even have time to react before Gladiolus caught it.

He swam off, the four watching him leave.

There was an awkward pause.

"I say we go check on the transports." Ignis broke the silence first. "I have a feeling we should not trust a stranger's judgment." The rest agreed, but Noctis stayed quiet for a second. The interaction was bothering him.

Did that man know something he didn't?

***

Noctis stared at Lestuallm, trying not to think about anything. Thinking made his head hurt like fire. The visions of the giant merman in the Disc of Cauthess, coupled with learning about the destruction of the Crown City, his father's death, Lunafreya...it was too much to handle. He watched as tiny figures bustled throughout the city until he heard something behind him.