✡FFXV|Farther Down The Grove| OC✡ (Alternate Universe)

𝔉🜋Avio🜋𝔉

Through the amount of time, spent pushing (what was essentially a priceless diamond now), the four of us were drained beyond comprehension. The desert of nowhere was a scorching mess, and one path lay in front of us; it was getting late. I looked up to the sky, wondering ways as to how it could be so deathly, even as the set of sun was upon us. 'This was taking way too long.'
Within the next three hours, it was pitch black. Almost as if on sudden contact, when the colors of dawn hit the continent, a harrowing feeling overcame my heart. It started slowly, anchoring an unbearable weight, throbbing constantly until it found a way up to my head. It felt like I was going to pass out, but, I knew this feeling before. It happened to me right before I was born: when my life was just barely taken from me. Just as my body was slumping over, it was being re-lifted once more, by the arm. "Hey, are you alright?" Gladiolus, with sore fingers, asked with a tight hold. "I– I'm not sure." But I knew all too well, what had just happened. And it wasn't the last time. "Take a load off, for once. Let us handle the work, while you sit in the car with Iggy."
"No, I'm fi..." the process starts over again. My mind went a blank, and nothing but darkness shrouded my vision, and my body now rendering me still.

"Uh, Noct! I think, Kyr just blacked out, she needs help!" Prompto's voice echoing; the last words I hear, before entering a deep state of mind.

I woke up in a different world. Not necessarily a dream, but a world where the eternally resting's soul wanders in oblivion, and the name of the spirit who's lost his life. You could say, the death of what was once apart of nature, but the flames were bright and dying, signifying that they didn't go down without a fight. This was, recent.

"WAAAKE UPPPPP!" I jumped out of the disembodied coma, to see a familiar freckled face with deep violet blue eyes. "You scared me half–to– death!" Pushing Prompto to the side, I straightened up into a criss cross position, eyeing the others around me, and a strange smell of embers on wood hit my nostrils. When did we get to camp? Fiddling along the ground, I searched quickly around the premises, seeing everyone was gathered around the pit of fire eating a meal whipped up by Ignis. On instinct, the first person my eyes went to following, was Noctis himself. And with that, it all came back. His father had fallen.
"Awake, yet?"
"Inconsiderate much."
He smirked. "Sorry, it's not exactly easy making light conversation when you witness your cousin having a sudden heat stroke." Noctis shook his head, then continued to eat.
"So, you do care?" "Don't joke about that kind of stuff." "Right."
Then out of nowhere this sudden rush of cold air, engulfed me. It was freezing, as opposed to scorching. The sun finally took a reign check then.
"You're gonna catch cold." Ignis got up from his chair, disappearing into the tent;only for a few seconds. He came out—with a long blanket, and proceeded to wrap it around my arms. Then, smiled. "Can't have our Kyrie getting light headed anymore. Or our prince will be up and about all night, as he was the one to carry you in the car, constantly asking me to check on you through the review mirror."
"No way."
"Yeah, he did." Prompto laughed.
"Don't lie to me."
"We're not." Gladio attested with his mouth full. I got this weird feeling all of a sudden. The feeling of content, and a somewhat glow-like joy, that canceled out the idea of freezing to death in a dry desert on a full moonlight night. A bit of, admiration, and astonishment, if you ask me. More or less–
"Why're, you... smiling?" Gazing up at Noctis, who's been hiding behind a cup of coffee, i replied simply with a slight chuckle, removing myself from the conversation

"I'm going to bed."  Just as I was walking away, my ears rang at the loud voice behind me. "Wait, just because I helped you out doesn't mean I—

he'd cut himself off right then and there. 'Doesn't mean, what?' He stared at the fire before him, as if the fire was some flame of judgement. He'd been thinking. That's just how hard he'd been looking into it. There was something bothering him...something.

After that the whole mood changed. No one said a single word. It bothered me for the entirety of the night. What was it? What did he mean? What did he want to tell me? More over—was it my fault, that he refuses to say anything? What was he thinking? I spent my night staring at nothing, but that blank canvas on top of the tent. Whenever I stared up, I think, of that time. That time, when, it was alright. The paean. It was so beautiful, watching the spirits roam free and touch landmarks they hadn't been to in ages. It felt so right at the time, and they sang,too. A Chorale, that touched the heart of man. One that could not be forgotten. It was so breathtaking, that all you wanted to do was reach out...and...touch—it. I let my hand fall back to the side of the pillow. I loved to play Psyche, I really did. I cherished it with my soul, and would never even dare to abandon it if I had the choice. But, for Noctis' sake, I musn't. Not after what happened.

'Just go to sleep, already.' forcefully closing my eyes, i erased all thought from the last ours form ere morrow. 

The next morning, it was sunrise. I walked out to the same thing I woke up to; Ignis' cooking. A far better job than I could have ever done. And everyone was up and ready to go. Not before a bite of course. "How do you do." The rest nodded correlating with yawns and stretches. All but Prompto, who basically was always ready to spread positivity.  "Heyyaz." He laughed.

"Mornin'" Gladio waved, away from his book a moment.

"Salutations." Ignis tuned, at the grill.

"Yo..." Noctis, still tired; as always. It didn't look like whatever was on his mind left from it.

Of course it didn't. It must be, something important. I wanted to ask, what it was that was bothering him. But when I was going over to talk, Prompto had stopped me, slapping a hand on my shoulder, and grinning widely. "Hey, uh– Kyri?" "Yes, Prompto?" "Would you wanna take a walk with me?"