Night Light {FFXV/OT4}

A Man Of No Consequence

Chapter Nine: A Man Of No Consequence

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"Hey Iggy, how're you feeling?" The question came from Noctis, both he and Gladio sitting beside Ignis. Noct kept his eyes on his advisor as the man sat up in his sleeping bag, looking a lot better than he had last night.

"I'm fine, Highness. No need to worry" The Prince was relived to hear Ignis sounding back to his old self again. He and Gladio had been shaken more than they'd like to admit by Ignis getting injured. The chef was always the one with perfect composure, looking after them if they got sick or injured. This time it had been the other way around, and Noct  especially had found it hard to handle.

He vowed to himself that he'd never let any of his friends get hurt again, even if he knew that was a stupid promise to make. With the kind of life they'd be living for the next few months, exploring Lucis, fighting monsters.. injuries were inevitable.

Nonetheless, the vow made him feel a little better. For now, at least.

"Here you go Iggy. Food." The cook wrinkled his nose in distaste as he was handed steaming noodles in a plastic cup by Gladio. He took the offering gingerly, peering down into the cup for a moment before thrusting it back to the Shield.

"I'm not desperate enough to eat this powdered rubbish" The Prince let a small chuckle sound at Ignis' curt words; the chef was certainly back to his old self, there was no doubt about it. Noctis rubbed his Shield's back comfortingly, Gladiolus looking hurt by Ignis' quick dismissal of his favourite meal.

"Come on Iggy, don't be so harsh, you might make Gladio cry~" Noctis wasn't surprised as the Shield shoved him away, although a playful grin was on Gladio's facd the whole time.

"I'm not about to cry over some damn noodles, Princess. I can eat them myself" Gladio did just that, picking up the pot that Ignis had rejected and beginning to eat despite the fact that he'd already eaten breakfast. It had been nowhere near as good as Ignis' gourmet cooking, but Noct had made them all food while they were waiting for their chef to wake up.

The three remained in the tent for about half an hour. Noctis was doting over Ignis, who continuously insisted that he was fine and really didn't need any help. The Prince only let up once Ignis agreed to drinking a small bottle of elixir, which helped to assure Noctis that his advisor really was alright.

The screams came out of nowhere. They were loud and raw, the sounds of someone truly terrified and more importantly in pain. Noctis bolted up from where he sat, eyes wild as his mind frantically yelled a sudden realisation at him: Prompto. They'd forgotten about Prompto.

Ignis was out of his sleeping bag in seconds, the last of Gladiolus' pot noodles kicked to the floor as the three charged out of the tent. After a few seconds of mad rushing they discerned that Prompto was not in the haven and quickly left the campsite, running towards the pained screams as they started up again, not stopping this time.

Noctis felt his heart clench in his chest when he picked out the sound of his name between the garbled wails of agony. He grit his teeth and started warping, not caring that he was leaving Gladio and Ignis behind.

When Prompto finally came into sight Noctis felt a rush of blind fury wash over him, the Prince immediately launching into furious combat, trying to eradicate all present threats as quickly as possible.

He was trying his best to ignore just how much blood there was.

Ignis and Gladio arrived just as Noctis' great-sword made impact with the head of the last Varetooth left, polished blade slicing it clean off. Noctis had been a blur of motion, darting from enemy to enemy and dispatching them in as little time as he could. In one final flash of blue he was knelt by Prompto's side, sword vanishing as he pulled a random armful of healing items from the ether, dumping the curatives on the ground.