Rayne Drops (FFXV)

XXXVIII) The Hydraean

~Four Months Before~

"Are you sure about this?" The indent Arma presses into the edge of my mattress leaves me leaning slightly to my right, our arms pushed together gently. It's a calming warmth that leaves my fingers gripping my sweatpants a little less tightly. "If we screw up, everyone involved is done for."

"You don't think I know that?" My voice is unfamiliar. Laced not with bitterness, but with a deeply compressed anxiety. "I don't have much time to think about it at this point, but I'm sure. I've weighed the pros and cons. I'd rather be known as a traitor who tried than a bystander who did absolutely nothing to stop all this death."

"I understand," he nods. His boney knee bounces to a steady, silent beat; his fingers tap along uneasily. "They've changed the security system, or so I've heard. At least, there are a few more things you have to enter to get in."

"You don't know what?" I ask through a mumble, resting my head on his sharp shoulder.

"What was that?"

"You don't know what they've changed?" I repeat, speaking up. A twinge of everlasting guilt twists in my gut. I've known him for twenty-three years and I still can't get it right.

"No, but it shouldn't be too difficult. When they update these systems, it's designed to only be easy to people who generally spend a lot of time in the security office." He folds his fingers together loosely, leaning his elbows into his thighs. "I'm in there enough to know all the tricks."

"You're helping then?" There's a long silence; Arma's shoulder trembles against my temple as he laughs to himself quietly.

"I've gotta look out for my baby sister even if she's formulating a plan to save some imperial soldier she fell in love with."

"We're a power team," I tease, a soft smile tugging at the corner of my lips. "That won't ever change."

"Guess not," he sighs. More comfortable silence. And then reality seems to settle in once again as if our father entered the room and threw an ice bath over our heads. "Aren't you scared?"

"Terrified," I reply, forcing myself not to whisper the shameful confession. I shouldn't be scared; I'm no child. I'm a warrior, a soldier conditioned to keep my head in any horrific situation. And yet, I'm shaken up by the slightest bit of resistance to my king. At this point, I've convinced myself he needs a push in the right direction, a correction, and I'm delivering it. "But I won't let it stop me."

"I know," he replies, nodding and resting his head on top of mine. "You're not leaving with him, are you?"

"I... don't know." I shake my head. "I can't bear to leave the guys behind, not to mention my own family, but at the same time, just yesterday I was willing to leave it all behind for the king and a false treaty." I take a deep breath, staring down at the wooden floor beneath my bare feet. "I would give anything to have both, but I guess that's selfish of me. Life's pick one or you get none."

"Don't go," he says, turning to look at me earnestly with his forest green eyes. "I may be helping you save him, but that's for your sake. Who's to say you'll be safe in Tenebrae? You go, he wins." He sighs, dropping his gaze. "I know it hurts, but you're better off apart. Maybe you can meet in secret or something but staying together is the worst thing you could do."

I nod, but everything underneath my skin screams in disagreement. My mind says he's right, the rest of my being says he doesn't know what he's talking about. Instead of arguing, though, I force myself to get to my feet and stretch my arms over my head.