Rayne Drops (FFXV)

XLI) Building Tension

~Several weeks later~

It took us weeks of tension, exhaustion, and pointing fingers to get across Lucis, but we made it. After we landed in Cape Caem to find neither Iris nor Signum living in the house as they promised they would be, Gladio managed to get ahold of Iris and discovered that they had moved back to Lestallum with Cor. We collectively decided that it would be best to move on without stopping by, as hard as it was to know that we might never see them again. Everything's different now. I can't take it back and I can't afford to spend my time visiting family. It's over.

Noctis lost his cool with each of us over time. Each time Prompto tried to lift his spirits, Noct wanted to be left alone. Each time Ignis struggled to make a meal, Noct begged him to just give up. When Gladio pushed him to do better, Noct pushed back with bitter hatred. Every time I offered my help, he didn't need me. He didn't want me. He didn't see why I was even there. It took us weeks, but we made it to the train station that would carry us to our final destination.

Ignis sighs, facing the window even though he can't see the passing scenery. Prompto sits beside him with his hands clasped in his lap, his blue eyes darting all over the train car anxiously. I slump in the seat across from him, arms crossed tightly. Noctis sighs from his seat over the aisle, glaring out at the desert beyond the train tracks.

"So..." Prompto starts nervously, purposely avoiding eye contact. "We're gonna roll through Tenebrae."

"Not before visiting the royal tomb in Cartanica," Ignis replies quietly, twisting his cane between his fingers. It's routine now. Go here, get a weapon. Go there, get a monster. Our only motivation is saving the world from darkness and our only light is flickering out.

"Oh, uh," Prompto stutters, turning from Iggy's scarred face to Noct's empty gaze. "You're sure you're up to that?" Ignis sighs, reaching up carefully to touch the scars that rip over his closed green eyes. Eyes that mean nothing now, except the emotion only they could display for their owner. Eyes that remain empty, whether they're closed or not.

"The wounds have mended," the advisor says, though his voice is less than hopeful as he continues. "Eyesight's a matter of time." We all know it's gone forever. The ironic fate of a man who once begged his world to be crystal clear. Perfect. Gladio huffs, pushing to his feet and pacing over to Noctis.

"The @#$% is wrong with you?" he demands. I frown, looking up at his glower. Noctis looks up, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What?" he snaps, his voice low but stocked full of cold, bitter irritation.

"We're not stopping in Tenebrae," Gladio replies stubbornly. I sigh, shaking my head.

"Gladio..."

"You need to grow up and get over it," Gladio continues coldly. This isn't going to make anything better, I fire back in my head, but I know it won't do any good. He doesn't get it. He just doesn't. He may have lost his father but he doesn't know what it's like to lose his best friend, his brother, or his lover. He may have lost his home but he has no idea what it's like to watch it fade into complete darkness and trap you behind bars of torturous fear.

"I am over it," Noctis counters, standing. "I'm here, aren't I?" Gladio reaches forward, clutching the front of Noct's shirt roughly.

"Maybe when you're not too busy moping, you can look around and give a @#$% about someone worse off than you," he growls. Ignis's eyebrows pinch together slightly, but he makes no move to calm the two. Prompto presses his lips together, glancing at me before nervously watching the scene again.

"Let go of m.."

"How's that ring fit ya?" Gladio sneers, bending closer to the prince's face. "You rather carry it around than wear it?" His fist tightens. "She gave her life so you could do your duty, not so you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself."