A Heart Of Fire (Final Fantasy XV)

Chapter 18

Nuraya hummed as she was stirred awake by a gentle shake. She opened her eyes tiredly and saw Ignis standing before her.

"Time to go, Raya," he said as the red-head yawned and pushed herself up from ground against the wall.

"Hope you had a nice nap," Gladiolus calls out behind him. "You're gonna need all the energy you've got!"

"Are you prepared for the mission?" Ignis asks looking at Nuraya.

"Yeah, just give me a second to wake up," she says as she gently rubs her eyes. Ignis nods his head and makes his way over to the Regalia with the others. Nuraya brushes a few locks of hair out of her face and quickly freshens up before making her way to the car herself.

Her mind thought back to the dream, but figured that it was nothing more than one of those rare occurrences where someone had the same dream twice. Although nothing seemed too strange to her in the dream, she wondered if there any sort meaning behind it.

Nuraya was suddenly stopped by a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Lillian there and holding her weapons in her arms. She wore a smile on her face as Nuraya took them in her arms and put them back in their rightful place in their holsters.

"I thought I'd clean them up for you a little while you napped. They were looking a little dull," she said.

"Thanks, Lily," Nuraya said smiling, "I don't know what'd I do without you."

"Oversleep, stay up all night playing video games, forget to sharpen your swords, eat too much, not eat enough, the list could go on really," Lillian joked, counting the things on her list with her fingers.

"Come on now..." Nuraya mumbled with a pout, "I'm not a child anymore." Lillian giggled and brought her hand up to stifle her sweet laughing.

"I know, I know," Lillian said. She opened her eyes and looked up at Nuraya with a warm smile.

"What is it?" Nuraya asked. Lillian simply smiled wider as she brought a hand up to Nuraya's hair and combed through her red locks gently.

"Nothing really," she said, "just thinking about how much you've grown all these years." Nuraya smiled as she stared back at her with her emerald orbs.

"Really? I feel like I haven't changed much," she said before chuckling. "I still feel like that same little girl that would give you a hard time."

"Yes, in many cases you're immature," Lillian said, cupping the girl's cheek with her hand, "but in many more cases, you've grown up so much...and here you are."

"Raya! Come on, let's go!" Prompto calls from the Regalia. The girl nodded her head towards the boys and turned back to Lillian.

"Gotta go, the Marshal's waiting for us at the base," Nuraya said. Lillian nodded her head as she embraced the red-head in her arms. Nuraya returned the gesture with the same affection as she hugged back.

"Stay safe out there, okay?" Lillian mumbled. "I expect you to send those Magitek soldiers six feet under."

"I will," Nuraya relied, answering to both, "You can count on it."

The two pulled away and parted ways, with Lillian remaining at the outpost and Raya heading towards their vehicle. She hopped into the back with Gladio and Noct and looked over her shoulder to give Lillian a small wave. Lillian waved back, and Ignis got the car moving back out onto the road.

The drive to the location was a short one. Looking back, it made Nuraya a bit anxious to know how close the outpost was to the Niflheim base. As the five of them made their way over to their meeting spot, they spotted Monica standing next a narrow opening between two large rocks. Monica proceeded to explain the plan Cor had devised.