It was quite the eventful day, to say the least. We managed to get Noct's blessing from Ramuh, the God of Lightning. It wasn't easy, fighting off the Niff's and a giant snake with a woman's face in a dark, wet cave, but when has this job ever been easy, huh? After we left the cave, Cindy had called to tell Noct of the whereabouts of the Regalia.
The good news, it's still in one piece: the bad news, it's in the Empire's hands at a base close by.
After locating the base, we decided to camp out in a clearing nearby to develop a game plan. Ignis was pacing back and forth in front of us in deep concentration, the orange glow of the flame bouncing off his form. The rest of us sat in our lawn chairs, eating our dinner as we listened to Ignis's plan.
Later that night, I sat by the fireplace, reading a book on natural remedies, and teaching myself how to brew and prep the gathered roots and leaves into the medicine I needed.
Reading the text, I didn't realize that someone was behind me until they cleared their throat. I looked up behind me at the sound and saw Ignis staring down at me with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey," I greeted, "didn't know you were still up."
"I was taking the time to go over some new recipes," he says.
"This late at night?" I ask with a teasing grin. "Aren't you usually the stickler about our curfews?" The teasing question makes him grin with closed eyes.
"Yes, but..." he stops before looking up at the night sky, "I figured it'd be nice to admire the stars for once." I smiled and patted the ground next to me.
"Care to join me, then?" I ask. Ignis silently nods his head as he sets himself down on the earth and crosses his legs. He and I sat there in comfortable silence by the fire. While I busied myself reading, he seemed content with just looking up at the sky. Glancing his way, I caught his eyes darting from side to side, up and down as if he were the counting stars.
Another few minutes of silence go by between us before Ignis finally speaks up.
"I can see why you do this so much," he says. I looked at him curiously.
"Do you now?" I ask. He closes his eyes as if in meditation.
"It is quite comforting," he says. "The silence, the stars, the setting. It's enough to clear anyone's mind." I set my things down on my lap as I close the book.
"Got a lot on your mind recently?" I ask, scooting my body, so I was facing him more. He shakes his head.
"Not particularly," he says. He turns his attention to me and stares at my face. Puzzled, I was about to ask him what was wrong. He beat me to the punch by lifting his hand and gently placed it on the bandage on my forehead.
"How's your head feeling?" he asks me.
"Just fine," I answered truthfully. Ignis gives me a skeptical look as he turns my head to the side to inspect it better.
"Are you sure? No headaches?"
"Nope." His eyes narrowed even more skeptic than before. I raise my hands up defensively. "I promise! I'm okay!" Ignis stares at me for a moment before sighing and ing his hand away.
"Apologies. I believe you," Ignis says.
"It's okay, don't apologize for worrying," I said. I remembered what happened back at the Disc and frowned, turning my attention back to the flickering flames.
"I'm the one who owes you an apology," I muttered softly. Ignis turns to me.
"Are you referring to what happened at the Disc of Cauthess?" he asks me. I nod my head solemnly. I paused for a moment and then began to apologize for what I did.
YOU ARE READING
A Heart Of Fire (Final Fantasy XV)
FanfictionA young child is labeled as an outcast and shunned by her own village, seen as only a threat to everyone in Solis, the Village of the Sun. With no one to care for her, she depends on herself to survive in the harsh lifestyle of her village, but her...
