Nida | FF8 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skyward_eyes) wrote2016-01-01 01:06 pm
skyward_eyes) wrote2016-01-01 01:06 pm
His Mystery Man
There were things that he wasn't being told, that much Gladio was certain of. That said, he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one with a fucking plethora of questions ready to fall from their lips. But there were other concerns, more pressing ones, that had to be dealt with first.
Only someone hadn't gotten the memo. That someone was, of course, the blonde who was even now fiddling with his camera because he didn't really know how to handle this situation. There was nothing in his life before now that could have prepared him for everything on this road trip gone wrong, or for the loss he was aching from, and definitely not for the two strangers in their midst.
At least Ravus was someone they were familiar with, even if he'd been a foe before today. At least Ravus was someone whose motivations they understood now, loyalty to his sister and fear for her life that had proven all too fair to have. At least Ravus had been willing to explain what had happened there, on the broken altar. Of the three men who had been there, fighting Ardyn away, Ravus was the only one who seemed free with explanations.
As for the other man…
"So, what did you say your name was again?" Prompto asked, because of course he asked.
The stranger with the polearm rolled his eyes, and Gladio wanted to glare at him, to force the guy to talk. Experience told Gladio it would get him nowhere. The way the man stood, the way he held himself, that spoke of an experienced soldier, a warrior who wasn't going to flinch before a hard look. Perhaps Prompto's method would do more for them.
"I hadn't," the dark haired stranger said, amusement dancing in his tone. He looked, in that moment, almost harmless. Which of course made Gladio far more leery of him. Part of the training as Noct's Shield had covered just how bad it was to deal with someone who could hide power like that, could hide how dangerous they were.
Like Ardyn.
"His name is Nida."
The words came from behind Gladio, from the side of the bed where Noct was sleeping. The Prince hadn't so much as hinted at awakening in the hours since they had come to shelter at the First Secretary's Estate, and in that time, Ignis had not moved from the Prince's side. That said, his eyes had, which was its own shock. More than once Gladio had caught Ignis's eyes wandering to the stranger, looking at him like he was trying to solve a puzzle he only had a few of the pieces to.
Apparently the name was one of those pieces, because it made the stranger beam with delight.
"It is," the man confirmed, rising from where he'd been flopped on the couch, offering a hand out to Prompto. The small blonde took it quite readily and shook it, and then Nida was turning to offer Gladio his hand as well.
The grip was strong for how relatively slight the man was. He bared watching.
"You're Gladio, that's Prompto, and from those hints, sleeping beauty over there is Prince Noctis, heir of the Lucian throne, on a journey to save the world from darkness. I know, I've heard stories."
Stories, huh? Gladio raised an eyebrow, and Prompto pursed his lips.
"From who?" Prompto asked, and this Nida's eyes flickered over toward Ignis.
Which of course made no sense. If Ignis knew this man, then Gladio would have been aware of him before today by extension. That was how their partnership in protecting the Prince worked. Usually. Okay, so it was more true for Ignis than it was for Gladio, but it was still strange that Ignis should know a guy like this and never tell Gladio about it.
"Me," Ignis spoke again, and this time he sounded almost… unnerved by the revelation. Like he knew that it was true, but he didn't know how or why. At last Gladio turned to look at his friend, only to find Ignis's focus not on the sleeping prince, but upon his hands. His left was folded into his right, fingers of the latter playing over the joints of the former.
Except there was something weird. His hands were still covered by gloves, they always were, but the glove was a bit off, like there was something under it distorting the shape. Gladio watched, silent, as Ignis's right hand slowly moved to the fingertips of his leg glove, tugging at them, pulling with deliberate care and leaving his hand bare. Bare and glinting with a ring that Gladio had never seen before, a ring set with what appeared to bear a deep blue stone. The form of it had that simple elegance that Gladio associated less with signets and fashion pieces and more with, well, wedding bands. And…
Sure enough when his eyes flashed toward the stranger he found what he had earlier remembered seeing there. A silver band that matched the style of Ignis's ring, except his was set with an equally dark black stone. The two rings undeniably matched, were a pair. Which only raised more questions.
Gladio moved closer to Ignis, his voice low as he whispered right in the advisor's ear, "If you want me to, I can throw him out."
"No!" Ignis said, his voice sharp, his attention snapping quickly and fully to Gladio. The very suggestion seemed to pain him. Which also seemed to bother Ignis as well, and he gripped his hand in his own lap, holding it but not looking right at it. He continued to speak after a moment, sounding frustrated. "He'd only come back in through a window or a vent or something."
More strange certainty, and this time even Ignis seemed angry with it all. Angry enough that Gladio had to step back as Ignis abruptly rose. The normally composed man whirled on this Nida and thrust his hand out toward him. Gladio watched Ravus raise an interested eyebrow and Prompto's hands came up over his mouth. The place the ring was worn clearly didn't escape his notice.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ignis demanded, and all of the smiling confidence of this Nida seemed to melt away into a pained expression. Well, one that was there and gone in an instant.
"Last I checked? Lapis Lazuli means wisdom, love, and healing. There was also something about living your own truth and picking your own path or something," Nida said, arms crossing over his chest.
"That isn't what I mean, and you know it," Ignis noted, and his tone said he really did expect the man to know better.
"Yeah, I… I guess I was expecting this to be a bit easier," Nida sighed, hand coming up for his fingers to slip through his hair. It hung mostly limp in his eyes now that it had dried out, and the man looked awkward like that, like he was wilting himself. "I'm just hoping that, after all that hard work, this is just a temporary thing. Sometimes crossing the boundaries of worlds does that, messes with the mind. I mean, you're already remembering some things.
"You said something earlier, of other worlds. Other gods," Ravus added, and Gladio's fist clenched at his side. The last thing he wanted right now was the former noble of Tenebrea butting in where he wasn't wanted. Well, Ignis had vouched for the guy, but that didn't mean Gladio was happy with it.
"Yeah. I… Before I came here, I had been to three others, beyond my home. Eos is, Hyne willing, my final stop."
"Wait, are you saying you're an alien?" Prompto asked, voice bright and excited. He was reaching for his camera now.
"Yes, and no," Nida answered, sitting down. "Listen, this is… complicated. The short story is that in the place I was before this, I sorta got caught up in some things, and with a big of magic and a lot of luck and good will from the powers that be there, I was granted a chance to, well, move on where I wanted to go, not back to any of the places I had been before. And so I came here."
"Why?" Gladio demanded.
"I would like to speak to him, alone."
All eyes turned to Ignis, and Gladio couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was now way, after all, that Gladio would agree to this stranger being left alone in the presence of the Prince, even with Ignis around. Ignis would know that very well, so the only way he could speak to the man alone was if Ignis left the prince's side. Which seemed so impossible. It wasn't like the man to walk away from the Prince when he felt he was needed. Gladio looked to his friend and caught his eyes, and they looked at each other, for a long moment.
But he also saw a need in Ignis's eyes that his friend rarely showed. And something else too, a look that in all of his life Gladio only ever saw his friend turn on the Prince. Longing and hope. How many years had Gladio hoped his friend might find somewhere else to find his happiness, and now to see it cast toward this strange man, the one who wore what could only be interpreted as a wedding band.
"Alright," Gladio agreed. "But Ignis…"
"I know."
All he could hope, as Ignis gestured for the man to proceed him out of the room, was that the two would come back with answers. More of them than they already had. Except for that Nida guy, clearly he knew more than he was saying. The two slipped out and Gladio sighed as he moved to sit at the Prince's side.
"Hey Gladio," Prompto said after a moment. "Was it just me, or did those rings sorta look like, yanno…"
"Wedding bands," Ravus provided. "I can understand why they might seem odd to you. It is a very common practice in Tenebrea. But they did indeed seem to be so. Matching as well, more or less."
Gladio and Prompto had only been separated from the prince and Ignis for a handful of hours. None of this made sense. Nothing made sense. And yet… What in their lives had made sense at all since they'd left the walls of Insomnia? Nothing had gone as expected. He just hoped that there was an answer worth having.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three hours. That's how long it took Ignis to return, the strange Nida at his side. Both of them looked… calmer. No, not like that. Softer than that. They looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes and smiled the same way Noctis smiled when he thought of Lunafreya. There was color high in Ignis's cheeks too, perhaps from the way that Nida kept eyeing him. It was strange. Very strange.
Just like the trays the two of them carried with them.
"Dinner," Nida explained as he set his tray down and whisked off the top. Pungent spices filled the air, and the dishes turned out to be full of large servings of Ignis's Garden Curry, but mixed with cubed Bulette Shank. More than enough for the five of them to have a sizable meal.
Ignis carried his own tray to the bedside, and the scent of it meant it was probably some daggerquill soup. Perfect to feed to someone who couldn't handle eating himself.
"Anyone going to explain things now?" Prompto asks.
"Hold that thought," Nida dismissed, moving away. Gladio watched him closely as the man moved right to Ignis's side.
It was easy to listen in as Nida's hand settled with familiar comfort on Ignis's shoulder. Ignis didn't bother shrugging it off either, just leans into the touch. When Nida speaks his words curl in a language that Gladio didn't even recognize the sound of. Sure, he couldn't speak a lot of other languages, but he could recognize them. This one was completely strange, but Ignis tilted toward the speaker like he knew what the words were.
And then Ignis responded in kind.
There was no way to get around the affection in their tones. The familiarity.
"Anyone ever going to explain what all of this is?"
There was a chuckle from Nida, who moved forward to brush his lips against Ignis's temple. He then reached for the advisor's hand, clasping it lightly in his own and pulling Ignis to standing. Together, hand in hand, the two approached the couch.
"There is a lot to be said," Ignis spoke as he sat down and actually allowed Nida to put a bowl of food in his hands. It wasn't like Ignis to let someone else wait upon him, but this man was clearly a strange exception. "Much of which Nida is correct, I do not remember. But I fear the Prince will be sleeping for a while after his ordeal. So there is time."
"Enough for a summary of things at least," Nida agreed, that bright, confident smile back. "So I guess you should probably all sit down, because it's a hell of a trip to talk about."
"And we're just supposed to take the word of someone that, until a few minuets ago, you didn't seem to recognize?" Gladio demanded.
"I trust him with my life. What's more, I would trust him with Noct's."
And if that wasn't the best metric of trust, Gladio didn't know what was.
"So, uh, I think the best way to start is explaining about other worlds. Hope you're all ready. Hand and legs inside the metaphorical ride until it's over, and please hold on questions until you've got a few. This is a lot to get through, and I didn't put all this work into cooking with Ig to not get to enjoy it while it's hot."
There was a tsking noise from Ravus, the man clearly annoyed by Nida through and through. Gladio was reserving judgement yet, if only because Ignis seemed so… comfortable. And if this guy was the source of Ignis being calmer after a disaster, well, that was a good enough thing for now.
Only someone hadn't gotten the memo. That someone was, of course, the blonde who was even now fiddling with his camera because he didn't really know how to handle this situation. There was nothing in his life before now that could have prepared him for everything on this road trip gone wrong, or for the loss he was aching from, and definitely not for the two strangers in their midst.
At least Ravus was someone they were familiar with, even if he'd been a foe before today. At least Ravus was someone whose motivations they understood now, loyalty to his sister and fear for her life that had proven all too fair to have. At least Ravus had been willing to explain what had happened there, on the broken altar. Of the three men who had been there, fighting Ardyn away, Ravus was the only one who seemed free with explanations.
As for the other man…
"So, what did you say your name was again?" Prompto asked, because of course he asked.
The stranger with the polearm rolled his eyes, and Gladio wanted to glare at him, to force the guy to talk. Experience told Gladio it would get him nowhere. The way the man stood, the way he held himself, that spoke of an experienced soldier, a warrior who wasn't going to flinch before a hard look. Perhaps Prompto's method would do more for them.
"I hadn't," the dark haired stranger said, amusement dancing in his tone. He looked, in that moment, almost harmless. Which of course made Gladio far more leery of him. Part of the training as Noct's Shield had covered just how bad it was to deal with someone who could hide power like that, could hide how dangerous they were.
Like Ardyn.
"His name is Nida."
The words came from behind Gladio, from the side of the bed where Noct was sleeping. The Prince hadn't so much as hinted at awakening in the hours since they had come to shelter at the First Secretary's Estate, and in that time, Ignis had not moved from the Prince's side. That said, his eyes had, which was its own shock. More than once Gladio had caught Ignis's eyes wandering to the stranger, looking at him like he was trying to solve a puzzle he only had a few of the pieces to.
Apparently the name was one of those pieces, because it made the stranger beam with delight.
"It is," the man confirmed, rising from where he'd been flopped on the couch, offering a hand out to Prompto. The small blonde took it quite readily and shook it, and then Nida was turning to offer Gladio his hand as well.
The grip was strong for how relatively slight the man was. He bared watching.
"You're Gladio, that's Prompto, and from those hints, sleeping beauty over there is Prince Noctis, heir of the Lucian throne, on a journey to save the world from darkness. I know, I've heard stories."
Stories, huh? Gladio raised an eyebrow, and Prompto pursed his lips.
"From who?" Prompto asked, and this Nida's eyes flickered over toward Ignis.
Which of course made no sense. If Ignis knew this man, then Gladio would have been aware of him before today by extension. That was how their partnership in protecting the Prince worked. Usually. Okay, so it was more true for Ignis than it was for Gladio, but it was still strange that Ignis should know a guy like this and never tell Gladio about it.
"Me," Ignis spoke again, and this time he sounded almost… unnerved by the revelation. Like he knew that it was true, but he didn't know how or why. At last Gladio turned to look at his friend, only to find Ignis's focus not on the sleeping prince, but upon his hands. His left was folded into his right, fingers of the latter playing over the joints of the former.
Except there was something weird. His hands were still covered by gloves, they always were, but the glove was a bit off, like there was something under it distorting the shape. Gladio watched, silent, as Ignis's right hand slowly moved to the fingertips of his leg glove, tugging at them, pulling with deliberate care and leaving his hand bare. Bare and glinting with a ring that Gladio had never seen before, a ring set with what appeared to bear a deep blue stone. The form of it had that simple elegance that Gladio associated less with signets and fashion pieces and more with, well, wedding bands. And…
Sure enough when his eyes flashed toward the stranger he found what he had earlier remembered seeing there. A silver band that matched the style of Ignis's ring, except his was set with an equally dark black stone. The two rings undeniably matched, were a pair. Which only raised more questions.
Gladio moved closer to Ignis, his voice low as he whispered right in the advisor's ear, "If you want me to, I can throw him out."
"No!" Ignis said, his voice sharp, his attention snapping quickly and fully to Gladio. The very suggestion seemed to pain him. Which also seemed to bother Ignis as well, and he gripped his hand in his own lap, holding it but not looking right at it. He continued to speak after a moment, sounding frustrated. "He'd only come back in through a window or a vent or something."
More strange certainty, and this time even Ignis seemed angry with it all. Angry enough that Gladio had to step back as Ignis abruptly rose. The normally composed man whirled on this Nida and thrust his hand out toward him. Gladio watched Ravus raise an interested eyebrow and Prompto's hands came up over his mouth. The place the ring was worn clearly didn't escape his notice.
"What is the meaning of this?" Ignis demanded, and all of the smiling confidence of this Nida seemed to melt away into a pained expression. Well, one that was there and gone in an instant.
"Last I checked? Lapis Lazuli means wisdom, love, and healing. There was also something about living your own truth and picking your own path or something," Nida said, arms crossing over his chest.
"That isn't what I mean, and you know it," Ignis noted, and his tone said he really did expect the man to know better.
"Yeah, I… I guess I was expecting this to be a bit easier," Nida sighed, hand coming up for his fingers to slip through his hair. It hung mostly limp in his eyes now that it had dried out, and the man looked awkward like that, like he was wilting himself. "I'm just hoping that, after all that hard work, this is just a temporary thing. Sometimes crossing the boundaries of worlds does that, messes with the mind. I mean, you're already remembering some things.
"You said something earlier, of other worlds. Other gods," Ravus added, and Gladio's fist clenched at his side. The last thing he wanted right now was the former noble of Tenebrea butting in where he wasn't wanted. Well, Ignis had vouched for the guy, but that didn't mean Gladio was happy with it.
"Yeah. I… Before I came here, I had been to three others, beyond my home. Eos is, Hyne willing, my final stop."
"Wait, are you saying you're an alien?" Prompto asked, voice bright and excited. He was reaching for his camera now.
"Yes, and no," Nida answered, sitting down. "Listen, this is… complicated. The short story is that in the place I was before this, I sorta got caught up in some things, and with a big of magic and a lot of luck and good will from the powers that be there, I was granted a chance to, well, move on where I wanted to go, not back to any of the places I had been before. And so I came here."
"Why?" Gladio demanded.
"I would like to speak to him, alone."
All eyes turned to Ignis, and Gladio couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was now way, after all, that Gladio would agree to this stranger being left alone in the presence of the Prince, even with Ignis around. Ignis would know that very well, so the only way he could speak to the man alone was if Ignis left the prince's side. Which seemed so impossible. It wasn't like the man to walk away from the Prince when he felt he was needed. Gladio looked to his friend and caught his eyes, and they looked at each other, for a long moment.
But he also saw a need in Ignis's eyes that his friend rarely showed. And something else too, a look that in all of his life Gladio only ever saw his friend turn on the Prince. Longing and hope. How many years had Gladio hoped his friend might find somewhere else to find his happiness, and now to see it cast toward this strange man, the one who wore what could only be interpreted as a wedding band.
"Alright," Gladio agreed. "But Ignis…"
"I know."
All he could hope, as Ignis gestured for the man to proceed him out of the room, was that the two would come back with answers. More of them than they already had. Except for that Nida guy, clearly he knew more than he was saying. The two slipped out and Gladio sighed as he moved to sit at the Prince's side.
"Hey Gladio," Prompto said after a moment. "Was it just me, or did those rings sorta look like, yanno…"
"Wedding bands," Ravus provided. "I can understand why they might seem odd to you. It is a very common practice in Tenebrea. But they did indeed seem to be so. Matching as well, more or less."
Gladio and Prompto had only been separated from the prince and Ignis for a handful of hours. None of this made sense. Nothing made sense. And yet… What in their lives had made sense at all since they'd left the walls of Insomnia? Nothing had gone as expected. He just hoped that there was an answer worth having.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three hours. That's how long it took Ignis to return, the strange Nida at his side. Both of them looked… calmer. No, not like that. Softer than that. They looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes and smiled the same way Noctis smiled when he thought of Lunafreya. There was color high in Ignis's cheeks too, perhaps from the way that Nida kept eyeing him. It was strange. Very strange.
Just like the trays the two of them carried with them.
"Dinner," Nida explained as he set his tray down and whisked off the top. Pungent spices filled the air, and the dishes turned out to be full of large servings of Ignis's Garden Curry, but mixed with cubed Bulette Shank. More than enough for the five of them to have a sizable meal.
Ignis carried his own tray to the bedside, and the scent of it meant it was probably some daggerquill soup. Perfect to feed to someone who couldn't handle eating himself.
"Anyone going to explain things now?" Prompto asks.
"Hold that thought," Nida dismissed, moving away. Gladio watched him closely as the man moved right to Ignis's side.
It was easy to listen in as Nida's hand settled with familiar comfort on Ignis's shoulder. Ignis didn't bother shrugging it off either, just leans into the touch. When Nida speaks his words curl in a language that Gladio didn't even recognize the sound of. Sure, he couldn't speak a lot of other languages, but he could recognize them. This one was completely strange, but Ignis tilted toward the speaker like he knew what the words were.
And then Ignis responded in kind.
There was no way to get around the affection in their tones. The familiarity.
"Anyone ever going to explain what all of this is?"
There was a chuckle from Nida, who moved forward to brush his lips against Ignis's temple. He then reached for the advisor's hand, clasping it lightly in his own and pulling Ignis to standing. Together, hand in hand, the two approached the couch.
"There is a lot to be said," Ignis spoke as he sat down and actually allowed Nida to put a bowl of food in his hands. It wasn't like Ignis to let someone else wait upon him, but this man was clearly a strange exception. "Much of which Nida is correct, I do not remember. But I fear the Prince will be sleeping for a while after his ordeal. So there is time."
"Enough for a summary of things at least," Nida agreed, that bright, confident smile back. "So I guess you should probably all sit down, because it's a hell of a trip to talk about."
"And we're just supposed to take the word of someone that, until a few minuets ago, you didn't seem to recognize?" Gladio demanded.
"I trust him with my life. What's more, I would trust him with Noct's."
And if that wasn't the best metric of trust, Gladio didn't know what was.
"So, uh, I think the best way to start is explaining about other worlds. Hope you're all ready. Hand and legs inside the metaphorical ride until it's over, and please hold on questions until you've got a few. This is a lot to get through, and I didn't put all this work into cooking with Ig to not get to enjoy it while it's hot."
There was a tsking noise from Ravus, the man clearly annoyed by Nida through and through. Gladio was reserving judgement yet, if only because Ignis seemed so… comfortable. And if this guy was the source of Ignis being calmer after a disaster, well, that was a good enough thing for now.