Event Twenty-Five.

[awashmods]

I'd like to creep into the wood And see the bonnets blue, And hear the bluebells ringing loud, I wish I could -- don't you?

t's another day, another month, and another time for people to show up in the well. You'd better go rescue them! Never mind the fact that you woke up with a flower in your hands. It's probably fine. Don't mind it at all. It's not like it's hard to ignore a little flower. (At least, not until the effects start to kick in. Better go rescue the people in the well before they do.) Oh, right. Even the people in the well have flowers, so... things are going to be a little ridiculous very quickly, when all of those side effects kick in. Have fun! Welcome to Awash's Twenty-fifth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event! If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!

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[nascere]

I'm the last, right? Founder King?

[ chosen, what a word. noctis knows how it ends, he knows the gods will ask for his life in repayment, because that was what ignis saw, because that's the price they've all kept from him, all of them from the founder king onwards, when noctis is so desperate to live, to restore lucis and the home of so many of his people. to make things right. he can't help a flare of anger at their circumstances, the royal lineage little more than sacrificial lambs in the grand scheme of things. ]

The line ends with me, so what else do you have left to lose by stopping?

[meridio]

[ how much does noctis know? somnus wonders, even as he maintains a countenance of indifference. finally, he uncurls his fist to reveal the crumpled anemone. the chosen king is right, of course. he has as much to give as he has to lose, and he has nothing for the latter. ]

Freedom, perhaps.

[nascere]

Freedom?

[ noctis blinks, surprised by that answer. he's staring down at the anemone in his hand, baffled. ] What do you mean?

[meridio]

The Oracle favored flowers, but I am no oracle.

[ his hand closes around the anemone again. ]

I neither tend to gardens nor speak the words of another.

[nascere]

[ noctis' eyes linger on where his hand closes over the flower. he looks up at somnus after a moment, before he takes a breath. ]

I think it's some sort of curse event. This happens pretty regularly. [ he pauses. all things considered, somnus is still an ancestor, and noctis is obligated to not leave him to his own devices here, especially with ardyn out and about. ] Which colour are you in?

[meridio]

[ there's the slightest cant of his head as he considers this. he's heard of worse curses than spitting falsehoods: after all, the flower responsible for his predicament won't live forever.

and color? somnus doesn't have the answer to that yet, but the piece of paper he glimpsed down in the well could. ]

The letter points me to a district by the name of Bluo.

[nascere]

[ ...bluo, of course it had to be -- they're related as hell, after all. unfortunately, noctis isn't fluent in the language of flowers, even if he senses something's off, just a little. ]

Right. I live in that district, too. [ he gestures vaguely in that direction, trying not to think about how surreal this whole thing is. ] I'll take you there.

[meridio]

[ noctis' comment is troubling, one that stays with somnus as he follows the former. wary of the flower's hold, he considers not saying anything for the first few meters they walk. ]

How long have you lived here?

[nascere]

[ that's the tip of the 'disturbing' iceberg, buddy. he was a mermaid once. or maybe twice. and then there was that whole thing with hearts and ice shards. ]

More than a year. [ he answers after a moment. ] But time moves very differently here compared to back home.

[meridio]

[ bad.

time must move in either direction if he can stand here beside a young noctis. more than a year, yet he's heard no mention of chroma in his recent memories of eos. it sounds like they won't remember this world once they return to their own . . . or is there a more sinister reason behind the discrepancy?

but that answers his question, and so he volunteers no more. now, more than any other time, he would prefer the silence. ]

[nascere]

[ super bad. somnus is really quiet, and noctis finds himself unsettled by that silence, because he has no idea what he's thinking. is he plotting to do something? set fire to things? look for his brother? what? ]

You okay?

[meridio]

[ alas, his pyromaniac days are behind him. ]

I have never been better.

[ a clumsy pause hangs in the air once he finishes speaking. it's true, he supposes. he wasn't doing so well before waking up in the well. ]

[nascere]

[ ...really? this time the look noctis gives him is openly dubious. ]

What was the last thing you remember of home?

[meridio]

[ not really. somnus doesn't so much as twitch. ]

In my memories lies your future. What do you recall last?

[nascere]

[ yes, his cursed future -- apparently everyone here knows his future except him. he feels something sick curl in his stomach, a dread he sometimes pretends isn't there. ]

Altissia, before Luna summoned Leviathan.

[ he swallows hard. ] I heard -- I get swallowed up by the Crystal.

[meridio]

You ask for more than you need.

[ all this time, noctis has been fishing for details—no, for confirmation of the long withheld truth—that somnus has no intention of giving. that truth is not his to give. ]

What good will it do you to know what awaits you on our star?

[nascere]

[ somnus' observation is astute. noctis wants to know; to what end, he's not entirely clear, but what he knows is this -- he wants to bring back the light and restore the world, but he also wants to live. and if there's a way, any kind of way, why not?

but then again -- he's aware, too, that he might not even remember what he knows here when he returns to his world. he exhales, unable to keep a well of frustration from bubbling inside him. ]

Because I want to figure out a way to save the people I love.

[meridio]

Even if you do, will you be able to remember it?

[ a part of somnus doubts that noctis will even get that far. it's impossible to save everyone. in order to save one, another must suffer. it is the hubris of humanity to insist on taking while giving nothing in return.

besides, the oracle is already dead. as for the rest . . . well. ]

[nascere]

[ no, he probably won't be able to remember it, and that's a horrible, terrible thing. that means he's probably flogging himself for no other reason than he should, that in some twisted way it'll make him feel less useless.

he frowns, and turns away. ]

It could happen. I have to try.

[meridio]

[ so willful. he remembers a time when he had once been the same. but the compassion, the desperate desire to protect everyone against all odds . . . that's his brother.

it's a shame that wanting isn't enough. ]

Embark on this path, and you may struggle for as long as you remain here.

[nascere]

[ well, noctis is probably the best and worst of the both of you. or somewhere in between. what is obvious, however, is that he can't get an actual accurate read on just what somnus is possibly thinking. ]

Or I can just write it all down in my pocket. Or on me, before I'm taken back.

[ definitely the most willful. he's quiet for a moment, then: ] Does Ardyn die?

[meridio]

[ wishful thinking of a child. ]

He thrives still.

[ does ardyn die? although he'd like to believe it, somnus' memories don't go that far. everything is meant to end with the accursed's death, heralding the rebirth of light. should noctis succeed in saving his loved ones, will his actions have a ripple effect on the promised future?

no. either way, no matter what happens, his brother must be freed. ]

[nascere]

[ he thrives still, and that is not something noctis really wants to hear -- not when he's killed so many, and especially luna. profoundly dissatisfied, noctis tries again: ]

What is the last thing you remember?

[meridio]

[ here, he slows to face noctis. the last thing he remembers? the answer is right in front of him. ]

To you, I entrust the future of our world.

[ tearing his gaze away, somnus resumes his previous pace with finality dogging his steps. ]