023 » these shallow waters never met what i needed

[shiruyeh]

CALL ME OUT MEME.

♛ please refer to this list for canon muses and this list for original characters. ♛ "call" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name in the subject line of your post! ♛ this can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/shippy/smutty/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ here are some prompts inspired by other memes! ❶ — texts from last night. ❷ — morning after. ❸ — drunk/drinking. ❹ — picture prompt. ❺ — insomnia. ❻ — sharing the same bed. ❼ — snow day. ❽ — sky gazing. ❾ — roadtrip.

Comments

[ensata]

A healer? What, like a doctor?

[quite reasonably, she's not thinking of someone with the grand powers of the oracle when he says healer... though considering that he once talked about lunafreya in the same terms, she'd be able to figure it out if only she could remember all the little things he's said.

she does as he indicates, tying a slightly more sloppy knot, but it'll hold.]

I guess I can imagine you in a doctor's coat... it's all swishy, like your cape.

[though how anyone goes from being a doctor to being ex-crownsguard is a mystery. hmmm... maybe she's wrong about that?]

[vengefulness]

[Ardyn chuckles lightly.]

Oh, it was nothing like that. I never received formal training. People around me were in need, so I did what I could.

[The street lamps dim slightly as ire washes over him at the memory. How dare they say he was impure when he gave everything he had!

Somehow, it doesn't occur to him that the mere fact that he's willing to nearly destroy the world to get his revenge for that means they were exactly right.]

Let's use a simple running stitch here. Just do like this...

[He starts at one edge of the ear and slowly follows the line. This should be slow enough for her to copy, hopefully.]

[ensata]

Oooh... I see.

[iris's gaze lights anxiously upon the flickering streetlamps, but she lets it go once ardyn gently directs her attention back to the stitches. so he is ex-crownsguard, she figures, only he did some field surgery too. that seems rough, for lack of a better word — the mere thought of surgery without anesthesia is enough to make her shudder — but it does serve to raise her opinion of ardyn considerably.

ironic, that.]

Well, yours looks much better, but... I think I'm getting the hang of it.

[vengefulness]

Practice makes perfect. Now, just reinforce it right here and then you can stuff them right before you attach them to the head.

[Speaking of the head, it's going to be a hot mess if he's not the one that does it. He takes the pins out of the ear he was working on and starts pinning that fabric instead.]

Why don't you work on the arms and legs while I get this?

[Going straight up and down is so much easier than making a nice round shape.]

[ensata]

Sure.

[it's already shaping up to be a hot mess, but it wouldn't be quite so cute if it looked like a storebought thing, now would it? iris hums softly to herself as she picks up the cloth that's supposed to make up the arms and legs, piecing them together somewhat haphazardly as she starts stitching the edges together. after a moment, she laughs quietly.]

Thanks for helping me again, Ardyn. And... sorry, too. I didn't mean for it to wind up like this.

[vengefulness]

Oh, I don't mind. I'd just be sitting around waiting otherwise, after all! It's nice to have a little company.

[Ardyn's hands move surprisingly quick as he works his way around the moogle's head, even though he's adding in a backstitch as well to make it more durable. He actually doesn't intend to, but he's subconsciously channeling his grudge into his work. Poor Noctis...]

You probably shouldn't stay out too terribly late, though. Your grandfather will be worried.

[ensata]

[iris laughs, stifling her giggling behind one hand. but she definitely wouldn't be laughing if she knew what ardyn was doing to her poor moogle plushie...]

That's true, huh? I guess it is bedtime, but... sometimes it's nice to stay up a little late.

[she's still at that age where it's exciting to be awake past twelve am! it feels rebellious and dangerous — though of course she's not in any real danger and jared could just call her if he were really worried.

(jared isn't going to live all that much longer after this little outing...)

it occurs to her, though, that maybe he's just dismissing her. it can't be too much fun for an older guy to spend so much time with a fifteen-year-old girl. she looks at the box of cakes — there are still two left over, though both have strawberry garnishes, so she'll leave them alone. he can have them.]

I guess I'll go to bed after this.

[vengefulness]

[Surprisingly enough, he's being sincere — he does enjoy the company while he waits. It breaks up the monotony. What he doesn't want here is for her butler to worry enough to come and find her, because then he would have to kill him so that he couldn't reveal to Noctis' group that a "man of no consequence" is actually the imperial chancellor. He's not ready for them to know that just yet! Wouldn't that be a shame? He's built such a nice little camaraderie with Iris here, and that would utterly spoil it.

Granted, he's likely to go for the old man anyway, just on his own time. Sooner might be better than later now that he's thinking about it.]

It's probably for the best. You want to be well rested so your skin looks nice when you give that boy this gift, don't you?

[Trust Ardyn, he knows what your skin looks like when you don't rest. Look at him.]

[ensata]

[iris actually lets out a genuine peal of laughter at that one.]

Oh, don't give me that! What would you know about skincare?!

[don't even look at her with those tired eyes, ardyn! don't even! but once she's done laughing she'll look at him with a slightly more sympathetic look.]

...Seriously, though, thanks. For helping me, and for thinking about that too.

[thanks, she says to the man who's just decided that he should send troops to kill her family butler. thanks.]

You're a really nice guy, Ardyn.

[vengefulness]

[Apparently he's not offended, because he laughs right along with her. Ardyn knows he looks terrible — he was frozen in time after many a sleepless night, entirely disheveled and weary in both body and soul.

He hasn't slept since.]

Well, I would know what not to do, wouldn't I?

[What a strange feeling to be thanked so genuinely after all this time, especially under these circumstances. If he were still capable of feeling guilt he might feel a prick of it considering what he just planned, but he lost that capability long ago in the self-righteous blaze of fury that's consumed him. As it is, all he feels is a little nostalgia for the days when everyone treated him like this.]

You're welcome. We can all use a little help at times.

[He finishes stitching up the head and turns it out to check his work, holding it up for Iris to inspect.]

Well?

[ensata]

[iris claps her hands together, smiling with a brightness to rival the anti-daemon streetlights.]

Wow, it's perfect! You made it look just like the sample they had on display!

[for her part, she holds up her clumsily stitched-together moogle limbs with a sheepish grin.]

As for me, well... thought that counts, right?

[vengefulness]

I think it's charming. The small mistakes won't be so noticeable when it's stuffed, and there's something to be said for the handmade look.

[It'll make it easy for the recipient of her gift to imagine her hunkered over at night, fingers covered with bandages as she tries so hard to make something. Who wouldn't be touched? Noctis will have to accept it even if it looks... off. Honestly, it's a bit creepy.

It's the thought that counts.]

If you want its limbs to have a bit of weight, put some small dried grains or beans in before you add the stuffing.

[ensata]

Alright! I will!

[she pumps her fists in excitement and looks at ardyn, smiling. some movement from above catches her attention, though; she glances at the darkening skies. a cloud front is moving in over the stars. maybe it'll rain.

strangely, the light from the nearby streetlamp hasn't quite recovered from its earlier dimming. iris isn't bothered; someone from exineris will be around to fix it soon enough, no doubt. but —

— somehow, in the shadows, ardyn looks even better than he did in the morning of insomnia's fall.

that thought makes iris pause for only a moment before she is suddenly seized by the overwhelming urge to run.

she pulls out her phone and checks the time, very casually, not at all under the pretense of needing an excuse to leave. sure enough, it's one in the morning, and well past her bedtime. she shouldn't be out this late...]

...I guess it's about that time I went to bed. A girl's gotta get her beauty sleep, right?

[vengefulness]

[Can she sense the daemons lurking within him stirring as the moonlight is blotted out? He picks up on her discomfort easily, and it gives him no small amount of amusement. Those lights flicker again as he laughs internally. Ardyn folds his hands in his lap and just watches her, eyes seeming to take on a golden glow in the low light.]

Of course, [he answers, every bit as casual. But the next words that come out of his mouth sound entirely different. His voice drops to rich purr, ominous and dark.]

Pleasant dreams.

[The way he says it very much gives off the impression of danger lurking around the corner, waiting to strike. It's as if he's a well-fed wildcat — content to not maul her for now, but who knows what might happen next?

That's silly, of course. He's been nothing but kind, he's not actually dangerous... right?]

[ensata]

[iris smiles and nods, slowly gathering her things, trying not to seem too rushed or hurried. pleasant dreams. the words seem to weigh heavily on her, lingering somewhere uncomfortably close to the pit of her stomach. pleasant dreams, as if she's soon to rest in peace. pleasant dreams, as though all this has been just one dream, and she's soon to move on to another one.

pleasant dreams.

when the scraps of moogle fabric and the needles and thread are all gathered up, she slides the box of cakes over to him. her insignificant thank-you. a peace offering to keep the beast sated.]

This is for you, of course...

[with everything settled and accounted for, she stands up from her seat, sneaking a glance at the baker whose pair of scissors she still has to return (the woman isn't watching them anymore, which only stokes iris's rising sense of anxiety). but even though she can't shake the feeling that danger lurks in the darkness, she still tries to look into the golden gleam of his eyes as she bids him farewell.]

...I don't know if we'll meet again, Ardyn — [she has to pause to swallow on her strangely dry mouth] — but I hope we do.

[that's good enough, right? she turns to take her leave. but, as usual, she turns back and waves.]

...Sweet dreams!

[vengefulness]

[Funnily enough, some of that sense of danger does dissipate when she makes her offering — mostly because he's had his fun. He doesn't genuinely want to frighten her for good. Better that the moment when she caught a glimpse of what's hidden inside him becomes a hazy memory, overshadowed by the rest of the pleasant conversation and the "good deeds" he's done. In a couple days no doubt she'll think of that sense of foreboding as a trick of the light, or perhaps as some premonition of the loss of her guardian.]

Good night, [he replies, waving at her in return.

By the time she turns back from returning the scissors, he'll be gone.]