Get in time traveller

[warmgaze]

[Altissia. The ring, burning into his finger, burning into his skull, and he knows the price without asking, knows before it's paid. The thing you value most, isn't that always how this works in fairytales?

Ravus. Noctis. Ardyn, and that little revelation barely enters his mind at the time, the familiar glowing signature of a warp in an unfamiliar color. The prophecy, the visions that hang in his mind, a last wish from a woman who spent her life to ensure it, Lunafreya's final message to ensure that Noctis would survive.

The last clear words he can remember clearly, You've a calling to fulfill, and then Prompto and Gladio's voices, concerned, in a blur...

And then nothing. Just the feeling of a ring's power, setting him alight from fingertips to crown -

It's still in him, that power. The ring of the Lucii binds to its wearers for life, knotting strands of light into their souls, be they kings or anyone else.

(He had expected to die. Living is harder.)

And in the depths of his unconsciousness, in the place where he knows the things that he hasn't had time to consider, Noctis and Ardyn and prophecy and all of that terrible weight -

From there, from the connection of the fire in his soul that will never go out, that can only be smothered and locked away in the dark, a voice says, what would you give to change fate?

And, of course, he answers, Anything.

----

In another world, Ignis Scientia wakes in Altissia, his face scarred, his vision burned away, and continues on.

In this one, Prompto Argentum enters the room just in time to see a flare of purple flame lick along his friend's body and leave nothing behind, not even a char mark on the wrinkled sheets.

And Ignis?

Ignis wakes, with a groan and a hand pressed to his face, in the back of a cart that trundles to a stop to pick up another passenger, a young healer with cheeks not yet sunken by pain and eyes not yet yellowed by plague. He wakes bereft, on some fundamental level, of the touch of magic that bound him to Noctis, the hum of energy that bound retainer to prince...

He wakes with the imprint of a ring on his finger, the memory of agreeing, and not the damnedest idea where he is.]

Comments

[warmgaze]

[Of course, without his vision, Ignis can't see the differences - the younger face, the different clothes.

He can only hear the voice, and instinctively jerks back, away, before he can form any other kind of reaction.

But the worst of his injuries, of course, are plain as daylight. The burns marring his face, clearly unnatural, can only be a few hours old - half a day, at most. And in the process of jerking back from Ardyn, he instinctively attempts to blink, which sends a sudden, sharp surge of pain through his skull.

He groans at the pain, one hand automatically coming up towards his face, stopping just shy of actually touching the burns, and his voice is small.]

Don't...

[Whatever it is he's protesting, it's weak - too weak to stand up to much.]

[scourgingstars]

Oh, dear... [His voice hitched with a faint hesitation, rather than ambling through smooth arrogance. After only a moment longer he reached out to brush a gentle hand against Ignis' face--with it came a stuttering warmth like sunlight and gradual relieving of any pain the burns caused.]

[The healer didn't dare make a sound, pressing the back of his other hand to his mouth as those marks painted themselves on his own skin in exchange. How much could he take before passing out either from pain or magic too powerful for a thin frame to truly contain? He'd certainly try for most of it; the worse off of his eyes, certainly.]

[By the time he did finally give out and faint, a fair amount of the wounds Ignis had carried were marring the face and neck of someone who was, unmistakably, Ardyn Lucis Caelum.]

[warmgaze]

[He flinches against the touch. There is no way he could not, not after hearing that voice even aside from the oversensitive nerves in his face, which burned anew under even that faint pressure.

But then -

He had never felt the healing hands of the Oracle, never anything more than the faint combat boost the Lucian magic still carried and the curatives it could create. In comparison to this, the healing of potions and the like seems almost... Sharp, and sour, a sudden acute lack of injury.

He knows that potions would have done nothing for those burns, because if they could have done, then Prompto or Gladio or someone would have. And yet the pain lightens until...

He can blink.

And oh, it still hurts, but it is less, when that warm hand finally falls away, and by some instinct Ignis catches it, keeping the healer from falling in a way that would have hurt him any further. And then he can open his eyes, and there's at least some vision there, not perfectly clear but enough to see the young man who now slumps against him in the cart.

He looks like Noctis, is that first, uncanny realization.

He's wounded, is the second.

And then with his free hand, Ignis reaches up and touches his face, his neck - and it stings, but he can tell where the wounds aren't, where they've been taken and replaced by clear skin and -

transferred to the skin of the boy in front of him, who can only be one person, with his messy red hair and patterned orange scarf, looking far less worn out than when Ignis last saw it, just yesterday, in the rain.

It's Ardyn. An Ardyn long before - before anything. With warm hands and none of the prickling aura that had set him apart even before he'd shared so much as his name. It's Ardyn, helpless, neck exposed, and in Ignis' mind echoes what would you give to change fate?

He could do it. Right now. Put an end to Ardyn here, in the back of this cart, with no immediate witnesses and no one who could stop him. He almost does.

But he's reaching for a dagger in an Armiger that isn't there, and that calls up the thought of Noctis, and their sleeping faces are so alike even in his still-blurred vision that...

He can't. Even had the blade come, he couldn't. He's more than capable of killing an unconscious person without the aid of weapons, but he simply cannot.

Instead, Ignis exhales, slowly and gently, and settles the young healer to the floor of the cart.]

...Very well, then.

[He'll find another way.]

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn murmured something vague in his unconscious state, a wordless sound more than anything defined as he was moved to the floor. When he finally stirred a long few minutes later, it was to press a hand to his own eye in some token attempt to stop its ache by willpower alone. Oh, he was in all kinds of trouble for this one when Gilgamesh and his brother caught sight of him. Maybe they'd believe he ran afoul of some vicious wildlife.]

[But, first things first:]

...are you alright?

[warmgaze]

[Ignis honestly did not expect him to wake so soon, not even for a moment. He's still trying to muddle through exactly what has happened, and as a result, the response that slips out of him is a bit more honest than he intends - ]

I don't think I'll ever quite be 'alright' again.

[And then, after a second's hesitation - ]

But, it is better. Thank you.

[ - The Ardyn he saw yesterday did not have the scars of those burns. Has he already changed something, simply by being here and allowing that healer's touch?]

[scourgingstars]

[Resilient as he apparently was, Ardyn didn't seem too firmly anchored in consciousness; but Ignis was met by a small, relieved smile all the same. As far as Ardyn seemed to be concerned, lucid and talking was good enough.]

What...what happened?

[warmgaze]

...Something I would prefer not to discuss at the moment, if it's all the same to you.

[Even putting aside that the memories are indisputably painful... How would he ever explain that?

Time travel. It must surely be time travel, but back how far? There should be no way that... The last time a member of the royal family had a sibling was five generations ago, six counting Noctis. And the Armiger and the ability to warp fell away after only two generations removed from ring and crown.

There should not be any way for another Lucis Caelum - or at least, a person with the powers of one, as the older Ardyn had demonstrated, whether or not he actually bore the name - to exist. And then there was that dark, fell magic, the memory of which make him feel sick and oily and, faintly, like the only way to remove it was to claw his skin off.

And now this, this healing by taking on the burden of others - neither of them magics that he had ever heard of. And Ignis had made it part of his job to know such things, once, after he first swore to Noctis and realized that his own talents lay in that direction.

Who knew what else there might be?]

Instead, might I have your name? It would be poor manners indeed to not at least get that.

[scourgingstars]

Of course...forgive me, I'll not pry into matters.

[Slowly, the healer moved to sit up, blinking hazel eyes a few times; his vision was worryingly blurry on one side, but maybe he'd be lucky and that would just be temporary. The potential scarring was going to be a problem, but...then again, facial scars looked pretty good on Gilgamesh. Maybe they'd just match.]

Ardyn, [he answered a little dazedly, hand pressed to his face] my name is Ardyn Lucis Caelum.

[warmgaze]

[Even if he's expecting it, Ignis can't quite control the way his eyes widen just a bit.

So, instead, he'll just calmly pretend it didn't happen.]

Ignis Scientia. And, again, allow me to thank you.

[Because he can hardly say 'it's a pleasure to meet you,' at this point, can he? Even that standard platitude would likely ring hollow. Stick to what is true and what he knows is true.

It takes no genius to figure out that he was not sent here for no reason, and that this Ardyn, young as Noctis, polite, a healer, must in some way hold the key. His arrival to this exact place and time was no coincidence.

So - stick to Ardyn, until he can at least figure out a little more of what's going on. Surely that cannot be too difficult.]

And, forgive me if I'm imposing, but might I accompany you to your destination? I'm afraid that I have nowhere to go, at the moment.

fuck it i'm just gonna use this one

[burninglight]

It's a pleasure. [Ardyn smiled cheerfully despite the pain it sent through his face and neck.]

Of course--it would be terrible of me to simply abandon you, stranger or not. I'm not one to turn away anyone asking for my help.

look we both know it's you so whatever it's not like young ardyn icons exist

[warmgaze]

I assure you, I'm capable of repaying at least some of this kindness once I'm recovered. But for now... It would probably be best to rest until we reach our destination.

[And then, almost suddenly, there's a shift in his demeanor. Because if he is going to be around Ardyn to figure this out, then remaining polite and on his guard at all times... Is simply untenable in any circumstance, especially in his condition. Keeping up a perfect front is exhausting work, and it isn't as though he will have the chance to go home and collapse with a can of Ebony at the end of the day.

If what he's thinking, what he's fearing, turns out to be true... He will probably not have the chance to go home at all.

(When he thought of what he would be willing to give to protect Noctis, the chance of ever seeing the prince again was not one that had come to mind. That wound, no healer's touch can take away or quell the pain of.)

(And yet he finds, still, that he does not regret.)

And so, the scolding tone comes out, the one that he normally reserves for Noctis and Prompto when they're getting carried away - ]

And I mean that for both of us. It is no light thing what you did, and I am not - any longer - so blind as to fail to notice that you passed out.

[burninglight]

... [Ardyn frowned slightly, looking for all the world like the child he effectively was instead of some terrible plague given form.]

I'm quite alright, or will be given a bit of recovery time. You've no need to worry about me at all.

[warmgaze]

I'm afraid I must insist. After all, I know quite well how extensive those injuries were.

[Oh dear. It would appear that he's smiling, just faintly.]

As well, I have no small amount of experience in dealing with young men who think they can push just a little farther when they should be resting.

[burninglight]

[It was very possible that Ardyn shrank back slightly under what was like a terrifying force of nature in human form.]

...alright. I suppose I've little choice.

[warmgaze]

[As well he should. Perhaps it's a bit much to turn that particular smile on him, certainly this soon, but on the other hand, the little cower gives him some small amount of satisfaction.

And, besides, he will take his amusement where he can.]

That's the way. Get some good rest, then.

[And...it is a relief to close his eyes again Even with the partial healing and some vision restored, he imagines that they will be aching for quite some time.

It is hard to know exactly when his racing thoughts settle enough to find some measure of light sleep, with the constant jostling of the wagon preventing anything deeper, but he remains exhausted. And so sleep does, eventually, come.]

[burninglight]

[It didn't take Ardyn long to fall asleep as well...eventually with his head leaning light on Ignis' shoulder.]

[From there it was a while before they made it back, Ardyn rubbing his still-aching eyes with a yawn as he hopped off the cart and held out a hand to help Ignis off of it in turn.]

I don't live far from here. Are you alright to stand?

[warmgaze]

[The weight on his shoulder, when he wakes, is almost more startling than the healer's hands on his face. It's casual and intimate on a level that... well, prior to their road trip, Ignis hadn't shared with anyone, but of course the tent was close quarters and he'd wound up with someone else's head or limbs on him more often than not.

But Ardyn is something else.

And yet here he is, so calmly extending his hand... and Ignis takes it because what else can he do? He does need the support to not come crashing to the ground, partially restored vision or no.

(How much worse this would all be if he was fully blind.)]

If it's close, I believe I can manage. As long as there is some form of bed or chair or frankly, even a rug to collapse into at the end of it.

[burninglight]

[Ardyn smiled brightly in a way that both seemed entirely natural and yet didn't suit 'Ardyn' as Ignis had ever known him.]

I can assure you, our house is perfectly comfortable. Let's go.

[warmgaze]

[To be fair, Ignis is not entirely sure that he has ever seen Ardyn smile naturally, as he as ever known the man, beyond this entire, bizarre day.

So he follows - slowly, carefully, in a way that would frustrate him otherwise, but he has, somehow, Ardyn to thank for the fact that he has even that much energy. Ignis is not going to refuse whatever blessing it is that allows him to get this far; he just wordlessly follows in Ardyn's wake, occasionally stealing blurry glances at the other people they pass by.]

[burninglight]

[True enough to his word, the space was a modest but comfortable one; Ardyn stuck his head in the door and looked around like he was sneaking into his own house before turning back to Ignis and beckoning him in with one hand.]

Come along, then--I don't think anyone's home yet, so we've a bit of time before some very awkward explanations.

[to say the least.]

[warmgaze]

Dare I ask who it is we're avoiding?

[He'll follow along agreeably enough... and slide into the first available chair that looks anything like comfortable as though he's no longer capable of supporting himself. Which he may well not be.

Prompto would probably comment that he lives there now. It makes his heart ache.]

[burninglight]

Oh, don't worry about that right now.

[IT'S FINE]

Can I get you anything?

[warmgaze]

[THAT'S WORRYING.]

Please, don't trouble yourself. Just some water is fine.

[burninglight]

Are you sure?

[ardyn you are literally just as injured and at least two years younger don't mother him]

[warmgaze]

I'm certain, yes. If I desire something later, I will be sure to let you know.

[Coffee. He dearly wants coffee. But water is safer to start with, and will also probably sate whatever bizarre nurturing urge he's being faced with without actually causing Ardyn to trouble himself.]