[ Logically, he knew it must be about Alisaie. Mayhaps if she weren’t still lying sick in bed, Prompto would call him just to chat, but right now, what else could it be?
But even knowing that doesn’t stop the way fear seizes him, cold and sharp, at Prompto’s words. His grip on the phone tightens, and he’s not sure if it’s the leather of his gloves or the device that gives a slight creak of protest. ]
Prompto— [ level, even, and extremely serious ] What’s wrong?
[ Dammit, dammit, he's already shed so many tears over this. So many he'd thought he was dried out, but apparently not. His throat feels thick with them, and it's so much that for a moment he leaves for X'rhun in a lurch before he can finish his answer. ]
She hasn't woken up for a couple of days. She's still hanging in there, but I -
[ How much longer could she hold on? ]
I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
[ It's unclear what he's apologizing for, but whatever it is, there's a lot of it. ]
[ Gods, he nearly drops the phone, so sudden is the feeling that the ground is no longer beneath him. The sudden, cold shock of fear shoots down his spine— it’s the same sharp sensation that seized him when he watched one of his pupils get whisked away by a voidsent queen, only this time he’s not facing an adversary he can fight. There is no rescue to mount. No foe to strike down with his blade.
There’s nothing he can do.
A heartbeat passes, then another, and yet another before X’rhun trusts his own voice enough to speak. He’s supposed to be the pillar, here, unmoving and unafraid even in the face of a sickness that draws people into a sleep from which they will not wake. ]
Ssh, Prompto.
[ His tone is soft and steady, by some miracle. ]
You needn’t apologize. Where… where is she? Are you with her?
[ The silence that greets his words isn't all that surprising, even if it is hard to hear. He hates to be bearer of news such as this, hates to hurt people with the knowledge that he's privy to. But it didn't feel right to keep it from X'rhun any longer. He deserves the truth.
Prompto takes a moment to get his own voice under control again, to wipe the tears off his cheeks, and swallow against the lump in his throat. ]
I took her...to the sanctuary where the healers have been working on the cure. Seemed best that she's there so she can get it as soon...as soon as it's ready.
[ Gods. Gods, please let it be soon. ]
I've been...keeping her company.
[ Or taken up near-fulltime residency at her bedside, as the case may be. ]
[ Because he may or may not already be on his way. He has to see her, even if he doesn’t quite trust that his poor, terrified heart can handle the sight. ]
[ He's hardly left, so if X'rhun is coming to see Alisaie, he'll find the both of them. For as hard as it might be to see her, Prompto can't blame the man for wanting to see her. ]
[ To see the both of them, because Prompto should not have to bear this burden alone.
The sanctuary is easy enough to find, thanks to all the foot traffic headed in and out, and the heavy atmosphere that hangs over the place. Too many people sick, and too many of their friends and family sick with worry. When X'rhun arrives, he casts around for that familiar shock of blond hair. ]
[ He won't have to look too far - aside from the healers and the sick, there aren't too many people here, and...Prompto's 'do is certainly unmistakable, even if far less well-groomed than usual. How his hair looks is the least of his worries right now.
He's slumped in a chair at Alisaie's bedside, his hand closed around one of hers. It's a grim scene, but even so, at X'rhun's approach, Prompto finds a ghost of a smile for him. He's not the only one hurting now, and the only reason X'rhun is suffering now is because Prompto called him. Did he...do the right thing? ]
[ That’s where Prompto would be wrong. X’rhun has been suffering from the moment he found out that Alisaie had fallen ill. There has scarce been a moment where she didn’t occupy his thoughts, the sharp barb of worry and fear twisting deeper into his heart with each passing day.
But he knows his role in this— he has suffered through much in his life, and bearing this burden is not unfamiliar, so it falls to him to be a steady presence. He has to be sure and confident and there when he’s needed, because Alisaie and Prompto’s shoulders were not built to bear this kind of burden alone.
Which is why, when he finally spots Prompto and approaches, he sets his sights on the boy first. Alisaie is much as he expects her to be, still and silent and pale, but Prompto looks much worse for the wear. X’rhun isn’t normally one to hand out gestures of affection, though he’ll usually accept them when given, but right now he knows when even a small gesture can work wonders. So, it’s Prompto he goes to first, Prompto he takes by the shoulders and pulls into a hug, Prompto he tells, ]
[ Prompto accepts the hug readily, as if he's been waiting for it without even realizing. He's always been the affectionate sort, but he's so lonesome ever since Alisaie last fell asleep, and it shows in how easily he leans into X'rhun's embrace. It's...a strange feeling. He's never really...had an actual adult role model to look up to in his life, instead leaning on his photography and then his friends as he'd grown up. It's unfamiliar, but it's nice, too, To have someone to support him like this. Someone to help him feel, if even for a moment, that everything will be okay. That he's safe. ]
I-I'm sorry I couldn't do more.
[ He'd tried so hard, and even then, it still hadn't been enough to keep her well. He should have listened to her and taken her to the sanctuary back when they were in Olympia. But he'd been selfish, and now...
[ If nothing else, he's seen the way that Alisaie smiles when she speaks of Prompto, even in the grip of this illness. That is a gift he won't soon forget. ]
This is a situation none of us can control, as much as I hate to say it. You've done all you can.
[ X'rhun is absolutely right, and hadn't Alisaie once told him as much? About something entirely different, but the sentiment had been the same. That Prompto could try his best and do everything he can, but even then...sometimes people get hurt. It's beyond his control.
Sometimes they die.
His breath shudders out of him as he pulls back, giving X'rhun a watery smile. ]
...It's all up to the healers now. [ He squeezes his eyes shut a moment. ] They'll figure out the cure. I know they will.
[ Now there’s a confidence he does not quite feel. Alisaie’s condition has him shaken and doubtful, but he’d be damned if he lets that show now, and to Prompto of all people. ]
But what of you? Is there anything you need? Have you eaten?
[ It would be remiss of him to allow Alisaie’s stalwart guardian to starve himself at her bedside. ]
[ X'rhun's question is met with a puzzled look at first, as if Prompto's own needs are not something he has given much consideration to for several weeks. And to be fair, he hasn't, and it has only gotten worse since Alisaie was admitted to the sanctuary. Truth be told...he...can't really remember the last time he ate - really ate a full meal. It's been quite some time. ]
I... [ His brow furrows. He knows how he wants to answer that, but it's not an honest answer, either. ]
[ Any further excuses he may have tried to make die on his tongue, his gaze turning invariably to Alisaie, just as he so often does these days. If he's doing all this for her...how could he spend time worrying about himself? What he's going through is inconsequential when compared to her.
But she had reprimanded him too, before the sickness had taken her under, for not sleeping and eating regularly, even then. It'd just...fallen by the wayside, as so many other things had.
Weakly: ]
I-I'll find something to eat. You don't need to worry.
[ He follows Prompto's gaze to Alisaie's still form in the bed, her pale face and the slow rise and fall of her chest. The only indication that she's still with them at all. ]
She is like family to me, which means so are you. Stay here for a bit, and I'll bring a meal for the two of us, all right?
[ Congrats on your adoption, Prompto. But it’s true. X’rhun never had much of a use for lasting ties back home— he was a drifter by choice. Sure, he made friends, took on students, but once it was time for him to continue his journey, he was content to leave them behind and keep his memories for company. Now, though, most everyone he has ever known lie sleeping in the Natha’s pods, the earth he used to roam is no more, and the few ties he has have become more precious to him than gold.
Alisaie has given her heart to this boy. That makes him family.
He gives Prompto’s shoulder a brief squeeze. ] I’ll be back.
[ He’s gone a little longer than he would like to be, but eventually he finds a small stand that sells some sort of grilled meat and vegetable mixture in a sweet-smelling sauce, wrapped in warm, soft flatbread. A good portable meal if there ever was one. He’s able to get one for each of them and heads back to the sanctuary quickly. ]
[ It's...funny. When X'rhun leaves, Prompto is on his own again, with only Alisaie's feverish hand in his to keep him company. But now he finds he doesn't feel so lonesome. Maybe it's just the promise that X'rhun will return, but - no, it's more than that. Since Alisaie had fallen ill, he'd been the one who had to be the rock, to be steadfast and immovable in the face of all this. To finally feel like he can rely on someone else, to watch out for him the way he hasn't been able to watch out for himself...
It makes the ache in his heart easier to bear.
So by the time X'rhun returns, Prompto doesn't look quite as grim as he first found him. He looks far more awake, attentive, despite the fact that he hasn't eaten anything yet.
And when the scent of the flatbread wafts near, he realizes his hunger all too quickly. ]
[ The two meals are wrapped carefully in waxed paper, and still warm when he hands one over. X’rhun drags another chair over to Alisaie’s bedside, plopping himself down next to Prompto. ]
Would you mind humoring me? I’d like to know how you and Alisaie came to meet.
[ A soft smile breaks out over Prompto's features. Whether that's from the food warming his hands or the question X'rhun has put forth is anyone's guess, but let's be frank: it's probably both.
Hopefully X'rhun won't mind Prompto's manners, because he's taking a sizable bite out of the flatbread before he answers, sighing the moment it touches his tongue. Man, that's good... ]
We...actually texted on the network before we ever met in person. But even then, from the moment she knew what a chocobo was, I knew she was something special...
[ He has seen worse table manners, to be perfectly honest, and he had a feeling that Prompto was hungrier than he was letting on. It’s easy to be consumed by worry and forsake even the most basic of needs.
But whether it’s the food or the question or both, he’s glad to see a smile on the young man’s face, no matter how small. ]
I would not have expected a tale of such grand romance to begin with chocobos.
[ At that, Prompto will do him one better, and actually laugh, a warm genuine chuckle that sounds rusty with disuse. ]
Welllll, if you wanna get technical, it began with her yelling at me. [ Ah, those were the days. ] But, y'know...when you're fresh in a new world and all your friends are asleep, finding someone who knows the same fluffy, giant birds that you do counts for something.
[ Good. The both of them need whatever small pieces of joy they can find in the face of what seems like that worst, and that laugh is a small miracle that brings a smile to X’rhun’s own face. ]
Of course she did.
[ There’s no denying the fondness in his tone. He is quite familiar with Alisaie’s temperament, and that she yelled at Prompto to start comes as no surprise. ]
Aye, common ground is a rare thing here. In fact, so far, I’ve found that only those of you from Eos have a passing familiarity with some of the things from Hydaelyn, and even then our worlds differ a lot.
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But even knowing that doesn’t stop the way fear seizes him, cold and sharp, at Prompto’s words. His grip on the phone tightens, and he’s not sure if it’s the leather of his gloves or the device that gives a slight creak of protest. ]
Prompto— [ level, even, and extremely serious ] What’s wrong?
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[ Dammit, dammit, he's already shed so many tears over this. So many he'd thought he was dried out, but apparently not. His throat feels thick with them, and it's so much that for a moment he leaves for X'rhun in a lurch before he can finish his answer. ]
She hasn't woken up for a couple of days. She's still hanging in there, but I -
[ How much longer could she hold on? ]
I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
[ It's unclear what he's apologizing for, but whatever it is, there's a lot of it. ]
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There’s nothing he can do.
A heartbeat passes, then another, and yet another before X’rhun trusts his own voice enough to speak. He’s supposed to be the pillar, here, unmoving and unafraid even in the face of a sickness that draws people into a sleep from which they will not wake. ]
Ssh, Prompto.
[ His tone is soft and steady, by some miracle. ]
You needn’t apologize. Where… where is she? Are you with her?
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Prompto takes a moment to get his own voice under control again, to wipe the tears off his cheeks, and swallow against the lump in his throat. ]
I took her...to the sanctuary where the healers have been working on the cure. Seemed best that she's there so she can get it as soon...as soon as it's ready.
[ Gods. Gods, please let it be soon. ]
I've been...keeping her company.
[ Or taken up near-fulltime residency at her bedside, as the case may be. ]
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[ Because he may or may not already be on his way. He has to see her, even if he doesn’t quite trust that his poor, terrified heart can handle the sight. ]
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[ He's hardly left, so if X'rhun is coming to see Alisaie, he'll find the both of them. For as hard as it might be to see her, Prompto can't blame the man for wanting to see her. ]
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[ To see the both of them, because Prompto should not have to bear this burden alone.
The sanctuary is easy enough to find, thanks to all the foot traffic headed in and out, and the heavy atmosphere that hangs over the place. Too many people sick, and too many of their friends and family sick with worry. When X'rhun arrives, he casts around for that familiar shock of blond hair. ]
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He's slumped in a chair at Alisaie's bedside, his hand closed around one of hers. It's a grim scene, but even so, at X'rhun's approach, Prompto finds a ghost of a smile for him. He's not the only one hurting now, and the only reason X'rhun is suffering now is because Prompto called him. Did he...do the right thing? ]
...Hey.
[ Gods, what else can he even say? ]
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But he knows his role in this— he has suffered through much in his life, and bearing this burden is not unfamiliar, so it falls to him to be a steady presence. He has to be sure and confident and there when he’s needed, because Alisaie and Prompto’s shoulders were not built to bear this kind of burden alone.
Which is why, when he finally spots Prompto and approaches, he sets his sights on the boy first. Alisaie is much as he expects her to be, still and silent and pale, but Prompto looks much worse for the wear. X’rhun isn’t normally one to hand out gestures of affection, though he’ll usually accept them when given, but right now he knows when even a small gesture can work wonders. So, it’s Prompto he goes to first, Prompto he takes by the shoulders and pulls into a hug, Prompto he tells, ]
Thank you. Thank you for looking after her.
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I-I'm sorry I couldn't do more.
[ He'd tried so hard, and even then, it still hadn't been enough to keep her well. He should have listened to her and taken her to the sanctuary back when they were in Olympia. But he'd been selfish, and now...
Now she's like this. ]
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[ If nothing else, he's seen the way that Alisaie smiles when she speaks of Prompto, even in the grip of this illness. That is a gift he won't soon forget. ]
This is a situation none of us can control, as much as I hate to say it. You've done all you can.
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Sometimes they die.
His breath shudders out of him as he pulls back, giving X'rhun a watery smile. ]
...It's all up to the healers now. [ He squeezes his eyes shut a moment. ] They'll figure out the cure. I know they will.
[ They have to. ]
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[ Now there’s a confidence he does not quite feel. Alisaie’s condition has him shaken and doubtful, but he’d be damned if he lets that show now, and to Prompto of all people. ]
But what of you? Is there anything you need? Have you eaten?
[ It would be remiss of him to allow Alisaie’s stalwart guardian to starve himself at her bedside. ]
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I... [ His brow furrows. He knows how he wants to answer that, but it's not an honest answer, either. ]
I'm not really...hungry.
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[ But it's still pretty telling in and of itself. ]
You've got to take care of yourself if you're to take care of her.
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But she had reprimanded him too, before the sickness had taken her under, for not sleeping and eating regularly, even then. It'd just...fallen by the wayside, as so many other things had.
Weakly: ]
I-I'll find something to eat. You don't need to worry.
[ (He really does.) ]
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[ He follows Prompto's gaze to Alisaie's still form in the bed, her pale face and the slow rise and fall of her chest. The only indication that she's still with them at all. ]
She is like family to me, which means so are you. Stay here for a bit, and I'll bring a meal for the two of us, all right?
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Prompto glances up quickly, meeting the other's eyes with obvious surprise. Did he...he just said...
Like family?
It takes him a moment to numbly nod, even if he hasn't quite registered anything else that X'rhun said beyond that first part. ]
A-alright.
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Alisaie has given her heart to this boy. That makes him family.
He gives Prompto’s shoulder a brief squeeze. ] I’ll be back.
[ He’s gone a little longer than he would like to be, but eventually he finds a small stand that sells some sort of grilled meat and vegetable mixture in a sweet-smelling sauce, wrapped in warm, soft flatbread. A good portable meal if there ever was one. He’s able to get one for each of them and heads back to the sanctuary quickly. ]
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It makes the ache in his heart easier to bear.
So by the time X'rhun returns, Prompto doesn't look quite as grim as he first found him. He looks far more awake, attentive, despite the fact that he hasn't eaten anything yet.
And when the scent of the flatbread wafts near, he realizes his hunger all too quickly. ]
That smells heavenly.
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[ The two meals are wrapped carefully in waxed paper, and still warm when he hands one over. X’rhun drags another chair over to Alisaie’s bedside, plopping himself down next to Prompto. ]
Would you mind humoring me? I’d like to know how you and Alisaie came to meet.
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Hopefully X'rhun won't mind Prompto's manners, because he's taking a sizable bite out of the flatbread before he answers, sighing the moment it touches his tongue. Man, that's good... ]
We...actually texted on the network before we ever met in person. But even then, from the moment she knew what a chocobo was, I knew she was something special...
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But whether it’s the food or the question or both, he’s glad to see a smile on the young man’s face, no matter how small. ]
I would not have expected a tale of such grand romance to begin with chocobos.
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Welllll, if you wanna get technical, it began with her yelling at me. [ Ah, those were the days. ] But, y'know...when you're fresh in a new world and all your friends are asleep, finding someone who knows the same fluffy, giant birds that you do counts for something.
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Of course she did.
[ There’s no denying the fondness in his tone. He is quite familiar with Alisaie’s temperament, and that she yelled at Prompto to start comes as no surprise. ]
Aye, common ground is a rare thing here. In fact, so far, I’ve found that only those of you from Eos have a passing familiarity with some of the things from Hydaelyn, and even then our worlds differ a lot.
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