iwillshieldhim | What Stalks in the Night [for fieryknowledge]

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What Stalks in the Night [for fieryknowledge]

The day had started out like any other. The pinging of Ignis' phone alarm. The snuggle of Prompto because that kid turned out to be a snuggler at night and always tried to hide it in the morning. The grumbling from Noct. Breakfast. Clean up. Deciding what to do.

Today turned out to be a day for a hunt. Good. Gladio itched for a fight today and a hunt mean a fight and gil, even if the latter was the more necessary right now. Those damn energy drinks for Noct to turn into potions were annoyingly expensive; thank the Six they were popular enough to be absolutely everywhere even if the blasted things were pricey.

The hunt itself proved to be surprisingly elusive, though. Most of the afternoon was spent in just trying to track down the beast, perched on the backs of their chocobos with maps pulled out and a lot of cursing because this place proved to be a bit of a maze of canyons cut into the rock. Eventually, they found it, though, and Gladio had to admit... this wasn't going to be easy.

It was almost like a giant scorpion, except it had paws and a sort-of-face like a lion and it was furred. The tipster had called it a Chimera; Gladio called it ugly. By the end of the long, damn difficult fight, he had called it several far less appropriate names. It had managed to put the hurt on all of them, but only Gladio had taken a blow from its glowing tail, stabbing right into the muscle of his left arm. One of those expensive potions had taken care of that, or so they thought, and they had gone back to camp stinking, exhausted, and ready to just get some food in their stomachs and pass out.

But as they finally saw camp in the distance, Gladio was surprised at how the heat of the day was clinging to him because he felt even more sticky-sweaty under the leather. Fuck. Last thing he needed right now was to have to air-dry his fatigues, but he probably wasn't going to have a choice.

Little did he know.

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There was no doubt that Ignis was proud of the young man that Noctis had grown into, but there were moments when he missed the open, cheery child he'd been once upon a time. That was the child that sought him out when he was sad or hurt. The same one that told him his fears and his dreams. This one was more distant than Ignis liked, but he knew he couldn't lean on him. Not now. Not when he had the weight of the world on his slim shoulders.

Normally, Ignis would goad him into an admission if he could but he honestly didn't have the heart for it right then. Instead, he watched him with heavy, tired eyes before he looked away. A flicker of self-doubt rose up in him and while it wasn't a new one, it was the strongest he'd felt it so far. His king couldn't bring himself to confide in the person that had been raised to be his adviser and now, after everything that had happened, he'd become a liability.

This time, it was easier for him to disconnect and probably quite clear that he was doing it.

"As you wish."

It felt like a stab into his chest when he realized what was happening. Noctis could remember those days of long ago, of tucking himself into Ignis' arms because he'd had a nightmare or scraped a knee or was frustrated. His entire world had changed when he'd nearly died, and when he looked back, he could see with ever clear hindsight. Now, it felt impossible to do the same, even though deep inside he wanted nothing more than to run over there and take Ignis into his arms.

His stomach clenched, breathing out slowly, before he nodded. The wall was there, one he had started, but it told him just how much of a problem there was with Ignis.

"...okay." And with that, he started to leave, but when he got to the doorway, he stopped, back to Ignis. A thick swallow, then, in the smallest attempt to reach out, even if it was a weak one, "we'll be okay." They'd all be okay. They had to be.

With that, he left Ignis alone, and went to go sit where he had been before, watching out the window and thinking. Listening.

we'll be okay-

It seemed like that phrase would become a mantra to Ignis as the days went on, but try as he might, he wasn't sure if he could believe it. There was a disconnect between them and he wasn't sure how to bridge that gap. Honestly, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to. The way Gladio looked at him told him that the Shield felt guilty and Noct... the guilt there was just as heavy and right then, Ignis didn't have the strength to help them ease it.

He should've, in his mind. He should've been able to push all of this behind him and do what needed to be doing, but he felt like every nerve in his body was exposed and the effort left him feeling raw and useless. Once again, that insidious word rose up to claw at the back of his mind-

liability

In this state, there was nothing he could do or say that would help his young king or his closest friend. Hells, he couldn't even seem to help himself anymore. Ignis Scientia, the man of so many eloquent words, was silent as he moved to settle himself in a corner of the room, his back against the wall as he let himself slide down to the floor. It was a safe position, an instinctive one and not long after he settled there, he heaved a weary, defeated sigh as he tucked his knees up and settled his forehead on them.

How long he was there like that, he had no idea. From time to time he dozed only to be chased awake by fleeting images of bloody crimson eyes and the sound of something stalking him. At least he didn't scream this time, though. Better he keep quiet and no disturb anyone.

"Ignis."

The voice had to break through that dream state, that nightmare. Cor was well aware of trauma-nightmares, his own and his men when there had been Crownsguard. You didn't touch them, not these fighters who could draw a weapon and a heart beat and undoubtedly had one on them, even more so with Kingsguard who could summon them.

"Ignis. They're only figments of your imagination, now. Come back to us." Firm, not too loud. He was crouched nearby, watching with that forever tight gaze.

He didn't even register the voice. Not when his mind's eyes were full of memories that were already coming back to him. His damn near perfect recall was part of the problem in this case and now that he was awake and aware, his brain was right back as it should be, feeding him information even if his psyche couldn't handle it. Cor's words settled into the background of his thoughts, just barely there and not enough to pull his attention away at the moment.

Instead, Ignis shrunk back in on himself, his arms tightening around his legs as he felt a phantom hand close around the back of his neck over and over. There was no sound from the adviser save his uneven breathing and no recognition in his posture.

Cor whispered a curse before he decided to take the chance, moving to gently put a hand on Ignis' shoulder. "Ignis, come back to us. You're safe here." Keeping his voice level and steady but very prepared for any sort of physical reaction from the other man. It was, in the end, immensely better that Prompto did have some ability not to panic and had thought to get him over anyone else or worse, try to touch Ignis himself.

They were going to have to do something about this before Ignis destroyed himself or risked the entire safety of this group... or hurt his friends unintentionally in his attempts to protect Noctis or himself.

The moment Cor's hand was on his shoulder, he went into fight or flight mode. Since he was already backed into a corner (which he would've gone through if he had the ability), he snapped out with a foot, a blade shimmering into being in his hand only to lash out with it wildly just a moment later. He'd always been a cunning opponent but this Ignis was acting out of fear and while locked in his waking nightmare, he would be even more dangerous.

"Don't touch me."

Cor, prepared, was damn quick. He ducked the foot and his blade was out in a split second to block the blade from catching him, the ringing of metal echoing in the room. He moved back, but not far. "Ignis! Where are you? Focus on where you are, not where your fear is telling you that you are!" The katana shifted to lay along the length of the sheathe but was not returned, watching very closely in case Ignis lashed out again.

And lash out he did, but it was an aimless strike, meant more to encourage the phantom in his mind's eye to back away. Once again, he leveled his blade toward Cor, his hand shaking as he stared up at him, eyes blown out and wild. His breathing was as unsteady as his hands were but after a moment, those fearful eyes flicked away from Cor, taking in the room around him.

The brush from his dream was fading, replaced by a dark room and the rough brush of old, worn carpet under his hand. When he glanced back, the demon plaguing his nightmares was gone, replaced by an obviously armed Cor. Panting out a humorless chuckle, Ignis shifted again, trying his best to absently press deeper into the corner. It took a few more long moment before the blade shimmered out of Ignis' hand and when he dropped it to rest limp at his side, it was still shaking.

A step in the right direction, even if it wasn't a fantastic step. It wasn't until that blade disappeared that Cor quietly sheathed his own in a fluid motion, then he let out a breath. "Ignis." Trying to get the other to show a true sign of being aware, by responding to the command in his voice, slowly kneeling down to put himself down at Ignis' level again. "Ignis, let me know you're actually with me again." Not taking no for an answer or allowing him to remain apart. Focus would help keep away the nightmares, let them dissolve into unconsciousness again.

Glassy eyes never moved away from Cor, that almost feverishly intense gaze following him as he moved. He wanted to look away. He tried to look away but years of listening to that voice among many others had left a deep trust in Ignis and now, on instinct, he found himself listening.

The next breath he took was shaky, the second even more so, but he nodded after another moment of hesitation. He would've said something, but he didn't trust his voice quite yet.

"Good." A quiet tone of acceptance and Cor let out a breath. How were they going to be able to get these boys past this? There was so much that still had to be done, a world to save as it was going to hell under the Empire's grasp.

There might be only one choice, but the idea of it felt utterly wrong. "...Ignis, I think you are going to need to remain here for a time while the others venture out on hunts. It isn't fair, it isn't right, but there's another tomb nearby. It's either you or Gladio. You two need to come to a decision."

"Absolutely not."

As shaky as he was, duty came first and that meant being by Noctis' side and he knew Gladio would feel the same way. To ask one of them to remain behind, even for a short time, was damn near a slap in the face as far as he was concerned.

"I won't and if I know Gladiolus, he won't either. This... I can handle this. It doesn't matter if I remember-"

Lips pursed in a thin line, he shook his head.

"I'll be fine."

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What Stalks in the Night [for fieryknowledge]

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