aaron paul without the swearing

[servitor]

( Since we're all supposed to be real close and buddy buddy around here, anyone care to fill me in on your skills or training?

I'm not going to drill you and ask you to run laps, I promise. Not today at least.

... Unless you're with me, then you better be on the tenth lap and not a nap )

[You know who you are.]

Comments

[somnifacient]

[Wow? Noct's response has the reverb of incredulousness to it, but not so much for it to actually... matter.]

(I'm not sure I appreciate the implication.)

[servitor]

( Got your attention, didn't it?

I've been thinking about our powers, what you know, what I know... Noctis, did you ever warp with anyone else? )

[somnifacient]

(...No. I never tried that before. Others have only ever used my magic for storing their weapons and now, for a Glaive to warp himself around.

Why?)

[servitor]

( I might be able to help you extend your warp. We'll need to practice, but we can at least cut your energy use in half. )

[somnifacient]

(There's no way I'm going to say 'no' to that. Every little bit helps. I might even get up early for it.)

[But not for running. Never for running.]

(Let me know when you want to start. Otherwise, are you getting the lay of the land here or something? Seems like we have more than just a handful of good fighters.)

[servitor]

( Trying to figure out what else we have to deal with, and who's on our side.

Doesn't seem a lot of people here know how to take a joke. )

[somnifacient]

[A wave of amusement.]

(So maybe this is the moment where you realize that running laps is awful and you should feel bad for even joking about it.)

[servitor]

( I don't feel that bad. )

[He's amused by it too, and clearly making no apologies for this joke.]

[somnifacient]

(Why does that not surprise me?)

[Can you feel the shrug?]

(What are you going to do after you assess everyone's skills? Going to try to rally everyone together behind a uniting cause?)

[He highly doubts that'll happen; Noctis might not be a pessimist at heart, but he can already feel the tugs of resistance at the webbing of the Nest.]

[servitor]

( At least long enough for when it needs to count. Otherwise, I don't really care if they like me, or my plans. )

[And that's the truth of it. Let them all take shots at him, he doesn't care, as long as they get out of a mission alive.]

[somnifacient]

(That's all that matters, really.)

[Noctis, as aloof and sometimes self-conscious as he can be, knows that it's pointless trying to get everyone to like you. You just do your best and what you believe to be right. Simple enough, and if the situation actually unfolds to be that straightforward, then all the better.]

(But not everyone is going to jump on board. There are some that'll be more reliable than most, but I guess you don't need me to tell you that.)

[A pause.]

(You know that I've got your back though, right? I might complain about running in the morning, but I'm willing to do what's necessary to succeed.)

[servitor]

( I know you are. It's why I'm going to keep pushing you until you hate me or you get used to it. )

[Because, at the end of the day, this is what it's about: adaptation, and discipline. To persist despite everything screaming no. To respect when you can't make yourself give a shit.]

[somnifacient]

(You sound like Gladio.)

[Sure, that sounds awful, but it's not a sentiment that he's unused to. Noctis might whine a lot, but he's been through his own regimented stretches of training. He knows how to utilize various weapons for a reason, after all.]

(Here's hoping it turns into "get used to it" instead of hating.)

[servitor]

( You might want to start forming a line if it falls under hating me. )

[He's joking, but there's some truth to it there. At least around here it's not for his mere existence.]

[somnifacient]

[He hears the joke clearly enough.]

(Come on, do I actually look like someone who hates all that easily? You're lucky in that respect.)

[Noctis Lucis Caelum, actual cinnamon roll.]

[servitor]

( You're a lot like your father. He put up with a lot of crap , including mine. )

[somnifacient]

[That comment catches Noctis off-guard. The comparison will always shake him, for good or ill; for too long he had grown up thinking that he would never be able to handle the burdens that King Regis shouldered on a daily basis. Even now, ten years later and a Crystal's worth of magic imbued within him, he wonders how his father had done it.

It was a strength he hoped to live up to, when he had told everyone to Walk tall. It had been just enough, in the end, even though his destiny had been cut short courtesy of a visit to the Station itself.

And so, a clear hesitation.]

(I'm sure it was worth putting up with. Dad was a good judge of character, mostly.)

[servitor]

[The hesitation says enough. Nyx would never say he knew the former king on any personal level, but enough that they knew each other from war and battle and the many heroic stunts he'd pulled throughout his service.

Nyx may not have agreed with King Regis's actions, the reasonings, but all the same, he stayed to the end that led to here.]

( We need to talk one of these days. In person. )

[He couldn't quite bring up everything, not even the simple fact that King Regis had saved his life once. The debt extended now to Noctis.]

[somnifacient]

(I know.)

[He knows. There's too much that's happened between Nyx's experiences and his own. An entire ten years' worth of a world thrown into darkness, as well as Nyx's side to the story that still has him curious to this day.

But he's hesitant, too. He knows that he shouldn't be, that feeling that way is a disservice to Nyx, but-- he can't help but feel that anxiety in his stomach at the very thought of explaining just how badly the world had gone to shit.]

(When you get a chance, let me know. We'll talk privately.)

[servitor]

( I've got nothing but time. It's up to you. )

[He's really not much in the grand scheme of things. He's been ready for the end of his part for a long time.

His story, too, is just one piece of a greater puzzle that isn't his either.]