Would he be handling this better if he hadn't just been brutally blinded? No matter how many times Ignis asks himself this and no matter how hard he blindly stares into the fire, no answer comes. He should be glad to have Prompto here with him, but the moment he feels any comfort in that, guilt washes the feeling away. Prompto should be with the others. He shouldn't be here playing seeing eye dog to a blind man. As much as he never wants to be parted from Noctis' side, Ignis decided long ago that if he could not keep up or if Noctis wished him to, he would stay behind. He had faith the others could go on without him. Splitting the team in two, though? It's too much. Two people can't face that alone.
They shouldn't have to face that alone.
Ignis leans forward, closer to the fire. Right now, his eyes are so badly damaged that he can't even see the light of the flickering flames. He is sure it is reflecting in the sunglasses that somehow managed to survive Altissia in his pocket, and he can feel the heat slowly drying his clothes and chasing the cold from his bones. He just wishes it could touch the heavy ice block that sits in his chest, a block formed from shock and a kind of dread he rarely allows himself to feel.
No magic. No weapons aside from the pair of small blades he carries hidden on himself for emergencies. No sight.
He's a strategist and a damn good one, but right now the overwhelming odds bring every idea he comes up with to a screeching halt.
And each aborted idea just makes him feel that much colder.
To Tell A Tale of Prophecy:
Ignis doesn't plan on telling a tale when he first comes to the fire with Prompto. He just wants to get warm and have a safe place to think, but as time passes, he realizes he's fallen into over-thinking everything. His mind is racing in a disordered mess like it hasn't since he was a child. At first, he tries just listening to the others telling their stories around the fire, hoping it will be enough to distract him and let his mind settle down. It helps a little, but it's not enough. Despite the weariness that drags him down and the hoarseness of his voice, Ignis knows the only way to accomplish his goal is to do something active. To speak; to spin; to regal the others with a story.
When there is a lull in the tale-telling, he stands, dark sunglasses perched on his face to cover at least some of the terrible scarring there. Those watching probably wonder if the tale he's about to tell will explain those. There is obviously a story of great and glorious battle behind them. But, that is not the story Ignis chooses. That is a story for another day, a day when the pain of freshly healed wounds does't still lance through his head, and the shattering of his pride doesn't burn hot in his chest.
Instead, he tells the tale of a midnight prince. A complex child chosen to bring light back to the world. Ignis knows him like no one else ever could, and while the advisor appears in the story, it is obviously his prince is the important one. The real one.
In a way, it brings Noctis there to be with him--with them--and for a short time it allows Ignis to know peace.
Ignis Scientia | Final Fantasy XV | OTA (Spoilers for Altissia)
A Flickering Light I Cannot See:
Would he be handling this better if he hadn't just been brutally blinded? No matter how many times Ignis asks himself this and no matter how hard he blindly stares into the fire, no answer comes. He should be glad to have Prompto here with him, but the moment he feels any comfort in that, guilt washes the feeling away. Prompto should be with the others. He shouldn't be here playing seeing eye dog to a blind man. As much as he never wants to be parted from Noctis' side, Ignis decided long ago that if he could not keep up or if Noctis wished him to, he would stay behind. He had faith the others could go on without him. Splitting the team in two, though? It's too much. Two people can't face that alone.
They shouldn't have to face that alone.
Ignis leans forward, closer to the fire. Right now, his eyes are so badly damaged that he can't even see the light of the flickering flames. He is sure it is reflecting in the sunglasses that somehow managed to survive Altissia in his pocket, and he can feel the heat slowly drying his clothes and chasing the cold from his bones. He just wishes it could touch the heavy ice block that sits in his chest, a block formed from shock and a kind of dread he rarely allows himself to feel.
No magic. No weapons aside from the pair of small blades he carries hidden on himself for emergencies. No sight.
He's a strategist and a damn good one, but right now the overwhelming odds bring every idea he comes up with to a screeching halt.
And each aborted idea just makes him feel that much colder.
To Tell A Tale of Prophecy:
Ignis doesn't plan on telling a tale when he first comes to the fire with Prompto. He just wants to get warm and have a safe place to think, but as time passes, he realizes he's fallen into over-thinking everything. His mind is racing in a disordered mess like it hasn't since he was a child. At first, he tries just listening to the others telling their stories around the fire, hoping it will be enough to distract him and let his mind settle down. It helps a little, but it's not enough. Despite the weariness that drags him down and the hoarseness of his voice, Ignis knows the only way to accomplish his goal is to do something active. To speak; to spin; to regal the others with a story.
When there is a lull in the tale-telling, he stands, dark sunglasses perched on his face to cover at least some of the terrible scarring there. Those watching probably wonder if the tale he's about to tell will explain those. There is obviously a story of great and glorious battle behind them. But, that is not the story Ignis chooses. That is a story for another day, a day when the pain of freshly healed wounds does't still lance through his head, and the shattering of his pride doesn't burn hot in his chest.
Instead, he tells the tale of a midnight prince. A complex child chosen to bring light back to the world. Ignis knows him like no one else ever could, and while the advisor appears in the story, it is obviously his prince is the important one. The real one.
In a way, it brings Noctis there to be with him--with them--and for a short time it allows Ignis to know peace.
(OOC: Action or Prose responses are fine!)