originallutece | (no subject)

Anytime you'd like. I'm getting quite good at ripping out spines.

[ Noctis snorts. ]

You do realize who you're talking to, right? I've played every single one since childhood.

Yes, but it's me.

[Like, buddy, have you met her, she's a genius, and clearly that extends to all areas.]

[ SIGH ]

Good point.

[ She's probably researched how each character works in great detail. ]

Still, I'm the seasoned veteran here.

[YOU BETTER BELIEVE SHE DID]

Shall we bet on it, then?

[ He reaches his hand over in an offer to shake hers. ]

Oh, you're on.

[They've sealed their fate with one handshake.]

Hmm . . . a bottle of wine, I think, should I win. And you?

[ They shake on it, and Noctis purses his lips to stare up at the ceiling in thought. ]

If I win, I get...

One "Get out of an essay" free card. When school starts.

Absolutely not. There are five over the course of the semester, and I'm making this deal with you as your friend, not your teacher.

[Friend. Mum-like figure. Whichever.]

[ BUH. Fine. ]

Blegh.

[ Yes. He just said "blegh". Like a child. ]

Alright, alright. I win, and you go with me to laser tag sometime.

Laser tag . . . good god, I haven't done that in a decade.

[But that's ethically acceptable, if not a little embarrassing to her dignity. But whatever, there are worse things, and it's not on to keep refusing.]

All right. Laser tag it is. No photos, though.

Oh come on.

[ He holds a single finger up. ]

One selfie. Or Prompto won't believe me.

Prompto believed you had a tail, Noctis.

[ His expression changes to one of surprise. He looks up, suddenly remembering. ]

Oh yeah, you're right.

He did.

[ He snorts. ]

Forgot that.

He was quite worried, too, it was very touching.

One selfie. And you only send it to Prompto. Professor Izunia doesn't need another thing to tease me on.

Yeah, I actually still feel kinda bad about that.

[ Prompto didn't take to the entire prank very well. Even if Noctis was trying to make a point about his privacy.

That was long enough ago that he feels pretty stupid for being irritated about in the first place. ]

Deal. Ardyn'll never catch a whiff of it.

Well done. If he and I ever end up fighting, I'm glad to know you'll be on my side. Prompto's fond of me, but Ardyn is worryingly charismatic.

[ He laughs, sitting back again with his cocoa and taking another sip. It's then that he gets somber. It's just been such a tough week for a number of reasons, none of which Noctis seems to feel confident in communicating. Except why else did he come here?

Still, he quiets down a bit. As he does. ]

[She goes quiet as he does, her gaze focused on him. Something's on his mind, clearly, and though she's quite fine with asking questions, perhaps it's better to just let it come out naturally.]

[ The silence is helpful, mostly because Noctis never really knows where to start when it comes to conversations. Or even just being honest. It's right that he has a lot on his mind; he's pretty certain it's the same for her. What Rosalind has over others here is that she knows Noctis better than most. They have a history, a foundation of trust. Talking is always beneficial to get one's head cleared, but his options in who he's comfortable doing that with are few.

His finger bends along the rim of his mug, sliding it front and back idly as a fidget. ]

Do you...

Remember anything about what I did here before my coma?

[She frowns slightly.]

A few things. We went out a few times, you showed me what you were working on. We spoke of your father, of what you'd been up to and what I was doing . . . is there something in particular you were looking for?

[ He keeps his gaze hidden and private, somewhat shrinking in on himself in the soft silence that he maintains. At her question, he shrugs his shoulder. ]

Just... Wondering if I'd had any specific relationships or behavior that might have stuck.

I don't know.

I feel like I don't recognize myself sometimes, thinking about how I can't remember anything before the whole ordeal.

. . . you haven't changed, if that's what you're after. I'm not speaking to someone wildly and radically different than the boy I knew before the coma.

But for relationships . . . I've stuck. Prompto has.

[ Noctis purses his lips. There's relief in his personality having not changed; that had been a fear mostly in knowing how much time he'd lost. At least that's consistent.

The subject of Prompto makes him a bit awkward. Rosalind is a comfortable constant, because he's known her since childhood. He'd recognized her immediately after catching her on Retrospec. Prompto, he had to re-acquaint himself with entirely from scratch.

And a lot of what he's felt has sparked around him. Making him wonder how close they were beforehand.]

I run into old texts, pictures...

I don't know, I've just been feeling really off lately. About myself.

Is there something you want to know?

[That isn't quite the right question, though. Rosalind pauses, then adds:]

. . . what is it that those pictures and texts make you feel? Disconnected, I assume, but . . . is he doing or saying things you don't recognize yourself saying or doing?