ceded | [week two - friday evening]

[sorry, xion. he's not always the most tactful, despite knowing he really needs to be. you'd think all that princely training would do him some good, but it doesn't.]

Try not to think about it too much. Probably no getting around that it's gonna happen but... [he's concerned because he's already seen how easily she gets worked up about things.] One day a time. That's all we can do right now.

[ She can take it!! Probably!! It's ... jarring to her, though. She's dealt with a lot in her life, but she just, one way or another, hasn't known very many people. Really only a handful. Getting used to all the different personalities in this place has been a learning experience. ]

... you think so too? [ She looks a little sad, but also ... calm. Resigned. ] That ... the murders will keep happening. We've all been talking so much about stopping the Sheriff, and stopping the game, but ... I don't think we can.

[ She's quiet for a moment before she looks up again. ]

Noctis, did you hear what will happen if you win the game?

Doesn't mean we won't find a way to stop it. Just... that we don't have one yet.

[he's resigned more to the fact that it's gonna keep happening until they figure that part out. not that they won't at all—giving up is a bad idea, so is getting complacent.

either way, noctis cants his head to the side a bit when she asks that—obviously, he missed something with everything else going on.]

Must've missed that one. [that... seems disconcerting though. not that it's too suprising when everything here is disconcerting.]

[ Yet...

Xion doesn't respond to his insistence. Instead her mouth tightens briefly, and she lifts her chin. This is important. Someone like Noctis... he should know. He'd make the right choice. ]

A friend told me. There's three options if you win. You can send everyone home, you can send yourself home, or you can ... restart the game. [ A beat, and she continues in something of a breathless rush. ] If the right person won, you could fix everything.

"A friend?"

[her being awfully vague about this raises concerns too, honestly. he's listening to exactly what she's telling him, and honestly—there's something bigger to this, he knows that has to be a case.]

So this wasn't just something old Scrap Heap said when we were all around to hear it?

[ Ah.

Well.

Somewhat discomfited, Xion only nods. ]

That's right. My friend spoke to him personally.

[ She sure is being awfully vague.

Noctis.... seems like a good person. Maybe a better person than she is. But she still doesn't really know him that well. Could she trust him? Would he use the knowledge to betray her later....?

Can she be sure of that with anyone?

She ends up glancing away, getting lost in her thoughts. ]

Xion...

[noctis frowns; he honestly doesn't really care for where this is going. he can understand her reluctance in not wanting to share more with him—and her being vague definitely sets off some alarm bells in his head.

the sheriff told her friend something. about the rules of the game. something that isn't common knowledge.

he can't really pry, but there is a lot pointing to the fact that if xion doesn't know something more major? the person she's talking about does.

and if that's the case, he needs to talk to that person and get some more direct answers.]

...You happen to know the reason why he'd tell your friend and not everyone else? [it's not accusatory in the least—it's curious. he's not the type that's going to interrogate a teenage girl for answers, but it doesn't mean he's going to just be complacent and not pry around a bit.]

[ Xion takes one hand off her mug to lift it to her mouth instead, loosely curling her fingers over her lips before she shifts that loose fist to press into her cheek instead. ]

Mm, I don't really know for sure. I think this all happened last week. I thought the Sheriff told-- [ ah. don't use pronouns ] --my friend just because they asked, but...

[ She hadn't pressed for details, a thought which seems to occur to her as she says the words. She frowns a little, troubled. ]

Maybe I should have asked Sheriff Hal about it myself.

Don't ask him.

[noctis is pretty adamant about that—and he realizes it, so he scales back for a moment.] Might be inviting trouble if he realizes more people know the rules he's not telling us.

[he doesn't want her to put a target on her back. but still...]

It's not gonna help if we keep too many secrets from each other, either. [meaning noctis can't talk to this person if he has no idea who they are. which means he needs to find some kind of bargaining chip—something that may instill enough trust in xion to at least give him a couple of hints.

tactics aren't his things, and neither are excuses. this is what he always had ignis or the others step in for. but he's not incapable of being diplomatic—he's done that too, so maybe he can use it to his advantage.]

I get it. You don't wanna sell anyone out. And you don't know if I'm gonna backstab anyone.

[it's fair. he's not even blaming her for it.] Don't think I know anything you don't already know, but I can tell you... stuff about me, if it'll do anything.

[to at least prove he's got everyone's best interests at heart here. they need to take steps forward; he needs a clue to work with.]

[ That imperative shuts her up, and she stays quiet for the rest of the time Noctis speaks, surprised into silence.

... Noctis really hates the Sheriff, huh? She ... knew that, but she can feel a cold curl of fear bloom in her gut. Trust... can she really ... trust anyone here? They're all so ... human.

There is genuine uncertainty on her face once he starts talking like he wants her to rat out her informant. It's not just compromising for the friend in question; it's compromising for her. She seems only more uncomfortable at the offer that follows, and Xion frowns up into his face for a long moment before glancing away. ]

You really wanna know who told me, huh.

[ She's starting to put the pieces together as to why. He's asking her questions she doesn't know the answer to, after all. It's possible her friend will. ]

... we can trade. That's okay with me. But Noctis, if anything happens to my friend...

[ There is perhaps a surprisingly dark look on her face. I'll know who to blame, her silence says for her. Or maybe it sounds like a threat. It's not, but, well. It should get her seriousness about the matter across, in any case. ]

...I'll be the one to take responsibility if anything happens. If I'm going to ask... it's the least I can do.

[it wouldn't be the first time he's taken the fall for someone else.] Anything you say... stays here, or with that person, if I talk to them.

[he gets it. he honestly gets it, because—there's a lot on the line here for all of them. but there are things he wants to know that xion is obviously not able to tell him because she's not the direct source.

beating around the bush isn't going to help. so he just admits, quietly.]

Maybe you'll believe more if you know about me. Things... I don't go talking about everywhere. [he thinks that someone as empathetic as xion may be able to understand his intentions if she knows the sort of person he truly is.] Might give you a better idea of why I want to know.

[he's willing to be candid with her; it's a compromise, even if it's not the most ideal compromise.

(he can hear ignis advising him against this in the back of his mind, but what else can he do? if he doesn't do anything at all, it's even more risky.)]

[ His reply softens her a little. She loses her edge, and breathes out a silent sigh. He's really serious about this, and it seems like his intentions are good. She really, really wants to believe Noctis will help. That he'll use this information for good things.

There's a reason she told him in the first place, right?

But slowly, she nods. ]

I'd like that. [ A beat, and: ] Knowing why you want to know. I'll keep it secret, too. [ A smile flits across her face, as warm as it is ephemeral. ]

We're not going to get to the end of this "game" if we don't start working together. Against the one putting us up to it.

[and though he's not keen to admit it:] Got a couple of ideas about why your friend would get told that by asking. I don't want to say anything unless I can see for myself, though. Just in case—it could cause us all more problems.

[which is to say that he doesn't want to go blabbing theories without any evidence and then put ideas in her head that could get her hurt or killed. he's trying to get to this conclusion with as little death as possible.]

So... I'll tell you about me.

[rather than just stand around, holding their mugs—noctis moves to sit down, urging for xion to do the same before he really starts anything.]

I can't afford to die for some stupid game here. Back home... [it's. awkward for him to talk about himself this way. he pauses, but it's not because he's reluctant, but just because it's awkward for him.]

I'm... a prince. My dad... he gave is life to protect me, so I could protect our people. And they're in trouble right now.

[he's got a country—and a world to save. he's pretty solemn as he says this; it's clear that he's not really over it.] Other people—too many other people have died for this, so I can't let them down.

[that's not all, though.] But I'm not about to just sacrifice people here to save my own ass, either. That's why—

[why he's so adamant about this.]

[ Ideas? About why the Sheriff told-- her friend? Xion's frowning in curiosity, but then Noctis shifts the conversation, and also their actual position. She follows willingly, taking a seat and tucking her legs up beside her as she cups her mug in both her hands and listens attentively.

The admission that he's royalty produces a look of surprise, though maybe not for the reason he might expect. Noctis is ... a prince? So he, like ... leads people? It's a strange concept to wrap her head around, since the only leader she's ever known in her life was .... well, she's not going to think about that right now. Instead she listens, a look of sympathy creeping up on her without her realizing it.

I can't let them down.

Xion bows her head, staring down into her cocoa. She's not smiling, but her expression is gentle. But a real, if tiny, smile does tug at her lips once she looks up and meets his eyes. ]

Riku. It was Riku. He's ... the boy with silver hair. The one I told you about the day we met.

[ There's two admissions tucked into that: one, that her informant was Riku. And two, if Noctis remembers ... that she and Riku are actually from the same world, given that she was looking for him on the day they all arrived. ]

He's nice, and he wants to help protect everyone here as much as I do. I'm sure he'll help you. You can tell him I told you, and that it's okay if he talks to you.

[ Xion smiles a little wider. ] Thanks for telling me, Noctis. I was pretty sure I already trusted you, but ... I wanted to be positive.

[he eases up a bit hearing that, maybe if only because it seems like riku is someone she can trust. really trust; based on the day they met, it's easy enough to wager that they knew each other before they showed up here.

so he's a little more inclined to believe those intentions are true.

he nods his head a bit, and though he still seems a bit somber (not from her doing, but from thinking and talking about his situation), he seems agreeable enough. it's pretty clear that his adamant behavior regarding the sheriff has eased a bit—he's got a very real reason for it; much the same as why he can't empathize with him the way xion does.]

Not planning to betray that. There's just... too much at stake for us all. [he's got ideas in mind for how to deal with some situations so that he never has to worry about that, but it'll be incredibly circumstantial.]

I'll talk to him after the weekend's over. Not much point in trying to talk serious with everything else happening. [but... he definitely needs to talk to riku about this for sure.]

Not gonna let this guy win by treating our lives like some kind of game.

[ She only smiles again. His conviction... it's obvious to her, clear like it's a light she can really see. It's enough to give her peace. Even if she doesn't know Noctis that well, she thinks she can trust his sincerity. He really wants to help - the people here, and his people back home. And that means something. Only a good person would feel that way, she thinks.

Her smile fades, though, when he mentions "this guy." Xion sighs through her nose, tilting her head and looking a little sad. ]

You mean the Sheriff.

Him and the ones he reports to.

[sorry, xion. he's got no empathy for a robot that endorses murder. he just can't do it—his morality won't allow for it.

that's something else he has conviction about, because he can't forgive people who are going to treat lives like they're a game.]

[ She tries very hard not to take it personally, and only sort of succeeds.

It's not like he knows, right? He wouldn't know. She can't ever tell him or let him find out.

At the very least, she can share in his feelings over the who or whatevers are running all of this. A frown twists the corners of her mouth down. ]

The Sheriff's employers... I really wish we could find them. The Sheriff is programmed to do all this, but the people who created him have to be pulling the strings, right? If we could find them, I bet we could stop the game.

[though maybe if she told him—he'd be able to point out some pretty clear differences in these circumstances. but he doesn't know, so all noctis can get from her sympathizing with the sheriff is that she's entirely too forgiving of someone who honestly doesn't deserve it.]

Well, we're not gonna find them unless we can do something about him. Chances are they're not gonna step in any further. We haven't seen or heard anything about them. No signs at all. Gotta draw them out first somehow, or something.

...I don't think finding them's gonna stop the game easily unless we take them out somehow too.

You think ... we could draw them out by doing something to the Sheriff?

[ Xion frowns, and this time it's sour. ]

No way. They'll just replace him. He's probably disposable to them.

[ But as for the game's makers.... that wins more thought. ]

But taking out his employers... we don't even know what they are. We just don't know enough. It's frustrating!

Then we'd keep stopping whoever they bring.

[destruction would be the easiest method, but noct refrains from voicing that, especially when he's not even properly equipped to do that like he is with magitek troopers.]

The longer we play by their rules, the more of us are gonna be in trouble. Can't take out the big guys if we don't know who they are, so we gotta find a way to get them where we can see 'em.

[ Xion draws into herself a little. The way she's looking at him now is a complete 180 from how she was just a moment ago. The look on her face might almost be close to suspicion, or at the very least open distrust. ]

You're talking about destroying someone who has thoughts and feelings just to further your own goals, Noctis. Are you really ... okay with that?

...You're not doing yourself any favors by sympathizing with people who want to see us dead for their own entertainment, Xion.

[there's a bit of bite to his words, and that's because he does take it somewhat personally.]

Should we let them keep killing people and pitting us against each other because their goals exist too? Should I let the Niffs get away with killing my dad, destroying my home and taking it over, killing whoever they want just because they had their own goals? Goal of power? Of conquest? Of seeing me and everyone I care about in a grave!?

[xion hit a sore spot, because what he's doing here is no different than what he's doing back home in eos. it's obvious that even though he's a bit angry with that kind of accusation (and her expression), it comes from a place of pain, of despair, of suffering.

his fists clench and his body tenses—his jaw is tight as he draws in a breath to try and regain some of his cool.]

You're being too naive if you think things are that simple. These guys are scum, they don't deserve our kindness after everything they've done, and everything they plan to do.

[ Xion shrinks back from him, from his anger and his pain, but her eyes are wide in her head. Something about the set of her body is very small, as if she'd somehow hide from him in plain sight if she could. But there's something else there, too. Lines of shivering tension, a hard downward pull on the bow of her mouth. She has to set down her forgotten mug because her hands are trembling, and even she isn't sure if it's from fear or rage. Maybe it's both. ]

I never said anything like that! I just think ... that you're going to make the wrong person suffer to get what you want! [ Her voice raises, and fury creeps across her expression. ] Of course we should fight back! What's happening is wrong, and I want to stop it just as much as you do! But what makes you think the Sheriff has a choice?! He was made for this! He told us that himself! You're blaming him for the things his employers are making him do. You're not going to hurt them by hurting him! They aren't even going to care! After all, he's just a robot, right? You can't just...

[ She visibly struggles with the words, frustrated and now a bit pink high in her cheeks. ]

Get rid of anyone who inconveniences you!

Is that what you think I'm doing? Just getting rid of anyone?

[what the hell kind of logic is that?]

I'm not interested in saving the guy that keeps us in this situation! You think he's gonna feel anything, or have someone who misses him? The only time he even gets mad is when we won't follow his damn rules anyway!

[this aggravates him. he thinks higher of xion than this.]

Listen to me. If you want to sympathize and live in some crappy stockholm-syndrome [shhhh let's pretend that phrase makes sense in a world where stockholm doesn't exist because i have no equivalent.] life of feeling bad for the guys that don't care about us at all, then go ahead.

But I've lived this life already. I've seen what hunks of metal who listen to their bosses without sympathy for who they drag along do. I've lost enough to assholes like him and his bosses. If fighting back means taking someone out of commission who will do the damn same to us first if we get in their way... then it's what we have to do. You don't have do dirty your hands with it, but I'm not gonna sit back and let them get what they want, and if there's only one way to stop them from getting the 39 of us left killed? Someone's gonna have to do it.

But you won't get anywhere giving those guys the benefit of the doubt. They don't care about you. Maybe you need to look at who is trying to help you and who isn't. Getting rid of anyone who inconveniences someone is what they do. Think about who does care about you first.

We're trying to get rid of a threat on our lives and put everyone back where they belong. There's a difference. Try to open your eyes and see that.

[he doesn't give a damn about the sheriff, because the sheriff doesn't give a damn about any of them. he's programmed to run a sick and twisted game, just like the magitek troopers are programmed to target and kill him. this whole situations hits dangerously close to home and a very raw way to him, and the fact that she's accusing him of being some kind of heartless monster when he's trying to help her is...

well, it's kind of fucked up, honestly.]

[ Her mouth splits open into a grimace somewhere in the middle of his rant, her hands moving to grip the arms of her chair very, very tight. It's like that's all that's keeping her from rising to her feet, which would escalate this whole thing to a place she doesn't want to go.

Though she's becoming less sure with every word he speaks that she doesn't want a fight. ]

Don't talk to me like I don't understand anything! And don't talk to me about who cares and who doesn't! Do you care about me, Noctis? You don't even know me! You don't know a single thing about what I am!

[ "What."

She doesn't stop, in fact steamrolling ahead without pause. ]

It's not like I care for no reason! Do you have any idea what it's like to be trapped in a situation like that?! Made for some ... some purpose that you can't escape and treated like you're just some thing that people can throw away when it breaks?! It's awful! I could run away, but maybe he can't!

[ A pause.

All at once Xion seems to realize she's finally said too much. Her face slowly pales as she claps both hands over her mouth, her expression morphing from anger into pure fear.

He'll hate her.

He'll hate her.

She should go. But she can't seem to get her legs to move. She just sits there, looking white and sick and scared. ]

...Do you think being a prince is all fun and games? You don't know how many times I wanted to run, how many times I thought about all the things I just can't do, for myself or for my people.

I couldn't run away either. It's not that easy to run away—but that doesn't mean giving up on what's right. I exist for a purpose too, even if I wasn't made my some guy in a lab or something.

[his tone is a little darker at that. how much has he had to face that he wasn't ready to? he's not ready to be a king. he wasn't ready for regis to die, for his home to be stolen. he wasn't ready to fight off magitek troopers—

or what happened to luna.

or ignis.

he hasn't been able to run from a single thing that he's wanted to, because he exists for a purpose. to be king. to be... a true king?

something like that.

luna's words reverberate in his head, and he loses track of things in his own emotions—noct himself is on the verge of tears from how frustrated and overwhelming it is to have to admit all that, but he doesn't seem to shy away from the words she says, either.]

I don't care what you are. [he finally says—after an alarmingly long silence, tone grim... but still honest. that's been the thing with noct this whole conversation, hasn't it? there's still a note of honesty to it.] I care about who you are and what you're about.

[that's where he's hung up.] Don't... you're not the same as that guy, so don't like you are.

[ Xion sinks back in her chair, her brow pulling down low and tight over her eyes even as her hands stay pinned to her mouth. She just sits there and watches him and listens to him talk. She listens to his silence, too, waiting for the other shoe to drop, even though the muddled feelings in her chest just won't match the dark and desperate tone of her thoughts. She can't make herself believe he'll reject her.

And when he doesn't, when the silence ends not with a repudiation but with acceptance, she doesn't know ... what to do.

I don't care what you are.

The words shiver through her, more than her small frame can bear to have echoing through her bones, and Xion has to shut her eyes. All at once she seems very tired, maybe even more than the (horrifying) excitement of the day might warrant. This isn't physical tiredness. It's spirit tiredness. Whatever makes her who she is is tired, in a fundamental way. She has to swallow before she can speak, finally lowering her hands and twisting them so tight in her lap they shake a little. ]

... I'm more like him than I'm like a human, [ she murmurs, because there's no point in being coy anymore. ] I was built for a purpose, just like he was. If I didn't fulfill it, they'd destroy me.

[ Xion glances off to one side, her eyes hooded. There is one thing that's been eating at her, something she can't reconcile. ]

Although... one day, I ran away. I ran away over and over. So why...

[ ... hasn't he?

She's warred with herself silently over this issue so much she's starting to lose track of her thoughts, where her own arguments end and begin. If he's programmed that way, he has no choice. But if he thinks and feels to the level she's been arguing, can't he form his own feelings about it? If he has, does that mean he accepts what's going on? Is he just ... okay with it? Is he being threatened if he fails to comply? Does it matter? She risked destruction for what was right. But can she expect that of anyone else?

Slowly she shakes her head and closes her eyes again. ]

I'm sorry, [ she finally whispers, opening her eyes and keeping them mostly lidded as she stares at the ground. ] I shouldn't have said ... any of that. My superiors used to threaten to get rid of me or even destroy me if I wasn't good enough, and I guess ... the way everyone hates the Sheriff reminds me of what that was like.

[ A pause, and a sigh. ]

I know you're not like that. I guess...

[ Finally, she spreads her hands and stares down at them, very sad. ]

I can't set him free if he doesn't want to be.

The fact you worry about any of it at all makes you more human than him.

[that's the first thing that comes out of his mouth; it's thoughtless, but honest. it's how he sees things, because... regardless of what she is or how she came to be?

she has things she cares about, doesn't she? she values her own life enough to run away from the threats on her life, then... that's human enough to him. it doesn't really matter what someone is anyway, as long as they're trying to do the actual right thing.

to noctis, that sets her well enough apart from someone like the sheriff, who doesn't show any remorse for anything that's been going on.

but he's not great with his words in situations like this, so he's not really sure how to express that to her.]

Don't... really know much about what you are, or your purpose, or whatever. But you're not like him. Nobody's... gonna hate you for that. Not everyone here is human anyway.

[people like milla and ash aren't, after all.] That guy's 40 tons of trouble in a 20 ton metallic shell.

[or something like that. noct doesn't really know what he's made of but it's the idea here.] You're a victim, like the rest of us. That guy and who he answers to—

[they're the enemy. because there's nothing good at all that comes from people who seek out murder for sport or entertainment.] You need to take a good look at the difference. It's not about being made, or whatever.

It's about what you do with it. With your life. How you live.

[week two - friday evening]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject