( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ) ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛɪᴅɪɴɢs | ( ɴᴘᴄ ᴘᴏsᴛ )

[acatastoria]

[ there is a sudden sparking that emits from your magical watches and a hologram appears, showing a petit woman with dark hair. her eyes seem to hold a certain amount of mischief and light, and when she speaks, you listen. it's something about her; you are captivated by her presence, and you can't help but give her your attention. ]

Hello, hello, hello~! ♥

[ it's a trill of a voice, light and airy. ]

I know you've all just arrived~♥ but I wanted to introduce myself! To those who haven't met me, my name is Astoria! I know many of you are likely unhappy with being found here, and I understand. But the need is urgent, and dire, and I am in desperate need of your help, as is the universe in which we reside. There is much darkness, in this universe . . . plenty of worlds on the brink of collapse, or at the precipice of something great. It is my job -- our job -- to help where needed. Like superheroes, but a little less flashy!

[ she pauses. ]

No offense to the superheroes. -- but anyway! I want to let you know were we're going to go first.

[ she takes in a D E E P breath!! ]

There is a city, by the name of El Minha. It's beautiful, an oasis in the desert. There are many shops and stalls and the entire city is bustling, but El Minha is facing a difficult path. Transitions of power are hard, you know? And they have a new King, who is . . . probably nice, but the people there are suffering. Crime is at an all-time high, and King Kathashun can only do so much . . . if he's doing anything at all.

[ she brushes a loose piece of hair behind her ear, and astoria smiles a little. it is obvious, by now, that she's definitely bubbly and full of spirit, but she is deadly serious about her mission. ]

I truly believe that we have the ability to help those who need it most, and those people are in desperate need. So we're going to go there, explore, and talk to them! And maybe, just maybe, we can affect some good in this world, and change the tide for the better for these poor people.

[ she pauses. ]

So that's where we're going first! But before that, I'm here to greet you, to support you, and welcome you to my beautiful Temple. Please, please, please make yourselves at home! I'll be here if you have any questions. ♥

[ astoria pauses before lifting up a single finger, as if she's forgotten something important. ]

Oh, and please let me know if you find anything interesting or important or otherwise peculiar in the Temple! The Forest of the Fey is a magical place, and I'm keeping a careful eye on all of you explorers to make sure you don't get too lost, but my dear friends within the forest may like playing with you all, so be respectful of the wildlife! It may fight back. ♥

[ is she serious? the world may never know. ]

Comments

[punshots]

Don't gimme any ideas!

[ Yeah, silly is...better. Definitely better. It makes it far easy for Prompto to hold back his tears, to resist going on about how worried and scared he had been. He's not about to be the one who brings down the mood here, and right now, more than anything, he's just happy to let this reunion be a reunion, joyful and uncomplicated. ]

You seriously have no idea how good it is to see you. [ Noctis doesn't realize how true this is. ] I was startin' to worry I might be on my own without a wingman, here.

[reeliable]

You're in luck, Gladio's here too. But he's sort of the show-stealer, huh?

[With girls. Especially with girls. Giving Prompto a light nudge, then propping an arm on his shoulder as he turns to look back the way he came, Noct bumps his back then with a hand, wanting to take them back outside. It's less stuffy than in here, even if the temple is pretty clean and neat.]

So, what do you think of this place? We've seen worse, I think.

[punshots]

[ Prompto's eager to go back outside and see a little bit of this place himself (read: photograph a little more of this place), so he follow Noct's lead, stepping a bit lighter now. Knowing he's not alone in this makes everything suddenly all the brighter. ]

He is? [ His number of friends here just increased 100%! Actually, he's surprised Gladio let Noct out of his sights after...everything that just went down back home. But, yeah, he's probably off hitting on girls somewhere, crushing Prompto's dreams anew. ] Bet we'll track down Specs soon, too.

[ If Ignis knew they were all here, unsupervised, without him, he'd probably kick a hole through space time to get here. ]

So far, so good! Y'know, for...sorta bein' kidnapped by a cute, all-powerful witch. No wifi, though. Haven't seen any outlets, either...

[reeliable]

Hopefully. It just doesn't feel right without Iggy trying to stuff vegetables down our throats.

[There's all sorts of teasing going on without the Mom Friend present to chastise them for, so Noct takes full liberties with making as many meals as possible without veggies. Royalty shouldn't have to eat like that! Honestly, that leggy needs to kick through space time or they'll all eat too many cup noodles.]

Yeah, I haven't seen anything uh... modern enough to plug our phones into. Also - I can't charge anything for us anymore, since Astoria definitely did something to my magic.

[A cute, all-powerful witch. Noct thought she was supposed to be a goddess but he isn't about to correct Promp when he caught onto the bit about how he thinks she's cute. She is though.] I can't really use any of it, I mean.

[punshots]

Wait...seriously?

[ It hadn't taken Prompto long to discover he could no longer call on his weapons anymore, as if arriving with Lion Heart tucked into the back of his belt hadn't been enough of an indication. He'd figured that had been an effect of being in this world, of being separated from Noctis not once, but twice, but since their reunion he hadn't had time to wonder if those abilities had returned to him.

Hearing that all of Noct's abilities have been taken from him certainly throws him for a loop, and his brow pinches, like the revelation is something nearly unfathomable to him. Even when the Crystal had been taken from Lucis, Noctis still retained his royal magic. Was Astoria really that powerful that she could take away something like that?

And why would she? ]

You mean she handicapped you? [ Gamer's logic, because it's easier for him to process that way. ] Oh, man...I'm sorry, dude. You must feel like you're missing a limb.

[ It's bad news for all of them. ]

[reeliable]

It's weird? I don't like that I can't warp around as I like.

[Prompto has it on the nose - it's like missing a limb, because he got so used to moving with his magic that doing literally anything and everything without it is awkward. He feels a little like he can't go where he likes, tethered to the ground and it's annoying in all honesty. Still, Noct has to wonder if it has anything to do with his blood at all - the crystal clearly isn't here.]

So while I do have my sword and my fishing pole... if uh, you or Gladio or Iggy show up unarmed, you're out of luck of getting it from me. But yeah I'm already missing basically everything I could pull out of the armiger.

[punshots]

Man! What a bummer.

[ Which...doesn't even begin to cover it, for a number of reasons, but Prompto is simply still too overjoyed at Noctis being present at all to lament the convenience of the Armiger just then. He'll surely come to miss throwing around some huge-ass guns if they find themselves in a battle, but eh, he can make do. ]

She gave you your pole, though, huh? Guess she knew better than to separate you from your most prize possession! [ Although —

Perhaps a bit more obviously than he would like, Prompto's gaze drops to Noct's hand, where the Ring of the Lucii is conspicuously absent. Had Astoria confiscated that, too? Or...

Nah, that must've been it.

Without missing a beat, Prompto pulls the gun out from the back of his belt, tossing it in his hand as he grins at his friend. If Noct is looking closely, he might realize the firearm is unfamiliar. ]

Check it! Astoria let me keep this. And my camera, of course. The road trip doesn't stop just because we're in another world, y'know?

[reeliable]

[Absently scratching at his hand and fingers like Prompto's eye on them is what caused the itch in the first place, Noct doesn't really catch just what he's looking for when he steps ahead and shows off his gun. Brightening with a little grin, even as he makes some mental note about how the gun doesn't quite look like something he has seen before, he passes it off as a thought that Prompto probably picked it up at the last stop they made.

Maybe at the Hunters Outpost, they always have new stuff there.]

We'll see. I don't know if there's any places to fish around here, but I'm kind of hoping there's a lake in the woods.

[punshots]

There's only one way to find out, isn't there?

[ Which, yes, Prompto is actually making the suggestion that they go fishing — or rather, that he will take up his customary position playing on his phone while Noct fishes. (Never mind his phone is super dead.)

Then again, they're two short on their entourage, so maybe they should round up the gang before heading out on any kind of excursion. Prompto casts a quick look around, as if he's expecting the other two to come walking up any minute now. They're usually not far off, after all. ]

What d'you say we track down Gladio? And...Iggy, too. He's gotta be around here somewhere...

[ It only stands to reason. ]

[reeliable]

[Prompto is offering all Noct really wants to hear - want to go fishing?

He's already lit up like a kid in a candy shop, a smile tugging at his mouth as he finds himself glancing around as well. They do need to get their other two party members together to get this party started, so it's a good plan in Noct's book.]

Yeah, let's find them. They're hard to miss anyway in a place like this.

[punshots]

Sounds like a plan! Just follow the smell of delicious cooking...

[ Which he doesn't actually smell, but Prompto is pretty darn hungry and when was the lsat time he actually got to eat Ignis' cooking? It's been far too long. If they have to be stuck here, as long as they're all stuck here together...it'll all work out. They'll have a lot to sort out, but - later. For now, he'll cling to what's normal, instead of forcing the issue of what's not. He'll be the last to do that. ]