Chapter Text
The ocean is a cruel, unforgiving place.
Not just for humans or whatever else may reside on the land; but for the residents far beneath the waves as well. The reality that their home is just as likely to kill them as protect them is a lesson taught to Leviaens at a remarkably young age, along with many other life lessons. Leviathan would protect them just as readily as she would devour them. Humans were more likely to harm them than help them. Surface-dwellers were never to be trusted. Only your community would protect you.
These are lessons every infant learns, even before they can swim on their own. Before their gills develop properly and they can even attempt to brave the water with their families.
Community will protect them… or should.
It isn't often—at least, it's never publicly spoken of—but there are always extenuating circumstances. For those circumstances, it's a simple, uncontrolled matter of being born with one small, extra ability. Leviaens, so much as lore and myth can be trusted, are many things.
Powerful—bodies built to withstand the onslaught of currents; built with defense mechanisms in claws and fangs and species-based differences. Poison, for some; harder bodies for other; the ability to swim faster, swim longer; the possibilities are endless. What their creature brethren can do, they can.
Alluring—the siren's tale is nothing to scoff at. Humans that travel too close to communal grounds often meet extremely unfortunate ends, with the voices that dance off the craggy rocks, into shark-infested traps, whirlpools… the pitfalls are many. That isn't to say, however, a siren's voice is only used for death. Vocal chords are one of their strongest properties—volumes outside of human comprehension, allowing them to commune with their deep sea brethren; to command, in some instances. Softer songs to call on Leviathan's graces, to mourn and ask for healing. Singing is as ingrained in their culture as family is.
But family… family can be broken. For all of Leviathan's gifts and blessings and her protection, there is one that isn't quite so accepted. Leviathan's curse, though the Astral would probably never condone such a name for any of her gifts, was one of her final offerings before her slumber. Every so often, a child is born with magic—it's rare to know how the magic manifests and many children never even realise they have it. They just assume the water obeys everyone. That everyone has a bio-luminescent ability ingrained in them—true and false. For many, the glow is natural and harmless. For others, the glow emits a soft aura of peace and healing. The magic is overlooked as an extension of their singing and these lucky few are merely relegated to medical fields as witches.
Others aren't quite so lucky. Others bring fire and sparks and ice to the depths. Magic that could harm the community and magic that is quickly dispelled from the community.
Children cast out rarely survive on their own. If the sea doesn't devour them, the creatures will.
For Prompto… he may have a drawn a slightly luckier lot than others. His magic doesn't manifest until after he's comfortable swimming, thankfully. Some children aren't quite as lucky and are cast to the depths with no way to survive, period. He's ten when the first spark happens. In earlier years, he's just like his older siblings—the patch of scales down his back and his tail emit a soft glow, the same as Loqi's and Cindy's.
Cindy is a bit more extravagant than either of her brothers—the flourish around her hips creates a veil that trails behind her and follows her movements; her pectoral fins are equally appealing, along with the flourish at the end of her tail. A soft gold to compliment the pink body of her tail; reflective like the sun bouncing off the surface of the ocean at sunset. Graceful and distracting, the perfect build for a siren to distract sailors and lead them on a merry chase.
Loqi's flourish is a bit less showy, but still impressive. His flourish doesn't create a trail, but it does make a long line down his back, scales a bit more solid along his sides and even parts of his arms. His flourish is more like a spine, rigid and less showy than their sister's; dark red spines against a black tail. Some of the older Leviaens call it a dragon's ridge—similar to Leviathan's other spines—but none of them really pay it mind.It gives him a cutting advantage with speed and that's all that really seems to matter.
Prompto is the youngest of the three, at ten, hasn't quite grown into his pattern or his flourish. The beginnings of the sheer fins are evident, but nowhere near so showcase as his siblings. No matter, he still has at least four years to grow into them. The blue scales travel up his back, some scattered on his shoulders and chest, and a few speckling his face around a splash of freckles. Usually, only the scales down his back light up; but, sometimes, when he's particularly excited, the ones along his cheeks will glow. It's all in good fun.
By and far, Prompto's the only one in his age group within their commune. The closest to him is Loqi—four years older than him—and after that, it's a group five years younger than him, none of them able to swim on their own. Which is fine, really; Loqi and Cindy go out of their way to play with him instead of staying in their age groups—outside of lessons, of course; lessons they can't quite get out of, especially since Cindy's all involve learning to control the pitch and use of her voice. It's all in good fun.
All in good fun until they end up too far out from the community. Not even far, but well out of anyone's sight. Though many of their species have an alliance with their brethren creatures, the three of them are still a bit too young to have any real sway over the creatures. Unfortunately, three children are very, very easy prey for a school of sharks. The most they can rely on, at first, is the shrill scream Cindy manages to emit—a sharp wave of sonar that echoes through the small valley their commune's settled in for the moment, hopefully reaching the commune or, at the very least, the perimeter guards. She holds the note as long as she can; but, she's still too young to hold the for more than a few minutes, and pulls both of her brothers close to her.
There is no way to shield them, not with the school circling them. The sharks are still a bit disoriented from the call for help; but, they can't run. Not fast enough to escape. If it were just her and Loqi, maybe, but not with Prompto. She can feel Loqi tense next to her, hands flexing the way they do before refining nail to claw. Built to survive… built to fight back… but in groups. They can't fight back, not when the youngest has his arms wrapped dangerously tight around his sister's waist, whimpering and trying to bite down the sobs. Cindy can't help fight and Loqi can't handle them on his own. If it was two or three, maybe; but not the seven circling them. She knows he'll still try, but there has to be another way—
The thought barely crosses her mind when one of the sharks finally recovers and breaks from the circle. The movement is slow, like it isn't sure she's going to scream again; she could try… but her throat is still protesting the last call; so, she just pulls Prompto and Loqi closer, trying to keep them somewhat shielded. But, just as quickly as the shark rears to charge them, it freezes. All of the sharks freeze—some move further back—and Cindy and Loqi both startle. Loqi actually backs up a bit; but, Cindy can't. Not with Prompto attached to her.
Prompto's scales start to glow bright; vibrant blue and red and yellow. Not the way they do when he's happy—when he's happy it's always a steady yellow glow with a soft blue at the center that bounces off his scales. This is… different. Alarming and she's not really sure it's good but the sharks aren't attacking. She looks back at Loqi; hesitating. Ideally, he should be able to make a break for it. He's smaller and faster than Cindy is… but she doesn't want to send him off alone. Honestly, she isn't sure he would even listen if she told him to run, even if it meant getting help.
Loqi's fins flare out, spines suddenly standing on ends—a sign of agitation, reflected in the surprise on his face—and he backs up further. When Cindy looks back down, she has to shield her eyes with a sharp wince. The glowing is becoming unbearable and they still don't know what it is. Prompto finally raises his head, finally seems to realise that something's wrong and just looks around, still hiccoughing quietly. A terrified whimper escapes when he sees one of the sharks closer—the one that broke off earlier. The whimper snaps the shark from its trance and, this time, it just swims straight for them.
Before Loqi or Cindy can even try to react, Prompto turns sharply, burying his face back in Cindy's side, with a short, muffled scream and the glow pushes outward in a wide, violent ring of red and yellow. The shark charging them dissolves into black specs—some of the others suffer the same and others… they aren't really sure what happens. A crackling noise comes from them, small sparks like the lightning from the surface surrounding still bodies that slowly begin to float away with the current. Loqi's arm seems to have gotten caught by part of it, but he doesn't look too bothered. He probably hasn't even registered the dark red mark on his arm yet. Cindy looks back down, putting a gentle hand on Prompto's hair, trying to coax him to look up.
"Prom? It's okay now, darlin'… c'mon, we… we need to go home, okay? We need to go find ma an' pa… a-and get Lo looked at it so we can figure out what happened."
Fear isn't quite something Cindy's accustomed to feeling. She knows it exists, in some sense. She knows she's meant to fear certain creatures—sharks and orcas and the giant squid in the trenches… things that can hurt them. Fearing another Leviaen, though? Her brother at that? Not something she's particularly used to. Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately—the words snap Loqi out of his daze and he shakes his head vehemently to argue.
"No! We can't tell them what happened, they're gonna take Prom—" he winces, quickly cradling his arm to his body with a muffled, short noise of distress and pain. He looks scared; but, not the same way Cindy feels, she reckons. When he looks back up, fear and disbelief fight for control when he shakes his head again. "You know what just happened, Cin… and mom and dad are gonna know, too… and then what?"
"I-it might not've been." She knows the argument is futile. Weak, at best; but… ultimately futile. They both know what happened, even if Prompto doesn't. She tries to smile when she feels his head raise and looks back down at him. "Y'ready to go home, Prom?"
His grip is still unbelievably tight for how small he is. He hiccoughs a few more times, looking around at the sharks that are still left, the ones that didn't just disintegrate and sniffles a little. "Wha' happened… I-I di'nt… did I do that, Cin? I di'nt mean to, I just wanted them to go away an'—an'—" He finally sees Loqi's arm and starts whimpering again, "M'sorry—"
"Hey, hey, hey… it's okay." Loqi finally rejoins them, trying to get Prompto to look at him, trying to show he's alright. "See? It doesn't even hurt that bad, just like… scraping your elbow on the rocks. Just looks like it hurts, okay?"
Cindy can tell he's downplaying it; but, doesn't try to argue. She just lets out a slow breath, looking between them a few times. "We can't just leave… we need to go back."
Prompto looks up again, tiny fingers digging into her waist and bright blue eyes still miserable. "Are mom and dad gonna be mad…?"
"Probably a mite or so… but, you listen to me, Prom." With an effort, Cindy manages to pry him loose and takes his face, gently, in her hands so he can't look away. "Di'nt do nothin' wrong, y'understand me? You just saved all three of us, Prom. No matter what ma or pa or anyone else says, you saved us. Don't know how y'did what y'did, but we'd be in a lot worse shape if ya hadn't, a'right?"
Prompto sniffles again and nods as best he can. Cindy gives him a quick kiss on the forehead, at the same moment Loqi ruffles his hair. Before any of them even make a move back towards their commune, they freeze again. Perimeter guards. Very angry looking guards.
Sure, the communal guards always look kind of angry; but, given the way they're looking at the remains of the sharks still in the immediate area… they definitely know what happened. Cindy pushes Prompto a bit further behind her, taking Loqi's uninjured arm in her freehand so he doesn't try to antagonise the small group. "I apologise for the alarm… as you can see, things have been handled and we're fine… my li'l brother's injured, so if y'all don't mind, we'd like t'get home quick as possible."
Suspicious eyes fall on Loqi, who holds his right arm up to prove her point, for a very brief moment, before he's cradling it once more. Prompto peeks out between them, but doesn't try to say anything; he just curls his arms in a tight hold back around Cindy's waist.
One of the older guards—a graying, scarred Leviaen with the tail and species marks of an orca—swims forward a bit, eyeing the three of them critically before his gaze finally falls on Prompto. "And what, dear girl, did happen, exactly? I see three sharks and I suspect more in the distance. I find it rather difficult to believe that a group of hatchlings fended off a school of sharks."
"My li'l brother here needs to see a witch, sir." Cindy doesn't flinch under the look, just grips both her brothers a little bit tighter to her body. "Our parents can tell all y'all what happened, soon as he's treated. Community may be family, but our parents got a right to know and decide themselves, first, what needs t'be said."
It takes a conscious effort to keep her voice steady. A bit more difficult than she'd like, honestly; but, she manages and, after a moment longer, the guard moves aside, making an indicating, leading gesture with the makeshift spear. "As is their right. Get on, you three. Your parents are likely worried sick, as is. Best not keep them waiting much longer."
Cindy gives Loqi a gentle push to encourage him to go first. Once he does begin swimming, she works Prompto loose, turning so she can hold him close to carry him. Tiny arms go around her neck, stubbornly, as his tail wraps around her midsection to cling. She holds him as tight as she can and follows her other brother; it's going to be a mess… but she's going to find a way to make it work.
Sure enough, the second they get home—a rather well-formed natural cavern with small land pockets for them to practice shifting when they're old enough—Prompto's immediately hiding behind the elder siblings, once more. There isn't any yelling—not the way they've seen other parents raise their voices at children usually much younger than any of them—but… this is almost worse. Yelling they could take in stride; but, as it is, watching their father pace an angry path in front of them, to and fro with violent lashes from his tail… this is substantially worse. Waiting and wondering just how bad this is going to end.
Loqi's arm is wrapped in a kelp binding to keep a salve pressed to the mark on his arm—a burn, the witch had called it—and Cindy has to slap his hand a few times to keep him from picking at it. Prompto watches from around her hip, biting his nails down to the skins and trying not to look as scared as he feels. It doesn't work, but she at least knows he's trying… though, honestly, it just makes her feel a bit worse about the situation.
Finally, their father stops pacing, turning a harsh glower on Cindy, first.
"What were you three doing outside of the commune? You've been warned well and enough times that these waters are not safe and not meant to be played in. Not without supervision."
"All due respect, sir, we were still within communal perimeters." Cindy shoots Loqi a glare for answering; but, she can't stop him. He's already started and interrupting would be much worse than letting him finish. Loqi meets their father's eye, steadily. "The perimeter, in that direction, ends where the abyssal trench starts. We were still within the perimeter. The real question is what the guards are doing so close to the living areas, instead of out on the border where they should be."
As expected, the snark is met with a sharp slap. Loqi flinches, but doesn't retract his words or try to correct himself. Just straightens his posture once more, eyes now fixed on a spot just past their father's shoulder. Cindy lets out a small breath.
"Shouldn't be answerin' outta turn, Lo." The chastise is mostly for show; mostly to try getting a reprimand in before anything worse comes about. It does, at the very least, give her a small foundation of confidence to finally answer the question directed at her. "We were racing and didn't realise how far out we were until it was too late. Chasin' a stream of light, got caught up, ended up further out than intended… it won't happen again, sir."
That feels weird coming from her. Normally, Loqi's the only one with any inclination to such a manner of address. Sarcasm usually drips from his voice when he speaks to their father; a mock of respect for authority. He's been more rebellious lately, though Cindy can't quite pinpoint what triggered it. She'd wager it has to do with Prompto, she just isn't certain what.
Regardless… normally, she's comfortable calling their father 'pa' or 'dad'; never 'sir'. Not from her. Using it now seems to be the ideal route, but that doesn't make it any less awkward. Apparently, she chose correctly; because it doesn't get a reaction from their father. He just resumes pacing.
"Perhaps you would like to elaborate what the guard is telling me. I don't care which of you."
Cindy and Loqi exchange confused looks. It has to be pretty obvious what happened… was he just waiting for them to admit it? Loqi has to realise that lying isn't going to get them anywhere, because he just turns his attention back to the far wall with his lips set in a thin line. Cindy puts a gentle hand on Prompto's head when he gives a small whimper and tries to keep her expression as carefully neutral as possible. "Not sure what we can say they ain't already tried to, sir… we got caught in a school'a sharks and… ain't positive what Prom did, but he—"
"He used magic."
"...Well, yes'ir. But it ain't gotta be a bad thing, I mean, he—"
"—is cursed, Cindy." Their father finally stops pacing, turning on them at the same moment his tail gives a violent lash, cutting through the water and making the wall ornaments behind him shake with the force. "That you two even thought to bring him back—have you lost your collective senses?"
"What'd you expect us to do, just leave him there—" Cindy slaps a hand over Loqi's mouth, using the other to push Prompto further behind her.
"Pa, please, this ain't gotta be a bad thing—"
"Enough."
Cindy flinches and quickly snaps her mouth shut, pushing Loqi behind her in the process. Not for his own protection—well. A bit for his own protection; but mostly to put more of a wall between their father and Prompto. Thankfully, he seems to pick up on the gesture and pulls the youngest sibling into a protective hold. Prompto immediately full body latches to him—arms and tail wrapped as firmly around Loqi as they can, the same way he'd been clinging to Cindy before—and buries his face to try blocking out everything around him. The stifled whimpers are slowly becoming muffled sobs and Cindy just positions herself stubbornly between her brothers and their father.
The father lets out a slow breath, looking between the three. Anger is slowly letting way to… something that is probably supposed to be regret. To her, it just looks like shame, and he shakes his head. "The elders will not stand to have a magic user within the community. That is a fear and a curse that runs far deeper than anyone will dispute or defend. By this time tomorrow, the commune will migrate… you've until then to say your goodbyes."
Cindy feels the tension leaving her body in disbelief and feels Loqi reacting similarly; but, just as quickly her brother bristles, spines standing out in agitation once more as he pries Prompto loose to pass him towards Cindy. For once, the youngest lets go without protest, likely because the ridge of Loqi's spines pries him loose, and immediately turns the death grip on his sister instead. Cindy holds him tight, hesitating to rein Loqi in but also unsure how she would even do so.
"That's it? Just… you're just going to leave him and run away?" Loqi's spines start glowing an angry red. Dark and volatile, pulsing and extending along the ridges down his spine. "He isn't dangerous! He saved us and you're just going to leave him—"
"I'm fairly confident the two of you would not have been out there, alone." Their father meets the angry glare, steadily. "You decided to play along with whatever game you three came up with—a game that would have been wholly irrelevant between the two of you. No?"
Immediately the glow leaves and Loqi visibly deflates with the disbelief. Cindy holds Prompto tighter with one arm and uses her free hand to pull Loqi to her body as well. Her arm stays firm around his shoulders, tail wrapped gently over his in a gesture of a reassurance, an attempt to show that she agrees with him on the matter.
"Prob'ly not. But we weren't. Prom's here an' y'all can't just expect us to leave him here. None'a y'all should even be willin' to do so." She goes quiet for a spell, looking between her brothers for the stretch of silence.
Loqi's hands are balled in tight fists, clenching and releasing to try controlling the rush of anger and tension in his body. Deep, steady breaths to pull himself under control. Prompto's gone back to the quiet, hiccoughed sobs and whimpers. He probably doesn't understand in full what's happening, but enough to know that he's supposed to be in trouble. For something that was out of his control and something amazing that shouldn't be punished. Cindy tries to shush him and looks around the cavern before finally meeting their father's eye.
"No one knows yet. So far as anyone knows… we were playin'. M'guessin' the guard sent everyone inside the second I screamed." An alarm of sorts to warn them of danger. That the guards showed up at all is telling enough that the alarm reached far enough. The reaction time lines up pretty well with getting everyone hidden away to safety. So the only people that have seen them… are the guards. The elders that had been in attendance with the witch that treated Loqi's arm. And their father. Their mother was probably still with the gatherers, safely hidden in the gardening caverns, worrying and none the wiser that the three of them even came home.
The silence is enough to confirm that theory—along with the fact they hadn't seen anyone upon arrival—and she lets out a slow breath, exchanging a quick look with Loqi. He looks confused; but, after a few seconds longer—when she turns the glance to Prompto—he catches on and his lips set in a thin frown before he offers a single nod to agree. It isn't ideal… but it's better than leaving him alone.
"No one knows we came back. An' no one needs to know." Cindy finally raises her head, biting her lower lip for a short moment before steeling herself to continue. "S'what happens anyways, ain't it? Kids just disappear for no reason whatsoev'r and the only thing anyone else really knows is they prob'ly drowned. Elders know and the family knows… that's how it works ain't it. You decide what to tell the elders, elders make a huge deal out of a public shamin', and everyone just collectively leaves?"
"That is generally how such things come to pass, yes." The shame and anger have finally ebbed entirely to a wariness that she probably shouldn't take pride in. But, she does, especially when their father continues with a simple statement. "I'm uncertain what you think to imply, Cindy."
"Yer willin' to cast out one of us… best be ready to cast out all of us." She holds Prompto a little tighter when he gives a tiny noise of protest in her shoulder and shushes him quickly. "It's okay, Prom… we ain't gonna let nothin' happen t'you. So far as anyone else will know… we were playin'… and the guards di'nt get there in time. Cuz that's exac'ly what would'a happened if Prom hadn't done what he did."
When she meets their father's eye this time, he looks surprised; but, she just narrows her eyes a bit further. "Said me an' Lo wouldn't'a been out there without Prom, but yer not just gonna erase his existence to justify yer ignorance. Prom was there. All of us were an' Lo's right. We were within communal boundaries. Guards weren't anywhere near the trenches. Any other kids could'a just as easily been playin' out there. We got lucky cuz of Prom… an' y'all are just gonna punish him."
Loqi gives an agreeing nod before their father can even question if they're standing together on the matter. Before he can put any doubt in Prompto's—in any of their minds, honestly—that this isn't a solid decision between them. "Prom gets left behind, we're stayin', too. Or…" he glances at Cindy for a short moment. She's not sure where he's going; but, she still gives him a little nod to show there's a good chance she'll agree to whatever plan he's come up with. "Mom doesn't need to know you're a coward anymore than she needs to know that both of us are going to fight this claw and fang. Everyone thinks we were out playing… that's what they can keep thinking." When Cindy doesn't immediately argue, he turns the glare back on their father. "No different than any other secret anyone's taking to their grave. Just means you're lyin' to mom, along with everyone else."
"You two think you'll survive out here, alone?" Their father scoffs, either trying to call their bluff or scare them into doubting the decision. "You've hardly grown into your natural defenses, let alone any offensive capabilities—"
"Yeah, well, we're more acquainted with 'em than Prom is." Loqi crosses his arms. "So, it's not okay for us to be left and alone, but totally okay for him to. I'm staying with him."
"And I'm staying with them." Cindy confirms.
Those words, for better or worse, land them just outside of the commune's boundaries barely an hour later. Their father dragged them to the elders, trying to get them to change their mind—a futile argument and one that hadn't lasted very long when Cindy and Loqi both tried to argue that Prompto wasn't a danger to anyone. The elders left a rather foreboding message as they were sent away, when neither side would be swayed. Even when they could basically prove that Prompto didn't just resort to the magic under stress—he was probably more stressed right now than he'd been with the sharks and hadn't been able to conjure any of what he'd done prior. Words weren't getting either side anywhere and, eventually, the elders had realised that.
Cindy adjusts the satchel that's crossing her body and glances back at her brothers. Loqi has a satchel as well, with Prompto clinging rather tight to his hand, still hiccoughing a small sob every few seconds. He's mostly stopped crying; but, his eyes look irritated, no matter how many times he reaches to wipe at them, and his fins all droop a bit dejectedly. Cindy's not terribly surprised. She suspects they were only given the few supplies they have because her and Loqi are voluntarily leaving. If it had just been Prompto… they probably would have just left him here. With those words echoing in his head.
"The Tidemother's curse brings nothing but misfortune to those around around its host. The child will bring nothing but misery if he stays—should the two of you choose to stay with him, it will inevitably follow you, as well. Trouble will find you."
Misery and misfortune and trouble. Because of some adaptability that wasn't widespread enough for them to realise it wasn't something to be afraid of. Some small part of her wonders if, perhaps, people would give the 'curse' a chance… maybe it would be a more dominant trait. It happened with witches, after all—the healing traits have become more common in the past few years. Even compared to when Cindy was just learning to swim, there's already dozens more Leviaens being taught to harness their healing ability. What made offense-based magic so different?
She pulls a slow breath and turns to look at her brothers with a little smile, trying to convince them everything's going to be okay. "They'll be out of the communal area by tomorrow, but I doubt any of us wanna go back an' try to stay there, huh?"
Loqi nods to show he agrees; Prompto just looks down, muffling a small noise of protest when he reaches up to try wiping his face again. Cindy lowers herself enough that she can tap his chin up, trying to encourage eye contact.
"It'll be okay, Prom… me an' Lo ain't gonna let nothin' happen t'you. Understand?"
He still doesn't meet her eye and, after a few failed attempts that end in little more than a pitiful hiccup, tries to answer. "Y-you an' Lo should-should'a stayed an'—"
He cuts off with a high pitched whine and tries to pull his hand loose. Loqi seems to realise he was gripping too tight and quickly loosens his hold. Not enough for Prompto to get away, but enough that he's not hurting him and lets out a slow breath.
"Prom, you honestly think me or Cin would've been okay? Knowing they just left you out here alone? Hell no."
"Loqi." Cindy's tone comes out in a warning—mostly for his language—before she realises it's useless and they don't even need to be worried about things like that for right now. She just shakes her head a little and turns her attention back to Prompto. "He ain't wrong, Prom. Wouldn't've been the same without you around, Sparkles."
The nickname—old and kind of silly, from when Prompto was a few years younger and all of his scales used to glow bright yellow and blue when he was happy; basically always—is enough to get a small, unsteady smile. Just for a moment before he looks miserable again.
"But I don't wanna bring trouble o-or… or…mis… uhm…" He looks up at Loqi for help; but, Loqi just raises a brow at him, clearly not willing to comply and feed into the nonsense. Cindy doesn't blame him; but, she still offers a small smile instead of ignoring the question.
"Prom, y'don't even know what that means."
"Know it means somethin' bad," He mumbles, still tripping over the word under his breath a few more times before finally gives up.
"Misfortune," Cindy supplies in a gentle tone, swatting at Loqi to keep him quiet so she can explain, "is just a big word for bad luck. An' you're anything but bad luck, darlin'. You saved us."
"You an' Lo would've been able to out swim the sharks, though… that sounds like bad luck." He looks back down. "Dad was right, wasn't he? If I hadn't been there—"
"Cin and I don't want you not around, Prom. That's the whole point." Loqi moves around in front of him, right next to Cindy, and makes him look up by cupping his face, gently, in both hands. "Who cares about what ifs? Father's just trying to make himself feel better about the fact he just did something horrible to someone he's supposed to protect. To basically everyone he's supposed to protect. Sayin' all that dumb stuff—if you hadn't been around? If you hadn't been there?—all of that is so he feels better about it. Because you are here, Prom. You are; and, Cin and I wouldn't want it any other way. He shouldn't, either. But, he chose his side… and we chose ours, okay? We're sticking together and that's that."
Cindy nods a little, reaching over to brush some of Prompto's hair back and give him a gentle, reassuring scritch behind the ear. A calming gesture, just as much as reassurance. "We'll figure it out, Prom. I told you before—you di'nt do nothing wrong. You saved me an' Lo an' that's all there is to it. So… I need you to do us a real big favour, okay?"
Prompto finally tries to meet her eye, tilting his head as best he can with Loqi still holding his face. Cindy smiles and gestures back over her shoulder. "We've got a pretty long trip ahead of us… I know there's some empty caverns up along the walls of the canyon above the trenches… think you can make that swim? After that, there's a nice lil' seabed. Ain't the same as the valley, but it's got a grotto and grotto should mean maze and place to set up a secure home. Lo, you're prob'ly gonna have to take point. You're quicker with your claws than me."
Loqi nods and slips his satchel off, handing it over to Cindy for her to carry. Cindy glances back at Prompto, carefully adjusting both straps now. "M'not gonna be able to carry you with both of these… so I need you to swim next to me, alright?"
Prompto looks up, then at Loqi for a short moment, and nods when his attention drifts back to Cindy and he pulls a deep breath. "I can do it."
Cindy smiles at him again and exchanges a quick, short look with Loqi, offering only a short nod to say they can leave.
They can do this. She's not really sure how yet… but they'll figure it out. She knows bits and pieces of what she's picked up from gatherers and healers. Loqi's spent a substantial amount of time around the hunters and guards. They're going to find a way to make this work.