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The first indications of sunrise were not the beautiful spiking of color nor the first bands of light creeping over the horizon. To Ignis Scientia, it was the shift in temperature, the cool prickling of his skin before being kissed by the warmth of the sun.
Every day for the past five years he had risen early, faced east and waited. It was one of the only things that kept him going, knowing that all the pain and suffering came and ended with the moment the dark was chased away by the sun.
Five years ago to the day, the sun had returned after ten long years of darkness. It had been the brightest light Ignis had ever known. After years of living in the dark, the light was meant to be their salvation. But today? Today was a painful day for all of them who had known the King. Everyone else had moved on, and still Ignis found it difficult to believe Noctis was never coming home.
The last portion of the old wall was rough against his back. Ignis remembered the meeting where Gladio had stood up to request it remain, as a reminder. A simple and small reminder of their past. The edges were shattered and ragged where Nifflheim and their daemons had destroyed it. It was a part of history, ‘Lest it try to repeat itself.’
“I knew I would find you here.” The voice was warm, and Ignis immediately perked up at it. Its sound was rich and smooth like honey, like the eyes he missed being able to see.
“Of course. Where else would I be today?” Gladio was around him in moments. The warm embrace stabilized Ignis, grounding him and bringing him back to reality.
“Would you like me to describe it to you?” Strong arms wrapped Ignis tighter as they settled into each other.
“Please.” Ignis pressed his unseeing eyes shut and listened as Gladio spoke. Memories were all Ignis had left, and the colors and textures Gladio happily described were pulled from memories and fuzzy images from well over fifteen years prior.
Cascades of colors painted the sky over the water surrounding Insomnia, and the sun caressed his skin. He was brought back to a time when they were out in the wilds of Eos. The sounds of the fire crackling in the havens and the sound of Prompto’s camera shuttering as the Prince slept in. He could see Gladio, sweat stained and glistening in the early days light from his morning run. There was a lingering feeling of a kiss, like so many others on his lips before the Shield had moved to rouse Noctis from the tent.
These memories from a time long past. Ignis felt a stream of moisture running down his cheek. Instead of removing it, he allowed it to fall; it was the dull throbbing in his chest and the aching pain for things that were far out of his control.
“Gladio?” Ignis spoke after Gladio had finished speaking of what he saw.
“Yeah?” Gladio squeezed slightly as he shifted, no doubt eyes glancing down to him.
“Do you still blame yourself?” Ignis knew the answer, but he felt these words needed to be said. A small part of himself did still find fault that he, himself, couldn’t change destiny. Perhaps if he had told anyone of the return of the light, the forever banishment of the Starscourge and all the pain that would result in Noctis’s death things would have been different. Instead he had kept it secret, wanting to change it all on his own.
The silence stretched on as the sun rose higher into the sky. FInally, with a breath long held, Gladio spoke. “No. I don’t think I do, anymore.”
There was another pause, Gladio’s body shaking ever so slightly. “There was a time I did, and maybe a small part of me resents his destiny. Do I miss him? Damned straight. Did I fail as the King’s Shield?”
There was a larger tremble in his body, Gladio grabbing Ignis tighter, closer. “No. I protected him long enough that he could protect all of us.”
They fell into silence once more, the world coming to life all around them. The sounds of small critters scurrying in the young brush, the chirping of birds in the trees, the soft motion of the river below, the sound of a soft meowing in the distance ...
“Did you hear that?” Ignis started, pulling his body alert in Gladio’s arms.
“Hear what?” The confusion was clear through the thickness of the tears.
“It was a cat.” Noctis loved cats. Ignis peeled Gladio’s arms from around him, keeping his hand and intertwining their fingers.
The sound came again, closer, and Ignis pulled them towards the noise. “You must have heard it this time?”
“Yeah.” The words were less sorrow riddled as Gladio now too was straining his ears for the noise. “What is a cat doing out here of all places?”
They searched, ears leading them down a small ridge where the waters surrounding Insomnia were easily in view. It was at the end of this path, perched on a large, gray rock, where a single seal point cat sat. It was old, fur ruffled and matted and riddled with scars. Ignis could tell without sight that this cat was older than it should have been. From the way it mewed, and shifted under the blind man’s touch. There was a jump of excitment amongst the pain in Ignis’s chest.
“Ignis.” The word seemed to catch in Gladio’s throat, causing Ignis to shift his attention towards the large man. “You think a cat coulda survived the darkness, alone in the wilds?”
Even as the words left his lips, they both knew it was true. It made no sense, but this was the same cat that they had found in Galdin Quay. The same cat, still, that had followed them to the lighthouse. The same cat that was now old and weathered and beaten, just like them.
Still, he was sitting here, crying into the morning, still looking for the one man who had shown him kindness all those years ago.
“It is,” Ignis paused, releasing Gladio’s hand only now. “Unlikely, although possible.”
In the ten years of darkness, they hadn’t seen a single creature that was not a daemon. No reports of wild chocobos, dual horns, or garula. Yet, now there were wild herds of them everywhere once more. They had hidden and survived the long and dangerous night. Why couldn’t a single cat do the same?
Ignis reached the feline, hand extended out to the once small and delicate creature. He didn’t move, letting Ignis rest his hand on his old body. There was a breath of relief that exited Ignis’s lips as he stroked downwards from the back of the cat’s head down his spine.
“He’s purring.” Ignis chuckled, tears streaming from his eyes. “Can we keep him?”
Ignis could feel Gladio moving behind him as a choked laugh escaped his full lips. “I was about to ask you the same.”
~~~~
It had been a long time since they had first stepped in Galdin Quay, yet the memory of this cat was one of the strongest, if not a touch on the miscellaneous side. Noctis had been insistent on feeding him and, in turn, insistent on catching the perfect fish for him. Trevally was the name they settled on, as he was still a rather finicky eater.
They brought him home wrapped up in Gladio’s jacket and immediately went to bathe him. For such an old cat, he didn’t seem to mind, the soft purrs rolling out of him as they both gently worked the knots from his fur and massaged his scarred skin.
After his bath, Ignis pulled fresh fish from the fridge and began cooking while the cat curled and made himself comfortable on Gladio’s lap.
“You don’t think it was a coincidence that he showed up today, do you?” Gladio asked, large hands petting the now much softer fur. His amber eyes stared at the small creature, lingering on the scars he had gotten since they had seen him in Cape Caem. Proof he survived.
“You know I hardly believe in coincidences, Gladiolus.” There was a dry chuckle from Ignis’s lips as he moved the still hot fish onto a dish. “I believe he is coming to us because he knows his time grows near and that he will not find the one person he is looking for anymore. Cats have instincts unknown to our own senses.”
There was a pause as Ignis ‘stared’ down at the plate in his hands. “Noctis would have wanted us to take him in. He almost begged us to do so all those years ago.”
The room grew warm as their skin prickled, and Trevally purred louder and more persistently than before. It was as if it was the final approval that they needed to keep the cat. Noctis’s approval.
“I think you’re right. He isn’t a young kitten any more, but neither are we.” Gladio let out a chuckle, lifting his hand from the cat only long enough to run his left thumb over the bottom of the metal band around his finger.
“You might be surprised.” Ignis hummed, moving around the island to the table where they took almost every meal together. “If my math is correct, and it has rarely failed me in the past, he could live seven more years. It isn’t uncommon for cats to live past twenty, sometimes far longer. If he survived the daemon infested wilds, I am sure he is due for retirement.”
“Yeah.” Gladio smiled, watching as Ignis placed the plate on the ground where Trevally decided he suddenly needed to be instead of his lap. Gladio chuckled as the cat began to devour the fish upon the plate as if it was the first thing he had eaten in fifteen years.
“We must prepare for this evening, and now our day has gotten much busier with the need to gather supplies for our house guest.” Ignis straightened and pulled the pink apron from his chest. Gladio had bought it as a joke, the frilly words ‘kiss the chef’ across the chest. If Ignis only knew the garish color he would never wear it again.
“You are correct. Cor is expecting us early. He said he had a surprise for us.” Gladio grunted as he stood and ran his hands over his thighs as if that would remove the miniscule white hairs from his black pants.
“It isn’t much of a surprise, Gladio. We discussed the statue of King Noctis last month. Cor is just being,” Ignis shook his head, “I think he’s trying to be humorous.”
“Right. A Statue of King Noctis and an inscription for all those who gave their lives to save Eos.” Gladio’s eyes lingered on their new cat, his thoughts on the Last King’s Festival that they were kicking off later that evening. A celebration of the world and the Last King.
“Well, those errands aren’t gonna do themselves.” Gladio took the first step towards the bathroom. The first step that would take them away from their sorrow and regrets.
“I am gonna shower, but then I’ll be ready.”
As the water came down hot from the spout, Gladio knew that in one year, the pain stabbing through his heart would be lessened. The year after, lessened more. Noctis had been their life. He had been raised to give his life for only one man. Ignis had been taken from a young age to do everything to get Noctis on the right path.
WIth him gone, it had been difficult to find direction. The one thing they still had was each other. Each year would come easier as they moved on and learned how to live without the one thing that had been their entire life, before the dawn. Noctis was dead, but his memory would forever live on and they would become stronger because of it.
Now it was time they found their own purpose.