Work Text:
Nyx hadn’t really been sleeping.
He knew they were safe within the havens, that the Oracle’s power would shield them from daemons and the empire alike. But wariness was too ingrained in him, as was the lesson that you never went to sleep outside Insomnia without setting a watch. Besides, the last thing he wanted was for them to wake up surrounded by imperial troops.
So he sat on the edge of the massive flat stone they were camped on, thumb tracing the deep teal whorl nearest to him, other hand on a knife, and kept watch while Princess Lunafreya slept a little ways behind him.
It had been almost a week since Insomnia fell. Since Nyx had somehow, impossibly, lived, and been rescued by a mysterious woman. Gentiana. One of the Messengers.
She’d kept him from death—though he had a lot of new scars, he was alive and he wasn’t complaining about it—and given him a new task. Protect the Oracle, at all costs, and make sure she arrived in Altissia safely.
As Nyx had protected this particular Oracle before, he knew it wasn’t gonna be easy. But having a task made life more bearable, even when that task involved corralling incredibly stubborn royalty.
He admired her stubbornness, if he was being totally honest.
When she wasn’t wielding it against his best efforts to protect her, that is.
Something rustled behind him, and Nyx spun around, knife slipping from his sheath before he realized it was just the wind in the bushes. He watched it for a moment longer, then turned back to his examination of the view.
They were near the Alstor Slough, north of the Cauthess Disk. That had been their most recent stop—for the princess to speak with one of the Six while Nyx waited with knives drawn for the empire to show up and stop them.
Apparently, they’d reached some kind of accord, because Lunafreya had been ready to leave quickly enough. And now they were in Alstor. And Nyx wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t the only one of the Astrals they were planning to visit.
First the Archaean. Next, if the princess is anything to judge by, the Fulgurian. Nyx didn’t have the faintest idea how they’d find Ramuh, but he already knew better than to underestimate the princess.
As if in confirmation of his words, the ground shook, the very earth rumbling. There was another rustle behind him, but this one came with a voice.
“Was that—”
“Just another tremor, princess.” Nyx flicked a quick glance back to where Lunafreya was sitting upright. Her hair was loose from its usual ornate do, making her look years younger than she normally did. She can’t be older than Crowe. “Looks like Titan’s still wide awake.”
“Would that I couldn’t relate.” Lunafreya frowned at him, pulling the blanket from her bed roll up around her shoulders. “You’re not asleep, either.”
Nyx made a face. “Against my training. I know the havens protect, but…there’s too much that could go wrong.”
She didn’t argue. Instead, she got up and moved to his side, sitting on the edge of the rock with him. “I can’t sleep, either,” she admitted. “I should. An attempt is better than nothing, and we have another task ahead of us.”
“Ramuh?”
“Ramuh,” Lunafreya confirmed, tipping her head back to look up at the stars. “And then…Altissia. Which means your part in things will be complete.”
Nyx had a feeling that wasn’t entirely true. “Just because you’re in Altissia doesn’t mean the empire’s gonna stop hunting you. Until that day, I think I’ll stick around.”
“I cannot ask you to do that.”
Leaning over, Nyx bumped his shoulder against hers gently. “That’s why I’m not giving you a chance to. You’re stuck with me.”
Her responding smile held the note of relief he’d expected, but was far too shadowed to hold any real joy. Nyx waited for a moment, then said, “You wanna tell me about what’s bothering you?”
A long sigh echoed out toward the lake across from them. “There’s too much. Finding Ramuh, making it to Altissia, holding the rite to awaken Leviathan. Even without that…” she shook her head, eyes troubled, but didn’t say anything else.
“It helps to talk about it,” Nyx offered.
She sent him a sideways look. “Is that from experience?”
“Yeah.”
“Your own?”
“Uh…less so.” It wasn’t easy to pull the pain out and give a voice to it, no matter how simple it appeared on the outside. “But it might help.”
She laughed softly. “I spend far too often considering my own fears. Better to leave them in the shadows, and take a moment of peace while we can still find it.”
Well, Nyx couldn’t argue with that. Leaning back, he drew in a long, deep breath of the cool night air, eyes wandering to the stars above him. “Great view out here. Better than Insomnia.” The lights of the city, to say nothing of the Wall, obscured all but the brightest of stars most nights.
But out here, the sky was full of them, brilliantly crystalline in their beauty against the deepest blue around them. He saw Lunafreya tilt her head back, her own gaze locking onto the sky. “It’s lovely,” she said softly.
It was. “Reminds me of home.” Her frown caught his gaze, and Nyx elaborated. “Galahd. I grew up in a smaller town, and the stars there were incredible. Spent a lot of nights under them.” With Selena.
Nyx didn’t say that part. He wasn’t sure that the fragile moment of peace they’d found could survive the ghosts he carried with him. But he felt Lunafreya study him, for a long moment, and kept talking so she didn’t ask. “We used to look for constellations. Like…” he paused, tracing the stars above him with his free hand. “There. The Founder’s Blade. Those four stars in a row. The brightest one is the hilt.”
Lunafreya was quiet for a moment, then let out a triumphant noise. “I see it!”
“That was Libertus’s favorite. Mine was the Coeurl.” Nyx directed her to the tangle of stars that loosely resembled the big cat with long whiskers and a problematic ability to direct electrical current with them. “And—” he twisted around, scanning the sky until he found the constellation he was looking for. “That is the Climber.”
“The Climber?”
“Yeah. See, he’s going up a mountain. That was—” Nyx felt his breath hitch, pain all too present. But he forced himself to speak. “That was Selena’s favorite. My sister.”
She didn’t speak immediately, her eyes resting on him for a moment. Then, quietly, “It’s a lovely constellation.”
“She said it reminded her of me.” Nyx let out a low laugh, knowing it would probably echo with the pain that never really left. “I used to climb when I was younger. She used to tease me, say that if I wasn’t careful, I’d make my way up to the stars.”
A pretty image. More painful when he remembered there was no way to reach her now. Just as there had been no way to reach her, then. Not in time.
Sweeping away the memories with a blink, he took a deep breath. “We used to camp out, watch the stars. Light a fire and make s’mores.” He sent Lunafreya a sideways glance. “You got s’mores in Tenebrae, right?”
She smiled a little. “I’m familiar with the concept.”
“See, that statement doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, princess.” Nyx found himself smiling, just a little. For once, it didn’t feel like a betrayal, to smile after speaking about Selena.
“Perhaps not.” Lunafreya paused for a few beats, then said, “I take it she—”
“Gone.” The word tore from his throat, raw and painful. “When the empire took Galahd—” he shook his head, closing his eyes against tears and more memories.
A gentle hand rested on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Nyx.” She left them in silence for a few moments, letting things rest. Then she spoke again. “Your sister loved you. I’m honored to hear of her memory.”
Long heartbeats passed as Nyx held those words, weighed them. She loved me. True, even if he had failed her in the end. As for Lunafreya’s other words…
Lifting his head, he took a deep breath, opening eyes on an expanse of stars. “She would have liked you.” That much was true, and he could have said more. But it was still too painful, so he left things there. And the princess didn’t push.
It was appreciated, more than he could say. Just a moment of silence as they watched the stars. Eventually, he quietly said, “Thanks.”
“I owe you the thanks.” Her eyes were still on the sky. “You’ve been kind enough to indulge my questions. And you’ve protected me this far. I appreciate that.”
Nyx shrugged. “Just following through. And it’s good to have a purpose.”
“I understand that.” Lunafreya sighed, the troubled cloud from before descending over her face. “I’m…worried.”
Given that she hadn’t admitted that much in days, Nyx decided he should probably proceed with caution. “About the Fulgurian?”
“About Noctis.”
Ah. The prince, who was apparently world breakingly important. Nyx hadn’t asked—he was willing to stand by the princess’s side and simply trust that she and the king had sacrificed so much for a good reason. “He’s got good people with him.”
She nodded. “I know. And I know he can handle this fight, that he will succeed. But…”
“That doesn’t always stop the worry when you love someone.”
Lunafreya’s gaze shot to him, startled. “You’re full of wisdom tonight.”
“Long years of experience.” 32 felt ancient somedays. He could see the curiosity in Lunafreya’s eyes, but she didn’t ask, and he appreciated it. There were only so many old wounds he was willing to bear tonight. “Rest easy, princess. Prince Noctis learned from the best, and so did the people with him.” No matter how young—close to his age, when he’d joined the Kingsglaive. “And he’s got someone worth fighting for.”
Lunafreya ducked her head. “I’m…not certain things are quite as simple as you paint it. But I appreciate it.”
“Even the complicated things are more simple than you think they are.” Nyx was pretty sure he was a hypocrite for offering that advice, but he meant it. More than that… “And if he’s the right one, the complicated side is worth it.”
A slight smile tipped up the corner of her mouth, holding a note of longing that was all too familiar. “Perhaps. I should…most likely get some rest.” Lunafreya paused, then looked at him. “Will you show me a few more constellations before I do?”
“Anytime.”
And so they sat, picking out shapes in the stars, and letting the weights of the past and present rest until tomorrow.