[minivan AU] chasing shadows

#OCIntroSubmission

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Noct didn't understand a thing that had happened, aside from a hateful pain in his leg, and a spreading sort of sticky wetness.

Being such a young child... It wasn't that he didn't understand that he was a political enemy of Niflheim, regardless of his age. He knew that very well.

He could hear his father and the attendants that managed to survive panicking, crying out for him to wake up.

What he didn't understand was why they sent a daemon that big after him.

Why? For what purpose?

To ensure that there was nothing left of the Crown Prince of Lucis? Not even a body to bury?

... Is that the kind of people the Nifs were?

It... It didn't matter now. He was drifting into a very deep, very long sleep, and no one knew if the prince would ever wake up.

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Noct awoke to the feeling of another sort of wetness, this time on his forehead, but... Concentrated, smaller.

With blurry eyes, he could barely make out the shape of another person leaning over him, just above. But it was someone he was sure he had never seen before. Shutting his eyes tightly, lifting his hands to rub them, he looked at the figure above him again.

This time, his vision was much clearer, and what he saw was a kid who looked to be around his own age, with soft-looking, chin-length turquoise hair and some kind of... Golden tiara-headdress thing with red gemstones on it. The wet spot on his forehead just felt cold at this point-- what was that all about? Noct didn't see anything on this kid's face that would make him think the kid was crying.

"Oh, bless the Six - you're awake!" Said the kid, smiling suddenly with wide eyes - those eyes were yellow, how strange - and clapping a bit to himself. "I knew you would wake up eventually. My father told me you would. I just had to be patient, I know, but I couldn't help but worry, you know? You were taking a long time, I dunno how long but it felt like a billion gazillion years! But then I ed that sometimes you can wake up a sleeping princess by kissing her! You're not a beautiful princess, but I think it kind of works the same way for handsome princes, right? So that's what I did, and you woke up! Ohh, yay!!! I'm so happy, I don't know what I would've done if you didn't wake up!"

... Noct didn't even know where to start with this boy.

"I'm..." Noct squinted a little, making a strained face as he sat up. It was a little difficult, as he found his leg was extremely ouch and not cooperating, so he had to use just his upper body strength to push himself up into a sitting position.

He took a moment to look around, noticing that this was not where he ed ing out. This looked like... Almost like the forests of Tenebrae, where his family and Luna's family would sometimes meet for gatherings. Like that, but even more beautiful. Even greener.

"Where am I?" He asked the kid, not really even looking at him until his next question. "And-- who are you?"

"Oh," said the boy, "This is, uh... It's kind of like..."

He paused a moment, to think of how best to explain this. "Basically, you're dreaming right now."

"Oh," said Noct, flatly.

The kid went on, very frankly, "You fell asleep after being attacked by the Marilith, because it hurt a lot and you lost a lot of blood. This is what you're dreaming about! I think this is supposed to be a place you know and care about...?"

Noct nodded, watching the other kid intently, as his second question was still not answered.

"Of course, I don't really know where this is," said the kid, "But it's pretty! I can see why you like it. Uh, what else... Oh, right! I'm a, uh... Well - let's just say you can call me Carbuncle, and I'm your friend."

"You're my friend?" Asked Noct, scrunching up his nose a little. he didn't mean to sound cold, but what was true of Noct as an adult was also true of Noct as a child. He tended to come off colder than he really was.

"Yeah!" Carbuncle didn't seem to notice the accidental iciness in Noct's voice, "'Cause I'm gonna help you wake up again, and then everything'll be okay!"

"How are you gonna do that?" Noct hugged his good leg to his chest, looking a little downtrodden. He wasn't even sure when he wanted to wake up. The world was apparently dangerous in ways he never could have guessed, so he wasn't extremely keen on sprinting back into reality, now that he's found this safe place to sit.

... Carbuncle actually seemed to notice this mood of Noct's, because he scooted a little closer, sitting directly next to the young prince.

"Hey... Um, it's okay," Carbuncle said, voice soft and gentle as he rested his hand on Noct's back, "Don't be scared, okay? There are gonna be people in the world who are mean, and wanna hurt you for no real reason. But that doesn't mean the world doesn't need you, and that doesn't mean you should stop living in it. I know you're strong and brave, and you're only get stronger and braver as you grow up."

"... How do you know that?" Noct asked, showing... Unsure, vulnerable little eyes to his new friend.

"I know everything about you," Carbuncle said with a calm smile, his eyes squinting kindly. "I know that you're very important, and very special."

"Because I'm a prince?"

"Well. That, and other stuff. But hey - look at me."

And Noct did, feeling himself trust this boy more and more with every second that ed.

"All we've gotta do," said Carbuncle, looking the prince right in the eyes, "Is get out of this forest, and find your favorite place in the whole world."

"In the whole world?" Noct looked concerned. The world was a very, very big place. "How are we gonna do that?"

Carbuncle simply smiled again, mysterious but kind, and answered, "Something tells me it's closer than you think."

He got to his feet, his white and red robe now fully visible to Noct, and asked, "So. You feeling ready to go?"

"But-- what about my leg?" Noct asked, glancing down at it. It wasn't bleeding in this dream, but there was a pretty gnarly scar on it - like how it might look several years from now, and it most certainly still hurt like the wound was fresh.

"Oh! Oh my heavens, I almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me!" Carbuncle said, dropping right to his knees right in front of Noct's scarred leg. There, he closed his eyes, held both his hands over his mouth, and then placed both hands over the scar on Noct's leg. A gentle red glow faded into view.

His hands were wet, and it made Noct flinch a bit - but he found that the pain of Carbuncle's hands on his leg... Dulled, within a few seconds, until he couldn't feel pain at all.

And then the red glow was gone.

Carbuncle opened his eyes once again and gazed at Noct.

"Does it feel a little better?"

Nodding, in awe of this kid's power, Noct just said "Uh-huh."

"Good," said Carbuncle, smiling again and offering his hand to Noct - which Noct took - and helped the young prince to his feet.

It was amazing, really - Noct couldn't feel a thing. It was like his leg was completely fixed.

"I can only make the pain go away while you're asleep," said Carbuncle, his face a little apologetic, "It's gonna probably hurt again when you wake up. But anything at all I can do to help, I wanna do."

Not letting go of Noct's hand, Carbuncle lifted Noct's hand to his mouth, and.

Didn't kiss it, but rather... Licked it.

And Noct didn't even feel all that grossed-out by it.

"So," said Carbuncle, his eyes warm and adoring, "You about ready to go?"

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oof its been a while since i posted in this amino. life got really busy really fast what with me getting into an actual university and starting classes, and with my boyfriend getting out of his bad household, but i want to write and make more stuff :3

hopefully ppl like this! its a bit short but i think it gets the point across. the fact that you can actually name carbuncle in the demo and then that name shows up in the main game if you got said demo i think really enhances this whole deal because that just means noct is the one who named mikami ;w;

mikami is a little awkward as a child bc he's sort of operating on puppy logic, which means licking people is a display of affection, sort of like a kiss, but he's just so nice and helpful that noct really wasn't all that weirded out by it at the time. it felt like dream logic really, since he was in a dream, he just never expected mikami to turn out to be a real person he would meet.

i dont think he necessarily puts 2 and 2 together and notices "hm wow this guy is named mikami just like i named that weird puppy person in the coma dream i had when i was 8 years old!" just bc it was so long ago and you forget dreams eventually, but he does figure it out eventually, when the time is right

mikami is bubby. good afternoon everyone