The joy might be good, but he's always hated making this trip. The sun is merciless and it makes his shirt stick to the place between his shoulder blades. He's spent the last few kilometers thinking about how gross he feels and whether he's going to bother trying to salvage his glider on the way back. Force of will is probably all that's kept it together this long anyway.
Ugh. Now there's sand in his boot.
Noctis adjusts the pack over his shoulder, feels the weight of the straps go slack and then taut as the weight of the case shifts against his spine. It's been months since the last time he was called out this far and he's not exactly relishing the experience. Eulogy always stinks of sweat and booze.
Searching prison records throughout J colonies
And they always give him hell at the door.
"Hey- Hey!" It isn't the first gun in his face, but there's a difference between the ones meant as a threat and the ones that'll pull the trigger no questions asked. There's a short surge of adrenaline that makes his stomach feel like a knot in the middle of his body. It doesn't matter that he's done this song and dance a few times now, it's not like they have anything to lose in killing him. Reflex makes Noctis' face jerk to the side, but he brings it back around a moment later, hands raised in surrender. "I've got a vouch-"
"He's with me."
Dave is across the room, ducking out of the bar almost too late to matter. This is the last time Noctis agrees to Eulogy as a destination and not a place to go in tandem. He doesn't lower his hands until the gun is down, but that's because he's not stupid. Noctis slides the bag down his shoulder instead, offering it up in the space between them for the requisite scan as he shoots Dave a deeply unhappy frown. He's not one to lecture, but he's not going to pretend to be thrilled by the reception either.
Total current value 12,000 joy.
There's no music to be heard from here, no shouting or low rumble of conversation, just the click of steel on steel, the thud of his case on the floor before its shuffled off to places unknown. Noctis accepts the chip with a nod that's part thanks and part acknowledgement before his weight pivots and he and Dave are heading inside. Bent at the elbow, he uses his forearm to grind the door back on its hinges.
"Sorry about that," Dave opens with, as they make their way down towards the casino floor. "Buy you a drink to call it square?"
Gross. Beer.
"Could just meet me at the glider next time," Noctis' head tilts, dark fringe falling into his face. Two fingers lift in a wave as he slides onto a stool, claiming a table in the corner. "Just get me something that doesn't taste like motor oil?"
"You got it."
Miscellaneous Notes:
I wasn't sure what to classify two of his abilities- the sections marked warp & wizardry. On the subject of warping, phasing would be an almost reflexive act, used primarily to protect himself from danger in the aforementioned fight-or-flight response, but I wasn't sure if that was Too Much Too Soon.
I would also have considered the elemency acts minor because they've become buildable pieces of tech instead of flinging magic around? I'd made sense of this by presuming raw elements wouldn't be all that easy to find or harvest, and that the process would take time and have limited output. But they can absolutely be used for combat, so I didn't want to presume.
no subject
It's hot.
The joy might be good, but he's always hated making this trip. The sun is merciless and it makes his shirt stick to the place between his shoulder blades. He's spent the last few kilometers thinking about how gross he feels and whether he's going to bother trying to salvage his glider on the way back. Force of will is probably all that's kept it together this long anyway.
Ugh. Now there's sand in his boot.
Noctis adjusts the pack over his shoulder, feels the weight of the straps go slack and then taut as the weight of the case shifts against his spine. It's been months since the last time he was called out this far and he's not exactly relishing the experience. Eulogy always stinks of sweat and booze.
Searching prison records throughout J colonies
And they always give him hell at the door.
"Hey- Hey!" It isn't the first gun in his face, but there's a difference between the ones meant as a threat and the ones that'll pull the trigger no questions asked. There's a short surge of adrenaline that makes his stomach feel like a knot in the middle of his body. It doesn't matter that he's done this song and dance a few times now, it's not like they have anything to lose in killing him. Reflex makes Noctis' face jerk to the side, but he brings it back around a moment later, hands raised in surrender. "I've got a vouch-"
"He's with me."
Dave is across the room, ducking out of the bar almost too late to matter. This is the last time Noctis agrees to Eulogy as a destination and not a place to go in tandem. He doesn't lower his hands until the gun is down, but that's because he's not stupid. Noctis slides the bag down his shoulder instead, offering it up in the space between them for the requisite scan as he shoots Dave a deeply unhappy frown. He's not one to lecture, but he's not going to pretend to be thrilled by the reception either.
Total current value 12,000 joy.
There's no music to be heard from here, no shouting or low rumble of conversation, just the click of steel on steel, the thud of his case on the floor before its shuffled off to places unknown. Noctis accepts the chip with a nod that's part thanks and part acknowledgement before his weight pivots and he and Dave are heading inside. Bent at the elbow, he uses his forearm to grind the door back on its hinges.
"Sorry about that," Dave opens with, as they make their way down towards the casino floor. "Buy you a drink to call it square?"
Gross. Beer.
"Could just meet me at the glider next time," Noctis' head tilts, dark fringe falling into his face. Two fingers lift in a wave as he slides onto a stool, claiming a table in the corner. "Just get me something that doesn't taste like motor oil?"
"You got it."
Miscellaneous Notes:
I wasn't sure what to classify two of his abilities- the sections marked warp & wizardry. On the subject of warping, phasing would be an almost reflexive act, used primarily to protect himself from danger in the aforementioned fight-or-flight response, but I wasn't sure if that was Too Much Too Soon.
I would also have considered the elemency acts minor because they've become buildable pieces of tech instead of flinging magic around? I'd made sense of this by presuming raw elements wouldn't be all that easy to find or harvest, and that the process would take time and have limited output. But they can absolutely be used for combat, so I didn't want to presume.