Like thunder screaming out for a flash of lightning

[flawed_immortality]

[Cor's not great at this whole party thing, especially as this time it's not just a family gathering but intended for the friends they'd made here as well. The video starts with Cor sitting in a cushy white and grey striped armchair, a stone fireplace beside him glowing warmly. It's a classy set up and far above the townhouses they've been in.]

It's New Years, celebrations are in order. His Majesty, Ignis, and I have obtained a larger space and we'd like to offer our home for the festivities. Feel free to stop in, have some snacks, and await midnight with us.

[Locked from Regis]
[He looks a little paranoid at first, double, then triple checking that he's done this right.]

It's also his Majesty's birthday. He's always eager to sweep it under the New Years celebrations but he has no reason to shy away from any such celebrations here. Don't let him.

[Action - Party Start~]
[The new house is really very nice. It's nothing compared to the Citadel but it is very nice. Clean and homey with the accents of warm wood that, if Cor didn't know better, he'd have thought was reclaimed.

There's a fire in the hearth, hor d'ouerve trays laid out on the kitchen counters. The replicator is of course available to anyone who wants something specific, though you might be surprised to find she responds to voice commands and is distressingly cheerful to talk to. The house is open for examination! Go on, explore folks, mingle away.]

[Action - Midnight]
[As chill as the night is Cor makes a point of slipping through the crowd throughout the evening. There's a number of Lucis Caelums and other magic users as well. So when the time comes near he does his best to usher everyone into the backyard, or at least onto the back porch.

He's certainly not the one to lead the countdown, no someone more energetic can do that, but at the final count a series of spells get fired into the night sky. They may not be traditional fireworks but a few Flares, Thundaras, and spells he has no names for will work well enough, don't you think?]

Comments

[scourgingstars]

...I think so.

[He understood the unspoken meaning, but...for now, things were alright. Better than he expected, certainly.]

Thank you. I think perhaps...your advice may have helped a bit.

[carbungle]

[There's a pause for a moment, as those words sink in.]

...Huh. First for everything.

[He's certainly not the one usually giving advice.]

S'good to hear, though. Everyone's kind of rooting for you guys, you know?

[scourgingstars]

I'm sorry?

[he was aware that family drama was kind of everyone's problem, but didn't realize it was currently everyone's problem.]

What do you mean?

[carbungle]

...Dude, come on. You think we don't all know what's going on?

[Maybe not in great detail - and to varying degrees, depending on who you talk to - but you'd have to be a fool not to assume there'd be lingering conflict. And their family can be idiots but they're not stupid. ...Which definitely makes sense if you know them.]

[scourgingstars]

Sorry. I hope it hasn't troubled any of you overmuch, I know it's...

['the background noise of the past two millennia']

...complicated.

[carbungle]

Nobody's looking for apologies. And even if we were you don't owe us any. Not like you can help it.

[He shrugs. What could they expect, that he snap his fingers and instantly forgive and forget? People don't work like that. He knows he sure as hell couldn't do it.]

More like... you know. We're worried about you. [You. Him. Both.]

[scourgingstars]

...I'll be fine. It's him that I'm more worried about.

[carbungle]

You're worried about Somnus? Why?

[scourgingstars]

...Have you spoken to him lately?

[Like. C'mon, Noct. He's got more walls up than Insomnia.]

[carbungle]

...Okay, yeah. [Fair.] He's here, though. That's a pretty big deal.

[scourgingstars]

He is, and I'm grateful for that even if he likely had to be physically dragged most of the way. He could benefit from a few particularly patient and stubborn friends.

[carbungle]

He's got a few of those people around. The friend part's a work-in-progress.

[Somnus would have those if he let himself.]

At least he's serious about family. I didn't expect that.

[scourgingstars]

I expected differently from him myself. A pleasant surprise that I should be proven wrong, to be sure.

[carbungle]

That's good. Means progress happened.

[He gives Ardyn a searching look.]

And you talked to him?

[scourgingstars]

We did manage to speak without throttling one another, yes.

[carbungle]

[omg.

Noct actually smiles at that, like a big dork.]

That's awesome.

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn laughed softly into his hand, looking off to the side.]

It's...not a simple situation by any means. But it's already an immeasurable improvement, I think. I've you and the others to thank for that, for my part.

[carbungle]

Take some credit, though. You still had to do it yourself.

[It's good to know that his pestering helped in some way, at least. He'll remember that.]

[scourgingstars]

It isn't as though I didn't want to talk to him, despite everything. I just didn't want to argue anymore.

[carbungle]

Nah, that tracks. It's not like he's the easiest person to talk to even without all... that.

[That, as if attempted murder and thousand-year imprisonments can be so neatly summarized.]

[scourgingstars]

I feel he's changed immeasurably. Then again, without a doubt we both have.

[carbungle]

It'd probably be hard to stay the same person, after thousands of years. I can't even imagine.

[He's twenty. A timeframe like that to be alive - or at least exist in some way - is unfathomable, and in truth pretty terrifying. As if the thought of dying wasn't scary enough as it is, but if the fate of their line is what Ardyn's been forced to experience, or getting trapped in the ring... yeah, no thank you.]

[scourgingstars]

[Ardyn answered with a vague hum of acknowledgement, scarred hands fidgeting restlessly before he settled on folding his arms.]

Is it...wrong, that it didn't hurt quite as much once I thought about it? I won't call any of what happened 'fair' and quite honestly I'm going to be upset about the whole matter on all sides for a long while. But once I actually paused to consider that we've both been existing in some fashion this entire time...I don't know, it feels cruel to say something like that made me begin to resent him a little less.

[carbungle]

I don't think it's my call to say whether it's wrong or not.

[He's too far removed from that particular conflict to be anything more than an outside observer, witness only to each person's side and justification. The act itself was wrong, he can say that with confidence, and he's literally on a mission of retribution back home, so he can't fault anyone a bit of payback. But the degree of said revenge isn't up to him to decide, especially considering whose bloodline he primarily belongs to.]

Nobody would blame you for feeling that way, though. Not even Somnus, I bet. Sometimes... I dunno. It's easier to know that somebody else is hurting, too.

[Considering that finding out about Ardyn's past has helped him get through knowing what he becomes... yeah, he gets the feeling.]

[scourgingstars]

...I suppose so. It feels a bit too heartless to think of it that way, yet...maybe some vindictive part of me wants to think of it as even in a manner of speaking. And yet another part is almost envious that he was to stand sentinel over the kingdom and its line for so long while I...decidedly wasn't. Even in such a state...I would have dearly loved to be able to see such time pass by, even as a mere spectator.

[Ardyn sighed heavily, one hand resting on his hip and the other running through his hair in mild annoyance.]

But it doesn't matter, none of that does. It should never have come to this, and...he is yet my brother. I can't merely stand by feeling miserable while he's suffered and continues to do so in his typical absurdly stubborn manner.