theairlock | Afterparty 1: Booze For All

Afterparty 1: Booze For All

[WELL THAT CERTAINLY WAS SHIT. Considering how shitty everyone felt after the shit show that was that trial, Zombina didn’t feel comfortable just… letting everyone go off and drown in their own misery alone.

There was only one possible thing to do now.

Drink to forget. Also possibly talk about feelings and deface the lovely picture of Rox’s face she and Chloe got Max to make a while back.

So Zombina goes around to collect as many donations of alcohol as possible, along with spreading the word about the afterparty. If people don’t open their doors, then a note is slid under the door reading:]

Come to the cafeteria. We have free booze and company!!! Be sure to bring any food or booze ya got! -Zombina

[ Zombina’s set up the portrait with an marker beside it. A note in large letters says: “Deface Shark-chan for fun. Be as crude or lewd as ya wanna be. Feel free to hit it, stab it, or otherwise do whatever to it.
The Memorial Canvas has several new names on it. Lucina, Tsurugi Kamishiro, Miki Naoki, and Chitose Karasuma. There’s hand writing under all but Chitose’s. There's writing utensils next to it,
along with the usual note saying to write whatever you liked about that person, or though about them, or wished you could tell them, etc., under the names.]

Lucina-chan, ya didn’t deserve what happened ta ya. I might not be able ta go and take out Grima for ya, but I’ll sure as hell try and get my teammates ta do so in my steed.

Tsurugi-kun, I consider ya ta be a person, and a good one at that. This never woulda happened if it weren’t for Shark-chan. I hope that you find peace and happiness in the afterlife.

Miki-chan, You were an strong person. Your loss is a huge blow to us all. I’ll do what I can about your world. I know you were scared of me ta one degree or another, but I still feel like I need ta do something for ya.

[The woman herself can be found manning the drinks, with several empty cups laid out ready to be filled. There’s an area with an note reading “Communal Booze Stash: Donations Always Accepted!” On the table where the booze is. So far there’s a bottle of whisky nabbed from Chloe’s stuff. It’s what she would’ve wanted. There’s also a table with bowls and spoons and the ice cream from Chloe’s stuff as well.
She waves a freshly stitched up hand at whoever passes by. She kinda fucked up her fingers on both hands at the trial, so she had to realign them. The cut from the blood check is also freshly stitched up.]

Ya got any donations for the Communal Booze Stash? Or are ya here for an cup?

[Later once everyone is sufficiently drunk, Zombina can be found at the picture of Rox, doodling shark teeth over her mouth and adding devil horns.]

Whaddya… whaddya think? I think this should be hung up for postier…. Pos… later use?

[She’s…. really smashed and giggles at her own sentence.]

[Otherwise, Zombina is free to approach and/or pull over to talk too at her at anytime, both pre-drunk and post-drunk.]

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[Luna will come by sometimes later, with some sweetened coffee (that she made herself! It's weaker than it should be, but she tried) and this thing. It's cute?

She quietly knocks on the door and waits.]

[Eventually, the door opens, and if Prompto looks like hell, at least he's here.]

Lady Lunafreya...

[He blinks, exhausted to the point of blankness, but then looks down at Mr. Cute Narwhal Friend.]

...?

[At least he answered the door. She holds out the coffee to him.]

It is my first attempt at making coffee on my own so I hope it is alright. [Narwhal buddy gets handed over next.] I'm not quite sure what manner of creature this is, but since it was blue... It reminded me of Lucie. Would you like to have it?

[O...h...

He takes the coffee automatically--Ignis trained it into all of them, really, putting necessary comforts into their hands when things were bad, even when he himself was hurting--but when she mentions the blue, when she uses Lucina's nickname...

His eyes tear up once more even though he'd have thought he'd be all cried out by now. The hand he put out to touch it shakes, and then he draws it back to scrub uselessly at his already red and puffy eyes, biting his lip.]

You don't... have to... [He sniffs and makes soft hiccuping noises. It's about all he's capable of anymore.] Sh-she was your friend, too...

[She shakes her head, continuing to hold it out for him. She doesn't want to shove it into his arms unless she has to.]

She was dear to you. You need the comfort far more than I do... Please?

Sh-she already left me...

[If he keeps holding the coffee while his hands are shaking like this, he's going to spill all Lunafreya's hard work on the floor. He takes a deep breath and moves to set the coffee down, then picks up a length of bright fabric, blue on one side, red on the other.

He throws it around his shoulders and pulls it tightly around himself.]

See? I... she thought I looked cold, and I... I never. Had a chance to give it back to her.

[...

He sits on the edge of his bed, letting a shuddering breath out, hanging his head as he clings to the feeble comfort of Lucina's cape.

He never had a chance for a lot of things.]

[What a painful reminder to have, yet so sweet. Luna feels a little jealous despite herself. All she ever had that belonged to Noctis was the diary exchanges...

She steps into the room before the door closes, shaking her head.]

No one ever truly leaves us. Not while we keep their memories in our hearts. The pain... It never gets easier, but you learn how to live with it, and make it into a strength. [She sets the blue whale bedside Prompto.] Lucie, too, knew the pain of losing others, and yet she kept fighting....... Each takes their own time to grieve, and their own ways, but I know that you will become stronger, Prompto Argentum.

[Prompto doesn't respond right away. It's a heavy thing to say: That strength comes from hurt and loss, and that she knows he'll get stronger. He knows it, too, in his own way. He knows his own youth and inexperience will turn to something else, in time. He's not so young he doesn't know just how young he is or how much more he'll have to go through in the life he's chosen.

But to have her acknowledge it... to hear her talk about grief and sorrow and the growth within them... that strikes Prompto as very, very sad.

He picks up the narwhal and studies its dapper, friendly face for a moment, then sits it in his lap. The space beside him, where Luna placed it--he taps the spot and looks up at her through the floppy screen of his hair.

Sit with him, Luna.]

Is that your strength, Lady Lunafreya? All... all the pain you've gone through all this time?

[His eyes glisten with tears, but with empathy, too. There's no one on Eos who doesn't know the Oracle's story. And Prompto's had the rare privilege of hearing some of its truth from Noct.]

[There was no reason to pretend that pain wasn't a large part of Lunafreya's life. That everyone knew her story, though few the finer details. It was all well and fine. As a public figure, her life was out in the open, to be taken apart and construed however people wanted it to be. She feels she has very few things to hide.

With a nod, she sits down, folding her hands in her lap.]

All I can do is use it as a strength. Though... I look to the future as well. A future where we need not fear the darkness, or what lies in it. [It's a silly notion to some in their world. The darkness has always been there and would always be there. But did it really have to be so? Can they live in a world with no daemons?] Hopes and dreams can be strengths as well, and our duties. One can draw strength from many things. Limiting myself to just the pain I have gone through would place limits on other things in life. I would be trapped in the past, and that is no way to live.

The future...

[It's not something Prompto's ever given serious thought. He's always let himself be swept up in whatever's going on around him--school, friends, Noct... a letter from a princess far, far away.]

What--um. [This is kind of personal, and he dithers before asking, but ask he does.] What kind of future do you hope for? I mean, besides saving the world.

[...Lucie... Lucie told him not to ask. But he has to know. He has to know if, in that future, there's something like happiness waiting for them.]

Do you wanna marry Noct?

[That's a bit of a loaded question. Both of them. It should be a simple yes or no, but is Luna a yes or no person? She sits up straighter, looking ahead at the wall, her head slowly moving up and down in an affirmative motion.]

I do wish to marry him, more than anything. To have a future where we can both laugh together and never have to be apart again. No more distance between us, no more having to use a journal to tell one another that we are thinking of the other... That is all I wish for. To be able to call Noctis my husband would make me the happiest woman in the world.

[But the duty she's been given... Sorry, Prompto, she already has a feeling that this is not what fate has in store for her.]

[His smile is thinner, fainter than his usual wont. Gentler, too, though. If he's drowning in heartache, wave after wave crashing over his head, to hear this is like seeing a glimmer of light in the distance. Land ho; home, sweet home.]

I think he feels weird about the arranged marriage thing. And the... what it led to. But...

[There's a lump in his throat, but he puts his hand over Luna's, warm and very human. They lost so much today, but there's someone waiting for them, watching in the distance. All they have to do is keep their heads above water for just a little longer. Just long enough to let him know they're there.]

Noct wants to see you more than anything else, Lady Lunafreya. E-even... especially now. So if that's what both of you want...

[She said so, didn't she? Lucie told him that Luna needs him. So even though he feels the tide will crush him, he has to keep going.]

I'll do everything I can to make it happen. You're... you're my friends. I owe you that much.

[There had been some thoughts about that: what if Noctis rejected the marriage in the end? What if instead he wanted to choose his own bride? Of course she's had these thoughts, anyone who is engaged does. It stings a little knowing, still. She was always set on marrying Noctis. But Noctis? His life was far different than hers. He had freedom, at least more than Lunafreya ever had. Twelve years of separation might have changed his mind... Please, don't let it be so.

Prompto placing his hand on hers drowns those thoughts out and she appreciates the gesture.]

... Thank you. All I wish for is his happiness, and I'll fight for it as well. No matter his choice in the end.

[He chuckles wetly.]

I know this isn't what you mean, but if he chooses to be anything but happy, I'm gonna help you beat him up for his lunch money.

[And wouldn't that be a sight? He has every faith she could do it. Chosen King his ass, Lady Lunafreya's the fucking boss and all the Chocobros know it.

He sniffles and holds Mr. Fish-horn closer to his tummy.]

Don't worry about it too much. There's nobody he loves the same way he loves you.

[That makes her laugh softly, trying to imagine beating up Noctis. She knows she couldn't, but a stern word or two would set him right.]

I wouldn't know why he would choose to be anything but happy. I will keep your offer in mind.

[It's good to be future Queen.]

And there is no one I love more than him.

...I hope you tell him, as soon as we all meet up again.

[He plays idly with the chain of Mr. Narwhal's dapper monocle and thinks of blue eyes full of tears, tears and a strange mark he'd never been close enough to notice before. There were so many things he was never close enough to see.

He thinks of her and he thinks of Noct waking to ruin and a ring in his hand.]

I think. I think it's something he needs to hear.

[She reaches over, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it.]

I promise I will.

[She is not going to make that a mistake in her life. She will tell Noctis, and hope he accepts it.]

[He looks up and his mouth wobbles, but he reaches up to put his hand over hers. Comfort. Contact. It's all any of them can offer in the wake of loss.]

I...I swear I'll be the best maid of honor you've ever had.

[Prompto. Prompto, there are so many things wrong with the statement you just stated.]

[If Noctis could see them, would he feel comforted that these two can console each other? Luna hopes so.

Then Prompto replies and she stops feeling sentimental. She stares for just a moment before a soft giggle escapes. She's quick to cover her mouth before more slips out.

SORRY, PROMPTO.]

[Even on the cusp of tears, Prompto manages to take a deep breath and cross his arms.]

What? What, do you have someone else in mind? There's a waiting list twelve and a half feet deep to be Noct's best man and either of those six-foot-plus monsters could break me in half!

[Oh gosh, is he actually offended? Lunafreya shakes her head.]

I have a feeling Noctis would pick you over the other two... if he does indeed pass you over, I would be honored to have you as my maid-of-honor. [And as a quick add on-] You wouldn't have to wear a dress.

[Well, Noct did shove him off a train, so maybe the honor will go to Ignis after all? Dude deserves it. Prompto can't be mad.

Anyway, he lets out an overdone sigh of relief.]

Thank goodness. You know, these shoulders just wouldn't look good in something strappy, Luna.

[Focus on the future. Challenge their fate. If he can make this happen, bring Luna back from the dead, change the world... then maybe, maybe, he can make up for whatever it was that put that betrayal in Noct's voice. Maybe he can do what Lucina wanted. Maybe he can help.

He doesn't even notice he's used Noct's nickname for her.]

[Please don't tell Luna that Noct shoved you off of a train, she would want to have some harsh words with her future husband because of it.

Hearing him say Luna so casually makes her still. The only people who have ever called her that... only one of them was here right now.]

... Prompto, this might sound strange, but... do you consider me a friend?

[It's a 180 of their conversation, but please, humor her.]

What? Huh? Of course we're--

[Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. That's his heart rate flat-lining because oh god he just realized what he called her.]

Oh! Oh no, was that--was that too... I, I'm sorry, it's just that's what Noct calls you all the time and I got used to it and I've been trying to be respectful, b-but we were talking about the wedding and the bridal party and... I got carried away, I won't do it again if you don't want me to.

[PROMPTO, DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT!]

I do not mind at all. I never quite knew how to bring up that you needn't be so formal with me all the time.

[Meaning: Call her Luna.]

Afterparty 1: Booze For All

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