daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

[That's right, slippers! At least they're plain black ones, and not at all as hideous as the scarves he likes to wear.

He quirks a brow, uncertain if he should settle on being amused or concerned.]

Far be it from me to stop you from taking a nap on my front porch, but don't you have a bed for that?

[So that was the amused part. Here comes the concern. The boy's dressed like he just got out of bed, after all. (Nice chocobo PJ pants.)] Is everything all right?

[the air that he pushes out of his lungs after the question feels heavy and vindicating, as he turns his attention back to rufus and continues to pet the dog down his spine and back.]

I had a nightmare.

[--and winces. that sure sounds childish. his voice is softer now;]

...I didn't realise I was running until I got here.

[He pauses at that answer, frowning a little. A nightmare that caused him to run, all the way out here? And end up on his doorstep?

Worrisome, to say the least.]

I see. It must have been a very terrible nightmare.

[He swings the door open wider, taking a step back.] If you want to get it off your chest, we can talk about it if you like. But even if you'd rather not, at least don't let me send you off until you've had something to drink. Camomile tea might relax you.

Or, if you'd rather not bother with sleep anyway, a cup of a coffee instead.

[he stands up at the offer, wiggling his toes onto the floor's surface and rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.]

I don't... honestly remember what it was about. I just remember feeling like I was going to die, uh, sorry for how dramatic that sounds. It felt pretty realistic, so I guess, fight or flight...

[he steps inside, rufus following beside him]

But, I don't remember details or anything. Just the feeling.

[immediately, rufus follows a trail of cat scent. prompto but glances over at the dog heading over to the living room, not quite remembering the cats yet]

Coffee makes my tummy act up... [he's feeling bad for imposing on the professor. he's returned to feeling meek and awkward, even if he's sporting his a+ cool chocobo pjs] Wa-water's probably fine.

[shoves his hands into the pockets of said cool pj pants, holding onto the fabric. he's still mildly shaking. from the cold? nightmare? both?]

Edited 2017-03-19 23:27 (UTC)

Ah, right. Your stomach. [He supposes coffee is out of the question, then, and waves for Prompto to follow him into the living area. Ardyn keeps his home relatively neat, and the living room is open and inviting, with one black cat perched on the arm of the couch. It's a small, sleek and black little thing, and it mews softly as it sees the little puppy approach.

The other two cats are both sleeping on Ardyn's bed, so as luck would have it, the dog will be dealing with the friendlier, more curious feline -- at the very least, the cat (named Erebus) doesn't look disturbed. Nor does he move just yet.]

Have a seat. [He motions at the couch, obviously not feeling nearly as awkward about this as Prompto is.] I'll grab you a glass from the kitchen. Erebus can keep you company in the meanwhile.

[he glances over and then back, not having quite ever been in the house at this hour. the shadows makes things look stranger, like a quiet stop in time. at the name of the cat and his eyes adjusting to see, in fact, that black cat on the arm of the couch and rufus nosing at it, prompto questions]

Shadow? Ah, thank you, sir.

[he knows something or another about greek literature (probably some popular culture reference, to be honest), but doesn't wait for a reply as he sits himself down by it, legs crossed, quickly becoming friendly with the cat in question.]

[in many ways prompto is still like a kid, fascinated by small wonders and enamoured by what nature has to offer--especially in the form of animals]

[ardyn will return to find prompto lying flat on the couch, erebus on his chest and rufus spread out over his legs. very casual.]

[He returns with a glass of water in one hand, and a mug of coffee for himself. The scent fills the room, warm and welcoming. Ardyn walks over to where Prompto is now lying down, and his smile skews crooked for a second, because what an amusing sight this is. He offers the glass of water to the boy.]

Shadow, primordial darkness... a fitting name for a small, friendly cat, I think. [He jokes, but honestly, he does like the name. He thinks it's perfect for a cat, most especially.

After Prompto takes the glass, he's going to cross the room to turn on a light switch; a lamp in the corner flickers on, enough to illuminate the room for company, but still subdued enough for the late hour. Erebus continues to purr contently while on Prompto's chest.]

Animals are a gift for the ungodly hours, aren't they? They're easy to take comfort in, when plagued by bad dreams or a mild insomnia.

[prompto grins. ardyn's sense of humour is hard to find sometimes, but once past the whole Professor Intimidation, it's impossible to not catch it in his words now more often than not. it's that biting sarcasm; quite fitting, prompto thinks.]

[although he holds the glass, it's kind of over his head--as he tries to not dislodge shadow from his spot and also not spill the water all over himself. (he'll manage eventually, let him squirm for a while.)]

Yeah... I wanna think Rufus came with me 'cause he thought something was wrong.

[anddd, he manages! he's sat up, keeping close hold of shadow onto his free arm. forward with the water drinking--the entire glass's contents gone in nearly one go.]

[and, just like the water brings a more calm semblance of order to his otherwise overworked body, ardyn's words sink in. and his curiosity just won't stop at this point.]

D'you suffer from insomnia, sir?

[Ardyn makes his way to an armchair on the other side of the living room, just adjacent from where the couch is located. The professor sinks into it, leaning forward enough to enjoy his coffee in comfort. A sip is taken before he responds.

Erebus swishes his tail, but doesn't seem to mind that Prompto is sitting up. He continues purring, lightly kneading his paws into Prompto's clothing as he's being held.

Ardyn shrugs.]

A self-inflicted insomnia. I've always felt awake more at night than I do in the day. [Which is funny, because Ardyn seems just as lucid then as he does now.] When one gets into the habit of having terrible sleeping habits, the body adjusts accordingly. As far as my internal clock is concerned, four hours of sleep is relatively normal at this rate.

[Minus the days when his body decides that enough is enough, and has to crash for the entire afternoon. Somehow, Ardyn's managed to usually delegate such happenings on a weekend.]

Sounds rough.

[doctor prompto in the house]

[he moves his legs about and rufus stirs, opting to instead curl up comfortably against prompto's side as he crosses his legs, making the perfect spot for erebus to plop down onto. surrounded by animals is prompto's favourite past time.]

But, I feel that. I like the later afternoon portion of the day better. Mornings are just too early.

[blinking away some of the still-sleepy blur in his eyes, he rubs at them]

Kinda glad I didn't end up waking you up though.

Edited 2017-03-22 18:26 (UTC)

[He shrugs a little, not terribly bothered by his own admittance of having terrible sleeping habits.]

It isn't as bad as it sounds. Maybe it's just the way I was made; sleep is fleeting, but I can still function. It's more of a blessing than it is a curse.

[Another sip of his coffee, then he holds the mug on his lap, fingers lacing around the ceramic to feel the warmth seep through.]

Especially for a mind that's been thinking too much for its own good. All this business with Retrospec and memories leaves me wide-awake at 3 AM fairly often.

I feel bad that I don't really know what that's like...

[is he lucky? or just immune to this bullshit that's been going on. in fact, he's just fortunate that he is easily distracted from something hanging over their heads like this with his day to day activities.]

Y'shouldn't think yourself to exhaustion over it, I think.

I should only hope that you never have to experience it, Prompto.

[He raises one hand to make a dismissive motion. From down one hallway, a faint jingling can be heard. Another cat, a tortoiseshell, saunters in, tail up and curious as to what's going on. Ardyn doesn't seem to pay it any heed for now, too used to the felines skulking around his house at night.]

But I'm not trying to garner pity from you. It's my decision to mull over strange memories; apparently, I'm -- was -- a healer. [He laughs.] Can you even imagine?

[but prompto notices! and upon doing so, he's leaning on his side (to not disturb shadow) and his arms spread over the couch's edge. glass down on the floor, he clicks his fingers in hopes of getting the tortoiseshell cat's attention. that cute jingling...!? rufus has perked up, raising his head to peer at the cat, and prompto hopes to be blessed with a sniff or two from the new cat...]

[he's listening to ardyn though, and pulls a full-stop at the admission of a second memory. what's going on?]

A healer?

[peels away the layer of video games, and religious 'healer' leaders, and lands himself on a more normal idea of: doctor]

I... Like a doctor, right?

[You don't have to pull away the video game layer, Prompto, it's exactly that.]

No, not a medical doctor. A healer. The sort with a magical touch, the kind that cures people suffering from an unfathomable plague.

[Said as casually as if he's talking about the weather. But he's had time to linger on it, so its impact -- while still very confusing and strange -- has lost its oomph by now.

The tortoiseshell cat (named Morla) seems interested in Prompto enough to walk over to him, sniffing at his fingertips, but remaining just out of reach to be petted properly. Ardyn tries not to look too amused at the sight. It's such a cat thing to do.]

[he wiggles his fingers, unable to reach morla... he still tries, despite looking away and up at ardyn. rufus has closed the space between his nose and the cat, snifing and huffing at the ket in a non-threatening way.]

Maybe this is your past life? You know, reincarnation and stuff.

[a tilt of his head and he sits back up, sinking into the couch's cushions]

You're generally good at looking after others though, so it's not that crazy to consider.

[he's got a simple way of looking at this]

[Morla just... continues to sniff at Prompto's fingers, sitting down (still out of reach), swishing her tail. She then sniffs at Rufus as the puppy draws closer, but not bothered enough to do anything about it.

Ardyn arches a brow.]

I'm not actually in the habit of looking after many. These cats have been the recent exception to the rule, but nothing else.

[It says something for Ardyn that he doesn't consider anything else he does as actually "going out of the way" to help.]

Not to mention you're rather quick to adhere to the reincarnation theory. That was just a superfluous idea many people were tossing around, for the lack of a better explanation.

Well, I meant... people, y'know. [uh]

[feels awkward suddenly, so he just scratches at the back of his head]

I guess I don't really have a good theory for it, and it's the only one that seems even remotely possible. Whatever the case, I can't come up with a good answer for it.

What kinda thing did you see in your memory?

[He wraps his fingers around his mug again, considering. His tone, while as casual as before, seems to have the smallest tinge of seriousness to it now.]

People who were sick. People who were dying. [At least, he thinks they were. How could they not have been, enveloped in that kind of suffering?] Men, women, children. Rich and poor, young and old. I remember-

[He reaches out a hand, idly in the air.] -healing them with touch, traveling around the world to do so. Taking their suffering from them, so that I could carry it instead.

[that's so cult-y?!]

[prompto can't help the surprised expression on his face]

Wuoh... That's something else. So, forget just reincarnation. How about a parallel universe? You know, like the Mandela Effect.

[you've come to the right man; prompto knows enough video games and sci-fi movies and conspiracy theories to feed into these ideas as Normal, and not crazy at all.]

[It is cult-y sounding, and Ardyn is more than aware of this. In fact, it'd be a bit comical if it didn't feel so real.

He huffs out what might be an amused-sounding scoff.]

I think you've been playing too many video games, Prompto.

[Calling him out on it! But-] If there is another me out there, going around healing people from a mysterious disease, then I'd like to meet him. He leads a far more interesting life than I do, and I have too many questions that need answered.

[prompto has the dignity of looking slightly ashamed at the accusation of playing too many videos games, a quiet eheh... and a look to the side, (because it's true; he somehow finds the time for this superfluous addiction)]

[but he takes it in stride, because ardyn is going along with his theory even though it isn't much of one]

[his eyes flicker back to ardyn, on a more serious note]

Considering this hypothetical scenario, do you think he also is getting flashes of your life? [a pause, because he doesn't feel comfortable saying more... but, the general growing closer to the other over the past several weeks push him onwards] He must think it's nice. Interesting in its own right.

[prompto doesn't want ardyn to sell himself short?!]

[Meanwhile, Morla moves to the middle of the living room and decides it's as good of a place as any to lie down. Ardyn seems to give a hum of consideration at Prompto's musings.

He's not so much selling himself short, he simply cannot imagine how a man that goes around healing the sick with magic can possibly be enamored with that of a law professor's life.]

Interesting in a novel sort of way, maybe. I can at least take comfort in the fact that he's probably just as lost as I am.

[normalcy can be a thing those in magical settings crave for]

[you could ask the main villain in the video game that came out last november, eh]

I mean... Yeah? I guess it does go without saying. To have implanted sort of memories...

[rufus settles back down, and erebus twists so that his belly is up and for prompto to scritchscratch at. which he does. his eyes, instead, focus on morla]

There may not be a definitive answer, but... I think you're pretty great, sir.

[um]

[That video game main villain would probably never admit it out loud, but that mundane, normal life of a law professor? He'd likely prefer it a million times more to an eternal life of apathy and being a monster.

But, you know, just sayin'.

Still, Ardyn looks at Prompto, then huffs out a light laugh.]

Well, thank you, Prompto. How could I not appreciate such high praise? I'll not have you misunderstand, though. I'm happy with my life as it is now. It's just difficult not to be curious, as I'm sure you would understand.

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