Chapter IX

"LORA!!!" Prompto screamed at the top of his lungs. He quickly looked to the others. "Guys, we've gotta get her down! What do we do?!"

"Calm down," Ignis told him, his tone calm and collected. "Notice how the beast circles. It isn't leaving Ravatogh."

"Which means we've got a chance of getting Lorelai back down," Noctis added.

Gladio sighed in annoyance. "She wouldn't be in this mess if she'd just listen to us."

Ignis pushed up his glasses with a small sigh. "Indeed. She reminds me of two other people who act without thinking." He gave Noctis and Prompto an accusing glance before his expression turned serious again. "I have an idea. Prompto, can you hit it from here?"

"Well, yeah, but my bullets don't even affect it," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Not on its body, but on its face maybe. Think you can get a bull's-eye from this distance?"

The blond grinned at the bespectacled man. "Oooh, I see what you're getting at. One bull's-eye comin' right up."

Prompto took aim up at the bird. He followed it with his eyes for a few moments before finally pulling the trigger. A single bullet sped through the air like lightning, piercing the eye of the airborne monster. The zu let out a screech, dropping Lorelai's scythe as it staggered through the air, trying to right itself. Lorelai let out a scream as she plummeted, her weapon disappearing as she got closer and closer to the ground below.

The zu was also losing altitude. The massive monster was partially blinded and ended up crashing headfirst into the large rocks that surrounded the area. With Lorelai now within range, Noctis threw his weapon and warped up to the girl. She hastily grabbed onto him, clinging to his side as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He then warped to the ground, landing safely on his feet.

He released Lorelai who, in turn, let go of him and sighed in relief. "Thanks, Noctis." He gave a faint smile in response.

Not far from them laid the zu, slumped against the bloodied rocks it had collided into. Gladio bravely approached the dying beast. He climbed up its beak and stood atop its head. He raised his sword up high and drove it down into the monster's head, putting the beast out of its misery. He pulled his greatsword from the creature's skull, letting it disperse. He then marched over to Lorelai, who still caught her breath after the terrifying experience.

"What were you thinking?" he questioned her, crossing his arms and scowling. His tone let the girl know that he was angry. "Were you trying to get yourself killed? Lorelai, when you're in a team, you don't recklessly rush into a fight without even listening to your comrades. You put yourself and everyone else in danger."

Lorelai was stunned by his words. Talking with Gladiolus before, he had seemed pretty nice, but now, he had an intimidating side that matched his physique. Lorelai knew he was right though.

"I'm... I'm sorry." She turned her face away and rubbed her arm. "I never meant for any of you to get hurt." She looked up at the muscular male. "I just... I couldn't let you guys risk your lives for something that doesn't mean a thing to you. I fought the zu before and lost because I didn't finish it off quickly enough. Three hunters have already lost their lives up here, I wasn't going to let you four join them."

Noctis placed a hand on Gladio's shoulder, his deep blue eyes locked onto the girl. "I understand what you mean. I'm a prince, I've always had people risking life and limb for me. But when you have friends fighting by your side, it's not because they have to, it's because they want to. When you're in a team, you all fight for the same thing."

Ignis smiled slightly. "You're our friend and comrade now, Lora. We will gladly take risks to help you."

Prompto grinned and nodded. "Yeah, which means finding your necklace is important to us too."

Lorelai smiled kindly. "Alright, then. Let's find my locket."

Lorelai scanned the ground, seeing the familiar glint of metal in the sunlight. She hurried over to the object, picking it up. It was the dog tag she saw before. "The last tag, but still no sign of my locket. It has to be here, it just has to."

"We'll search every inch of the area," Ignis said.

The five scoured the summit. They climbed back up to the nest area. They dug through the thick straw and twigs in silence. Lorelai was beginning to grow desperate. After all this work, she hoped to find her necklace here, in the area where she had dropped it. She frowned to herself, thinking that maybe a monster carried it off or something. Either way, she was close to giving up when Prompto's fingers touched something of a different texture within the nest. He pulled it out of the straw. It was a simple silver chain with a gold star pendant hanging from it.

"Hey, is this it?" he asked, letting the chain dangle from his fingers.

Lorelai looked to him, her eyes landing on the necklace. Her expression instantly lightened. She gasped, a happy grin spreading across her lips. "Yes, that's it!" she exclaimed with joy. She rushed to the blond who held it out to her. She gratefully took it and clutched it to her chest. In the next instant, she wrapped her arms around Prompto's neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Prompto, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Prompto's cheeks flushed at the sudden contact. He nervously grinned. "N-No problem, L-Lora," he stuttered out.

The girl released him and gazed down at the locket in her hand, smiling happily. She glanced at the four men that gathered around her. "Thank you so much, all of you. I owe you big time."

"You don't owe us anything," Noctis told her. "Just help us find the royal tombs."

Lorelai pointed past the corpse of the zu. "There's a small path over there that leads to a tomb. I saw it when the zu was flying me around."

The group headed down and around the massive bird, finding a small path, just as Lorelai said. The black-haired girl followed behind the others, staring down at the locket in her hand with a smile on her lips. Prompto slowed his pace and walked alongside her. Lorelai opened the locket, gazing at the picture within. Prompto leaned his head over, wanting to see the photo too.

"Wow, she's pretty. Actually, she looks a lot like you."

Lorelai's smile only widened and she glanced at Prompto. "She's my mother. This is the only thing I have left of her, and thanks to you guys, I have it back at last."

"Aw, no problem. We're happy to help." He grew silent briefly, hesitant to ask her the question on his mind. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened to your mother?"

Lorelai's smile faded. The memory flashed through her mind. "She... She was killed," she answered in a dull tone.

Prompto quickly replied, "Sorry, I didn't mean to-."

"It's alright." Lorelai flashed him a small smile. "It was a long time ago. I don't think about it much anymore."

Silence fell over the two. Lorelai clutched the locket briefly before fastening it around her neck. She didn't know what else to say to Prompto. Her past shouldn't concern him or the others. But Prompto pondered to himself about it. He trusted Lorelai, and liked being around her, but he wished that she'd give him a clue, even just a tiny hint, about her life before she met Cor. But he knew that everyone had things they liked to keep to themselves. It's not like he went around telling everyone that he was born in Niflheim. He figured Lorelai had things she'd rather have no one know, same as him.

Following the path along the cliff, the group came to a royal tomb. Noctis unlocked the door and went inside. The prince collected the royal arm and the five decided to make their way back down the mountain before night fell. Fortunately, going down was much easier than going up. They hurried back to Verinas by dusk, handing the dog tags to Dave and renting the caravan for the night. They sat inside, enjoying a meal that Ignis prepared.

"So, Lora, what was your mother like?" Noctis asked, starting up a conversation based on what he and the others overheard earlier.

"Noct!" Ignis snapped. "It's rude to bring up a subject like that!"

"No, it's okay," Lorelai said. She smiled sadly down at her food while the four men listened intently. "My mother... She was an amazing person. She was so kind and caring. She would always put others before herself and she could always make me smile. She was often busy, so I didn't always get to spend time with her, but when I did, we had so much fun together."

"She was often busy?" Gladio echoed skeptically. "Was she a hunter?"

Lorelai paused before answering, "No... nothing of the sort. She has nothing to do with my fighting skills, if that's what you're wondering. But she could use light magic like it was no big deal. She was way stronger with it than me."

"So you inherited her magic," Ignis stated. "Interesting. What of your father? You have yet to mention him."

"Oh, I never knew him," Lorelai explained. "He died when I was a baby. My mother told me stories about him, but otherwise, he was a complete stranger to me. Apparently, he became gravely ill when my mother was pregnant with me, and by the time I was born, he was already dying. But just once, I'd like to have met him."

"Sorry to hear that." Noctis sympathized with the girl. "I understand your loss, my mother and father were both taken from me too."

"I-I'm sorry," the girl muttered. Noctis waved a hand dismissively, silently telling her that it was okay. Lorelai only just realized that she'd finished her meal. "Well, I think we should all get some rest. We'll be heading out tomorrow, right?"

The four men nodded. After eating, everyone got cleaned up and situated in their beds. Lorelai kept a low-lit lamp next to her bed, like usual. She laid awake for a while, thinking back on the fun times she had back in Siderum. Exploring the castle, reading books in the library, playing on the beach or in the city, she had great times with her mother, her advisor, and many of the servant children. A small tear slid down her face. It had been a long time since she'd felt as homesick as she did then.

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