#which is ... also a stark contrast to sword because I kept delaying it because it was SO INTENSE and I was sick and my body needed it's time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jastiss-blog · 6 years

Text

Trial by Fire (Ignis/femOC) sfw Chapter 3 - Lancet

Hi guys! Sorry for the wait... I actually wrote this and posted it to AO3 some time ago, but health caused a delay to port it over. I’ve been neglecting my original work for this, but Ignis demands my attention and I can’t not give in. Hahaha

Thank you so much for the support thus far! Tumblr decided not to give me any damn notifications, so I swear I’m not trying to be a butt.

Tags for @hypaalicious and @gudetamazing

This chapter: in which Callie talks backstory and why she’s so adamant to succeed within the Crownsguard even at the expense of her well-being. Ignis is not content to let her health go to the wayside and takes matters into his own hands. Cue some feels, angst and comfort.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 (I think I did these right. Usually I link to the AO3 chapter, but we’ll see if this works.)

The third day found Callie flat on her back in the training room, daggers still in hand as she lay spread-eagled on the mats. It had been weeks since she and Ignis had been able to spar; her training and his duties kept them rather busy. However, Council was adjourned for the day, so Ignis slipped down to the training room, hoping to find Callie.

Find her he did, lying alone in the large, silent room. At first, he thought she was asleep, but her eyes were wide open, staring at the exposed ducts in the ceiling high above.

"There we have it," Ignis laughed. Only Callie's eyes moved to acknowledge his presence. "Bested by the ceiling, it seems. I knew something would bring you down, someday."

The girl's chest shook in a quiet chuckle. Slowly, she brought her feet up to rest flat on the floor and pulled her arms in as she sat up, raven hair pooling on the floor at her waist. The strategist noted how it shone in the artificial light of the room. Ignis surmised it was much the same as Noct's hair color, an almost metallic black with a silvery sheen. However, he never before found himself noting just how lovely the color was as it shone, never had the urge to strip off his ever-present driving gloves and see if the tresses were as silky as they seemed.

“You feeling alright, Ignis?” Callie asked, cocking her head as she inspected him. Her voice sounded tired. Astrals, all of her screamed exhaustion.

Shoving his unwarranted thoughts aside, Ignis smiled and went to kneel beside his friend.

“Callie, I discovered you lying here on the floor in what appears to be a wearied stupor, and you are asking after my well-being?” he queried, voice gentle. “Please, be not concerned. Can I... get you something?”

She shook her head rather slowly. Callie felt like her body was moving in slow motion while the world around her ran at double speed. Training during the last few weeks had been brutal, but her offer to join the Crownsguard was contingent upon her ability to do well at the tasks Cor and Clarus assigned her.

“I'm fine, but thank you,” she finally replied. Ignis didn’t miss the glazed look in her silver eyes. “Day off today. Making sure my skills are sharp.”

“Oh?” Ignis asked, frowning. “What skills are those? I’ve never seen the Crownsguard have need for lying down and staring at the ceiling. That is the prince’s job.”

The joke was enough to send Callie into a fit of cackles, briefly startling the strategist. Sure, he had heard the woman laugh before, but not this all-consuming mirth. He found that he rather enjoyed the musical quality of her voice and barely escaped the urge to guffaw right along with her.

As Callie reigned herself in, Ignis began to notice that in addition to being dead tired, his friend was also rather pale and her already thin frame was markedly thinner than the last time they met. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, a stark contrast against her beautiful pale skin. Her skin was drawn under high cheekbones and was losing its luster. Concerned, Ignis leaned forward and frowned deeply.

“Mortifera,” he chastised, intentionally using her first name. “Have you been eating? Sleeping? Performing the basic necessities to keep yourself healthy?”

She didn’t answer, giving Ignis all the information he needed. He sighed and moved to sit beside his friend, cross-legged.

“Callie, training without self-care is a waste. Your skills won’t benefit you if your body simply cannot function on a basic level,” Ignis explained. “Why are you subjecting yourself to such destructive practices?”

It took so long for her to answer, Ignis thought she had fallen asleep beside him. Finally, she spoke.

"Offer to join is contingent upon my successes," she explained. "I want to make sure I'm the best, and that they have no regrets in allowing me to be a part of the rankings."

"Be honest with me, Callie," Ignis urged, knowing there was more to the story.

"I should work on something while I'm sitting here," she groused, avoiding his probing. "Is there anything I can do while sitting? I think my legs are done."

There was a pause in which Ignis summoned his daggers with a flash and handed them to Callie. "Throwing practice. Hit the target on the wall, there."

"I am absolutely not getting up every time I throw them-" she began.

"I will summon them," Ignis broke in. "Go ahead. Tell me what is bothering you."

Callie threw the first dagger and missed the target by a wide margin. Initially, she was silent, staring at nothing before she shook her head and grabbed the second dagger.

"I need this to happen," she whispered, throwing the dagger and hitting the wall to the right of the target. "Sure, I could go back to being a hunter full-time but... doing something real, doing something important... I just want to have that sort of security and satisfaction that I've done something with myself."

Ignis stayed silent, calling his daggers back to his hands and presenting them to Callie to keep throwing.

"My dad... he's gone," Callie began to elaborate. Her breath hitched, but she plowed on, throwing a dagger with deadly accuracy. "It's all my fault, Ignis. I told you, we lived in Lestallum where we weren't protected by the wall. I don't know if you've been there much but the lights kept on by the plant keep the city safe. Outside of the city, however..."

The blond's heart clenched. He had a feeling he knew where the story was headed and struggled to keep from reaching out to provide comfort.

"I was seven. We had gone out to see my aunt who lived at an outpost in the south of Cleigne. She and dad had been chatting for a bit too long, so we left later than expected. He raced toward home but night fell before we could get back."

Another silence reigned while Callie tried to keep the tears pricking at her eyes from falling. Twenty years later, it was still just as tough to think about the night her father died. Taking a deep breath, she threw the second dagger with more force than intended. It hit the mark dead-on and sunk in, leaving Ignis thankful he didn't have to pry it from the wall.

"I had this toy... a little stuffed moogle that I absolutely adored. He came everywhere with me; he was my best friend. I stuck him out the window because he wanted to know what it felt like to fly and I lost my grip..."

Sadness rolled off of Callie in waves. Ignis was no longer content to sit away from her while she bared her soul to him, emotion spurring him to tentatively scoot closer and rest a gloved palm on her upper back. Callie smiled weakly up at him and continued.

"I screamed at him, Ignis. There was no way we could leave my best friend there in the dark. I thought sure we'd never find him," she said, tilting her head back as her eyebrows drew together in despair. "I was so young and didn't understand the world. I screamed and screamed and kicked the back of his seat until he stopped the car. My daddy would do anything for me. He got out of the car to grab moogle and I sat up to watch him come back. The air around him shifted, the ground roiled with black fog and purple sparkles. Before I knew it, an Iron Giant had dragged itself from the ground."

Subconsciously, the strategist began rubbing gentle circles on Callie's back as she spoke. Both were spellbound.

"I watched on as the daemon raised its sword and obliterated my daddy as he was trying to run away. His blood sprayed the back window. I don't recall much other than curling up in the back seat, where I stayed until the rescue crew found me the next morning. I don't... remember a whole lot from around that time.

"The first time I saw an Iron Giant as an adult, I froze. I heard myself scream as if from far away...it came at me and I almost faced the same fate as my father, despite all the work I had put in to become a hunter. It wasn’t until it grabbed me and was ready to squash me that I came to. Ripped its hand clean off and continued to hack it down by targeting the joints.”

It was at that point that Callie couldn't control the tears. She gripped her knees, dragging them roughly to her chest as great sobs wracked her tiny frame. Beside her, Ignis was awkwardly patting her back, unsure of how to proceed. He didn't have very much experience with sobbing females, after all. Callie seemed so lost in her anguish and it cut Ignis so deeply that he reacted on instinct, wrapping his arms about her and drawing her into his lap.

Immediately, the girl turned in his grip and pressed her face to his chest, her long fingers clutching the lapels of his dress coat for dear life. A deep crimson blush flashed across Ignis's face and ears and a small part of his mind complained that his dress fatigues would be dirtied by tears and mucus, but he pointedly ignored that part of himself as he resumed rubbing circles on Callie's back.

Beneath his gloves, Ignis's hands tingled; they ached to be free of their leather prisons that they may touch Callie unhindered. Anxiety crept in as his fingers twitched, realizing the compromising position he had placed himself in. Heat rose in his cheeks as the blush spread and he tried to ignore the way his heart raced.

Callie said something, but it was too muffled in Ignis's chest to make out the words.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked, leaning back slightly to try to see her face.

The action caused her to grip his coat harder, though she did lift her face with a great sigh. Emerald met stormy silver and both parties flushed at the intimacy of the situation.

"I, um..." Callie started, releasing her death grip on Ignis. "Well. I'm so sorry. I've never, well... I've never really dealt with what happened, clearly."

"Quite alright," the strategist replied. His crossed legs were numb and tingling, but he didn't dare move. "My apologies for causing you to relive such a painful experience. I would never intentionally cause you such heartache."

When Callie leaned back to draw in a deep breath and wipe tears from her face, the air left his lungs as if he'd been kicked in the chest. Her jet-black makeup trailed down her face in rivulets where the tears had fallen, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy, and yet...

Astrals, she was so beautiful.

"It's ok, really," she assured him, a small smile gracing her lips. "It feels like I've just lanced a festering wound, actually. Quite a healing experience. Completely embarrassing having a breakdown on a new friend, but hey. We take what we can get, I guess."

Neither party attempted to move. Callie closed her eyes, willing her heart rate to come down after her freakout. At the same time, Ignis noticed that his hands had settled comfortably upon her hips and quickly moved to reposition them, another blush chasing the tails of the last, mottling his fair skin.

"Anyway," Callie resumed her tale, finally standing and reaching a hand down to pull Ignis up with her, "I wanted to fight after that. I started taking small hunts in town, deliberately chasing down as tough of demons that I could take on. My strength built and I started making a name for myself in town."

The tactician was disappointed at the loss of contact with his sparring partner, but managed to suppress any outward signs of the fact. He watched as she stretched, arms reaching skyward and then out to her sides before she looked to him again. He suspected the reason his legs felt wobbly wasn’t simply due to circulation.

"Gladio and his sister were in town for a local festival," she recalled, eyes faraway as she went back in time to the day she met Gladiolus Amicitia. "Iris is so inquisitive. Always chasing after something. Well, she decided to chase after a little black gosling as night was falling. Found herself in the midst of two red giants outside of town."

The information sparked a memory for Ignis. "That's right. Gladio was terrified after looking for his sister all day. Apparently, it was the second incident of that nature. He said a woman came rushing into town with Iris in her arms, completely safe. The woman, however, was badly injured..."

At that, Callie chuckled.

"It wasn't that bad of a wound," she clarified. "Gladio likes to be so dramatic in his telling. I tended to my gash and resumed my hunting. Apparently, he tried to find me for a number of years, with no success. He left a note with Dave recently, asking me to meet him here in the Crown City to discuss employment opportunities."

"Rather bold of him," Ignis remarked. "He certainly does not determine who is accepted into the ranks of the Crownsguard."

Callie hummed in agreement. "Very true. He said he had discussed the possibilities with both Cor and his father, Clarus. I didn't ask too many questions. Truthfully, I was rather shocked."

An amiable silence fell, during which time Ignis dismissed his daggers. Taking notice of the weapons, Callie's eyes lit up.

"Say, I've heard you know a few nifty tricks," she began, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Gladio says you have a cool spin kick with your daggers... feel like teaching me?"

The strategist blushed lightly for what felt like the hundredth time that day, crossing his arms to try to look cool rather than embarrassed.

"Ah, yes, it is true that I do have 'tricks,' as you say," he admitted, smirking. "Think you can keep up? I thought you were exhausted."

Callie's stomach chose that exact moment to let them know it had a need for sustenance. Both parties chuckled, and Callie reached down to hug herself, hoping it would stave off the hunger for a while.

"Looks like I'll need a raincheck," she laughed. Her face turned serious, almost sheepish. "You're right, though. I haven't been taking care of myself. I promise I'll stop by a food joint on my way home and get some proper rest."

Balking, Ignis huffed in indignance. "Do you honestly mean to say that you are going to grab fast food on the way home and tell me that's you taking care of your body?"

"Well yes," Callie agreed. "My fridge is empty and I swear my kitchen is just for show..."

There was a tense moment in which Ignis processed what Callie was trying to say. His friend had no food and apparently no cooking ability to speak of. He couldn't leave her to fend for herself, not when she clearly needed to recover.

"Fine," he murmured, pulling his phone from his pocket and checking his schedule. "I can be at your residence after I meet with Noctis to give him the reports from today."

Unable to read minds, Callie was left confused by his statement.

"Um, what for?" she finally asked.

"You need a proper meal," Ignis explained. "I need to give my reports, but as soon as I've finished, I can bring by the proper ingredients to meal prep with you."

Callie stared at him for a moment while his words sunk in. The prince’s royal adviser was offering to come help her cook meals. She could only assume how busy the man was and he was offering to care for her.

“I’m fine, Ignis. You really don’t have to-" she tried.

“Where are you staying?” he asked, ignoring her protest. “Here, send your address to my phone that I may navigate easier.”

Still stunned, Callie retrieved her phone and typed his number into her contacts and then sent over her address. She was still a bit unsure of the whole situation but he seemed rather adamant so she decided not to argue.

“Excellent,” he said as his phone chimed with her incoming text. “Shall we say 6 o'clock? That will leave me the requisite time to acquire the ingredients I need.”

It suddenly occurred to her that Ignis intended to purchase the food himself. Surfacing from her thoughts, she shook her head violently.

“Hold on, just send me the list and I’ll purchase the stuff on the way home,” she objected. “I can’t have you buying food for me. I’m a big girl, you know.”

Ignis then fixed her with The Look. He was obviously nonplussed, eyebrow slightly raised in challenge. Callie gulped, knowing she was bested.

“A big girl who has been failing to care for herself,” he agreed, sass clear in his deep voice. “I shall see you at six. Do you require anything else?”

“No, thank you. Truly. I’ll head home and... get ready.”

Ignis nodded his assent with a small smile. “Until then.”

#ffxv #ffxv fanfiction #ignis scientia #female OC #building up #feels #she's a little traumatized #wanna know how I got these scars #dirtied the dress clothes #chocobros #trying to ignite the slow burn

1 note · View note