FFXV: You're Lucky You Made It ch. 2

CHAPTER TWO: Though the road may wander

*

Prompto woke up to the sound of barking outside his window. He rolled out of bed and stared out his window, and Pryna stared back at him from the lawn, dancing on her front paws and barking. If nothing else, his dad was at work already and his mom could probably sleep through an air raid siren, so he wasn't worried about that.

Groaning, Prompto dragged himself to the front door and opened it. Happy as could be, Pryna trotted inside and started bouncing in circles around the family room.

"D'you want some breakfast?" he sighed, even as he was already pulling out a bowl and dragging out the bag of dog food. He filled the bowl and set it down in front of her before he set about getting his own breakfast.

As his pastries toasted, he moseyed back into his bedroom to put on his school uniform, emerging back into the kitchen just as the toaster popped, and found Pryna sitting by her empty bowl and staring at him as she licked her teeth.

"You had yours," he stated flatly, and he pulled his pastries from the toaster. He ate in record time, combed his hair and brushed his teeth, grabbed his backpack, and as he stepped out the front door he called, "Pryna, come on!"

She bounded out the door behind him. It was a bit early to leave for school, but suddenly he had to make an unexpected detour. Completely and utterly innocent, Pryna bounced around his feet…and then took off at a gallop.

"PRYNA!"

Prompto took off after her, his legs pumping and his backpack slapping against his back. Pryna looped back around, bolted in a lopsided circle around him, and then continued racing ahead.

Before he knew it, Prompto had sprinted the entire way from home to the palace in his efforts to keep Pryna in sight, where he finally got a chance to slow down and stagger to a halt. He doubled over, hands on his knees and chest heaving as he wheezed for breath. Sweat dripped down his neck and the sides of his face, plastering his hair to his forehead.

Pryna, happy as could be, finally sat down and stared up at him, tail wiggling. Slowly, Prompto straightened back up, still panting. Lifting a hand, he pointed as imperious a finger as he could manage towards the palace gate. "You gotta go home, Pryna."

Cocking her head to one side, she got back to her feet and reared back onto her hind legs, her front paws balancing on his knees. Prompto leaned down to pet her, giving her ears a vigorous scratching, before he pointed towards the gate once again. "Go home."

With an aggrieved huff, she landed back on all fours and turned to trot back through the gates, squeezing through the bars like it was no big deal.

Prompto shook his head and carried on towards school. He got there earlier than usual, considering he ran so much of the distance, but at least it gave him time to try and clean up a bit in the bathroom before class started.

*

"Someone's dog is running around the schoolyard." Ordinarily, Prompto didn't pay much attention to what his classmates talked about (he thought about getting to know them, now and then, but then the words half off rang in his head and he changed his mind). That simple sentence immediately attracted his attention, though. "Any ideas whose it is?"

Prompto charged out the front door and was almost immediately accosted by a white puffball racing around at mach six. She reared up onto her hind legs, gave the fabric of his pants a tug, and then took off. With an emphatic groan, Prompto took off after her again, lest she race herself right into a ditch. He was pretty sure a few of the other students were staring at him, but there was no time to dwell on that.

"You're gonna kill me," he panted later, as he slowed to a stop by the palace gate.

And then he snapped his mouth shut when he heard a voice calling, "Pryna?"

The pup squeezed back through the gate to meet the princess, and Prompto began to hurry on his way. He looked back just in time to meet the princess's gaze, and she lifted her hand to wave. Cautiously, Prompto waved back, before he turned and hurried on his way.

*

"You seem distracted," Prompto's mom remarked that night at dinner, as Prompto prodded his peas back and forth across his plate, staring at it but not really seeing it.

He looked up sharply, blinking at her. "It was just a weird day at school," he replied.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, slowly setting her fork down.

"Huh? Oh, no, yeah, everything's fine," he assured her hurriedly, waving one hand in dismissal.

His mom eyed him thoughtfully for a moment, before she nodded. "If you're sure, dear."

*

It was Tuesday morning, and Prompto woke up to the sound of barking. Grumbling, he hauled himself out of bed and dragged himself to the front door. He filled a bowl with dog food as Pryna raced around the room, and as she ate, he changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts.

"I learned my lesson after yesterday," he informed her around bites of his own breakfast. "No sprinting in my school uniform." Instead, it was folded and shoved into his backpack.

She wagged her tail at him contently, her bowl empty already. Prompto rolled his eyes at her and stepped into his shoes, before he ushered her out the door.

Much like the morning before, it was a mad sprint to keep Pryna in sight, until she once again disappeared between the bars of the palace gate. From there, panting and sweating, Prompto continued his trek to school at a much more leisurely pace, and took a quick shower in the locker room before he tugged his uniform on.

*

"Pryna--Pryna, no--come on, I'm not dressed for this!" Prompto pleaded as the pup bounced between his legs and then carried on along the street. He groaned like he was actually dying as she simply picked up speed and continued racing down the street, forcing him to sprint after her.

When the princess waved him as he passed the palace gate, that time he managed to actually pause and *look at her* as he waved back, before he hurried on his way at a sprightly walk.

*

It was Wednesday afternoon, and Prompto detoured to the locker room and changed into his designated running clothes before he met Pryna in the school yard.

Once she slipped back through the palace gate, a familiar voice called, "Are you enjoying your run?"

Prompto ground to a halt so quickly he nearly fell flat on his face. He offered the least graceful bow imaginable as he stammered, "You-your Highness!"

Princess Lunafreya hid a smile behind one hand, Pryna cradled in her other arm. Hesitantly, Prompto returned the smile before he waved, offered one more bow, and continued on his way.

When he trotted into the house, he had to take a moment to lean against the door. His mom glanced at him from the kitchen and had to do a double-take.

"Where's your uniform?" she wondered, bemused.

"In my backpack." He reached back, giving it a pat. "I thought I'd give jogging a try."

His mom's answering smile was slightly bewildered, but she offered a pleasant, "I'm glad to hear that," regardless.

*

It was Friday afternoon, and Prompto slowed as he approached the palace. Like every other time, Pryna slipped through the gate, and Prompto couldn't help but to wonder how she was going to go about it once she was too big to fit.

(He tried not to think about how she wouldn't be able to slip out anymore, just as she wouldn't be able to slip in. He was not keen on the idea of losing his running buddy.)

As soon as he saw her, Prompto bowed and offered a mumbled, "Good afternoon, Your Highness."

For a moment, Princess Lunafreya looked startled, before she broke out in a beaming smile. "To you, as well," she returned, before she hefted Pryna into one arm, took hold of one of her front paws, and made her wave.

Prompto broke out into a grin before he could help himself.

*

Pryna, as it turned out, cared not for thing likes 'weekends' and 'days off.' She woke Prompto up bright and early on Saturday and, grumbling, he followed her down the road. He only went to the palace before he turned around, though.

That afternoon, on a hunch, he headed to the school, though. Just as he suspected, there she was, waiting for him impatiently.

"Your dog has a freakishly good internal clock," Prompto informed Princess Lunafreya on the way home, after the customary greeting.

"I rather suspect it goes well with her ability to get out of the palace unnoticed," the princess returned. "Though it means no one needs to walk her and she always comes back safely, so I suppose I shan't complain."

Prompto wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment to him or not, but he felt sort of warm regardless.

*

It was Wednesday again when Prompto finally figured out that if he just stubbornly kept up a steady jog, Pryna would eventually, reluctantly slow down to trot beside him. At last, he could keep up a steady pace the entire way from home to school.

*

It was September when Prompto started packing his lunches to bring with him. Because really, if he ever wanted to be able to make it from his house to the school at an actual run without taking a break or keeling over, the slop the school served was probably not going to do him any favors.

*

"Just like clockwork," Lunafreya greeted fondly, and her smile was just as fond.

Prompto smiled down at the ground and rubbed the back of his head. "At least I'm punctual."

"I never need to worry about her being out after curfew."

Prompto laughed, sharp and startled, and clapped a hand over his mouth. When he looked up, the princess was beaming at him.

*

It was October, and he had to cinch his uniform belt tighter.

The weather was turning as autumn rolled in, and he eyed his running shorts dubiously as he tallied his allowance. It…was not a lot of money.

*

He was thirteen years old, and amongst video games and a cell phone that wasn't cracked across the middle, he unwrapped a set of thermal running clothes.

"I do pay attention occasionally," his mom informed him dryly.

*

It was November when, whining, Prompto thrust his school uniform into his mom's hands and pleaded, "Can you fix this? It's way too big."

He sort of regretted it after the forty-five minutes of standing still and getting poked with pins as his mom figured out how much it needed to be taken in.

*

"She's so angry," Prompto sighed, trying not to laugh as he handed Pryna to Luna over the gate. She'd gotten stuck halfway through just a few days ago, and since then she had refused to try again.

"She is a lady," Lunafreya reminded him primly. "She doesn't deal well with embarrassment."

Of course, Pryna then chased a falling leaf in spiraling circles until she fell over.

*

It was December and winter break was upon them. Tenebrae gleamed under a coat of snow, molten gold as the sun rose and set and silver in the moonlight.

Pryna, as it turned out, loved chasing snowballs. She was horrible at catching them and without fail she would get confused when it would hit the ground and disappear, but she loved them anyway.

Prompto threw a snowball one afternoon, not even paying attention, and then ground to a halt when he heard a squeal. His head snapped up, and he stared at Lunafreya as she shook her head, shaking snow from her hair.

Prompto felt himself go pale behind his winter running mask, all the blood leaving his face. Lunafreya blinked at him. And then, with very deliberate movements, she unlatched the gate, let Pryna in, and stepped out.

"I--I--I--" Prompto stammered incoherently, voice muffled behind the fleece.

A snowball walloped him upside the head and he yelped, his voice cracking halfway through.

Lunafreya couldn't quite hide a giggle behind her hand fast enough. She stopped pretending to try as he pouted at her, and instead laughed freely.

Prompto could only hold the pout for a few seconds before he was laughing along with her. He wasn't sure where he found the courage to throw a second snowball at the princess, but he was glad he did.

He made it home half an hour late, and he had snow in very uncomfortable places. It was nice to know that even princesses weren't immune to the urge to shove snow down someone's shirt.

*

"Pryna. Sit."

Her rear end landed in the snow, tail wiggling back and forth.

"Pretty now."

She straightened up slightly, curled her tail around her hip, and daintily lifted one front paw off the ground.

"Look. Staaaay."

She blinked at him but dutifully held her pose, and Prompto clicked the button on his camera. He looked down at the screen just long enough to confirm that the picture had turned out well enough, before he exclaimed, "Good girl!"

She hopped to her feet and raced in a circle around him.

*

Lunafreya opened the gate to let Pryna trot through, and she watched Prompto expectantly as he shifted back and forth on his feet. Finally, he swung his backpack down from his back and plunged a hand in. "This is for you," he mumbled, as he brandished a flat package at her. "Happy Solstice."

"I don't have anything for you…" she lamented, hesitating.

He continued to brandish the package at her, until she closed her fingers around it. He continued fidgeting at she opened it, only glancing up when the sounds of tearing paper ceased.

Lunafreya was smiling gently down at the photo, in its simple white frame. Slowly, she lowered it, tucking it under one arm. She stepped through the gate, finally letting it close, and Prompto bit back a squeak as she pulled him into a hug. It took him a moment to return it.

*

"Here."

Prompto blinked at the shiny paper bag being brandished at him, and slowly closed his fingers around the handles.

"It's a bit late," Lunafreya continued, "but happy Solstice."

"You didn't hafta get me anything," Prompto pointed out, even as his curiosity won out and pulled the contents of the bag out, shucking aside the tissue paper.

A plush dog stared back at him. It bore a striking resemblance to Pryna, with gleaming glass eyes and faux fur that felt like petting a cloud.

Lunafreya opened her arms in preparation of the hug Prompto launched himself into.

*

The new year came, and winter break came to an end. January passed into February, and one of Prompto's classmates even asked him to the dance.

(The words 'half off' rang in his head, but it had been a few years. People changed.)

He worried the entire time that he looked like a garrula that someone had squeezed into a button down shirt and a tie, and then he had to stare at the pictures his mom took when he realized he looked…okay.

Nothing really came of the night, but it was fun enough for what it was. It was nice to know he could attract some attention.

*

It was May and school was finished for the summer. Prompto kept running. He couldn't imagine stopping, really.

He was on his way home one afternoon when Lunafreya met him outside the gate, a dark dog sitting at her heels and a basket over one of her arms.

"You are coming with me," she informed Prompto primly, an almost impish smile lurking at the corner of her lips.

"…Okay?"

"Put your hand on Umbra's head."

He obeyed the command as she did the same, and as Pryna crowded in close. He'd only seen Umbra in passing before; a tail or ears glimpsed through the gate, or pictures in the news. There was something unfathomable in his gaze.

Prompto's ears popped and he looked around at the flower field they were suddenly clustered in. Umbra yawned and flopped down in the flowers, petals fluttering around him. He sneezed one off of the end of his nose.

"…What."

Lunafreya laughed and set the basket down. "A lady holds her secrets close." She pulled a blanket out of the basket. "Join me for lunch?"

Prompto nodded dumbly. "…'Kay." He helped her spread the blanket out.

*

There was a photo tacked to Prompto's bedroom wall, of Luna sitting on a blanket in a sea of flowers. Her crown was made of dandelions and sylleblossoms and she presided over a court of Pryna and Umbra with a smile that could have put the sun to shame.

*

It was August, and Prompto joined the track team. They met three times a week after school, and Pryna met him at the street every time, napping with her muzzle on her paws. His teammates learned to stop questioning it.

He was good at it, and between track practice, meets, donating free periods to the yearbook club, and afternoons with Luna, he was so happy he could have exploded.

He took first place for the first time in September, and he tacked the photo of him and his mom and his dad and his medal to the wall.

*

He was fourteen, staring in awe at the camera Luna presented him with. It used film, rather than a memory card, and he was already trying to figure out how he could turn part of his closet into a dark room. It was worth a fortune.

She smiled and reeled him into a hug when he burst into tears, the camera cradled carefully between them.

*

It was December and the semester was almost at a close. A bug had been making its way steadily through the student body, though Prompto swore he wouldn't catch it.

But he was out of breath and wheezing by the time he got to school that morning, and he felt off balance and clammy all day.

Halfway to the palace that afternoon, his vision began to swim, and he pitched forward into the snow. Pryna started barking fit to wake the dead, nosing at his hair, licking whatever parts of his face weren't hidden by his mask, tugging at his sleeves. Finally, she threw her head back and howled before she curled up on top of him.

Snow crunched nearby, and dark paws faded into his field of view. Umbra lowered his head, and Prompto looked into one endless eye before a cold nose touched his forehead.

The world flipped in six directions, and abruptly he was sprawled out in the snow elsewhere. He levered himself up onto his elbows just enough to vomit across the sidewalk, and he only just managed to roll onto his side so he wouldn't land face down in his own puke.

Luna crouched beside him, her eyes wide and worried. She turned away, her voice urgent as she spoke to the dogs, but Prompto couldn't really make out the words.

*

The world began to make sense again, slowly. Something was beeping steadily. He could hear his mom's voice having a one-sided conversation.

He cracked one eye open, cringed at the light, and then opened his eyes much more carefully. Blinking, he looked around the hospital room. His mom was on her phone, probably with his dad. Umbra was curled up in a tight ball in the corner, watching the room intently.

He met Prompto's eyes and got to his feet, startling an, "Oh!" out of his mom. She turned to look at the hospital bed.

"Hey, Mama," Prompto mumbled.

"Hey, dear," she returned softly, her face a mask of relief. She turned her attention back to the phone long enough to inform his dad, "He's awake," before she hung up.

Prompto…vaguely recalled passing out in the snow. Well enough that asking 'what happened?' seemed a bit redundant. Instead, he watched Umbra trot out of the room before he asked clumsily, "'s'it still Wednesday?"

"It's still Wednesday," his mom replied. "Your dad should be here in an hour or so. You'll be here overnight, but you'll be good to head home tomorrow."

He nodded slowly, and his eyes gradually drifted closed again.

*

Prompto woke up as someone took his hand, and he blinked up at Luna in sleepy befuddlement.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright." She leaned down to kiss his forehead. "Go back to sleep."

He nodded sluggishly.

*

He slept the entirety of the next day away, other than waking up occasionally to use the bathroom and drink some water.

It wasn't until the next morning that he actually woke up, to the familiar sound of Pryna barking at the door. Wrapped up in his comforter, he trekked to the door to let her in and feed her, before he tumbled down on the couch and pulled the blanket over his head.

Pryna spent a few minutes trying to wrestle the blanket away from him, before she contented herself with hopping up to sleep on his hip until his mom finally woke up and wondered why there was a dog in the house.

*

Prompto let Pryna in the next morning and found a baggie tied to her collar with a note. A small pouch of tea, and the note read simply 'Feel better!' with a sketch of a sylleblossom.

There was no one there to see his goofy grin, so he didn't bother hiding it.

*

After nearly a week of doing little more than sleeping and whining about his eyes and nose running like a leaky faucet, at last Prompto was declared healthy. He was pretty sure Pryna nearly passed out from joy when he actually got dressed and followed her out the door again. He was sore after the first few runs, but it felt good all the same.

*

Prompto was fifteen. His best friend was his kingdom's princess. He was one of the best runners on the track team. Now and then, his classmates paid him to take photos on the cheap for them. He was pretty sure his life was perfect.

It rapidly crashed down around his feet after that.