practical magic and other pursuits

[nocteconsilium]

[ The witch is a last resort. Maybe not the last resort, that would involve throwing himself on that creep Ardyn's tender mercies and like fuck Noctis is desperate enough to do that, but the witch is pretty high up there on the list of people Noctis probably shouldn't be talking to but is. But Noct's found that living on his own for years, the deposed heir of a stolen throne, with anyone who might have stood at his side murdered in cold blood, has made Noctis far more willing to consider alternative solutions to his imperial problems than he might have when his father was still alive.

When he was prince of Lucis with a future stretching before him instead of the hollow, hunted king, seeking only vengeance, a way to ensure that those who sit on his throne will pay for what they've done to his family and his kingdom.

Before, he might have considered that the witch would ask a price too dear, would demand something that he couldn't give if he still wanted to return home fully himself, the liberating king. Now, Noctis doesn't care what the witch asks. His body, his soul, his heart— he'd give all of it, if he could see Lucis freed from the Empire's shackles.

He'll pay whatever price the witch asks. Noct's resolved himself to it, and he takes a deep breath, steeling himself, before he knocks sharply on the witch's door and waits for it to open. ]