Creepy, Fairly Lived In Mansion, Slightly Past Dawn, Wednesday Morning

[deathsmajesty]

Lili woke up not in her own bed, nor in her own bedchamber. Either of them; for all that it felt familiar, she knew very well that this wasn't her room in the manor where she was staying with Lady Ana, nor at the Fortress, where the rest of her family was staying. She was somewhere else entirely.

But again, somewhere familiar. It felt like a word dancing on the tip of her tongue; she could almost grasp it, but then it wriggled back out of her grip again.

...She did rather wish it were her room; it was far more luxurious than anything she'd ever seen in Vess.

It was right about then that she realized that she wasn't alone in the bed. "Serra's holy name!" she sputtered--which hadn't been the words she'd been thinking, but they were the ones that had come out anyway. "Hey! Who are--"

Wait. She knew this boy. Memories of trips to a weird island when she'd been a girl..."Ignis? Urzas's left eye, it's you!"

[For the young man so named, of course, but also very open!

Comments

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis would, of course, blame the uncommonly comfortable and quite frankly ostentatious bed in which he found himself in, far different from his usual stark and austere furnishings, for the reason he hadn't been up almost perfectly just before dawn. That, and the lack of his usual alarm clock as well. But it was the stirring in the bed beside him that started to pull him out of it, a faint grunt and an instant furrowing of his brow as his brain tried to fill in the only possible answer to why someone would be in bed with him, even if they'd fallen out of that childish habit years ago...

"Noct," he murmured, "what are you--"

And that was when he turned, and that was when he discovered someone rather pale and dark haired but not the pale, dark haired person he expected, and then that person spoke in a voice that deviated even further from the logical explanation, and his mind went careening off into confusion.

"Wha--"

But this girl knew him. Well, a lot of people knew him, he was retainer to the prince, but then he realized that he knew her, too, and that her recognition came from somewhere else entirely. In the same place as that his recognition of this extravagant bedchamber had come from.

"Lil...Liliana?" Somehow, he was still wearing his glasses, glasses he might not even really need, to be honest, but adjusting them in that moment made him feel like this was one of those rare cases where he was glad for their extra help in confirming what he saw beside him. "How--"

But the question faltered before it could form, because even though he didn't know how this happened, he, too, remembered, hazy as those memories were, this room and this island in his much younger years, and he certainly remembered the girl wo had been celebrating her birthday, and who he'd written letters to be left, asking her about her horse and how things were...

He blinked.

"Huh."

A moment later, he might remember his manners, but just now, he seemed to just simply be acknowledging that...well, yes. This certainly was a thing.

[deathsmajesty]

"Well, at least I don't have to ruin this fine morning by stabbing you for being a stranger in my bed," Lili said, sounding...rather amused all things considered. "As you are not a stranger nor is this, technically speaking, my bed. I'm sure that's a relief to you and whoever would have to launder these truly lovely sheets."

Her voice was different than it was as her older self: her diction less precise, her accent a little flatter, certainly less cultured. But she'd left behind the piping, girlish soprano with her childhood, and that throaty richness that an older Ignis adored wound in and around her words, not yet entirely there, but present more often than not.

"Lady Ana would be having fits about propriety right now, though." Even Lili, bold as she was becoming in finding people to enjoy haylofts and closets with, drew the line at having anyone sleep in her bed. She eyed him, remembering the solemn and serious little boy he'd been, and judging how much of that remained in the young mad to her side. "Something tells me you're not really the impropriety type though.

[chef_chocobro]

There was much of that same solemn and serious little boy still there in the face that had sharpened with a certain sternness, the slightest suggestion of a disapproving frown that responded to Liliana's observations well before his words did.

There was something else, though, too, more in the crease of his brow. A worry, an uncertainty, that he was trying to quell down, of not knowing quite what to do in a situation that he had failed to anticipate or prepare for. A disruption in the routine. And a knowledge that he couldn't just simply check his watch and note that he had elsewhere to be, because he knew that, if he was here, then where he was supposed to be was...simply not an issue.

"No," he finally said, a stoic agreement with a nod, as he started to shift away, to get out of the bed. "I'm really not. So please," now standing, there was a stiff bow to go with those stiff words, "accept my apologies for any distress I may have caused."

[deathsmajesty]

"If I were distressed, you'd know it," Lili pointed out. "And I'm not sure how you caused anything. All you did was wake up, same as me."

She also climbed out of the (truly ridiculous) bed, with all of the blithe assurance of somebody who still wore pajamas to bed. Or, at least, an old shift that hung to her knees, which was really close enough. "Although looking at me all prunes and prisms might just get me there. You're too cute to frown so sternly. We were friends once, right? Or did you think I fell asleep with just anyone while looking over...what did you call them? Fotigroffs?"

Sounded like a creature type. One of the weird ones, like lhurgoyfs and homarids and atogs.

"There's no war here, I don't think--" but boy would she discover snow monsters soon, "--nor Lady Ana running after me to tell me to sieve more herbs and brew more potions, nor are there any of whatever the things you're used to doing. So let's find something we want to do with all this unanticipated freedom!"

She gestured out the window, where there was a whole forest for exploring, and an island beyond it, with who knew what else to find.

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis eyes were, of course, dedicatedly fixed on a small point on the floor just slightly off to the side of Liliana, his mind swirling with thoughts on how he could possibly manage to get out of this mess (or even just how he'd possibly managed to get into it in the first place, but that seemed like quite the exercise in futility, there), but he started to lose his grip on those thoughts when he felt a faint rush of heat to his cheeks at the word cute, a blush that only got more pronounced with the word friends, and that he finally tried to chase away with a firm clearing of his throat before correcting her.

"Photographs," he said, quietly, as the memory pushed everything else out of his brain, and he focused on following the gesture of her arm toward the window, considering it with all the same seriousness he'd regarded Liliana with a moment before, while his mind listed off all the things he should be doing right now: preparing breakfast, waking Noctis up, getting him ready and then driving him to school...

Was there someone to do that for him now that he wasn't, apparently, there where he should be? Would it be Cor to do it instead? Jared? Drautos? There were options, but the dereliction of duty...unsettled him.

But what could he really do about it now? His attention shifted.

"Breakfast," he said, "first. We should eat something, and then we can decide what to do."

A daunting prospect, really, for someone used to having his days all so neatly laid out and prepared well in advance.

[deathsmajesty]

"I can't hear any servants," Lili said, cocking her head to the side. "Which is bizarre in a manor this size. Perhaps they're still belowstairs?"

Didn't make sense, considering someone should be along to clean out the fireplaces and make lay out the clothing for the day and all that sort of thing. Even in wartime, Lili was still the daughter of the General and the House of Vess, there were always servants about, even when she wished there weren't.

"If there aren't, I hope you know how to cook breakfast," she said. "Because I'm pretty hopeless cooking anything that isn't a potion. And my brother's favorite lavender posset."

And Ignis did not look like the kind of person who thought possets made for an acceptable breakfast food.

[chef_chocobro]

That stoic expression that seemed to mask a certain sort of carefully contained indignation was back on Ignis's face. What a thing to say, to someone who was, functionally, a servant. Retainer was the official title, of course, but really...

He shook his head slightly. "I'm sure I can figure something out," he said. "If I remember correctly," and those memories were still quite hazy, but getting stronger by the minute, "the kitchen here is excellently stocked. I...recall someone helping me last time, as well, but if he is not present, I know my own way around a kitchen well enough now. It's not likely to be anything fancy, of course...certainly no lavender posset,"--why did he have the sudden urge to learn how to make lavender posset? Ridiculous notion--"...but functional enough for our purposes to prepare us for whatever the day may have waiting in store ahead of us."

A small pause, with uncertain hesitation.

"...what do you usually like?"

[deathsmajesty]

Lili would be very surprised to find out Ignis was a servant of any stripe. He was a member of a House, wasn't he?

Bizarre.

"Fruit, when we can get it," Lili said with a dreamy smile. "The apiary in the back provides decent amounts of honey, but fruit..." She groaned a little, pretending to swoon against him. "And spices. I miss spices. We have some very little bits of cinnamon left and a few other things here and there, but between the Cabal at home and the slivers outside the border, trade has basically stopped."

She opened her eyes to grin up at him. "A much more appetizing prospect than oat porridge with a tiny bit of honey and a poached egg. Unsalted!"

[chef_chocobro]

"Unsalted?"

Was there the smallest, tiniest hint of a twitch in the corner of his mouth? Of course not. Absurd idea. Clearly, it was just a trick of the light streaming through the gap in the heavy curtains.

But any amusement at her statement that may have been there was truly fleeting, a reminder that, though he himself could live in relative comfort from the ivory tower that was the Citadel behind the safety of the Wall, he knew all too well how difficult things were for people beyond the city limits. Especially as the Niflheim Empire tightened their grip on more and more Lucien territories...

"Downright barbaric. Come on, then." He took a few moments, to ensure that he was properly decent, a hand brushing back his hair as well and wishing he'd had the time to style it out of the way, but with everything being as awkward as it was already, it seemed a point of vanity that he needn't concern himself with. "Let us go see what there may be, and, should there not be any fruit, I'll see to what it might take to acquire some. Pancakes, perhaps? Easy enough, and a good compliment to fruit that will hopefully be a bit more enticing than oat porridge."

A beat later, he added, "Omelettes, perhaps, if there's good vegetables, as well. And some sort of potato hash..."

Whatever he could think of that might be an excellent vehicle for more salt and spices, really.

[deathsmajesty]

And Lili was very well off compared to most of the people in Vess!

"Salt harvests are down because of Cabal attacks and most of what we do get goes to preserving food for the soldiers," she explained. "And the rest for staples and medicines whatnot. No food for the breakfasts of pretty clerics, sadly."

Another difference between this Lili and her future self. Like Liliana would ever demote herself to being considered merely 'pretty.'

"Anything is more enticing than oat porridge," she added with a laugh, slipping her arm into his. "And all those sound amazing. We have access to vegetables more than fruit, but even so, who's going to argue to sitting down to a platter of fresh greens? I can make tea for us if you'd like."

See? A helper!

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis startled, with surprise and, if he was entirely honest, utter confusion, when Liliana went to link her arm in his. It threw him off enough that he almost pulled his arm back, but he was thankfully able to control his reaction enough to keep it down too a mere jolt, as if the intimate gesture (far more so than inadvertently waking up together in the same bed had been, apparently!) had almost shocked or burned him. And even that faint reaction was enough for him to scold himself, and he really wished he could manage to be as in control over his flushed cheeks right now as he was the rest of him.

He tried to respond, but found his words stuck in his throat a little. But nothing a firm clearing couldn't resolve.

"That would be nice," he said. "Thank you. I..." Again, a hesitation, wondering if he should even mention something as frivolous as his own thoughts, but there was an ease about Liliana that made it a bit easier, and, well...she had called them friends, hadn't she?

"I tend to prefer coffee, myself," he continued, "but who's going to argue," that ghost of a smile apparently was slightly more bold now, in the echo of her own words, even if one might need a microscope to confirm its presence, "to enjoying a mug of hot tea, either?"

[deathsmajesty]

Lili was glad she'd gone with her second idea, rather than 'impulsively' grabbing for his hand. Plan See-How-Red-You-Can-Make-The-Cute-Boy was a smashing success already.

"Coffee?" she asked, brow furrowing. That sounded familiar, but it took her awhile to place it. "Oh! I remember now! Mother and Father talk about when they used to have that. Merchants from the Spice Islands used to bring it."

But it had gone the way of cinnamon and saffron, sadly.

"If I've ever tried it, I was only a girl and don't remember it."

[chef_chocobro]

To that, Ignis gave a firm nod. In his mind, a checklist of a sort was already forming, taking diligent notice of the things Liliana mentioned being scarce for her now and resolving to make his way through it in providing it for her.

Because, well, if it appeared as though he was going to be resolved of his usual duties for the day, he might as well have something to focus on to fill his time, shouldn't he?

"If they have some," he said, with some amount of relief because he was feeling like he could really use the coffee right now, and he steered them both now toward the stairs, "then we'll have to make that, as well."

[deathsmajesty]

"You're the sweetest," she said, leaning in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "What a great day this is shaping up to be! I got to sleep in, there's a whole free day for us to do whatever we want, and now I'm getting the best breakfast I've had in years! The only thing that could make this better--"

She stopped and laughed, light and airy. "Well, never mind all that. Who cares about better when there's already so much good stuff!"

[chef_chocobro]

The resulting reddish surge across Ignis's cheeks in lieu of that quick peck just continued to prove that of course success was within reach when you practically aimed for the floor.

He cleared his throat again, and he was about to try and temper Liliana's expectations about the quality of this forthcoming breakfast--yes, he had been trying his hand at cooking this past year or so, but he was hardly a gourmet chef; in fact, he didn't even really like doing it, but he just found it was the far better option than sending Noct off on a diet of sugary cereals and prepackaged foods--but Liliana cutting herself off snagged his attention--and his curiosity--far more.

"Shouldn't we always strive, though," he wondered, "for the best?"

He had a list he was formulating right now, after all!

"What would make it better?" he asked. "In your opinion."

[deathsmajesty]

Success was still success! Can't blame a girl for setting manageable goals for herself!

"But best isn't always possible," Lili pointed out. Her amused, playful tone that had been present practically since they'd awakened slipped away, leaving something thoughtful and even a little subdued behind. "Abyss, even better can be out of reach. There's a lot of value in learning to be grateful for what you have, because there's plenty of opportunities for you to lose even much. It's not that I wouldn't love to have omelettes and fruit and sugary cakes for breakfast every day, but it's not currently possible. Better for me to make my peace with unsalted oat porridge with a tiny bit of honey, no? After all, there might be a time when I lose out on the honey."

[chef_chocobro]

"Just so," Ignis agreed, and, this time, there was no hiding the soft smile of appreciation on his face; it surfaced without restriction, and, for the honesty in the answer, he wouldn't even point out that it was an awful lot to say just to avoid giving an answer that actually answered his question. The shift in her tone, too, the subtle reminder that her cavalier attitude might have just gotten away from her, into almost slipping into something she'd rather not say. Not everyone, he knew, had such a tight control on their intentions like he usually did.

"And besides," he added, "omelettes and fruit and sugary cakes for breakfast every day would certainly not be best for your health, either. But..." There it was, that careful and controlled consideration of what to say, "if you do think of something that might be possible...please. Let me know?"

And for all his thoughts on his vaulted self-control, he had not quite intended for it to sound so much more like a hopeful request than a simple offer. Thankfully, though, their destination was at hand, and a new focus could be seized.

"Ah, excellent, here we are. Let's see what we might have at our disposal, shall we?"

[deathsmajesty]

Listen, it had taken Liliana two hundred years to develop what self-control she could lay claim to; seventeen year old Lili hadn't a chance.

"I'll make you a bargain," Lili said as they stepped into the kitchen. "I'll let you know if there's something that would make things better, if you'll tell me what you like to do in your free time and we do that today, too."

[chef_chocobro]

Ignis, who seemed to take the opportunity of arriving in the kitchen as a good excuse to detatch himself from Liliana's arm at the utmost convenience without it being a whole thing, stopped on his way across the kitchen to inspect the contents of the fridge and stared at her again. She might even be able to see past his glasses, into his pale green eyes, to see the churning of those ever-turning gears in his head, up until the moment he blinked, which seemed to get things outside of his head going again.

"I..." he started, faltered again, as if one of those gears had gotten stuck, but then it dislodged itself into function again, as he turned to resume his way to the fridge. "I don't think that'd make for a very enjoyable experience for you."

What even was 'free time', anyway? Did she mean the time he had when Noct was in school? He was still working then, taking care of the things he couldn't do when he was around, attending meeting, running errands, engaging in his own studies? Could she honestly tell him she would want to spend her time here darning socks and sewing on rogue loose buttons?

[deathsmajesty]

Wait. He didn't even get to go to school? Oh let Liliana find out about that. She could go to Eos on her own now, she didn't need to wait.

Liliana had let go of his arm gracefully, since to do otherwise would ruin her whole scheme, and took the opportunity to hoist herself up on a counter, the way she used to when she was little, watching the cooks in the manor's kitchen. "Why not?" she asked. "What, are you embarrassed about your hobbies?"

It was true, she'd hate mending and darning, but she said doing things he liked. Did he like doing all that? Was that fun for him? Really?

[chef_chocobro]

There was a sort of peace and calm and comfort in it. Almost meditative, really. To have a problem set before you, however small, and be able to fix it through the mindful application of skill and patience...

Ignis was grateful now, to have the distraction of combing through the refrigerator and the cupboards of the kitchen, pulling out things he may need and thinking of how to put them all together into some sort of passable recipeh of a sort. Luckily, these coffers did in fact runneth over, no sign of wartime scarcity to be seen, and there may have been one moment of lingering over the tall, sleek, familiar can of Ebony neatly lined up in one section of the fridge, which he mentally tagged to remember to potentially enjoy later.

But her question was on the back of his mind as he did this, figuring out just how to answer.

And as he opened up a package of coffee beans and took a deep, appreciative breath of their rich and robust aroma, he decided to just keep it simple.

"I just don't really have any hobbies," he told her. "Or much free time, either."

[deathsmajesty]

But was it fun?

"What?" Confused Lili was confused. "I mean, I get being busy. I'm a healing cleric in the middle of a war, we're run off our feet more often than not. But you know, there still have to be things you do for fun. What do you do to take a breather between all your other duties? Even if it's not a hobby, what do you do when you just want to relax and enjoy yourself?"

[chef_chocobro]

What did fun matter? It was satisfying. And useful.

The grinding of beans granted Ignis a little more time to consider before answering this new slew of...difficult questions to ask.

"I listen to music a lot, I suppose," he said, once he managed to clear away what was duty from his day and what was not and inspect what was left behind, "when I'm driving, or I'm cleaning and organizing, but I find it too distracting if I'm trying to study or cook. I do like mending and sewing things, I find that very relaxing. But is that truly how you'd like to spend a part of your day if you don't have to, Liliana?" He'd only lifted an eyebrow, but some of that wry amusement seemed to have been seeped into it. "Tending to needlepoint and embroidery?"

[deathsmajesty]

There was more to life than being useful, Ignis.

"You're pretty much describing the life I'd be expected to lead if I weren't a cleric," Liliana said. "Though Lady Ana is impressed at how I'm perfectly capable of stitching up flesh, but can't stitch up fabric worth a damn."

So...no. Not at all.

"Okay, but what do you do when you're not doing something useful? When you're just taking time for yourself?" A pause, as she reviewed what she knew of Ignis. "...Do you take time for yourself?"

[chef_chocobro]

Was there? His own experience could point to very little, in that regard.

"I might," Ignis drawled, frowning slightly to himself as he inspected the very impressive coffee maker on the counter that he didn't, immediately, recognize how to use, but he was a quick study in figuring it out, and frowning slightly in general at the fact that Liliana still didn't seem to grasp one very crucial detail in this conversation, "if there were a way to create more hours within a day, but, alas, that skill has eluded me thus far. There is, for me at the very least, always something in the wing waiting to be taken care of, which is why, faced for once without a clear roster of things to do, I shall defer to someone far more knowledgeable," setting the coffee to brew, he gestured helpfully toward Liliana to indicate who he did, indeed, mean, and adjusted his glasses slightly, "for guidance. Once breakfast and the subsequent clean-up, of course, has been accomplished.

"Though I'm sure," he was now checking drawers for utensils and what not, "there may be a frayed curtain or a tattered sheet around here somewhere, should you insist I take the lead in that regard."

Of course, Ignis would be sorely disappointed to find that the usual occupant of this mansion had seen to it that no such things were to be found.

[deathsmajesty]

Okay, Lili had to laugh at that. There was a sense of humor there, it was just as dry as the Tivan Desert.

"All right," she said. "I can rise to this occasion with all the grace and aplomb of Countess Vess at a dinner party."

Her mother, specifically. She wasn't Countess Vess, at best she was Lady Lili.

"Hmm, so if it's up to me to captain this ship of fun and relaxation...hmm. Ha! I know the very first thing I'm going to do! At least if this house is as fancy as it appears to be. I'll be right back!"

She leapt off the counter, once more darting in to try to kiss his cheek if she could manage it, and vanished from the kitchen. She thought it might take her longer to find the music room, but this house was set up very similarly to how she would have organized it. There was a delighted HA! as she not only found the room but exactly what she was looking for in it, and was back within ten minutes, carrying a beautifully crafted lyre in her arms. "Look, Ignis, it's exquisite," she said, showing him her prize, along with sheet music to go along with it. "You like music? I like playing the lyre. I can--"

And then she paused, suddenly crestfallen. "Wait. Except you just said you find it too distracting when you cook. Oh."

[chef_chocobro]

Liliana did, in fact, manage the kiss on the cheek, but only because a kiss on the cheek was something Ignis would have never been able to conceive of as a thing that he'd need to avoid, and it was a good thing she went rushing off just as quickly as she had landed the thing, because otherwise, she would have caught just how long he was left blinking and stunned in its wake.

Thankfully, the bubbling of the coffee in the machine and the sharp, strong aroma immediately pulled him back into what he'd been doing, and he shook his head as he turned to pour a few mugs, already adding cream and sugar to Liliana's. Call it a hunch, but he had a feeling that she wasn't likely to enjoy it black, as he did.

There had been a good deal more frowning and plotting and thinking in the time while Liliana was gone as he tried to figure out how to go about making what he was thinking about doing. He had to admit, as much of a chore as it seemed sometimes, learning cooking was sometimes just like a puzzle, of knowing what went together and how to put them together, and that almost...almost...made it enjoyable, if it weren't for all the pressure of getting it right looming over every decision. But he'd gotten started on his potatoes when she'd come back.

It was a beautiful instrument that she'd presented to him, enough so that he was almost tempted to remind her that she should be careful with it, but that laugh before she'd run off had him cautious against anything that might earn him more pouts than more of those. He opened his mouth to say something, paused on the inhale, and then exhaled again with a change of mind, it would see.

"It should be alright," he said. "I've made most of these things before, so I shouldn't need to focus as much as when I'm trying some kind of new recipeh."

A second later, he added, with that hesitancy that seemed to cling to so many of his words that morning, "I'd like to hear you play. I don't know anyone who can play a lyre."

[deathsmajesty]

"Okay!" Immediately, she perked up like rain and it was clear that, now that she'd spotted the lyre, she desperately wanted to try it out. So he was favored with a brilliant smile as she once again hoisted herself up onto the counter and made herself comfortable. "But if I get too distracting and you're worried about burning something, let me know and I'll stop."

Though, as older Ignis would know, stopping would free up her hands for prime ingredient theft.

"And yes, my brother and sisters and I all learned to play musical instruments. My younger sister and I learned the lyre. Josu--" surely Ignis remembered Josu, the same way Lili remembered Noct "--learned the violin." She brushed her fingers over the strings, tightened the screws a bit until it was in tune - it was stored with strings loosened as was right and proper. Whoever this belonged to clearly cared for it a lot, which the minimum an instrument like this deserved - and played a few scales to get herself familiar with the spacing. "Though you probably won't be as impressed," she said. "I found some sheet music, too." She began picking out a few chords, stumbling a bit at the notation that was ever so slightly off from what she knew, but within a few measures, Ignis would likely recognize the melody to Stand By Me.

[chef_chocobro]

The strains of music, especially the chorus, once Liliana had sort of plucked her way through the notes enough to feel comfortable with them, did sound vaguely familiar to Ignis, perhaps something he'd heard on the radio when driving around on errands or as Noct turned through the dial to avoid getting stuck on news reports and announcements, but Ignis tried not to focus on placing it, knowing that would surely distract him from the task at hand, which was making breakfast, and now that she'd said it, above all else, ensuring that it didn't burn. He was making a terrible mess in the process, truth be told, unfamiliar still with the methods and the kitchen, although he had to admit there was a certain ergonomic flow to it that just felt natural. Things seemed to be right where he needed them when he reached for them, everything made a certain sort of sense. He imagined a much better cook would be able to do a passable job working in this kitchen even if blindfolded, really.

There was, even, a moment that he hadn't even realized he'd given his spatula a clever little flip in his hand, and he proceeded to the same with a knife at some point, as well.

"Is the lyre," he asked, at some point, "your favorite instrument? Or simply the one in which you know how to play best? Or were you just so enchanted by the artistry of that particular one?"

[deathsmajesty]

"Definitely the one I know best and this one is just gorgeous. Such a rich purple, I can't even imagine how expensive it must be..." Her fingers moved towards a different tune, one she knew well enough she could talk and play at the same time. "I guess also my favorite? I wanted to learn to play it because Mother did, though I have to admit, I do love the way the violin sounds when it's played well. It gets so...mournful. But also so rich and ripe and golden..." A few more moments of playing. "I heard a real harp once, one of the ones as big as a person. An angel played it, singing the Song of All...it was the most beautiful and transcendent thing I've ever heard. I don't know if a single instance can make something a favorite, but if it can, then that's mine."

[chef_chocobro]

"An angel?" Ignis asked, feeling as if an odd chord had been struck against the harp of his ribcage, but he mostly dismissed it, again trying to not let himself get too distracted, especially since now was the time to really pay attention with the omelettes.

"I think," he offered, "that the fact that it resonated so much for you certainly qualifies it. A favorite doesn't have to be something experienced often; in fact, sometimes, a favorite is a favorite because it resides so prominently as something so precious and rare..."

He couldn't think much of anything that he might classify, as something like that, but he was thinking about the way Noct had described so many things in Tenebrae to him that had become favorites of his: a certain book, the brilliant blue sylleblossom, that regional berry tart that, one day, Ignis vowed to recreate for him because of the wistful, delighted way in which he remember it...

[deathsmajesty]

"Angels," Lili confirmed. "Serra created angels and so they are both revered and part of the Church of Serra. They're our living link to her, vessels for her purity and goodness. Sometimes, when we pray hard enough, an angel will come and help us fight against the Cabal. They're glorious."

Her eyes shone; while Lili wasn't exactly religious the way that Lady Ana would like her to be, she was still deeply and utterly in awe of angels.

[chef_chocobro]

Hm. Well. Perhaps it wasn't quite coincidence, then, that his mind had turned toward Noct's respite in Tenebrae.

"That sounds a bit," he said, after he had successfully managed to flip the omelettes, a task more challenging than merely flipping a spatula, "like our Oracle and her Messengers, who commune with the Astrals, to serve as a bridge between humankind and the divine."

[deathsmajesty]

"Exactly like that!" Lili said, beaming at him. "They're our bridge between mere mortals and the Holy Serra. Serra doesn't talk to us anymore - they say she used to walk among us, but stopped after her heavenly realm was destroyed."

Urza.

"But they're her will made manifest, to guide us along the path."

Boy was Lili operating under some heavy misinformation here. Fucking religious dogma.

[chef_chocobro]

"I can only imagine, then," Ignus mused, "that the music an angel would play would also carry with it that purity and gooddness. It truly must have been transformative."

Noct's time in Tenebrea, it seemed, had certainly been so, as well, but then again, he had also been a grieving, injured child coming to terms with his place in the world...

"And now," said Ignis, tilting his head with a judging frown as he finished plating breakfast and spotting all the things he likely could habe done better, but still, he turned to bring them both over to the table in the little breakfast nook, "I am pleased to announce that it is finally time to eat."

[deathsmajesty]

"Delightful!" Lili said, bouncing down again. She started heading for the nook, then paused, looking back at the lyre. "I'm going to put this back first," she decided. "No reason to keep it out while we're eating."

She gave him a smile full of mischief. "And after breakfast, I'm going to be far too busy introducing you to the world of fun and leisure to play it more anyway."

Scampering off, the lyre and all appropriate sheet music were returned to their respective places and then she returned, sliding in behind her plate.

"Tell me, Ignis, do you like to dance?"