♥ Who: Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII & OPEN
♥ Where: Ainea's Temple, Valeo, the House + one Network prompt
♥ When: Late on the 5th and the week or so after his awakening.
♥ What: Regis is awake, but his sleep was just a little different than Cor's was...
♥ Rating: PG/PG-13

Ainea's Temple: Awakening (Closed to the Watch Crew/Starts with Noctis) - Where's my mother's open arms?

[Regis doesn't remember going to sleep. In fact, he very vividly remembers being in his office sorting through a last bit of paperwork and expecting Clarus to look in at any moment to make sure he is actually going to bed afterward. Perhaps a stop by Noctis' room beforehand, but then to bed. No more work. No more avoiding an empty room.

It really doesn't seem as if three years have passed since Aulea left them. The pain is as fresh as ever and the chill of their once shared room just as cold. Perhaps he should really more seriously consider changing rooms despite the trouble it would cause. Maybe something even closer to Noctis' room?

Ah, but it's not his office he awakes from sleeping in. Instead, it's a bed in a...temple?

Regis starts as memory crashes over him and in doing so, his hand lands on the shoulder of a figure that is bent over the bed, sound asleep. At first, all he can do is smile sadly, before reaching up to gently brush a hand over his son's hair.]

Noctis.

[There is regret in the soft chuckle that follows.]

It seems everyone was correct when they said children grow up far too quickly.


Valeo: Evening (Open) - Where's my father's lion heart?

[Regis hums softly as he rearranges the potion bottles in this particular cabinet for the fifth, perhaps, sixth time? He's lost track honestly, just finding new patterns to keep his hands and mind busy. There is really no point to it all. A potion is a potion even if the bottle's shape is a little different. This one taller. This one rounder. This one shaped, well, just a bit like a chocobo chick if one squints.

Okay, there is a point. The point is, he and Cor wanted to have this shop going last month, and yet here the doors have not even opened because of Cor growing ill, then himself, and then...

What kind of fortune was it that he changed so and then came back when others just vanished?

Regis sighs and carefully shuts the door on the cabinet as to not jar the glass panels. He then turns to the counter behind him and picks up one more potion bottle. This one is a little different from the others. The glass is thicker and colored a deep purple. He turns it over in his hand for a moment before speaking quietly.]

I certainly hope these are not the changes you were hinting at.


The House: During the Week (Open) - It's like the sun's gone down

[With such a nice backyard and with the kind of people who live in the house that is attached to it, there is little wonder that it gets used as a training space now and again. Of course, the training that is going on right now is quite a bit different than what one might normally consider training. For one thing, the person training is usually holding onto their weapon, not having it float a short distance in front of them, ready for battle, held by an invisible hand.

It's only been five years since he faced down the threats to his city on Founder's Day and already Regis knows the prime of his strength has come and gone. Physically, at least. Now, as odd as it seems, it is easier to wield his sword with the force of his magic behind it than hold it with his own hands and that means learning yet another battle style.

It's like a dance really. Regis has his eyes closed forcing himself to fully rely on his magic and what it tells him about the sword's position. That information he uses to make the sword mirror the actions he makes with his own empty hand. Thrust here. Parry there. There still needs to be precision. Absolute control. Even more than he used in that battle five years ago.

It's a good way to be productive and keep his mind focused on the things he can change and not the things he cannot.]


Network: Video (Open) - Sleeps in the hallowed ground now

[For all the effort that Regis puts into smiling, his smile is a brittle thing, tinged with sadness. Of course, even if his smile was 'normal' it would be immediately obvious something besides a mere sleep happened while he was at Ainea's temple. He looks worn now and older than this 33 years would suggest.]

I wanted to thank everyone who helped out my family and friends while I was gone.

[There is a slight hesitation before he speaks that last word during which he folds his hands in front of himself. Those who met him before and are quick of eye may notice that he is no longer wearing his wedding ring. Instead, in its place, is the Ring of the Lucii which used to rest on his other hand.]

And for those of you who knew what was to come? Words cannot express how grateful I am to you that you said nothing. You are right. I do not believe I could have lived through that twice.

[The message ends there with no further explanation as to what he is specifically speaking of.]