Searching for Noctis

One evening, Saige runs wildly through Kog’Thrak, darting between orcs and draconian soldiers as she sniffs the air, searching for someone.

When she finally catches sight of him, she barrels forward at full speed.

“Noctis!” She jumps right in front of him and stops in her tracks. “Man, I’ve been trying to catch you here for like, a whole week! I need to talk to you.”

Noctis freezes in his tracks as Saige runs up to him on his way to the long house. 

"Woah. Hey there. Uh... Whatcha need?" He tilts his head and looks her over. "Saige, right? We haven't officially been introduced but I do know you. His Majesty talks about you. How can I help?"

“Okay okay…”

Saige sucks in a deep breath and immediately starts digging in her pouch, rattling through the contents before pulling out a couple of vials.

“Here, you’ll need these! That one is a metabolic remedy, you probably won’t need it, but just in case. And then that one is a universal solvent! You’ll definitely need this. Trust me.” 

She points at each vial as she explains, eyes wide and a grin on her face.

“Anyway, so! My family is a little crazy, and since you’re Kalil’s friend, I figured I should warn you. I’m sorry in advance if the twins glue something random to you. They’re menaces.” She rocks on her toes as she speaks. “And Valerian! Please don’t kill him if he flirts with you. The best thing to do is to remind him that he needs to draw another letter to Jade. Oh, and they will absolutely try to prank you, so you need to watch out!”

She pauses, then immediately gasps like she’s remembered something important.

“Wait, wait! I should introduce you so you know who I’m talking about!”

Her arms flail around as her words rush out.

“Also I wanted to ask if you would help me keep an eye on them when you’re here? Especially the twins. Because if they escape, the world will end! Or at the very least, be set on fire.” 

She tilts her head, suddenly deadly serious.

“Do you think that the mountains would melt if the world was on fire? Or would they just scream?” Her tone dips lower, thoughtful. “I mean, they scream sometimes anyway, so maybe it would just be louder…"

Noctis takes the vials and nods along as she talks. "Right. Right. Solvent. Remedy. Got it." He shoves each one in a pouch and then nods. "Alright. So, keep an eye on the twins. Ignore Valerian..."

When she asks about the mountains burning, he chuckles. "Uh... The mountains scream? I mean. I suppose that makes sense? In a way? So yeah. Perhaps they scream louder."

He huffs a breath. "Okay. You want me to meet them?" He shrugs. "Sure. Why not. Let's go."

Saige’s grin snaps back onto her face.

“Really? Great! Come on!”

She takes off in the direction of her family’s camp, glancing back over her shoulder with wild, eager eyes to make sure he’s keeping up. Her hands flail as she launches into a story, words tumbling out faster than she can think.

“So this one time, the twins glued a loooot of knives to a bunch of turtles, and then let them loose inside the house. They’re so slow moving around that we didn’t really notice them at first, but when we did, they were coming for our ankles! Man, this one turtle in particular said he really hated my smile, so he tried to shank my ankles like, all day.” She shrugs casually, like this is a totally normal occurrence. “So that’s why you gotta be careful with the twins!”  

They arrive at a camp that feels like it doesn’t belong in Kog’Thrak at all. Several tents are pitched in a rough circle, draped with twisting vines, wildflowers, and odd little charms that sway in the breeze. Tables are cluttered with bubbling vials and jars filled with unknown liquids, while boots and random trinkets hang from the branches of a nearby tree.

In the middle of it all, several elves sit around a crackling campfire, caught in some kind of game where they’re holding their hair over the flames without burning it, faces a mix of focus and amusement.

Saige sweeps her arm towards the scene. “Here we are!”

Then, in a blink, she’s no longer smiling at Noctis. With a wild, feral shriek, she lunges at the twins, grabbing them and wrestling them to the ground in a whirlwind of limbs and laughter.

The family looks up at Saige's approach. Noctis just watches them as Saige begins wrestling with the twins. Valerian immediately hops up and walks up to Noctis. 

"Hello there! I have an ostrich. Does that impress you?" He winks at Noctis with both eyes.

Noctis chuckles. "An ostrich huh? Sure. That's impressive." 

Valerian wiggles his eyebrows at Noctis. "Ooohhh. I also-"

"Valerian!" Basil shouts and when Valerian turns to look at him, Basil shakes his head. "Remember. Behave."

Valerian groans. "I was just-"

Basil shakes his head again. Valerian slumps and walks back over to the campfire. As soon as he sits down, the others turn their attention to Noctis and begin introducing themselves. One on top of the other. Noctis just smiles and nods as they talk over one another.