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week 3; of investigating
[he hadn't been particularly forthcoming about what he wanted to discuss. and really... noctis had a few reasons for that.
the first is that it's just the sort of thing that shouldn't be discussed with prying eyes and ears. the second is that it's because it involves things that were spoken of in confidence—and for all the things that noct isn't great with, he wants to at least keep his word and the trust he's managed to built with some people here.
even though it was a bit awkward to approach riku, he did so out of necessity, and when he hears the knock on his door a couple of hours after making that approach—well, he's equal parts uneasy, nervous... and relieved. he doesn't have any idea how this is going to go, or if it's going to improve the situation at all—
but he has to try and hope that in the end, his plan works.
so he'll swing the door open, standing aside to let him in before and honest, but serious:]
Hey. Thanks for coming.
the first is that it's just the sort of thing that shouldn't be discussed with prying eyes and ears. the second is that it's because it involves things that were spoken of in confidence—and for all the things that noct isn't great with, he wants to at least keep his word and the trust he's managed to built with some people here.
even though it was a bit awkward to approach riku, he did so out of necessity, and when he hears the knock on his door a couple of hours after making that approach—well, he's equal parts uneasy, nervous... and relieved. he doesn't have any idea how this is going to go, or if it's going to improve the situation at all—
but he has to try and hope that in the end, his plan works.
so he'll swing the door open, standing aside to let him in before and honest, but serious:]
Hey. Thanks for coming.
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but all the same, given the topic—he's not entirely surprised that riku is keeping his cool, either. it's not a bad thing, not entirely. but noctis is not exactly great at breaching secretive topics and things that aren't part of common conversation in these parts especially.]
She said she heard some stuff from you. Stuff about how to "win" the game. [at least he's not beating around the bush. he's amiable about it, because he's not really looking to interrogate riku or anything like that—
but it sparks his curiosity for a couple of reasons.] Guess you can say I wanted to know more about it.
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Sure. It's important to know what'll happen in the end, right?
[In a way it's kind of nice to be able to talk frankly about it. Most people he talks to still think they can find another way out. And as much as he wishes it were possible... Riku's a realist, and they need to know as much as they can about the situation they're in before they start planning for wild possibilities.]
I've talked with the sheriff a few times since we showed up here. He told me people get rewards based on their actions during the trials. I don't know if he meant the people who do the killing, or the people that do the executions, but... [A shrug.]
Whoever wins the game doesn't get a reward for winning. They get a choice.
[He frowns, remembering the sheriff's words.]
Either everybody goes home, the winner goes home... or they restart the game.
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...Sounds like you heard what I did, then.
[and that's why he was so curious. he's trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together here—and what xion told noctis had definitely set off an alarm bell or twenty.]
Not exactly information that guy's offering up freely, though. [noctis knows they have to find a way to beat them at their own game, because the rules are kind of bullshit.]
Gonna take a guess you haven't shared with the whole class for a reason, too? [since noctis knows—likely as well as riku does—that it's probably not the best that knowing how the winnings go without telling everyone and letting them stew in their slowly waning optimism.
he just really hopes riku's intentions are good ones and that he's not going to use it to cause anyone harm.]
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You could say that.
All this talk about finding another way out of here is just talk. Until we can find it, we're trapped by the rules of this game. The way I see it, knowing as much about is as we can can help us figure out what to do.
The problem is, there are some people here that balk even just thinking about that.
[He shakes his head, then meets Noct's eyes directly through his blindfold.]
I don't know about you, but I didn't want to be considered suspicious just because I started asking questions.
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[given the fact that riku hasn't said anything noctis doesn't know already, he knows that advertising too much would be suspicious.]
Don't really want to be looked at that way, but if it comes out that we know more than we're telling 'em, it's gonna spell trouble either way.
[even still.] Just means we'll have to use what we know. We'll find it by finding our lucky winner and getting them to end the game. ...If we can pull that off.
Xion trusts you a lot. [he says, after a short pause.] Enough that she didn't want trouble for you when I asked about this. Gonna use that to assume you want to get people out of this alive too. [even though they're trapped by the rules of the game and they both know it—noct's definitely looking to make more allies that will work with him on saving lives instead of taking them.]
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thanks Xion.]That's the plan. Make sure that someone who'll send everyone home wins the game.
[He pauses when Noct does, the unspoken between them: what happens if and when they have to make that choice between killing or being killed? If they can't figure out another option... do they let someone die, in order to make sure they can all get home later? At Noctis's last statement, he nods firmly.]
Yeah. None of us asked for any of this.
If there's a way for us to get people out of here alive, I'll do whatever I can to make sure that happens.
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he doesn't want to make the wrong choice.]
We should work together, however we can. If we use what we know, we might be able to find a way.
[this is definitely the time for a proper alliance. if they really want the same things.] Definitely the kind of thing that's gonna be easier to do with more than one person.
[he's not the best at this kind of stuff, but they need to save as many lives as they can—working together is the best way he can think of for them to make something happen that will be for the better.]
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Well, he thinks he can trust Noctis to make the right choice. He'd be willing to die for that, if necessary.]
Agreed. We can start by putting together everything we know so far.
Have you gotten anything from the sheriff that I haven't mentioned yet?
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There are roles other than the bandits that he told everyone about during the trial. The ones who take out the bandits that don't do their jobs, and ones searching them out.
[he sighs a little.]
What we need is the people in those parts to not give a damn about his rules and try to work with saving everyone instead.
[but who knows? it really depends on who is in all of those roles, honestly.]