bakerstreet | SNOWED IN

Oh.

[ He is surprised, but the surprise is more the fact that no one at all tried to wake him up than the actual time. He's slept in later, though this might actually be the latest he's slept in since leaving Insomnia. ]

... maybe. [ Noct's tone is pretty dubious here, but the microwave is dinging and now he's got a plate in front of him. ] Mm, smells good...

[ Picking up a fork, he eats some of the eggs -- or at least he tries to but winds up making a pained noise and spitting them out again like the socially graceful prince he is.] Too hot!

[ Noct takes a drink of coffee, but that doesn't really help and just makes the burn on his tongue sting a bit more. He starts blowing on the eggs then in hopes they cool off faster - even the bit he had in his mouth. At least he spit it back on the plate? But belatedly he realizes Iris is watching him and shifts uncomfortably. Isn't she glad she stuck around to watch him embarrass himself?]

I should have let it cool off first... sorry.

[ Sticking around is quite possibly one of the best decisions Iris has made all day. Maybe even all week.

To her credit, though, she only laughs a little at Noctis' seemingly-futile attempt to cool his mouth (and his food). And, she even has the decency not to comment on the fact that she just watched the crown prince of Insomnia spit out his breakfast.

She's the real MVP, here. ]

Hey, don't worry about it. [ She waves a hand, dismissive, but the smile is evident in her voice now. ] I mean, I probably should've checked to make sure it wouldn't be too hot for you, so... it's kinda my fault, too.

[ Which, now that she says it, sounds like the kind of thing Ignis might've done, were he around for this. ]

You're gonna be okay, right?

[ She is truly too kind. And better her than Prompto, who would have taken a picture of that...

Blushing a bit, Noct stares down at his food rather than look at her and nods.]

Y-yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry. [ Still not quite meeting her eyes, he gives her a thumbs up that he means to be enthusiastic but comes out a bit halfhearted.]

I'm definitely awake now...

Oh, yeah. I guess burning your mouth up like that would do the trick even better than coffee, wouldn't it?

[ Iris' smile turns just a tad more sympathetic once she notices how unenthused that thumbs up of his looks, and that isn't even touching the fact that he's blushing.

Is he really that bothered by his outburst? And, if he is, how can she turn this around? Those are the thoughts bouncing around in the back of Iris' mind right now. ]

Should I... get you some water or something? I bet it'd be easier to swallow than coffee right now, and I really don't mind helping out.

[ Lending a hand is probably a good start, she figures. ]

[ A good start indeed as he looks at her more properly now, shaking his head before absently rubbing his neck a bit. He's still embarrassed as hell but it's fading a bit, helped along by the fact that she isn't still laughing at him and giving him shit for it the way certain other friends would. ]

No. I'm good. So uh... what are your plans for the day? [smoothest subject change ever right there.]

[ Iris gives a one-shouldered shrug, folding her hands together in her lap. She was ready to get up and grab a glass for him, regardless of his answer, but she won't push it too hard if he wants to change the subject that badly. ]

I was thinking about going out. You know, to enjoy the weather while it lasts?

[ Snow isn't exactly an everyday occurrence for her, after all, and romping around in it for a little while would be a great reason to make hot cocoa afterward, too. ]

But now I kinda feel like trying to drag you along with me, since you're finally up. [ Stretching her legs out under the table, Iris gives him a half-curious look. ] Unless that's totally not your style.

[ He just gives her a blank confused look. What about the weather and oh no this isn't going to be like that awkward pretend-date through Lestellum, is it? ]

Enjoy the weather...?

[ You would think he'd have looked out the window in his room when he woke up. You'd think wrong. ]

[ Iris returns that look, albeit with more confusion than anything else. He really needs to be more aware of his surroundings, doesn't he? Would he have stayed ignorant until it came time for him to try to leave the house, if she weren't here?

The questions never end. ]

Seriously, Noct? It snowed like crazy while you were sleeping. [ She points toward the window for emphasis, where a tiny sliver of bright white can be seen through the gap between the curtains. It's one of those things you might have to be looking for to notice, but... ] You didn't think it was way, way colder than usual when you got up or anything?

[ Maybe she should be impressed. Or something. ]

[ There is definitely a reason no one lets him travel alone.......

He follows her point and - wait. What. Snow?!

Eyes wide with disbelief, he just has to get up and go look out the window for himself -- ]

Well yeah but I didn't think it had snowed... [ Noct just stares as he pushes the curtain aside. ]

Woah... [ That is way more snow than he has ever seen in one place before! He actually grins just a little seeing it. ]

It never snowed like this back home... [Maybe it was the Wall affecting the weather or maybe..... it's because Insomnia is right next to a desert. Either way, there's a bit of rare wonder in his voice. ]

Now you can see why I wanted to go out, right?

[ Iris follows behind him, hands tucked behind her back, so she can look out at the snow. It's settled now, coating just about everything in a thick layer of white— and it's a far cry from anything they could've seen in the crown city, that's for sure.

Being able to see Noctis get all smiley over something so small is a bonus, too. ]

So... what do you say? Wanna get a closer look?

[ She won't turn it into an awkward pretend-date this time, either. ]

Definitely.

[ All the better then. He likes Iris. But just... not like that. He keeps right on staring at the snow for a little bit before her second question catches up to him and he manages to tear his eyes away from the window. ]

Uh... let me finish breakfast.

[ And get dressed. Definitely doesn't want to go out without a coat and boots!

Fortunately, the food is cooled off by now, so he eats it quickly and even goes so far as to put the dishes in the sink before disappearing to his room with a 'be right back.' And indeed, not long after, he stumbles his way back in jeans, boots, gloves and his puffy coat thing. (He's gonna regret the jeans once they get all snow crusted and wet but well live and learn.) ]

Let's head out. [He is definitely excited. Not as excited as Prompto gets about Chocobos, but still pretty eager. Speaking of, they should throw snowballs at Prompto. Or make a snowman. Or otherwise do basically anything that doesn't involve getting roped into work clearing snow and ice off things for Cid.]

Sure thing.

[ And now the waiting game begins. First for Noctis to finish eating, and then for him to finish dressing. He doesn't take an excruciatingly long time, though, and for that Iris is eternally grateful.

She's pulling on a heavy jacket of her own by the time he reaches her, and her boots are already on and laced up. She definitely just as excited as he is at this point, and it's written plainly across her face. In fact, she might even be inching toward Prompto-near-a-chocobo levels of excitement. ]

You got it! [ She'll even unlatch the door and push it open for him (which actually takes just a little bit more effort than usual, thanks to how much it snowed). Once they're both out of the house, she shoves her hands into her pockets and turns to look at Noctis. ]

What's first on our to-do list? Building snowmen? Making snow angels? Or are you more of a snowball fight kinda guy?

[ Those are his options for now, unless he can think of something even better. Doing actual work? That can wait until after they've had their fun, or it can be left to Gladio. Either one is a pretty valid option. ]

[ After a moment's delay, he moves to help her with the door but -- then she already has it. Ok maybe it took him more than a second too long to realize that it was blocked by snow and help might be good. But in the end it doesn't matter, because they're both out in the cold and he is definitely awake now with that cold air smacking him in the face.

He just kind of stares out at the fluffy white landscape in understated awe for several seconds before Iris' question catches up to him and he stammers ]

I -- uh...

Making Snow Angels
^
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Build a Snowman <==O==> Snowball Fight
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V
Let Iris Decide

I've ... never really -- [ well ok they tried to have snowball fights at school the few times they got any snow at all, but he'd never actually made snow angels or built more than the tiniest of melty snowmen before... ]

What do you want to do first?

[ Lucky for Noctis, Iris is both willing to wait for him to take in the landscape before them and kind enough to take the reigns.

She takes a few steps forward, like that will help her consider her options, and then: ]

I think making a snowman or two sounds like it'd be pretty fun. Just to start with, at least.

[ Which probably means— so long as he's willing to let her drag him around— Iris just might be intent on doing all of the things she listed off. Unless the cold ends up being more than she'd bargained for once they've been in it for a while. Which is... a pretty valid possibility. ]

We never got to do things like that back in the city, right?

[ ~~+ 200 exp~~

If it gets too cold, then clearly they can just go back inside and have hot cocoa and watch the snow out the window!

But for now, Noctis nods to the snowman idea. Having only made small ones he... isn't too sure about how you go about a big one, but presumably you start off with a snowball and just pack it bigger, right? He'll let her drag him off to wherever seems like a good place before he'll start smashing snow together.]

No, we didn't... never enough snow for much.

[He bends down to scoop up some of the snow, packing it into a ball.]

[ Iris probably has about the same amount of knowledge as Noctis does, when it comes to making snowmen. But, she figures, it can't be that difficult. It's just a few oversized snowballs stacked on top of each other, right? And then there are, of course, the decorations. ]

I guess that's one of the pros of being in Caem, then. [ Not that she minds it here, so far. It's different from Insomnia in more ways than she can count (even more different than Lestallum had been), but the rustic life has its own charm, too.

She follows Noctis' example, scooping up a generous handful of snow so that she can begin to pack it into a ball. After a brief moment of silence while she shapes the snow in her hands, she looks toward him again. ]

Do you think we should make it look like someone? [ The snowman, that is. ] I bet it wouldn't be very hard.

Hm. We could try.

[ Noct is quiet for a few moments, thinking about it as he squats to sweep more snow up into a big pile around the ball to try and get it bigger so he can start rolling it. Who would be the most feasible? He's not sure what Iris' artistic talent is, but he doesn't think he can recreate people's hair with snow. But some of their friends have pretty distinct features. ]

Iggy might be easiest 'cause of the specs. Or Cid if we can make a beard and find a spare cap.

[ Iris is, once again, following Noctis' lead. She watches him for a moment before she kneels down in the snow so that she can really get the ball rolling— so to speak. ]

All we'd need to do is find some glasses if we wanted to make it look like Ignis, but... I dunno where we'd find any right now. [ Ignis is the only person she knows who wears glasses, and he's not around. And that's assuming he'd let them borrow his glasses in the first place. ] I bet we could make a beard from leaves if we were clever about it, though!

[ She pauses, looking down at the ball of snow that she's been working on, like she's trying to decide if it's large enough. It isn't, so she continues to add to it as she speaks. ]

You think Cid would get mad if we modeled it after him?

I know where Iggy keeps a spare pair, but he probably wouldn't be too happy about us raiding it...

[ Noctis pauses a moment, looking over at the lighthouse where Cid's been working away. It's a shame Cindy isn't here today, because she would be the perfect partner in crime for Cid snowmen. He's pretty sure she'd get a hoot out of it for one thing, and for another it would be impossible for Cid to get mad at her over it. ]

Hm. ... if he does, we can always knock the head off and make it someone else.

SNOWED IN

indeed!

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i lack an appropriate expressioned icon so have lightning instead

lightning, snow-- same-ish difference!

i mean lightning and snow are from the same game so it works right?

fact: i actually thought you were somehow going to use an icon of lightning at first

sdlkfj i mean that's a good consideration .my apologies alsof or the delay!

noctis is almost as pretty as her, so... also, dw about it!!

the curse of being the main character of an FF game...!

wow!! it's definitely a blessing, not a curse

but listen what if he wants to be manly and have a cool beard like his dad

he'll get there one day!!!

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