#young noctis

[hiddeneosbymrsflowerpot]

I love how mods can show us little details we may never normally have seen. I was doing a retexture of Noctis as a young boy when I noticed this skull pattern on the back of his shoes. It's such a cute detail. I want shoes like that! All images copyright Square Enix Co Ltd.

[mashollings]

(WIP) Happy Birthday Noctis!! 🎂💖

[daydreams-n-fantasies]

Had to draw lil Noct cause he’s just too adorable

Reference Photo: https://pin.it/7hdW9h1

[driftwoodwolf]

happy bday noctis! <3

[absolutelynoct]

"Do you need to lie down?"

Gladio stared at Noctis, a grin on his face. They were squaring off against one another, Gladio directing Noctis in his training to make sure he was, at the very lease, adequate in his ability to fight. He needed to make sure the prince wasn’t going to just die the moment he stepped outside of the palace. While he enjoyed how it was so easy to overtake the prince, he also worried for him right now.

Noctis was sweating more than usual, his cheeks flushed red, his eyes watering. Gladio was smiling because it was clear that Noctis was suffering from a fever. It was always so much fun to watch him try and be tougher than he actually was. Eventually he would cave in, and Gladio would be there to pick him up and take him to his room in the palace. But for now he would just wait for him to admit defeat.

“Do you need to lie down?” Gladio asked the brat as he stared at him with fierce eyes, panting and exhausted. Why were kids so ardent in their stubbornness? Or maybe it was just a prince thing. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“I’m fine,” Noctis insisted. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at Gladio. “Again!”

Noctis was only a few years younger than him. When they were older than age difference wouldn’t be that important. They would be close as brothers, thick as thieves. But now it was like they were worlds apart. Noctis was just a kid and didn’t understand anything in Gladio’s eyes. It was fascinating what a year of maturing could do for children.

At some point Noctis was going to give up, but for now he went after Gladio with wild abandon. Gladio easily blocked the attack, particularly because the young prince wasn’t feeling well, and he ended flat on his back in an instant. That’s when Gladio knew he had to call it quits. If they kept it up, he would get in trouble for sparring with the prince while he was ill.

“Alright,” Gladio said as he relaxed his stance. “Let’s get you to bed. You’re sick.”

“I’m fine,” Noctis argued. “Let’s do it again!”

Noctis coughed as he tried to stand up, only proving Gladio’s point. He approached the prince and held out his hand with a chagrined smile. Behind him a door opened, and he knew it was Ignis, checking in on the prince’s progress. Noctis ignored his offer, trying to stand and stumbling in his feverish haze.

“The prince is being stubborn,” Gladio called to Ignis. “Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

“What seems to be the problem?” Ignis asked as he approached them. He was such a composed man, but Gladio knew that he could also have fun if provoked. And Gladio liked to provoke.

“Kid’s got a fever,” Gladio said. “I can take him to his rooms, but he’s being stubborn.”

“I can do this!” Noctis grumbled. Gladio didn’t know what point he was trying to prove, but it wasn’t working.

“No one can function with a fever,” Ignis pointed out. “Let’s postpone until you feel better. Then you can beat him up all you want.”

“Fine,” Noctis pouted. “But I can walk to my room.”

Gladio ended up picking up and carrying the prince on his back anyway, especially when he saw Noctis stumble as he tried to get up. Ignis offered to walk with him, and Gladio accepted happily. He didn’t mind any moment he could spend with the advisor.

“What is this rush to learn how to fight?” Ignis inquired, their footsteps echoing on the marble floor.

“I want to help someone at school,” Noctis said. Gladio looked at Ignis with amused perplexity. “He’s nice but he doesn’t have any confidence. I was hoping to teach him. I was thinking if he knew how to fight it would help.”

“It is all well and good that you are so compassionate,” Ignis began. “But you need to take care of yourself. If you cannot care for yourself then you cannot care for others.”

“Okay,” Noctis only said, his head burrowing into Gladio’s back. The kid really wasn’t feeling well.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Gladio said. “We can fight another day.”

They had the child in his bed in no time at all, and Ignis called for the palace medic to look after the prince. Gladio didn’t doubt that King Regis would be there in an instant, knowing that he would be worried about his son until he felt better. Looking at Noctis laying in the bed, sleeping soundly through his fever, Gladio almost didn’t think of him as the brat that he could be.

“He certainly is a handful,” Ignis mused as they left the room once they knew the prince was safely with the medic. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course,” Gladio replied. He looked at Ignis with a question on his lips. It was better to save it for another time, he supposed. For now he was just glad to have the time with Ignis. “Let’s get some coffee together sometime.”

Ignis looked at him in curious surprise. “That sounds nice.”

His phone went off, and a moment later he was speaking to the king on the phone. Ignis waved him off and Gladio was on his way. Coffee with Ignis sounded nice. It would wait for another day. Perhaps a day when the prince was feeling better. But for now the prince needed rest, and Gladio would be on standby as his shield, waiting for the fever to pass.

[chibi-jing]

King Regis, Queen Aulea and their newborn, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum.

Welcome to Eos, cute little King of Light ❤️

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

Dreams of Our Past - Chapter 25 Snippet

Set right after Noctis fell unconscious after the Malirith attack. (This was supposed to be one short scene. Oh well. -.-) Nothing is edited as of yet, just to warn you. Mistakes are a given.

Noctis drifted through an all consuming blackness. He had no idea for how long he had been doing so.

He wanted his dad.

Where was his dad?

Hadn't he seen him before he lost consciousness? Had that thing gotten him? The thought was absurd. Nothing could hurt his dad. He was his dad, after all.

The greedy screams in the distance were slowly coming closer. They scared Noctis. He didn't want to know what would happen should they reach him. The blackness became thicker. It penetrated him with each pain filled breath he took. It felt like he was breathing in oil and a thick sooty smoke that kept scratching the back of his throat like sandpaper. He retched.

Where was his dad? Why wasn't he helping him like he always promised he would?

Noctis wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, but he couldn't do any of it. Instead he screwed his eyes shut as tightly as he could and curled into a ball until his forehead was buried between his knees. Is hands pressed against his ears in an attempt to shut out the screams. It didn't help. They grew even louder instead.

Then, from one moment to the other, it was over.

Something cool and wet pressed against his cheek. With a hoarse scream Noctis threw himself away from the unexpected sensation and tore his eyes open. The darkness was gone. Instead he sat on a patch of wet earth surrounded by strangely colourless grass and the sky was hidden behind a thick shroud of mist, that didn't allow Noctis to see farther than a few metres.

His gaze was caught by a little creature with snowy white fur, huge ears, a bushy tail and a little red horn at the centre of its forehead. It was the size of a normal house cat and had a cute snout. Stunned, Noctis stared at the creature, who stared right back with fathomless and ancient eyes that shimmered like the ocean.

“Who... who are you?”

His voice sounded oddly muffled. It was as if the fog like shroud was swallowing each sound he made right up like a starving beast.

The creature made a quiet sound that sounded like a curious mix between a cat and the squeaks a rubber toy made. One word drifted through Noctis' mind.

“Carbuncle?” the young prince asked, unsure if he had understood correctly.

Again that curious sound, this time affirmative. The creature puffed up in satisfaction until it looked like one giant ball of fluff. It made Noctis giggle and Carbuncle pranced about, clearly pleased.

“Hello, Carbucle. My name is Noctis. Do you know where I am?”

A feeling that seemed to be a confirmation or something close to it, drifted through his mind. Noctis blinked. What a strange way to communicate. He shrugged the thought off, if it worked, it worked. It wasn't like animals could speak like people could.

“Can you take me to my dad? He's the King of Lucis, you know, and must be very worried for me,” asked the young prince.

Carbuncle's whole body shook in a clear 'no'. It could have been comical, if it had been in any other situation.

“Oh,” made Noctis, utterly disappointed.

The creature pressed into his right leg in a clear attempt to comfort him. It helped a bit, if not much. Noctis' fingers carded through soft fur again and again, until the burning in his eyes stop and he didn't feel like he would start to cry at the drop of a hat.

What should he do now?

As if the boy's internal question had been heard, Carbuncle jumped up from next to him and walked a few paces, before looking back with large turquoise eyes, clearly expecting something.

“Am I to follow you?” Noctis loved starting sentences with 'am I to' ever since he had heard his father do it. It sounded cool and grown up. Two things he wanted to be.

A nod was his answer.

Carefully, Noctis stood up. The wet grass was slippery beneath his shoes. Luckily the ground neither sloped nor rose, so it wasn't too difficult to keep his footing. The young prince had no idea for how long they were walking in what seemed to be a straight line. He had lost any sense of time and the never changing surroundings certainly didn't help with his sense of direction. No matter how far they went, nothing changed. The same wet grass and the same shrouded sky.

Then, suddenly, a grey shape slowly came into view. Noctis had no idea what it was – trying to see through the fog was like trying to see through thick milky glass – and wanted to go closer to get a clear look at the thing. Blob. Whatever it was.

Carbuncle however, came to a stop in front of him, fur standing on end and would not let him step closer.

No – warning – danger.

Noctis' stomach dropped. He took a step back suddenly nervous and unsure. Suddenly he felt like the blob was eyeing him up hunger and greed. Carbuncle gazed at him in a clear warning for a few moments longer, then turned around and started to walk again. They travelled around the grey shape in a large circle. That wasn't the only time it happened and with each instance he grew more and more scared.

The young prince tried to ask Carbuncle about those things more than once, but the small creature never gave an answer. It didn't matter how far they went, Noctis felt neither hunger, nor thirst, nor did he grow tired.

“What kind of creature are you?” he asked at last in an attempt to distract himself from the gnawing uncertainty in his gut.

Carbuncle didn't turn around, nor did he stop, and for a moment Noctis thought his question had been ignored again. He got an answer. Hesitantly, and in a jumbled mix of emotions and pictures that tumbled through his mind, as if they didn't know where they should go.

Sleep – dreams – protection – children's laughter – shadows lurking beneath the consciousness.

Noctis didn't really understand it. But that was alright. He could busy himself with trying to figure it out while they travelled along. For a long time nothing changed. Then he heard the the gurgle of water lapping against a shore. He hadn't heard anything but his own footsteps in so long that it took him a while to figure out what he was hearing; that he was hearing anything at all. At once his stride grew longer and his steps faster.

The water was just as colourless as the grass and the polished stones of the shore and the bottom eluded his hungry gaze. He could feel the icy cold of the water seeping through his clothes without having to touch it. He shivered. Because of the limited vision the fog provided, he couldn't discern if this was a river or a lake or something else.

Carbuncle turned sharply to the left and Noctis followed dutifully. Dusk settled around them. He wasn't sure if that was the right word for it, but the world around them seemed to grow... more grey, until darkness had nearly settled in its entirety. The young prince couldn't see where he was setting his foot down and slipped. He nearly tumbled into the water, only just managing to regain his balance.

Warning – water – danger.

Noctis grumbled under his breath and took a large step back from the water. Couldn't Carbuncle have warned him sooner?

They carried on until Noctis couldn't see anything anymore but darkness and the glowing white fur of the small creature in front of him.

[the-truth-will-light-the-sky]

Eat your veggies, Noct.

“Noct, time for your midday lunch. His Majesty awaits you at the dining hall.”

Midday lunch. 

The young prince of Lucis finds himself staring in front of what seems like an army of vegetables, neatly placed in front of him as if soldiers in a battlefield.

Noctis swallows hard as he eyes the dubious green soup, plated in front of him in beautiful Lucian tableware along with hordes of Keycatrich salad appetizers and skewered mushrooms. 

His father, King Regis, picks up the spoon in a graceful lift, eyes dark, hair pushed back neatly in a fashion that befits the king of Lucis. 

The young prince expects his father to scold him for holding a staring game against the army of greenery but he was surprised to find him scowling as if the soup has offended his Majesty, sticking out his tongue in disgust.

“Eos Green Pea Soup,” he muttered, chugging down a small helping of Altissian wine. He looked at his son, a comical expression playing across his features. “Never sits well with my taste buds, unfortunately.’

Noctis laughed at his father, finding a comrade to fight with against the Lucian chef’s army of dubiously cooked plates of veggies and herbs. 

‘I hate peas, too,” the prince said, the high tone of his voice filling the dining hall, sunlight filtering through against the black curtains with gold embroidered trimmings.

Ignis sits from across the prince, stabbing lettuce after lettuce and stuffing them inside his mouth. 

“But young Ignis likes his vegetables, it seems,” King Regis remarked the young retainer with approval.

“It is delectable, your Highness,”Ignis replied meekly.

The Lucian King smiled, eyeing the way his son’s neck craned to see what has so delighted his friend.

Fork lifting and eventually stuffing his mouth with the vegetable in question, Noctis’ brows furrowed and it took all his might to swallow the food, finding Ignis’ taste in food very questionable.

It was Ignis’ turn to smile. “Lettuce alone won’t be too delicious, I’m afraid. You have to put in some dressing to make it taste better.”

“And some cheese and bits of ham, Noctis. Makes it all the better, trust me,” his father added, smirking.

Noct studied his two companions and then stared at the one standing further from the table, her figure a beacon of hope to guide him through his struggle with the vegetables. 

“Do you like veggies too, Veritas?” his voiced filled the hall once again.

The young woman smiled at her place beside the scary looking Cor. “Why yes, my prince. His Highness and young Ignis are right to tell you about the cheese,” she replied with a light and amiable chuckle.

Her voice soothed him somewhat, finding back up to finally face the menacing leafy greens. Noctis huffed as he stabbed yet another lettuce, added some cheese, dressing, ham and then....

“Don’t forget the carrots, child,” King Regis said, eyeing the way his only son cautiously choosing his ingredients in his garden of a plate.

“Not my kind of crunchy,” he muttered.

Cor Leonis and Veritas both chuckled in unison, followed by the King. 

Ignis Scientia held his breath as the young prince slowly took a bite.

As soon as he did, Noctis’ eyes lit up, smiling.

The tension in the room lifted, as if a veil had finally been lifted.

“I think the cheese did it,” the young boy replied, taking another forkful of the not-so-offensive Keycatrich Salad.

The king of Lucis sighed as if he has won yet another treaty. “Well then, it wasn’t bad, wasn’t it?”

Noctis shook his head, adding another bit of cheese into his fork.

“Yeah, but we should call it Cheese Salad instead. It’s not so scary if you call it that way,” he suggested.

“I shall make you one, one day, Majesty,” Ignis replied, committing to memory on how to make the young prince eat his greens.

Noctis finished his salad in a few minutes, his eyes alight in mirth.

King Regis sipped his wine in triumph, finding the sweetness and headiness of it agreeable against his tongue.

“Another battle has been won, it seems,” Veritas remarked with a chuckle.

“Yeah!” Noctis cheered, imagining himself atop the defeated mountains of veggies.

“Well-played, Highness,” Cor Leonis commented as the desserts were being ushered in. 

“True enough. Although, one would wonder as to how I will get him to eat carrots.”

Noctis’ shrill voice rang like bells in the air as King Regis pinched the bridge of his nose, listening to his son’s repeated battle cry against the mighty vegetable army of Regis Lucis Caelum being chanted with fervor.

“NEVER!” 

“Let’s save that battle for another day,” King Regis muttered.

He smiled in content as his son ate the dessert in front of him with undisguised happiness. 

At least Noctis loves the same dessert his mother loves, Regis remarked in his mind, sighing even more in his drink of delicious Altissian wine. 

Reminds me of you, every passing moment, my love.