The Sole Star (Final Fantasy XV Fanfic)

Chapter XIV

Lorelai and Prompto were once again following the road on the back of their chocobos. They were nearing the Vesperpool when they saw a trio of people on the side of the rode, waving to them. They slowed their chocobos and stopped to speak with the people, who Lorelai quickly recognized as hunters.

"Is something wrong?" Lorelai asked them, slight worry on her face.

"You headin' up to the Vesperpool?" one of the men questioned. Lorelai nodded. "Then be careful. There's a behemoth hanging around up there."

"A behemoth?!" Prompto exclaimed with surprise.

The woman of the group sighed. "Strange, right? It's not everyday you see a beast like that around these parts. Just wanted to warn y'all before ya go heading right to it."

"Is anyone going to hunt it?" Lorelai asked them.

The third man of the group smirked and pointed a thumb to himself. "That's what we're doin'. We'll take care of it."

The girl smiled kindly at them from atop Eclipse. "Okay then. Thanks for the warning, we'll be sure to avoid it. Good luck."

The two continued onward. "Hey, Lora, you sure we should keep going with a behemoth around?" the blond asked in a shaky voice.

"Don't worry, Prompto. We're not going to fight it. If we happen to spot it then we'll avoid it."

He didn't say anything else. Once at the Vesperpool, the two stopped and scanned the area, looking all around. They didn't see a trace of the behemoth. They urged their chocobos forward slowly, keeping a sharp eye out for any danger. The birds waded through the shallow swampy waters. Eclipse suddenly stopped in her tracks, shaking her head and chirping.

"What's the matter, girl?" Lorelai pet her head to try and calm her.

Suddenly, a mushussu leapt from a nearby bush straight at the black bird. Eclipse jumped backwards, avoiding the monster but knocking Lorelai off her back at the same time. The girl splashed into the shallow water and the mushussu targeted her. The beast lunged at her before she could comprehend what was happening.

"Lora!"

In an instant, Prompto hopped off his chocobo with his gun in hand. A gunshot rang out and the monster collapsed in the water at Lorelai's feet. She quickly stood, summoning her scythe, noticing two more of the beasts approaching Prompto from behind. She quickly rushed past him, slashing her blades at the monsters. Both mushussu were taken down. Lorelai sighed with relief, her weapon disappearing.

"Lora, you okay?" Prompto asked, walking over to the girl.

She turned to face him, smiling. "Yeah, thanks to you."

The blond laughed lightly. "Hey, you saved me too."

"That's true. We'll call it even." Lorelai looked around. "Looks like our chocobos bolted, I don't see them anywhere. Probably for the best if there's a behemoth around here."

"Yeah, wouldn't want anything to happen to our feathered friends."

Lorelai then turned her attention to her wet clothes and hair. "Ugh, and now I'm soaked."

She wrung the water from her hair, then she slipped off her vest and squeezed the water out of it. While she was shaking off the excess droplets of water from her vest, Prompto took notice of the picture on her upper back.

"Whoa, cool tattoo," he said.

Lorelai paused what she was doing, following his gaze toward her exposed back. "Oh, thanks. I always thought so too."