This might be a short and slow chapter, and I apologize if it is, but I promise, the next one will be much better. C:

Ignis glanced over the piece of paper in his once once more, mentally weighing the pros and cons of taking on this request. On one hand, the reward was quite generous; it would have been enough for them to have about a thousand gil a piece. But, on the other hand, it was a bit out of their way. They would have to go to Fociaugh Hollow once again, and after what they had to go through the first time, he wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Apparently there were some valuable gems somewhere in the cave that where desired. He didn't remember seeing anything of the sorts, but he thought he may have just overlooked them.

He looked to his right where Noct and Gladio were talking among themselves, then to his left where Prompto was sitting with his head against the counter. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the three of them. Once their eyes were on him he lied the paper down in front where they all could see it. "What do you guys say? Think it's worth a look into?" He asked, leaning back a little and pushing his glasses up his nose.

Gladio grabbed it off the counter and take a closer look at it, "Weren't we just there a couple days ago? Do you really want to go back there?" He placed it back where it was, "Last time that weird snake thing tried to kidnap Prom. Not sure we want to know what else is lurking in there."

Prompto made a displeased face at the idea, "I personally don't wish to go back anytime soon." He threw in his two cents before putting his head back down.

Noctis looked at the labeled reward, "Three thousand five hundred gil, and a mega phoenix. That doesn't sound like a bad deal for a fetch request."

Ignis thought for a moment, "We'll have to go a little off to do this, but we could use the funds." He looked up at the chef behind the counter, "We'll accept it. Noct is right, it does seem like a more than fair payment for something so simple."

Prompto groaned from his spot, "Guess I have no choice, but if I get dragged off again, I'm dragging you with me." His normally humorous tone came off as a bit stand-offish, not that he meant for it to come out that way. He pushed himself up and went to stand next to the door.

"What's up with him?" Noctis asked quietly, looking over to Gladio for an answer.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me. Been like that since he woke up, when he finally decided to get up anyway." He folded his arms across his chest and switched his gaze to Ignis, "We headin' out now, or later?"

Ignis got up from his seat, "Best to leave now while there is still light out. We'll camp at a haven for the night, then continue in the morning." He made his way out the door, and Prompto followed after him, not saying a word and took his usual spot in the passenger seat. He sank into the comfort of the Regalia and leaned his head against the door. Meanwhile everyone else got into their respective places and Ignis pulled out onto the road to make their way towards their new destination.

Ignis had the music playing softly in an attempt to alleviate some of the awkward silence that settled around them. Gladio was reading in the back next to a sleeping prince, while Prompto was up front staring out absentmindedly. He wasn't even bothering to take pictures. Ignis noticed this peculiar behavior, "Is everything alright? You seem to be a bit...off."

Prompto jumped a little as the sudden question caught him off guard. He glanced over real quick, then turned back to looking at the landscape. Unsure of how to answer, he gave a vague one, "Y-yeah." He took a deep breath, "Just tired, been a long week, ya'know?" He closed his eyes to better savor the wind blowing through his hair and against his face. "Feels like we've been going non-stop. I'm not complaining," He defended quickly. "Just not used to it is all."

Ignis looked a bit skeptical, but accepted that as a reasonable argument. "If that's the case, why not follow Noct's example at take a nap until we arrive. No need for you to force yourself to stay awake for the car ride after all." He gave him a small smile, assuring him that it was fine.

Prompto nodded, "I guess I can do that." He leaned into the door more, trying to get more comfortable, finding it unusually difficult to do so despite the exhaustion he felt. Finally finding a somewhat tolerable position he was able to let sleep take him into its loving arms.

As he was drifting off Ignis turned down the music just a tad and checked the rear view mirror to get a look at the others. Noctis was still sleeping, not once changing positions and Gladio still had his nose in that book of his, probably even missed the previous short conversation. The rest of the ride was carried on in silence.

He pulled over once they were within walking distance of the haven. Gladio jabbed Noctis in the side to wake him up while Ignis placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder. Noctis woke up immediately at the intrusive gesture, swatting his hand away annoyed. "Knock it off, I'm awake." He said as he wiped a small amount of drool from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sure you were." Gladio said with amusement as he got out of his side.

Prompto, on the other hand, didn't wake up quite so willingly. He stirred a little, but that was it before stilling again just as quickly. Ignis tried again, but rougher. This time he managed to get more of a reaction. He peeled his face off the door and slowly turned towards the man the pulled him out of his peace. "Hmm?" He asked, obviously still groggy. "Are we there already?"

Ignis got out of his side and shut the door, "Yes, we are there. Help Gladio carry the camping supplies if you don't mind." He took a few things himself to help ease the load for the larger man.

Prompto sluggishly stumbled out of the car, finding his legs to be slightly numb from the strange position he had been sleeping. Making his way to the trunk he pulled out a couple chairs and tucked them under his arms. Being in his half-asleep state he dropped both of them the moment he took a step, and they clattered to the ground noisily, pulling Gladio's attention his way.

"You got it?" He asked, noticing how e wasn't reacting very quickly to his clumsiness.

Prompto looked down at the chairs and slowly realized what happened, "Oh, my bad." He tried to quickly retrieve them, hoping none of the others would make a big deal about it, or ask any more questions, he honestly didn't feel like putting on a fake face and pretending like he wasn't about to fall asleep on the spot. He was relieved when everyone went about what they were doing and paid him no mind.

They weren't walking for long before they arrived at the site and Gladio made quick work of setting things up while Ignis began to prepare their meal for the night. Something quick and simple, like a soup. While they did that the other two got the fire started, it took them a moment, far longer than it would have taken Gladio, but they got it started eventually.

The moment everything was set up and ready Prompto headed towards the tent, ready to be out for the night. Ignis called out to him before he could crawl in and curl up though, "I'm almost done cooking if you think you ca wait a few minutes to eat before heading to bed."

He waved his hand in a dismissive way. "No, thank you. Think I'll skip out on tonight; I'm not really hungry."

Now it was Noctis' turn to say something. "What's going on with you? You were moody all day when you weren't sleeping, and now you're not eating."

He looked to the ground, using his same excuse from earlier. "Look, I'm just tired, ok? I just want to go to sleep." I saw the concerned look on their faces and knew that answer wouldn't be good enough this time. He appreciated them caring, but he didn't want them worrying over nothing, especially if it made him look weak to them. "I'm fine really. I promise I'll eat in the morning." He turned back and climbed into the tent, not giving anyone a chance to say anything.

The others made no move to stop him this time, and just decided to let it go as it was and take his word for it. Ignis finished his cooking and handed the other two a bowl, setting one aside in case the blonde changed his mind. They ate in silence, making small talk here and there, but nothing too important, more to fill the silence than anything. Once done, Noctis helped clean up before heading to bed himself, the other two decided to stay up for a little longer.

Upon climbing into the tent, he found Prompto curled up on his side, seemingly dead to the world, he hadn't even taken the time to cover up before knocking out. Because of this, Noctis had to struggle to pull the sheets out from under him without waking him, but he was soon aware that it didn't matter how rough he was, for he didn't so much as twitch with all the tugging. This did cause some concern for him, but he brushed it off, still wanting to believe his friend when he told them he was just exhausted.

With the sheet now free, he draped it over the gunner as well as himself and turned over to his side, facing away from the other. The gentle breeze ruffling the tent mixed with the steady breathing of the man behind him helped to quickly lull him to sleep as he just missed the few light coughs that sounded behind him.