With the sun setting at the horizon at the end of a long day, Inigo is wandering away from what seems like the obvious scene of a battlefield, judging by the scorchmarks left behind in the grass by magic and broken weapons lying discarded in the field. He's walking with some slight difficulty, perhaps the tiniest hint of a limp, as he rubs his leg and mumbles, "Ow! This one's pretty bad. I can't go back to camp like this..."
A man approaches him - not too much older than Inigo, but it's clear that they're related. They look way too much like each other for there to not be some connection. The man puts a hand on Inigo's shoulder. "Something wrong, Inigo? Everyone else has already headed back."
Inigo's jaw drops, momentarily overtaken by surprise, before he quickly tries to smile. "F-Father?! Er, I just... thought I saw a cute milkmaid at the edge of the battlefield!"
"... You're a worse liar than your mother. It's obvious your leg is wounded." The man frowns, reaching out to touch the leg Inigo was rubbing.
Inigo shrieks in pain. "It's fine, it's—GYAAAH! Ow! Ow, ow ow! No, don't touch it! Don't touch it!"
The frown on the man's face lingers, though his gaze shifts up from Inigo's leg to Inigo's face. "This is a serious injury, Inigo! Why didn't you say something?"
"What, and ruin my reputation?" Inigo bites his tongue, trying to shove the pain down far enough to be able to smile. "The ladies want Inigo the Invincible."
Suddenly the man pulls his hands off Inigo, taking a step back, the frown growing even more intense.
"Gods, ENOUGH, Inigo!"
"... Father?" The smile instantly fades off Inigo's face. There's something like a lost child about his facial expression - which is very much what he feels like right now in the face of the volume of his father's voice rising.
"You can barely walk, and you're still thinking about girls?! Be serious for once! Really, why did you travel back from the future? Lucina fights so hard, but you... Honestly, I'm disappointed. You have no idea what it means to be at war."
For a moment Inigo can't say anything. He just feels the light breeze drifting through his hair and the stinging pain of the wound on his leg as an awkward silence lingers. It would be so easy to just dismiss all this, play it off, make a joke, but before he can do any of that, different words flow out of his mouth: "You don't know a damned thing! You're the one who's clueless, Father!"
Now it's the other man looking speechless in the face of the outburst.
"Do you think I'd be out here if I were ONLY after girls? Out here fighting every day, wondering if this is the time I don't make it home?!"
Inigo's father says anything, but in Inigo's memory it's unintelligible, fading into the background compared to the feeling creeping under his skin, making him continue.
"You may think me a dandy and a fool, but a lot of people depended on me in the future. Every day, I was out there fighting Risen and risking my life. With everyone looking to me to be strong, I had no choice. I HAD to be invincible. I couldn't complain or show any weakness. Not with everyone else struggling in that damn war-torn wasteland... Even with you and Mother gone, I had to pretend I was fine. That I wasn't hurting. I had to fight every day of my sorry life and wear a smile while I did it!" He stops for a moment, his voice sounding like he's choking up, but then Inigo continues. "You said I looked like I didn't have a care in the world? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but that's not the case at all. I smile and joke around because I don't want to show the world any weakness... If that disappoints you... then I guess you just have to be disappointed."
Inigo's father opens his mouth, but Inigo shakes his head. He doesn't want to hear it. Even though he said his father would just have to be disappointed in him, and surely he is.. he still doesn't want to hear it even more and further break his heart.
So Inigo turns away before anything else. "That said, I do appreciate the concern.. I'll get the leg looked at." Before the other can get a word in, Inigo is already walking away. He doesn't want to hear it. He knows he won't be able to stop himself from crying if he hears even further how much of a disappointment he is.
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inigo - memory one (48 hours before arrival)
A man approaches him - not too much older than Inigo, but it's clear that they're related. They look way too much like each other for there to not be some connection. The man puts a hand on Inigo's shoulder. "Something wrong, Inigo? Everyone else has already headed back."
Inigo's jaw drops, momentarily overtaken by surprise, before he quickly tries to smile. "F-Father?! Er, I just... thought I saw a cute milkmaid at the edge of the battlefield!"
"... You're a worse liar than your mother. It's obvious your leg is wounded." The man frowns, reaching out to touch the leg Inigo was rubbing.
Inigo shrieks in pain. "It's fine, it's—GYAAAH! Ow! Ow, ow ow! No, don't touch it! Don't touch it!"
The frown on the man's face lingers, though his gaze shifts up from Inigo's leg to Inigo's face. "This is a serious injury, Inigo! Why didn't you say something?"
"What, and ruin my reputation?" Inigo bites his tongue, trying to shove the pain down far enough to be able to smile. "The ladies want Inigo the Invincible."
Suddenly the man pulls his hands off Inigo, taking a step back, the frown growing even more intense.
"Gods, ENOUGH, Inigo!"
"... Father?" The smile instantly fades off Inigo's face. There's something like a lost child about his facial expression - which is very much what he feels like right now in the face of the volume of his father's voice rising.
"You can barely walk, and you're still thinking about girls?! Be serious for once! Really, why did you travel back from the future? Lucina fights so hard, but you... Honestly, I'm disappointed. You have no idea what it means to be at war."
For a moment Inigo can't say anything. He just feels the light breeze drifting through his hair and the stinging pain of the wound on his leg as an awkward silence lingers. It would be so easy to just dismiss all this, play it off, make a joke, but before he can do any of that, different words flow out of his mouth: "You don't know a damned thing! You're the one who's clueless, Father!"
Now it's the other man looking speechless in the face of the outburst.
"Do you think I'd be out here if I were ONLY after girls? Out here fighting every day, wondering if this is the time I don't make it home?!"
Inigo's father says anything, but in Inigo's memory it's unintelligible, fading into the background compared to the feeling creeping under his skin, making him continue.
"You may think me a dandy and a fool, but a lot of people depended on me in the future. Every day, I was out there fighting Risen and risking my life. With everyone looking to me to be strong, I had no choice. I HAD to be invincible. I couldn't complain or show any weakness. Not with everyone else struggling in that damn war-torn wasteland... Even with you and Mother gone, I had to pretend I was fine. That I wasn't hurting. I had to fight every day of my sorry life and wear a smile while I did it!" He stops for a moment, his voice sounding like he's choking up, but then Inigo continues. "You said I looked like I didn't have a care in the world? Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but that's not the case at all. I smile and joke around because I don't want to show the world any weakness... If that disappoints you... then I guess you just have to be disappointed."
Inigo's father opens his mouth, but Inigo shakes his head. He doesn't want to hear it. Even though he said his father would just have to be disappointed in him, and surely he is.. he still doesn't want to hear it even more and further break his heart.
So Inigo turns away before anything else. "That said, I do appreciate the concern.. I'll get the leg looked at." Before the other can get a word in, Inigo is already walking away. He doesn't want to hear it. He knows he won't be able to stop himself from crying if he hears even further how much of a disappointment he is.