open-ish

[shadowedheart]

Who: Riku and others
Where: Around Verens
When: Middle of the month
Format: [ like this ]
open-ish
Summary: Just a gloomy gus needing some fresh air. Closed prompts will be top-leveled, open prompts free to anyone.


( TREE OF MEMORIES )
[ This place isn't anywhere that Riku has been before, though he's heard of it, somewhat. It's basically a tree that holds petals of memories from all those who come near it... or who inhabit the island... one of the two? Maybe both? Regardless, he's here, feeling the need to just get out and away from everything and everyone and he's made sure to keep himself relatively bundled up lest he end up sick again.

When a breeze gently drifts by, crisp and cool and allowing strands of silver to blow around his face, Riku catches sight of a drifting petal that falls from the tree and, perhaps without even realizing so, he holds his hand out and allows the petal to land in his palm.

The memory that it contains is one that seems almost ironic considering current circumstances of people within his life. It's distorted, perhaps a bit scratchy in a way, but it shows a sleeping Sora encased in what looks like a bubble. Standing outside that bubble and staring to the sleeping Sora is Riku, dressed in black and donning the blindfold much as he still does within this world. Off to the side, Naminé is there, sitting at a long table and seemingly sketching in a book, though she doesn't seem to address Riku within the memory. Gently, he reaches out with a gloved hand and presses it to the front of the bubble and the strongest emotion that can be felt even with watching this memory unfold... is grief.

It figures this memory would show itself now of all times and, to be honest, he almost finds it funny, as if a silent punishment personally dished out for him. Well-played, Tree of Memories.

Riku, of course, tries to brush off the memory and any feelings that might be attached to it. Though one can't exactly deny that the air around him seems a lot more chillier than anywhere else near the tree. ]


( IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING )
[ What had started out as something that should have taken maybe ten minutes at most has turned into a good thirty minutes standing outside the tea shop in the pouring rain.

The weather hasn't been the greatest as of late and yet Riku thought he could pick up this box of tea for Cloud and be out of here before it started to come down like it is now. How wrong he apparently was. Thankfully, he's standing under the awning of the shop, arms crossed, blindfold on, finger tapping against the box of tea he holds. The rain doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon and the shop has closed, leaving Riku out here in the damp without an umbrella. He sighs, head lolling to the side as he shifts his weight to one leg, contemplating the thought of just sucking it up and walking back to Cloud's in this weather. ]

It's never going to stop...

[ Maybe you're stuck under here with him. Maybe you're passing by. Maybe you have an umbrella to lend to him. Or maybe you're out enjoying the rain. Whatever the case, Riku's not looking too happy... and the frost that's come to coat the tips of his shoes is a little bit of a hint to that. ]

Comments

for auron

[shadowedheart]

[ Today is one of those days where Riku is hanging around Cloud's place. Being around a crystallized Sora is somewhat of a sore spot for him considering the point in time that he's been pulled from and so, it's partially why he's here. The other part? Well, he's still not exactly chummy with the others back at the so-called KH Clubhouse.

So, Riku is here, bundled in layers of Cloud's sweaters and a warm scarf wrapped around his neck, curled up on the couch while scribbling in a journal. People seem to be getting sick as of late and since he's already dealt with that last month, he'd rather skip an encore performance. Hence, the many upon many sweaters this boy from Destiny Islands has on.

He typically keeps to himself while here which is why he's on the couch by himself... or at least he thought he was until he peers over the top of the journal and notices two eyes and a wet nose staring to him over his knees. It's Fenrir. ]

I don't have any treats if that's what you're looking for...

[nofarplaneyet]

He just wants attention.

[This is from Auron, who has entered the house from the outdoors, finishing a bit of a workout. He hangs up his katana on the wall to join its rather spiky friend Masamune.

Cloud had told him that he'd kinda hit it off with Riku better and that he just needed a place to be sometimes. Auron didn't mind that; they'd had Snow crash at their house for a bit as he went through more than a few things.

But they hadn't really talked a lot. Despite the workout, it's still cold outside and Auron felt the chill in his bones.]

I'm going to make some hot chocolate. You want any?

[shadowedheart]

[ Riku glances over in the direction of the voice.

Auron.

The man that also lives here with Cloud and that he's had a run-in before back when he first arrived. Their... initial meeting with one another hadn't exactly gone as smoothly as it could have... then again, really, none of his first meetings had gone that well with anyone. However, Riku keeps his distance around the other man, keeps it civil, and shows no disrespect towards him while he's here.

So, to be offered hot chocolate, he looks back to his journal with a brief glance to Fenrir still staring at him over his knees. ]

No thanks. More for you.

[nofarplaneyet]

All right.

[Riku is a very hard read, but he knows this is one of Sora's oldest and dearest friends. Someone he cried over not having at his side, so Auron knows there is more to him. Other than this polite and quiet person on the couch.

He sits at the table with his drink and motions the dog over.]

Fenrir, get over here.

[With a little sigh, he walks on over to put his head in Auron's laps for pets and scratches.]

Are you a keyblade user like Sora?

[shadowedheart]

[ A Keyblade user like Sora. Just how many people has Sora told about the Keyblade? Leave it to him to not be able to keep things on the downlow, huh?

Stopping his pen from writing anything further in the journal, he stares to the page that has but a few words scribbled on it. ]

I guess you could say that.

[ A user? Sure. A Master? No. ]

Figures Sora doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut about certain things. Not around friends, I guess.

[nofarplaneyet]

[Very prickly, this one. Sora must still be working out something with Riku, so he's not going to touch that at all.]

Not exactly one to keep things to himself, no. He's told me keyblades pick their owners, somehow. Also that if he's friends enough with someone, then it makes a special keyblade with him. Didn't know if that was universal among all of them or just special to Sora.

[shadowedheart]

Sora's capable of a lot of things.

[ Whether or not that's a good thing is still to be determined as far as he's concerned.

Coming to gently tap his pen against the paper of his journal, he glances over his shoulder to Auron for a moment before his attention falls back onto the journal. ]

Let me guess... he pretty much forced his friendship on you, right?

[nofarplaneyet]

Not...in the way you're thinking.

When I first got here, he said he'd met me before and was happy to see me. But I had to tell him that I didn't remember him at all. It made him sad, but being the kind of person he is, he wanted to help me anyway.

[He sips his hot chocolate and pats Fenrir on the head.]

I didn't believe him at first. That he'd met someone like me. But he told me a few details of how we'd met on his travels and I realized he was telling the truth. If somehow an echo of me trusted him, then I felt like I could trust him too. So our friendship was very slow, but it built up over time.

[shadowedheart]

He has a way of convincing you of things without even realizing it sometimes.

[ He's done it with him after all. ]

Sora's the type of person you want to protect because of who he is. How his heart is.

[ And look what he did... betrayed him, fought him, plunged their home into darkness... not at all anything like Sora. It's no wonder so many are drawn to him. ]

Just don't hurt him. [ It's said softly but seriously at the same time. ] I don't take kindly to that.

[nofarplaneyet]

That about sums him up.

[He does raise an eyebrow at the warning, sipping his drink.]

Wouldn't dream of it. He's good at punching the darkness in the heart so I owe him for that.

[shadowedheart]

[ Sorry, Auron. Riku just has no chill when it comes to Sora regardless if you're a friend of his or not.

The mention of darkness has him fall silent for a moment before he turns back to looking at his journal. ]

Yeah. It's kinda what he does.

[nofarplaneyet]

So how long have you been friends?

[Now that he's actually got Riku talking, it IS one of the questions Auron's been wanting to know for a while.]

[shadowedheart]

Forever.

[ He says this without even bothering to look over to Auron, idly allowing the tip of his pen to scritch this and that on a corner of the page. ]

It's always been the two of us.

[nofarplaneyet]

That makes sense then. Sora had been missing you pretty hard for a while.

[Riku was probably the type to temper Sora's overenthusiasm with pragmatism to balance them out.]

[shadowedheart]

[ Don't even get him started on that.

However, Riku falls silent at those words, pen stilling on the paper. ]

I don't know why.

[nofarplaneyet]

You ever get a chance to ask him? He'll have a good reason for it.

[shadowedheart]

His reasons are a biased bunch.

[nofarplaneyet]

Probably. But...it's one of the rare times I've ever seen him cry. Because you weren't there.

[Sometimes as many friends as you could make, there would always be a precious few that struck your heart just so.]

[shadowedheart]

[ Riku's silent at that little revelation of sorts and sits there on the couch without bothering to look back to Auron. ]

Sora can be a bit of a crybaby...

[ Although, with the way Riku says it, it's out of fondness and not to tease. ]

[nofarplaneyet]

Yeah, I guess he is. I heard once that he held a baby duck and he started crying.

[Totally throwing you under the bus, Sora.]

[shadowedheart]

[ That's... it's... so Sora? In fact, try as he might, he can't help but smile a little to the journal he holds and even comes to chuckle softly under his breath. ]

Yeah, that sounds like him. A total sap.

[nofarplaneyet]

When he wakes up, I should probably ask him the particulars of that story. Just to watch his face.

[shadowedheart]

Probably something along the lines of shock and surprise with some pouting thrown in there.

[ Sorry, Sora. ]

[nofarplaneyet]

[Okay, that actually does something Auron hadn't thought would happen as part of this conversation.

A low laugh.]

I'm going to need to be around to watch that.

[shadowedheart]

Shouldn't be too hard.

[ A pause and perhaps a little more softly. ]

He just needs to wake up first.