empatheias | open-ish

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. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Penny had made a promise to her friends to run errands today, even if they were worried about her undergoing some sort of malfunction from the pouring rain. to put their minds at ease, she's dressed accordingly for the weather - a rain coat, slicker pants, rubber boots, a rain hat, and an umbrella to top it all off. she probably doesn't even need the last one - she's as dry as a bone, but an android can can never be too careful!

she also looks incredibly dorky, but Penny has never been one to care about that. she gives her umbrella a short twirl as she passes by the tea shop, pausing when she sees someone apparently trapped under the awning, looking pretty displeased. ]

I'm sure it will stop eventually! I don't think it could rain forever.

[ then again, maybe it could! there are still plenty of things about this world that Penny doesn't know yet, but she's more interested in why this person is standing outside of a closed shop. ]

Are you waiting for someone?

[ Arms still remain crossed as he stands there under the awning. To be honest, he doesn't even notice Penny approaching him at first before she speaks up and, with a slight turn of his head, he looks to her with a slow blink of his eyes behind his blindfold.

Well, at least she's dressed for this weather? ]

I'm waiting for the rain to stop.

[ As he doesn't want to risk getting the box of tea wet when he's come out all this way for it. ]

That doesn't sound like much fun.

[ she knows that she definitely wouldn't want to be in his position - he doesn't look like he's prepared for the weather at all. and although the rain likely isn't going to bring the end of days, it sure doesn't show signs of stopping any time soon, which doesn't bode well for this stranded stranger.

she pauses for a moment before stepping closer, extending her arm holding her umbrella out. it's a forest green colour, speckled with white polka-dots. ]

Here! You should take this.

[ Oh, that's... not what he was... expecting? ]

No thanks. [ A pause, he glances away. ] Keep it for yourself.

[ Not like he'd want her to end up getting soaked with giving away her umbrella to him. ]

Are you sure? You could stay dry with it, and I'm very rain-ready!

[ to prove it, she flips up her rain slicker hood and tightens it with the drawstrings. she looks even goofier than before with the way her hair sticks out of the slippery yellow plastic, but there's no doubt that she'll be dry. ]

You won't have to wait for the rain to stop. [ it seems like a good idea to her... UNLESS. ] ...Are you afraid of water?

[ ...definitely goofier but he's... not about to say it.

Her question, however, gets him to glance back to her and, despite the whole blindfold covering his eyes thing, he looks a little confused. ]

No.

[ Is that even a thing? ]

Do you enjoy the rain?

[ Gathering from her get up it's... an educated guess. ]

[ she'll likely ask about that blindfold later! but for now, she's more concerned with giving him something to be dry with. ]

Not really. But I made a promise to my friends that I would do the shopping today, and I didn't want to let them down!

[ nothing about that was a lie, so her hiccup-tell doesn't give her away. she's getting better at wording to avoid it. to prove herself, she lifts her arm not carrying the umbrella - it has a few woven grocery bags hanging around it.

she hasn't retracted her offer, and continues to hold out the umbrella out to him. ]

You can keep your tea dry with this, too.

[ But to take her umbrella implies that he needs ~~help~~ it to begin with, let alone needing to find a way to give it back to her and... Riku's just... not looking to make friends? It sounds harsh when you put it that way but, well, this gloomy gus has been keeping to himself for the bulk of the month. Case in point: standing under this awning by himself. ]

Thanks.

[ He feels a touch awkward, not exactly finding this girl to be... pushy? Rude? Trying to force him to take her umbrella and so it's making him unsure of how to react since, were she being any of the aforementioned, he could easily brush her off. But this is... well... awkward. ]

But like I said, keep it for yourself.

[ it's incredibly awkward, yes! but Penny doesn't seem to be aware of that, taking his refusal of her offer to be an act of humility instead. she respects that, but no one should have to walk home in the rain!

she thinks for a moment, wondering how she can come to a compromise. she ultimately decides to close the umbrella, but instead of carrying it away, she steps closer to lean it on the outer wall of the shop next to him. ]

Actually, I think I'm going to leave it here for now. If you see someone else passing by that needs it, you can give it to them!

[ she thinks that she's being clever by "offering" it in an indirect way. it's the perfect plan! ]

[ Wow, he... completely knows what you're up to there, Penny. But, nice try? Still, arms remain crossed in front of his chest and his gaze drops to watch her gently place it close by before a sigh softly slips from his lips. ]

So you intend to get yourself drenched in the rain?

I'll be fine! I have my waterproof hood to protect me.

[ she re-adjusts the plastic over her head, making sure that it's covering her head completely. the wild strand of hair that usually curls out peeks out from under it, but she does seem to be fairly safe from any water damage. she even does a twirl to show how prepared she is! ]

Don't you worry about me.

[ Why are people here so stubborn? He's pretty sure he's never been around this many stubborn people in his entire life. ]

Won't it be my fault if you get sick?

[ Because people seem to be getting that way as of late and even he himself has dealt with that... 0/10, would not recommend. ]

Not at all! I've never been sick before.

[ hey, it's not a lie. it's impossible for robots to get sick! ]

[ Ok, that gets Riku to raise a brow. ]

That so?

Yes! I...

[ uh oh. tread carefully, Penny. ]

I have a very good immune system. [ and she hiccups. ]

[ ... ]

Just get the hiccups then?

On occasion!

[ that one isn't untrue, so she doesn't hiccup. take that, lying tell! ]

open-ish

rain!

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