empatheias | open-ish

Entry tags:

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

[ 'One day,' he thinks, 'One day moments like this won't just be a calm after a storm.'

Because it's the kind of question he absolutely wouldn't have expected Riku to ask - the kind of thing he didn't think Riku cared about. ]

... I asked him to pick one out for me, actually. He refused.

[ He smiles at the memory, perhaps a bit wider and more willing to be open because they aren't facing one another, almost as if to make up for that fact. He doesn't try to close his own hand around Riku's since he's the one recovering and there's the ground right under his hand, but Arden lets the contact remain - if it convinces Riku of something about Arden, then so be it. ]

So Arden is because... Ardent, the real meaning, and Garden. The shared letters of both words.

[ So minus the G of Garden and the T off the end of Ardent, the leftover was 'Arden' in both cases.

There was more, how he literally ran through a list of names in a book and pulled out a few different kinds of names - like all ones relating to nature due to his affection for Snow White and being unsatisfied with all of them, so the G-Arden-T version was the closest he could get. But ultimately it still came down to Garden + Ardent. ]

Edited 2018-03-22 03:58 (UTC)

[ As Arden explains, Riku listens with a gentle silence. This moment here between them... when everything had been so chaotic and emotional mere minutes ago to now be calm and still... perhaps it's a different sort of whiplash all on its own and yet, it doesn't feel forced or rushed or even wrong. It simply... is.

His hand still holds to Arden's, Riku having come to press his cheek against his arm draped across his knees again and, despite wearing the blindfold, he allows his eyes to fall shut once more, exhaustion clinging tight to him still; the fact that he's been having nightmares which have made it difficult for him to sleep haven't helped any. ]

It suits you.

[ A gentle sort of approval given from the very one who wears the same face as him, Riku sighs softly, coming to find his breaths not being as heavy anymore as they had been before in all that emotional chaos. ]

I don't know if I can make it back.

[ He mutters that softly, not bothering to life his head or even let go of Arden's hand. ]

[ He wouldn't have changed his name even if Riku had tried to say it didn't suit him, but to get that kind of reaction was still... something. It settled a bit of anxiety in Arden, but more than anything he hoped it moved Riku in a direction that made it easier for them to communicate - acknowledging him as a person with a real name Riku could use. ]

... Thanks.

[ Even to Sora or Snow White or Zenyatta or Minnie, he struggled with saying that. But he meant it. His voice was quiet saying that, so he chokes a little trying to switch topics, but he gets there. ]

I- Hm, shouldn't take you through a Corridor like this either... How far is your apartment?

[ Or wherever he's staying that's not the house. ]

[ No, going through a dark corridor might be a little... much for Riku at the moment and so he agrees with Arden's suggestion to not take that route. However, when asked how far is apartment is he... laughs a little. Well, it's more like a soft breath of amusement muffled against his arm but, it's along the same lines, right? ]

Don't know since I don't have one.

[ Lifting his head, he sighs, allowing it to gently knock back against Arden's. ]

I don't mind going back with you.

[ Back to where Arden lives... where he himself apparently has a room. ]

[ Arden's head turns and he starts to make a 'whaaa?' sort of expression while holding down the urge to say something along the lines of "I need to yell at you more often" and ends up with a wordless "wow" sort of thing going on as he shakes his head. ]

Ah... Okay then.

[ But could he make a joke about soup... No, no, no he's trying not to push it. He slightly raises the hand Riku's holding, though. ]

You need a hand, or you need a shoulder?

[ Maybe that was what Riku was going for, a hint that he'd need help walking back. ]

[ Still clutching that hand that he holds a little tighter now, Riku begins to shift some from his spot on the ground. ]

A hand... might be nice.

[ And, of course, he pushes himself up to get to his feet and finds that gravity seems to be against him in the moment, wobbling some before he reaches out with his other hand to steady himself against the wall; his lack of sleep on top of this little emotional outburst isn't exactly making any of this easier on an exhausted body. ]

That's what I thought.

[ He wasn't positive Riku would say it, but he was sure Riku should say it so that Arden didn't have to keep forcibly helping him when he was obviously not in peak physical condition. ]

I'm shorter anyway, you might as well use my shoulder if we're going to walk together.

[ There, a joke at his own expense as he stands up and stands nearby Riku, waiting for him to signal he's ready to walk and not still regaining his balance. ]

Edited 2018-03-23 00:12 (UTC)

[ At least there isn't any ice forming at the tips of his boots anymore, let alone chilled air and puffs of breath showing how distressed he currently is. No, it's more exhaustion now than anything else, even if he can still feel that ice deep within his chest.

Rather than say anything regarding the height difference, Riku leans against Arden before gently allowing his hand to slip out of the other's... and promptly comes to grasp at his shoulder when he feels his legs wanting to stumble forward. Yeah, this is going to be a bit of a challenge getting back. ]

Why do you like to cook so much?

[ Perhaps it seems random to ask, but it gives Riku a distraction from the fact that his body is tired so that he can force himself to keep going and not allow his thoughts to linger on the can't or even won't part of his mind. ]

[ If Riku had asked that question out of the blue while he wasn't exhausted and coming down from a massively overwhelming Darkness-related experience, Arden would have really snapped back at him. After how much progress he'd thought they made, and for Riku to ask him that... ]

... I thought I told you that already.

[ He tries to keep his voice simply to confusion. Maybe Riku thought before that Arden only explained why he started cooking, not why he kept going with it. That would be a subtle distinction he could understand. As it is he focuses his eyes forward and keeps pace with what Riku's steps appear to be - which are hardly speedy, but he's not standing still either. ]

[ Well, here he is about to admit something that... well, perhaps it's of no real surprise considering their first few encounters with one another here. ]

I wasn't really listening before.

[ He falls silent for a moment. ]

I'm sorry.

[ And there it is, there's the guilt creeping itself back in on him as they (slowly) go. He doesn't even try to make any excuses other than simply stating the truth. Sure, he could try and argue that there had been too much animosity coursing through him regarding Arden in the moment but... does it change the fact that he hadn't been listening? That he had more or less thrown away whatever words Arden had offered him back then? No, it doesn't and while Arden may feel slighted for that, perhaps it's better for Riku to simply tell him the truth...

...and apologize for it. ]

[ Yeah of course he's frustrated. Not that he doesn't remember the story with Snow White perfectly well and all of the good things that came after it. Not that those aren't good memories he enjoys thinking about. It's Riku having disregarded him trying to explain his efforts to become 'Arden' in ways that weren't tied to being 'Riku.' And that had become a really important time in his relatively short life, so hearing that he hadn't really listened, that did sting. Of course it did.

But he doesn't stop walking. He just seethes out his mouth for one long breath while keeping pace. That's what he has to do. ]

Apology accepted.

[ That's hardly something he finds easy either, so he can hear that slow, measured kind of sincerity that came from someone not saying the words often or glibly. ]

I guess it's also possible I didn't actually say it was about cooking and baking when I mentioned it before - when I talked about trying new things, having no other skills aside from fighting, and not giving up when I was really bad at those new things.

Anyway it was a pretty random start. I told someone I had no skills or hobbies of my own and they suggested baking and cooking, as a way to connect with people in a way completely unlike fighting. Snow White offered to teach me and I was terrible at it for months. I threw a lot of burnt and bland things in the trash.

[ He raises his other hand opposite Riku to his neck. Here the positive emotions creep back in, a bit of pride even - because he's not saying it, but this was all Sora and Snow White encouraging him through this period. ]

The couple of times I made anything edible were for other people's parties. And... they liked it.

[ Riku feels... tired as they go. But, despite the exhaustion, he listens to what Arden says- really listens this time, even if his eyes want nothing more than to shut themselves behind that blindfold of his. ]

Not going to tell me fashion is a work-in-progress skill of yours, are you? I've seen that apron.

[ The Sweetie Pies?? apron he initially first met Arden wearing in the kitchen. Which... Riku is clearly trying to offer a lighthearted joke with that remark, feeling that perhaps the moment could use it what with how emotionally draining everything else had been moments ago.

Just look at him now having to lean against Arden as they go. ]

[ He gives Riku a look for that remark. ]

No I'm just as much a disaster in that department as you are and not trying to improve it either.

[ There, some shade back. ]

Snow White designed the apron and she runs the bakery. I'm the manager, part-time chef, and stocker.

[ ~~Listen Arden COOL KIDS WEAR BLINDFOLDS!!~~

There's silence that falls over them when Arden mentions the Princess of Heart and he comes to stare ahead as they go. He remembers Sora mentioning how Arden made pies or something... again, he hadn't really been listening much to how Arden was different here and instead so focused on the fact that he was here to begin with. ]

Can't say I've ever been there.

[ And he's not so sure he ever will go there. ]

[ Arden shrugs at that. ]

I'm not expecting you to swing by.

[ Riku of all people enjoying a bakery isn't something he'd expect, nor seeking out Arden's own workplace in order to keep up the space between them aside from moments like this. ]

More in case you ever need to find me and I'm not at the house, that's a good second place to look. After baking came cooking, and then some other things like ice cream.

[ He's purposefully vague here because the baking opportunities were for Sora and the ice-cream was with Sora's help for Roxas's benefit. ]

So now I make dinner most every night and snacks whenever anyone asks for it. It's hard not to enjoy something when other people appreciate it so much. Plus as for earning money... frankly it pays better over time than running after Task Board stuff, which was mostly more of me fighting anyway. And I was trying to avoid that early on.

[ Out of a pure contrarian drive to not be like Riku. ]

[ While perhaps he may not come to outright say just yet, Riku silently mulls over the fact that Arden has, quite honestly, made a life and forged a new identity for himself within this world. For as distraught and even annoyed as he had been to find that his replica was here (and even friends with Sora), he hadn't even entertained the idea of how his own arrival here must have made Arden feel... maybe as though everything he had worked hard to create for himself would all be for nothing, come to mean nothing, making him feel as though he were nothing.

Maybe that's how he would feel... maybe it's how he did... Riku isn't so sure and can only guess because that's how he would feel were the shoe on the other foot.

However, there's something that still lingers on his mind, something that he's been chewing his lower lip over until he finally decides to just say it. ]

You knew, didn't you?

[ Softly, he comes to pause in his words, looking to the ground as they go. ]

About Sora.

[ Sora and... his someone else. ]

[ Despite his best efforts at getting better at reading people, six words really didn't help him out in the least. It was only because they were several minutes into an extended conversation that he could pin down what 'About Sora' could possibly mean. He didn't think that Riku was accusing him of having a strong enough bond to know the instant Sora turned to crystal - he didn't - and he was sure that nothing in previous several sentences had given away that he'd made a ton of those early snacks for Sora. Specifically for him, as someone he'd... had a lot of complicated feelings about.

So yeah that really only left one topic they'd covered. ]

Yeah, I knew.

[ Three months now. ]

[ He doesn't... he can't be frustrated with Arden for that what with his only having been here for almost two months now while both Arden and Sora have been here for much much longer. It's more of his wanting to know for himself, given how "alike" they supposedly are as Arden seemed to claim earlier even if it had been in annoyance. It simply has Riku wondering if Arden felt the same sort of emotions that Riku felt upon learning such a thing... if he could understand that sort of... ache. ]

Can you take me to my room?

[ The one that's his at least what with living in the house with the others... even if he's not around there much as of late... which Arden may finally understand why. ]

[ He's glad he didn't say more - reveal or impose more feelings into an already heavy day. He wasn't even sure he wanted Riku to ever know about what had happened between him and Sora. It felt personal before, even when people like Usagi knew that something was there and then suddenly it wasn't anymore. Not it feels even more important to keep it to themselves.

And yet would it be any better for Riku to find out that he called Sora his best friend and Sora returned the sentiment? It took a lot out of Arden to say those words and mean them as Arden and hope that Sora felt them for Arden, not for the longing of his 'real' best friend that he hadn't seen for nearly a year by that point back in December. That point when they shared who they were dating instead of each other.

So he just nods when Riku doesn't follow up that topic. ]

No problem.

[ They were nearly at the part of the city where the house was already. He's going to keep walking but... ]

Unless you meant with a Corridor, because I still don't think you're ready for that.

No, I meant when we get there.

[ Because he's not so sure he's ready for that either.

Right now, he just wants to sink into that bed and sleep for hours... and hours... and hours. Of course, with sleep comes the risk of having nightmares that have been bothering him these past few days and he's almost positive that he'll have one or two of them in his attempt to find peace and rejuvenation through sleep but, his body craves the rest and it shows in how much he's depending on Arden as they walk.

Something he never thought he would experience. ]

Then yeah, I can do that.

[ He starts to slow his pace though. Riku going from barely steadying himself on Arden's shoulder to really leaning on him is less of a trouble to Arden and more of a worry. He's confident he can carry Riku on his back, but at what cost to Riku's pride and their tenuously less-antagonistic connection. ]

We're close, but how are you holding up?

[ Even if he joked about completely avoiding the question of soup due to how exhausted Riku will be, he's not sure Riku can keep walking the whole way. With a Corridor out of the question... what other options did they have? ]

[ Not many from the looks of it. ]

I've been better.

[ And that was most certainly the truth.

However, Riku finds that he needs to stop then, legs giving out and his grasp on Arden becoming tighter as he tries to keep himself balanced, let alone standing. It's with a heavy sigh and a loll of his head to the side that he gives a few shakes of his head. ]

I'm fine. It's just... further than I thought.

[ "I'm fine" he says as he stops completely. Arden stops too, looking at him with a mixture of frustration and worry. Someone he had a better bond with who was being this stubborn he'd just pick up and run with. He can't do that with Riku, not even if he told himself it was for Sora's sake that he not let Sora's best friend collapse on the pavement. He'd just have to catch him before that point.

He's starting to wish he had a wyvern the size of Tarn he could call out to. ]

Alright.

[ Wait until Riku's ready then. ]

[ Stubborn stubborn stubborn.

After a moment and giving a couple nods, Riku begins to move again alongside Arden, breathing slow and steady, making sure to keep his grip on the other. Perhaps later after he's had some much needed rest he'll feel annoyed at this but, for the moment, to have Arden here like this, well... perhaps it's needed lest he end up just sleeping on the ground.

For now, he remains quiet in the moment, focused on his keeping his balance and even trying to walk a little quicker for both their sakes. ]

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