revenance_rpg | Truth Cannot Become Lies

Entry tags:

Truth Cannot Become Lies

Characters: Ven and Eraqus
Content: It's time for a Talk
Location: Traverse Town, Hotel
Time: Evening, by the clock
Warnings: FEELS

This would likely be the hardest thing Ven had done since his final confrontation with Vanitas, but he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. Things had been changing so fast lately, with new people, new revelations - and new understanding of certain situations. It was all really confusing, almost too much for him to handle, but he was doing his best under the circumstances.

But still, one thing had been weighing heavily on his heart for awhile now, and he knew he had to confront it before anything else happened. Intentions and actions had created a mess in his family - it was time to sort all of that out, as much as they could, before it festered and created genuine resentment between them. To that end, one evening, Ven had made his way to the hotel, steeling himself up for a long talk with his Master. At the door to his room in the hotel, he hesitated, then knocked firmly, waiting for him to respond and hoping he was actually in.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Eraqus was beginning to pack up at the moment what few possessions he had with him...with Twilight Town now open, he had to go investigate it. While he'd likely be coming back to Traverse Town frequently, it would be best to take what he had with him. Kura was sniffing over everything as if to inspect it, while Gengo and Chuza both dozed in a corner.

That is, until a knock sounded on his door. He was a little surprised...visitors to his room were very rare; something he'd gotten used to. Chuza immediately woke up and waddled over to the door to greet whoever it was.

"Come in."

For his part, Ven had denied Linka and Wheeler the chance to come along; this was too serious, and they were... not, to put it kindly. This was a conversation better had with them out of the way.

He hesitated at the invitation, then took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping in fully. It was impossible to hide that he was nervous about this, apprehensive - probably even frightened. He really was pretty bad at hiding his emotions. But he was going to do this. "Can... Can we talk?"

Eraqus stood once Ven entered the room, looking very nervous. He had expected Ven to avoid him most of the time, so having him here now meant it had to be serious. Chuza, not much noticing the tension, just wagged her tail and lazily rolled over in front I'd Ven.

Talk? Eraqus could just imagine what about. Truthfully, he didn't think he wanted to...it seemed like every time he tried to explain himself, it just made things worse. But to refuse Ven now would be childish and unhelpful, especially to how Ven was acting now.

"Yes." He didn't proceed, though...either because he didn't want to, or he just didn't know how to begin.

Ven didn't really, either, but he had one thing he wanted to say - no, had to say. This had been preying on his thoughts since that disasterous first talk, where Luna had ended up more or less adopting him - and while he was grateful for everything she'd done for him, Eraqus was still his Master. Maybe Ven didn't feel like he was his father like Terra did, but... Eraqus had still raised him, from almost as early as he could remember. And that was how he repaid him?

"I- I wanted to say I'm sorry." He hung his head at those words, not able to look Eraqus in the eye and keep speaking at the same time. "I shouldn't... shouldn't have said those things to you, about you not... not caring, and being like Xehanort, and- and all of those. It wasn't fair, and I-I wish I hadn't said it." Even if ...well, a lot of it was true, he knew how much his words had hurt his master, and he could have found a better way to put things at the very least.

Eraqus just stood there for a moment, at a loss for words. His three Spirits even feel quiet. He hadn't expected Ven to apologize for that, or for anything at all for that matter. "Ventus..."

Eraqus finally stepped forward, and put a hand on Ven's shoulder...maybe to reassure Ven, but also maybe to steady himself. He took in a long breath before responding.

"It's all right. I know...you had a right to be angry." Wouldn't he have been angry, had he been in his position? He found himself also looking down, struggling with everything he couldn't quite say. "And...I am sorry, again, for everything. I am sorry that I cannot make it up to you."

...It probably didn't help that Ven flinched when Eraqus' hand landed on his shoulder. He couldn't help but remember the last time the Master had done that, and what had come next...

But he didn't turn and leave, didn't respond in any other way except to let the master speak, listening even if he didn't look up. It could have been much worse.

"You... You never had to make it up to me. You still don't." He was quiet, but his words were clear. "I just don't want to hurt you any more - I didn't want to in the first place."

Eraqus didn't remove his hand, but still felt a pang of guilt when Ventus flinched. He'd never wanted that kind of response from any of his students.

He could barely think of a way to respond. He'd felt it ever since Ven had first arrived on his doorstep, but this was just further proof of it: Ven was such a good kid, full of light. After all this, he'd stopped believing he deserved any apology.

After a long bout of silence, Eraqus finally did something he almost never did with any of his students...he knelt down to Ven's level, and embraced him in a hug.

"Ventus...any hurt I feel is because of my own faults," he said quietly. It was the hardest thing to admit, and he'd been upset with having it pointed out to him, but deep down he knew it was true. "I do not hold anything against you."

It was too late to stop that, Master. Things could be mended, but they would never be one hundred percent perfect again. But, at the same time, that was probably for the best - before everything that had happened, Ven had been very innocent, to the point of ignorance. He'd been tested, and he'd done remarkably well with it, but he also knew he never wanted to be that... unknowing ever again. Not knowing had brought so much grief, after all. And seeing Eraqus as this paragon of invincibility was also not a good thing, for either of them.

Ven didn't run, waiting for Eraqus to say something. Anything. He didn't expect what he got - the hug took him completely by surprise. The master had never done- It shocked him completely, making him jump a little as he realized exactly what was going on, but after a moment he slowly brought up his arms to return it, his eyes squeezing shut. Small trickles of water began to fall from them, and at the moment he didn't care enough to stop it.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Master..." It was all he could say.

He knew that things would never be as they were again, as much as he wanted them to be. He'd thought that keeping Ven safe would protect him from the darkness in the World, but he knew now that his attempts had been a failure at best...and the cause of that darkness at worst. But even if things were too late for him, he at least wanted his students to get out of there okay, because the future of Keybearers and all the worlds depended on them.

There was a pause, but eventually Ven returned it. He just remained in that hug for awhile. Chances were slim it would be happening again any time soon, and for once, it felt right to do it.

"I'm sorry, too."

At least, no matter what happened to him in the future, he had been able to say all this to Ven and know it had been heard. At least this second chance had finally brought him some comfort. Despite that pain he felt in his heart now, for the first time since arriving, he was glad he'd been brought to this realm.

Trying to keep someone from Darkness only made them unprepared for the worlds at large. Mostly they were good, but there were shadows in them, too, shadows that couldn't be conquered without knowledge, and Ven wanted that for himself. He just hadn't realized how much he'd wanted that until the depths of his ignorance had been shown to him.

But, yes, it was too late for that now. Ven wouldn't be the first to pull away, though - he didn't need physical affection, the way some people did, but this time it felt more appropriate to have it and he wasn't going to give it up without a little prodding, since likely it wouldn't happen again.

"And I do... I do forgive you. I know you didn't want to do it..."

After everything, it was too late to go back and change how he had handled his years with Ventus, or even with Terra and Aqua. But then came the words “I do forgive you,” and he suddenly stopped. He hadn’t even realized just how much he needed to hear those words until Ven had said them aloud. He let out a breath, feeling as if he’d been holding it for months, and felt tears start to sting at his eyes. How did he even deserve that?

“Ventus...I...”

Except at that moment, Chuza decided that this meant it was time for a hugpile. The Meow Wow shuffled over and flopped over onto Ven in an attempt to give him a hug, too. As a result, the two of them nearly crumpled under the extra weight.

“--Chuza!” He pushed the Meow Wow aside, and it just rolled over. The moment a bit broken, Eraqus went ahead and stood up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. He was almost thankful that the lazy Dream Eater had interfered, because he didn’t know what he would have done if he’d completely broken down in front of his student.

He would have broken down, and Ven wouldn't have left. Eraqus was his master - if it was his turn to be there for his master, then he would gladly do it. Eraqus had been there for so many of his problems in the past, after all, especially after he'd just woken up.

But it was all broken by Chuza, and Ven let out an oof! as the Spirit more or less collapsed his legs under him, making him sink to his knees. "Chuza, you're heavy! Come on!" But Eraqus made Meow Wow roll over and he staggered back to his feet, shaking his head and surreptitiously scrubbing at his own eyes with his wristband. He wasn't entirely sure what would have happened and he was sure his master wouldn't have made fun of him, but he still didn't want to look weak in front of him.

Eraqus glanced back down at the Meow Wow, who didn’t seem to be perturbed in the least, before finally turning his attention back to Ven. It took him a little bit to speak again, and even when he did, there was still a bit of a catch in his throat.

“Ventus...for the time I am here, I’ll do my best to...to make things better for you, and ensure that you and Aqua and everyone can reach home safely.” There was no telling how long they would be here...and he was almost certain that if they did escape the Realm of Sleep, there would be nothing else waiting for him upon waking. So he had to make the most of this time that he had. “And...if you wanted, could continue to train you, too.”

He wasn’t even sure if that was something Ventus wanted, considering how badly it’d ended up previously. But he at least had to ask for the opportunity to try it again.

Ven couldn't help a response to that offer, his eyes widening because- the Master wanted to continue to train him? The mistake, the half-breed, the... everything else? After trying to kill him, now he wanted to... well, more or less promote him?

He was still a little wary, but wary didn't mean not enthusiastic, though Ven throttled down his response to the offer to a proper one, pulling himself up straight, laying his palms to the sides of his legs, and bowing from the waist to his master. "I would... appreciate that, Master Eraqus." What better way to prove he wouldn't lose control than... not lose control to begin with? Maybe he was more a creature of reaction than Aqua, but that didn't mean he had no control at all.

...But he couldn't stop himself from asking this one question. "Do... do you think... you could start preparing me for the Mark of Mastery?"

Even though Eraqus knew that Ven wasn't supposed to exist as he did, although his existence could threaten the worlds if he and his dark half clashed...well, that didn't stop him from being a good kid, and from being a good Keybearer. As long as they made sure to never clash with that darkness -and that was something that Eraqus had to trust they could do- then perhaps he could be trained. And Eraqus didn't think he'd have another opportunity to do so outside of this realm.

Eraqus nodded back at his bow. He was almost surprised when Ventus accepted...after everything that had happened, and how much he'd failed him in the past. "All right. Then we can."

The last request, however, was a bit of a tougher one. He knew that that's what Ven would want most of all...especially with how often he had talked about it with Aqua and Terra, when they were preparing for it. But at the same time... "Ven...you have progressed far, but I'm not sure you are ready for the Mark of Mastery yet. That may still take some more time and training."

Well, Ven had destroyed his Darkness, had watched Vanitas fracture and fade, so really there shouldn't be a way for him to come back... but with the way time seemed to work in this dream world, Ven wasn't about to discount the possibility that he would show up here, either. But at least he knew that nothing could be done here except fight; that needed the Keyblade Graveyard specifically for any merger and forging.

Not to mention the fact that several people would likely murder Vanitas just on sight, so he wasn't too worried about that.

"I- I know I'm not ready for the test, Master, but I... I'm ready to get ready." He felt it deep inside him; he wasn't a Master yet, but he was ready to start the actual work towards becoming one. After everything that had happened, he'd matured and found new strength and purpose inside himself. Hell, all of that had led him to decide to sacrifice his own life to save his friends, and the worlds. And, no matter how much Sora insisted, he wasn't sure he'd have another chance at this, either...

Eraqus would definitely be one of those that murdered Vanitas on sight, because it was the only logical thing to deal with the problem of the X-blade now. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with it.

It was true that Ven had found a lot of strength since he'd first arrived...a lot of that had been part of Eraqus's fears. "You are still just young, Ventus...even Terra and Aqua were quite young for most Keybearers taking the test..."

And yet, Ven could probably tell that there was a little bit of waver in Eraqus's voice. He really didn't know if he would ever get this opportunity again...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Truth Cannot Become Lies

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject