revenance_rpg | The Thoughts We Hold

Entry tags:

The Thoughts We Hold

Characters: Aqua and whoever comes across her
Content: After the inevitable conversations, Aqua seeks a moment to herself
Location: The belltower, Second District
Time of Day: ~~Evening~~ Early morning
Warnings: None at the moment

For all that Aqua hadn't had any real problem with the things that been discussed of late, there was something that she'd still needed to decide. It was something that she hadn't wanted to bother anyone else with though. How could she have possibly explain to anyone the oddity that was fighting with her fallen Master's weapon when he was standing alive and well. Besides, it would only have sounded ridiculous at this point. To that end, she'd come out to somewhere she was fairly certain most people wouldn't stay too long, and after fighting her way through the Nightmares that stood between her and where she wanted to be, she found herself on top of the belltower. With any luck the Nightmares would keep people away long enough to give her the time she needed.

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and sat down carefully on the edge of the ledge, Master Keeper resting across her lap. There was an answer, that she knew. The question was simply what it would take to find it.

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There was only one problem with have a bat as a spirit partner: He could fly, Ziva couldn't. It led to interesting adventures when Fluffy found something shiny, but it was just enough out her reach to get her climbing up the side of buildings. So, when he squeaked and launched himself off her shoulder to go look at something, she just sighed. She had been looking forward to going back to her room and relaxing for a bit after taking out some Nightmares.

"Fluffy! Get back here! I just want to go home and rest!" The words fell on an ignoring spirit as he flew towards something in the belltower. Which, after Ziva looked up for a minute, she realized was a woman. Turning that direction, she walked towards the building.

She figured that if the woman had climbed up there, she wanted to be alone. Ziva just needed to get that point across to her spirit, who was now floating around the person up there, apparently wanting to make sure everything was ok.

By all appearances, Aqua seemed to be fine, though how much of that would really register to one of the Spirits - and one that wasn't familiar with Aqua besides - was anyone's guess. On the other hand, apart from being perhaps uncommonly pensive she didn't seem to be in a great danger. It did take a moment before she turned from her thoughts to turn to the bat hovering around her head, however. For all that she surely didn't mind the company, there was probably someone else who'd prefer to have him back.

"I'm fine," she spoke up, after a moment of further silence and with only the slightest amount of awkwardness for the fact that she was talking to someone else's Dream Eater without them really being around. "Really, you don't need to worry."

Ziva watched from below as Fluffy landed near the woman up there. She shook her head and working on finding her way to the top herself so she could apologize. A few minutes later she walked out near where Aqua was sitting.

"I apologize about him. He flew up here before I could stop him. I hope he has not been bothering you."

"No, not at all," Aqua answered, shaking her head. If anything, his presence had given her own Spirit someone to talk to while Aqua had turned things over in her head. She hadn't exactly finished coming to her conclusions, but that wasn't really surprising, given the general scope of things she had to work with. Still, she'd made some progress and it would have been rude to ignore either of the pair.

"I'm sorry you had to come up here to get him. I didn't mean to be an inconvenience."

Ziva glanced out over the second district, enjoying the view for a second, while hearing Fluffy chittering at the other spirit nearby. Pain in the side sometimes, but he normally meant well when he was one.

"No, not an inconvenience. I have been wondering how to get up here." She looked over at Aqua. "It is a wonderful view. But, are you ok, climbing all the way up here?"

Aqua nodded at the question. It hadn't been without a certain amount of effort, given the Nightmares that had tried to get in her way, but it hadn't been too difficult, all things considered. In a way, it had been almost relaxing. Not that she meant to admit to that, though.

"I'm fine. Besides, it looked like a nice place to sit for a while."

Edited 2012-11-22 06:31 (UTC)

Xion had a lot to think about herself. Suddenly finding herself here where she'd expected to fade away had been jarring to say the least, and even though nearly three weeks had passed, she was still adjusting. Hunting Nightmares and the concerns of looking out for herself day-to-day were both good for keeping her mind occupied most of the time, but she'd taken care of herself before, so that wasn't much of a worry.

Really, keeping herself occupied didn't explain the fact that she apparently hadn't faded according to plan. It also didn't explain the fact that somehow she and Sora were both here, had met and fought Nightmares together without any ill effects that she could notice, or anything else: why Ventus reminded her so much of Roxas, the mysterious message that had appeared the other week...anything.

She was long overdue for some time to just sit down and think, try to work things out for herself. The bell tower wasn't the clock tower, but it was still a high place where she wasn't likely to be disturbed. It looked like Aqua had had the same idea, though; she was already sitting on the ledge Xion had planned to occupy herself. Not sure what to do, she hung back slightly, while Barkley charged forward to say hello.

As is often the case, Aqua's Pricklemane is the one to greet Barkley first. There's not much to do while Aqua sits and thinks, and while it's not nearly as hyperactive as the Meow Wows can be, it's still not really in favor of sitting quietly for too long. (The idea of people-watching is something it hasn't caught onto yet, and would be much more productive if there were actually a good number of people to watch).

It takes a good moment longer before Aqua notices that there's anyone else on the roof; a fact that is perhaps not terribly surprising. Still, another person means company, and despite the fact that she's not certain that she wants all that much company at the moment, to not acknowledge the because fact that someone is there would be almost inexcusably rude. So instead she closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath before she speaks up.

"There's still room up here, if you want." She didn't turn to look in Xion's direction as she spoke, but she meant what she'd said all the same. She didn't mind sharing the ledge if someone else wanted a moment to think.

Barkley was happy to return the greeting. There wasn't a lot to do while Xion sat and thought, either, but at least she usually did do outside so he could run around while she did so. If both their people weren't going to do much right now, maybe he and the Pricklemane could keep each other amused. How about a game of tag?

To be honest, Xion hadn't wanted company, either, especially not the company of someone she didn't know well. Fair was fair, though, and Aqua had been there first. If needed, Zion would have found someplace else for her her 'thoughtful spot.'

Given the option, though, she took Aqua up on her offer, quietly walking over to the ledge and settling on it. "Thank you." After a few moments, she added hesitantly. "How is...Ventus?"

It might not be polite to ask, but she was curious and concerned for the boy who resembled one of her best friends so closely. Aqua had seemed to know him, and participated in the discussion afterwards, so maybe she would know how he was doing now.

There was a brief moment of consideration on the Pricklemane's part before it squeaked the rough equivalent of 'yes'. If their people were going to sit for a while, they'd have to do something, and tag would keep them well enough occupied in the meantime.

"Don't worry about it," Aqua answered, with a polite sort of nod. There was nothing wrong with companionable silence, after all, even if she'd originally meant to be alone. True, she might consider finding somewhere else to sit and think next time, but that was hardly any of her concern just at the moment. Right now, it was time to deal with the things that were weighing on her mind right now, and the fact that someone else had the same thought was less important.

"He's alright," she answered. It would take some time before things were settled, but physically, he was fine and as such she figured it was so much lying as perhaps addressing a point somewhat different than the one Xion had meant to ask after.

They definitely needed something to do to pass the time. Barkley was happy the Pricklemane agreed with his suggestion, but who would be 'it' first?

Companionable silence was fine by Xion. Those sorts of times with Axel and Roxas had always been nice; almost as nice as when they'd talked for hours about nothing in particular. While she suspected Aqua wasn't telling the whole truth, when she thought about it, they didn't know each other well and...she probably would have said the same if it had been Roxas instead of Ven, and their positions switched. Being held a distance might have grated, but at least it didn't seem to be an outright lie.

Unable to think of anything more to say at the moment, and Aqua seeming to want to be quiet, she let herself get lost in thought for the time being.

That was the question, wasn't it? There was a brief moment of consideration from the Pricklemane, and then it promptly ran off, neatly solving the problem by the age old tradition of declaring oneself not 'it'.

Aqua is perfectly content to let silence reign. It allows her further time to turn over the most recent events, for one. For another, she isn't really sure what she would say, if she'd wanted to speak. As far as she was aware, Xion was certainly a nice enough person, but that didn't mean she knew enough to hold a proper conversation. She wouldn't even really know where to start. That and she knew better than to try and interrupt someone when they wanted a moment's worth of silence.

Thus, silence was the better option and one she didn't actually mind.

Well, Barkley knew how to deal with that! Yipping happily, he took off after the Pricklemane. It looked like he'd get a run in after all.

The noise made Xion look back, and she smiled at their antics. At least the Spirits seemed to not have any worries. In a way it was a good thing that it was Aqua who she'd ended up sharing the roof with. Had it been Roxas or Axel, or even North, she would have been tempted to talk, which wasn't always a bad thing, but that wasn't what she'd come here for.

As it was, she could enjoy being quiet while their Spirits played.

They both would, to be perfectly far. Sure, there wasn't actually a lot of room up on the top of the bell tower, but the Pricklemane as long as neither of their people were going to be going anywhere there wasn't any reason they couldn't go a little bit further away.

Conversation was nice, yes. But some things really were better solved on one's own. Perhaps they were the sort of thing that would be difficult to explain, as they were in her case. Then there were things that either couldn't - or shouldn't - be explained. Either way, she wasn't about to ask Xion to open up when she didn't want to herself.

For now, she too would take comfort in the silence, as their Spirits kept themselves busy.

Riku was doing a little exploring of Traverse Town on his own, looking to see if it had changed any since theh last time he'd visited, or for any clues as to what was going on. So far, nothing. He was climbing up to the bell tower to get a better view of the second district, when he spotted Aqua sitting alone.

More than that, he spotted the weapon laid on her lap. "A... Keyblade?"

His Komory Bat flitted around, oblivious to Riku's surprise and more interested in keeping a sharp eye out for Nightmares. Riku's mind, for his part, was working a mile a minute. Was she one of the lost Keyblade wielders Xehanort and Yen Sid had talked about? And to think he'd talked to her on the communicators without even knowing...

"I hadn't realised there were more of us around," Riku said, crossing the rooftop and surveying Aqua intently. "Keyblade wielders, I mean."

Thus far, the Nightmares didn't seem particularly inclined to return, although if asked, Aqua would freely admit that she hadn't exactly stopped to check the plaza directly below where she was sitting. It hadn't really seemed relevant at the time. Still, the sort of silence that could be interrupted by hostile forces was more than a little familiar, regardless of their nature.

For a change, her Pricklemane didn't immediately go to greet to Komory Bat. If it was busy, then the Pricklemane could certainly wait a moment longer. Aqua, on the other hand, was more interested in Riku's comment. For all that the fact that there were still Keybearers was a good sign as far as the universe was concerned, she was pretty sure there hadn't been an active Masters as of when she'd dived into the darkness to save Terra. But now is hardly the time to concern herself with that. Right now the universe needed a source of light more than it needs a Master, and Yen Sid surely wasn't dead just yet.

"Is it only you now?" Aqua asked, as she turned to look at Riku.

'Only you now' was something of a funny thing to ask, when she was sitting right there with a Keyblade. But then, it only lent credence to the idea that she might be one of the lost. If the number of Keyblade users really had dwindled that much over the years...

"No," he answered. Ordinarily he wouldn't be so forthcoming with any information to an outright stranger, but something told him she could be trusted. He moved over to take a seat beside her on the ledge. "There's King Mickey, my friend Sora, and a couple of others who are starting to learn to use the Keyblade. And there's Master Yen Sid -- he doesn't use the Keyblade any more, but Sora and I took our Mark of Mastery exam under him."

Under most circumstances, it certainly would be. Given that Aqua still wasn't certain whether or not she'd return to the realm of darkness it was at least somewhat relevant. It was hard to help save the world when you weren't even really a part of it.

"That's good," Aqua answered with a slight nod. It wasn't much, but then again, they'd had about the same numbers when she'd last been an active part of the world. Anything beyond that she'd have to see for herself, when it became important. "I didn't know Master Yen Sid was still willing to conduct the the exam for Mastery, though." As far as she'd been aware, he'd long since been retired, or so Master Eraqus had implied when they'd spoken about it.

"Well, he didn't really have a choice. The only masters left were him and King Mickey, and Yen Sid has more experience with training apprentices." And really, Mickey was such good friends with Riku, the two of them being in a position of mentor and student would just be strange. Mickey wouldn't exactly have been an impartial examiner, either.

"Aqua... You and a couple of others who could use the Keyblade, you were friends with Mickey, weren't you? But then something -- someone -- happened to you." Xehanort happened. Riku was putting all the pieces together in his head, and so far, he'd figured out that much.

No, he probably wouldn't have been. Not going off of Aqua's impression of him anyway. Which wasn't to say that he was a bad sort of person, just that he wasn't really the sort who might make for a good proctor. Not for something so important as the exam for Mastery.

"We were," she answered with a nod. He'd even helped them out now and again, when times had called for it. "And yes, something happened." Or to be more accurate, a series of somethings had happened, all focused around one single person.

Riku recalled what Master Xehanort had said. A boy who failed to become the key, the Master who sacrificed herself for a friend, and the youth who became Xehanort's vessel. What events Xehanort was alluding to was beyond his knowledge, but...

"That's why when the worlds were in danger, the Keyblade chose a new wielder," he said quietly. "It had to."

He outstretched his hand, and Way to the Dawn appeared in it, to prove that he really was a Keyblade wielder. "You can trust me. We have an enemy in common -- and a friend, too."

Aqua knew. She didn't know that Master Xehanort had alluded to the events - didn't even know that Xehanort was still very much a problem - but she knew the events that had transpired.

She didn't speak again until after Riku had summoned his own Keyblade. Though she'd expected the Keyblade would go somewhere, she wasn't entirely certain about a 'new' wielder. Still, she supposed that as long as there was at least one Keyblade in the world that was good enough, and by the sound of it there was more than one at the least.

"It did," she answered quietly. "Ven and I couldn't really have helped and Terra...." Her voice trailed off there. While she was fairly certain he was still alive that wasn't exactly saying much, if he was unable to wield the Keyblade against the darkness that had come. What had he made of that second chance, if he hadn't taken up his Keyblade once again?

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The Thoughts We Hold

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