ુ ✬ Ｍคsʈeɾ Åqυค ✬ ૂ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rainprism) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sirenspull2012-06-30 11:18 pm
rainprism) wrote in sirenspull2012-06-30 11:18 pm
〈oo5〉⁂〈accidental video ⇢ foward dated to 7/1〉
[Dust. Lots and lots of dust. Several minutes of silence fill the feed. There has been an accidental activation of the video function, and for those first crucial moments, all that can be seen is billowing curtains of dust falling and settling around the NV, which is stationary on the ground.
Gradually, a close silhouette appears -- a long, shapeless lump on the ground to begin with ... until the last bits of dust clear away. The details come into focus. It's probably a white sleeve, but it's ripped, snagged, and slightly stained by the dark orange dust. And there's more -- a hand at the end of that sleeve, partially covered by fingerless gloves, palm down in that dust.
Labored breathing crescendos into range of the NV's microphone soon thereafter, and it isn't long before movement rocks the arm in an unstable to-and-fro motion. The person this arm belongs to ... is coming around.]
Nnnh ... !
[... Albeit painfully. When Aqua plowed into the baseball diamond the first time, there'd been the buffer of her armor to soften the blow. This time, she's taken the full brunt of the impact. But not unlike her first collision into Siren's Port, her recovery curve is rising sharply -- not long after the groan, a green light sets the recording NV out of focus for a moment and a musical trill sounds the casting of a Curaga spell. That arm is bathed in curative magic, and her hand closes around a fistful of dirt before the process of pushing herself into an upright position begins. The move is riddled with pauses and small gasps as sore spots are identified, but she somehow manages to maneuver herself into side-sitting, knees together and bent at an angle, the metallic accents of her boots clicking together as her ankles cross.
At first, the lens of the NV only captures this much; Her neatly folded legs. But her elbows soon find her knees and her face is promptly buried in her hands. The high noon sun has effectively stunned her, and she remains steadfastly in this position ... presumably, to get her bearings.]
Home ...
[The feed continues in this manner. A blue-haired young woman none the wiser to her in-progress broadcast, hiding her eyes like a child, coping with lingering aches, and whispering something with each carefully measured exhalation ... over and over, rhythmically.]
... Home ...
[The light of day is dizzying after a decade of nothing but darkness.]
Home.
Gradually, a close silhouette appears -- a long, shapeless lump on the ground to begin with ... until the last bits of dust clear away. The details come into focus. It's probably a white sleeve, but it's ripped, snagged, and slightly stained by the dark orange dust. And there's more -- a hand at the end of that sleeve, partially covered by fingerless gloves, palm down in that dust.
Labored breathing crescendos into range of the NV's microphone soon thereafter, and it isn't long before movement rocks the arm in an unstable to-and-fro motion. The person this arm belongs to ... is coming around.]
Nnnh ... !
[... Albeit painfully. When Aqua plowed into the baseball diamond the first time, there'd been the buffer of her armor to soften the blow. This time, she's taken the full brunt of the impact. But not unlike her first collision into Siren's Port, her recovery curve is rising sharply -- not long after the groan, a green light sets the recording NV out of focus for a moment and a musical trill sounds the casting of a Curaga spell. That arm is bathed in curative magic, and her hand closes around a fistful of dirt before the process of pushing herself into an upright position begins. The move is riddled with pauses and small gasps as sore spots are identified, but she somehow manages to maneuver herself into side-sitting, knees together and bent at an angle, the metallic accents of her boots clicking together as her ankles cross.
At first, the lens of the NV only captures this much; Her neatly folded legs. But her elbows soon find her knees and her face is promptly buried in her hands. The high noon sun has effectively stunned her, and she remains steadfastly in this position ... presumably, to get her bearings.]
Home ...
[The feed continues in this manner. A blue-haired young woman none the wiser to her in-progress broadcast, hiding her eyes like a child, coping with lingering aches, and whispering something with each carefully measured exhalation ... over and over, rhythmically.]
... Home ...
[The light of day is dizzying after a decade of nothing but darkness.]
Home.
video;
[Exhales in relief.]
I'm with you on that one, I think. There's so much I have to tell you.
[Purses her lips nervously.]
I'll be waiting in the diamond, okay?
video; --> action;?
[He smiles at the NV screen before clicking it off. He then pockets the phone and rises into the air, taking off into the sky. It takes him a little while, but eventually the diamond comes into view. A ways away form it he has to disembark from his glider and dismiss it, so he runs the rest of the way. After what feels like forever, he sees her and picks up the pace.]
Aqua!
video; --> action;!
[She watches the screen for a full second or two after it goes black ... and then hides her eyes in her hand again with a preparatory sigh.
And then the waiting.
Aqua actually makes an attempt to stand up and pace around in practice for the walk that is to come, but that light ... it's almost suffocating, beating down on her like a barrage of fists.
It hardly felt so long, but ... feeling like this with daylight on her back, it's easy for her to see that it's been a decade since she's seen the sun.
Her pacing is brought to another abrupt stop when she hears a glider in the distance ... and by the time she's able to scan, rescan, and squint her way into honing in on a blurry, Ventus-shaped object in the distance, he's already dismissed his mode of transportation.
... Call her crazy, but it looks like he's picking up speed, too.
Breath catching in her throat, she starts in his direction, footsteps uneven.]
Ven?!
action;
Are you all right? [He reaches for her hands, taking them both in his and holding them tightly.]
Did you get hurt?
action;
[She might not be in ship shape and Ven might have been able to show a little bit of restraint, but by the time they reach each other, she's so eager to throw her arms around him that they're shaking.]
I just took a tumble! I'm fine ...
[Nope, can't stand it any longer. Though he has her hands in his, she gently pulls herself free to wrap her arms around him. He's too tall for her to rest her chin atop his head, but she kisses him on the temple again and again and again, gives his shoulders an excited squeeze. Aqua's laughing all the while, not at all ready to let him go, but beside herself enough to burst into tears at any given moment.]
Everything's fine.
[Heartbeat quickening, she smooths out a lock of his hair before settling back into holding him tight.]
Look at you ... you haven't changed a bit! ... No, you wouldn't have, would you? I can hardly believe it ...
action;
I'm glad you're okay then. [His voice breaks a little as he says that, and he swallows to keep himself from crying.]
You have to tell me what happened, where you went!
action;
She clicks her tongue unhappily when she hears his voice break and ruffles the lock of hair she just smoothed down.]
Shhh ... it's alright ...
[It's going to be ... a little harder than she anticipated. The prospect of Ven crying isn't a factor that she'd considered at all, but probably should have ...]
I'll tell you everything on the way home, okay? [Taking on that patient, motherly tone.] It's a really long story. [Teasingly --] Are you sure you won't get bored?
[Or maybe she's just stalling because she doesn't want to let go yet.]
action;
Okay. [He sets his jaw and give s quick nod.] Hey, I won't get bored. I'll listen to it all!
action;
[Reluctantly, she gives this hug one last squeeze before letting her arms fall back to her sides. But she does offer an elbow in case he wants to link arms for the trek home.]
Ven ... I should start by asking what you remember doing before you first came to the Port. To make sure we start the story on the same page, right?
action;
Sure. [He thinks back. It's been so long now, he has to pause for a moment.]
The last thing I remember doing was fighting Vanitas and beating him. After that, it all went black... I went to sleep, right? But I remember waking up here instead.
action;
[Once their arms are linked, she's able to start the long walk home, letting him set the pace. Surprisingly, she's holding up pretty well. Not even a limp.]
But you don't know what happened in between, right? I mean ... what happened after you went to sleep.
action;
No... [He shakes his head, looking a little sad.] Sorry.
action;
... Ven, after you went to sleep, I was took you in. [Hesitation.] I was told ... that there was nothing I could do to wake you up. So I promised to take care of you while you slept.
[... More hesitation.]
I had to find ... a safe place to put you until I could find Terra. Not just any safe place, the safest place. Where no darkness would ever find you.
action;
He looks up at her quizzically.]
So where....?
action;
Home, Ven. Your Keyblade guided me back home. But ...
[The smile fades a little, and she adjusts the arm that is looped around his nervously.]
... The way home was ... it wasn't safe enough. I have something to show you.
action;
[But she still has his complete attention.]
All right, what is it?
action;
... Here.
[There's hesitation at first, but ... there's no use in sheltering Ven from the truth. She should know better than anyone how poisonous that can be.
Her free arm extends in front of them, palm open ... until Master Keeper itself materializes in her hand. But it's almost like the weapon is too weighty in her grasp; her limbs weaken from a measure of her own shame.]
... I used this.
[In a test of bravery, she chances a glance over at his face, but quickly reaverts her gaze to the weapon in front of her, which is lowered respectfully.]
To seal the world away with you in it. No one -- no force of darkness or denizen of light would ever be able to find you. Not without me unsealing everything.
action;
He can't do much more than gape. And it's not like he'd be offended or angry, he knew the Master was gone. There was no one better to pass his keyblade on to than Aqua. She was a Master herself after all.]
Whoa... [It's about all he can say for a moment, before he gathers himself. Her explanation made sense, and to think she did all that to protect him. Ven stops walking long enough to hug her gently.]
action;
Softly --]
... It's alright, Ven. Outside of the Port, you're all alone, but I promised you that I'd be back as soon as I could with Terra.
[Runs a hand through his hair idly.]
Our Land of Departure was transformed into a terrible castle of oblivion ... and I had to leave you there. I'm sorry, Ven.
action;
I'm never really alone, so it's okay. Even if you had to lock me away, I'll always have you guys.
[And now he shakes his head.] No matter what, I know you did what was best. So don't apologize, Aqua. It'll be okay.
action;
If she could be so fortunate with her other friend, then ... things just might be okay.]
Thank you ... Ven ... but ...
[She bumps the bottom of his chin lightly with her finger. Chin up, kiddo.]
I never was able to come back for you. When I left the port last month ... I was right back where I had been. Searching for Terra.
[Here, she pauses, straining to find the right words to explain what happened after that.]
I found him. He ... he wasn't alright. Did he tell you what happened to him, Ven?
action;
To be honest.... I've never gotten a full and complete story. I've heard bits and pieces, but nothing ever straight from him.
But you can tell me.
action;
After I locked our Land of Departure ...
... And she thought of the many, many times that she received that exact response when she was looking for her own answers. She remembers the feelings -- disappointment, frustration ... futility. Back then, she deserved answers, and she had to fight tooth and nail to get them. Ven deserves them just as much as she did, and if she can spare him any kind of strife, then she will.]
I heard Terra's voice ... calling out to me. I don't know if it was the Wayfinder's magic, but ...
[Besides ... isn't it her story, too?]
I found him in Radiant Garden, but he ... Terra ... he wasn't himself.
[Her gaze turns distant, and she frowns slightly, summoning the unpleasant memory up to the surface.]
Master Xehanort had somehow taken over his body. Not like Vanitas could. It was ... different, somehow. ... I ...
[At least now she understands the hesitancy in others. It's not an easy story to tell ...
To think that it happened a second time ...]
action;
It's okay, Aqua... you can tell me. [He'd seen Terra's possession here in the Port with his own eyes. It had been one of the most difficult experiences of his life.
And it seemed to have left a stain on their lives that hadn't been washed away yet. So he can see why Aqua is upset now.]
action;
While he was ... possessed like that, I fought him. When Master Xehanort began to lose, he turned his keyblade on himself.
[A faint frown, the trauma of that sight causing a clamor within. But very little finds its way to the surface -- for Ven's sake.]
It opened up a rift beneath his feet ... darkness ... it oozed out of that rift like nothing I've ever seen. [Another deep breath is taken in and out before she finishes.] When Terra fell in, I jumped in after him.
action;
action; hurr hurr phone tag
action; tee hee
action;
action;