fourteen | oo23 [ voice // action ]

[ Sometime during the night, the Malnosso robots dumped Xion off where they'd picked her up -- square in the middle of town. There and gone, quick as you please, leaving an unconscious girl behind.

However, she quickly comes to, stirring blearily and slowly sitting up. ]

Where....?

[ And then her eyes go wide. Something looks ... different. At this time of night -- or morning, really -- the sun is only just barely starting to come up, turning the sky a deep, dark blue. It's just light enough to see by, but can't properly be called morning yet.

And in this mock twilight, Xion sees that Luceti suddenly seems horribly familiar yet bizarre at the same time. She sits stunned for a moment, unable to process what she's seeing, then looks over her shoulder at the fountain.

What she sees makes her yelp. ]

Whoa! But that's... what is... no way! I'm still in Luceti, right? But how...

[ This is too strange. Xion locates her journal, conveniently nearby as always, and immediately starts talking into it, too curious and excited to really stop and care about the fact that she just got back. ]

Axel! Roxas! Are you guys awake? Have you seen the town yet? It looks -- it looks so much like Halloween Town! I thought I was actually there when I woke up...

[ Xion looks away from the journal to stare in wonder around the spooky town. Finally, she stands, a smile spreading across her face. ]

I wonder what all this is about...

[ Another pause. Then Xion gives another abrupt shout of surprise and drops her journal, unable to stop herself from exclaiming aloud ]

What am I wearing?! Are these... are these bunny ears...?

(ooc; this, ftr. also, she happens to be covered in bruises, which is much more apparent with all that skin bared. she'll be noticing it belatedly in threads instead of here in the post proper. don't worry; at least she didn't feel any pain, right? :|b

ps this is going up more or less in real time, at 6:30 in the morning or so.

also will be getting to tags here and on her last post when I actually get home from work. /RUNS)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ nodnod. ]

Okay. I never found Halloween Town all that scary, but then again, I never knew if I should be afraid of it or not in the first place. If that makes sense... I just hope whatever happens here isn't too bad. [ a beat where she looks away, then back up at him. normally she doesn't ask for reassurance, but ... she trusts him. ] Do you think it'll be okay?

[Naoki nods his agreement and pauses as she looks at him; his expression softens considerably.] Yeah, I do. Even if something more should happen, we'll get through it. [He has confidence in that much--knows that, at least, they won't be alone.]

... [ she smiles a little bit, taking comfort in his words. she'll probably be hanging onto those later, when things get less than pleasant.

but for now, she changes the subject with a little tip of her hat and a silly smile. ] Would you like some company on your walk?

[Naoki laughs at the tip of the hat and grins, doing a little bit of a bow in return.] I'd be honoured if you'd accompany me.

[ that makes her grin and laugh, unable to help it. if she's stuck in this outfit, she might as well make the best of it. ]

Great! Are we going anywhere in particular?

[He grins in return and turns a bit, waiting for her to walk alongside him.]

Maybe just around the plaza to check out the buildings...though I do need to pick up some food. The house is pretty bare of it, since we just moved there and all.

You moved? [ oh my. ] Where to? My friends and I moved to a new place not long ago too, actually... [ but she gestures around them ] Lead the way!

[Naoki grins and does so, gesturing with one hand north of the plaza, toward the houses not far.] Just up there--to house 43. Me, Richard and Isamu.

[ just follows along with him, grinning when he points out his new digs ] Really? You're not far from me! Me and all my friends are in house fourteen now. [ she points back in the general direction of her home ] It's nice to live with everybody you like, right? Though... things are still a little weird, sometimes... [ rubs the back of her neck ]

[He tilts his head to look in the direction she's pointing, brightening a bit.] Not far at all, no. [Then he turns his eyes back to her.] It's weird staying with them all?

... sometimes. It's more that... um. [ her smile turns very crooked and a little sad. ] Do you remember what I told you about Riku? How he left, and came back? Like Richard did? He... We were dating, until... something went wrong. So we stopped dating, but then he disappeared like that...

[ a deep sigh. it's still painful to think about. ] I'm glad he came back, but things have been kind of strange between us ever since. It's better now, but it's still not like it was. And now that we're living in the same place... [ she trails off with a little shrug of her shoulder. ]

[Naoki nods at the first part, and then his expression grows a little more solemn as she goes on to explain. He shifts to place a light hand on her shoulder for a moment, looks forward and then turns his attention back to her.]

...You're around him all the time, living in the same house. Yeah, I see how that would feel pretty strange, even if it is after getting better.

[ the hand on her shoulder is comforting, at least. she reaches up to lay a hand over his, for a moment, smiling slightly, before letting it drop. ]

I haven't been sure what to do about it for a long time. I mean... [ a beat ] No, I shouldn't be complaining to you like this. [ sheepish. ]

[Naoki gives a soft chuckle.] No...it helps to get it out now and again. [He inclines his head, a sort of 'go ahead' gesture.] I'm happy to listen.

[ she smiles at him, grateful, and nods, continuing what she was saying earlier ]

It's just ... he's apologized a lot for what he did, but early on he didn't even seem to get what he'd really done wrong. You see, what he really wanted was... the Keyblade. [ her expression tightens ] In my world it's a powerful weapon, but ... it's also the thing that turned me into a monster. Here and back home. I had to ... because I had it ... I died. Twice. [ shifts, visibly uncomfortable ] But he still wanted it. I guess I just... took it really personally. He's explained himself, but... I keep wondering if I'm just holding onto these hurt feelings for no reason. I miss him.

[Naoki tilts his head so that he can listen attentively to her, taking in everything she's explaining with a slight, thoughtful frown. He thinks for a moment before he begins to reply, slowly,]

It makes sense that you'd be hurt. It's done terrible things to you--and for him to want it, well...I wouldn't blame you at all for holding on to it. [He shakes his head lightly. It seems to him that Riku is the one in the wrong here.] I don't blame you for missing him, either...but has he tried putting himself in your shoes?

[ she bites her lip. ] ... he did try. He wasn't very good at it. [ she sighs, and is quiet for a moment. ] I guess what both of us really want to know is how he can prove I can trust him again. Just talking hasn't really ... helped.

[...oh. Naoki's suddenly hit by a wash of empathy--he's remembering his own issues with Isamu, and the problems with Richard and the trust there, and as someone on the opposite side...] Sometimes talking doesn't help at all, no. Trust, well--it has to be earned, and especially after something like that... [He's not sure what he can do to earn her trust again.]

oo23 [ voice // action ]

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[Action] how do I always break html in our threads

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[Action] you terror 8|

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