Kingdom Hearts X(cross): Cadunt ad Caelum

"... I'll be there, just a little late," you say finally after a long pause to think. "I want to see another friend first."

"Got it!" Chirithy replies, and with a little poof of pink smoke they vanish. You sit and wait for them to return, tapping your heel against the edge of the fountain and listening to the babble of the water as it streams down. It doesn't take long for Chirithy to return.

"Chirithy says don't worry about it!" Chirithy reports, taking a seat beside you again. "So who is it you wanted to see first?"

"Well... I was hoping you'd help me figure that out," you say somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh." Chirithy springs up once again, and you swear there's even a soft boing noise from the rounded plush nubs of their feet. "At your service!" They wave one arm in what you assume is a substitute for a salute since they're not even close to being able to reach their brow. You chuckle.

"Could you see if Danika's available?"

Your Chirithy vanishes in another puff of pink smoke, and you wait patiently once again. You wonder idly if Chirithies have some kind of homing sense and the delay is because their teleportation isn't actually instant, or if they have to just teleport around all the spots they can think of physically looking for the person. You wonder if it'd be rude to ask. You don't want to imply it's some kind of terrible imposition having to wait. Chirithy works hard to make your life easier, and they never take much longer than-

"You're in luck!" Chirithy announces proudly as they reappear. "She just got back from a mission and she says, quote, 'I'll take any excuse to relax right now'. She says she'll meet you at the usual cafe, the one off Main Street near the aqueduct."

Fifteen minutes later you have a table there, nestled in a small lot hemmed in by buildings all around, the aqueduct overhead only just visible but the sound of water rushing through the stone channel lingering on the edge of hearing. Danika sits opposite you, dark-haired and dark-eyed, draped in her usual blue sari and looking a little bit like she's just grateful to be off her feet. Your Chirithies finish up paying at the counter and wander off to talk excitedly about whatever Chirithy Things it is that captures their attention, leaving the two of you alone.

"Soooo?" Danika prompts. "You had your big qualifier mission today, right? How'd it go? Great? Terribly? Somewhere in the middle?"

"I ranked first actually!" you reply. "Which... should make me happier than it does, but something kind of weird happened during it. I was doing just fine when I had a bit of a slip-up, when out of nowhere Ephemer actually helps me. And that wouldn't be weird I mean, we're supposed to help each other out on a Union Cross mission and I doubt he would've wanted to watch me get flattened anyway, but he let me finish off the Heartless he saved me from. He would've ranked first instead of me if he hadn't done that. So... why would he?"

"Well it's obvious," she says, leaning closer.

"Why?" you ask, leaning closer too.

"He liiiiiikes youuuuu~," she singsongs. Your immediate frown only elicits a hearty snicker, so you cross your arms and lean way back in your chair. The snickering dies down and she mercifully doesn't comment any further, but there's definitely still a grin on her face when your drinks come. She takes coffee, you take hot chocolate.

"So what've you been up to?" you ask, eagerly seizing a chance to change the subject. "You've been allowed on solo missions for a while now - go anywhere particularly interesting, do anything particularly exciting? Oh, found a new keychain yet?"

"Observe!" she commands, lowering her cup and raising her hand. A brassy Keyblade materialises in her grip with a flash of light, the blade curving back and around at the tip like the tail of a quaver. The 'teeth' face inward, and after a moment of scrutiny you realise they form a crooked, stylised '3'. A strange kind of lamp in miniature dangles from the end of the keychain.

"Oooooh," you coo on cue. "Where'd you get it?"

"Agrabah!" she replies, turning it this way and that, equal parts to admire it and show it off to you. "It's a desert-world with bandit-Heartless constantly menacing the townsfolk, so I've been getting plenty of work fending off attacks and returning the things they steal. I got this on my thhhird visit I think it was? It's really boosted my magic, don't know how I ever got by before." Then, for some reason, she frowns.

"What's up?"

"Oh nothing major," she sighs. "It's just that when I first got there I was supposed to scout out this thing called the Cave of Wonders. Everyone I talked to thought it was a myth, but said it was supposed to hold riches beyond imagination. I even got so far as finding it! But it said it'd only open for a 'diamond in the rough', and ever since I've just been spinning my wheels taking odd jobs there while I try to figure out who or what that is." She looks up at you. "You know I've been trying to find some thief's lost pet monkey for about a month."

You reach over and pat her on the shoulder. "There there. Monkeys can't be that hard to find. I'm sure you'll be done in no time!"

"Hope springs eternal and all." Danika dismisses the Keyblade and raises her cup for another deep pull of coffee. You ruminate on her words some.

"How many worlds do you think there are?" you ask. "With so many of us out there working you'd think we'd bump into each other constantly, not just on the Union Cross missions."

"Oh there's loads, that much I'm sure of," Danika replies, setting the cup down with a soft clink. "Anywhere between fifty-odd to upwards of seventy, by what I've heard. It's just we all get our own list of worlds we get to visit and the Foretellers have always been pretty cagey about how many there are out there. Maybe they don't want us all fighting over the best spots, eh? Just get in, get out, don't cause too much of a fuss."

"Has the non-interference pact been much of a problem for you?" you ask. "I just ask because, you know, I'll have to head out on my first solo mission tomorrow so I'd like to be informed."

"And because you'd go stir-crazy trying to avoid everyone in your worlds as much as possible," Danika remarks.

"Shush."

She shrugs. "It's not that much of a problem really. The amount of interference allowed is usually dictated by the mission description. Obviously a reconnaisance mission shouldn't involve walking up and talking to people, but a simple Lux-grind you can chat up whoever. It generally just comes down to the big clauses; don't go giving away Citadel secrets or trying to usurp the Sultan or something. We're gathering Lux for the good of all the worlds, remember. Their problems are pretty small potatoes unless they help us get what we need."

"Well... that's good at least," you say. "I mean, I probably would go stir-crazy if it was just 'go here kill Heartless come back' day in day out. This way at least sometimes I get to meet new people!"

"And you'll always have sweet Ephemer to come home to~"

You play-kick Danika in the shin under the table. Your conversation lapses into less important topics for a spell, idle chat about new shops opening and closing around the Citadel, if Danika's kept in touch with any of her old friends from the cadets, that sort of thing. It's only when the shadows grow especially long and she notices the setting sun that Danika makes to excuse herself.

"Honestly I'd love to stay and chat but I pulled back-to-back missions today and I am exhauuuuuuuuusted," she explains, rising and pushing her chair back in. "I need to get some sleep, pronto."

"Hah, promise I won't try to keep you," you reply with a crooked smile. But then, struck by a sudden thought, you pause and rise as well. "Actually, just one more question. Promise it won't take long."

"Mm?" She leans over the back of the chair, arms crossed.

"Have you ever met the Foreteller?" you ask. "Missions, meetings, just in the hall... anything?"

Danika shrugs. "Why would I? She's a spymaster, Ave. She's got loads of way more important things to do than bother herself with what I'm doing. Probably gets a hundred reports a day she's got to sift through and condense and hand over to her boss. I mean maybe one day when I get promoted she'll be there to say 'hi', but I'm not exactly holding my breath. Why?"

"No reason, just wondering. Get some rest, okay? I've got another thing I have to get to anyway," you say quickly, gesturing over your shoulder in a vaguely beach-ward direction. She notices, and grins.

"Don't stay up too late partying. Big day tomorrow~"

"I don't- when have I ever 'partied'?" you grumble, but she's long gone. You let out a long, low sigh and stretch out, arching your back as you bend over to the point of pressing your forehead against the table. A few seconds later there's a quiet poff and you feel a tiny plush paw patting you on the head.

"Something up?" Chirithy asks.

"Yes. No. Mrgh. I dunno," you groan. A few more long moments of silence as you think. You lift your head just far enough to meet Chirithy's gaze. "Actually, could I get you to compose a message? It has to be delivered right away, while there's still some time."

"Sure thing!" A fresh-inked quill and parchment page materialise in Chirithy's hands (and you have no earthly idea how they grip them). "Who do I make it out to?"

"Foreteller Invi."

Chirithy's quill is halfway to the page when they double-take. "Um," they say. "May I ask why?"

"I know, I know, it's... forward." You nervously rock your weight back and forth, heel to toe and back again. "And I know there's a chance it ends up in the bin before it even makes it to her desk, let alone ever gets read. But it's just- look, I want to serve the Union, but I also want to know who I'm serving better, y'know? I don't want to just not-care like Danika does. She's my Foreteller and I want that to mean more than just being some distant figurehead. Sssoo um-" you crane your neck forward to watch the page as Chirithy hesitantly sets the nib against it "-mention how I scored consistently well in the cadets and just came first in my qualifying Union Cross mission. Oh, and how I'm eager to serve in any capacity she deems fit! And- I don't know should we give her some Lux?"

"You already gave her a bunch of Lux in the tithe today," Chirithy points out.

"But I mean like, more Lux. As a gift. To show that I'm not just in it for the Lux." Your face crumples up with concern. "That wouldn't be too gauche would it? Like I was trying to bribe her?"

"Hmmmm." Chirithy rubs a plush paw to their snout. "Depends how much. How much are you willing to part with?"

"How much are you thinking?"

After a little more back-and-forth haggling with your Chirithy over just how much Lux is an appropriately polite icebreaker of a gift and trying not to fret about what sort of response will come from it - deafening silence being the most likely - at last it's all sealed away in an envelope, glowing faintly from the Lux sitting within. Chirithy even gives it a wax seal so it looks really fancy and official. You try not to look as nervous about it as you feel.

"Do you think she'll reply?" you ask.

"I think your chances are decent!" Chirithy replies, a little more diplomatically than you would've liked. "But I'm definitely proud of you for trying to take initiative like this."

You smile, and pat them on the head. "Thanks Chirithy."

"It's no tr-mweehee~" Chirithy happily bounces up and down, so delighted that they're practically glowing by the time you pull your hand away. "I'll go deliver this right away. You go to the party and have fun now, soldier!"

You salute your brave Chirithy as they teleport off on their dangerous mission, feeling a little better about things on the whole. You wave goodbye to the cafe owners as they close up shop for the night and head off, following the slope down to the bay.

It's properly sunset by the time you make it, the sun a burning flame-gold coin hanging just above the horizon, its rays gleaming across the gentle peaks and valleys of the sea. There's a restaurant on the stone quay that's still open but that doesn't seem to be what's catering for the party. No, that honour seems to belong to Lapis and her friend, standing by a barbecue she set up right there on the dunes. The smell of meat roasting over the flames can even reach you, wafting up the hill on the sea breeze. Strelitzia and her brother seem to be taking care of the drinks situation, the latter helping the former cart a chest full of ice and bottles down the dunes. You shade your eyes against the glare to take a better look - it looks like Blaine did bother to come he's just... lying on the sand a ways from where everyone else is congregating, hat pulled down over his face and seemingly asleep. Ephemer takes even longer to spot, but you finally spy him at the restaurant talking to someone. Paying for yet more food maybe? You feel a little guilty about not showing up early enough to help set up, but you take comfort in the fact that you're still not as much of a freeloader as Blaine.

[ ] Go talk to Ephemer. As much as the prospect seems mildly mortifying after all Danika did to wind you up, you are kind of curious about him now, and maybe it's not too late to repay the favour a little and help him out with whatever he's doing.
[ ] Go talk to Blaine. You're honestly just curious, both about why he came if he seems so disinterested and why he's here at all if he seems so uninvested. You know Leopardus members tend toward the academic but they still go out and gather Lux like anybody else, you don't know why he'd slack off.
[ ] Go talk to Strelitzia and her brother. You feel kind of bad for her seeing as how she came last in the rankings, and scoring worse than Blaine has certainly got to hurt. Maybe you and her brother working together can properly cheer her up?
[ ] Go talk to Lapis and her friend. You're both impressed by her performance today and concerned about how brazenly she struck out on her own. Granted so did you but you took a calculated risk whereas she seemed to put a whole lot less thought into it. Maybe a gentle word or two could help prevent more serious consequences down the line?