Kingdom Hearts X(cross): Cadunt ad Caelum
BadAtScreenNames
Killed a man in Reno just to watch him die
- Location
- the (currently) United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] 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.
Aevum Ingame Union Cross Character Sprite
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ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
Oh my god I thought you were just colouring the last sketch, you make Aevum look cute as heck in the Union Cross style. Take another 50 Lux for your work for a total of 75 that you can spend how you wish - that's enough for a whole-ass spell if you feel like it.God, I wish I knew how to use a palette. And art programs in general. I did not realize that the skirt would look so purple.
To feel better about myself.
Put it all in Spellweaver please!
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
Oh God this is what I get for not officially closing the vote early. I get thirteen hours of inactivity then a vote that makes it a tie.
I was at school and then busy earlier today but I gotta call it retroactively so I can get some work done, Ephemer wins.
I was at school and then busy earlier today but I gotta call it retroactively so I can get some work done, Ephemer wins.
Chapter Six: A Night To Remember
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
You find yourself veering off almost before you have time to think about it. Skirting the edge of the beach, down the footpath and onto the quay toward the restaurant. You spare a glance across the dunes to the others - Lapis catches sight of you and waves, calling out a faint 'Hey!' that only barely reaches your ears. Once Strelitzia notices she turns and waves excitedly too. You raise your hand to return the greeting, a pink flush spreading across your cheeks (why did they have to notice you and draw so much attention, wait why are you embarrassed you're just going to talk to a friend, Danika this is your fault) and mime that you'll only take a minute as best you can. Lapis replies with a thumbs-up and goes right back to cooking, getting in a brief fight with her friend over control of the barbecue tongs likely due to a dispute over whether the meat's ready to turn or not. You face forward again and breathe a sigh of relief, pushing your way through the glass door and into near-empty restaurant.
Ephemer's leaning against the front counter, clearly at the very tail end of a conversation. The staff-member he was talking to leaves and vanishes into the kitchen just as soon as you've arrived. Ephemer spies your approach out of the corner of his eye before you even get close enough to say hi, brightening as he turns to face you.
"Hey! You made it!"
"I had a... thing, like I told Chirithy to reply," you say, waving your hand as if to shoo away smoke. "Catching up with a friend. What about you? Skipping out on your own party?"
He grins. "Nah, far from it. They're close to closing up here, I'm trying to get a bunch of deserts on the cheap before they close the kitchens." He pauses. "Granted there's a risk everyone'll fill on on Lapis' famous char-grilled meat platters but hey, more for me then."
"Promise not to tell if you won't, then we can just split them," you mutter conspiratorially.
He gasps in mock shock. "The years have changed you!" He chuckles, and you chuckle with him. He leans over the counter, arms folded, and flicks his head toward the gathered friends and aquaintences on the beach. "Go on, say hi to everyone. Won't be too much longer, promise."
You purse your lips slightly. "I can't at least pay for mine?"
"You think those freeloaders out there paid for theirs?" he asks.
"They helped set up," you point out. Ephemer laughs.
"It's fine, Aevum. Really, I'm buying half-a-dozen desserts at the eleventh hour, someone throwing a pot at my head is the bigger concern on my mind right now," he replies. His brow furrows slightly as he shifts his weight and straightens up. "Something the matter?"
You avert your eyes with a soft sigh. Well... not how you wanted to couch the issue but hey, he asked. The staff member comes back while you're thinking - a few more words are exchanged, Ephemer pre-pays with a little extra for the trouble, and the two of you head back out into the sea breeze. Before too long you find yourself standing on the quay, water lapping gently against the slick well-worn stones at the waterline as the setting sun dips a toe in the sea far beyond the bay.
"Look-" you start. Hesitating. You rake some hair behind your ear and try again. "You saw the rankings right?"
"I took a peek yeah."
"I- I know it's not that big of a deal or I guess it shouldn't be that big of a deal but it feels kind of like a big deal to me and if I don't ask you about it I'm probably going to explode," you mutter, half to yourself. You raise your voice only fractionally, at least to be heard over the chill coastal air in your ears. "Did it bother you at all? Realising you would've got first place if you didn't help me. Was it an accident or were you deliberately trying to boost me to first because you like me or did you just not care what the ranks were or- I dunno what?"
Ephemer lets out a half-bewildered laugh. "S-sorry, I just never expected you'd think about this so much." He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "To tell you the truth it was just kinda a spur-of-the-moment decision. I helped you because I saw you were in trouble and I... could, y'know? And then we were alone in the clearing and you'd just missed a step and I guess-" he looks away, out to sea "-I thought about how sad you'd be if I got first place just because you made a little mistake."
He glances back at you. "Did I do something wrong?"
You flash him a pained half-smile, brow furrowed. "No, no it's just..." now it's time for the double hand action, running the fingers of both through your hair as you try to coooooomb all the errant bangs back so they stop flickering in the wind so much and getting in your eyes. You keep your hands pressed to your skull and sigh. "I feel kind of guilty, is all," you admit. "I feel like you earned that spot, you know? Feel like... you gave it up just for me when I don't deserve it. And- and maybe that wouldn't bother me so much if this weren't the night before solo missions start and every time I think about it I start thinking about what it'll be like once I'm alone out there without you or anyone else to cover for my mistakes and I just... worry."
You huff out another sigh, deeper and harsher this time. Your hands fall away from your hair and dangle limp by your sides. "Worry I'm not cut out for solo missions after all. Like I'll just freeze up again out there."
The quay is silent for the longest time, the wind and the water the only companion for you and Ephemer.
"Well that's dumb," he says.
"E-excuseme?" you splutter, wheeling right around to face him. He tips his head back into his cupped hands and glances at you sideways.
"What?" he shrugs. "It's dumb." His gaze flicks back out to the water. "We all qualified fair-and-square today, not just first-place. We all have what it takes to head out there and start defending the light and, honestly? My best got me second-place. Your best got you first-place but for one little mistake, and I bet even if all four of us were miles away and you were all alone, you could've pulled through."
"Yeah but the 'but' is kind of the issue here-"
Ephemer lets his hands drop. "You're not worthless just 'cause you needed help," he cuts you off with a grin. "Look, make you a deal. Union Cross missions still happen every so often even in solo ranks, right?"
"Rrrright?" you reply dubiously.
"Then work hard and wait for the next one! We can both go all-out and you can rightfully thrash me and restore some of that Anguis pride through victory over the hated Vulpes!" He pumps one gloved fist dramatically. "The Cobra ascendant!"
You snort, covering further laughter with one hand. "That kind of Union Cross mission is serious!" you manage to splutter out. "It'd be some huge Heartless threatening a whole town or the Citadel or something!"
He shrugs, planting his hands firmly on his hips. "Can't be that big a threat if both of us are taking it on."
Your eyes flick down to said hands on hips, then back up to his face. "Careful you don't float off with that big head of yours," you tease.
He gapes. "Hey!"
It's not too much longer before the food's ready and you're not too hungry, so you wait with Ephemer until it's all ready and help carry it down to the beach. Strelitzia lets out a quietly despairing 'oh nooooooo' upon realising she should've saved room, but after a little coaxing she eventually decides to live a little and chance the stomachache. Lapis begrudgingly splits hers with her friend, Lauriam sneaks a scoop or two from Strelitzia ("checking it for poison" he says in a very serious voice) and Blaine appears to be asleep so his is left carefully half-buried in the sand beside him for when he wakes up. You gratefully sprawl out on the sand with a paper plate piled high with BBQ and the dessert waiting in the wings by your thigh and feel the tension finally start to bleed off your shoulders, chewing and watching the water as chatter flits through one ear and out the other like a chorus of chirping birds.
Elrena crashes the party not long after, as you and you're sure everyone else lowkey expected her to. She's quick on the draw saying she's Blaine's plus-one, whose confused mumble in reply is all everyone needs to let her stay. She's from Unicornis like Strelitzia, easy to recognise by the twin 'antennae' of hair that poke out from her otherwise quite straight and tidy head of blonde hair. She's in her usual, matching light blue jacket and boots over a white dress shirt and black skirt with plain black tie - it's a good look, you won't lie, and you've told her so before. She plonks herself down straight opposite Strelitzia and Lauriam, and like a flash they're all buried deep in some amorphous three-way conversation. On your side of the beach you wind up drawn into conversation with Lapis and her friend Ferra, the latter of whom comfortably straddles the median between Lapis' physique and yours, with the kind of steel-grey hair that's provoked just as many jokes about Ephemer being her secret long-lost brother as about Lapis being your long-lost sister. 'But they're different shades' everyone involved always protests, and around and around the circle goes.
The sun sinks lower and lower beyond the distant horizon, the shadows growing longer and longer as they slowly blur into the all-encompassing blanket of night. The air grows colder, the dark surf foaming stark-white against the grey-blue sand. Lapis suggests lighting a bonfire, which multiple people inform her would be a very bad idea for several reasons, especially once she summons her Keyblade for the purposes of just blasting something flammable. Strelitzia takes that as a sign that everyone should probably get to bed soon, what with solo missions starting the next morning, and a murmur of agreement ripples out across the group. Everyone slowly scatters to pick up the surprising amount of litter that sort of appeared over the course of the night, and Lauriam lingers the longest to gently prod Blaine in the ribs with his toe again and again. He's fighting a losing battle - you suspect Blaine will need a kick or a spray of sand in the face. His dessert is long gone. Elrena probably stole it.
You say goodbye to your friends, and there's a spring in your step and a smile lingering on your face as you make the mildly exhausting climb allllll the way back up to the peak of the hill atop which the Citadel of Daybreak was built, the better to catch the first light of each new dawn. It's a surprisingly sleepy place at the best of times - the vast majority of accomodation within the walls is reserved for Union members who obviously spend most of their time away on missions, with shopkeepers and the like requiring special permission, but you can still bump into people every couple streets or so. Night is a different story. As you draw closer to your building, accompanied only by the sound of your footfalls as they echo around you, you feel as if you could almost be the only person in the world. Or at least the only one awake.
You head inside. The door's unlocked. Every door in the Citadel of Daybreak is unlocked. When almost everyone in the city has a weapon capable of magically locking or unlocking any kind of door or lock, the mundane sort seems kind of pointless. You shut the door behind you with a soft click and head upstairs, dodging every loose floorboard and creaky step, and before long you're gratefully sliding into bed and nestling beneath the covers. It's only a few moments before Chirithy poffs into view, curling up across your ankles in their favourite spot.
"Excited about tomorrow?" they ask.
"Mhm."
They pat your shin through the blanket with a plush paw. "Get some rest then. And sweet dreams!"
"(mhm)"
Don't be afraid.
One day you will return to set things right.
You wake up too early. There's no sun to be found as you peer blearily out the window, just the kind of anaemic pre-dawn light that lightens the shadows a few shades without actually illuminating anything. Chirithy's still sleeping soundly by your feet, snoring softly (and gosh even the snoring sounds cute). You suck in a deep breath through your nose and worry your face deep into your pillow, squeezing it close as if that will somehow reveal some hidden truth. You roll on your side to paw vaguely at your nightstand, and the movement finally awakens Chirithy from their slumber. They waddle to their feet and stretch out with an exaggerated yawn.
"Morning," they say.
"Morning," you reply, significantly less refreshed. You finally find the clock and squint at it intently, peering into its depths as the slender second-hand gradually ticks across the stark white face. Then you realise it's useless to you since you have no idea when you got home last night. You brush hair out of your face and look at Chirithy. "How long was I asleep?"
"No longer than usual," Chirithy replies. "Go get freshened up! I'll find your things, we can get there early and beat the rush."
The new day is just starting to properly consider dawning by the time you've sneaked back out of the building and down the street, golden-pink light delicately brushing the higherst peaks of the rooftops and chimneys all around. The great brass face of the Clock Tower high above shines in the growing light, the massive pendulum slowly swinging back and forth through the negative space at the heart of the arch-shaped edifice. Boy, this morning of all mornings you're glad it never tolls - a thing that size might just shake your brain out your ears.
You find the Fountain Plaza almost deserted when you get there, the noticeboard still bare and awaiting today's missions. You say 'almost' deserted because you haven't been there ten minutes before Ephemer shows up, waving. You sketch a less enthusiastic wave back.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he asks.
"Yeah. Different reason though," you reply. You knead your forehead - it still feels kind of sweaty. "I don't know, maybe I got a particularly bad sausage or something, but I slept really bad last night I think. You were just excited, I take it?"
"Am I that obvious?" Ephemer shades his eyes against the looming glare as he gazes east, checking his mental map. "Y'know since we'll be waiting a bit for the noticeboard Chirithy, want me to go on a drink run? Perk us both up a bit."
"You keep saving me like this and I'll be in your debt for life," you say drily. He turns to head off that very instant. You quickly lean over and throw your voice after him. "And take Chirithy with you to pay for mine! No more free rides!"
Chirithy appears right on cue, teleporting in mid-leap. They hit the ground running -or, well, close enough- and waddle for their life in hot pursuit. Eventually they get fed up and make enough leap with a grunt of effort, teleporting mid-jump and landing neatly right on top of Ephemer's curly head right as he turns a corner. Ephemer's startled shout echoes back to you. You smile and let yourself relax a little, tipping your head back and resting your eyes a moment.
"Oh! I'm glad I got to you early!"
Your eyes snap open and you look down. It's another Chirithy. But not the noticeboard Chirithy?
"Can I help you?" you ask sleepily.
"No, but I can help you!" Chirithy reaches into the empty air between their cape and their back, and with a flourish they magically pull out something that could ever fit back there. It's a golden bangle set with a clear many-faceted jewel, much like the wristband you're wearing just... not just bigger but richer somehow. More finely crafted, more well-fitted, heck it even seems shinier. They offer it to you on cupped paws. "You shouldn't go running off on your first solo mission without your Power Bangle!"
"But I already have my wristband?" you say, pointing at it as if Chirithy somehow missed that part.
"No no, that's your trainee band," they correct you patiently. "Only holds a little Lux at a time, since you only go on low-rank missions. With the Power Bangle you can hold as much Lux as you could possibly grab, and that's not all! It's tuned to act as a conduit between you and the natural energies of the worlds you visit - it'll actually power you up! Hence the Power in the Bangle."
You arch your eyebrow and bend down, scooping the offered bangle from the Chirithy's paws. While you're within reach they give your wristband a sharp tap - the gold splits like paper and it just falls from your wrist, clattering on the cobblestones below. You carefully snap on replacement band, and the seam heals over into a flawless loop of gold just like your 'trainee band' did. The clear jewel seems to twinkle in response.
"Y'know how you already use the Lux you earn on your missions to reinforce your abilities (after taxes, naturally)?" Chirithy goes on. "Now that you've earned your Power Bangle, you can use that surplus Lux to make your abilities Gilt!"
"Gilt?" you repeat, not quite following.
"Mhm!" the Chirithy nods. "Think of it liiiike... a promotion, or earning a medal, or a commendation. You take an already powerful ability, and once you Gilt it it's even more powerful! All the other senior Keyblade-wielders do it. Oh!" the Chirithy hops in surprise, suddenly remembering "Speaking of which, I still have lots of people to get to and not much time!" They give you a quick bow and scoop up your discarded trainee wristband. "Enjoy the Bangle!"
And like that they vanish in a puff of pink smoke. You blink a few times. Part of you would think that was a minor dream if it weren't for the form-fitting warmth of the brand new Power Bangle around your wrist. Ugh, what happened that you slept so bad last night? Maybe you'll know for sure if Lapis has to stay in from her first day of solo missions with food poisoning. But... no, that's too much to hope. She could probably eat day-old raw steak she found on the beach and be fine. And you hear rumours she did once.
Mnh. You love Chirithy, you really do, but you really wish they hadn't suggested an early morning. What you wouldn't give for just a few more minutes. Maybe an hour if you're feeling greedy. You wouldn't beat the rush but hey, what is the rush anyway? Danika says everyone gets their own... set of worlds...
... n'the fountain sounds... so soothing...
You awaken in dust and stone.
You hear the wind but you don't feel it. You feel the dull, irregular pressure of the rocky outcropping pressing against your side and gritty, rust-red dirt collecting in the seams and hollows of your body. You're curled up, waking up from a fetal position, slowly raising your head as if it were made of lead. Your whole body feels heavy, numb, distant. Like it doesn't quite belong to you, like you're trying to force it to move by shouting orders from far away. Your mouth feels bone dry, your blood is pulsing thick as tar, your head throbs like a second heartbeat. Your eyes ache, they ache so badly they feel like swollen grapes forced into the sockets, but as you wearily raise your hand to rub them you find you can't reach them. A dull, metallic thud arrests your motion. Steel-plated fingers slowly rake down the visor you didn't know you were wearing, dully feeling the shape of moulded fangs. Armour? You don't... you didn't earn your armour yet. Why are you in your...?
So slow. Lumbering, clumsy. Every movement feels precarious somehow, like you're too big for yourself. Like if you move too fast, too carelessly, you'll overbalance. You'll fall and you'll shatter, scatter across the windswept rock you awoke on and never rise again. You plant your plated hands flat for some measure of support, drawing up legs as weak as a newborn foal's. First one, you just need one, just one. Plant your boot and rest, just rest. You're faintly aware of the blue hood affixed to your helm, frayed edges of the blue cloth fluttering at the very edges of your vision. More cloth winding across your shoulder, down your torso, around your waist and trailing free at the hip. You get a good look at it as you shift your weight, telling yourself that if you can't walk then at least you can stand - just stand and that will be something. It's so faded, so dirtied and frayed. How... how long have you been wearing...?
You lift your head.
You see Starlight embedded in the stone. There are so many like it but somehow you know, you know that it's yours. Yours in all its faded glory. The blade lost its shine, tarnished black in more places than are still silver. The guard rusted, an ugly orange-brown virus overtaking the once-vivid blue. Even the chain hanging from the base could not escaped unscathed, its links chipped and scored and scoured by the sand, the star-shaped charm at the end split almost in two.
And when you lift your head higher you see so many more like it.
You stand atop a precipice, a narrow shelf of stone that towers high over the vast badlands sweeping forth to the horizon below. An endless expanse of dead soil and harsh-angled plateaus, rust-orange storms swirling in the distance. The sun shines but it's a hateful light that bathes this place, bleached and parched and dead. And everywhere you look, as far as the eye can see from your lofty perch, you see more Keyblades. Just as worn as yours, just as old and frayed and unloved, just as forgotten and abandoned. Keyblades of every size and shape and colour, just thrust into the baked-hard dirt and left to rot. Silent monuments to some cruel war, some monumentous calamity that you cannot grasp. Clustered so densely on the ground so as to form a thicket of blades, split neatly into four quarters for a crossroads in the middle.
You stagger. You throw out your hand and lean on Starlight for strength, the blade creaking dangerously as you shift it in the stone. You don't- you don't understand. Where is this? What happened? How could- and why are you-
Why can't-
Why can't you speak.
You're trying to speak, trying to call for help, trying to cry out into the dead world for someone to save you but no sound escapes you, no matter how desperately you scrabble and claw at the seam where your helm should detach from your cuirass. You can't speak you can't breathe you can't move please why are you here why are you seeing this someone please just let you out let you go let you wake up let-
"Aevum!"
You wake with a start, gasping deeply for breath. Your eyes open wide and wild, cold sweat soaking your forehead and temples. Ephemer's leaning over you, the drinks he went to fetch forgotten on the edge of the fountain beside you. Chirithy peers up at you from by your side, jostling for position between you and Ephemer. You blink rapidly, lips moving soundlessly as for a moment of stomach-chilling fear you think you've lost your voice here too.
You snatch up your drink like lightning, raising it to your lips and gulping it down as fast as you're able. It's hot, too hot, it burns but you don't care. It makes you cough and splutter and hiss with pain, steam wafting through your teeth, but it's yours. Your voice. You look at the hand holding the cup. It's shaking.
"Aevum what's wrong?" Ephemer asks. "Chirithy and I came back and you were just... sitting here having a nightmare. I-I didn't want to shake you awake but it looked so bad I figured I had to."
"I'm-" you scrub your lips on your forearm and suck down a few more deep breaths through your nose. "I-I'm just... I don't know, it-"
"What was it?" Ephemer asks.
"I-I don't-"
"Aevum," Chirithy says softly, resting a velvet paw on your wrist. "It was just a dream. You know that right?"
"I do, it's just..." you squeeze your eyes shut tight for a moment, blinking rapidly to try and focus your vision. "It just seemed so- I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten either of you."
You look at Ephemer. You look at Chirithy. You look from one to the other and back again. You feel hemmed-in and ashamed, embarrassment burning pink on your face even as the icy terror rapidly drains away through your stomach. The nightmare seemed more real than real but even now it's fading, fading so fast some of the details are already long gone. Just a nightmare right? You just... need to rest and it'll pass. Right?
[ ] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
[ ] Agree with Chirithy. It was just a nightmare. Just some bad sausages or nerves or you're coming down with something unrelated or something. Nightmares don't have to mean anything. Sometimes they're just nightmares. You need to focus up, let it fade, and make sure your first day solo works.
Ephemer's leaning against the front counter, clearly at the very tail end of a conversation. The staff-member he was talking to leaves and vanishes into the kitchen just as soon as you've arrived. Ephemer spies your approach out of the corner of his eye before you even get close enough to say hi, brightening as he turns to face you.
"Hey! You made it!"
"I had a... thing, like I told Chirithy to reply," you say, waving your hand as if to shoo away smoke. "Catching up with a friend. What about you? Skipping out on your own party?"
He grins. "Nah, far from it. They're close to closing up here, I'm trying to get a bunch of deserts on the cheap before they close the kitchens." He pauses. "Granted there's a risk everyone'll fill on on Lapis' famous char-grilled meat platters but hey, more for me then."
"Promise not to tell if you won't, then we can just split them," you mutter conspiratorially.
He gasps in mock shock. "The years have changed you!" He chuckles, and you chuckle with him. He leans over the counter, arms folded, and flicks his head toward the gathered friends and aquaintences on the beach. "Go on, say hi to everyone. Won't be too much longer, promise."
You purse your lips slightly. "I can't at least pay for mine?"
"You think those freeloaders out there paid for theirs?" he asks.
"They helped set up," you point out. Ephemer laughs.
"It's fine, Aevum. Really, I'm buying half-a-dozen desserts at the eleventh hour, someone throwing a pot at my head is the bigger concern on my mind right now," he replies. His brow furrows slightly as he shifts his weight and straightens up. "Something the matter?"
You avert your eyes with a soft sigh. Well... not how you wanted to couch the issue but hey, he asked. The staff member comes back while you're thinking - a few more words are exchanged, Ephemer pre-pays with a little extra for the trouble, and the two of you head back out into the sea breeze. Before too long you find yourself standing on the quay, water lapping gently against the slick well-worn stones at the waterline as the setting sun dips a toe in the sea far beyond the bay.
"Look-" you start. Hesitating. You rake some hair behind your ear and try again. "You saw the rankings right?"
"I took a peek yeah."
"I- I know it's not that big of a deal or I guess it shouldn't be that big of a deal but it feels kind of like a big deal to me and if I don't ask you about it I'm probably going to explode," you mutter, half to yourself. You raise your voice only fractionally, at least to be heard over the chill coastal air in your ears. "Did it bother you at all? Realising you would've got first place if you didn't help me. Was it an accident or were you deliberately trying to boost me to first because you like me or did you just not care what the ranks were or- I dunno what?"
Ephemer lets out a half-bewildered laugh. "S-sorry, I just never expected you'd think about this so much." He scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "To tell you the truth it was just kinda a spur-of-the-moment decision. I helped you because I saw you were in trouble and I... could, y'know? And then we were alone in the clearing and you'd just missed a step and I guess-" he looks away, out to sea "-I thought about how sad you'd be if I got first place just because you made a little mistake."
He glances back at you. "Did I do something wrong?"
You flash him a pained half-smile, brow furrowed. "No, no it's just..." now it's time for the double hand action, running the fingers of both through your hair as you try to coooooomb all the errant bangs back so they stop flickering in the wind so much and getting in your eyes. You keep your hands pressed to your skull and sigh. "I feel kind of guilty, is all," you admit. "I feel like you earned that spot, you know? Feel like... you gave it up just for me when I don't deserve it. And- and maybe that wouldn't bother me so much if this weren't the night before solo missions start and every time I think about it I start thinking about what it'll be like once I'm alone out there without you or anyone else to cover for my mistakes and I just... worry."
You huff out another sigh, deeper and harsher this time. Your hands fall away from your hair and dangle limp by your sides. "Worry I'm not cut out for solo missions after all. Like I'll just freeze up again out there."
The quay is silent for the longest time, the wind and the water the only companion for you and Ephemer.
"Well that's dumb," he says.
"E-excuseme?" you splutter, wheeling right around to face him. He tips his head back into his cupped hands and glances at you sideways.
"What?" he shrugs. "It's dumb." His gaze flicks back out to the water. "We all qualified fair-and-square today, not just first-place. We all have what it takes to head out there and start defending the light and, honestly? My best got me second-place. Your best got you first-place but for one little mistake, and I bet even if all four of us were miles away and you were all alone, you could've pulled through."
"Yeah but the 'but' is kind of the issue here-"
Ephemer lets his hands drop. "You're not worthless just 'cause you needed help," he cuts you off with a grin. "Look, make you a deal. Union Cross missions still happen every so often even in solo ranks, right?"
"Rrrright?" you reply dubiously.
"Then work hard and wait for the next one! We can both go all-out and you can rightfully thrash me and restore some of that Anguis pride through victory over the hated Vulpes!" He pumps one gloved fist dramatically. "The Cobra ascendant!"
You snort, covering further laughter with one hand. "That kind of Union Cross mission is serious!" you manage to splutter out. "It'd be some huge Heartless threatening a whole town or the Citadel or something!"
He shrugs, planting his hands firmly on his hips. "Can't be that big a threat if both of us are taking it on."
Your eyes flick down to said hands on hips, then back up to his face. "Careful you don't float off with that big head of yours," you tease.
He gapes. "Hey!"
It's not too much longer before the food's ready and you're not too hungry, so you wait with Ephemer until it's all ready and help carry it down to the beach. Strelitzia lets out a quietly despairing 'oh nooooooo' upon realising she should've saved room, but after a little coaxing she eventually decides to live a little and chance the stomachache. Lapis begrudgingly splits hers with her friend, Lauriam sneaks a scoop or two from Strelitzia ("checking it for poison" he says in a very serious voice) and Blaine appears to be asleep so his is left carefully half-buried in the sand beside him for when he wakes up. You gratefully sprawl out on the sand with a paper plate piled high with BBQ and the dessert waiting in the wings by your thigh and feel the tension finally start to bleed off your shoulders, chewing and watching the water as chatter flits through one ear and out the other like a chorus of chirping birds.
Elrena crashes the party not long after, as you and you're sure everyone else lowkey expected her to. She's quick on the draw saying she's Blaine's plus-one, whose confused mumble in reply is all everyone needs to let her stay. She's from Unicornis like Strelitzia, easy to recognise by the twin 'antennae' of hair that poke out from her otherwise quite straight and tidy head of blonde hair. She's in her usual, matching light blue jacket and boots over a white dress shirt and black skirt with plain black tie - it's a good look, you won't lie, and you've told her so before. She plonks herself down straight opposite Strelitzia and Lauriam, and like a flash they're all buried deep in some amorphous three-way conversation. On your side of the beach you wind up drawn into conversation with Lapis and her friend Ferra, the latter of whom comfortably straddles the median between Lapis' physique and yours, with the kind of steel-grey hair that's provoked just as many jokes about Ephemer being her secret long-lost brother as about Lapis being your long-lost sister. 'But they're different shades' everyone involved always protests, and around and around the circle goes.
The sun sinks lower and lower beyond the distant horizon, the shadows growing longer and longer as they slowly blur into the all-encompassing blanket of night. The air grows colder, the dark surf foaming stark-white against the grey-blue sand. Lapis suggests lighting a bonfire, which multiple people inform her would be a very bad idea for several reasons, especially once she summons her Keyblade for the purposes of just blasting something flammable. Strelitzia takes that as a sign that everyone should probably get to bed soon, what with solo missions starting the next morning, and a murmur of agreement ripples out across the group. Everyone slowly scatters to pick up the surprising amount of litter that sort of appeared over the course of the night, and Lauriam lingers the longest to gently prod Blaine in the ribs with his toe again and again. He's fighting a losing battle - you suspect Blaine will need a kick or a spray of sand in the face. His dessert is long gone. Elrena probably stole it.
You say goodbye to your friends, and there's a spring in your step and a smile lingering on your face as you make the mildly exhausting climb allllll the way back up to the peak of the hill atop which the Citadel of Daybreak was built, the better to catch the first light of each new dawn. It's a surprisingly sleepy place at the best of times - the vast majority of accomodation within the walls is reserved for Union members who obviously spend most of their time away on missions, with shopkeepers and the like requiring special permission, but you can still bump into people every couple streets or so. Night is a different story. As you draw closer to your building, accompanied only by the sound of your footfalls as they echo around you, you feel as if you could almost be the only person in the world. Or at least the only one awake.
You head inside. The door's unlocked. Every door in the Citadel of Daybreak is unlocked. When almost everyone in the city has a weapon capable of magically locking or unlocking any kind of door or lock, the mundane sort seems kind of pointless. You shut the door behind you with a soft click and head upstairs, dodging every loose floorboard and creaky step, and before long you're gratefully sliding into bed and nestling beneath the covers. It's only a few moments before Chirithy poffs into view, curling up across your ankles in their favourite spot.
"Excited about tomorrow?" they ask.
"Mhm."
They pat your shin through the blanket with a plush paw. "Get some rest then. And sweet dreams!"
"(mhm)"
Don't be afraid.
One day you will return to set things right.
You wake up too early. There's no sun to be found as you peer blearily out the window, just the kind of anaemic pre-dawn light that lightens the shadows a few shades without actually illuminating anything. Chirithy's still sleeping soundly by your feet, snoring softly (and gosh even the snoring sounds cute). You suck in a deep breath through your nose and worry your face deep into your pillow, squeezing it close as if that will somehow reveal some hidden truth. You roll on your side to paw vaguely at your nightstand, and the movement finally awakens Chirithy from their slumber. They waddle to their feet and stretch out with an exaggerated yawn.
"Morning," they say.
"Morning," you reply, significantly less refreshed. You finally find the clock and squint at it intently, peering into its depths as the slender second-hand gradually ticks across the stark white face. Then you realise it's useless to you since you have no idea when you got home last night. You brush hair out of your face and look at Chirithy. "How long was I asleep?"
"No longer than usual," Chirithy replies. "Go get freshened up! I'll find your things, we can get there early and beat the rush."
The new day is just starting to properly consider dawning by the time you've sneaked back out of the building and down the street, golden-pink light delicately brushing the higherst peaks of the rooftops and chimneys all around. The great brass face of the Clock Tower high above shines in the growing light, the massive pendulum slowly swinging back and forth through the negative space at the heart of the arch-shaped edifice. Boy, this morning of all mornings you're glad it never tolls - a thing that size might just shake your brain out your ears.
You find the Fountain Plaza almost deserted when you get there, the noticeboard still bare and awaiting today's missions. You say 'almost' deserted because you haven't been there ten minutes before Ephemer shows up, waving. You sketch a less enthusiastic wave back.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he asks.
"Yeah. Different reason though," you reply. You knead your forehead - it still feels kind of sweaty. "I don't know, maybe I got a particularly bad sausage or something, but I slept really bad last night I think. You were just excited, I take it?"
"Am I that obvious?" Ephemer shades his eyes against the looming glare as he gazes east, checking his mental map. "Y'know since we'll be waiting a bit for the noticeboard Chirithy, want me to go on a drink run? Perk us both up a bit."
"You keep saving me like this and I'll be in your debt for life," you say drily. He turns to head off that very instant. You quickly lean over and throw your voice after him. "And take Chirithy with you to pay for mine! No more free rides!"
Chirithy appears right on cue, teleporting in mid-leap. They hit the ground running -or, well, close enough- and waddle for their life in hot pursuit. Eventually they get fed up and make enough leap with a grunt of effort, teleporting mid-jump and landing neatly right on top of Ephemer's curly head right as he turns a corner. Ephemer's startled shout echoes back to you. You smile and let yourself relax a little, tipping your head back and resting your eyes a moment.
"Oh! I'm glad I got to you early!"
Your eyes snap open and you look down. It's another Chirithy. But not the noticeboard Chirithy?
"Can I help you?" you ask sleepily.
"No, but I can help you!" Chirithy reaches into the empty air between their cape and their back, and with a flourish they magically pull out something that could ever fit back there. It's a golden bangle set with a clear many-faceted jewel, much like the wristband you're wearing just... not just bigger but richer somehow. More finely crafted, more well-fitted, heck it even seems shinier. They offer it to you on cupped paws. "You shouldn't go running off on your first solo mission without your Power Bangle!"
"But I already have my wristband?" you say, pointing at it as if Chirithy somehow missed that part.
"No no, that's your trainee band," they correct you patiently. "Only holds a little Lux at a time, since you only go on low-rank missions. With the Power Bangle you can hold as much Lux as you could possibly grab, and that's not all! It's tuned to act as a conduit between you and the natural energies of the worlds you visit - it'll actually power you up! Hence the Power in the Bangle."
You arch your eyebrow and bend down, scooping the offered bangle from the Chirithy's paws. While you're within reach they give your wristband a sharp tap - the gold splits like paper and it just falls from your wrist, clattering on the cobblestones below. You carefully snap on replacement band, and the seam heals over into a flawless loop of gold just like your 'trainee band' did. The clear jewel seems to twinkle in response.
"Y'know how you already use the Lux you earn on your missions to reinforce your abilities (after taxes, naturally)?" Chirithy goes on. "Now that you've earned your Power Bangle, you can use that surplus Lux to make your abilities Gilt!"
"Gilt?" you repeat, not quite following.
"Mhm!" the Chirithy nods. "Think of it liiiike... a promotion, or earning a medal, or a commendation. You take an already powerful ability, and once you Gilt it it's even more powerful! All the other senior Keyblade-wielders do it. Oh!" the Chirithy hops in surprise, suddenly remembering "Speaking of which, I still have lots of people to get to and not much time!" They give you a quick bow and scoop up your discarded trainee wristband. "Enjoy the Bangle!"
And like that they vanish in a puff of pink smoke. You blink a few times. Part of you would think that was a minor dream if it weren't for the form-fitting warmth of the brand new Power Bangle around your wrist. Ugh, what happened that you slept so bad last night? Maybe you'll know for sure if Lapis has to stay in from her first day of solo missions with food poisoning. But... no, that's too much to hope. She could probably eat day-old raw steak she found on the beach and be fine. And you hear rumours she did once.
Mnh. You love Chirithy, you really do, but you really wish they hadn't suggested an early morning. What you wouldn't give for just a few more minutes. Maybe an hour if you're feeling greedy. You wouldn't beat the rush but hey, what is the rush anyway? Danika says everyone gets their own... set of worlds...
... n'the fountain sounds... so soothing...
You awaken in dust and stone.
You hear the wind but you don't feel it. You feel the dull, irregular pressure of the rocky outcropping pressing against your side and gritty, rust-red dirt collecting in the seams and hollows of your body. You're curled up, waking up from a fetal position, slowly raising your head as if it were made of lead. Your whole body feels heavy, numb, distant. Like it doesn't quite belong to you, like you're trying to force it to move by shouting orders from far away. Your mouth feels bone dry, your blood is pulsing thick as tar, your head throbs like a second heartbeat. Your eyes ache, they ache so badly they feel like swollen grapes forced into the sockets, but as you wearily raise your hand to rub them you find you can't reach them. A dull, metallic thud arrests your motion. Steel-plated fingers slowly rake down the visor you didn't know you were wearing, dully feeling the shape of moulded fangs. Armour? You don't... you didn't earn your armour yet. Why are you in your...?
So slow. Lumbering, clumsy. Every movement feels precarious somehow, like you're too big for yourself. Like if you move too fast, too carelessly, you'll overbalance. You'll fall and you'll shatter, scatter across the windswept rock you awoke on and never rise again. You plant your plated hands flat for some measure of support, drawing up legs as weak as a newborn foal's. First one, you just need one, just one. Plant your boot and rest, just rest. You're faintly aware of the blue hood affixed to your helm, frayed edges of the blue cloth fluttering at the very edges of your vision. More cloth winding across your shoulder, down your torso, around your waist and trailing free at the hip. You get a good look at it as you shift your weight, telling yourself that if you can't walk then at least you can stand - just stand and that will be something. It's so faded, so dirtied and frayed. How... how long have you been wearing...?
You lift your head.
You see Starlight embedded in the stone. There are so many like it but somehow you know, you know that it's yours. Yours in all its faded glory. The blade lost its shine, tarnished black in more places than are still silver. The guard rusted, an ugly orange-brown virus overtaking the once-vivid blue. Even the chain hanging from the base could not escaped unscathed, its links chipped and scored and scoured by the sand, the star-shaped charm at the end split almost in two.
And when you lift your head higher you see so many more like it.
You stand atop a precipice, a narrow shelf of stone that towers high over the vast badlands sweeping forth to the horizon below. An endless expanse of dead soil and harsh-angled plateaus, rust-orange storms swirling in the distance. The sun shines but it's a hateful light that bathes this place, bleached and parched and dead. And everywhere you look, as far as the eye can see from your lofty perch, you see more Keyblades. Just as worn as yours, just as old and frayed and unloved, just as forgotten and abandoned. Keyblades of every size and shape and colour, just thrust into the baked-hard dirt and left to rot. Silent monuments to some cruel war, some monumentous calamity that you cannot grasp. Clustered so densely on the ground so as to form a thicket of blades, split neatly into four quarters for a crossroads in the middle.
You stagger. You throw out your hand and lean on Starlight for strength, the blade creaking dangerously as you shift it in the stone. You don't- you don't understand. Where is this? What happened? How could- and why are you-
Why can't-
Why can't you speak.
You're trying to speak, trying to call for help, trying to cry out into the dead world for someone to save you but no sound escapes you, no matter how desperately you scrabble and claw at the seam where your helm should detach from your cuirass. You can't speak you can't breathe you can't move please why are you here why are you seeing this someone please just let you out let you go let you wake up let-
"Aevum!"
You wake with a start, gasping deeply for breath. Your eyes open wide and wild, cold sweat soaking your forehead and temples. Ephemer's leaning over you, the drinks he went to fetch forgotten on the edge of the fountain beside you. Chirithy peers up at you from by your side, jostling for position between you and Ephemer. You blink rapidly, lips moving soundlessly as for a moment of stomach-chilling fear you think you've lost your voice here too.
You snatch up your drink like lightning, raising it to your lips and gulping it down as fast as you're able. It's hot, too hot, it burns but you don't care. It makes you cough and splutter and hiss with pain, steam wafting through your teeth, but it's yours. Your voice. You look at the hand holding the cup. It's shaking.
"Aevum what's wrong?" Ephemer asks. "Chirithy and I came back and you were just... sitting here having a nightmare. I-I didn't want to shake you awake but it looked so bad I figured I had to."
"I'm-" you scrub your lips on your forearm and suck down a few more deep breaths through your nose. "I-I'm just... I don't know, it-"
"What was it?" Ephemer asks.
"I-I don't-"
"Aevum," Chirithy says softly, resting a velvet paw on your wrist. "It was just a dream. You know that right?"
"I do, it's just..." you squeeze your eyes shut tight for a moment, blinking rapidly to try and focus your vision. "It just seemed so- I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten either of you."
You look at Ephemer. You look at Chirithy. You look from one to the other and back again. You feel hemmed-in and ashamed, embarrassment burning pink on your face even as the icy terror rapidly drains away through your stomach. The nightmare seemed more real than real but even now it's fading, fading so fast some of the details are already long gone. Just a nightmare right? You just... need to rest and it'll pass. Right?
[ ] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
[ ] Agree with Chirithy. It was just a nightmare. Just some bad sausages or nerves or you're coming down with something unrelated or something. Nightmares don't have to mean anything. Sometimes they're just nightmares. You need to focus up, let it fade, and make sure your first day solo works.
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- Location
- Ireland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
c o m m u n i c a t i o n
c o m m u n i c a t i o n
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
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[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
*Sees Zerban writing and updating a Kingdom Hearts Quest*
yes....Yes......YES!!!
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
yes....Yes......YES!!!
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
- Location
- Wouldn't you like to know?
- Pronouns
- He/They/She
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can remember as comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
- Location
- Canada
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
[x] Agree with Chirithy. It was just a nightmare. Just some bad sausages or nerves or you're coming down with something unrelated or something. Nightmares don't have to mean anything. Sometimes they're just nightmares. You need to focus up, let it fade, and make sure your first day solo works.
It's fine buddy, no need to worry or investigate the coming end of everything, knowing prophecies just telling you will somehow help make it happen anyway, just keep keeping it on.
It's fine buddy, no need to worry or investigate the coming end of everything, knowing prophecies just telling you will somehow help make it happen anyway, just keep keeping it on.
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
Demojay
Yes, let's put an end to this
- Location
- UK
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Maaaaan, stuff in no particular order: the beach party scene was cute as hell overall, Ephemer is a good noodle and I'm like nnnniiiiiiinety-percent sure that Aevum is sweet on him what with that eyeing-the-hips bit and I'm like ninety-nine percent sure that Ephemer does have some kinda crush on Aevum 'cause "I thought how sad you'd be"/the implicit "I wanted to make you happy" comes off as a bit more than purely platonic in context. I actually do really like how Ephemer's got a lot of not-heavily-masculine-coded virtues as a side note: he's not really a beatstick or that physically imposing and seems to trend more towards consensus building, empathy, and puts a lot of effort into being supportive (coordinating the party, getting the desserts, encouraging Aevum by telling them that they'll do just fine because they've already got what it takes and teasing them about a prospective rematch). Chirithy is a cute capitalist plush and I want one.
It's kind of neat getting a better sense of how Aevum thinks: they're very self-serious in a way, kind of low-key highstrung in that sort of way where they seem fine and are pretty good at burying worries but then it really just lurks in the background and chews at them constantly. They're pretty detail-oriented which sounds like something you slap on a resume in general but here it comes across as...they're observant and pretty attentive, they're constantly, passively noting down where people are and their general disposition and kind of keeping it fixed in their head. It makes them both pretty aware of how people are feeling, what's up with them, but also creates a bit of distance I think. Aveum naturally tends towards sort of hanging out on the fringes and being the watcher.
The two big plot things are...I mean I dunno dick about Kingdom Hearts but the whole "you will return to set it right" in invisitext is kind of deliberately/worryingly ambiguous in terms of which time we're returning to and we've got some hints as to flashforwards/flashbacks before what with the
Bit and even the opening lines of the quest about the future being written. That all of this has already happened.
But beyond that, idk if there's another significance to the fact of there being four quadrants but...I mean just off the cuff there's five Unions and right now all of them are increasingly tilting into some kind of toxic failstate. It's possible that there's one Union whose swords aren't there. That there's one that survived whatever massacre this was, probably because they were the ones who carried it out.
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
Like I said before, Ephemer's a good noodle and even if he doesn't understand I don't think he'll be dismissive or doubt us. Or do the stock-standard "it's just a bad dream, don't worry about it" (although admittedly he might, he's still like 16 or whatever and thus smack dab in "well intentioned but dumb teenager" territory and the nightmare might spook him too). But at the most basic level, getting reassurance after a pretty intense fucked up dream is probably going to do more to get our head on straight.
And also I just like Ephemer a lot and wanna see more of him.
It's kind of neat getting a better sense of how Aevum thinks: they're very self-serious in a way, kind of low-key highstrung in that sort of way where they seem fine and are pretty good at burying worries but then it really just lurks in the background and chews at them constantly. They're pretty detail-oriented which sounds like something you slap on a resume in general but here it comes across as...they're observant and pretty attentive, they're constantly, passively noting down where people are and their general disposition and kind of keeping it fixed in their head. It makes them both pretty aware of how people are feeling, what's up with them, but also creates a bit of distance I think. Aveum naturally tends towards sort of hanging out on the fringes and being the watcher.
The two big plot things are...I mean I dunno dick about Kingdom Hearts but the whole "you will return to set it right" in invisitext is kind of deliberately/worryingly ambiguous in terms of which time we're returning to and we've got some hints as to flashforwards/flashbacks before what with the
Bit and even the opening lines of the quest about the future being written. That all of this has already happened.
But beyond that, idk if there's another significance to the fact of there being four quadrants but...I mean just off the cuff there's five Unions and right now all of them are increasingly tilting into some kind of toxic failstate. It's possible that there's one Union whose swords aren't there. That there's one that survived whatever massacre this was, probably because they were the ones who carried it out.
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
Like I said before, Ephemer's a good noodle and even if he doesn't understand I don't think he'll be dismissive or doubt us. Or do the stock-standard "it's just a bad dream, don't worry about it" (although admittedly he might, he's still like 16 or whatever and thus smack dab in "well intentioned but dumb teenager" territory and the nightmare might spook him too). But at the most basic level, getting reassurance after a pretty intense fucked up dream is probably going to do more to get our head on straight.
And also I just like Ephemer a lot and wanna see more of him.
BadAtScreenNames
Killed a man in Reno just to watch him die
- Location
- the (currently) United Kingdom
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Agree with Chirithy. It was just a nightmare. Just some bad sausages or nerves or you're coming down with something unrelated or something. Nightmares don't have to mean anything. Sometimes they're just nightmares. You need to focus up, let it fade, and make sure your first day solo works.
It just feels more in-character.
It just feels more in-character.
- Location
- Earth
[X] Agree with Chirithy. It was just a nightmare. Just some bad sausages or nerves or you're coming down with something unrelated or something. Nightmares don't have to mean anything. Sometimes they're just nightmares. You need to focus up, let it fade, and make sure your first day solo works.
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?
LupineVolt
Now with 200% more Puns
- Location
- Michigan
[X] Agree with Chirithy. It was just a nightmare. Just some bad sausages or nerves or you're coming down with something unrelated or something. Nightmares don't have to mean anything. Sometimes they're just nightmares. You need to focus up, let it fade, and make sure your first day solo works.
Please, a teenager, communicate? I laugh at the notion. No, we're going to bottle up all of our emotions because boys are watching, and then we're going to go take it out on a boss battle with
(checks notes)
The Siamese Cats from Lady and the Tramp
Please, a teenager, communicate? I laugh at the notion. No, we're going to bottle up all of our emotions because boys are watching, and then we're going to go take it out on a boss battle with
(checks notes)
The Siamese Cats from Lady and the Tramp
- Location
- Cibao Wilayet, Caliphate of Quisqueya
[X] Confide in Ephemer. Ramble off as many details as you can rememberas comprehensive as you can get while it's still relatively fresh in your mind. You have to make him understand why it terrified you, however crazy it makes you sound he has to understand why it knocked you off-balance like this, right?