First Breeze

[salvagedlight]

We have a little situation on our paws, kupo, and we were hoping one of you guys could help us out.

[The speaker is a moogle, one that appears to be fairly high up if the flashes of picture over the communicator are anything to judge by. Well, moogles can fly, after all, but this one seems to be on the roofs of the second district.]

Don't worry, kupo, it's not anything bad! It's just something that needs to be taken care of - see, there's this tunnel between the second and third districts that's nice and high up and we wanted to put some mechanics in it, but Momo came up here to check it out and she found something we didn't expect.

[It's at that point that the moogle reaches its destination, which is indeed a square little entrance over the general shops in the Second District, not big enough for an adult to walk down without hunching over a lot and about just as wide. The moogle shines some sort of dim light ahead of himself, wings humming a bit as he starts down the tunnel - and about ten feet in, there's the obstruction. Ven is laying on the floor, dead asleep and face partially obstructed, curled around his Hebby Repp which is acting as a pillow for him but is also using him as a pillow in return. Neither of them react to the moogle or the light he brought with him, though it probably helps that the moogle doesn't make any noise or try to wake him. Instead he just gets a good shot of the sleeping duo before reversing course and backing out of the tunnel, back to the roofs.]

Does he belong to anyone, kupo? We've seen him around a couple of times, but ever since the first couple of days he's run off whenever he's seen one of us!

Comments

[wavesinherheart]

[For her part, Aqua simply remains quiet. There's nothing else for her to say at the moment and for all that she shared Eraqus' wish that the whole thing had come to light somewhere a little more private there's nothing for it now. All she can do is sit and hope that Ven is willing to listen.

It's out of her hands now, and so she'll speak again when there's something she feels she can actually address.

[salvagedlight]

[Now that Luna wasn't holding him up, Ven had nowhere to go but down. Too bad the "up" direction of Gliding was only turned on in Neverland. But he was a creature of the air, so the fall down to street level didn't hurt him - he let gravity take him again, banking to come to a running halt in front of one of the shops, but still looking at Eraqus with confusion and hurt. He also mostly unconsciously chose to stay closer to Luna at the moment - if she could just stop him from flying away, which was honestly the best explanation he had for why he was held up in midair for awhile, then in theory she'd be able to stop Eraqus from attacking him again. Even though the Master did seem very... sad...]

I wasn't sleeping in the streets... [His words are mumbled as a faint flush spreads over his face because wow, that's a lot of people - when did they all get there? Who are all of them? A couple of them look familiar, a little, but- there were other things to concentrate on for the moment, and he raised his gaze to meet his Master's, still looking- betrayed is the only word for it.] You knew. You always knew. That's why you never let me go anywhere, that's why you never taught me how. You never wanted me to know anything about myself and when I found out, you- You even attacked Terra! You said he'd have to "share my fate" because he was just trying to protect me! You...

You weren't wrong. [His hands clenched into fists, but Ven was mostly keeping calm and steady.] But you didn't know everything and it- it was my decision to make, not yours.

[shadearchivist]

[Ienzo headed over to Namine. She didn't look too scraped up, but it was best to take care of things immediately. He murmured a cura spell before glancing back at whatever chaos was unfolding nearby.]

As far as I can tell, that boy is called Ventus. I don't know who he is, but it seems as if that man, Eraqus, was keeping him imprisoned for some reason. He's just apologized for it, and he seems remorseful, though we're waiting on an explanation.

[raisethemoon]

[Luna gasped in shock as Ventus dropped out of her grip. He'd been flying, why on earth wasn't he still? Instantly, she folded her wings and dived after him, but he seemed to regain control again upon landing, so she banked sharply as well to land near him. Her ears were still flattened in distress as she looked around at all the people - where had they come from? She'd been so caught up in everything, she hadn't realized such a crowd had gathered.

Luna knew that she perhaps had no place in this quarrel; after all, she had no idea what sort of history these two shared. Were they family, perhaps? Who was this Terra? But she stood her ground nonetheless. Ventus needed support, and she was most certainly involved now.]

[dork_of_keys]

[Sora hadn't really noticed how many people had gathered either. But he knows most of them and for some he can sort of see why they'd showed up. Ventus does have an awful lot in common with Roxas in terms of voice and appearance. He just wants to make sure there isn't any violence. At least... unnecessary violence. Now would be a really shitty time for Nightmares to show up. Actually...]

Hey guys? I know there's a lot we need to talk out, but maybe we ought to get inside somewhere for that. The Nightmares aren't really going to care that we have stuff to sort out.

[Part of the reason Sora had suggested letting Ventus go, besides his stated reason, was that he'd noticed the tiny trails of darkness from Luna's horn. If he was understanding that right, she was ready defend herself if Ventus fired off another spell. He doesn't doubt that she has the power to defend herself, but he's gotten some clues about how Eraqus feels about darkness. All Hell might have broken loose if it had come to that. The same problem could arise if they faced a Nightmare attack right now.]

[hiptobe_eraqus]

I only did what I believed to be right, not what I wanted. To protect the worlds, to prevent an end to everything. I thought, perhaps, I could make up for my failure to stop Xehanort when I first knew...

[But even if it was to protect all of the worlds from darkness, what good was that if he succumbed to darkness himself? He leaned heavily on the glider as it descended, having to support his head with one arm now.]

But still, I failed again. And there is nothing I can say or do now to make things right.

[Suddenly, Kura popped out from behind his master and began screeching and chattering at Ven, as if it had decided to step in and say all the things that Eraqus refused to now...that he'd realized all of this too late before losing his life. Or, maybe, it was just still angry about being attacked. While Eraqus didn't know exactly what the Spirit was trying to say, he had a good enough idea, and quietly chided it.]

No. That undoes nothing.

[He heard some of Sora's warning, and it made sense, but he couldn't respond to it just now. Perhaps the injury was just catching up with him, but he didn't want to move too much right now.]

[skysmirror]

[Seeing that the conversation had moved to the ground, Xion started climbing down from the rooftop--a little bit more difficult than jumping up. By the time she got there, the situation seemed to have calmed a bit. She would have spoken up in agreement with Sora, but it appeared that some things needed to be said now. And, well, Eraqus looked kind of tired in the way Axel had the last time he'd come to get her.

So, she waits and listens, feeling somewhat like an intruder, but now that she's here, she might as well see this through.]

[wavesinherheart]

[Aqua couldn't do much about the fact that there was still so much to discuss. Honestly, she half expected that she'd need to speak up at some point, especially if the conversation managed to drift away from simply being what had happened between Ven and her Master. Not now, certainly, but by the sound of things, there might just be something she could take care of, if neither of the two of them cared to move elsewhere.

She doesn't interrupt them. There's no guarantee that things well get rolling again if she does, so instead she addresses her answer more at Sora.]

If the Nightmares show up then we-- then I --can deal with them.

[As nice as having help in any sort of fight that ensues would be she isn't going to ask people she barely knows to help. Not when there's already been such a mess of various things put out on display.]

[salvagedlight]

But you still did it! You didn't even bother trying to tell me about it, trying to prepare me for it, I had to learn it from them! The two of them, telling me to make the χ-blade and if I didn't they'd hurt Terra and Aqua and I didn't even know I could do that and-

[Sometimes outside influences have the best timing. Ven basically didn't hear anything anyone else had said, being too focused on his Master, but he'd been living on his own in this new town long enough by now to know what the sound of an approaching Dream Eater was. And when one began to chitter above him, he cut himself off in mid-rant, spinning on the ball of his foot to look up at the roof above the crowd and keyblade appearing in his hand as-]

[-Wheeler took a running leap off the roof he'd gotten stuck on witha drawn-out squeal, much as if he was calling "GERONIMO!". Ven barely had a chance to widen his eyes before his Hebby Repp landed directly on him, knocking him to the ground with an "ooof" and a thump.]

[raisethemoon]

[Luna turned as well, only to rear back with a short surprised whinny as the Hebby Reb dropped out of nowhere. Those lizard Spirits were mad!]

Ventus! Art thou alright? [She levitated Wheeler off, setting the Spirit down on the ground next to his master, and offered Ven a hoof up. Her ears flicked back as she darted a quick sideways glance at Eraqus as well. He most certainly was not well; the man seemed hardly able to keep upright without his metal pony.] We hath a potion yet...

[dork_of_keys]

[When Ventus cut off mid-rant to suddenly go on the defensive, Sora was mentally uttering some choice words as he too went on the defensive because really? It seemed like exactly the thing he'd been thinking of when he warned about Nightmares.

Instead, they're treated to a Spirit landing on Ventus from the rooftop. Sora isn't sure if he's amused or exasperated. There's so many things he wants to say, to ask. Eraqus mentioned Xehanort, so he knows they have a common enemy. But there's also the accusation from Ventus. These are some heavy and important topics that do kind of need discussing. Does this Hebby Rep have any idea of how utterly crappy its timing is? Jelly Bean, meanwhile, is laughing its stumpy tail off.

Oddly, Sora thinks he might have witnessed something similar at some point, but he puts the thought out of his mind for now.]

Um...

[Yeah, now he's lost. This is ridiculous.]

[shadearchivist]

[Well, this has become a fair mess. Ienzo glances sideways at Lea, who is rolling on its back cheerfully while watching Ventus and his hebby repp. He frowns down at the meow wow.]

If you ever do that, I am going to sell you to the highest bidder.

[Lea makes a sound that Ienzo would swear is a chortle. Ienzo recognizes a losing battle when he sees one, so he merely sighs and raises his voice.]

I think Sora's suggestion is correct. We should head inside so that there aren't any more unfortunate dream eater related accidents. And for privacy, unless everyone wishes to discuss their life histories at full volume in the middle of the street.

[hiptobe_eraqus]

Ventus...

[Eraqus definitely didn't want to run into his entire thought process on why he'd kept Ven isolated…a combination of fear, hope, uncertainty about Xehanort's plans, belief that it was the best course, and more that he couldn't explain easily. He was about to speak out anyway, when Ven's Hebby Rep interrupted with a badly-timed fall from the roof, knocking his student over. Kura proceeded to chortle over this, at least until a sharp glare from Eraqus made him stop.]

Yes...let's please stop now.

[And now that most of the adrenaline has worn off, he realized more how much he hurt from the Faith spell. He glanced back towards Luna. Well, potions cost others money; a cure spell didn't.]

Thank you, but I won't ask your resources of you. I will handle it.

[With that, he dismissed the glider and brought it back to Keyblade form...where he then leaned on it, ready to sit down (or just collapse) at any moment. Indoors would be best for all right now.]

[colorbymemory]

[Namine nodd at Ienzo's explanation, frowning thoughtfully. It definitely seemd like there's more going on here than many of them knew. While she does remember to say thank you to Ienzo for the healing, her frown deepens as she hears more of the discussion for herself. Eraqus seems genuinely remorseful, but secrets and lies are hard to bear, and she doesn't blame Ven for having his suspicions still.

Then Ventus's spirit seems to decide that it's going to take the easiest way to join its human, and while the timing is horrible, it seems to break the tension slightly. Batty chitters at her as if in amusement, apparently asking if she thinks it's funny, too. She reaches up to pet him.]

It's not funny for everyone, Batty.

[She would have offered Ventus a hand up, but it looks like Luna has that covered. Instead, once Ienzo has spoken, she speaks mostly to him.]

Maybe we should let the others discuss things on their own, too?

[The subject seemed to be a private one, and while she doesn't like secrets and lies, personal issues are a thing she understands.]

[salvagedlight]

Ughhh... Wheeler, you have the worst timing. [From the aound of his words, Ven already had experience with his Spirit interrupting stuff. Or nearly giving him away to Eraqus before. Wheeler chittered loud and rapidly in alarm as Luna moved him, since he was moving and it wasn't under his own power, and when the pony returned him to the ground he sprinted straight back for Ven and started running really tight circles around him, trying to stick close to him or make sure he's okay or just get attention, who knows. With Luna's help, Ven had managed to get back on his feet before the pseudo-attack, and he sighed as the lizard went crazy around him. There were a couple of good things about the Hebby Repp's interruption, though - it broke him out of his semi-panicked state and got him to recognize there were others around, helping him think straight again.]

Yeah... We should talk somewhere else, Master, and Aqua, and- [He paused, knowing Eraqus wouldn't like this but also being completely unwilling to sequester himself alone with the two who tried to capture him, then looked at Luna with an expression that was barely not openly pleading and worried.] Would you come, too? [He would have backup or this wouldn't happen. And whole surely almost everyone else around would go, he had proof that Luna was probably the most effective for this.]

[raisethemoon]

[Luna may have looked a little surprised upon Ven's request, but she quickly recovers and draws herself up a little, chin lifted firmly. The others may not desire her presence, but she won't allow them leave her behind now.]

Indeed we will. We art Princess Luna, and by the stars and the moon, thou shalt be safe.

[skysmirror]

[Had Ventus asked for help from her, Xion would have agreed, yes. In fact, his resemblance to Roxas was so strong that she almost spoke in protest when he chose Luna, but she resisted the urge. Alike as they were, he wasn't her best friend, and it wasn't her place. Luna seemed more than capable of helping him.

Taking advantage of the shadows and the fact that everyone's attention was elsewhere, Xion slipped away.]