destinystrings | [Closed to Castle-mates]

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[Closed to Castle-mates]

Who: Master Riku and castlemates (whoever is awake at 3am anyways)!
Where: Castle of Departure kitchen
Summary: Riku is pondering on his nightmares. Or well... memories. And drinking tea while not going back to sleep. Good thing it's not a school night?
Warnings: Days Spoilers??? Otherwise, not much.

[It's not that Riku isn't used to waking up from nightmares - far from. He's suffered them occasionally before that night, then almost nightly after Hollow Bastion... and more recently not so much, because that's the advantage of having a bunch of Dream Eaters in your room.

Over the last few months, even his dream eaters haven't been able to do much to keep him from stumbling through troubled dreams - though given how strangely clear, how connected, how familiar those dreams had been, he's quickly realized that they weren't just dream - those were memories.

Memories of Xion.

Memories lost, memories forgotten... now he remembers the process... the way they had slipped from him as he had faced off with Roxas ("Her? You mean Xion? It's a struggle just to remember the name now, isn't it?").

He groans quietly as he sits up in his bed and draws his knees close to lean his forehead against them, feeling comforted when Zorya jumps onto the bed and curls around him, her nose pressing into his side while Highwind lands on his shoulder and nuzzles against his cheek.

He is very glad that he remembers, but...

Oh, he has no idea what he is now supposed to do. Would they slip away again the moment he left this city, like his memories of Promenade had? Or would Xion herself leaving be enough to erase them from his mind again?

And if he can keep them, then what should he do back home? Is there any chance of saving her?

He doesn't know.

He doesn't know if he can keep it from happening, if it does, either.

He rubs the bridge of his nose and sighs quietly before rising off the bed, his hand curling in Zorya's fell for just a moment - a quiet thanks for her presence - and then he quietly makes his way to the kitchen, picking up some book from his desk before he exits his room - he can't see himself falling asleep anytime soon, he might as well spend it more productive(?) than just lying awake and letting dark thoughts swallow him.

A few minutes later, he's turned on the small light in the kitchen and set some water to boil, readying tea-leaves and a mug before sitting down on the small table. Another two minutes later, there is a steaming mug between his hands and Riku has his eyes closed as he released in the warmth against his palm, before he brings his mug up and then moves to start reading.

He might be here for a while.]

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[Xion, meanwhile, is dealing with some actual nightmares of her own. Nothing too new, though the image of that masked girl swooping down on her while she's fallen has been added to the usual lineup, much to her dismay.

Thankfully it's after the 13th hour, so getting lost in the castle is one less thing she'll have to worry about as she wanders down to the kitchen. Back in Disney Castle, Clarabelle had shown her how to make a good hot chocolate when she was tired but couldn't sleep. It was starting to get warmer, sure, but it still felt like a good idea.

She's surprised to see a faint light on in the kitchen already, and pads quietly through the doorway to see it is indeed occupied]

Riku?

[What are you doing up?]

[He tenses a little when he looks up and catches sight of her, a troubled look shooting over his face - here she is, the subject of his dreams. Memories. Whatever.

He has been remembering more and more recently, but it's only now hat all is in place that he remembers the quiet times in Hollow Bastion castle, hiding where the Organization would never suspect either of them. It's only now that he remembers the look on her face when she had told him that she had found her answer ("Thanks, Riku. Good-bye...").

He had always known that Sora's awakening would and had come with a prize. Now he knows just how much really was paid. What was lost.

...He shouldn't burden her with that though, not when this Xion had had more luck in her world... not when he isn't sure what to make of these memories just yet anyways.

Finally, he smiles at her in greeting.]

...Hey, Xion.

Edited 2013-04-01 00:38 (UTC)

[She already knows - or at least has guessed - a fair bit about the "her" in Riku's universe, but... that's for Riku to bring up. Xion shuffles her feet awkwardly, before smiling back sheepishly]

Hey. You couldn't sleep either?

[She doesn't... sound altogether too surprised. It reminds her a little of some of her and her Rikus' unexpected meetings at Disney Castle.]

[He nods after a moment; it's kind of obvious that he couldn't after all.]

...Yeah.

[And after a heartbeat, he adds.]

Do you want some tea? There is still water left.

[Ah-]

A-actually, I was going to make some hot chocolate. I've... never really tried tea.

[After trying hot chocolate she'd been more than content to stick to that, really. But...]

...I guess I could now, though.

[There’s a smile flickering over his face as he pushes himself to his feet and makes his way over to the counter.]

No time like the present, right?

[And there he goes, preparing her a mug of it, handing it to her a minute or two later.]

Just let it steep a few minutes, then you are good to go.

[Late nights are things he's used to. He's learned that he doesn't seem to need to sleep as much, and so he's taken to borrowing books from the library to read at night so he isn't too loud. However, he's learned that increased activity means he gets hungry more often. A small price to pay for extra time for activity.

There aren't usually people up and around, so he doesn't feel odd for wandering about in the darkness of the castle at night. He's learned where to walk from practice, from nights of feeling his way around and bumping his nose. Small triumphs, small victories. It is a surprise when he sees that the kitchen light is on... someone else is awake?

Curiosity has him poke his head into the room to see who is there... oh. Of course. It wouldn't be someone he's better inclined to, though Riku hasn't seemed to be as bad the past while. With a shrug he wanders into the room, heading for the fridge, calling over his shoulder.]

You can't sleep?

[He looks up when he hears steps approaching, fingers playing with the corner of the page. His eyes follow Xehanort as he makes his way to the fridge, before turning his eyes back to the book he is ~~pretending to be~~ reading.]

Yeah. [Then, he adds in afterthought.] ...There is still water, if you want some tea.

Thank you...

[He changes direction, going to get some tea steeping, before turning back to the fridge to see what's there. A bunch of grapes catches his eye, and an apple. He picks both up, setting the grapes on the table as an invitation for Riku if he desires, before starting to cut the apple up.]

It's odd to see others up at this hour. Is something wrong?

[He murmurs a small thanks as he eyes the grapes, then plugs off a few for himself. He isn't really hungry, but well... maybe the sugar will help shaking him out of his mood at least. Or so.

He shakes his head at the question.]

Not really. It's just dreams.

[Or memories. It's the same thing at this point.]

Dreams?

[He easily quarters the apple, then starts to take out the seeds with practiced knifework. He's done this more nights than he can count... fruit is his favourite snack, after all.]

Bad dreams, I take it, if you can't sleep. Something on your mind is chasing you...

Yeah…

[He shakes his head lightly at that second statement, plugging off another grape and playing with it between his fingers as his thoughts drift back to his dreams.]

Not really bad… [Not all of it, at least.] Just complicated.

[Very, very complicated.]

Complicated?

[He lights up a little bit. He enjoys puzzles and working out logic far more than he has any business doing. He buys one of those puzzle books every week in order to keep himself busy when he's not reading or being obnoxious.

He makes a bit of a presumptuous move, but one that suits his own piqued curiosity.]

Two heads are better than one to attack a complex problem.

[Riku frowns a second as he wonders just how good or bad an idea it is to let Xehanort help him with this; even though it's been months, he still can't really get over his wary stance around the man.

...Still. It's Xehanort and it's not like he's ever tried anything remotely near what he knows him capable off in his time here. Maybe it is time for a little leap of faith.]

...How much do you know about how memories connect to the Heart?

The heart?

[He frowns a little. There's clearly more weight to this word than he realizes.]

I thought memories were linked to to the hippocampus...

[Riku's brows furrow in confusion at that reply, but after a moment understanding dawns in his eyes and he shakes his head.]

Not in the biological sense. I'm talking about metaphysics.

[His eyes widen just slightly. Yes, this is what he wants to hear. He wants to know their belief on matters, the bits of culture he can absorb that aren't action or carelessly-tossed words that don't matter. This is the stuff he's been craving, seeking in books, trying to find... the matters that they hold close, that they build the world around them with.

He sets the apple down, wedges arranged neatly on a plate, and sits down.]

Please help me understand.

[Riku hesitates for a moment - he has not forgotten who he is sitting across from after all, has no forgotten what happened the last time this man had been allowed this kind of knowledge.

Still... he supposes that someone would have to tell him, given how much he is around them, that he is living in the castle with them. Better he hears it from someone with somewhat unbiased view.

So yeah... where to get started...]

...All being of the Realm of Light can be broken down to three part:

The Body, the vessel that allows us to interact in the physical world.

The Heart, the source of all emotion and harbor of memories.

And the Soul, the bridge and tie between Body and Heart.

[You with him so far?]

[For a moment he promises himself that he won't interrupt until Riku is done, but that promise is swiftly dashed right away when]

Realm of Light? What does that mean?

[The rest is fairly straightforward, though, and he nods a little. Three parts. It makes sense, though the focus on the Heart seems a little odd given that the main focus of most things is in body and soul.]

[Well, that question was almost to be expected.

Riku takes a deep breath, this whole conversation is going to take a while, isn't it?]

Once upon a time, all worlds were one and all beings lived within the light. But then, one day people started to fight over the light and darkness entered their hearts, consuming everything and everyone until the world disappeared.

But even though all seemed lost, the light had not totally disappeared. Fragments survived within the hearts of the innocent, who then rebuild it and created the worlds as we know it now.

That's the Realm of Light. Or at least the story to its creation.

[The short, folk story version of it anyways.]

[The story is very familiar, he's heard it - or something like it - before. From Xion... he smile a little at the recollection.]

So everyone lives in the Realm of Light. And it's because that light was kindled in the hearts of others that hearts are so important?

[Well, that makes things a bit easier at least.]

They do. And well... in a way, I guess. The heart is what enables us to feel emotion and where we balance the Light and Darkness within ourselves.

That's something neither the Body nor the Soul can do.

[He thinks this over for a moment, before continuing his own thoughts.]

So everyone has light and darkness within them. Balancing them is a function of the heart... and emotion. And memories... how do memories tie into this?

[A few more thoughts leak out as he ponders, though they're muttered.]

The soul ties the heart to the body. So if someone's soul is sundered, their heart loses purchase... can the body function without a heart? Without emotion or... memories.

[Riku nods to himself and thinks, tries to find the best way to voice his opinion.]

From what I understand, memories emerge from the heart and are imprinted to the soul. I'm no expert on this though.

[And the only expert that he knows (and somewhat trusts) is dead. ...At least to Riku's knowledge.

As for that other question... there is a definite note of hesitation before he answers.]

If the heart was strong enough, then yes. The result is called a Nobody.

Memories forming from the seat of emotion...

[He'll buy it. It seems plausible enough. The memories he has of his time in Hinoto-ri are laced with emotion, after all...]

So your bad dreams... are from bad memories that you have. That implies that there's some sort of unpleasantness associated with them in your heart?

[Having let that conclusion come to its end, he ponders what Riku says next.]

A No-body... even though it has a body, but is lacking a heart. Does that mean that a creature that is a heart with no body is called a No-Heart?

[He laughs a little at that, taking a sip of tea. His eyes are sharp, though... the fact that something like that could exist is a strange thought and makes him wonder.]

[Memories and emotions are connected, are tightly wound together and that's why the sharp twist of sorrow he's felt looking at Xion when he'd first arrived makes so much sense in hindsight. For all that his mind had forgotten, in his heart he'd still known what had happened to her, had still mourned the necessity of it.

He shakes his head a moment later.]

It's not like that. Those dreams aren't bad in the sense of a nightmare or a bad memory. They are- [Memories he's forgotten newly unearthed and he still wonders, if he ever returns home, or if Xion disappears, will he...?] -complicated.

[As for that attempt at a joke, excuse that he isn't laughing... the irony is kind of too biting for him to find this funny.]

They are called Heartless actually.

Complicated, how? The more complex, the more troublesome, it would seem... they must be difficult if you can't sleep because of it.

[He takes a sip of his tea, delicately holding the cup in an oddly polished fashion. Perhaps muscle memory of some sort. His eyes go wide at Riku's followup statement, though, and he hastily sets the cup down.]

... such a being actually exists?

[For a second his jaw clenches as he tries to find a round about way to describe what those dream are... and fails. After a moment he sighs.]

They are... memories that I lost due... certain special circumstances and that started to return to me over the past few months.

[In form of those complicated dreams. Hence him asking what Xehanort knows about memories.

He nods solemnly at that question.]

They do and they are a dangerous threat to the worlds.

[His brow furrows for a moment as he considers this.]

Memories that you'd lost... buried in your subconscious. Or your heart, I guess. So that even if you didn't know you had them, they were still there... and eventually they came out into your dreams.

[He ponders a little bit on this, fingers lightly tracing the handle of the tea cup.]

Are they here, too?

They were triggered of sorts when I arrived here. [When he had met Xion to be more precise, but he isn't about to go further into this than he had already done.] And now that leaves me wondering, if they'll disappear again, the moment I leave.

[His memories of Promenade had after all.]

They are.

[Which isn't entirely surprising, really. At least not given that there here Nightmares as well.]

If you've ever seen monsters with entirely black body and yellow eyes, or any that had a symbol similar to- [He summons his Keyblade, lifting up Way to the Dawn's Keychain for Xehanort to see.] -this, that's them.

[On a Friday night and Saturday morning, no less. It was one of her late nights, so she was just coming back home from work and, after making sure there was no other people caught up on the roof from after the 13th Hour, Aqua made her way inside, sealing the entrance behind her. It had become routine, after all; along with coming up with lesson plans for later in the week for the ones behind both in basic Keyblade training and schooling. Stopping to make herself tea was one more thing on the To Do list when she smelled it already brewing. Was someone unable to sleep-?

That's when she recognized that particular light/dark ratio. Oh.

She smiles faintly, changing out of her work clothes to something more casual before returning. Yet when she does, she simply leans against the door frame of the kitchen as she ponders. Because, while she normally heard him moving around a little while after she returned, him being in the kitchen already was definitely new.]

Trouble sleeping, Riku?

[He had been actually already on his way back into a half-doze by the time she arrives at the entrance to the kitchen, his mind lost between the dull, circling haze of thoughts he got caught up in while reading over the same page for the third time - only to snap up his head almost violently when Aqua's voice reaches him, eyes wide and alert for just a second, but relaxing the moment he recognizes her.

...

Oh. Right, he's been asked a question. Can has an ever so slightly sheepish look?]

Uh, yeah.

[He will not yawn, he will not yawn, he will not!]

[You can has, Masterbro. You can has, though Aqua has to stifle a small laugh under her breath.]

What is it? [Consider her a little concerned all the less.] Though maybe you should head back to bed soon.

[She can see you were dozing for a second there.]

[He pouts at her for just a second; then reaches up with one hand to rub the bridge of his nose and the corners of his eyes, hiding a yawn behind that hand.]

Maybe.

[Probably. Hopefully this time, he won't have any memory-dreams invading his sleep.]

You just came back from work?

[Even if he does, she'd likely be awake for a little while longer and could talk to him about them should he want to. After all... that's what friends and teachers were for.]

Mm. Some... were a little slow on leaving.

[Nope. Still not saying where. >.>;]

[Maybe he'll take her up on that offer, if it comes up.

He nods in understanding.]

I guess, some nights just are like that?

[There are always some people that are just really slow on the uptake.]

[She'll likely say it eventually. Shh.]

Seems like it. I'm almost glad to have found another job, to be honest...

[Finally used to sunlight again, yeeeey.]

Oh?

[He hadn't known that she had been looking for job change. Though given the work hours he knows of (even though he doesn't know what exactly she does during those)... it's probably not that surprising.]

What's the new job?

[Or is that a secret too?]

[It really shouldn't be, though considering she may need to go to the fabric store after she's slept... the questions of what she's making were going to happen sooner or later.]

Assistant manager at the Amagi inn across town. [She spares a sheepish smile before going to pour herself a cup of tea.] A friend was looking for some help running her in while she was at school during the day, so I volunteered.

[Besides... it's fun watching Pyro Jacks ping off her barriers. :) ]

The place we helped with the Pyro Jacks after Christmas?

[Well, that sounds pretty interesting. And it's close too, which is probably an advantage. Not that distance really mattered here all that much.

Maybe he'll come by sometimes just to watch the Pyro Jack try and fail to overcome her barriers. And maybe take notes on those. Or something.]

That's the place.

[It very much is, and with those little fun-loving demons in mind... it will definitely be interesting. And, almost like she's reading his mind-]

Don't think that excludes you from magic practice, though.

[Because masterbro? You could use a few extra spells ~~Like Aero~~.]

[He just grins up to her.]

Like I'd ever even think of skipping.

[Now that he's actually had some proper training and found that he is actually pretty good at magic, he very much wants to learn what he can - for all that he is a Master, he is very much aware that he probably doesn't even know half the things that he should know.

And here he doesn't have to worry about what the true Organization XIII is up to, so he might as well take the chance, right?]

[She smiles back at that.]

Well, good.

[Might as well, though that mischievous glint in her eye says that he may end up rethinking that idea...]

You start in the morning.

[So you may want to get to bed.]

[Oh, is she planning to be that strict about things? Well, it's not like he isn't up to the challenge. That being said, bring it.]

And what will I be starting with?

[He's curious. And depending on the answer, he might consider trying for bed again.]

Well, I did see a distinct lack in wind spells... [Yes, she is teasing.] So maybe that, followed by a little lesson in changing the shape of your Keyblade.

[Depending on how good he does, at least.]

[He shrugs with a (maybe just slightly sheepish) grin, he isn't ashamed of admitting to it - Master or not, Riku is well aware that his training in the proper way of wielding the Keyblade is/was kind of a rush-job.

His eyes lighten with surprise and excitement when she mentions just what might follow that.]

...I guess, I should get rested then.

[Because no way he'll do anything but excel at wind spells now. No way. Because it will so be worth it.]

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[Closed to Castle-mates]

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