A constellation of tears on your lashes

[skyofreverie]

Who: Sora [AU3], his cat and you!
Where: Pretty much anywhere
When: April 7th
Summary: There's a new arrival and he looks like a Sora


[Okay, he is not afraid to fully admit that he is completely and utterly lost. This place is huge for an F3 without any sign of the creepy fog that hangs out at the edges of the area that spit people back out and leave them feeling sick. His Faciliberry doesn't seem to be working either which must be the reason he's been given this other weird thing.]

[So if he can't call anyone then Sora figured he'd just have to find his friends. Which is exactly what he's been trying to do for well over an hour with absolutely no success as of yet. They have to be around here somewhere and he's determined to find them before night ends. Who knows what Val has in store for them this time around. Probably something terrible and there was always the chance that there would be monsters lurking around.]

[Anyone who sees him from afar may notice some differences from the Sora they know. First off, this one seems to be wearing an over-sized coat that looks a lot like Leon's over his own normal clothes. Also there's something orange that seems to be wiggling around in his hood. Watch long enough and a matching tail will pop up.]

[Up close even more changes are noticeable - his pale skin, thin features and most importantly, a black collar encircling his neck. And of course, it'd be hard to miss the scars along both of his arms -- one long and jagged, with the other covering a large area. Strangers might be drawn away from all that thanks to the protesting mewls coming from Sora's hood. Taking a peek inside will give someone a good view of an orange tabby cat with a purple ribbon around their neck. Don't get too close or the cat might bite though.]

[Those who aren't brave enough to get that close may hear Sora talking. To the cat. Well, more like responding to the cat as if he can understand what she says.]

Five more minutes?

[Protesting meows.]

I know you're hungry but we have to find them.

[An unhappy howl.]

Okay, okay. Let's go see if we can find something.

[After his conversation with the cat Sora turns to the nearest person, not quite looking up at them and keeping his distance seeing as how the people in F3s are generally the violent sort.]

Excuse me. Can you point the way to the nearest pet shop?

Comments

[feelingepic]

[Being here for a month has allowed Neku to... somewhat adjust to things. But after living the last eight months of his life on Alpha Omega? Getting used to a normal life isn't as easy as it might sound. Even everyday, banal things like going out to grab groceries seems really strange, even though he remembers doing it all the time back in Shibuya.

Or... so his memories say, anyway.

But, that's exactly what he's doing today. Not like he needs much - he can't really cook - but he can stockpile on instant stuff, and things that don't take a lot of preparation. Of course, those plans are getting interrupted by the sound of a very familiar voice nearby, calling out...

Neku turns his head on reflex, scanning the crowds and-- aha. A familiar head of brown hair, not too far away. But what really catches his attention is... that cat, and that collar...

... no way...]

... Sora?

[skyofreverie]

[Oh.]

[Oh thank the Light.]

[Sora would know that voice anywhere. It's seared into his fake memories and his real memories. Hearing a familiar voice is definitely a relief because he was starting to think maybe he'd been here alone with a bunch of strangers. Or that maybe everyone had been terminated and he didn't know because he couldn't get his 'berry to work to look at the observation list.]

[So hearing it has him spinning towards his friend (Mittens protesting at the sudden action). There. One Neku accounted for. He moves through the crowd towards the other teen, stopping when he's close enough. There's a smile for his friend.]

[That is definitely a Facility collar around his neck if there had been any doubts still lingering in Neku's mind.]

Whew, I thought I might've been alone here when I couldn't get the 'berry to work. Glad to see you're here, Neku.

[Eyes drift to the area around them.]

Do you think that's the experiment this week?

[Sora hasn't quite realized what's going on yet.]

[feelingepic]

[... god, it's so good to see him here. When he hadn't come with them, he'd thought...

It doesn't take much for a smile to creep onto his face, either. He... never thought he'd see Sora again. Shows what he knows, huh.]

... yeah. Glad to see you, too.

[More than Sora realizes, probably.]

This... isn't the station, actually. It's... somewhere completely different. I thought it was F3, but...

[skyofreverie]

[Can't keep Sora down. Not for long anyway. Even when they terminated him they just brought him back a couple of months later.]

[His gaze fixes on Neku's face, eyes widening a little at those words. Did they...?]

[Did they actually make it to a planet? When Val described the planets he certainly didn't picture this thriving city for their choice. Maybe it was that other planet. The one the Consortium abandoned.]

We're...planet-side? You mean, we finally landed somewhere? How long was I out of it?

[Rubs the back of his head because this is confusing.]

[At the pet store] Let me know if this is okay

[whereibelong]

[When Sora actually gets to one of the city's pet stores, the one he enters will be comfortably sized - obviously not a giant superstore, but well-equipped with everything one needed to take care of a variety of animals. A little bell - set up to go off whenever someone enters or exits the store - rings as the door swings shut.

And that's Xion's cue to poke her head out from where she'd been organizing things in one of the aisles.]

Welcome! How can I help- Sora?

[The differences don't immediately register - not for Sora at least. Because that's a spiky head of hair and that's familiar enough. Instead her attention is drawn to the cat, and she frowns in puzzlement. Star was black-and-white, so where...

She puts down the dog toys she'd been organizing, walking closer and peering curiously at the cat.]

Who's this? Did you-

[And then she gets a closer look at Sora himself, and suddenly it hits her. Her eyes dart from his face, to the collar on his neck and then back up, widening.

Give her a moment. So far as computer metaphors go, Xion may not need to reboot but she's lagging pretty badly]

it's beautiful

[skyofreverie]

[He'd been kind of shocked when he opened the door and stepped inside the pet shop. Two of his friends, two that had been burned and scattered were alive. It was hard to believe. The news was good, some of the best news he'd had in a while actually and while he was eager to see them he needed a moment to collect himself. Needed to make sure he was ready to stay with them for hours and hours.]

[That meant running an errand first so that Mittens would have something to eat. The bell doesn't quite register as the door closes behind him and he stares at the shelves blankly for a minute.]

[Right up until he hears a familiar voice that literally has him jolting back into a conscious state. Sora's eyes look up just in time to see Xion frowning at him. Neku hadn't said anything about her being here too. Did he not know?]

[Then she's moving closer, getting a better look at the cat peering around him and Mittens is responding. Shifting her little orange body to crawl up onto his shoulder so Xion can give her appropriate greeting scritches. The cat obviously familiar with the person who'd approached.]

[Sora opens his mouth, ready to speak - to say something about how he was glad she was here when he notices the lack of a collar around her neck. His mouth snaps shut suddenly and he clears his throat. So many times he's done what he's about to do. It doesn't really ever get easier. Still, Sora gives her a smile - not his best work honestly but today's been pretty crazy even for him.]

Yeah, uhm, hiya? [p a u s e, before he motions to the cat on his shoulder.] This is Mittens.

/)~(\

[whereibelong]

[After a moment she seems to jerk out of her surprise, and... focuses on the cat at first, because that's easier. She does understand the universal language of cats and reaches forward to give the cat scritches]

Mittens...

[Still... so far as icebreakers go animals... tended to help. After a moment, Xion looks up at him, slight worry (and the usual meeting-Sora nervousness) etched on her face. She recognizes that collar]

You... just got here, right?

<3

[skyofreverie]

[The cat approves if the purring and pushing her head further into the touch is any sign.]

[Animals are definitely a big help. He doesn't know what she knows, what she doesn't know. Obviously though the collar means something to her. Sora gives her a nod.]

Maybe an hour or two ago. I was looking around. [Trying to find people.] I came in to get some stuff for Mittens. And I haven't got any munny but... [Now Sora pats down his pockets and pulls out the passcard.] I've got this thing.

[princessofheart]

[Kairi was honestly lucky that the owners of the flower shop she worked at were too fond of her to fire her too easily. When she received and read the text from Neku that Sora, her Sora, had finally arrived in Hinoto-Ri, she dropped a vase straight on the floor out of her shaking hands and shattered it into pieces. Worse yet, she bolted straight out of the shop and onto the streets far before her shift was due over without even a word to her bosses about where she was going, eyes darting wildly even though she had no idea where to go. Ah--! A thought occurs, despite the intense and dizzying adrenaline running through her veins and causing her head to go foggy with her sheer overwhelming feelings. Summoning Peepsta Hoo forth, she lets the Dream Eater turned Persona flutter to rest on her shoulder, eyes closing as she casted forth a CommLink directed at Sora. Hopefully she wouldn't accidentally catch the other Sora who was already here...]

Sora?! Where--!

[Her speech come out almost sort of jumbled, as if she was rushing to get all of her thoughts out at once yet settling on a few simple words. Screw everything else in the world right now, Sora was here. Though... it didn't really occur to her that having her voice appear in his mind when he had only just arrived might strike as disconcerting and alarming.]

[skyofreverie]

[Okay he was not expecting that to happen. His startled yelp disturbs Mittens and he very nearly drops the bag in his hand all over the street.]

Geez Kairi, give me a heart attack.

[Wait. Wait. That was...Kairi. In his head. Or what sounded like it was in his head anyway. He might not ever get used to that. But that's not the important part.]

[It's Kairi. Neku had told him that she was here, her and Nami. But hearing her voice makes his heart clench. He'd refused to fully accept it. Wouldn't go into their room when they'd both been terminated.]

[Here she was, one of them anyway, talking in his ear and he crumbles to his knees in the middle of the street. Uncaring about the people staring around him. He has to say something but his brain is filled with Kairi's name and his mouth feels like cotton's been stuffed in it.]

Kairi? I'm a couple of blocks from the pet store Xion works at.

1/2

[princessofheart]

Y-yes, it's me. A few minutes, just a few minutes and I'll be there.

[She shuts the feed off, and despite it not being stated in any words, Sora would clearly be able to tell that the connection was no longer there, almost as if a switch had flipped off in his mind. Kairi takes off of a run, weaving through crowds and muttering small apologetic remarks any time she banged into someone, pushing herself to the limit until she reached her destination; no time for idle walking now. She skids to a halt the moment she sees a mass of spiky brown hair, chest rising and falling fast and barely able to catch her breath. Despite this...]

[princessofheart]

[Kairi stumbles forth to meet him, eyes wide and expression laced with disbelief. She couldn't believe it, it was really him... it couldn't have been any other Sora. She reaches out one hand towards him tentatively, as if afraid to discover it was all an elaborate ruse if she were to actually touch him. Kairi had hoped, prayed every night to whomever would listen for this day to come, that more loved ones from Facility would come to find haven in this place; maybe Philemon really did feel sorry after what he did in Animus. Thank Light...

Despite several changes to her appearance, such as a fuller and more nourished figure, skin that no longer had the pasty white quality of artifical light, and a star clip pushing back her overgrown bangs, it was obviously the Kairi he knew from back then. Black collar fastened around her neck, long hair pulled back into a high pony tail, battle and test scars dotting her body... it was definitely her. Not that the pure shocked and overjoyed expression she had would have hidden that fact anyways.]

You're... you're really here.

[skyofreverie]

[The sudden loss of her voice hurts and he has to remind himself it's just a few minutes. He uses the time to collect himself, rub at his face and get to his feet. By the time that's done she's approaching and he can't do anything but stare at her with wide eyes.]

[There are so many changes: good ones. But there was no hiding the familiar things. And he knows he looks different too. No collection of hidden scars that had been his appearance when she'd first arrived or how much better he'd looked after returning and gotten himself a new body. Even different from right before she'd gotten terminated. His scars more visible, more vicious-looking.]

[Sora just takes a long moment to soak in everything about her and then suddenly it's not enough. His bag of newly purchased cat things fall to his feet but it doesn't matter as it spills all over the sidewalk because he's stepping over it and into Kairi's space. Arms wrap around her tightly and he practically buries his face in her hair like both will confirm that this is real.]

I'm really here.

shopping district? C:

[islandshore]

[There's no mistaking that spiky tuft of hair. Even with the coat, the added height, and the cat, Riku'd know his best friend anywhere. But something's definitely off. This Sora can't be the same as the one he already met. Given that they share a living space, any differences even from afar stick out like neon pink paint on a black background.

And Riku, being the curious guy that he is, proceeds to trail after Sora, wandering closer and closer. As he moves, he catches sight of the other differences. The collar, the scars, it's enough to prompt a gasp out of him.

And when Sora turns around, he'll find one younger Riku staring awstruck and rubbing his eyes.]

...What happened to you?

yes! :D

[skyofreverie]

[Wandering. Exploring. It's sort of what he'd been doing when there's a gasp coming from somewhere nearby. The sound has him spinning on his heel to face the source and...]

[It's Riku! A brilliant smile takes over his face but it quickly fades when Sora realizes the differences. Riku is tiny. Okay, not really all that tiny considering he himself has only grown a couple of inches. But shorter than Sora is used to. Not to mention there's the lack of a familiar collar and his arm... The Riku he knew, the clone Riku had lost his arm and replaced it with a metal one.]

[But still, the teenager standing in front of him is Riku. So Sora laughs, a bit nervously and scratches at his head.]

Oh well. Just some stuff. [He stinks at lying so going with avoidance.]

[islandshore]

Just stuff? It looks like a whole lot more than that.

[In other words, his avoidance only serves to further Riku's curiosity. Granted, Kairi has a very similar collar, and he's already heard her story. The whole thing about Facility, clones, and the brutal treatment she and Naminé endured. It's possible that this Sora's a similar case, but why jump to conclusions?

Maybe prying isn't the best method either, but hey. It's hard not to at a time like this.]

[skyofreverie]

Yeah but it's kinda a long story.

[And not exactly one he wants to talk about. There are parts of the story that Sora doesn't want to relive at this point in time. Or maybe ever. Though there is something he can tell Riku.]

Short version is I was stuck in this place that was kinda bad.

[He's not sure what Kairi, Nami and the others have told people yet so he'll go vague for now.]

late to the party woop woop

[charmedbymemories]

[Naminé has the day off from work when Sora finally finds his way to Hinoto-Ri, and is working on her wall mural when she feels something shift inside her, swelling up quickly and warming pleasantly. She pauses mid-stroke to consider it, and shivers from how the warmth runs to the tips of her fingers and toes.

It's Kairi, of course, but at the same she knows that something external is affecting her sister to make her (them) feel that way. Naminé smiles. She's happy that Kairi's happy. Can't help but feel that way, really. She'll ask when she gets back home from work.

She's about to go back to her mural when she senses something more, a flash of a face, a bright grin. And then she's dropping her brush and bolting out of the Castle of Departure via a portal of darkness. Because-- because it's really him, it's really--

She bursts out of the other side of the portal, trembling with sudden adrenaline from the short run. Where is he? Where is--]

Sora?!

yeaaaaaah~

[skyofreverie]

[Of course he'd been informed of Naminé's presence. But it was one thing to hear about her and another to hear her voice. To be able to see her again. He remembers the day he saw her number on the terminated list. How he'd been hoping and waiting to see that it wasn't true. How after he curled up in her art room for hours.]

[Every month he'd go to peek at the new arrivals, hoping to see one of them again but was also afraid they'd come back without the memories. There's no denying that she remembers. Not the way she bursts through that portal. If he'd been capable of doing that he would have.]

[But when he sees her Sora just stares. Naminé. It's really her. He smiles but it's a struggle not to cry at the same time.]

Nami.

♥

[charmedbymemories]

[Now that he's in front of her, there is no mistaking that affectionate warmth that she sensed earlier. It's Sora. Her Sora. Her big brother. The portal closes behind her as she runs forward, stopping short just a few feet of him. She raises a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying.]

Oh Light. You're really here. I can't believe you're really here.

♥♥

[skyofreverie]

Yep, I'm really here.

[Only another brief moment of staring before he closes the distance between them and pulls her into a hug. He'd lost so many of their family. Now he has two of them back, two he wasn't sure he'd get back. It's so much goodness right now after the horrible last few months he'd been through.]

We're both here.

[dreamprotector]

[Riku is on his way back home from a tutoring lesson, mind lingering on his student and the material he would have to look up for next time, on his own studies, the homework he'd have to take care of tonight for the new week as well as dinner, because wow he is starving.

Distracted as he is, he is actually a bit startled to hear Sora speaking up to him - not that he'd ever admit it - so much, that he doesn't quite catch the differences to the other Sora, at least not before he notices the cat in his hood that is clearly not Star.

Given the collection of pets they are starting to gather in the Land of Departure, nobody really can blame him for the first thing that tumbles over his lips.]

What, you picked out another?

[Then he takes a closer look at the Sora before him though, and well... now that he's looking the differences are rather striking.]

...Oh.

[Well. That's awkward.]

[skyofreverie]

[Sora is seriously contemplating scaling a nearby tall building to get a better look when a familiar voice is answering back with a question. It has him spinning around to find the source and actually casting his gaze upwards.]

Ri-! [The excitement, the smile that formed in that moment melts away a bit. This is not his Riku. His hair is shorter, he still has both his arms and most importantly, there isn't a collar around his neck. That was the clear sign of not being the Riku from the Facility.]

[And it hurts. Two years of memories that don't exist -- can't exist, not for this Riku. The real Riku. He tries to not let it show but this is Sora's best friend. It's hard to hide the pain lingering in his eyes even as he smiles again and Riku will surely notice the hesitation, the way he draws back and the way he's clearly attempting to put the focus on the taller boy.]

Do I get to call you Master Riku now?

[dreamprotector]

[It's hard for Riku not to notice all of it - he is quite practiced in reading Sora(s) after all. It's also hard not to feel just a little bit hurt upon realizing that he is not the Riku this Sora is expecting to see. It's really mostly a reflex feeling, and he's annoyed with himself a second later - it's not like he doesn't long to see his Sora... the one that left for Traverse Town by himself... or better yet, the one that remembered Promenade.

Still. Sora is Sora, regardless of what experiences they may or may not have in common and so he gets a flash of a sheepish smile at that question, because the whole Master-deal is still something that Riku isn't exactly comfortable with. Or at least comfortable enough to bring it up anyways. Or be called by the title. Or so.]

Only if you are in trouble with me.

[Otherwise he prefers to stay just "Riku", thank you very much.

The smile is swallowed by a frown as Riku's eyes come to linger on the scars and the collar again and well... given what Kairi has told them it's hard not to jump to conclusion.]

...You are from the same place as Kairi, aren't you?

facetwin: > show up two months late with starbucks

[aworldwithoutyou]

((also sob if this isn't the post you want me to tag let me know and I'll. move it. or tag something else fjawioe;))

[Meanwhile, this Sora - who looks about 18 - wasn't out for any reason in particular. He just wanted to take a walk around town, mostly to stretch his legs a bit and see what was going on...though the COMP would probably tell him more about that last part, but he didn't think about that. Half the time, he didn't even remember that he had it.

He was stepping out of a coffee shop (he didn't really like coffee, or at least not the coffee that his mom drank - just his mom, his dad didn't like it either - but this place had these weird icey coffee drinks that looked more like ice cream and he was curious enough to try it) when he spotted something that looked familiar. Or, well, someone. He'd recognize his own hair anywhere, though the clothes look a lot different.

For a second he wonders if the other him had come back, but as he gets closer he starts to question that. He notices the collar first, and then the scars, and...yeah, definitely not the same other him from before. That collar looks a lot like Kairi and Namine's...

Once he's close enough to get his attention (assuming he hasn't been noticed already) he pauses, not really sure what to say. "Hi Sora, I'm Sora!" seemed like a weird place to start...but maybe just hello wasn't such a bad idea!]

Hey! Are you lost?

[Well, he is new here, after all.]