(no subject)

[initiates]

Date: July 1st
Location: The Initiative Hold & Courtyard.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled into the Courtyard after their initial briefings. Now with 200% more People-Seeking lists!
Warnings: None.

You've just been hustled and bustled through mazes of information and literal, wide corridors of the Initiative Hold and you've been equipped with your weapon—be it a gun, a sword, or even your existing powers. They've handed you this light netbook and a small pouch of coins (or a debit card, if you're more inclined), and there are several Transports before and after you going through the very same motions. You can hear the Greeter's voice as she walks alongside large groups, telling them all about the history of this place and sharing with you your purpose here in a hurried and urgent tone. "You're in luck that we have enough rooms for all of you; the housing building is getting awfully full. Please, let me show you into the courtyard."

You pass what looks like huge gymnasiums, all with dummies and targets strewn and splayed around the room. Training areas. There are even classrooms, and a few small offices. You're rushed past a large library while the Greeter informs you that you can find almost all your information there, if you've got the time to look—and trust her, you'll have time. You don't spend a lot of time in the bank, and it's a bit of a blur of exchanges with more and more of these strangely-accented and oddly polite-seeming members of the Initiative.

Soon enough, you're in a massive courtyard bustling with all the other Transports. It's not exactly what you'd expect, and it looks more like barracks than anything—huge walls of concrete and stone, separating you from all of the hallways you'd just passed through. It's raining heavily, and dark clouds loom in the air, though it hasn't turned to snow. It's a chill cold, and there are shelters—long cloth hangings that extend from the walls of concrete to house you from the rain, but not enough. Most notably, the courtyard is filled with a marketplace. Even in the cold and the rain, there are several citizens seated at their covered booths and tables, bundled up against the weather. They're selling all manner of their own handmade goods and foods, and citizens and Transports alike are traveling from one small covered shop to another in search of all manner of necessities. Now and then around you you might spot paper fluttering in the faint wind from somewhere relatively dry. It looks like a list.

The Greeter's voice has become so faint now, but you swear you can make it out in the back of the crowds as she tells you, "Good luck. Be safe!"

Her voice is drowned out by the busy marketplace, though even the transactions taking place are somewhat subdued. Nobody is overly happy, really, though most citizens can be found with smiles on their faces. It doesn't seem like they're that shocked to see you, either; even if you're not bound in tattered rags and wrapped in heavy shawls as they are. You're welcome to walk up to a shop, and find yourself something to eat—hey, maybe you'll even find something akin to a raincoat. Or, you can join the others under the coverings against the walls. Where am I? What war? She was talking so fast, and it didn't all make very much sense… did anyone else catch it all?

Welcome to the courtyard. Welcome to the Initiative Hold—and most importantly, welcome to Exsilium.

Comments

[destinedwaters]

[Aqua notices the staring quickly. Mostly because she was staring, too. Strange, this light... and that darkness. Both seemed so familiar, but - nah it couldn't be. She'd just seen- Nah.

(yes it is and does she need to get an english textbook out and start teaching you.)

Instead she focuses on his words, laughing quietly a likely familiar laugh.]

It's alright. Though, I can't say you don't seem familiar, either.

[That light was so much like Terra's... but it couldn't be one of the two she knew who seemed so alike, right? ...Riiiight?]

[limitstorm]

[ (no please axel's already lecturing him)

that laugh rings in his head like a bright bell and he squints clearly, pulling his hands off of his chair to rest them on his knees. ]

Me?

[ he echoes, fixing her with a confused expression. ]

... did we meet before?

[destinedwaters]

[(nope gonna join firebro)

Aqua nods faintly, but pauses to think on it and focus on his Heart alone. She wasn't as great at it as her Master, but this light and sincerity...

'-just like Terra.'

She blinks, just as confused as he seems. Was... this part of that "time travel" thing they'd mentioned not long after she arrived? It seems so odd, because if this was true, then he was only four or five years old when she saw him not even a day ago.]

If something happens--

[...she shakes her head. No, there was only one way to find out.]

Hey, you mind telling me your name?

[...Odd. It sounds like there should have been a "two" between "you" and "mind".]

[limitstorm]

[ there it goes again--that warmth, like hot chocolate in a blizzard.

riku hesitates, looking her up and down, trying to pinpoint that feeling. it slips away from him too fast, but he speaks firmly. ]

It's Riku. What's yours?

1/3

[destinedwaters]

[If anything was telling, it was likely her eyes widening ever so briefly. Because oh, Light-- I-It was... It is one of the two boys she'd met not even a day ago. He was here and likely - ]

[destinedwaters]

[No, Aqua. No. You're a Master, now. You have to take this calmly and maturely and no, that does not mean crashing a plane in someone's house despite the massive levels of 'oh my lucky stars.' Just focus on how completely and utterly doomed Terra would be if he ever found out Riku bakes...]

[destinedwaters]

[...Oh, and now she feels bad for never telling him or Sora her name before. Yet she closes her eyes briefly, trying to shake that off.]

My name is Aqua. [She opens them again, smiling.] I'm sorry; I guess I never told you or Sora my name.

[Does this hand reaching over and ruffling your hair a bit help you put two and two together. Dooooeeeesss iiiiit?]

[limitstorm]

[ oh no hair ruffles

... yeah, no, he actually just dips his head down and withstands them, pink tinging at his cheeks and his ears. ]

Oh.

[ and it does; it's a sudden and vivid recall, and riku has always been best with tactile memory, and that gentle ruffle is more than enough to remind him of that one day on destiny islands when he was small and met a woman with blue hair who asked if he and sora liked each other.

he remembers he'd called her lady bluebird, after the way she'd jumped down like she was flitting from one branch to the other, but he'd forgotten. now it all came crashing down like forgotten books on a forgotten shelf. ]

... I remember you.

[destinedwaters]

[yes

it is the dreaded hair ruffle monster that has been away for eleven or twelve years

fear her for she has awoken except not really she hasn't been to the final showdown yeeeeet

Aqua removes her hand, a little bashful and suddenly keeping her hands on her own knees - not like it's really necessary since horee crap you're taller than me, now. Also if she knew about the bluebird comment there would be a frown right there. Though if he'd forgotten her, then... what all did that foreboding sensation entail for them?

Yet her smile doesn't waver; not in front of a less-experienced Keyblade wielder oh when she hears about the Master title...]

It's a bit of a surprise, isn't it?

[limitstorm]

Definitely. I never thought I'd meet someone from my past here.

[ well.

he was hoping he didn't--if he had to meet maleficent here... he wouldn't like the showdown. with aqua, it was different--and with the memory of her comes the memory of someone else. it sparks in his head, but he pushes the quiet hope down. he hasn't seen the person who gave him the keyblade in years. there's probably no connection to him and lady blue--uhh, aqua, anyway. he just gives another vague nod, curling his fingers against his skin. ]

Sorry you got pulled here. It's not the best place to be.

[destinedwaters]

I can't say I expected to meet anyone from the future, either.

[ Aqua gives a quiet laugh at that. No, she can't exactly say she blames him. Doesn't mean she won't take this in a humorous way. Better that then completely cold, right now.

She shakes her head, though - oh, Riku. If only you knew.]

I don't mind. After all, it's my duty to help those in need and maintain the balance.

[ Darn you world order in not letting her say 'hey guess what, i'm a keyblade wielder too' ]

[limitstorm]

[ except that's enough. those few words are enough for his eyes to go wide and his brain to screech to a crashing halt.

breath bated, he hesitates before he speaks, quiet, hushed. ]

You... you have a Keyblade, too?

[destinedwaters]

[ She nods faintly, whispering just as quietly. ]

Me and my two friends are wielders, yes. [ what is admitting the master title aaaaaaa- ] I take it you awakened to yours in the last couple years?

[ (wait, how did she know that?)

You know, that reaction never gets old. She may keep doing that to surprise the others at some point. ]

[limitstorm]

Just last year... I haven't been using it that much.

[ his complentative state is interrupted by sudden realization. ]

--wait, you knew about it?

[destinedwaters]

[ Aqua smiles at that. Just. Smiles. :') ]

My friend could never really hide things from me very easily. [ and, lowering her voice: ] Though as a Master, I was taught how to tell who was given the power.

[limitstorm]

I didn't know that--...

[ wait.

wait; he whips around to look at her with wide eyes. ]

You mean--you're a Keyblade Master, too?

1/2

[destinedwaters]

Well, I, uh--

[ ...Well, Riku. If you ever thought that all masters were like Yen Sid and nearly unflappable then gomen for dashing that idea. Because first, this is technically the first time she ever admitted to being a Keyblade Master.]

I mean, I--

gomen for lying

[destinedwaters]

[ And she is red. Almost as red as Axel's hair. Except not really and oh my goooooooooood. ]

I-I'm still in training, but...yes.

fin

[destinedwaters]

[ waaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit a minute. ]

You've passed???

[ what in the realm of light is she missing if he doesn't know she's a master aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ]

jsjlfsl yeah okay so 1/?

[limitstorm]

So you do still train, and Sora was giving me a hard time--

2/?

[limitstorm]

[ AH WAIT NO ]

3/?

[limitstorm]

[ watch him quickly turn bright red as he looks around anxiously, like something would just pop up and shield him from embarrassment. ]

4/4

[limitstorm]

[ so as he hangs his head, he peers up at her and nods his head, still red, still kind of speechless, with an awkward smile on his face.

s-surprise??? ]

Re: 4/4

[destinedwaters]

[ oh light, this is going to be i n t e r e s t i n g.

and by that, we mean someone is going to be having another hair ruffle. There there, Riku. It's okay. ]

We both have a long way to go, huh.

[ troll troll teeeeaaaase ]

[limitstorm]

[ he responds similarly to the first time, awkwardly accepting the hair ruffle as it is. ]

Yeah... I-I guess. Both of us.

[ an exhale; his shoulders slump, and he looks far more tired than he did a second ago, like a weight's lifted. ]

I'm just glad I'm not the only one anymore.