♞ riku (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
limitstorm) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
exsiliumlogs2014-01-01 02:51 am
limitstorm) wrote in exsiliumlogs2014-01-01 02:51 am
i am extraordinary, if you'd ever get to know me.
Date & Time: January 1st, afternoon.
Location: Winter-Exsilium; some emptier fields away from civilization.
Characters: Riku; open.
Summary: Riku has always been shown and been told that his powers are nothing but destructive. He's never taken the time to think to think that maybe it's not true--not until now. Maybe things can be different from now on.
Warnings: N/A. Long post ahead, but tl;dr: dark castle, anyone's invited.
[ he shudders; the breath catches in the cold air, instantly white and foggy, and riku curls his hands around his shoulders, shaking his head.
it's freezing out here. he shouldn't be out here. he's way too away from the cabin for anyone to see--he's not sure if there's anything inhabitable around here. and... well, that's the point, isn't it? he looks back ahead of him, his back towards the city, and breathed in deep. slowly, he drops down onto one knee, then both, shivering as he does so, and closing his eyes. pulling his hood down, he grits his teeth against the brisk, snowy wind, and exhales low. ]
Time to live up to being a Master.
[ his words are lost in the wind, but he curls his hands into fists and presses them against his chest, lips drawn into a frown. peals of darkness start to emerge, but it's too fast--and in an instant, he's gasping and sweeping his hands out to his sides. ]
That's wrong. [ too fast, too strong. he breathes back out, brings one hand back to his chest, and shakily splays out his fingers. he listens to his heartbeat and the worry and tension fades from his face, and the darkness comes out in a slow but steady circle around him, perfectly controlled and membrane-thin. little strings of white light accompany it randomly--riku has never tried to control his light, it has never needed to be controlled, but his darkness has always needed to be kept on a tight leash. he exhales again, but doesn't open his eyes, shakily getting to his feet. the darkness trembles, like it's ready to rebel, but he keeps calm. ]
This is my power, my Darkness. It's under my control. I'll use it how I want to.
[ as if following orders, it relents, smoothing out like the surface of a pond. only then does he open his eyes, and looks up. the pillar of darkness around him is tall; it drops off about ten feet above him, and the scent and feel of the power is strong enough to overwhelm. the purity of both elements is extreme; there is little mingling in greys, but it is pure light against pure darkness, and they rub and grate against each other as if both elements know they shouldn't ever be in close proximity together--they shouldn't coexist, they shouldn't coexist in one body like riku. this should, by all rights, be impossible. for a moment, he staggers--the strength of both of them in tandem would make anyone drunk on power; it's doubtless one of the reasons he's still been used as a pawn and a tool. riku's been burned too badly to ever think of using this power as anything but for higher powers and greater goods; he swallows hard and narrows his eyes, letting his arms hang by his sides before he starts stalking forwards, and his power leaves behind interrupted snow in his wake, like blades cutting through his path.
it's warm. the darkness is, somehow, warm. at first, riku mistakenly thinks it's the light mixed in, but that's not all. shouldn't darkness be cold? after a moment, he thinks of nights under the covers, of warm summer nights, of a mother's embrace, and not for the first time does he think of the darkness differently. with one leg forwards, he focuses, and splays his fingers out suddenly, as if sprinkling powder into the air. in an instant, dark spots appear everywhere like black glitter, flit around like fireflies. warm summer nights. he can almost hear the ocean breeze.
what more? the paopu tree. he jogs a bit forwards, chews his bottom lip, and tries to imagine a paopu in his hands at first, shutting his eyes tight like he was wishing--to open one eye and let out a breathless laugh when it manifests in his hands, heavy as it would be. lifting his gaze, he disperses the fruit in his hands, and remembers days of sitting on the bent paopu tree, with kairi and sora beside him. it's slower, with so many memories to shift through, but it grows, blossoming before his eyes, and before it's even fully finished he runs towards it, plants his hands onto the bark and leaps onto the bark. maybe it's his memories keeping him warm. there's a calm in him now, and as he looks down at his hands, he thinks, and stands on the trunk, walking to the edge of the tree; leaves dip down low into the snow as he walks.
the swirling membrane of darkness around him swirls tighter now, just an inch away from him. he crouches, and jumps high in the air--before he can even make it onto the ground, he swipes darkness underneath him to make a bridge, which continues on building, and as he walks up them with a growing sense of dread, walls come to life, sliding up air and snow like they were colliding with an invisible force. edges of trees are clipped and bent as it grows, snowy stones covered and disappearing in the darkness. riku focuses on his worst memories--of empty hallways full of dark monsters, of sterile white columns, of losing and gaining and loss of control.
two castles merge together like a lifeform all around him, leaving him standing in the doorway, large double doors of castle oblivion wide open, to stare right into a place he never wanted to see in hollow bastion.
it's warm. that's the first thing riku realizes, and the way he knows that this is his creation. the castles were always cold.
he walks in, and the doors stay open. ]
Location: Winter-Exsilium; some emptier fields away from civilization.
Characters: Riku; open.
Summary: Riku has always been shown and been told that his powers are nothing but destructive. He's never taken the time to think to think that maybe it's not true--not until now. Maybe things can be different from now on.
Warnings: N/A. Long post ahead, but tl;dr: dark castle, anyone's invited.
[ he shudders; the breath catches in the cold air, instantly white and foggy, and riku curls his hands around his shoulders, shaking his head.
it's freezing out here. he shouldn't be out here. he's way too away from the cabin for anyone to see--he's not sure if there's anything inhabitable around here. and... well, that's the point, isn't it? he looks back ahead of him, his back towards the city, and breathed in deep. slowly, he drops down onto one knee, then both, shivering as he does so, and closing his eyes. pulling his hood down, he grits his teeth against the brisk, snowy wind, and exhales low. ]
Time to live up to being a Master.
[ his words are lost in the wind, but he curls his hands into fists and presses them against his chest, lips drawn into a frown. peals of darkness start to emerge, but it's too fast--and in an instant, he's gasping and sweeping his hands out to his sides. ]
That's wrong. [ too fast, too strong. he breathes back out, brings one hand back to his chest, and shakily splays out his fingers. he listens to his heartbeat and the worry and tension fades from his face, and the darkness comes out in a slow but steady circle around him, perfectly controlled and membrane-thin. little strings of white light accompany it randomly--riku has never tried to control his light, it has never needed to be controlled, but his darkness has always needed to be kept on a tight leash. he exhales again, but doesn't open his eyes, shakily getting to his feet. the darkness trembles, like it's ready to rebel, but he keeps calm. ]
This is my power, my Darkness. It's under my control. I'll use it how I want to.
[ as if following orders, it relents, smoothing out like the surface of a pond. only then does he open his eyes, and looks up. the pillar of darkness around him is tall; it drops off about ten feet above him, and the scent and feel of the power is strong enough to overwhelm. the purity of both elements is extreme; there is little mingling in greys, but it is pure light against pure darkness, and they rub and grate against each other as if both elements know they shouldn't ever be in close proximity together--they shouldn't coexist, they shouldn't coexist in one body like riku. this should, by all rights, be impossible. for a moment, he staggers--the strength of both of them in tandem would make anyone drunk on power; it's doubtless one of the reasons he's still been used as a pawn and a tool. riku's been burned too badly to ever think of using this power as anything but for higher powers and greater goods; he swallows hard and narrows his eyes, letting his arms hang by his sides before he starts stalking forwards, and his power leaves behind interrupted snow in his wake, like blades cutting through his path.
it's warm. the darkness is, somehow, warm. at first, riku mistakenly thinks it's the light mixed in, but that's not all. shouldn't darkness be cold? after a moment, he thinks of nights under the covers, of warm summer nights, of a mother's embrace, and not for the first time does he think of the darkness differently. with one leg forwards, he focuses, and splays his fingers out suddenly, as if sprinkling powder into the air. in an instant, dark spots appear everywhere like black glitter, flit around like fireflies. warm summer nights. he can almost hear the ocean breeze.
what more? the paopu tree. he jogs a bit forwards, chews his bottom lip, and tries to imagine a paopu in his hands at first, shutting his eyes tight like he was wishing--to open one eye and let out a breathless laugh when it manifests in his hands, heavy as it would be. lifting his gaze, he disperses the fruit in his hands, and remembers days of sitting on the bent paopu tree, with kairi and sora beside him. it's slower, with so many memories to shift through, but it grows, blossoming before his eyes, and before it's even fully finished he runs towards it, plants his hands onto the bark and leaps onto the bark. maybe it's his memories keeping him warm. there's a calm in him now, and as he looks down at his hands, he thinks, and stands on the trunk, walking to the edge of the tree; leaves dip down low into the snow as he walks.
the swirling membrane of darkness around him swirls tighter now, just an inch away from him. he crouches, and jumps high in the air--before he can even make it onto the ground, he swipes darkness underneath him to make a bridge, which continues on building, and as he walks up them with a growing sense of dread, walls come to life, sliding up air and snow like they were colliding with an invisible force. edges of trees are clipped and bent as it grows, snowy stones covered and disappearing in the darkness. riku focuses on his worst memories--of empty hallways full of dark monsters, of sterile white columns, of losing and gaining and loss of control.
two castles merge together like a lifeform all around him, leaving him standing in the doorway, large double doors of castle oblivion wide open, to stare right into a place he never wanted to see in hollow bastion.
it's warm. that's the first thing riku realizes, and the way he knows that this is his creation. the castles were always cold.
he walks in, and the doors stay open. ]
wow tl;dr sorry
The castle is a massive change to the landscape, and she gasps a little as she takes it in. This castle didn't feel like the one they'd called "Loki's", before Exsilium died. It felt like the castle where Sabark--where Professor Tsukikage--had made his home, where his wilted heart's flower had covered everything with the miasma of his hidden grief.
She shifts her hands around the perfume, and she changes. She doesn't know this place, but there is sadness in it, and tending to heart flowers in the Heart Tree's place is part of her mission as a Precure. Perhaps this place is a cradle for something different--perhaps she's concerned for nothing--but she would hate to leave someone alone in a place like this if she wasn't. She can't feel the cold, once she transforms, which is a relief, and leaping to the black stairs isn't any effort at all. She runs up the stairs, urgent concern spurring her on. Who could be creating something like this, with these feelings?
The castle's doors are open and huge around her, and she stops before them, looking up at them with a nervous heart. But if there's sadness within, she intends on meeting it.
She steps inside, back straight.]
Is anyone here?
[Her boots click on the floor and join the slight echo of her voice in the hall. She continues her walk down the hallway, toward the center of the castle, ignoring closed doors but keeping an eye out for traps and suspicious movements.]
eeeeEEEEEE
this is something he should do on his ow--
who is that? he sharply turns, looking over his shoulder, prepared for a fight at first before he focuses, closes his eyes again.
that bright light--it's-- ]
Tsubomi! [ oh no. that's one of the last people that should be here. he takes off in a run, skidding to a stop a few yards away from her. it's too far away for riku's usual.
after a moment of trying to decide what to say ("shouldn't you be at home?" is way too insulting, and "you shouldn't be here" makes it seem like he doesn't trust her to defend herself, and dear light, he's seen her powers, he knows she's more than capable) he finally, quietly admits; ]
I don't want you to see this.
no subject
Riku--!
[She readies to attack, to defend him, and then he breaks toward her. She goes still again as he stops, much too distant to be anything but strange, and then takes a careful step toward him. Her expression is both resolute and somewhat sad. She's sure to use his title when she speaks again, her voice steady but her hands in tight, small fists as her sides.]
Master Riku, what is happening here? What is this place?
[What could she possibly see that he is so afraid she would be frightened or upset by it? She's found love for monsters, before, and of all the people she knows, Riku is the least monstrous. Does he think he'll be hurt, and want her to keep out of it? But then he'd say she needed to leave, wouldn't he? Gently--]
What don't you want me to see, Riku?
no subject
(looking at tsubomi, he doesn't know. he feels like his skin's crawling, his darkness all around her felt wrong.) his mouth goes dryer when she calls him by his title; he flinches and looks away from her. ]
I'm--
[ he shakes his head hard, hair flicking all around his face. ]
I'm just... fighting a few of my demons. It's okay. It's something I should do alone.
[ be firm, but understanding.
he takes a step back to her step forward, and gives her a thin smile. ]
I'm okay.
I tire of interruptions.
[ riku goes rigid at the voice, echoing off the walls and he jerks his head around, trying to pinpoint the figure. he knows who it is. he knows that voice well. he'd been expecting it, but--not so soon. he can't hurt her. he knows that, but there's still a sickening lurch in his stomach. ]
no subject
Tsubomi knows a thing or two about fighting your demons, and needing to do it yourself. She's reminded even more keenly of the test, when she and her friends had been proving themselves to the Heartcatch Mirage.
If this is anything like that, she thinks she can understand why Riku would want to be left alone.
She echoes his smile, but when she opens her mouth to speak she's cut off by the echoing voice.
She looks around herself, body pulling taut like a bowstring. But if this is like the Mirage--if the only person being tested here is Riku, and he seems so sure that he is--then this comes from Riku. And she trusts Riku not to hurt her. Her body relaxes, and she straightens up.]
I'd like to stay.
[She ignores the voice, staring straight at Riku.]
If you don't mind? There's no need to be alone, if you don't have to be. I won't get in your way!
no subject
he's still not sure why. he exhales slow, looking at his feet instead of her, before raising his head. ]
... the minute I tell you to run and don't look back, you do it, okay?
[ he reaches out to take her shoulder--not forcefully, but with a gentle, firm grip that speaks at length of worry and protectiveness. ]
I mean it.
Quaint. Very well, your guest can see to your demise, as well.
[ the shadowy figure that appears before them both--riku shuffles in front of tsubomi, an arm outstretched before her to protect her--is tall and imposing; he is translucent, but radiates uneasiness, like hair sticking up on the back of your neck. ]