cinderlea | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ Riku disappears first. Vanished in her sleep, in the middle of the night, collapsing in on herself in a shimmer of starlights. This isn't like last time. No warnings, no chances to say goodbye, no hesitation or resistance. She just isn't there.

Lea goes minutes after Riku, in the same way. But she's awake, lounging on her couch, having a conversation as she flips through her phone. Here and then gone, like a flame. This isn't the first time either of them have gone home, but it's the first time it's so abrupt. At least it isn't death. The last time Riku went home was seven years ago. She was gone for a month, and she came back with shorter hair and the Mark of Mastery. The last time Lea went home, no one really noticed. She thought she was used to it by now.

Things are different this time. Disorienting. Lea meets Kai in the training, for real this time. Riku has her memories, or at least most of them. They're hazy, dreamlike, but real. She has them all. She remembers how old she really is and how long she's been gone. She remembers everyone she cares about, and everyone that won't change here. She keeps her ice magic and takes what she's learned here to use there. But time is fluid. She doesn't feel like she's been gone for seven years.

Lea's are gone, for now. She lives everything new and fresh, with the dressing room appearing only in dreams vivid enough to unsettle her.

Things aren't the same for every world.

Things go better than expected.

The core story is the same. The heroes rescue the ones that need it, they bring everyone back, they defeat the darkness, and they go home. How and when and who — these things vary, but they do it all together and they go home together. And then their story is over, at least for now, and they come back.

Unlike how they went out, Lea and Riku reappear together on the beach. Coming back is just as disorienting, and neither has their phone, so they get their bearings and confirm memories with each other, of the dressing room and of home, and then separate to find their friends.

They've been gone two months. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[where is phone in all of that fire, or is Lea thinking of going back into the hall to get a photo from there? but now Isa's distracted by how that feels, and leans down so Lea can get to the antlers better, carefully.]

-uh. Kind of like when your foot's asleep and you try poking it. I can feel you touching them but mostly because I can feel it via the rest of my head.

[ Her phone vanished with her clothes. She would have to leave and toss it in and follow it in order for it to stick around, alas. Meanwhile, antlers. She's really careful with them, but they're so cool looking, and she's never felt antlers before. ]

I feel like you could kill someone with these.

Probably. But why would I, when I could just bite them?

[this is probably just Isa's rule of thumb anyway, if we're being honest. there's a strong chance that she at least tried to bite Dilan one of the times they were tossed out.]

I dunno, showing off?

[ Why Dilan? She'd be most likely to bite back, if you ask me. ]

Pick me up.

[Aeleus was too intimidating while also being nice and well-meaning. Dilan was just an asshole.

Isa briefly considers just tossing Lea over her shoulder, but the antlers are a concern, and also it's not as if she's going to cart her off to bed here, or something. so instead she just puts her giant clawed hands on Lea's waist and just lifts her straight up without any apparent effort at all. looks like her strength increased along with her size.]

At least ask me to do something challenging.

[ Oh fuck. It's a good thing this is Isa and not a real monster, because then she might be scared. Or at least nervous about being held by this colossal badass. The goat ears wobble a little, and her tail is flicking around wildly. ]

Please, it's not even challenging for you normally. What should we do with this?

[i can hear Axel's eyebrows waggling from here. Isa might be grinning; it's hard to tell when that's the default expression of this form, with all those teeth.]

I could just carry you to the candy, if you like. If we meet anyone scary I can throw you at them.

I won't say no to a free ride.

[ Lea's definitely grinning, but she does crane her neck to the side so she can see how the her flames lick at Isa's hands without burning them. She has a lot of problems with her own costume ("what am I, a succubus?") but the fire is something she still enjoys. ]

[Lea's extremely attractive (to Isa) and loves fire, so yes. Isa runs through the options for carrying Lea, and finally sets her back on her feet before crouching on all fours.]

Can't you just float in this costume? Come on, up on my shoulders, just watch out for the antlers.

[ I need an equivalent version of that really excited icon Axel has, because that's the face she's making at these instructions. Whoop, climbing up for a piggy back ride. ]

Will do. I'm not feeling being stabbed today.

[what a dork. once it feels like Lea's settled Isa straightens up, sort of. she's quite top heavy in this costume, and feels unsteady trying to be fully vertical. if that means gorilla-walking is where it's at, then so be it.

Isa and i are both thinking very hard about how when Isa was imagining having Lea's legs around her neck, this was not what she meant.]

Alright, where's the candy?

[ You're allowed to be a dork when you have a similarly ridiculous but also way cooler bff like she does. Things balance out. She doesn't take long to get settled, and she's still very much on fire despite the flames not hurting Isa, and her tail is trying to wrap around Isa's middle. Speaking of flames, she crosses the air and makes a little fire-arrow toward the direction of the town, and it vanishes shortly after. ]

That way. Watch out for the brats, just in case.

I'd like to see anyone try and mess with either of us.

[why do all my people who come here just immediately want to eat the shit kids? maybe i should bring this up with my therapist. Isa sets off toward the town, and it's really not very graceful at this speed, sort of a syncopated slow trot. it wouldn't be very graceful at higher speeds, to be fair, but no one would know because she'd probably only be moving that fast to kill something.]

Ehhh, I doubt they will. Doesn't mean we can't mess with them.

[ They are little shits and she remembers them being little shits, so, swapped or not swapped, she wouldn't have a problem harassing them. They won't show up, though. ]

Think about how much candy you could eat right now.

What if I explode from all the candy when my stomach goes back to a normal size after I leave this room?

[what will you do then, Lea. RIP your best friend died from eating Aeleus's body weight in candy and then returning to a normal human stomach size. candy would probably just explode from her in all directions, and then later someone would find Red scavenging it.]

[ Talk about things she never wanted to think about. It would be disgusting, but she's picturing something highly cartoonish. ]

Then you'd be a piñata.

[this place isn't huge, so they're almost there already. where is the candy and is Isa going to be able to fit in wherever it is, hm.]

I think that would involve someone hitting me with sticks before I explode. I hope that's not on the agenda for today.

[ Realistically there's candy everywhere because it's Halloween Town, but let's say there's a big cauldron full of it out in the square, close to the guillotine. ]

Don't look at me, I'm not the one suggesting explosions. For once. Look! Over there.

[ Gonna crawl forward a little (please don't tip over) so she can point in the right direction. This added height is sweet. ]

That feels like a trap, but again, I'd like to see someone try.

[oof. at least Isa has four extremities on the ground for stability, though she does arch her neck a little to keep Lea from just falling off. she's getting an eyeful of some really excellent and appreciated side/underboob from here, too.]

You're so suspicious of everything. I mean, it's justified here, but still. Place looks empty to me.

[ She is willing to take a chance on a cauldron full of candy. She'll wait until Isa stops moving to try to climb down, though. ]

[Isa nose has never been as good as Zexion's was, but it's better now than it is out of the costume. she doesn't smell anything that seems recent, anyway, so she moves closer to the cauldron and hunkers so Lea can get down.]

Looks don't mean much, but I think it's clear. We'll find out, I guess.

Guess we will.

[ Hup. She hops off and walk-floats over to the cauldron, leaning over it to get a good look. There are some creepy crawlies in there too, probably a couple small body parts as well, but the vast majority of it appears to be candy. ]

What're you after?

[she follows Lea and lowers her head to give the cauldron a sniff. don't mind her when she snorts suddenly and rears up because a centipede that has no business being as huge as it is just appeared.]

Uh. Nothing with wrappers, ideally. Find me some sour stuff.

I can just unwrap them for you.

[ What do we want, sour gummi worms? These are available. Lea eyes the centipede carefully, but otherwise doesn't react. Probably poisonous. ]

That sounds incredibly tedious for both of us.

[plz. how big is this cauldron, will Isa's big beast paw fit in it? what if Lea just picks out all the bugs and wrapped things and whatever she wants and then Isa can just upend the whole thing into her face.]