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. ]

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[well, Isa could kiss it better. not right now, but in theory, i guess. she brings the candy bag up so Lea can take it, and then sets her down carefully because they're basically at the door. u go first, friend.]

[ She eyes the door, then Isa, then makes a little flicking motion with her hand. ]

You go first.

[what, no. what if Isa gets stuck in the doorway? what if something else changes about her costume and/or she goes berserk or something? no, out of the question. she shakes her head and then punctuates it by bumping Lea with her muzzle again, more aggressively than before.]

[ Lea sighs, and adjusts the bag of candy so it's tossed over one shoulder, Santa-style. It's a rare instance where Isa gets to see the look she gives the kids. Not the normal one, where she's a total woobie and does whatever they ask, but the one where she actually feels determined and doesn't want to budge. Because it's important to her. ]

No way. I don't trust this place, I'm not budging until you're out there and safe.

[goddammit. they're both so stubborn, but that's also really sweet, in light of everything, so Isa grumbles in annoyance and shambles over to the door. hmm, looks like her torso and the arms will be the hardest part, assuming she doesn't just change back from having a small part of herself back in the hall. nope, she tests that, and nothing happens. hopefully there's no one else around who will see this monster hauling itself out of Halloween Town. that is basically what she's doing, sticking her head (which briefly gets caught because of the antlers) and arms through, and then twisting around to get her ribcage to fit. she ends up on her ass in the hall, and there are some more terrible gross noises from all the extra parts and the fur sloughing off and disappearing into nothing. her skull going back to the right shape makes some bad sounds also, and once everything's settled she flops back to lay on the floor.]

[ She can grumble all she wants, but Lea knows Isa secretly likes that trait of hers. (Lea thinks it's just being determined about protecting people she cares about, but everyone else should know it's really just because her friends are the most important thing to her. She tries so hard to be badass and self-serving and favoring her own survival, but she was the one that blew herself up for it.)

She follows out as soon as Isa's back to normal, and her change is way less dramatic - it just burns away as she steps through the door, with her tail disappearing the same way smoke appears when you blow out a candle. It smells a little like the aftermath of such a thing, too. She steps over quickly and crouches down near Isa's upper half, looking satisfied but also concerned. ]

You okay?

Yes.

[this is a lie, it nearly always has been when she's been asked that question, and also she winced after she said it. now she's scrunching up her face to make sure everything's where it should be. she has a headache tbh but Lea doesn't need to know that.]

Why don't I believe that?

[ Lea automatically flops to sit down next to her, because if Isa's not ready to go they can chill on the floor for a bit. Also she closed the door, but I forgot to mention that. ]

Maybe you have trust issues.

[and that's a joke, hahaha. she is indeed going to chill on the floor for a couple of minutes, though she raises one arm to feel along the underside of it. that shit with the arms was weird, and hurt.]

Nahhh, not me.

[ She waits a beat, then flops down to lay beside Isa. These two are just going to be laying on each other in some form or another for the next three weeks, let's be real. Also this way she can rest a hand on Isa's closer arm, simply for casual contact. ]

[Isa tips her head to the side so she can bump it against Lea's shoulder. she'd rather be back in bed doing this but she needs to rest for a minute and get her shit together.]

Nothing about your costume hurts, right?

Only if you pull on the tail.

[ She says it jokingly, though. ]

Yours did, huh?

I didn't think I pulled that hard, and yes, but only the second part of it.

[she sighs a little. she's still not entirely used to how this place likes to dick people over for no reason.]

The second transformation or the turning back?

[ She figures it's probably both... Lea doesn't get it as bad as other people, like Riku, but she's not surprised by it anymore. ]

Both, but more the transformation part.

[oof, sitting up now. something in her spine just popped, but it's fine.]

[ Hm. Lea raises her legs up and uses them to balance herself up, rolling onto her feet and then offering both hands out to Isa. The candy bag is left on the ground, for now. ]

Come on. Time for a hot bath.

[Isa's brain just did the record scratch thing, but most of her thoughts manifest so subtly on her face it's probably not apparent. she takes Lea's hands and gets to her own feet, stooping for the candy bag once she's up.]

Not that I'm complaining, but I thought I was taking care of you today.

[ Like you're not also sad the kids aren't here, and didn't just get harassed by the DR. She won't say that though. Instead... ]

Gives me something to do. I was gonna get the candy, jeez.

[shhh. Isa slings the bag over one shoulder and keeps the other hand tangled with Lea's. also that was barely harassment, it just hurt briefly and was otherwise pretty cool.]

Too late. Gotta move faster than that.

[ Baw, she can't toss an arm over her shoulder like this. But that's fine, holding hands is surprisingly nice. Or maybe it's just because it's her. ]

Fiiine. Can't eat it all on the way home.

[ Hopefully it won't take them long. Now she's thinking about how it is home, and their home, even more now. ]

You were alone for a while there. How was it?

I wasn't alone too much, actually. I spent a lot of time over at Kai's keeping Axel company, and I took care of Riku's dog and Nami's whole menagerie.

[haha, thwarted. mostly she avoided being alone like the plague, she's had enough of that shit for one lifetime.]

Do we need to get a pet now?

[ She's joking. Serein is precious though, and Lea will roll around on the floor with her. She's glad Isa wasn't sitting alone in the apartment too much. It's upsetting to think about. ]

Maybe. Maybe something'll find us, that seems to be mostly how it works around here.

[and then they got home and there was a dog waiting for them. /no. /maybe later, after they've had some time to be lesbians.]

That could be anywhere from days to years. What do you imagine when you think of a pet destined to be mine?

[ Are you worried yet, Isa? She kind of wants to grab more candy out of the bag, but that would require breaking this handhold, and it feels more important right now. ]

A parrot that spends 75% of its time screaming.

[no, not really, the deadpan should say that much. Lea hasn't been egregiously loud and obnoxious in years, despite efforts to the contrary. Isa would be like ????? if she knew what Lea was thinking, because whyfor the extra touchy and pampering.]