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

Thanks.

[ She knows. She has her own, and they're not small pieces at all. This is great, having buddies she can just gorge on meat with. Not that she can't with Red, but that's different. ]

[all i have to respond to that with is something something eating out something Riku's meat. or Red's, whichever.]

Oh, here, Axel's finally awake on his own.

[and bam, just like that they've switched. he's not gone, at least. Axel immediately yawns and rubs at his face, only slightly disoriented from his nap.]

[ God! That's so rude, even if he's not gone. Riku blinks at him a few times, then reaches over for another piece of delicious chicken and offers it to Axel this time, directly in front of his face. ]

Morning.

I'm full of meat already, how long have we been here?

[nomp. mmmmmm. full is an overstatement, he's nowhere close. also Hachibi says what, is he supposed to say goodbye or something when he's not really leaving?]

A while. You're nowhere near "full", Axel.

[ She'll set the chicken down on his plate since he's being a butt. Also yeah, he could!! ]

[he's not being a butt, he's eating the food that was offered to him. :( ]

Figure of speech. This is really good.

[hmmm why is Hachibi doing that little laugh that he only does when he knows something Axel doesn't.]

[ Oh oops. That's what you get at 8am.

Riku wouldn't be able to answer that question for him, by virtue of not being able to hear Hachibi anymore. ]

Thanks. This place is really good. Why don't we come here more often?

Because too much of a good thing kind of spoils it after a while?

[he puts a couple of ribs on the grill and immediately gets huffed at inside his head for ruining good food.]

Oh, he says I need to try the sauce, because he can't appreciate it.

[ Riku, a werewolf who regularly engages in overindulgence, would argue that his first point doesn't apply to her. But she's distracted by the other thing, and snorts a laugh. ]

He's right. Here—

[ The proper way to have sauce here is to put it on the meat while it's grilling. Give her a few minutes. ]

I think he's full of shit about not appreciating it, he just doesn't want to admit that there's something out there as good or better than raw meat. Ow, you bitch.

[ever been kicked in the head from the inside, Riku? he'll just rest his cheek on his hand and sulk a little while she does her thing. what babies, both of them, honestly.]

Can you both not fight at the table? You're right anyway or he wouldn't be kicking up a fuss.

[ Utterly deadpan, but she knows how funny she is. They are babies. Smell how delicious this garlic sauce is, come on. Also she probably shouldn't taunt someone who now has significant secrets leverage over her, and yet. ]

[it's fine, Hachibi's sulking too, because he knows Axel's right too but absolutely will not ever admit it except maybe secretly to Kai someday. also it's unfortunate Riku's never seen the times Axel had to like, go stick his head under running water to get Hachibi to back off and quit being a noisy douche.]

I'm not fighting, he is. That smells really good.

Right?

[ The best part is how the sauce caramelizes in the heat. So good. ]

We had a good conversation while you were napping, so I hope he doesn't spoil it by being grumpy.

He tried to let me see photos, but I wasn't through sleeping. I'm glad you had a good talk though.

[he's gonna eat one of these ribs while Riku's finishing her stuff. he could almost go for some fries, but why waste space on potato when there is only meat.]

[ Carbs are delicious, is why. ]

Oh yeah. Do you want to see them now?

[ Her phone is still on the table, she can easily unlock it. ]

Yeah! I wanna see what everyone looks like, I've only had my imagination until now.

[for all these ladies, he means, not the people in general, obviously. especially Sora, it's been ages since there was a girl Sora around here, same with girlxas.]

[ Why is everyone fixated on Sora!! Whatever. She drops the utensils she was using to flip the chicken (chopsticks? probably) and moves her hand to unlock the phone. The gallery is still up, presumably, unless Hachibi closed out of it. ]

Here, go nuts.

[because he/she's cute!!! he grabs a napkin to wipe his hands on, especially since he's been touching raw meat with them, and then takes the phone in both hands to start browsing. he doesn't really linger on anything the way Hachibi did, but anything with Kai and/or Nami gets a soft, happy smile. once he gets into the ones of the former Organization he looks a lot more interested, and then:]

Oh, wow, Aeleus is uh.

[thicc? a Big Girl? taller than him, probably.]

Intimidating.

Something like that. We haven't really talked.

[ Why would they, honestly. Although neither one of them seems to hold a grudge for their fight back in Castle Oblivion, or the results of it.

Moving this piece of chicken over to your plate now, Axel. ]

[o thx. gonna munch on that, taking a few seconds to really savor it and enjoy it.]

Not surprising, I guess. And I see Dilan looks like as much of an asshole as Xaldin ever was.

I— what? Linda, Axel.

[ What kind of woman is named Dilan. Thank you for taking the time to enjoy the meat, though. ]

[the regular kind? what kind of woman is named Even? what kind of name is Aeleus or Ienzo, period? he just stares at her in disbelief for a moment before snorting with laughter and resting his head on the table to look sideways at whatever photo's currently on the screen.]

No wonder she looks mad all the time, if that's true.

[ Here she is, rolling her eyes at him, resting her chin across her knuckles. This is what happens when most of them are fantasy names and then you have Dilan, unfortunately. ]

... She does look like that.

[true story, Dilan's not going to be around much in my fic because i have zero idea what she would do besides snark at everyone and have scientific input from time to time. o shit, his other rib is still on the grill. good thing he likes charcoal also, even though it's not as good as perfectly cooked meat. gonna eat this sideways, he's feeling lazy. still scrolling through pictures:]

I— hm. Oh. He says you two already talked about Even.

[he was a little slower to notice than Hachibi, but he got there in the end.]

[ Needs more sausage on the grill (as if she hasn't been cooking this entire time) and now she's eating a slice of raw beef and taking a sip of water. ]

Mm. Why, what were you going to say?