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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[ Oh, those dorks. She leans against his shoulder so she can look better. She's happy about all of that too, and they are nice photos. ]

I will. Or maybe to Isa first. She'll know when Lea needs them better than me.

Yeah, true. She'll appreciate them too, I know they both mean a lot to her now, Xion especially.

[god, it's so weird seeing a Roxas, there aren't nearly as many around as there used to be, and he still doesn't think of his ever. and he has to wonder if Xion would've happened in some form back on his world, eventually.]

I forgot about Xion when I went back. I could sort of remember? But not his name.

[ Probably. It seems like a good setting for the kind of weird shit origin Xion had, to be honest. Riku... is just glad Axel hasn't said anything about Sora yet. ]

It's so weird to see them all together.

[he's got your back, Riku, he knows better than that. and that's about what i've got for Xion, the norts and Saix mostly remembered once he was back among them, but Xion didn't remember hardly anything, and everyone else had whatever wisps of memory Lea was working with.]

Weird but good. They all look really happy, I'm glad they had that time together.

Me too. They deserved more than what they got, but... I don't really hope anyone else shows up here.

[ Roxas, Sora, Xion, they all deserve not to have to put up with this place. Besides, they're so much younger. It would be weird. ]

I'm glad they had it.

And you too, all that time with people. A lot of people, but at least most of them were already friends.

[look man don't talk to him about ages, we've been over this. time is a mystery that he chooses not to think about most of the time.]

What? Most of my friends are here these days.

[ Stop it, don't act like this was super important for her!! It was just going back 'home' to do what she had to do, right? Things are good now. Fuck Xigbar. ]

I know that, not friends like here but people you're familiar with and don't mind spending time with. Like Mickie!

[you stop, he's being nice and not being like "so how was it being around Sora again for all this" because he's not that guy, he doesn't do that to her. but it was clearly some pretty climactic shit that was super important in general, and she's allowed to be affected by it being over and having experienced it. don't make him say all that, Riku. B( he's resting his chin in his hand now, and giving her that pretty specific look that says he's not buying her shit but he's not calling her out on it either.]

[ Fuck. Her poker face is good but it's not that good. She's so transparent for her friends, it's really pitiful. She stares back at him until breaking the eye contact with a flustered huff to put more meat on the grill. She's decently satisfied as far as hunger goes, but she's not full yet. ]

I know, I get it. It was good seeing them again, without all the... dressing room nonsense. Getting to relax and hang out without having to worry about everything. Be normal. It was... weird. It—

[ God dammit. She wasn't this flustered before. She's going to rest her forehead on the table. ]

I should just let Hachibi tell you and get it over with.

What...?

[he spaces out a little to listen to Hachibi for a second, and then sort of goes "oh, pff" under his breath and gets some more meat off the grill.]

What's the big deal, I don't get it.

Right, there is no big deal.

[ God. They're both just dicks and Riku's having an internal crisis again. Low-key. ]

I can see why there is, but it's fine, no one'll hear it from me.

[he reaches over to pat her shoulder. he's not a dick, okay, he's an excellent friend with a chill way of looking at things.]

[ She looks so grumpy and flustered but she really did just want to get it out of the way, now she's leaning against Axel and putting most of her weight on him, just because she's embarrassed. ]

I know.

[aww. well in that case he'll put one of his noodle arms around her and smooch the top of her head. it okay, friend.]

Here, have some more sausage, that'll fix it.

Fix what.

[ Now she's being obstinate on purpose. She will take that sausage though, which is nice and charred to the point of crunch on the outside. ]

I dunno, whatever problem there might or might not be in here. Maybe the problem is just that you need to eat more sausage.

[nerd. he'll have some too, it's nummy.]

...is this a dirty joke.

[ Just asking, since she's licking grease off of her fingertips at the same time. ]

You'd know that better than I would.

[wink wonk. he certainly doesn't need to eat more sausage, but here we are.]

You're right, it's been a while.

[ The most deadpan, fake-ass sarcasm ever. ]

Hachibi mentioned ice cream earlier.

Oh, good idea. We can head over there whenever you're ready, you know I could just sit here forever and eat meat otherwise.

[he will, in preparation for this, put everything left that hasn't already been cooked on the grill, because yes.]

As much as I'd like to, I wouldn't have any room left.

[ She has eaten a lot though. More than she thought she would. Guess she really was hungry. She drops her chin into her hand to watch the grill though, because that's kind of funny. ]

[listen, food is not allowed to go to waste around him, this is known.]

There's gotta be somewhere around here that could replace your legs with hollow ones like mine.

[ Yeah but all of it, right at the mention of leaving this place? Still funny. ]

You mean being a werewolf isn't good enough?

Nah. And actually it's not that I have more room for food, it's that I digest it so fast. Maybe some day the dressing room'll body swap us for longer than a day so you can see what it's really like.

[he's already getting the last couple of ribs off the grill, like they're in some sort of hurry here.]

I— Maybe? Hopefully not. I like staying in my own body.

[ Nothing personal, Axel. Wow those are barely hot, c'mon. ]