voice; seelie

[midnighthero]

Apparently I've been sleeping for a long time.

[ Not that he really remembers falling asleep... but if waking up in an unfamiliar bed with a familiar friend sleeping half-sprawled out on top of him is any indication, he's certainly been asleep. And based on the date, it's been for a while.

Luckily, as unnerving as an extended sleep is, there doesn't appear to be any Xehanort here to take advantage of that. A sleep was all it was. ]

I'm still trying to catch up on everything I missed while I was asleep. I know more people arrived to the court, but what's going on with all these war preparations? Did something happen?

Comments

audio

[undeterrable]

There's been a call to arms, but I don't think anything's happened yet. It's just basic preparations so far.

[At least as far as he knows. He hasn't heard anything but he's been hanging around down in Leathann for some of the last week.]

Sora weighs a ton. I had to drag him away from you by throwing him over my shoulder.

[Just sayin'.]

audio

[midnighthero]

Good to hear. I wouldn't be too happy if things had fallen apart while I was sleeping.

[ That's Sora's job, after all! Riku gives a half-voiced snort at Terra's comments about his friend, shaking his head. ]

I'm not surprised to hear you had to drag Sora off. When I woke up he was half-sprawled across the bed.

I'm pretty sure he was drooling on me.

audio

[keybearing]

Hey! Hey, you guys know I'm right here and can hear you both.

[Yes, this is him butting in and pouting at the both of them, mainly Riku, knowing his friend is just messing with him because he can and Sora is right there next to him. There may or may not be a half-hearted punch at Riku's shoulder for the drooling comment. Bff you don't need to tell everyone that, okay?]

audio

[undeterrable]

We know, Sora.

[There's a chuckle from Terra's end that may or may not sound similar to someone else Sora knows, but it's light hearted enough that he might think it's not.]

To be fair I've had the same done to me from Ven. A little wash will get the drool out, trust me.

audio

[midnighthero]

[ Riku's laughing too, pushing back at Sora. Like he's really going to miss the chance to tease him! ]

Yeah, it's not the first time something like this has happened. It sounds like the two of them are a lot alike.

audio

[keybearing]

[Sora is about to pout and push right back when he's distracted, head tilting slightly as he listens. He might vaguely recall Terra, seeing him with Riku ten years ago, meeting Aqua, but Ven isn't quite a name or face he immediately recalls. For the moment, it's enough to distract him from the teasing and mentions of drool, at least.]

Ven?

audio

[undeterrable]

You're telling me. I think one time I walked in there to check on you two and there was a puddle on your chest.

[He snorts and shakes his head before answering Sora, tactfully leaving out a few key things that he doesn't really want to talk about over locket.]

Ven's been training with me and Aqua for a while now.

audio;

[dreamcatcher]

You've been asleep?

( what does that mean? Emma has been sleeping plenty herself, she definitely didn't lose that much time. she has an inkling of what he means, thanks to Kenny, she'd just like a confirmation, and— )

There's someone here that knows you, I think. Sora? Did he catch up with you?

audio;

[midnighthero]

Seems that way. The last thing I remember is the banshees all screaming at once--and then I was waking up here.

Sora's apparently been here a lot of that time. He was here when I woke up.

[dreamcatcher]

Why would that put you to sleep?

( weird... Emma tries to shake it off, though. )

I'm glad you found each other. He was worried about you.

[midnighthero]

Who knows? It wasn't exactly a bedtime lullaby, that's for sure.

[ His tone lightens as he responds to her other words. ]

And thanks. I can't say I'm happy he wound up here too, but if he had to wind up here, I'm glad it's somewhere I can keep an eye on him.

[dreamcatcher]

( that gets a wry laugh. she's helped enough Banshees now to know that yeah, not the sort of sound that puts you to sleep. )

I know the feeling. Someone from home showed up for me, too, and I missed him but it's hard to think of him being in a war.

[midnighthero]

Someone you know showed up too?

[ He isn't sure whether he should be glad the two of them could be reunited, or unhappy that he's been brought to a war zone. ]

Who was it?

voice.

[nibelheims]

[ you get the same question again, riku, but color cloud curious. the war in this world might not yet be at its peak, but more often than not people lose sleep thanks to growing conflict. ]

Sleeping? Not the best time for that.

voice.

[midnighthero]

You don't have to tell me that. [ Especially not with everything that had just happened during the Mark of Mastery exam. ] It wasn't exactly by choice.

[ That voice... it sounds familiar. ]

Is this... Cloud?

voice.

[nibelheims]

Magic then. [ better to double-check than to straight up assume magic was at play. but he's rather glad to hear it be the case, even if it's something to be wary of.

before he can comment on it further though, cloud falls silent on the other end. huh. ]

So you know me as well.

voice.

[midnighthero]

I guess.

[ Cloud's other statement is a little tougher to respond to. ]

Not really. I knew of you. But I don't think we've ever actually met.

I take it you've met other people here that know you too?

[ He hopes that he and Zack have met up, at least. ]

voice.

[nibelheims]

[ cloud isn't exactly sure what to make of that, and whether it means this kid is from the same world as him, or yet another one. that at least makes answering the second part easier. ]

Yes, a kid named Sora, for one. [ and zack, indeed, but that was... complicated. ]

voice.

[midnighthero]

[ He can probably hear a quiet snort of amusement from the other side. ]

Sora's already run into you? That's not surprising.

[ If there's one thing Sora's good at, it's making--and then finding--friends. ]

I'm Riku. Sora and I grew up together.

[Voice]

[prissykid]

Good to see you're awake, now.

[Hey, Riku, did you miss him?]

We're to make battle preparations. In my experience with this sort of thing, that generally means we're about to clash with the Unseelie some time soon in the next month, barring surprise attacks. Our soldiers are assembling at the Cathraon.

[Voice]

[midnighthero]

[ You know actually he did? It's been a while since he's heard from Joshua--it's a welcome comment. ]

Yeah. The last thing I want to do is sleep through everything.

[ That's Sora's gig.

Riku frowns slightly at the locket at Joshua's update. After the past couple of months he's not so sure about the entire fighting-the-Unseelie thing. He still feels like he doesn't have enough information, nor is he even really sure the Unseelie are actually his enemy. But on the other hand, if the monarchs have ordered them all to prepare, it's probably not a great idea to ignore it. The battle will happen whether he's ready for it or not. ]

I guess if we're supposed to be preparing for battle I should get down to the training grounds and see what I can do to help.

[Voice]

[prissykid]

That would be most unfortunate, and perhaps not the best sleep you'll ever have. Magical comas seem to be no different from regular ones.

[Joshua shrugs noncommittally, looking unconcerned about the whole thing.]

That choice is yours to make. The medics are always understaffed when a battle comes, if you've any talent for healing, but I can't deny that there are green soldiers in need of training.

[There's a slight pause.]

I myself am deciding whether I'm going to be an active participant or not in that battle.

[Voice]

[midnighthero]

[ He can certainly heal. Riku's lucky in that his Cure magic was the only magic he's retained at full capacity. But the idea of hanging back while others fight on the front line... even though he knows that he'd be helping, that healing people's injuries is absolutely something... he doesn't like it. After all, hadn't he once told Terra that he wanted to find the strength to protect his friends? How can he sit back in safety while the rest of them are going out and fighting?

No. Even if he's unsure, he can't--he won't--sit back and wait. If he can protect other people from getting hurt, then that's what he has to do. ]

I can't just sit back while everyone else is fighting. Not when people are going to get hurt.

[ He can understand why other people might make a different choice from his. But his choice is an easy one. ]

[Voice]

[prissykid]

[Joshua nods, just once.]

It's your choice. Oh, after the battle, why don't we get together for tea?

[He's not saying it and likely won't ever say it, but Riku going into what may be his first battle in which the likelihood of him being forced to kill a person is very high? Josh is actually concerned for his well-being in the aftermath of that. Covering that up with a tea-time discussion is ideal for him.]

I'm also training with Merida for the next step in using my shard, so give me some time with that, and we'll see if you want to continue training with me.

[Voice]

[midnighthero]

Tea?

[ He's. Never really been a big drinker of tea, honestly. But... ]

Sure, that sounds good.

I've learned a little bit about our shards since you taught me how to activate mine. Once, they were used to fight battles inside people's minds. Shard magic could be used to alter memories, too.

What's the next step after activation?