(no subject)

[drizzle]

Who: Nike Lemercier and Riku
Where: Somewhere semi-quiet with an open view of the sky.
When: Day 63 (backdated)
Open/Closed: Closed!

[The view of the sky above her was unlike anything that she has never seen before. It was literally filled with water and all kinds of sea life. There were all kinds of fishes, of all colors and sizes, along with sharks, jelly fish, sting rays, and much more. Even the coral and floral aspects of the ocean can be found above her head instead of below. She couldn't get enough of the view and fascination with the new world surrounding her.

Just like she couldn't get enough with the item being held gingerly in her posession, keeping it close to her body without blocking the view above them.]

You're so lucky to be from here! This world's sky is so beautiful. It is filled with so much life in every possible way imaginable while keeping its natural beauty in place. It's really clear like the sky and dazzling as the ocean floor of my world.

[A light rub will be given over the outer shell as a means for motivation for the unborn child to get excited of the world outside its egg. It's been a few days after the reconstruction that she was handed the item from the Palai. The reason behind always ached her heart, realizing her failure in properly protecting them.]

You know, I wonder if that guy got an egg too...?

[The one she refers to as "Hero". That boy with the rare hair color and beautiful eyes. She couldn't help allow his image to cross her mind for a single moment, knowing full-well that referring to his name may cause her to give him an accidental telepathic call. It was hard not to wonder about him after the speed dating shenanigans along with the battles they had to go through too. There was definitely underlying concern the longer she reflected and wondered about it. It was all the more reason that she asked him to meet her once he was done with any business he had with the Palai or anyone, for that matter. After all, she had an excuse to see him now that was beyond checking up on him -- she wanted to show him the egg.]

Comments

[shadowsthedawn]

I wanted adventure. [His gaze becomes unfocused as he thinks back, remembering the times before the Darkness and the Keyblade, when he had such a strong feeling like he was meant for so much more then living on the island his whole life. It had needed seemed like enough.] I wanted to see what the rest of the world looked like. Meet new people. Experience something different. Island life just felt so boring and predictable, the same people doing the same thing every day, over and over. I wanted...more.

[He'd wanted it so badly he had been willing to trade his island away for it. But he doesn't say it. He doesn't think he will ever stop feeling guilty for the things he did in the past, but he knows that he's not that person anymore. And he doesn't want to tell Nike anything that would make her think badly of him.

Not yet.]

Being in a different world isn't the problem. All I've done for the past couple years is jump between worlds. I know how to adapt to that. So I have plenty of experiences but none of them involve things like math or science or whatever else you learn in a classroom.

[Riku doesn't respond to her question immediately, mainly because he's playing back in his head all the fruitless conversations he's had with the Palai where he's tried to explain something. And...okay so maybe he did get a little 'lecture-y' but the Palai can make even Sora look like he's got a good attention span.]

Um...well...maybe?

[He listens intently to her explanation, but he can't say that it makes him view her parents in an improved light.] I still don't think that's right. So you were born differently from the rest of your family, that's not necessarily a bad thing. And you were able to learn to do the same things as them anyways, which shows that they didn't even want to give you a chance before casting you off. [And...okay maybe he should stop rubbing it in. He doesn't mean to, but if he ever gets the chance to meet her parents he's going to have some words for them.] But...I'm glad things worked out for you. Sacrifice isn't always a bad thing, it can help people become who they are. It can make them better.

[drizzle]

[It was interesting to listen to him talk about his desire for adventure. The way he talks about wanting to leave his island on his own free will instead of being forced to felt like a foreign concept to her. She has never thought about ever wanting to leave her island nor had any plans to. Not even when the wind and sky would tell her all types of interesting stories, it never motivated her in wanting to visit them. Could it be her and her family's connection to their world was the reason none of them ever had the desire to do anything other than remain in their home? Those simple desires of his intrigued her. Was it truly adventure or...?]

It sounds to me that you wanted freedom more than you wanted that sense of adventure. [All was said without a second thought. It's until she realizes she had spoken those thoughts out loud when she decides to bashfully add:] I-It's a really cool dream though. You're brave. In wanting to do that and even accomplishing it too. I don't think I would've ever been able to do that. Wanting to leave and all. I kinda envy it.

[To have him leave his island on his own, being his own decision, and desire was enviable. After all, it meant he had freedom and his own free-will. Something she lost three months ago after she was forced out of her country. One she never once had any desire to part away from. Once more her attention will be on the unborn child in her arms, realizing she had found one other reason against taking it with her.]

H-Huh!? [Okay, what was that about traveling to other worlds!? Did she hear him correctly? She really did, didn't she?] You're a world traveler too!? So then, when you said you were able to find a way out of your home, you didn't go to another country or something like that? [She had a lot of questions pertaining to that, but it was clear her mind was too blown away to ask. Instead she'll point out, while shaking her free hand.] ...I don't think any of those things are very important. I think you have a pass to forget all of that jargon.

[Just like he was given a free pass to continue speaking his mind. Somehow, she was beginning to notice an interesting trait he had, it was enough to get a genuine laugh out of her. Why was he reminding her so much of her grandmother? She couldn't help the urge to tease him.]

You really are an interesting guy! I never would've guessed that Hero had a nagging side to him. I'll have to be careful for now on. Although I wouldn't mind being at the receiving end of it... [No, seriously, she had clear interest in getting to see that side of his more often. It made her wonder if his fairness in treating others was the reason for it. She really wanted to get to know him better just for the chance on figuring him out. Her cheeks will begin to burn slightly as she decides to, well, open her heart a little to him for a quick moment.] Thank you for sticking up for me until the very end. It's...definitely a first for me. In having anyone do that. I only had Kitora and my grandmother on my side while everyone else had all lost hope in me. [There will be a pause as she considers her next words. How would he react to them? The true reason she had trained so hard.] The sky has always been my greatest supporter though. It never once abandoned me unlike everyone else. It was the only reason I decided to become a summoner. None of it was for my family or myself. It was to prove the deep love and gratitude I had for our connection. I became the best singer in my island once I defeated every single member of my family for the title. Even my sisters. I defeated all three at the same time.

[Although she admits it with a genuinely soft smile, it was clear none of that mattered to her, when the smile was filled with gratitude and affection, as it all meant for her precious sky back home. The one she was born and raised under. It was clear she cared about it more than anything else. Even if there was a different type of sky above her, one filled with water and all types of life, all she can see was the one from her home.]

[shadowsthedawn]

[Freedom. The suggestion takes him a bit by surprise, which his expression doesn't hide, but it soon wears off as he gives her words some thought. Maybe she's right. It's one thing to want to travel the world seeking adventure, and quite another to feel so trapped by your surroundings that anywhere seemed better. And that's how he had felt growing up on Destiny Island, trapped. Suffocated. Stranded. He had poured so much of his time and energy into building a boat because he just knew there had to be something more out there for him. Maybe what he had really wanted was assurance that the stretch of his island wouldn't become his whole life.]

Hmm. Maybe you're right. I ended up getting plenty of both; freedom and adventure. But it wasn't an easy journey. I probably wouldn't have made it through if it weren't for my friends. I don't think either one of them had felt the same desire to get away quite like I did, and then they both got dragged along for the ride. [He chuckles, the sound a mixture of fondness and bittersweet. A reminder that they've been separated from Kairi again as well. And she had been the one to see him through the Darkness.]

It...wasn't bravery. [While he may not be ready to tell her everything, he doesn't want her getting the wrong impression of him either. She might call him 'Hero', but he hasn't always been worthy of the title.] I was just so afraid of being stuck there, never living up to the potential I saw in myself. I wanted to be more. It was selfishness.

Ah. The world hopping hadn't been intended...the first time. My friends and I had just planned to sail until we found land. But some stuff happened and Sora and I found out that we're Keyblade successors. [He helpfully adds.] People who are charged with protecting all the worlds from harm. Qri...um...took my Keyblade though. [A fact that he is most salty about.]

[He makes a face at the suggestion that he's naggy. He is no-well, okay. You don't grow up being Sora's best friend without having to give a couple...dozen lectures. The guy really needs things to be spelled out sometimes.] I can't help it if they don't seem to get it the first couple times I explain things. Not everything is interesting to listen to, but that doesn't make it less important.

[When he hears about her beating her entire family he can't help but grin.] You sure showed them. I'm glad. That'll teach them to not look down on you for being different. And maybe if there are any other children born into your family that way, they'll be given equal treatment too.

[drizzle]

[It was difficult to interrupt him throughout his explanation just to add her own two cents about it. The way he spoke was honest while she felt there were details missing as well. Something she wasn't going to fault him for nor overly pry because it felt like he wasn't overly keen on telling her. Nike was content with the simple opportunity in getting to know him better. Learning more about the one she refers to as "Hero". There was a lot to fully take in, but she didn't miss a single detail.]

You have really good friends! For them to want to go on a journey alongside you, it isn't that you dragged them, it's because they wanted to be with you and share the same experiences you were going to go through. They wanted you to enjoy the journey you wanted to go on. I mean, you would've gone, even if they decided to not go along, right?

[No matter the struggles he must have gone through, after accidentally finding a way to world-hope, Nike wanted to believe in him. He wasn't a bad person. She didn't sense any malice from him. All she has notice about him was: he was carrying something heavy. Something about the way he was laughing, having put himself down several times, and looked so distant gave her that thought. What was he feeling now? She wanted to understand without him having to admit anything to her.]

Isn't that what people usually call ambition? There's nothing wrong in wanting more for your life than wanting to live a quiet one. It's okay to be afraid of the normalcy as much as the unknown too. No matter what choices you make, even the ones that are expected of you to follow because they're considered safer, can have an uncertain future. I still think it takes a lot of guts in trying to change your situation by taking a leap of faith without knowing the way everything will turn out! You could've always lied to yourself and given up, couldn't you?

[Although she says those things, Nike could tell her bias was bleeding through once more as she was now speaking from personal experience. Who was she to make those decisions for him? Somehow, she couldn't help want to defend him from himself. Something about the way he found to world-hop may be the source behind his feelings; otherwise he wouldn't keep that detail vague. If there was a reason for it, she wasn't going to pry, but instead she was going to point out.]

As you said, sacrifice isn't always a bad thing, it can help people become who they are. It can make them better.

[With a weak smile forming, Nike will get up from her seat, using her arm to cradle the egg while using her free hand to shake a finger a bit.]

Now you see what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a lecture? No one usually likes it, even if it is done for their own good. If you want people to listen and understand, you have to find a work around it.

[Holding onto the egg with both arms now, Nike will be reminded of her responsibilities when Riku mentions other children. The very thought of it will leave her thoughtful for reasons she doesn't wish to share. A piece of her wanted to pretend he never mentioned it. That's why she'll decide to.]

Well, if you really wanna congratulate me, why don't you help me look after this baby for just today? I may just treat you to hot chocolate if you do.

[Was she bribing him? Yes, yes, she was.]