seven flames ☆ six locks.

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[ If anyone happens to be taking a nice, relaxing walk along the Plane's beach, they might be privy to the SPLOOSH happening just off its shores. Roxas pops out moments later. He's also shirtless. At the moment, he seems to be looking from side to side for... something. ]

[Someone with dark hair-- apparently a redhead-- surfaces reluctantly a few feet away. It's Axel! He's shirtless, too, and a little more impressive than Roxas. His hair lays flat against his head until he shakes himself out like a dog, then it puffs back out again.] Oh man... here, too? I thought the castle's past was just a fluke.

[ Roxas paddles over with his hands, shrugging once he's closer. ] Looks like it wasn't. It's not so bad, though. At least there's some water around... and now we can get in as much practice as we need!

[Axel responds by sinking back into the water to his chin.] I don't need practice. I just want to get this over with and leave. Is that too much to ask?

Oh, come on, Axel! Ariel needs some distraction, right? It's the least we could do! [ Then, he does something like an aquatic backflip, showing off that nice, awesome... fish tail? Well, to be more precise, it's closer to a killer whale tail. When his head pops back out of the water again, Mr. Voiced By Jesse McCartney opens his mouth, and... ]

♪ Swim this way, we'll dance and we'll play now,
It's very— ♫

[Nice fins. But now that Axel is above water, it means he can toss a teeny fireball in Roxas' general direction.] Singing wasn't on the contract!

[ PFFFBBBT Roxas ducks under the water momentarily to shake off the fireball, then reappears. ] What about helping a friend?

Comments

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know. People leave stuff around. [Maleficent is so bad about keeping her stuff organized.]

There was someone they called the Sage on this world, and they looked up to him a lot. His name was Ansem the Wise... When it was clear that the worlds were in trouble, though, he was powerless except for one thing. He knew that the seventh Princess of Heart was on his world, so he sent her to find the Keyblade Master. Everyone's hearts are connected, you know? So it worked.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She's... not entirely sure why he's telling this story, and her eyes narrow a little as she tries to think through all of what he's said.]

That... would be me. And Roxas. So that's how that happened... But, where is it? Where did I...?

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[Because he might not have another chance.

... C'mon, Axel, don't think like that--]

It's called Hollow Bastion. It's a real nice place, even though it's kind of a wreck right now... They're rebuilding it. Lots of Roxas' friends came from there.

Oh, and the sunsets are almost as good as Twilight Town's.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[Her eyes go wide.]

Hollow Bastion? That's where...

[She takes a moment to think back to her most recent memory of Hollow Bastion, of when Roxas... She shakes her head sharply and returns to the present, though she's still deep in thought, gaze focused downward on the sand and the water.]

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Makes a weird kind of sense, huh?

Someday, you should get Roxas to take you there. Not to the castle, but to see the city. You'd like it.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She shakes her head sharply again, wading a bit further out into the water so she can get closer to Axel, not caring one bit that her dress is getting wet.]

Not just Roxas. You can come with us.

[And once she's beside him, she gives him a small, honestly grateful smile, and a hug around the neck.]

Thank you for telling me. [He can't see it -- and she's going to try to keep it that way -- but she's getting a little bit teary-eyed.]

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[Axel's eyes widen as she simply wades over and hugs him. He stumbles over his words. It hurts, knowing the truth... knowing that he can't come back. But he's gotta keep up appearances. He's gotta see this through.

After all, he's the one who started it.]

Y... you're welcome. [He smiles a little bit and hugs back. Even when he's been swimming, his grip is warm and gentle but strong, just like a big brother's should be.] Just a little longer. Okay? Just a little longer. Don't be giving up on us already.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[Naminé pushes her tears away before she smiles up at him again.]

I'm not giving up. I don't think I could, even if you asked me to.

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[... He might be blushing a little at that. F-ffffff.]

I like to think I'm a dependable sort of guy.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

You always have been.

[And after she's gotten a hold of herself and is no longer about to start crying again, she asks:]

What's the town around Hollow Bastion like, anyway?

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[He waits patiently, of course.]

It has lots of little shops. Even a Moogle or two. Oh, and Merlin has a house that's fairly normal.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

[She starts trying to picture the town in her mind's eye, her physical gaze eventually ending up cast over the ocean as a result with a tiny, curious smile.]

How big is it? Are there a lot of people?

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

[So cute, Nami.]

It's pretty big. The town's starting to fill up now. Most of them got stuck in Traverse Town when the world got taken over by the Heartless.

[breathenothing.livejournal.com]

Well, at least they ended up somewhere safe. How long do you think it'll take to rebuild?

[smolderingdark.livejournal.com]

At this rate, it shouldn't take too long. It's the castle that needs most of the fixing up. They have a pretty snappy security system that zaps any Heartless that appear.