Open Interaction Post!

[chakramkeyblade]

[Permanent, open interaction post for Lea (and Axel). Let me know if you'd prefer me to do a starter, or just jump in with whatever!]

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[melodiouspacifist]

"Yeah, I guess that's true!" He relaxed a little. How well did they really know each other? They hadn't been themselves.

"Ice cream huh?" He nodded. "Sounds pretty good. What kind do you have around here?"

It was a lot more difficult to hide things with a heart and he was oblivious to triggering any interest in Lea. He wouldn't have thought so, he was just passing through, right?

[chakramkeyblade]

"Sea salt." He grinned as he nodded toward old Scrooge's perpetually ice-covered stand, paying out for the two light blue ice cream bars, handing one off to Myde. "Go on. Try it."

He took a bite of his own, the salty sweetness melting on his tongue. Any time he was in a down mood, this was the surefire cure. No reason it wouldn't work for the guy he knew as Demyx the entire time he'd known him. Technically it worked with any flavor, but sea salt was nostalgic.

[melodiouspacifist]

He took the bar, trying to remember if he'd had it before. He gave up and just took a bite, letting it melt on his tongue. "Hey, that's good!"

Myde smiled at him and savoured it. It was sweet and delicious. It did help lift his mood a little.

"Thanks Ax-Lea." It would probably take getting used to. "I was hungry."

[chakramkeyblade]

He snorted. "If you're hungry, ice cream's not going to hold you out for long."

Lea took another bite and leaned against the wall of the little shop, appreciating the cold on his back in the hot day. "Me and Isa used to get this stuff all the time when it was summer. It was part of being friends." He stared off into the marketplace, distant, his heart aching at the memory. Sometimes having it back hurt worse than having it gone. "...You realize Xemnas lied to us, right? About what it meant to be a Nobody?"

[melodiouspacifist]

"Oh yeah? Friends huh...?" Myde mused lightly, sounding thoughtful. He took another bite. "Hmm, I don't remember what I used to get up to back then."

Myde frowned at the mention. Of course he did, and he'd fallen for it. Completely.

"I don't know much about that." He said lightly, playing dumb. Old habits died hard.

[chakramkeyblade]

He knew. The keyblade, whatever it had done to him... He could pick up on so many things, connect to other people on a level he'd never thought possible. Sora had taken to it like a glove. Lea still found it slightly disturbing. But hey, he wanted the thing, and it had come to him. He has to run with it. All of it.

"You do know," he said. "You knew the minute you woke up, didn't you."

[melodiouspacifist]

Keyblade insight was working against him at the moment. Myde sighed softly. "Yeah. I know. He lied. Should I be surprised?"

He couldn't keep all the anger out of his tone. That stupid, stupid kid.

[chakramkeyblade]

The main square was too crowded at the moment. Lea took another bite of his ice cream before gesturing to a more secluded spot. An alley that was blocked off, the district beyond currently being renovated. They needed to talk...and he needed to say some things, too. He'd been such a jerk, as Axel...

"He lied to all of us. Except Xigbar. I think that weasel knew the whole time..." He settled his back against the wall again. "And we all fell for it. Xemnas...Xehanort... Whatever he calls himself, he's a monster. We were kids, you know? Who says that to a bunch of kids?"

[melodiouspacifist]

A blocked off alley. Myde was a little nervous following him, honestly. He did though, nibbling at the ice cream.

They had all been jerks, even Demyx. It came without remorse.

"Look, I, I know he did it. Doesn't change the fact I believed him. I just..." He'd been a stupid kid. "He is a monster and I followed him." To the end, loyal to a fault. What did that make him?

[chakramkeyblade]

"You weren't the only one." He finished the last bite, holding the empty stick for now. "Don't kick yourself like that, man. I know it's hard. And I...didn't exactly help. But it wasn't your fault."

He didn't say that he partially blamed himself for what had happened. If he hadn't been caught when he and Isa went in the second time...

"...You still play, right? You've got Arpeggio with you, so..."

[melodiouspacifist]

"Not anyone's fault, I guess. But I think of what I did to get my heart back..." He shook his head mildly disgusted. That had been true, he never wanted to be evil.

At the mention of his sitar, he smiled. "Yeah, I still play...about all I can do." He shifted. No, he hadn't found his place back in the world yet.

[chakramkeyblade]

"That's good." He smiled. "It means you're still you. Even after everything that happened. You know what I think? I think on some level, you knew something was up. That's why you never wanted to do anything."

Lea hesitated. Should he...? If Myde wanted to do something good, he couldn't blame him. He felt the same way. The need to do something, anything, just to try to make up for the horrible things he'd done. Well, only one way to find out.

"Y'know... Sora and his group are more welcoming than you might think. They took me in, what does that tell you?" He shrugged, a nonchalant gesture, like it was a completely natural thing to suggest teaming up with the kid who'd solidly whipped them all in fights. "We could use someone like you. We're going after Xehanort. And getting Isa back."

[melodiouspacifist]

Myde smiled a little bit at that, he tilted his head curiously. "Still me, yeah, I guess. I mean I really do love music."

"I...knew a lot." He admitted. "By the end...I knew what I was walking into."

He snorted at that. "Me? I'm not strong, and Sora killed me. I am not sure you're right about that Lea."

[chakramkeyblade]

"Just because your body's not strong doesn't mean your heart isn't." He nudged Myde's shoulder. "You can do things with that sitar that makes people without hearts sit around to listen. That's pretty impressive. You've got quite a bit of light in you. ...And...Sorry. For treating you the way I did."

He tentatively stretched out his arm, flexing his fingers. It was all in the wrist, right? The warmth was there, building, like he was reaching out for an old friend. "I don't know about you, but I plan to make up for a lot of things. I missed out on ten years... I guess I don't really know who I am now, either. But I want to make up for everything I did. And I owe it to Isa to try."

[melodiouspacifist]

"You...think that's impressive?" He sounded genuinely surprised. He'd been teased a lot about his weapon and his flighty ways. It didn't bother him that much, sitars weren't for violence after all.

"I wasn't much nicer. You don't need to be sorry."

He nodded suddenly, eyes wide. Yes. Exactly. He'd missed out on much of his life and had no idea who he was supposed to be or how to go about doing it.

"Can I really make up for it though?" He mused softly.

[chakramkeyblade]

He made the last mental push, the keyblade manifesting in a rapid burst of light. The sun glinted through the translucent blade, casting yellow and orange onto his white shirt. "Dunno. But it couldn't hurt to try, right? I mean...if I can be chosen by a keyblade, who knows what you can do, right?"

[melodiouspacifist]

"You got a keyblade?" He asks, suitably impressed. Myde moved closer to peer at it carefully, holding out his hand like he might touch it.

"That's amazing, really...I'm not..."

[chakramkeyblade]

He caught the motion out of the corner of his eye and smiled. Lea adjusted his grip, angling the blade down, bringing it closer to Myde's curious hand.

"I should warn you. You take a keyblade in your hand, you're destined to one day have one of your own. That means all the responsibility that comes with it. But if you're really meant to have one, you'll have one. Up to you if you're committed to that."

[melodiouspacifist]

"What did you do, grab someone's?" He asked, amused at the idea, but it made him hesitate.

"Why would you think I could? I hate fighting... I don't do responsible, I can't be destined for that.*

Yet, the diligence he had to music, to practicing his instrument... He had potential. It was just a matter of applying in a way he liked.

[chakramkeyblade]

He laughed. "You can't steal someone's keyblade! It doesn't work that way." Lea touched his chest, over his heart. "They come from here. Something that's yours, and yours alone." Just the sight of the blade itself confirms that. His chakram is there, the old emblem on the toys he played with when he was a kid. Something so intrinsically him that it even carried the warmth that had always clung to Axel's body.

"And hey...sometimes you have to fight, even if you don't like it. Xehanort's out there. He's trying to force us to fight, so he can reach the real Kingdom Hearts. If he gets his way, it's not just this world, or yours, that's in danger. It's all of 'em. But in the end, it's up to you. Nobody's going to force you to do anything you don't want."

[melodiouspacifist]

Honestly, he wasn't expecting a proposition from either side. He didn't think they saw him to have any value at all. And yet, here was Lea, boosting his confidence and almost encouraging him.

"I'm teasing." He grinned.

"You know, I always thought that was where Arpeggio came from. A manifestation of my heart..." He murmured thoughtfully. "Delicate, gentle, but a better companion in a fight than it looks...soothing and musical but there's an edge if you push the wrong way..." Myde blinked and blushed. "Ah, sorry."

[chakramkeyblade]

"You're a musician. I think all you guys are like that." He lowered his keyblade for now, holding it casually close to his leg. "Even the ones here. But no one's got a sound like Arpeggio. I don't think I've seen that instrument at all here...at least, I don't remember seeing or hearing it."

Lea nodded toward the square again. "I don't think anyone here has heard it, either. Want to meet Radiant Garden? They're suckers for artists, you know."

[melodiouspacifist]

He laughed gleefully and nodded. "That's a little true. My parents used to say I had my head in the clouds." His smile faded a bit, but he tilted his head, interest piqued.

"They wouldn't, it's something of a rare instrument, a sitar. It'd be pretty hard to get your hands on one around here, I imagine." Myde's spirits had been lifted at least and he winked.

"If you wanted a concert, you needed only to ask you know!"

[chakramkeyblade]

"Just as good for you as it's good for them, right?" Lea waved him off. "Go on. Go make friends." He banished his keyblade for now. "I've got to finish my walkaround. I'll catch up with you after though, okay? You'll be fine."

[melodiouspacifist]

"Alright Lea." Myde gave him a gentle little smile and left into the crowd. He'd been planning on playing anyway, to see what he could scrounge up.

He found a nice spot, selected his space and began to play. It didn't matter what he played, he played because he loved doing it, that was as simple as it was. Lea could go for a walk, however long it took to wrap things up.

Myde would play for a little while, hoping to catch some attention. He wasn't very talkative, but instead focused on the music. He wasn't sure how long Lea would be gone for, so he played for as long as he could stand it, or until he had enough munny to scrounge up for a hot dog, because he was hungry.