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!]

Comments

[cageunemptied]

[For a moment, she hadn't quite been sure where she was. Radiant Garden looked so different, now, and she had the sneaking suspicion that she'd been in one of those "enchanted sleeps" Ansem the Wise had told her about - but for how long, she didn't know. All she knew was that there were a lot of unfamiliar people around the town now, and that it, frankly, looked like a storm of some kind had hit the world - and the kind that could necessitate this level of rebuilding, she didn't know.

She took to wandering the eerily empty halls of the castle that had become her home, searching for little Ienzo or any sign of the others (although she had a sick, sinking feeling in her heart about Xehanort, for some reason). She thought she saw a rather familiar spray of flaming red hair - but no, the owner of it was much too tall to be the boy who'd shouted to her wild tales from the courtyard (while a glowering Dilan and a vaguely smirking Aeleus had looked on). Still...]

Excuse me, but might you be able to tell me what's going on? I'm afraid I just woke up, and I'm not quite sure as to what happened here.

[chakramkeyblade]

[He's crossing the hall with a pitcher of water for Dilan and Even, unaware of the girl until she spoke. He startled at first. No one else was supposed to be here. Lea stares at her, eyes wide for a moment. Does he...know her? He feels a kind of deja-vu, the same kind of connection he senses with Sora, but his memory is still spotty and ragged. But a warm connection at least.

If he knew her, all he feels is a kind of memory of a memory. Lea frowned. It wasn't her fault. It was unlikely she knew. But being unable to remember her...well. Just one more thing to feel bad for.]

Just woke up, huh. You and me both. [He grins at the little joke. At least it's true.] As for what happened...well. Let's just say it's a good thing you were out for it. What are you doing here in the castle? ...what's left of it, anyway.

[cageunemptied]

[It couldn't be. The boy she'd been acquainted with had been several years younger than she - and besides that, she hadn't aged while she had been asleep. Surely only a little time had passed. But the hair, and the eyes... There was no denying that there was something familiar in them.

Cautiously, she stepped closer, squinting a little at the young man. She had always liked Lea and his stories, much as the others hadn't. And she had always been amused at his and Isa's attempts to get into the castle, even playfully helping them from time to time. It was so hard to remember what had happened, somehow...]

I live here. I've been trying to figure out what happened.

[Whatever it was, it surely wasn't good.]

I'm sorry. Do I know you?

[chakramkeyblade]

You...

[Could she have lived here, before...? Something was tugging at his memory now. A friendly face at the garden wall. There was nothing concrete, but then, he thought he'd been a kid when he knew her.]

...I think I remember you. Kinda disappointed you forgot. But fine, if you need a refresher, name's Lea. Got it memorized this time?

[Never mind that he can't remember her name, either. His grin fades when he looks down at the pitcher in his hands.] I've gotta drop this off in the next room. You coming with?

[cageunemptied]

... Lea?!

[Her eyes widen, and she unwittingly takes a few quick, faltering steps in his direction, her eyes large as she looks at him. This was not the boy she'd tossed apples to, nor the one who'd entertained her endlessly with his antics. This was not the same boy for whom she'd thrice gotten into trouble before for helping him and Isa slip inside - not anymore]

Lea, I-I can't believe it! Is it really you? How did you get so tall?

[Oh. Oh, no.]

... How long have I been asleep?

[And, more to the point, why didn't she age? But - no. There was time enough for that later. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Elizabeth looked up at the young man, who still resembled the near-child he had been, and nodded.]

Of course. I'd like to help. Is there anything I can do?

{She'd ask what happened just as soon as they got a moment.]

[chakramkeyblade]

[It's only when she gets closer that he recognizes her. His own eyes widen, taking a step back to balance himself. Elizabeth. But she disappeared. He and Isa were convinced something terrible had happened to her, spent the next five years trying to figure out how to get in so they...

He swallowed. Here she was, alive and well. Had she slept through everything? The darkness that Radiant Garden had become? She hadn't aged at all... But then, they hadn't either, when they had been Nobodies. Had Elizabeth lost her heart at some point? Become a Nobody? He didn't want to even think about it. He recovered himself, looking at her quietly. Finally he nodded to the corridor.]

Sure. If you want. Dilan and Even are still sleeping, but...I'll tell you everything. Deal?

[cageunemptied]

[The look on his face tells her Lea remembers. That almost makes her smile - almost. But here he is, grown, and she feels like something more terrible than he's letting on must have happened.

And where is Ansem?

But she nods, and reaches out to touch his face, still unsure as to whether he is real. When her fingers brush warm skin (and Lea's hand had always, always been warm, whenever he'd snuck her an apple or passed her an ice cream), she knows - and it's only then that she manages a smile.]

Deal.

[chakramkeyblade]

[He smiles, barely. Weird. He's taller than her now, by a good amount. He figures it's just as odd for her, considering he was fourteen the last time he saw her.

But eventually he pulls away, leading her down a hallway and into a spare room. Dilan is asleep on his bed, curled up slightly, his locks sprawled out on the pillows behind him. Lea enters quietly, setting the pitcher down on a small table. He turns to leave again, gesturing to Elizabeth. He figures Even's probably in the library or something...so instead he closes the door to Dilan's room and takes her to one of the castle's many balconies overlooking the city.

The restoration is coming along well, at least. But it's still nowhere near Radiant Garden's old glory.]

So you wanted to know what happened to Radiant Garden...and to us. [He sighs and rests his elbows on the ledge, purposefully keeping his gaze out at the town below and not Elizabeth.]

The short of it is, Xehanort happened.

[cageunemptied]

[It's more than odd, considering that it was only yesterday for her that Lea had begrudgingly been swept out of the castle, seeming as though he was practically made of limbs as he flailed about. The grin on his face as he'd waved goodbye to Elizabeth later, though, had told her he would try again tomorrow.

She smiled at the memory even as worried as she was, and followed Lea out after smoothing Dilan's covers.]

Xehanort? [The mention of what had been the newest addition to their home caused her to frown. Certainly, she had not been close with him, but he had always been polite. Even so, there had been something odd about him, though Elizabeth had chalked that down to not being entirely used to the him.]

What do you mean?

[chakramkeyblade]

....He's not what they thought. [Lea peeks back at her. How can he even begin? How is he supposed to even admit to the things he did when he was a shell of his old self? ...At the beginning, what else is there?]

It's a long story.

[But he tells it well, even if it takes him over an hour. Some parts he just...can't go into detail. He glosses them over, trying not to think about them too hard. At the end, he trails off, staring down at his right hand. The warmth is there, almost solid, just waiting for him to will it into existence. He tentatively raises it, the keyblade sparking into existence in a crackle of light. He holds it outward, gazing at the flame-shaped blade, the emblem on his old throwing discs, the deadly spikes of Axel's chakrams.]

It's going to be a hard road. But I have to take responsibility for what I've done. See this through, to the end.

[cageunemptied]

[And she listens, just as if she was listening to one of Ansem the Wise's tales. She watches his face, his actions, and while she can tell she's not getting the whole story, she can also tell that he's regretful.

She holds back a "How could you?" directed at all of them, but it's in her eyes, for a moment.]

I can't say I understand how this happened, but I'm glad you told me. Thank you.

[But that still doesn't explain how she ended up the way she did, or why she hadn't aged in all this time (and Dilan, too, looks exactly the same as he always has). It doesn't explicitly the sneaking suspicion that all this somehow includes her. But that can wait.]

Where are the others?

[chakramkeyblade]

[It's a look he can't stand. They feel bad enough on their own, they don't need her judging them, too.]

That's what happens when you start playing around with darkness. Sooner or later you get burned. They just took seven more of us down with them.

Dilan's asleep, obviously. Even's probably in the library. Aeleus is out doing patrols, and Ienzo's crunching numbers and trying to get what he can from Ansem's database. As for the others...no clue. Xigbar and Isa are wherever Xemnas is. Other than that your guess is as good as mine.

[cageunemptied]

[Elizabeth has always had high moral standards, and she has always made that abundantly clear. Whenever one of the others had done something that she considered immoral, she'd always made her displeasure known - especially Braig, who as easily the most morally loose of the group (although he'd hid the worst of himself from her).

However, now was not the time to start preaching, so she held her tongue.]

And Ansem?

[Her voice breaks as she says his name, and although Lea hasn't told her of his fate, she does not have a good feeling about it.]

[chakramkeyblade]

They banished him to the world of Darkness. It didn't kill him...not right away. He stopped what Xemnas was trying to do with Kingdom Hearts, according to Yen Sid, but... he ended up getting himself killed in the process.

[cageunemptied]

[Elizabeth's heartbreak is clear in her eyes, and she shakes her head, almost desperately, her eyes wide as they look into Lea's. He's not lying. She knows he's not.

After a moment, she begins to sob quietly, her hands held over her face.]