008 @ All my instincts have failed me for once

[hikari_no_kundou]

Who: Master Eraqus and Aqua [Open to Lightside Keyblade Squad]
When: [Backdated] Evening of 26th February // Morning of 27th February
Where: House of Departure, Sector 4
Summary: Welcome back to an emptier home, Aqua.
Warnings: Reunions, sad faces, pow-wows. Will update accordingly if KH spoilers pop up.

---

[ All is quiet in the house.

Long since berefit of its original inhabitants, there are none left to be disturbed when the swirl of energy cuts into the center of the living room. The white light spins, hazy as mist, before expanding and solidifying upwards towards the ceiling and down to lick at the floor, until it is wide enough to allow passage from Somewhere to Here.

Something uncurls on the couch, a smudge of silver-grey, green-lit eyes reflecting the magic invading its living space.

It is better to take a portal than traverse the Darkness by night. And, lately, by day as well. ]

Comments

[LIGHTSIDE]

[hikari_no_kundou]

[ Things had gone about as well as might be expected, more or less.

That fact did not make things any easier on either of the resident Masters, one of whom presently stood in the kitchen, lost in thought as the kettle whistled merrily away. Would that he had had better news for her. It grieved him to be the bearer of bad tidings, but there was little Eraqus could to change the truth of their situation.

He took the time to glance at his NV, eyeing both time and messages, before setting out additional mugs for tea. There'd be company soon enough, and there was still much left to be said. And to be done.

He doubted they'd have to wait too long. ]

[pullsheavendown]

Roxas hadn't given up hope on seeing any of their disappeared friends again, but he had given up expecting it to happen anytime soon. It was just easier that way. Less disappointment, more living in the life he did have here and now.

But that didn't mean he didn't feel a bloom of happiness when he got the message that Aqua was back, and she still remembered. She'd still have to face the loss of Ven and Terra, but still—she was a friend, and she was here.

He knocked sharply at the front door before opening it and sticking his head in cautiously. "Hello? Aqua? Master Eraqus?"

[madeinoblivion]

Joe tagged along in Roxas's company, still privately flattered at being called on for whatever Master Eraqus wanted to talk with the rest of the young keybearers about.

It was cool to have a real master taking him and his friends seriously, after all. Being a Teen Titan only meant so much among peers, but having an adult recognize him as part of those who fought with the light was an unexpected welcome.

And he was glad for Aqua's return, too. He suspected Xion had felt alone in girlier departments without Namine, and now she could...go back to painting her toenails blue again, or whatever girls found fun in each other's company that they couldn't really do with boys.

Still, he let Roxas say his hellos first, because he was more familiar.

[hikari_no_kundou]

"Come on through," called back the older Master, though the faint thud and sudden patter of footfalls towards the front door weren't heavy enough signify a second, larger return. The cat meowed loudly in greeting only once both boys stepped inside, before ankle winding became the name of the game.

At least morning meant they would not have to worry about Darkness interruptions. A pity it was still chilly outside. 'Normal' for Canada, apparently, which simply meant Eraqus missed Departure's temperate climes all the more.

The folded maps were set carefully to one side as he set out the cups on the kitchen table. Only once he was satisfied with the arrangement did Eraqus step out into the living room proper.

"Aqua will be down in a little while," he said, with a friendly nod to both. Xion had not arrived with them, it seemed, but no doubt the girl would appear in due time. "It was a long night. Are you both well?"

[pullsheavendown]

Roxas nodded to Joe before heading inside, holding the door for his friend as he went. At first glance, not much had changed about the house, but there was a nearly imperceptible sense of warmth—as if now it might be lived in again, and not just dwelled in.

Or maybe that was just sentimentality on his part.

"Yeah, we're good," he said, flashing a slight smile at the master. "How's Aqua? She didn't get too sick from the pull, did she?"

[madeinoblivion]

"Uh huh." Joe nodded- it was business as usual for the boys, and spring was well on the way. Sure, the nights were long, but soon they'd be growing shorter with coming spring. "The music store's been good, annd Iroh's still letting me train at his Dojo."

"...Xion even got me to go lazertagging. So I guess I'm off SERO's naughty list, for now. Or they forgot my track record." He rolled his eyes "...but we'll see about changing that."

"We're really glad she's back" He smiled- a bit of a dopey smile, because if Aqua could come back, then maybe it wouldn't be long until Ven and Namine returned... and then they could all feel truly at home again.

[hikari_no_kundou]

'Dwelled' was a good word for the state of the House prior to now. Since Ven's departure, if one were to be particularly truthful. The last of the mugs are set on the table, before his head inclines: make yourselves at home.

There was warmth in Eraqus' smile in answer to their questions. "She had a rough landing," he said, recalling the state she'd been in when he'd reached the diamond. "But any Pull sickness passed in short order. We talked for a while last night." There was a glance towards the ceiling. "She should be down shortly, though."

Their confirmation of all things being well on their front eased his mind. He had been concerned at the loss of their lodgings within the city, but they seemed to have been holding up well enough. Still: "Have either of you been given further trouble for being a Newcomer lately?"

[pullsheavendown]

"Rough's better than no landing at all." Roxas glanced upward, as if Aqua might fall through the ceiling. But that probably wasn't an ability she'd acquired during her absence. Still, he was anxious to see her again—to know for sure that she was really back.

"Eh...some people have been jerks at Kahve, but not too many." He shrugged. "They don't want to buy from Newcomer businesses, and all the regulars support us so unless they broke out a powers fight, it wouldn't end well."

[madeinoblivion]

"Someone should really just put mattresses down on the infield." Joe huffed with a small roll of his eyes, as if slightly annoyed that none of the greeters had thought about that. Maybe the city had, but didn't want to spare another penny on behalf of newcomers. Or maybe they were scared that putting things all over the diamond would be too much 'interference' for the Core.

"When are they not hassling us for being newcomers!" Joe laughed, but after nearly three years in the city, native hatred was something that seemed totally normal, a daily thing to dodge. Luckily there were only certain places he'd be readily identified as a newcomer.

Unfortunately, one of those places was at his work, at Brooke's. He had to apologize to Iroh every now and then for stealing or inventory damage, or face corporations trying to intimidate the small music shop into affiliating with very tempting offers for expansion- but Joe was stubborn, and that worked to his advantage, in the end.

He wasn't entirely unconvinced that one day he would end up like Tifa, shot in the back of the head at lockup.

Luckily his darkness had a good sense for sniffing out its own; people who were bad news.

[hikari_no_kundou]

There was a faint huff of amusement from the elder keybearer. The mental image of mattresses covering each of the bases and at the center of the diamond is admittedly quite funny. Would they need to place a pea beneath one to warn about the arrival of royalty? "Yet what would become of them when the weather changes? I cannot imagine replacing them often would be easy."

"It would seem they are paying even closer attention than normal," Eraqus shook his head, before pulling back one of the chairs. Sit or do not, he does not mind.

That the pair were so easygoing about handling the hatred is both heartening -in that they do not allow it to dampen their spirits- and saddening, that such should be so commonplace. "In this past month alone, I would be hard pressed to tell you what are more dangerous to new arrivals - the Darkness, or the darkness in the hearts of those waiting for day."

Grey eyes closed, and he shook his head.

[pullsheavendown]

Roxas let out a huff of laughter at the end of mattresses on the ball field. It might actually be kind of fun, like a campout...until the darkness came, at least. And there wouldn't be any roasted marshmallows.

"I think one leads to the other, sometimes." He nodded at Eraqus. "This world...it changes people. Not everyone, and I know plenty of people with plenty of light. But the darkness seeps into every little crack in a building."

He shrugged. "Maybe it's seeped into people's hearts, too."

[madeinoblivion]

"You can't blame everything on the darkness." Joe grumbled in disagreement, startlingly frank with Roxas, for being in the company of a Keyblade Master who was pretty dead-set on keeping their presence set firmly in the light.

Joe didn't entirely agree with that, either. There were times when the darkness has been his strength, and times when ever the dangerous night-time darkness of Siren's Pull had seemed more welcoming than the people in broad daylight. Not by much, but-

"Some people are just awful people, when it comes to hating people from the outside worlds."

[mirroredmemory]

Xion was out running errands when she got the text from Master Eraqus. Her plan had been to just buy groceries, but then she'd been distracted in a quirky looking store full of fun things, and before she'd realised it she'd lost track of time and had been in there for half an hour. It was a good thing they hadn't needed any more ice cream or there could have been a terrible mess.

It had taken her a few minutes to open a corridor home, stuff the groceries in the fridge, and then rush over to the Master's house to greet her friend. There was no sign of the boys, she assumed they must have gone ahead.

After all this time, she couldn't believe that Aqua was back and that she remembered! It seemed like such a good stroke of luck, a positive for all of them after the setbacks they'd lost. Namine. Kairi. Terra. Sora. Axel.

Ven.

Xion knew how much it was going to hurt for Aqua to come home to a house where her best friends were gone, but at least she had the Master there, and the two could look after each other. She had worried about him being there alone with the animals, it made her all the more determined to pop in from time to time with a treat or something.

She opened up a corridor outside of the house and ran up to the door, rapping on it eagerly.