002 @ The Morning After The Night Before

[hikari_no_kundou]

Who: Eraqus, Terra, Ventus
When: [Backdated] Early morning onwards on 4th September (After this scene).
Where: House of Departure, Sector 4
Summary: A family starts the process of fitting the pieces back together again.
Warnings: Angst. Feels. Srs faces. Bonding?



Staring at an unfamiliar ceiling in the dark, it took a moment for Eraqus to process where he was. When he was.

Inhale, exhale.

That the aches running through his body were very much self-inflicted (more or less) was not at all in doubt. The fact he had a body at all to feel them in was, and tired eyes stared at the shadows his hands formed in bewilderment, before he pressed the heels of each palm against them. The fact it was still dark meant he could not have slept long -- assuming he hadn't simply passed out from a combination of exhaustion, confusion and overextending his abilities. It could well have been both.

Inhale, exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Though his back protested, the keyblade master pushed himself into an upright position; he didn't have the reserves to call on more restorative magic, though he could sense the lingering remnants of Curaga in the air. The familiarity of the spellcaster's signature gave him pause. A pause that was neatly toppled by a resurgence of memory, of what had happened. Who had happened, so to speak. Of why he felt so exhausted.

Left hand lifted, pressing over his chest, and for a moment, Eraqus felt the uncertainty nestled there, wings unfurled protectively over the frayed tatters of his heart.

So many things, so many bonds that needed mending..

Inhale. Exhale.

Pushing himself to his feet, the old master brushed absently at his robes before taking slow stiff steps towards the door.

Comments

[hikari_no_kundou]

His fingers tightened involuntarily as Eraqus absorbed Terra's words, both the contents and the mumbled framing, even as the young man before him still refused to meet his gaze.

"Year..?"

His voice reflected the slight flinch in movement that had accompanied the sudden increase in grip, pained surprise unpleasantly choking further words for well over a minute. That could not be, surely. His most immediate memories - jumbled, disjointed and painfully stark in places though they were - protested that length vehemently.

But his heart knew there was no lie here. Not in Terra's words or voice, the weight that bowed his student's shoulders.

He *had* been here. And then he had been gone. Along with whatever memories had been made. The presence of his own magic woven within the House protections told him so, spells he knew for a fact he had never cast, could not have cast.

'Probably' indeed.

"The.. Strange darkness here. Does that play a part in it?" This loss of memory. It certainly had not helped him remember. The foulness beyond the walls lingered, as if recognising it were being referred to.

The mortification Eraqus felt seemed to drain him of what little colour he had recovered in his short rest. "A year," the words were repeated, almost under his breath. His heart keened as grey eyes lifted, staring past Terra to fix on the far wall a moment. "...How long have you been here?" Singular, plural. Before and after that singular year, that much was certain.

[todomarishi]

"It might," Terra answered. He wasn't sure if the Greeters had gotten a chance to speak with his Master when he first showed up on the baseball field. (He wasn't sure his Master would have listened even if they had tried to inform him of what was going on.) Turning his head away just slightly, he recited some of the basic facts of the city around them, "People from all different worlds are brought here by something called the Core. It's some sort of magic device. It's supposed to be the Core that decides when to send those people back to wherever they came from, too. But no one really knows for sure why a lot of people who end up being pulled here multiple times lose the memories they made here before. It could be the an effect of the Darkness."

He went on without pause, "I've been here for two years."

... Only to quickly return to the other subject, "This place is called Siren's Port. The Darkness outside only shows up at night. The world looks pretty normal during the day."

[hikari_no_kundou]

Greeters?

Were they to be mentioned, Terra would be met with a blank stare - assuming he'd take the time to meet his Master's eyes. The haze surrounding his arrival was slow to lift, and Eraqus was still not certain of the circumstances involving his arrival in this world. Perhaps he would not have listened to the Greeters under other circumstances, but unfortunately, the first person, rather than monster, that Eraqus had met in his confused wanderings had been Roxas.

(And we saw how that turned out...)

He listened now, however, his own head tilting slightly as Terra looks aside. The Master was not certain what to think, the description of this 'Siren's Port' sounding much like an unpleasant reversal of the fabled Traverse Town.

And so much of what was said had clearly been memorised to heart, spoken as though Terra had rehearsed and recited several times. And perhaps he had.

Two years.

"I see." A swell of remorse rose in his chest. How do you apologise for something beyond memory or understanding? Eraqus remembered none of it. Something else he owed apology for.

"And you -- all three of you -- are here." He was not certain if that was a blessing or a curse, even if the fact they were here brought him no small joy - that at least part of the disaster had been a reality--

His brows furrowed at once. "And that boy... Who, what was he?" If he was not Ventus (and he could not have been Ventus, because Ventus had also been there), or the χ-Blade incarnate..

His heart hardened. Was Xehanort here, too?

[todomarishi]

"We're all here," there was a small nod given as confirmation for what had been said by the Master, but no details on how that had come to be, or any of the many other matters related to their being in this world, were offered. Terra's eyes settled on his Master's hand for a moment as he considered shaking it off and getting up.

"The boy is a friend of ours. His name is Roxas. What he is..." Did he really have any business explaining it? If so, did he really want to delve into that mess right now, after a very long night and with so much else to cover?

"Well, it's a long story."

From behind him, Oro grunted his disapproval.

[hikari_no_kundou]

Who was the grunt intended for? Grey eyes flickered away briefly from Terra, lips pursed as he regarded the direwolf. A long story - and no doubt you happen to be one of them, eh?

"..It would seem there are a great many of those I'll have to hear about." And not just from Terra.

All three of them really were here. And this 'Roxas' - a friend..? The name rang no bells at all. "So he is not--" The Master's eyes closed and he bowed his head, shaking it slightly when an oddly shakey breath escaped him, interrupting whatever he'd intended to say. What sort of person had he become that he could not tell friend from foe?

A dull ache burned along his back. "It would seem I am doomed to repeating old mistakes.. Thank you, for stopping me." Though the words were thick with an emotion he could not place, he was, truly, unspeakably grateful (and no small part proud). His grip tightened a moment - his apprentice might have trouble brushing his hand aside at this rate. "You should never have been placed in such a position again.."

"I am sorry, Terra."

For what little that was worth.

[todomarishi]

A slight wince pulled at the corners of Terra's mouth and narrowed his eyes. Oh, the Master had no idea just how many long stories there were... or just how reluctant his oldest apprentice was to have to tell any of them.

"It's fine, Master."

That hand on his shoulder wasn't going anywhere, was it?

"I've repeated a few old mistakes, too."

Guiltily, he looked straight ahead again, this time glancing up far enough to search for his Master's gaze.

[hikari_no_kundou]

'It's fine, Master'.

It was Eraqus who's eyes remained closed now, and his lips pursed a moment before being dragged into a humourless smile. "No... No, it is not," sighed the older Keybearer. "In time, perhaps.." Time he had not ever expected to have again, beyond a shred of hope in the midst of gravest uncertainty, back...where ever it was that his heart was hidden.

A faint chuckle resounded in his chest. "..perhaps we can learn not to repeat them together?"

Straightening up, his greying forelock of charcoal hair swayed back and forth a moment, and Eraqus' eyes opened again, in time to see Terra's hesitant stare lift, and catch the guilty glint as it stole a look up at him.

His eyes widened slightly, as silvered grey met gold. Though there was no overt intake of breath, the Master's posture straightened and a very, very frank stare ensued. One that gave no notion as to what sort of judgement might be hidden within it.

Judgement that Terra no doubt expected. And, given the events of the night, perhaps...feared?