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[binarysky]

[It's late Friday night, a little before midnight. Quite close to midnight, actually. Someone's restless.]

This whole thing with the harpies got me to think. Has anyone ever--

Huh?

[Roxas' train of thought is apparently derailed by the appearance of someone offscreen.]

"RIIIIKU! Where'd you go? Okay, you won, now come back! This isn't funny! No

Comments

[faroffdream]

[ For his part, Sora hasn't even noticed Roxas when the camera ends up being focused on him....buuuuuuuuut this is admittedly because he's busy running right into Roxas and when he bounces backward, he seems torn between a pout and an apology as he stares up at the blond boy. ]

You're not Riku.

[ Well. Duh. Sorry Roxas.... ]

[binarysky]

[ Roxas is a lot more agile than any five-year-old-though perhaps not as durable-but he just watches the little boy run into him, too surprised to move.

It's Sora. It's Sora? It has to be Sora. But he's so small. ]

Uh...no, I'm not. Sorry.

[faroffdream]

[ Small Sora stares up at the offending party...and when he decides that this wasn't part of some Great Diabolical Plan - perpetrated by Riku obviously - he makes the shift from petulant to curious, almost on a dime really. ]

Don't be sorry!

[ He says it the way he's seen adults say things when they really want you to listen to them - not very effective, from Sora OR the adults, but hey, practice makes perfect...?...maybe. ] Um....but who are you?

[binarysky]

Okay.

[ He isn't, really. He wouldn't want to be that Riku jerk anyway. ]

I'm Roxas.

[ After a moment, he crouches down so he doesn't loom over the kid. ]

And you're Sora...right?

[faroffdream]

[ Yeah Sora wouldn't want to be that Riku jerk either.

Oh but wait yes he would. Well, right now. ANYWAY.

Sora's mouth is Wide Open to reply to 'I'm Roxas' when Roxas beats him to it with Sora's own name and that is cause enough for the little boy to go juuuust a bit suspicious again. Unfortunately, at this height and this age, an investigatory squint looks more like Sora going cross-eyed. He does it anyway obviously. ]

Yeahhhh....but how'd you know that?

[ FESS UP BUDDY....UH ARE YOU MY BUDDY?! Conundrum... ]

[binarysky]

[ But little Sora, you're so much cooler than him. Roxas assumes.

He didn't mean to freak the kid out, or impress him, but it looks like he did one or the other, Maybe both. ]

I've met Riku before. He told me about you.

[ Half-true...and half a lie, but if this is a curse, and it must be, it's not like trying to explain things will do any good. ]

You're best friends...right?

[faroffdream]

[ ....A VERY KIND THING TO SAY except Little Sora would have none of it. No One is cooler than Riku - that's the problem after all. Gosh golly gee and darn it all.....

As to which was the result: freaking him out or impressing, well, both is most accurate because on the one hand Sora thinks that's kind of NEAT and on the other hand Sora is like ummmmmmmmmmm and having very vague and not very committed memories of his mom saying not to talk to strangers - which of course only gets uh usurped by the amendment of: but she never told me not to talk to strangers who know my name already!

Faulty logic in 3, 2, 1... ]

Oh so you do know him!

[ Riiiiight, Sora's doing that thing where kids just pick up on bits and pieces, you know, the ones they want to. ]

And yes. [ Sora says 'yes' so definitively, says it with his chest sort of puffed out if that's even possible at this age and his shoulders squared - or what he figures is squared, because he's proud that he's best friends with Riku. Eeeeeeven if Riku tends to kind of make him really

[binarysky]

[ Hey. Hey, Riku is kind of a jerk, and probably was his whole life. But it's against Roxas' nature to pick on even jerky little kids, so he won't bother pursuing that line of thought.

The shift in emotions is evident on Sora's face, but Roxas isn't entirely sure what each nuanced change of expression actually means, so he's content to wait until Sora settles on his own reaction. Besides, he's still sort of reeling. ]

Yeah. I do.

[ Uh...what now. He can't say that Riku's gone from the City, can he? He doesn't want to freak out a little kid. He doesn't remember ever being a little kid, but he's pretty sure that's bad. ]

He had to go help his family with some stuff. [...] He said I should look out for you while he's gone.

[faroffdream]

[ Okay so....Riku...left....him.....

Pardon a moment while Sora just digests that.

8(

Well then. Okay positive thinking. On the bright side, Riku did leave him someone else to hang out with, which is a darn sight better than being left to wander around on his own - not that Sora entirely minds exploring on his own but isn't Everything more fun with someone else? He is pretty sure that it is. Or so his life experiences up to the age of five dictate to him and thus he heeds, tilting his spiky haired head up at the other head of spiky hair and waffling visibly. ]

Stuff, huh?

[ He says it not as though he's suspicious anymore, just kind of a bright echo as he commits to the notion of spending time with this person - this Roxas. ] Well.....okay.

Why not?

[ Then he scuffs the toe of his sandal on the ground, leans forward and back in a precarious way that mostly only kids under 3 feet can manage and luckily Sora is more than qualified on that front. He looks around with a thoughtful expectation. ] What'll we do?

sob he is so cute I cannot stand it

[binarysky]

[ Baaaawl so sorry, Sora, Roxas would blame it on Riku's dad dragging him home for dinner if he had remotely enough information and sense to give such an excuse. But he doesn't know enough.

Ugh, it's awful to lie to children. ]

Important stuff.

But he'll be back! And then...you'll finish your race?

[ It sounded like they were racing, right? ]

We could...uh...

[ Not remembering childhood can be a real problem sometimes. ]

What do you like to do?

;-; lmedsy8iokl IT IS THE AMAZING ICONS LSJGELKSD

[faroffdream]

[ ON THE super bright side of things...Sora, 'LATER IN LIFE' like you know when he's all of fifteen lmfdlkds so olllld.....would be like yeah that was totally the right thing to do, bro - maybe minus the bro part. Um. Anyway.

To the first thing, Sora beams - almost literally like you could probably posit coordinates for the sunlight coming from his smile for all of a few seconds there. ] Yup. I think we should start over. [ And if he's a liiiitle happier at the prospect of a redo than anyone who has actually ever won would be, well he's not thinking about it, not trying to hide it. If anything, when he finally does beat Riku, it'll be all the more impressive, right? Right.

To the last question, Sora swaps out his grin for something overly thinkative, not unlike a bear of very little brain - though arguably quite a lot of heart - who he will meet someday, who will also be his friend. ] Lotsa things....umm...well there's the racing - oh and swimming, and ice cream, and exploring, and---

[ Babbling, he stops, laughs a little

What is he even going to think when he goes back to normal...

[binarysky]

[ Oh, that smile...is adorable. He thinks. No, it definitely is, even a Nobody is in no position to judge that sort of thing. ]

Yeah. You'll start over so no one gets a head start.

[ Best friends belong side by side, after all. ]

Me?

[ He's still figuring that out. ]

I like ice cream.

um..........that is a VERY good question.........possibly he will try to belike ICE CREAM THANK YOU?

[faroffdream]

[ Oh HEY well gee whiz, Sora likes ice cream too, which uh is probably quite obvious from the way he goes in RECORD time back to the beaming smile from before, broader though - the kind that makes other people suspect becomes physically painful after too long - that kind. He has very little to no concept of personal space still, always, forever, so he grabs one of Roxas' hands and begins tugging him in the direction of ice crea---

WAIT A SECOND.

He halts abruptly, stares up. ] Um. Which way to the ice cream place?

Ice cream, the great uniter

[binarysky]

[ For a minute, he doesn't even question the logic of following Sora. Hey, following the kid's lead, it's all good--Roxas is exceedingly out of his depth here.

But that's a good question. Also, it's midnight. ]

You know, I'm not sure it'll be open right now. It's dark out.

I have some at home, though.

Reliable in any world at any age!

[faroffdream]

[ Halting in a way that implies that tires would screech if there were any tires, Sora glances up at Roxas, gives that suggestion Serious Consideration - exaggerated again as he seems to be going through a phase - and nods.

Oh but wait, he blinks and looks around. ]

Ooookay but how will Riku know where we went?

Re: Reliable in any world at any age!

[binarysky]

[ Thank goodness little Sora apparently hasn't noticed that Roxas is luring him away with treats. That can't be safe. ]

We'll come back later. Don't worry. If he gets back early, he'll come find me. He knows where I live.

[ All true, so he can say it with sincerity, though he knows Riku will not be coming back.

It's strange, feeling Sora's tiny hand in his. Maybe it's not an emotion-can't be-but he wants to look after him. Protect him. When he's like this, he needs it. ]