birth by sleep. ( open )

[restlesswaters]

Characters: Aqua and OPEN
Date: 22nd January, afternoon.
Summary: Aqua's escaped her cage, and has come tumbling into the Gardens.
Warnings: Spoilers for Blank Points.

Comments

[restlesswaters]

Aqua's pulled herself together a little, ever since meeting Xion. She's back in her own clothing, but still resting against the grass, desperately trying to make sense of it all, to conjure up a plan. The sunlight still burns her eyes, but she can deal with it now, only having to squint or strain when her gaze flickers away from the ground.

When she hears someone else approaching, when she hears another voice, Aqua immediately glances towards the source, freezing. Sora-she instinctively knows it's him, without having to question her own reasoning. It's been so long, and he's so much older, but there's something in his eyes that haven't changed. Something in her eyes, she corrects herself, looking at Sora properly. Xion said that there were only girls in the Garden, and Aqua herself has changed to fit in with different words before; it doesn't seem like much of an effort to imagine what magic has done this.

On her feet, she's cautious, this time. She doesn't dart towards Sora, doesn't hug her, as she did to who she thought was Ven. Aqua just looks at her, smiling softly.

“Sora... ? Is that really you?” she asks, knowing that she was going to see her again one day, no matter the circumstances.

[namedforthesky]

So she's recognized. Good, this means she didn't make up that day so long ago. So, she just smiles, no matter how much she hurts inside. She couldn't keep her promise to help Riku...

"Yeah. So, I didn't make you up?" she asks teasingly, though it's probably obvious she's not at all comfortable.

[restlesswaters]

“You didn't make me up,” Aqua says, laughing softly. It feels strange to do so, though not unwelcome in the least. She stands her ground, doesn't move forward, even if the urge to reach out and make sure that Sora is really real is almost overwhelming. Thinking back to the man on the shore in the Realm of Darkness, she asks, “Were you the one who brought me here, Sora?”

[namedforthesky]

It's a relief to hear that Aqua isn't made up. But then she's asked if she's the one who brought the woman there. This causes Sora to frown and think.

"I don't think so. The Queen brings people here. I'm pretty sure she rescued me," she says, eyes seeming to darken a bit. Geez, can't escape coming back to that topic, can she? But she'll have to explain it soon enough. Sooner or later, she'll have to tell Aqua she broke her promise.

[restlesswaters]

“The Queen... ?” Aqua's heard mention of her before, but isn't too sure how she ought feel about the woman. She has, after all, had rather conflicting experiences with Queens thus far. Still, there are more pressing matters at hand than the nature of their royal host. Aqua pauses, thoughtful, and then finally allows herself to place a hand on Sora's shoulder. “She rescued you? That doesn't seem right. After so long, I thought that-I believed that you might just rescue all of us.”

Her last words are murmured, almost as if she's ashamed to admit it. Sora's name is the only thing that's filled her with hope, lately, and the idea that she herself needed to be rescued somehow doesn't sit right with her.

[namedforthesky]

The hand on her shoulder is comforting, but the words are confusing. Rescue people? Her? She looks away, ashamed, unable to even look up at Aqua anymore.

"...How could I rescue anyone? I couldn't... ...Couldn't even keep my promise to you. I let Riku walk down a dark path alone, and now I've lost track of him..." she admits after a moment. And just saying it feels like everything is crashing down around her again, the Islands falling apart around her.

[restlesswaters]

Things had been confusing enough with Xion, a stranger, but in front of Sora, Aqua found herself at even more of a loss. How could Sora say such things about herself, after Aqua'd heard so much from the man on the shore, about how Sora had saved so many worlds, just as she herself once had? Crouching down slightly, so that she could try to garner something from Sora's expression, she looked her in the eye, desperate to tell her that things would be alright.

“What are you saying, Sora? I've heard all about the good you've done in the time I've been missing,” she says, “All the worlds you've pieced back together, and the people you've helped save. Riku is-Riku has to be alright. I know it.”

[namedforthesky]

Sora looks up at this. What? What's Aqua talking about?

"...But I haven't been to any other worlds besides this one. Riku, Kairi and me... We'd only just gotten our raft done when those things--Heartless?--ripped the Islands apart."

She hasn't helped people. She's been a massive failure overall. Some hero... None of this is making sense.

[restlesswaters]

Aqua tilts her head to the side, just as lost as Sora is. She knows that there are infinite worlds that they can all hail from, but Aqua doesn't know if they can be from different times, too. Perhaps she's been wrong about this after all. Perhaps the cloaked man wasn't even talking about Sora in the first place; perhaps it was all her imagination. The Darkness can do strange things to a person's mind, as well as their heart.

“No, that can't be. He said that-that you always arrived at new worlds, Keyblade in hand, to save the day. Your islands can't be gone for good, Sora. They can't. You have the Keyblade now, don't you?”

[namedforthesky]

"Keyblade?"

...Right. Isn't that what the mysterious voice had called it? She holds out a hand, and sure enough, it appears. She swings it a few times, and then frowns up at Aqua.

"...But I only just got it. It's what saved me from those Heartless."

How confusing. None of this makes any sense. She wants to go to other worlds, sure, but she hasn't been to any others.

[restlesswaters]

She shakes her head. She doesn't want to outright tell Sora that she's wrong, but she knows that she must be. If what Sora is saying is true, then Aqua doesn't know how she'll deal with that; she's terrified, almost, as if Sora not being what she's believed in for so long will send her right back to the Realm of Darkness. Aqua stretches out her hand, holding up her own Keyblade.

“People don't just get these for no good reason, Sora,” she explains, “I met a man, recently. I couldn't see his face, but he was wearing a long, black cloak, just like Xion's, with the hood up. He said it had been over a year since he met you, and you had the Keyblade then. Do you remember anyone like that?”

[namedforthesky]

Man in a black cloak like Xion's?

"No... But there was a man in a brown cloak. He seemed really tired. And... He said that I couldn't understand anything because I didn't know anything. I'm gonna prove him wrong, though. As soon as I get out of here... I'm gonna see all sorts of worlds."

Just like we planned. It's left unsaid, but her determination is showing. She wants to go to other worlds, more than anything. She wants to find Riku and Kairi, and she wants to see them both safe. And if there's a way, she wants to restore her Islands.

[restlesswaters]

Aqua heaves a heavy sigh, dejected. The man in the cloak was the last of the evidence she could think to use to back up her points, and Sora's managed to shoot down all of the proof she was barely clinging onto. Her resolve wavers, and then her mind is filled with nothing more than doubt. She can't help but wonder how much of her the Darkness has really taken, how she can be so certain of something that might not even have a glimmer of truth to it. Her fingers curl towards her palms, hands forming fists, but she doesn't say anything of it. She knows Sora isn't to blame, and doesn't allow any misplaced anger to creep out into the air.

“I'm sure you will,” Aqua says softly, nodding. “You'll see that you can make a real difference, Sora. I promise.”

Because even if it hasn't happened, even if it's something her imagination has conjured up over the years to keep her sane, Aqua knows that something good will come of it. It has to.