Once a year, we throw a party here in town [Open]

[gypsymothdance]

Characters: Jean, Hughes, Zeetha... open to everyone for mingling, especially new members of the Winding Way crew
Content: It's a nighttime bonfire party! Come for the grilled food and dancing, stay for the people and the toasted marshmallows~
Setting: In a clear area in the makeshift racing town
Time: From sunset onwards
Warnings: There is a big,

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[destined_skies]

Unaware that he was being approached from behind, Sora continued to gaze at the white blob hovering on the end of his wire. Or maybe he was mesmerized by the glow of the large bonfire, it was hard to tell. His island had lit similar blazes on holidays like the Long Night, but it was common to see smaller camp fires at night, near the edge of the island where the ground was sandy and moist. So it was likely that he was simply caught in a moment of nostalgia for his home.

Which was why he gave a slight jump when Naminé spoke his name, and turned his head towards her with blinking blue eyes. "Huh--yeah?"

Do I. . . know her? There was no immediate recognition in his gaze, but Sora couldn't help but think the blond girl looked vaguely familiar. Maybe she'd been in Bydan at the same time the Way had been docked there? But how did she know his name?

No, the opening of the Steel Samurai--of course! She had probably been in the audience, and had been impressed by his acting skills. Maybe. He was a pretty good actor, after all.

"That's me," he smiled distractedly, unaware that his marshmallow had dipped dangerously low into the fire and was now about to go up in smoke.

[starcharmsketch]

So...he didn't recognize her. Naminé gave him a tiny wane smile. Well, that was okay, really. It wasn't like she'd ever formally introduced herself before, but she still felt a little part of her heart twinge with regret.

That was what she got for being so quiet.

She reached out and pulled his little hangar-stick up and out of the flame, careful not to touch him yet. She didn't know if her powers would affect him if she touched him. "My name is Naminé. I've been looking for you." The girl hesitated, a million ways of continuing that sentence flying through her mind, until she finally settled on one.

"I came from the Origin Islands too."

[destined_skies]

Naminé. The name rung a bell, but Sora still couldn't quite figure out why.

"Looking for me?" Well, maybe he had been right in his first guess! She'd obviously tracked him down after the play to ask for his autograph. Oh, was this his first fan? Well, aside from the few single roses he'd gotten right before the curtain-call, but those didn't really count as much. And, shoot, he hadn't even thought to take a pen with him.

Sora was just about to tell her to hang on while he looked for one, when her next statement--

Stopped him dead.

For a second, he thought he must've misheard what she'd said. There was no way that. . .was there? Had he really found another survivor (or in this case, had one find him)? But no, there was no mistaking it.

"You. . ." The navigator suddenly felt lightheaded, as if he'd suddenly changed altitudes very quickly and with no warning. But his feet were still touching solid ground. "How did you get here?"

[starcharmsketch]

And then all of a sudden, she realized-- why had she approached him now? During a party? Couldn't this have waited...? A tiny voice in her head whispered that she wouldn't have known the next time she would seen him-- it had to be done as soon as possible. But seeing Sora's frozen expression amidst a sea of happy faces...she suddenly felt ashamed.

"I..." Naminé clasped her hands together, squeezing them tightly. "I'm on the Fiertia now. During that storm, I was saved. I don't know how, exactly. A man...Diz-- he rescued me somehow, and took me to Bydan."

Her heart was beating quickly, some part of her worried that the rest of what she had to tell him would turn him away from her. But the rest...the rest about the darkness, and Diz's research-- that was important too.

The powers she had, and how they affected him-- that was important too. It was...

[destined_skies]

Sora seemed to hang off of her every word, his eyes wide as she offered her explanation. But the shock was beginning to wear off, and left behind a giddy sort of joy that swelled in his chest. He and Riku weren't the only ones who'd made it off alive. Here was the proof standing right in front of him!

"This is. . " Suddenly, he broke into a wide smile, moving his hands about animatedly as he spoke. "This is great! I mean--I was starting to think I wouldn't find anyone else from our home. But you're. . ."

He trailed off, unable to form his happiness into words. And after a moment, he broke into his own recap. "That storm was when I left, too. But I don't remember being rescued. All I remember is chasing these wierd things."

It was a relief to finally be able to talk to someone about that night. Someone who'd also been there and had experienced everything first-hand as he had.

[starcharmsketch]

She was surprised when he started smiling. In retrospect, finding another survivor of the Origin Islands disaster would be a happy occasion, so there really hadn't been anything to be worried about. A small smile grew over Naminé's face as well, just content to see him happy again. "I never thought I would see you again either."

The blonde girl paused to hear his words, a small frown replacing her smile. Weird 'things'? Back when she was in Bydan, she hadn't been able to hack that much into Diz's difference engine, she she had no idea about what the 'things' were.

"Sora...I think those things had something to do with the darkness." She turned to stare into the fire a moment, trying to think of how to word the next part of her story.

"Diz, he rescued me, but where he took me-- it was a laboratory. He was doing experiments with the darkness. And with me." She turned her blue eyes up to meet his gaze, hesitating only a second. "They had to do with you, too."

[destined_skies]

The smile on his face dimmed just a bit and was replaced with a slight frown, his exuberance put briefly on hold.

"With me?" Sora pointed to his chest with one finger, head cocking slightly to the side. "What do you mean?"

Experiments having to do with her and him? He couldn't imagine what she could be talking about. Sure, what had happened was weird and he wanted to know what it all meant, but that was. . . well, it didn't make any sense.

[starcharmsketch]

She nodded, feeling a little silly. She could have worded that better...but that was what it was. Naminé pursed her lips a little at the question.

"He...asked me questions about you. He wanted to know everything about you." She wrung her hands, nervous again. This next part was going to sound rather incredulous...but after the darkness that had taken over their island? She was pretty sure the both of them wouldn't find anything about the situation strange anymore.

"I managed to hack into his difference engine, when I got a little suspicious of him. And I figured out that I...I have a strange power." She raised her head, looking at him uncertainly. "It told me that I have power over your memories...I can manipulate them. Not that I'd want to!" she added quickly. "I just...I just thought you should know. It all has to do with that darkness, I'm sure of it."

[destined_skies]

The new information was all very confusing and more than a little overwhelming. Sora was having trouble grasping all of what she was saying. It didn't make a whole lot of sense; but on the other hand, was there anything from that night that did? Still, it was sort of hard to believe that a person he didn't even know would have control over his memories.

"Oh," he replied, after it had sunk in a bit. It'd take some time to really think about it before he could safely say he understood, though.

"Err, that's. . " he continued, carefully, while scratching the back of his head with one hand, "Well, it fills in some gaps, I guess."

[starcharmsketch]

She probably confused him even more. Naminé looked a little sheepish. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anymore...but I think you should be careful if you ever meet him. I think he's interested in you for some reason..."

She sighed a little. If only she could understand that reason. Did her powers to control Sora's memories even work, she wondered? It wasn't like she was going to try...separating the fact from the fiction, or even getting more facts in the first place, would help very much at this point.

She didn't want Diz to hurt Sora.

The girl smiled faintly at him. "I'm just...really glad you're safe, Sora."

[destined_skies]

Sora looked, really looked at Naminé for a pause, and tried to gauge her sincerity. If this was all some sort of elaborate prank, he'd feel like a total idiot for believing it. But as far as he could tell, the look in her eyes was an honest one, and that was good enough for him.

But what could this guy possibly want with me? I've never even heard of him, before. .

"I'll keep an eye out," he promised, with a nod. "Thanks, Naminé."

Turning his gaze back to the fire, he was slightly disappointed to note that his marshmallow had caught fire during the course of the conversation. It was now nothing more than a crispy, black clump on the end of his wire.

"Aw, man," Pulling it from the fire, the brunette blew furiously on the (now inedible) sweet before he attempted to pluck it off of it's spit. Only to realize too late that it was still very hot and that fingers shouldn't try that. "Ah!"

[starcharmsketch]

She nodded, murmuring a quiet 'you're welcome' before falling silent. Well...now what? She actually hadn't thought ahead that much-- only up to the point where she would find Sora and tell him what she knew. Naminé hadn't known she would find him so quickly, so she thought she had a lot more time to think the 'afterwards' over, but now that it had happened...

She was distracted from her thoughts to hear Sora's yelp of pain. Unconsciously she reached for his fingers. "Oh! Are you alright--"

And then she realized she was touching him, and that was something she promised herself she wouldn't do, because who knew what would happen if she touched him? Her eyes widened and she hurriedly withdrew her hands, taking a quick step back. She looked panicked and unsure. "Sora? Are you alright?"

[destined_skies]

The sting of the burn was distracting enough that Sora didn't notice that anything remarkable had happened, least of all Naminé's sudden panic. There was no clap of thunder, no sudden jolt or tingle that resulted from her touch.

"Yeah," he assured her, and stuck the fingers briefly in his mouth to soothe them, "it's nothing bad, I just wasn't thinking." Which was a habit he (unfortunately) tended to do a lot. Flashing her a smile, the brunette shrugged off the injury, knowing that the less he thought about it the faster the pain would go away.

Flicking the remainder of the marshmallow off of his wire, Sora replaced it with two fresh ones. "This time I'll watch them better. Do you like smores, Naminé?"

[starcharmsketch]

Naminé was tense for a moment, waiting for any indication that she might have triggered any memory altering in him, but he merely stuck his fingers in his mouth and continued to speak. She let out a soft breath and relaxed.

So touching him didn't seem to do anything...she'd still be careful from now on. The girl returned his smile and after a moment of consideration, she lowered herself to the ground to sit, her legs tucked under her body on account of her dress.

"Mm, I actually haven't ever had one before." She tilted her head up curiously. She'd seen the others make s'mores on the Origin Islands, but her parents had been health-conscious, so she hadn't ever gotten to try. "Are they good?"

[destined_skies]

"You've never had one before?" Sora looked at her with a disbelieving raise of his eyebrows. "They're the best! Here," the brunette sat himself down beside her, and folded his own legs indian-style in front of him.

"I'll make you one once the marshmallows are done."

Smiling, he turned his attention back to the roasting, and was being extra-careful not to let them burn this time. "So, you said you were on a ship now, too?"

[starcharmsketch]

Naminé shook her head, pinking a little at his incredulous tone. "No, I've never had one..." She had a feeling she had a long way to go in becoming more social like Sora, but it was a good goal to work up to. Maybe.

She turned her head to watch him sit down, sighing a little at the absence of her sketchbook again. The glow from the fireplace lit up his face and brought out his childish expression, one she wanted to preserve.

Hopefully she'd have more chances? Now that she had found Sora. "Mmhm," she answered, holding out her hands to warm herself. "The Fiertia. Everyone there has been so nice. I hadn't expected it at all."