Experiments - Traverse Town [COMPLETE]

[into_ruin]

After he left the trio on Hollow Bastion, Zexion spent almost an hour weaving his way through the corridors of darkness between Traverse Town and Castle Oblivion, wondering if the darkness of the corridors could overlay the boy's scent and if, like the witch, he had fallen onto one of the numerous worlds in between. One thing was for sure: it was

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[signalcrossed]

In the first hours after the world changed, the girl moved little from her place beside the doorway, though warm bodies brushed by in a stuttered stream. If anything, they made only shallow ripples in the film of darkness drawn across the under-reality of the town, and as such, they passed mostly unnoticed. The focal points, the pale man and the boy with two voices, had long since slipped beneath the surface.

She continued listening, though. Waiting. River's fingers brushed the wall behind her, grounding her in the small city, heightening her awareness of the two worlds. Traverse Town, he'd called it, from the Latin transverse, literally to turn across, and she understood the space around her as an interstice between darkness and something she was not equipped to understand. Slowly, the map in her thoughts retraced itself. The boundary was thick in some places, thin in others, and she took hesitant steps towards the weakest location. In the crevice between two buildings, mostly hidden, the shadows trembled like the skin of a

[into_ruin]

Zexion skirted the edges of the town as he walked, keeping away from groups and pairs of people without any real conscious knowledge of it. He had an idea of what he was looking for, his eyes sharp and searching beneath his hood. He gave an occasional sniff here and there, trying to feel out an irregularity among a jangle of odd shapes and scents.

Despite the fact that he didn't consider himself a bloodhound, he seemed to be acting the part more and more lately. He nearly passed by the girl petting Heartless in the alleyway, assuming at first that they only intended to devour her. But what he heard was a giggle, not a scream. Several feet away he turned and watched them for a long moment. She was playing with the shadows like they were more than hungry, mindless creatures. And she matched the Superior's description to a T

[signalcrossed]

River felt nothing as the man approached, so when she heard the voice, she was visibly startled. Her dark brown eyes immediately left the Heartless and fixed on the man beside her, who was simultaneously there and not there, real and unreal. She saw him, but she couldn't feel him. It was like there was nothing there.

"Oh," she said, her eyes wide and confused. "You're..." Her voice trailed into silence, though the word wasn't a question. Something had happened to this person, something bad. He was less than he'd been before.

[into_ruin]

"Zexion." He replied, misinterpreting her gaze, though he returned it with complete apathy. Often Zexion chose to tower when others were sitting, to hint half-truths and make them believe they needed something he had. He was always either above of or in control of the situation. He made people come to him.

So it was strange that he crouched down next to the girl on the floor, a little under two feet of space separating them. He didn't need to look away so he didn't bother. He wondered if she would shy away too; not many people could hold Zexion's gaze very long. What was that silly little cliche about staring into the abyss?

"The Superior didn't say you were a Nobody." He mused, two gloved fingers coming up to press against his cheek. She may be comfortable among them, but she was no Heartless either. He could smell it.

"Do you know what you are?"