Awkward Revelations (Sora)

[Deleted]

(It has been agreed by Sora and I that this plot takes place before the battle at Destiny Islands. With that mumbo jumbo out of the way, on with the show!)

A pleasant amount of snowflakes dropped all around the rich, diverse town that was called Traverse. A vast multitude of people meandered from point A to point B, mainly shopping, picking up things here and there. Their shoes crunched against the snow covered ground, garments held tightly around their person as they continued to do their business. Anyone who, well, lived here would know that this was all considered commonplace, despite the large variety of people that lived here.

Of course, a random monkey would never fit the definition of commonplace.

Letting out a groan, a blonde male could be seen also wandering through the area, the first District as others called it. He sported an unique tail that drooped into cold slush, stiffening as a numbness eliminated all feeling towards it. His arms were down at his side, hands curling on occasion to keep the blood moving. Blue hues joined the others as they drank in the new territory, a series of questions pounding against the male’s brain as the bitter winds picked at his exposed skin.

The dark sky above resembled the aristocratic town of Treno quite a bit, since it too was also permanently bathed in night. Still, something was wrong here and this teen wanted to know what. Where were his friends? What happened to Alexandria? This sure wasn’t the town he was only just defending from those odd black monstrosities. It wasn’t long before he spotted a nice outdoor shop, and after setting his sights on who appeared to be the owner he briskly made his way over to the aforementioned person, ready to dole out questions to the unfortunate soul.

“Hey, what the heck is this place called?”

“Traverse Town. You gonna buy something? If not, buzz off,” came the reply of the owner, glowering at the kid with annoyance as he awaited his answer. The young man, saying nothing, face scrunching up dug into his pockets and pulled out a small pouch, tugging on its strings to reveal small bronze coins. He held said pouch up to the elder male, allowing his eyes to peer at the currency. “I have around two thousand gil,” he said, brows furrowing as he clearly expressed his distaste for the others rudeness.

“Sorry, not taking that. We take ‘Munny’ here.”

“Money? I have your ‘money’ right here!”

“Are you stupid, kid? We take munny. M-u-n-n-y.”

His previously dormant tail started twitching for the duration of the conversation, and it became clear that he wasn’t going to get anything out of this idiot, who obviously couldn't spell, or even recognize proper money. “I’ll take by business elsewhere! Don’t blame me if you gotta close up shop!” A huff later, and the blonde left just as quickly as he came. As he walked through the snow filled town, his eyes peered through the passerby’s as he looked for someone, anyone from Alexandria, hell, anyone from Gaia for that matter. More than anything he hoped to spot his canary.

“I’ve gotta be dreaming. I mean, Blank prolly snuck some kinda sleeping weed in my food again…dammit.”

This last thought was voiced out loud, gathering uneeded attention and arched brows but Zidane couldn't care less.

[Aryn007]

Sora had visited Traverse Town numerous times in his travels, but he had never seen it in the snow. So, even though he was there with a fairly important mission in mind, he couldn’t help but smile, his bright blue eyes lighting up at the sight of fresh white powder sprinkling down like fine sugar.

Traverse Town was awesome in the snow.

All the strange buildings, half-forgotten brick-a-braks and curving lampposts and uneven pavement seem to glow and gleam from the ice and chill, giving it a certain aura of magic and mystery. It was already a fairly mysterious place—it was the World you ended up at when your own World cast you out. People of all walks, shapes, sizes and colors could be found, along with architecture from every era and culture, inexplicable artwork, and machinery that no longer served the masters they had been built for.

It was the place his own journey started, so it seemed natural that it was where he would start looking for Riku and Kairi (he understood why they had to leave. He just wished they could have done it together).

Now he caught a snowflake or two on his tongue, delighting when he caught one, even as it sent a shiver up his spine. Luckily, the enchanted clothing the three good fairies had given him had the remarkable ability of insulation and keeping out the extreme cold.

Not quite true for everyone, he noticed.

That blonde guy trudging through the snow looked like he would have much preferred a warm summer day at the beach over the chill he was experiencing now. Not to mention a map…or a friendly face. Well, Sora knew that feeling. Waking up in Traverse Town was a little disorienting. Accompanied by the vague sense of disconnect, it could easily turn into a nightmarish experience.

“Hey!” He said, waving and approaching the newcomer, “You look sort of lost, do you need help?”

[Deleted]

Weaving in and out crowds was one of the blonde’s many strong points. Despite the looks from his weird outburst he had no problem ditching them in seconds and going with the flow of the crowd. The low temperature still served to bug him, but not as badly as before considering his body was slowly adapting to the weather. His movements were slightly jaggy as a result but with his skills, no one would even notice.

Blue hues stayed true to their mission as they looked everywhere for someone or something he might recognize - but to no avail. There were more weirdo’s here than he thought, but going back to that silly vendor was not an option. That left going deeper into this mysterious place, or trying his luck with another stranger. Weighing the two together, the monkey sighed deeply knowing he was going to have to deal with another random oddity.

Worry slowly but surely began to fill the genome as he moved with greater speed than usual, even bumping into some passerby’s. Dagger and the others were probably in trouble…and here he was, meandering around like a fool! Alexandria would be eaten alive by those black things and he couldn’t even save a single canary–his canary. However, much to the chagrin of the angsting male, a voice called out…he looked around quickly for the source of the masculine voice, turning to a spiky haired brunette who approached him from the side. He looked a bit…off, but considering his own differences, they were practically one and the same.

“Yeah, I’m pretty lost here,” he answered, turning his head, letting loose a dry laugh before giving the other proper eye contact, his lips curving into a small smile. ”You know where I can go to get back to Alexandria? Y’see, there were these black things attacking the castle, and some kinda portal appeared outta nowhere and dropped me off here!” His tail swung idly behind him as he spoke, having gained a renewed vigor that kept it from drooping back into the numbing snow. This spikey haired guy appeared to be a nice guy in his book, but more than anything he needed to get back to town…everyone was in trouble and maybe, just maybe, he could head back and save them.

[Aryn007]

“Uh, you see…” Sora turned his eyes away, frowning and rubbing the back of his neck, at once wanting to help the stranger understand and wanting to conceal the truth to avoid the sadness that would be sure to follow. It was not a task Sora wished on anyone.

Guilt rose in his throat like bile, stinging and acidic. Zidane’s very presence in Traverse Town meant another fallen World—a World Sora hadn’t been there for. At some point a star fell out of the sky and with it, a thousand voices with a thousand dreams and a thousand stories waiting to be told were suddenly silenced, and only a few to mourn its passing. The blue-eyed-boy had been told time and time again that he bore the mightiest weapon of all. If that was true, then he must also accept the responsibility that came with it, and each time a World died, it spoke of a personal failure on his part not to use what gifts he had to protect it. Though he had yet to voice or even truly understand his concerns, his heart knew what was quite clear: this could not go on forever.

“….your World is...” Gone, destroyed, dead. Maybe if he didn’t say it out loud, it wouldn’t be t rue, “Those black things you saw are called Heartless and they attack the hearts of people and Worlds. If you have a strong heart, you find your way here.” He gestured to the whole of Traverse Town, “I’m Sora by the way. What’s your name?”

[Aryn007]

(Are we still doing this thread?)

[Deleted]

(Jeez how long did I take to reply to this? Apologies would never be enough to remedy this. If it's alright with you, let's get this boat sailing.)

When the other turned his eyes away, the thief tilted his head, curiousity embedding itself in his own orbs. Blonde locks cascaded down one side of his head as he wondered just what was going through that his spiky haired mind of his. He seemed particularily nervous for some reason, though his demeanor was quite welcoming just seconds ago. The blonde waited patiently though, giving him all the time he needed to respond.

As he finally began to speak, a feeling of dread suddenly passed over him, the atmosphere becoming thicker as the brunette voiced his words, that frown clearly visible on his face. Something wanted to tell him that this was just a joke, a prank played by a random stranger but his heart for some weird reason was telling him to trust the boy. After righting his posture he turned and walked a few paces past the kid, before turning around on the spot, plopping his posterior against the cold snowy ground, erecting a knee to rest his arm against whist looking up at the other with a forlorn expression that failed to kept hidden.

"You've gotta be kidding me. It's all gone? Dammit..." His frustrating words were really directed to himself more than anything, directed towards his internal battle with coming to grips with the situaction. If Gaia was truly gone then all of those lives he was struggling to save were - no. He couldn't dwell on that. Sure, Terra was blown to bits, but people survived. Even if Gaia too, was gone, he couldn't have been the only survivor around.

"Hey, Sora. Name's Zidane," he said from his position on the ground. A certain curiousity made its second appearance, this time burning in his stomach. He was quick to bring it to the snowy airs that encompassed the town. "What brought you here? Your world got swallowed up too?"

[Aryn007]

“Well, I didn’t actually say—.” Sora sighed, “Yeah. I’m really sorry.” He couldn’t decide if it was a good thing that Zidane had put two and two together on his own or not. Either way, he felt sad about the whole thing.

“Zidane. Nice to meet you.” He offered him a hand up from the freezing ground, hoping he would take it. He knew what it felt like to lose everything that was precious and be left with nothing but the warm memory of a past life, “Um, well…Destiny Islands did get swallowed up once, but I was able to bring it back. I’m just visiting for now…looking for my friends.”

[Deleted]

The bandit glanced up at Sora, whose saddened stance had brought about a stabbing pain of guilt inside of the genome. Maybe...maybe it was better that he didn't voice the implied connection. It wasn't his fault that all this happened.
"Hey, it's okay. Really." While Zidane figured it wouldn't do much to help the other, he had to do something. So he forced a smile on his face, hoping to improve the crestfallen feeling surrounding the both of them.

Suddenly a hand was extended towards him and after staring for a few seconds he took it, pulling himself back onto his feet before letting go. "Nice to meet you too, Sora," he said, maintaining that smile, though his jaw gradually loosened, becoming a more genuine facial expression...however all that was about to drop due to the shocking statement that came from the other.

"You bought back your world?" The question came out without so much as a trace of thought as he kept his gaze on Sora, the hope beaming on his face. If that much was true, then he for sure was going to bring Gaia back - no matter what it took. "I'm looking for my friends too..." Then, an awkward moment happened.

His stomach rumbled. Loudly.

Zidane however wasn't bothered by the sudden sounds in the slightest. "A guy gets hungry after fighting and traveling across worlds! Any idea where I can grab a bite to eat 'round here?"

[Aryn007]

Sora laughed, “Don’t I know it! Let’s get you something to eat!” In that short moment, he seemed to transform back to this usual optimistic, care-free self, bright with good humor and an easy smile on his lips.

“Hope you don’t mind canned beans. It’s about all they seem to have this week.” Traverse Town was unique in that it was a collection of discarded Worlds and people all conglomerated into one makeshift community. Food did not grow here well. There were no farms, nor any kind of agriculture, except for a few sad potatoes Aerith had managed to grow at one point. There was no livestock, it being very difficult to keep, raise, and breed a single stray cow at a time. More often than not, the people of Traverse Town were dependent on what they could find; on what random goods appeared, discarded from their original Worlds.

Some weeks were wonderful, especially if a gourmet restaurant happened to pop up, stocked with many ingredients and food supplies. If they were very lucky, fresh fruits and vegetables might be found still chilled from industrial refrigeration. Other weeks were not so wonderful, consisting of a few canned goods or packaged noodles. One time a cabbage cart appeared, but the cabbages were infested with alien worms.

This particular month had been a rough one and they community had been relying on what non-perishable foods that had been put away for storage. Canned beans was the main course and frozen peaches were for dessert.

“Then we can talk about how to find your friends.” Sora said, lacing his fingers behind his head and leading them through the dim streets of Traverse Town.


(bwhahaa this is me taking liberties with how Worlds work lol)

[Deleted]

Zidane would never admit it out loud, but internally he was thankful for the recovery of the others jubilant expression. For the genome's penitence still lingered through his soul, never fully coming out due a simple explanation: this was his problem, and he would solve it. It was his fault that he failed to save Gaia, and hell, while it was the responsible thing to do, considering the lives he saved, he still abandoned his friends.

Upon the mention of canned beans, the blonde broke into a infectious grin. "Are you kidding? Food is food!" Traverse Town, appearance wise didn't have much of the run feel that the low class section of Treno did, but it was certaintly evident that this place was having hard times. It was something to note, that was for sure.

"And it's prolly due to the influx of people losing their worlds..."

"Sora," he called, his gaze settled in the distance as he walked alongside him, that smile of his still present, "after we get some grub in us, let's look for our friends together." If his home world was really back as he said it was, then there was little reason for him to be here...or was it? The lack of lighting in the immediate area caused Zidane to be involuntarily alert to his surroundings ten fold, tail become rigid and extremely sensitive thanks in part to his thievery based training. As always with a large population of people, there was danger to be had. Going by the blonde's hunch, if something bigger truly was in control of setting the heartless loose on worlds, then, of course, this world would be a prime target.

Taking into consideration Kuja's words, something was probably in motion, even now in this time of peace, and unlike Gaia, if something tried to take down this world, the blonde would stay and fight to the death. Not run with his tail between his legs.