A Calm Between Storms [Avari / PM]

[Alice Kingsleigh]

After a storm comes a calm.

That was probably one of the first things Alice learned while sailing on The Wonder. She’d heard of the Eastern Seas years before her maiden voyage, particularly about how unforgiving they were for the average, green western explorer. Monsoons. Pirates. Shipwrecks. Venturing through uncharted waters, while tempting for various reasons, could prove to be fatal for those brave and foolish enough to do so. That had been the main reason behind Father’s reluctance to expand his trading business beyond Europe.

But Alice was a brave and foolish girl… or had been, at least. A sudden monsoon – her first – swiftly creeped around her overconfident ego and struck her traveling party with little to no mercy. It wasn’t long before most of her crew was panicking and praying for their souls. Their morale would’ve been completely shattered and their lives forfeited if it weren’t for Mister Phelps's crisis expertise and Harper's unnatural skill as helmsman. Alice owed those two their lives, and as the raindrops ceased to shower over the ship deck she swore to never underestimate the Eastern Seas again.

For the next couple of days, the inexperienced captain remained on edge. Her paranoia led her to over-prepare their defenses, and their next stop ended up being delayed by nearly a week as a result. Again, it was Mister Phelps who stepped in and imparted this little tidbit of wisdom on her: always be prepared, but never waste a moment of calm.

A calm settled on Twilight Town following the Chaos Hide’s defeat. "Incidents" had grown rarer since that day, and people wandering under the broken moonlight seemed to be a bit safer than before. Efforts to rebuild what had been lost so far were starting to take shape. Kingsleigh tried to contribute in any way she could. She searched for missing citizens within the affected areas and scavenged whatever she deemed useful from the abandoned spots on the outskirts. It turned out she was skilled at doing both of those things. While she didn’t manage to come across any sign of Mister Phelps or the rest of her crew, it felt good to know her efforts were making a difference.

Rest – real rest – had become a luxury after living on the edge for so long, but everyone could now begin to reacquaint themselves with such habits.

Or they could’ve, if the dark dragon hadn’t showed up to take over the other creature’s agenda.

It had been just a day or two since the events of the town meeting, and the calm was nearing its end. Two of the keybearers – Xion and Master Aqua – had left in an attempt to find Castle Oblivion and create a pathway between it and Twilight Town. Others had gone searching for the dragon, though Alice wasn’t sure whether it was to try to vanquish it or to simply learn more about its plans. A small few appeared to cling to whatever sense of normalcy they could despite the circumstances; she couldn’t blame them for it, though. Most had gone through enough pain to last more than a lifetime.

The princess ultimately decided to remain in Marmadue’s infirmary for the time being, offering what little knowledge and ability she had to take care of the wounded. So many still had yet to fully recover from the Chaos Hide’s attack, and this new foe seemed to have already begun making similar moves. Regardless of skill level, they needed everyone they could get to assist over there.

Plus, there was always the chance the other keybearer – Riku, would show up at some point. That was a conversation she was both eager and dreading to have.

She sighed, hands glowing with a bright green hue as they hovered over a young boy’s side. This one had been surprised by a pair of Powerwilds the other day. Though he managed to get back to the safe zone after a few minutes of struggling, he wasn’t as lucky to escape their claws unscathed. Fortunately for little Tim, while his injuries were deep they certainly weren’t life-threatening. A couple of days in bed and undergoing treatment would leave him with nothing but some scar tissue to remember the ordeal.

"…And I believe that should be enough for now," Alice decided, shifting her focus from the Irridescence materia in her pocket to the boy laying before her. The light coating her hands dissipated by the time she reached to grab a fresh set of bandages from a nearby tray. Small talk was held as she dressed the healing wound as properly as she could. She was getting a bit better at it, though it was still far from being perfect. "You’ve been such a gracious patient today, Tim," the woman offered him a warm smile, taking a few steps back toward the cloth acting as door to the room. "I’ll leave you to get some more rest but please, do let me know if you need anything else from me."

Once the boy dismissed her from the room, Alice would move on to the next one. This one lacked a proper door as well; a large, sand colored cloth had been somehow tied to the upper door frame, blocking most of its contents from outside view. She slowly pulled the drape open, peeking her head in to look before stepping in.

Inside laid a vaguely familiar face: Avari, the girl who’d recently been attacked by the Heartless dragon.