lightwithin | 5th ♥ [Audio]

Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?

[Is he forgetting something...? Riku tries to figure out what he could be missing, but his head's been hurting ever since he had his run-in with Varric, and so it's a lost cause.]

Is something wrong?

You're writing's worse than Sora's.

Did something happen?

[Is it? Riku frowns at the page. It had looked a -little- bit wobbly to him, but not worse than Sora's...

Maybe it was worse than he thought.

And unfortunately, it's taking a while for him to think of a good lie to tell to cover things up.]

Nothing important.

[...best cover-up ever.]

[It's a good thing Kairi hasn't had years to get to know Riku, otherwise she might be able to tell how pitiful a lie that was-

Oh wait.]

I'm coming to find you.

Kairi, no--!

[Whoops. Riku had been so focused on making sure she didn't set out to find him that he'd forgotten why he'd been using text in the first place. Speaking only makes his head pound more, even though his voice is a bit weaker than it normally is. He switches back to text.]

You don't want to be out here. Trust me.

Then why are you out there?

[He doesn't sound good.]

I went to meet somebody.

They can meet you here.

Come on, Riku.

[He doesn't want to move.

He's -tired-, tired and cold and doesn't want to have to explain his appearance to her. He's pretty sure that getting his head slammed into the floor by Varric yesterday hasn't been helping things; he's been fighting headache ever since the incident and moving too quickly only results in a wave of nausea.]

It's okay. He's already come and gone.

[And it had been his fault.

He'd killed Varric.]

Well, then you don't need to stay out there.

[Riku sighs.]

I'm guessing it's stupid to hope you'll give up?

Yes.

I'm in one of the studies, in the library. The left one.

All right, you win.

[Another sigh, and then Riku's going to drag himself upright, summoning a corridor of darkness to cross through. There is absolutely no way he's got the energy to walk all the way across the keep.

He takes the shortest path he can--within a few seconds, Kairi will see a corridor of darkness opening in the library study. A couple moments after that, Riku will be making his way through the portal, and doesn't he look great? He's got his hood up and his gloves on, but he can't hide that one sleeve of his coat is ripped, nor the blood (mostly dried now) on him. He's walking carefully, watching his steps to make sure he doesn't lose his balance, to keep the nausea down.

Well, you asked for him.]

[Kairi doesn't hear him. But the hair rises on the back of her neck as that inky blotch mars the wall and Riku steps through.

Immediately she's on her feet and a moment later, hurrying forward and reaching out to him.]

Riku!

What happened?

[Riku starts to shake his head--then stops as a wave of colors overtakes him, threatening his balance. To his credit he doesn't put out his arms for balance, but he does have to take a step backward.]

It's nothing.

[But he knows he won't be able to fool her any more.]

I went to go see Varric. He said that he'd been getting better.

[She can probably see how well that worked out.]

He wasn't.

[It's not a question.]

Over here,

[She grabs the chair she'd been sitting in, an old wooden thing stacked with cushions, and gestures for him to sit down.]

Take that off, it's got-,

[She waves towards his coat.]

It's dirty.

No. He wasn't.

[Riku slowly makes his way toward her, but when she tells him to take off the coat, he stops short. Take it off? But it's so -cold- in there. He's already cold, if he takes off his coat...

But he also knew Kairi likely wouldn't take no for an answer.

But if he had to take it off, he wouldn't be able to hide the bruises on his neck, either.]

It'll be all right.

[...yeah, okay, that sounds like a pathetic defense even to -him-. Riku frowns, but he can't think of anything better. So he gives in, unzipping the coat and shrugging out of it. But he's not showing Kairi his arm yet, and he -thinks- his hair is mostly covering up the bruising. Right?]

[It isn't, but she isn't going to spoil the small victory but making a big deal out of it. That's probably why he didn't want to show her in the first place. Instead she just frowns, looks aside, and squashes the impulse to hug him. It won't help.]

Xanth and Ironhide went for food, but there's still a little bit of water here.

[And she heads for a side table.]

You could try to clean...

[She waves at him generally. Is he bleeding? She's learned her lesson; cleaning cuts is important. She offers the pitcher.]

Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

[Not that he's bleeding anymore, but cleaning up the areas where Varric had managed to break through the skin (one big one on his hand, several other, smaller ones on his wrist and forearm) is still a good idea. Riku accepts the pitcher from Kairi and sets to work, ignoring the goosebumps that rise on his arms as he touches the cold water.]

Have the three of you been here the whole time?

More than a day.

[She's scrutinizing him out of the corner of her eye the whole time.]

Ironhide blocked the door.

[She wanders over to the rumpled pile of linen and blankets in the corner and picks up one, bunching it up in her hands.]

Hey,

[And she tosses the blanket to him. He looks awful. He should sleep.]

Good. At least that way, nothing can get in.

[Riku glances over when she calls for him, reaching out to catch the blanket--and missing. He looks at it, a little bit bewildered, as it falls to the floor, but bends and snags it back up after that, wrapping it around himself.

He'd -missed-.

Excuse him, Kairi, he's just going to be really taken aback by that little fact for a moment.]

[Kairi nodded, but paused mid-motion when she heard the flump of the blanket hitting the floor.

She glanced up at Riku through her eyelashes.

He'd missed.

Riku didn't miss.

He'd fended off every blitzball that Wakka had ever thrown at him for as long as she could remember, even the ones from behind, even when it had been three on one and Sora and Tidus had been coming at him from the front.

He had sliced through every shadow that came leaping for his head even as they'd buried her under the power of their own numbers.

Riku never missed.

He was already picking up the blanket.

His arm was probably hurt. He just hadn't been fast enough, that was all. Too late, she closed her mouth and looked away. He was tired.]

They won't be back for a while. You could sleep-

[Lie down, rest, recover.]

-until they get here, and then there'll be food.

[Riku doesn't -want- to sleep. The one time he's tried so far, all he'd been able to see was the blood on his hands, the blood of an actual -person-, the blood of somebody he'd known. Over the past year he's gotten used what it feels like to constantly fight for his life, used to what it feels like to kill. But this is entirely different--partly in how much it was the same. It had been as easy as killing the Heartless, killing the Nobodies.

But the meaning was entirely different.

Still, he can't deny that he's exhausted, and there's still that pounding in his skull to be dealt with.]

What about you?

[But he's already making his way toward the corner as he speaks, trying to choose a spot where he'll be out of the way but still have enough room to lie down without being too cramped.]

[She studies him as he walks, unaware how obvious she's being, but alert for any other injuries. She can't find any.]

Oh, I already slept.

[The lie comes easily, and far too quickly. She avoids looking directly at him as he approaches the heap of blankets.]

I'll be okay. Rest.

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