lightwithin | 8th ♥ [Text/Commentlog] Backdated by a week.

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8th ♥ [Text/Commentlog] Backdated by a week.

He's left me.

[That is all she writes.

For the rest of the afternoon, Kairi can be found out by the lake with a weighted wooden sword from the armoury, practicing guards and footwork against an invisible foe. But her mouth is set in a hard line and her gaze is far away, her head filled with thoughts of the best friend who she thought had just been avoiding her for weeks. But there was no denying it now. He'd left her behind. He must have gone to look at the escape path Bartimaeus had said the pumpkins talked about, the pumpkins he'd wanted to talk to Varric about.

And now he was gone. Without her.]

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... Who?

Riku.

Hn. The other silver-haired boy?

Yes.

Have... You seen him?

[This is a situation that calls for tact. And delicate handling.]

[Ironhide has neither of those capabilities.]

No.

Okay.

[It's no more than she expected.]

Thanks.

[Xanth sees the post, but he has no idea what he could say in response. He's sure she's talking about Riku, and he's noticed the absence, too, but he's not sure how to feel. Kairi, though. Kairi's upset.

And so Xanth goes out to find her.

It doesn't take long. He spies her near the lakeshore and approaches, but he doesn't speak right away. For a little while, he just watches her, hands buried in pockets.

After a particularly nice block, Xanth finally speaks over the scarf wrapped around his neck.]

That-- th-that was a-- g-good swing.

[Kairi jumped and half-turned all in the one motion, her practice sword whipping out to point at Xanth. But she lowered it as soon as she saw who it was. She tok in the scarf and the poorly-knitted hat with the pom-pom on top, and for the first time in hours she felt the winter's cold brush across her own flushed cheeks.

She glanced at where she'd thrown her own scarf and shawl. She was still getting used to winter. It hadn't occurred to her that the snow would be wet. The clothes were now sodden, and so were her shoes, the cold seeping in to her socks as the heat of physical exertion left her. It wouldn't be long before they started to freeze.

Belatedly, she realized she hadn't responded to what Xanth said. She couldn't even remember what it was.]

Hello.

H--Hey.

[Xanth offers Kairi a smile, though it's slightly sad, and moves closer.]

Y-You, um, you-- y-you look a little... c-cold, there.

[She doesn't, really - she looks flushed and warm - but she's underdressed. She'll be cold soon. Xanth unwinds the scarf from around his neck, the offers it to Kairi.]

H--Here.

Oh, I'm okay...

[She stops as her hand falls on her own scarf. She can feel the absorbed water weighing it down. From somewhere, she managed to dredge up a watery grin.]

Thanks.

[Pulling her hood up to protect her ears, she wraps the scarf around her back and shoulders.]

So, what're you doing here?

O-Oh, you, y-you know, I-- I like the-- th-the lake. E-Even when it's-- cold l-like this, i-it's... nice.

[But now, the smile drops from his face, and a concerned frown forms there instead. He shifts a little and then adds,]

A-And, I... I-I thought... you m-might be-- here.

[She didn't believe the first part, but she nods at the second.]

Mm.

I can think here.

It reminds me of home.

[Xanth nods in agreement, then shuffles his feet in the snow.]

M--Me too.

[It does. Never before has he been so entirely land-locked and, to be honest? He misses the open space of the ocean.]

D-Did you get-- snow, l-like this? O-On the-- th-the island?

[She shakes her head.]

It was never this cold. I'd never seen snow before I came here.

[Xanth nods; it's like he thought. She doesn't seem experienced with snow.]

W-We, uh, we-- u-used to get it, b-back where I-- g-grew up. I-I haven't seen it for--

[He wants to say for a long time, but there were a couple of snowy days here when he thought it should have been summer.]

S-Since that-- f-freak snowfall e-earlier this year, I, I-I guess.

[She'd spent those days in doors, dozy and lethargic after being drugged out for a plant removal.

She didn't want to think about that.]

Did you ever walk on the ice?

N-No.

[Xanth shakes his head.]

I-- I was worried i-it would... you know. B-Break under m--me.

[That, and he didn't want to stray far from Kairi. She was still recovering, after all, and going to the lake was such a frivolity.]

[Kairi glanced at the lake ice and then back at Xanth. She hadn't thought about that.]

Does it do that?

N-Not if it's-- th-thick enough? B-But I didn't-- I didn't want to r-risk it.

I-I did it once. I-- I-I wasn't a f-fan.

Could we try now?

[Her shoes were already soaked through. What difference would it make?]

[Xanth tilts his head to the side and thinks about this for a moment. Yeah, they could, but it could turn out so terribly...

He nods.]

Sh-- sure. It's-- it's been cold, m-maybe the-- there's some th-thick ice around.

[Not one to wait around, Kairi left her sword and sodden things and headed for the lake edge. Not sure what thick ice looked like, she didn't know where to start. The snow hid the water's edge and she didn't hear cracking under her feet. She had to be standing on ice by now, didn't she?

She pointed to what she was certain was ice further out.]

Do you think it's hard enough?

[Xanth follows behind Kairi - close enough to catch her if she slips. When she points out, he takes a hesitant step further.

Still, there is no cracking and sounds of pressure are absent. He shoots Kairi a smile.]

S--Seems good a-and thick. But-- b-be careful what you do, it-- i-it's no good to us s-soft.

[Focusing on where her feet fell was an excellent distraction. It required most of her attention, and what little she could spare was given over to half-listening to what Xanth said. She could almost forget about Riku.

Almost.]

I can make it go soft?

[That was bad. She knew she probably shouldn't bounce. That was obvious. But was there anything else?]

How?

W-Well, not-- e-exactly--

[He takes another careful step.]

M-Move-- carefully. S-Smooth, s-- slow. A-And if you-- feel it s-start to go in, p--pull back.

"Okay." Distracted by Xanth's words, Kairi slid on a patch of bare ice and almost lost her footing.

"Oh! It's wet there."

Xanth tensed when Kairi slipped, but relaxed after she caught herself.

"Y-Yeah, be-- be c-careful. I-If it's-- wet, i-it's-- probably hotter th-than the rest."

He stepped further out onto the ice, and where he stepped, hairline fractures appeared in the ice. They were so slight that he didn't even take notice.

[Kairi wondered how ice could be hot. She turned to glance back at Xanth, a question in her eyes, but the shift in weight did not go unnoticed. There was a soft crunching sound beneath her feet.

Kairi froze.]

[Xanth may have not noticed the cracks beneath his own feet, but he heard the ones under Kairi's, and he snapped to attention.]

O--Okay. Just-- you went too f-far. S-Step, like, r-really-- really slow, a-and careful.

[Xanth stepped towards the shore, but he didn't move closer to Kairi. No need to put any more pressure on the ice.]

[Oh. She knows how this feels.]

K-Kairi?

Mm?

[Her response comes distant, her journal lying on the ground in a nest of scarves as she works through some basic sword exercises.

She doesn't know what to say.]

Do...do you want some company?

[She almost says no.]

Yeah, okay.

I'm by the lake. Do you want to go somewhere?

I can come to you, if you want.

[She hesitates, half way through a block, before picking up the record to respond once more.]

Okay.

I'll wait.

[Idly, she wonders if Rapunzel knows anything about fighting... Maybe not.]

[She doesn't verbally respond, she just hikes her skirts and runs down to the lake. She picks her way over, and comes up next to her and smiles faintly.]

Kairi?

Hm?

[Kairi doesn't look around right away. It takes her a few seconds to realize that she's being rude, and she drops her training sword to her side. Mustering up a smile in return, she glances at Rapunzel.]

Heh, sorry. I was just... Thinking.

[Thinking with a sword in her hand. It had seemed like a good idea.]

[Yeah that's a little unnerving.]

O-oh. I see.

Are...are you okay?

[She opened her mouth to say yes, began to nod her head. But she couldn't. She shook her head and stared at her feet.]

A friend of mine's disappeared.

I think he went looking for a way home and well...

He might have found it.

[Without her.]

A friend of mine is gone, too. [She looks at her hands.]

But...

I...I don't think he would have left without me, and if he did, then...then it was for a really good reason, and I bet it's the same for your friend, too.

[She looked up.]

Maybe.

[She could hope.]

When did your friend disappear?

Not...not long ago. A few days, at the most. I'm not sure. He stopped...stopped answering the journals...

[Rubs her eyes and sighs.]

I miss him.

[She nods.]

Maybe... Wherever they are... Well, it has to be important.

[Doesn't it?]

Of course it is. They wouldn't just leave us here and not tell us. If they left, then it had to be because it's important.

And we'll see them again. No matter how far away they are.

[They aren't questions. She's trying to reassure herself. But the question is in her eyes when she glances at Rapunzel. She's believes it, right?]

Exactly.

[She smiles at Kairi, fully believing it. She HAS to believe it - I'd she doesn't? What does that mean for Flynn?]

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8th ♥ [Text/Commentlog] Backdated by a week.

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