Twelfth Breeze

[salvagedlight]

[Cambot turns at the sound of running footsteps, barely catching a glimpse of Ven as he races past as the camera turns to follow him and starts floating in his wake. He either doesn't notice or doesn't care about the fuzzy ears and tail of a golden retriever dog that have sprouted from his body, because he's obviously looking for someone.]

Aqua! Aqua, where are you?

[Normally, the best place to find Aqua would be the library. Today, this doesn't seen to be the case, as she turns a corner only to almost be run down by Ven. If she's noticed her own set of fuzzy ears and a tail (those of a Russian Blue cat), she's paying them no real attention in favor of somewhat more important facts.

I'm here, Ven.

[He pulls to a stop in front of her, breathing a little harder, but definitely looking distressed now that he's in one place for the camera to focus on his face.] I can't find him anywhere - have you?

[Aqua shakes her head at the question, and with the camera focusing on them, it's easy to see that her tail is swishing gently in irritation.] He's not anywhere he'd usually be. Is there anywhere we didn't look?

I don't think so - I went all the way down to the engine deck, I even got the Servos to help me look. [Ven's newfound puppy ears are drooping; clearly, something very unhappy has happened for both of them.] He's not on the weapons deck or the sports deck or anywhere.

I was afraid that might be the case. He's not in his room either. [She sighs, and while her own ears don't droop, she doesn't look at all happy either.]

Then... is he... really gone?

...Yeah. He's... gone.

[Ven's ears and tail drop all the way, every inch of him looking defeated and sad as he just stands in front of Aqua.] ...What are we going to do?

[There's a moment of crestfallen silence from Aqua as she gathers her thoughts.] I guess... we just have to hope he's alright?

We... We'll find him when we get home, right? [And then he catches himself, rephasing:] You'll find him.

...Yeah. I'll find him.

Comments

[punsofiron]

[Yeah, she knows that feel right down to Aqua's answer. One bff coming at you, Aqua.]

[wavesinherheart]

[Why do these things have to be so hard?]

[optimistickey]

But he's real tough! If he's fighting out there, then he'll need you to trust in him to know that he'll come out all right!

If you were in the same situation, Terra would believe in you, wouldn't he?

[wavesinherheart]

[Odd though it might seem on the surface, Aqua is very glad for the pony hug. Like Ven, she's not in much of a state to hug back, but it is much appreciated all the same.]

Mmm. He was fighting Xehanort, wasn't he?

Convene at the Ven and Nami thread?

[skysmirror]

[She looks like she's considering what to say next when Namine's voice is heard offscreen.]

It looks like Namine wants to go over there now...It might be a bit early, but...

[colorbymemory]

[Namine's not asking out of a sense of obligation, she wants to be there to offer any support she can. No happy face necessary--she doesn't expect him to be happy now, or try to act cheerful for her.]

I do. Xion might come, too, I'll ask her.

[Off to find a Xion.]

[dadandgone]

[Thinks of his own home. A look of understanding and his ears droop a bit. Finally Maes nods.]

Yeah, I can understand that.

There's still a chance for him though, right?

[Wouldn't Terra or the others have let it slip by now if Terra were dead back home? After all, he'd let his own situation slip plenty of times and he was a lot better at keeping secrets than Ven or his look-a-likes.]

[wavesinherheart]

Mmm. He would.

Sure

[wavesinherheart]

Ah... you can come if you want.

[eyeofwildtiger]

[He waves a hand.] I gotcha.

[skysmirror]

Okay, we'll be there soon.

[optimistickey]

Right! So Terra would want you to do the same, wouldn't he?

[wavesinherheart]

Alright.

[wavesinherheart]

Of course he would.

[optimistickey]

So that's all you gotta do! Believe in him, and he'll pull through.

[punsofiron]

[When Liz knows the answer to that, she'll let you know.

For now, she's just gonna sit with you and put a hand on your shoulder, ears flat.]

[salvagedlight]

[And Ven can't say anything else. But that talk he had with Roxas and Sora when he first arrived on the Satellite is heavy on his mind.]

[salvagedlight]

You- [-don't have to do that, but she's gone. Ven leans against the wall at that point and just sort of... slides down until he's sitting on the floor. It's not a good day for any of them.]

[salvagedlight]

[Ven hasn't actually heard that about Maes yet. But the time they're from, none of them know about Terra.]

We were in a battle... we weren't winning.

[eyeofwildtiger]

Hey, if you need a distraction, blow off some steam, whatever, I can meet you on the rec deck.

[salvagedlight]

I... thanks, but... not right now, okay?

[eyeofwildtiger]

[Nods.] The offer stands. You know where to find me.

[colorbymemory]

[She knows she doesn't have to, but she wants to.

Not much later, Nami arrives with Xion in tow. She goes to sit by Ven, placing a hand on his shoulder, while Xion goes to sit with Aqua.]

[wavesinherheart]

I wish it were that simple.

[wavesinherheart]

[After all the explanations she's had to give, it's nice to simply have a moment of silence, and the knowledge that Liz understands how she's feeling. Maybe she'll explain later. Or maybe she'll simply take the silence as a comfort. She hasn't quite decided.]