July Catch All - OPEN

[carriedbylight]

characters: Kairi (carriedbylight) and YOU!
location: Different places around Beacon.
date/time: Various times throughout the month of July.
content: Various shenanigans (This will be a catch all for everything for July.)
warnings: None as of yet, but I'll update as they come!

Comments

Continued from TDM - Closed to Vanitas

[carriedbylight]

( The sound of Vanitas' laughter is cold in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable. What was it that he found so amusing? Her death? She isn't quite sure, but she lets the moment pass, unwilling to be provoked by something so simple. Instead, she finds herself wanting to understand this person with Sora's face. She doesn't know anything about him, really. She only knows that he looks like him and feels like Darkness itself. But perhaps there's something there worth knowing.

She watches his gestures as he motions to himself, taking a moment to admire the way the fire makes his golden eyes practically glow. He seems so proud of himself, despite telling her that he was cut down by Ventus in the keyblade graveyard. Some of the pieces are aligning now, painting a picture of what exactly happened while Kairi had been preoccupied with her own battle. )

I don't know what happened between you and Ventus, but I'm sorry you died. It isn't easy for anyone.

( In response to the commentary about Sora, Kairi simply shakes her head. She looks away from Vanitas for a moment and back toward the fire, a thoughtful expression still on her face. He's mistaken about what happened, it seems. )

No, it wasn't Sora's fault. I didn't die for him. It was my own mistake of being caught off guard. I wasn't strong enough and didn't have enough experience. My death is my own fault, not anyone else's.

( She looks back toward him, finally, her expression showing that changing her mind would be a difficult matter. After all, how could she blame Sora for something he couldn't help? It was her own insistence that led her to that point, a desire to fight with her friends and protect them. The mistake was her own, but at least she would fully admit that. )

[evulsed]

[ He makes a low sound in his throat, something that could be another laugh, or a scoff of derision. What Vanitas knows and Kairi doesn't, is that on some level she'd been a part of his Master's end plan. Xehanort understood his enemy from so many different angles that her part in this had been inevitable. Sora, even in those brief moments Vanitas had met him, would never have given it his all if Kairi hadn't been used as the bait. He was the kind of person that needed to fight for his friends. My friends are my power. Stupid, really. ]

Go on telling yourself that.

[ Vanitas doesn't actually care what she thinks, but the set of her jaw and the steadiness in her eyes makes it fairly obvious that he could probably argue with her about it for a while and she wouldn't change the way she thinks. That's the way of these people, so full of Light. Ventus had been like that too.

Still, that didn't mean he was completely out of ammunition. His eyes are acidic and sharp as he watches her without blinking, meeting her level gaze unflinchingly. The air of I know something you don't know clings to every word as he says: ]

I wonder what you'll say when you see him.

[carriedbylight]

( He doesn't approve of her way of thinking, that much is apparent. But he has no better chance of changing her mind on that issue than getting it to rain paopu. After all, it's her own fault and lack of experience that caused her to get taken off guard by Xemnas. No amount of training in a controlled environment could have prepared her for that kind of a battle. It might have gone differently if she had been involved in real battles before recently, fighting along side Riku and Sora. But no amount of wishing would change that now.

What does unsettle Kairi is the look in his eyes as he speaks to her, the unspoken taunt of something unsaid lingering in his words. Her brows furrow together as she watches him, lips turning downward into a little frown as those words sink in. When you see him...The pieces line up fairly quickly to paint the picture. Sora is there, which can't mean anything good happened back home. But now, sitting there with Vanitas, isn't the place to process something like that, though the thought lingers at the back of her mind. What happened?

She shakes her head a little and lifts a hand, palm upturned a little. )

Well, I imagine I'll say 'hi'.

( Is it a sassy retort? Maybe. But it's an easy way to cover up the discomfort she's feeling. )

[evulsed]

[ The freeze is almost imperceptible, but Vanitas still clocks it, and it pulls a fissure of vindication through him. Riku had already told him he didn't have the finesse to really pull any strings, and while that was true— Vanitas didn't have the wealth of experience his Master had— knowing that he can get under the guard of these people makes him feel less unsure of what's happening in this world.

Darkness is familiar. Death is familiar. It's the weight and shape of this world's atmosphere that sets his teeth on edge. That he can't reach into the darkness the way he feels he should, that his own power doesn't work right despite being arguably made of the same stuff that presses in all around them; that he's alive and not sleeping in some dark, warm, quiet place.

But this, at least, is right. Vanitas is still the shadow that these lightbearers cast. They still feel the same hurts, and he can still find them and hold them and bring them into focus. His eyes go heavy with satisfaction. ]

Oh, I'm sure you will.

[carriedbylight]

( It doesn't sit right with Kairi that someone like Vanitas can see into her heart so clearly and use what's there to press on the spots that hurt. It especially doesn't seem right when he has the same face as the boy she loves, though is made of complete darkness. But getting overly upset over the matter would be incredibly entertaining to him, she's sure. So instead of doing that, she huffs out a quiet breath and crosses her arms over her chest. )

You're kind of annoying. Has anyone ever told you that?

( She's sure it isn't the first time he's heard that, what with the way he speaks to others. But still. She's sure the little jab at him won't make much difference, but it does a little bit to make her feel better. Kairi tears her gaze away from Vanitas and turns it toward the fire, watching as the wood turns a lovely shade of red. The crackling and popping sound are pleasant, reminding her of nights back home spent camping on the beach.

But eventually, she looks back over to him. )

Try not to get yourself in too much trouble while you're here. Even if you're kind of annoying, I don't want anything bad to happen to you.

[evulsed]

[ The fierce flicker of amusement her first comment puts in his face slips away almost as soon as she goes on. It sobers his whole expression, making his eyes go heavy, wiping the smile off his face into something stony and serious. He hasn't looked away from her since she sat down next to him, though he isn't really thinking about what he's doing. Maybe it's natural for something like him, void of all light, to hungrily turn toward a person like Kairi— so full of it, undiluted and strong, even under the suffocating black of this world. ]

You're only saying that because I look like him.

[ There's nothing teasing in his tone anymore, not where it had been moments before, digging into all the wounds he could find and rubbing salt into them every way he can. The thing is, Vanitas isn't sore about the fact he looks like Sora— if anything, he knows he should be thankful. Without Sora, there would have been no chance for Ventus, and therefore no chance for Vanitas to go after the rest of his heart. Really, it's even possible this face of his could be used to his advantage, if he wanted it to.

But such a noble sentiment like that could come from no other place. He knows how she feels about that boy, because Xehanort had known, and if he's going to be forced to exist in this small place with them— he's going to make sure that these lightbearers know that the line is in the sand and it isn't to be crossed.

They're on opposite sides. That's the way of things. ]

[carriedbylight]

( The look on Vanitas' face is one she couldn't miss. Gone is the cold amusement that could be found there earlier, placed instead with something more serious. It's a different expression than she's seen so far, and the comment after makes her understand why. How many times has Vanitas been treated a certain way because of his face? Surely others have noticed the similarity between he and Sora, at least looks-wise. No doubt it's something of a sensitive subject for him, but there's one thing he doesn't understand.

Kairi huffs out a quiet sigh and turns to face him more directly, her own expression mirroring the seriousness of his. )

That's not why. Yes, you look like Sora, you know that. But you're nothing like him.

( She tilts her head just a little, letting her red hair brush against her cheek as she considers him. Really considers him, not for who he looks like, but for what he is. )

I said that because I think you deserve a chance. You're your own person, not just Darkness or 'the guy connected to Sora'. And it's hard for you to have a chance if something happens to you and you're not around, isn't it?

[evulsed]

[ A crawl of discomfort starts in the base of his spine and makes it's way all the way up to the back of his neck. He couldn't name it, or say what exactly caused it: the look on her face, the conviction in her voice that Vanitas is his own person. Like all the rest of them, she doesn't understand. He could never expect her to, not shining with Light the way she is, casting it like a small sun all over him in a way the bonfire could never quite manage. ]

And you want to make sure I get that chance, do you?

[ The blank expression on his face twists into a sneer, his lip curling with fierce derision. I don't want anything to happen to you. What a soft, stupid sentiment.

Vanitas pushes himself forward and off the log, standing up and turning around to face her. The flame at his back casts a halo around him, but plunges his face and his torso into deep darkness when he looks down his nose at her. ]

If you're worried about anyone, it should be about your little hero. Who knows when Sora will do something stupid, next, and get himself killed again. You know he just can't help throwing himself into it.

[carriedbylight]

( Kairi shrugs her shoulders at his words, a sort of gesture that admits 'Yeah, you got me there.' without saying exactly that. She's fairly certain that nothing she says is going to be the right answer, watching as his blank look twists into something a little more cold, sneering at her. There's no doubt in her mind that he thinks what she said is stupid, but it doesn't change anything. Kairi isn't going to be the one to condemn Vanitas without even giving him a chance.

She watches as he pushes himself to a stand, tilting her head so she can look up at him, red hair brushing away from her face with the movement of her head. The comment causes Kairi to sigh out loudly, a deep breath seeming to come from her core, her expression contorting to a bit of exasperation. )

You're right. I'm already worried about him! He's always been quick to find trouble, even when we were little.

( The look of exasperation fades, a soft, warm smile replacing the look on her face. )

But I don't mind looking out for him, too. If I can, anyway.