○ 01 ○ Familiar Places

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[At first, everything is dark. There's nothing but black and empty space...yet, somehow, this isn't scary at all. Maybe because there's something nearby - something warm and inviting. Safe.

A bright light in the distance.

But maybe not so far away after all. Soon there's solid ground. It's a circular platform that looks like stained glass, but doesn't feel fragile. It's brightly colored, and covered in pictures...pictures that must come from somewhere.

Maybe they mean something to the child on the other side of the platform. The boy is walking around, looking a little confused...and with good reason. He had just been here a few hours ago, hadn't he? The person he had been talking to before was sleeping. So why was he back here? Was this a dream?

That's when he turns around, finally noticing that he's not alone. In a confused, but friendly tone, he asks-]

How'd you get here?

Comments

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

Hey, not fair!

[He frowns, and sounds offended when she tags him...but he isn't really mad. It's just a game, and it's not like he was really hurt or anything.

But even though he's frowning still, and the gesture is belated, he takes the hand to help him stand. He bounces back easily enough - like most little boys, he's no stranger to falling down every once in awhile.]

Okay, fine. I guess you win.

...hey, wanna play something else?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

It is, too, fair. [She says this with more composure than might be expected. After all, she didn't break a rule. Tag doesn't have any rules about waiting if someone falls down.]

[But the lure of a new game is a strong one. She looks around for ideas, and the fantastical landscape suggests the perfect game.]

Hide and seek! I'll hide.

[He'll chase her, look for her, want to find her.]

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[Hide and seek! Sora's face brightens up at the idea - he's good at finding things.]

You're on! I'll count to...

[He and Riku would usually count to 100, since they needed more time to hide on the island. But they wouldn't need THAT long here.]

...thirty!

[He turns around, covering his eyes before he begins the countdown.]

One...two...three...

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[She manages to keep her near-giggle quiet so as not to give herself away as she scurries around the room. She makes an enormous leap that shouldn't be possible for her size, and manages to sit on the very top of one of the crown-shaped walls, in the valley between two of its points. She grins. He'd better look up sometime.]

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

Twenty-nine...Thirty! Ready or not, here I come!

[He uncovers his eyes, beginning his search right away. He checks all the obvious places first - behind walls and around trees, and in the shadows created by the rocks. Still, he finds nothing.

It's a few minutes before he stops, trying to think of what he might have missed. He'd looked on the ground, behind things, in front of things...right, left, down -

And that's when he looked up.]

Woah! [He comes closer to the wall, squinting to make sure he can really see her. Sure enough, it's not just his imagination.] How'd you get up there?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[And the moment he looks up, she drops a snowball right straight down towards him, her grin way too wide. She's enjoying this. (Where did the snowball come from?

She's Mercury.)]

I jumped! Pretty good, isn't it?

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[A snowball? He definitely didn't see that coming...especially since he's never seen snow for himself before. A surprised "Woah!" escapes from the boy as the snowball hits him.]

Is that...snow?

[Because if it is, that's the coolest thing ever.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Of course! [She grins, as if this is entirely normal. It is, to her. And then she slips right off the wall, somersaults perfectly, and lands in a slight crouch before straightening again.]

It's going to be winter soon, after all. Besides, you looked up just like you were ready to be hit!

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

Hey! I can find some way to get you back.

[Again, though, his words don't sound malicious - it's all in good fun, and he does want to be mean. Not that Sora would be much good at being mean, anyway. Besides...]

It's my turn to hide!

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Go ahead! I'll still find you right away.

[Spoiler: She plans to cheat. Well, she doesn't see it as cheating.]

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[He would frown and protest if he knew that...but, luckily for her, he would never suspect any cheating. Breaking the rules takes the fun out of the game, doesn't it?]

You're on!

Alright, no peaking.

[As a matter of fact, he's not gonna move until he sees her eyes close.]

hi thar! <3

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[She closes her eyes obligingly enough. It's her computer she plans to cheat with. Even at this age, she can do something basic like track an energy signature. She makes a show of counting loudly.]

1...2...

hey~ <3

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[Computers? How do those things even work?

Completely trusting her counting, the boy runs off, making a beeline for one of the spots he saw earlier - a place situated between a tree and one of the large rocks, making a shadowy spot just big enough for him to hide in. He gets comfortable, trying to make himself as small and invisible as he can.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[She counts properly, until she reaches]

TEN! Ready or not, I'm coming! [Something about her tone makes this a bit more of a warning than it should be for a children's game, but it's only habit.]

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[Woah! He didn't expect her to stop so soon - it's a good thing he knew where he was going, or he never would've made it. Her tone does make him jump a little, though; he doesn't miss the fact that it sounds like a warning, but he does wonder if it was just his imagination.

Either way, he's settled and he isn't moving until she finds him.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Ami does not seem to be searching. In fact, Ami seems to be standing still. She takes out a small device, and presses a few buttons on it. There's a faint beeping sound.]

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[...that sure is a weird noise.

Not that Sora has the first clue as to what it might be. He's just gonna sit still and wonder if he's hearing things.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Oh she's moving now. In fact, she's heading right for his spot, unerringly in the correct direction. Oh no!]

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[Oh no. He hears those footsteps. How is she headed right for him already?

Operation BE AS QUIET AND STILL AS POSSIBLE is a go.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

Now where did he go? [She calls out a bit too loudly, intentionally trying to provoke him to giggle and give away his spot. Now that she's definitely close, she just needs to zero in on him...]

I can't see him!

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

[Nuh-uh! Tidus tries that on him all the time, and it never-

...okay, it worked once.

Or maybe more then once. A lot more then once.

But no way! Not this time!

He tries his best to ignore her and stay still...but he does shuffle a little bit while trying to suppress a laugh, just barely loud enough to be audible.]

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

[Perfect. Ami smirks proudly to herself: She did it! And she heads straight for Sora again.]

Found you now!

[connectedsky.livejournal.com]

Aw!

[Can you hear that disappointment? There's a lot of it. But he knows when he's lost. Sora stands up, though he isn't all that happy about it.]

How'd you find me so fast?

[waterfell.livejournal.com]

I have special ways. [Which she purposely made sound very mysterious.]

Besides, you made it too easy. You laughed.