limitless_land | Eleventh ★ [Video]

[The SFC shows a white paw batting at the tiny device, small tag glinting and unreadable at the moment. After a moment the kitten finally gets bored and decides that it isn't worthy of staying on its perch. Batting it off the bedside table, the audio clicks on when instead there's a black glove falling off the bed.]

—this life sentence that I'm serving? I admit that I'm every bit deserving...♪

[It's almost in a dead tone as the water runs, possibly from the next room? The male voice doesn't seem to realize that it's being recorded either as he sits up. Pale hands run through silver hair, eyes hidden by cloth. He looks like a mess, yet he keeps muttering the words under his breath, going off-key every now and then.]

Because I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity
And I've been locked inside that house.
All the while you hold the Key.
I've been dying to get out, and that might be the death of me.
And even though there's no way of knowing........

[Riku's voice trails off, silent for long while before pulling out the earbuds from his ears with a sigh. The silence lasts a couple moments, before the feline decides that his lap is more comfy than the table. His eyes may not be visible, but the ways his mouth falls before he scratches his ears has to be telling.]

Get up, Kiryu. I have a report to write- ...You little sneak. [Yes, guess who just picked up the SFC and moved to shut it off before pausing.]

... For anyone who knew Joshua. ...He went home.

[The feed ends...|]

[ooc: And the tradition continues...]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Riku...

[A short pause.]

I hope I am not disturbing you. I'm... trying to figure this thing out. [He could probably hear the soft tinkering of her SFC over the audio.]

I'm not sure if you can see me or not.

[OH SHI-] ...Aqua?

[You're saying this to the person wearing a blindfold, Aqua. Yet it earns a faint snort of amusement. Ah, the blooper reels that could be made from the SFC fails...]

If you want video, press the small button next to the one you tried for just audio.

Ah... [There's some shuffling of fingers until her feed clicks on and switches from audio to video.]

There! Oh? [She blinks at him and notices that he had his blindfold... In hindsight, asking whether he could see her was a little silly. Good job, Aqua.]

Yes... well.

You said.. someone went home? I didn't know that was possible.

Congrats. [Hey, it got him to smile a bit at least? It was something Sora probably would have done, too... Bonus points for that.]

It isn't by choice; going home. If it were, I wouldn't be here right now. [A pause.] Not to sound cold; I'm just needed back there.

... Sometimes they get the time to say goodbye, sometimes they don't.

No... I understand. [She probably would have said the same thing. Aqua had to get back to Terra and Ven. Yet it got her thinking... Would she return to her own home? Or would the Lamufao drop her back into the darkness? The thought made her shudder but she pushed it back, not wanting to think about the possibility.]

Hmm... [She was silent, her head lowered as it rested on her folded forearms. Deep in thought, her words were carefully picked out before she spoke again.]

Were you close to him?

Hm. [...That would actually have been a question he could answer, having been through that once before. Still, he gave a faint nod. Yet he had to wonder, just what would be left of him after he returned home? He considered being pulled here when he was both a blessing and a curse. He got to see through the veil of darkness that his friend would awaken, and that whatever efforts he would make wouldn't be for naught this time.

But would it all really be worth it in the end?

The question pulled him back into the present, along with a mewling kitten sitting on his left hand. ...Silly cat.]

...He was my neighbor, and one of my few friends here. [And judging by his personality, it's probably pretty hard for him to make friends just like that. Joshua practically latched onto him like a leech.]

[Aqua did not respond immediately. She watched him with a careful gaze to try and read his expressions. Rather difficult when his eyes are covered by that blindfold. But she could hear it in his words that Joshua's leaving hurt him more than he would say. And as withdrawn as he was, she could only guess how hard it was for him to open up to others...]

He'll always be a part of your memories and your heart.

[Her eyes shifted, staring at something (http://i54.tinypic.com/2hh21lk.png) that was off-screen.]

... sometimes you feel lost without their presence. But you've made a connection with him and nothing will break that bond. It's yours to hold on to.

[Her gaze continues to linger on whatever is on her desk before they return to Riku, a gentleness accompanied with a hint of sadness.]

[He waited in silence, lightly tapping a pen against the pages just outside of view. At least, that was all it would be on the surface. In reality, his mind was going far too quickly for his pen to keep up so he was sorting his thoughts as he waited...

Then Aqua's words pulled him out of it. Memories... Heart. He knew that far too well, and yet.]

Memories can be a fickle thing. [It's just an off-handed comment, and yet... that faint yet fleeting smile had to tell something. The second sentence, however—

Lost, guilt-ridden, envious, scarred, scared, fearful, blinded—surrounded by the dark and unable to reach the surface, unable to reach the light above him... It's that feeling he knows well from being separated from all he loves, how the bitterness of his own betrayal effects him so even now when back home, he's been doing all he can to atone for it. Yet he knows all too well while he's here...]

They fade, warp and twist as time and external forces manipulate them... yet are the key to how we think and feel; everything anyone is is based off those memories. ...How can something so fragile—something that can be forgotten—be so important and bind us to one another even without our knowing it?

[He's going to mess up yet again. Give it all in one shot to save one more person that deserves the right to live more than he does. Someone who didn't stray and walk the path of darkness. ...and he did it again, didn't he.]

... Sorry. It's just something I've been thinking a lot about since before arriving here.

... don't apologize, Riku.

[If it wasn't clear before, his words made it certain that he lives with a troubled past... and an uncertain future. Her thoughts immediately turned to the darkness in his heart. What has it done to the young boy she befriended so many years ago? Why does it have such a strong hold in his heart?

Then another boy came to mind. 'Sora.']

Because... they are a promise. A vow to that friendship. No matter how much time has passed nor the forces which test those who are bound to us... once it is made, all you have is the hope of holding on to that promise.

[Despite the blindfold shielding him, she gazed on as if she could see his eyes. An attempt to reach out to his heart with her own.]

There is only one way those memories can be broken.

It's when you lose hope and let them go... in doing so, you lose a part of yourself.

So... never lose hope, Riku.

[An uncertain future was only part of it... His life was dictated by shadows, whispers ever since he opened that door that appeared after they left. Stepping out of them after once steeping himself so deeply within it was something he had done, but staring into it again and knowing he'll have to plunge again for his friend...

'Sora...'

His light had cast the shadows on his heart, but he didn't care. It was the path he'd chosen and the one he'd tread until the forgotten promises were recalled once more. Forgotten promises... It wasn't just on Sora's end, was it. He'd forgotten something important, too.]

A promise...

[He muttered, closing his eyes a brief moment. He tried to look back, recall everything about those two meetings, but everything was so covered in fog and white noise it was giving him a headache. The pounding in his head due to the heartbeat only made it worse.

'Please... just tell me!'

Even with the blindfold and two screens between them—the darkness covering his heart—the connection was met between their eyes.]

... I could never let go. ['Not when I've discarded everything else and reclaimed so much I'd once lost!' It was like a sudden spark in his tone; an almost-forgotten pride returning for the briefest moments.]

Thank you, Aqua. For reminding me of something I can never forget again.

['I know it's out there, somewhere. The strength that I need.'

'—tell me.']

Eleventh ★ [Video]

audio

video;

audio --> video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;