pullmeoutalive | Ven + Rise; I don't think life is quite that simple

Ven + Rise; I don't think life is quite that simple

[ Okay.

Okay.

Rise's encountered a lot in this past year. Kidnapping, yes. Being thrown into a TV, yes. Being forced to face herself as a... well, a stripper and then having to immediately throw herself into a fight against a black hole of a bear, to say nothing of trying to hunt down a killer and--

It's. Been. A lot. And she'd like to think that she's grown stronger for it, that very few things will surprise her anymore. But right now, as she peers out a window of a stupidly tall tower, Rise can honestly admit she's (unhappily) surprised by how she'd gone from home to-- this. There's also an oddly massive amount of brown hair at her feet and shards of what look like a mirror, but nothing else that looks remotely helpful when it comes to dealing with one heck of a drop.

When she focuses, she can feel her Persona, just underneath her skin, comforting. Right. If there's no one else around, maybe she can use Kanzeon to find a viable exit, but for now, Rise braces her hands on the ledge of the window and leans out. ]

Hello?!

Anybody?????

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[As Rise turns to go, Ventus starts to go after her, knowing that not being able to go home is not what she wants to hear and that it has to hurt so much he can barely imagine it, but Master Yen Sid's voice stops him before he can follow more than a couple of steps. Whether it's because Yen Sid knows that Rise needs time to herself or because he has things he needs to discuss with Ven (or both), the Master keeps him there for a couple of minutes, talking about his abbreviated patrol of Corona and what needs to be done around the worlds in the next few days. Tentative assignments in mind, Ven is finally able to leave his chamber and follow Rise.]

[But not immediately. Ven sits down on the stairs below the star-shaped portal and pulls out his Gummiphone, opening up the group text feature that Ienzo had insisted be added for better functionality. The Keybladers had their own going for important news or just giving each other a hard time, and this certainly counted as the former. Chirithy disappears at some point while he's firing off questions and getting responses, but that's okay; the little creature seems to be able to find him anywhere, at any time, and doesn't need to always be corporeal. Once he has some more information and possible plans, he gets up again and continues following Rise ]

[It's about ten minutes after she left that Ven pushes the entrance door open, looking around for where she went and going over to her once he spots her, moving slowly so she doesn't get another shock. He doesn't know exactly what to say, but he knows he has to say something, so he gives it his best attempt, his voice quiet.] I'm sorry... I know you didn't want to hear that. You wanted to go home...

[But they didn't have a way to get her home. A small pause, then he continues.]

If you... want to hear them, I had some ideas about what happens next. T- For you, until we can figure out how to get you there.

[ It takes a moment for Rise to reply-- not because she doesn't hear him, or because she's trying to ignore him, but because she's trying very carefully to keep her composure and not immediately start crying. It helps to reach out to her Persona, Kanzeon's warm presence exactly where it should be, right beneath her skin.

A Persona was a source of strength, after all. A facade to help you face life's hardships, and right now, she certainly thinks she could use a little bit of that strength. Her own determination, her idol self's ability to keep smiling in the face of anything and everything. ]

There's never really an easy path to get to where you want to go. I knew that. [ Finding the killer... realizing what it was she truly wanted... even this. It's just another path, isn't it? ]

... But thanks, Ven-- I'll hear you out. [ It's a much more sober smile, more from tiredness than any real urge to be overly formal. ]

You didn't have to do all of this for me... and even now, you're still making this your problem too.

[ Even though she thinks he's done plenty just bringing her here. ]

Sure I did - I told you, it's our job, me and my friends. We go around the worlds and help people that need it with problems they shouldn't be having. [He shrugs a little, not smiling now because trying to reassure her at this point is fairly useless. She can't go home, which is the one thing she wants more than anything. He can't do anything to get her home. But he can at least make things not as terrible for her while they work on it.] I'd say this falls under that category. Come on, come sit down and I'll show you what I'm thinking of.

[The steps up to the Tower are actually fairly comfortable, at least for sitting, wide and not too steep. Ven had sat there with Aqua weeks before, looking at the sky through their Wayfinders and planning their reunion with Terra - it's a good memory, and maybe that's why he goes there. But he digs his Gummiphone out of his pocket as he settles down, legs outstretched in front of him as he unlocks it and starts to pull up the camera feature.] You're going to need somewhere to sleep, and food, clothing, that kind of thing. Master Yen Sid might be okay with you staying here for one night, but he likes his privacy, and there's not much here so you'd probably get bored. There was a town that was just for people who'd lost their worlds, but it's- [He abruptly pauses and looks weirdly poleaxed for a second, trying to find the right word to describe it, before hesitantly offering-] ...gone? Sort of? Halfway not... existing anymore? In any case, we can't get to it through any kind of waking travel now. But there's other worlds you can go to, so you can look at some pictures and decide which one you like.

[If asked, Ven would say he's not a heavy user of the Gummiphone. Ven would be lying. In terms of video calls and texting, he does use it less than several of the others (including, surprisingly, Terra), but he apparently gets his jollies with using the camera to take photographs. There's already mid-triple digits in his storage and he should probably clean some out, like, now, but they'll be useful in showing Rise possible locations for her to stay.]

You're going to need to stay where people are used to off-worlders, so that kind of limits it because of the world order, but it's still a good handful of places. Twilight Town might be the best, and you'd have the most of us around if something happens. Radiant Garden's also really nice, but none of us live there. We have friends there, though, and they could help you until we get there. Or you could go to Disney Town, that'd probably be fun. You could go home with me to the Land of Departure, Terra and Aqua already said yes, but it's pretty quiet there.

[As he speaks, Ven's shuffling through his photo storage to show her various shots of the places he's talking about. Several of the pictures are from incredibly high up, which considering he was flying a glider when they met might not surprise her, but most of them are taken from normal heights, showing the buildings and the people of the towns he's mentioning. Some are candid location photos, some shots of a person or a group of people grinning or making stupid faces at the camera, and there are a few selfies in there with other people, though it's a surprisingly small number. But what they do achieve is showing at least some of the life and character (and residents) of the places he's mentioning so casually, sunsets and trams and cobblestone streets and castles and fairgrounds. It's a bit of a dizzying array, but at least she has options.]

And I'd say the Islands would be perfect, but... right now, probably not.

[ Rise settles down beside him, legs slightly out to the side and pressed close together as she leans in to take a closer look. A town that used to harbor people who lost their worlds... if that no longer exists (ish??), then does that mean their worlds came back and there was no longer a need for it?

Rise opts not to comment on that, though she nods to show she's listening. None of these sound remotely familiar, until he mentions "Disney Town" and both eyebrows raise in surprise. The scenes there look like something straight out of an amusement park, and the residents look like mascots. But-- nah.

That can't be-- nah.

Twilight Town looks tranquil, and the residents welcoming... and Radiant Garden lives up to its name, from the looks of it. Then there's the Land of Departure, and if Ven himself hadn't claimed that as home, she would have taken that name as "the place people went when they died".

But Ven isn't dead, and she's just going to have to hope that "Aqua" and "Terra" aren't either. ]

I don't think I'd do so great living on an island, anyway... I'd be as red as a lobster in no time.

[ It's a mild, weak joke, but Rise's doing her best, even though curiosity has her really tempted to ask what's happened there.

Again, she doesn't. ]

... If it's okay, though... can I stay with you?

[ Sure, his home might be quiet, but so was Inaba, when it wasn't embroiled in a murder case. Ven's the first person she met here, and as much as she does believe his friends are good people and trustworthy, Rise's reluctant to leave the safest and closest thing she's got to a friend right now.

... And, more importantly, she needs to befriend that cat. ]

[At some point, Ven will explain at least most of the stuff he's breezing through as if it doesn't really matter. It all does, of course, but he's rather too used to world-jumpers knowing what's going on and everyone being more or less up to date, which Rise obviously isn't, through no fault of her own. She has a lot of questions, but also right at the moment they need to work primarily on getting her settled, comfortable, and taken care of for however long she's with them.]

[He nods at her request - honestly, he'd half thought she'd want to come with him. She knew him at least a little, though he knew she'd like the others once she met them, and at the moment it might be better for her to be in a quiet place like the Land of Departure.] If you want - we'll need to go to Twilight Town first, Xion said she'd get some clothes together for you, since Aqua's too tall for you to borrow a lot of stuff from her. And you'd just swim in anything of Terra's. [He gives a quick smile to show it's a joke, but he's also completely serious about that. Rise's not the shortest girl he's ever met, but Terra is just big.] And Aqua asked me to run a couple errands if we had to go through there. It shouldn't take long; I know today's been... weird for you. You probably just want to go to sleep and hope you wake up and this'll have never happened.

[If she pays really close attention, Rise might be able to tell that that statement feels all too sincere for someone as seemingly happy and open as Ven. Like he's had that happen to him, too, probably more than once. It's part of what's making him want to help her - he's remembering what it was like when it was him having these problems. The other part being, of course, that that's just the kind of person he is.]

[ Rise's specialty is support-- and it shows during times like this, where her perception kicks in. As warm and encouraging as Ven is, and how positive he is, he's not speaking empty platitudes.

For some reason, he knows exactly what it feels like to have gone through something so overwhelming that the desire for it to be nothing but a dream is the most prevalent feeling. Which could be surprising, but Rise knows that the happiest people sometimes have the most tragic experiences behind those smiles.

It's why she's quiet for a moment... before she shakes her head. ]

No... that's not it.

[ Not entirely. ]

It's... scary, for sure. I don't know exactly what happened, and none of my friends are here with me, and I'm not as strong as they are. But...

... I don't want to close my eyes to the truth, either. Maybe I'm here for a reason... or maybe not, but I got to meet you and I think that alone is worth a lot.

[ A pause; Rise smiles ruefully. ]

Honestly, running errands sounds amazingly normal right now; I'll take it.

[He'd been pretty sure he'd had her feelings nailed down, so when she refutes his statement, he tilts his head at her quizzically. If she wasn't exhausted, then what was it?]

[But her explanation makes sense, and actually also improves her standing in his mind, and he nods a little in understanding as she explains. Rise seemed nice, and she had more than earned uncertainty and freak-out-time as she'd been unexpectedly dropped in a world she knew nothing about, so of course he wanted to help her and thought well of her, was sympathetic to her. He completely understood why she was so distraught after hearing from Master Yen Sid that she couldn't return home, and wanted to at least try and make it better for her. But something this hard and this ... outré had hit her, and instead of wanting to hide away, Rise's decided to face it head on and deal with it instead of letting the Keybearers do most of it, which would still make a lot of sense since they're the ones with experience with this sort of thing. That kind of strength is something he's run across before, and it always shows up in special people. Maybe there is a reason Rise is here, after all.]

[His smile widens as she finishes and he stands up, stuffing his Gummiphone back into his pocket before offering her a hand to get to her feet.] I wouldn't say meeting me is worth going through this, but thank you for thinking it's a good thing. Hopefully you won't change your mind about that.

Ready to go?

Yeah.

[ It's a lot more unfaltering than last time, and Rise rests one palm on the step behind her to push herself up, grasping Ven's hand with the other for assistance. Given the last time she'd wound up in a foreign world by herself, that had been days and days of purple-tinted fog and the mocking, wailing laughter of her Shadow waiting for an audience to show everything to. Monsters, that had avoided her, knowing she was prey of a different sort.

And the exhaustion and sickness that had swirled within her-- compared to that, at least here she wasn't alone for too long. There are no clear answers yet, but there are methods to try and find them, and that's the important part. ]

... Um, are we... doing that whole portal thingy again? [ Because that? That was still weird. ]

[His Keyblade had flashed into his hand as she straightened herself out, off to the side and ready to summon- when she asked that question. Turning to look back at her, Wayward Wind disappears in another flash (that's definitely a standard thing, as she's probably already figured out) Ven raises a hand to the back of his head, rubbing a little there as he puzzles it over.]

Yeah - it's the quickest way. I could call Donald or Ienzo and ask them to send a Gummiship to get us, but then we'd be waiting for a few hours for them to get here, then another few hours to get home after Twilight Town. I could use my glider, but that only carries one - you wouldn't be protected in space without your own armor, even if I carried you or something.

[He, Terra, and Aqua rarely used the Gummiships now that their armor was repaired, since they all had gliders that doubled as personal ships. Truthfully having three wielders that had their own modes of transport was a blessing for the group, since it meant they were available to go to new worlds any time a sudden problem occurred, without any prep work involved in maintaining a ship since magic was involved. Terra had already made it clear he wanted to try and figure out how Master Eraqus had made their armor so everyone could have a set; it was one of the many goals the group had for the long term. But at the moment, the glider just isn't going to be a help.]

Is it... that weird?

[ No, in the realm of things truly weird, Rise could honestly say that being kidnapped at the front door and flung into a television to plummet into a world filled with fog and other nasties was much worse. But she'd grown used to being able to enter a television now, the screen parting beneath her hand as though it was made of water and not glass.

... There's a thought to file away for later, in case televisions also exist here. Maybe that's something she can try. For now, she shifts in place a little sheepishly. ]

Not... that weird, just a little weird. It's fine, I'll get used to it.

[ And she's not sure what to think about the glider yet, and has no idea what on earth a Gummiship is, so. Magical swirling portal of light it is. ]

[Ven's going to give her another encouraging smile (he seems to be partially made of those) as he summons his Keyblade again, but does not immediately summon the portal.]

Don't worry - it's pure light, which means it can't hurt you. You've got too much light in your heart for most things to hurt you, except physically, and that can happen to anyone. If you relax, it'll probably feel warm and comfortable.

[At least, it felt that way to him. He had to have been somewhere before he could place a portal, which was why he'd flown to Corona, but truthfully he does favor them for reasons beyond saving time. Maybe it's just because of his nature, but Light Portals really are something that feels good to him, and he's pretty sure Rise is close enough to pure that she should feel something of that. But he's not exactly a scientist. For the moment, though, he summons a portal exactly like the first, which will lead them to the Usual Spot in Twilight Town, a good place to put one since he has to try and not break the world order. From there, it won't be hard to find Xion, especially with the Gummiphone (and he can punch Lea in the shoulder for deliberately misinterpreting what Ven meant when he'd texted "Guys I found a girl" earlier). He also offers a hand again, since maybe it'll be more comforting for her to go through actually touching someone and being reassured of the rest of the world still existing.]

Ready?

H-huh? How did you-- [ It's a little too on-the-nose, a little too matter-of-fact, for Rise to simply overlook the fact that Ven seemingly knows about the state of her heart. Had he somehow picked up on that while he was doing that hunting for monsters thing? More and more, it reminds her of her own support abilities, and she can't help but wonder what he'd appear like to her if she summoned her Persona.

That's a thought for later, though, and she gives her head a quick shake to dismiss her own curiosity. Ven's got her pegged for what she finds comforting, at least, though he's no leader to latch onto. Instead, Rise reaches out to grasp his hand, looking ahead at the portal-- and then, almost stubbornly, to maybe prove that yes, she's a big girl, she can handle it, she's the one to take the first few steps forward and into the light, not pausing until they've emerged into a town bathed in sunset. ]

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Ven + Rise; I don't think life is quite that simple

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