niteo_logs | Day 01 - Fish Out Of Water

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Day 01 - Fish Out Of Water

Characters: AU!Roxas, AU!Xion and YOU(Yes, you)!
When: Early to Mid-morning
Where: Starting in what's now an abandoned subway station
Rating: G to PG-ish? No swearing, but mild horror undertones.
Summary: Guess what Nesreca people. You've got some fresh meat.

It was a strange development for Roxas. Not more than fifteen minutes prior, he was certain that he'd just been riding the subway in Haven, enjoying some out and about time with Xion. It was something new; regularly spending time together like that and honestly, it started out being a little awkward. His memories of their days in the Organization had settled into returning at a steadier pace, but true to her word, she'd been helping explain the things he remembered, giving context when something would return that was exceptionally out of sequence. Plus it helped him get a feel for the friendship they had back then. Overall, it'd been nice and it was an experience he'd been gradually growing more and more fond of -even looking forward to. But that was beside the point.

The strange development was that one moment he'd been dozing lightly on the train, guitar case between his legs and skateboard across his lap with Xion not too far away and the next, he'd realized that something had gone rather horrendously wrong with the world. For starters, when he woke again, he found the train completely deserted aside from the two of them. Furthermore, a glance outside revealed that the subway station that they'd stopped at was in complete shambles -the whole thing looked like it'd been taken right out of a post-apocalypse movie. So he'd wasted little time in rousing his friend from her sleep, who seemed just as shocked as he was to see their new environment.

Gathering what belongings they had with them, they got off the train and gave their surroundings an immediate once-over. Then as icing on top of an already eerie cake, when their backs turned, they saw but a flicker on the wall before the lights from the train they'd been aboard abruptly went out. To their dismay, what once had been a car from a commuter train that could've been from any town was now a dilapidated, rusted mess that looked like it hadn't seen use in ages -despite the fact that they'd been on it only moments prior.

As they walked about to investigate, their first thoughts had them drawing their phones, expecting to find a cluster of shards with an army of shadows either using or protecting it. But both were only greeted with 'No Service' messages on their small LCD screens. At a loss for what to do next, they merely proceeded through the station, looking for a way out. It seemed that whatever catastrophe befell their surroundings, it'd taken place quite some time ago. Light poured in from the larger sections of ceiling that had collapsed in, leaving piles of rubble and almost enchanting beams of light shining down from the world outside. What little light they had to go by showed the walls where they could see varied vines taking root in whatever crevices that time and the elements had opened up. After a little more than ten minutes of wandering, listening to the echo of their footsteps mixed with the occasional murmured comment, they found themselves ascending the stairs leading up and out of the station. Up and out to a world almost completely alien to them.

Rather than the familiar scene of Haven, the pair find themselves faced with a ruined city; signs that life had once existed there scattered about in the varied debris left behind. But at least immediately, there didn't seem to be another living person in sight. His shoes crunching on the gravel as he took the first steps on the normal ground level, Roxas stared about, mouth agape at the scene before him. Not once had he ever seen a place in ruins quite like this -at least nothing that wasn't a picture of some ancient city in a school text book.

Without turning to her, he simply commented to his friend, "I don't think we're in Haven anymore."

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"Back!"

Her pace seeming to pick up even further despite the ragged breathing she was beginning to heave. Her body still not accustom to this kind of running around- tiring more easily than it ever had before. But then, it wasn't really surprising considering things. But that still didn't stop her from rushing forth, whipping past pillar after obstructed pillar, occasionally being dappled by the sunlight that had managed to sneak in between cracks. She nearly tripped over one of the vines on the ground beneath her briskly moving feet, but she managed all the same until she finally wove through one set of pillars over towards the train itself that still stood motionless and aged just as it had before.

But just as Xion seemed like she would dart back for the door, she was running along it until she found an opening and was ducking down onto the track itself. And it was then. Only then that she stopped. Breathing hard with her hands resting on her knees as she stood before the rubble that occupied where the tunnel should have been. The only hint of its viable existence hinted by the tracks that fell away in that direction before they were covered.

Part of him expected this. Actually, the only thing he didn't expect about this was that he was almost willing to bet that if the tracks had been clear and somehow did lead back to Haven, she wouldn't have stopped until she reached Anne and Lucen's home. Some part of him felt a little bothered that at the rate she was going, she would've left him behind if it came down to it.

So as he stood there wordless for a moment as he eyed the debris blocking their path, a path he honestly was starting to doubt would even lead to their last home. Something about this place just seemed so radically different from what they'd been used to, he just couldn't imagine that going back would've been as easy as the tracks they took in. He suspected that whatever brought them here wanted them for a reason and until they fulfilled that purpose, they'd be stuck. Of course, there were countless variables in that too; whatever brought them here may either be unable or unwilling to return them, they may disagree with that purpose and elect to go against it or this whole thing may have been a fluke.

But the thing that bugged him most was that once more, they had next to no idea what was going on and where they were. Not to mention, just how they were there. At least in Haven, they knew they had bodies with hearts, but it was difficult to tell here. Panic and fear seemed not to care if you had a heart to feel them with or not.

With a crunch of gravel beneath his feet, Roxas helped himself down onto the tracks, taking a few steps toward Xion and putting his hand on her shoulder. Just when he was suspecting that she might be calming and adapting to one set of hurdles, now was something else that he was certain would bother her. And it's not like he wasn't worried or concerned either... just once more, this was one of almost any possible alternative that he found was more welcome to being shoe-horned into Sora.

Maybe she would have left him behind. Maybe she wouldn't have. It was really hard to say- but his inkling that she would have rushed off like that if she hadn't been stopped, well. That wasn't really a stretch of the imagination. For the time being though, all she could seem to do- at least at first -was stand there and stare. Because this couldn't be happening. It couldn't be this all over again. It would have been different if circumstances weren't as they were, but she could feel it and-

Then his hand came upon her shoulder. And at that, her breath hitched- but then she was ducking out of his reach. Because she couldn't just accept this. Couldn't allow something like this. It was their- This wasn't- Her arm outstretched to her side as she reached for her keyblade, her stomach twisting in knots as there seemed to be an alien strain from this motion. Somehow, it was more difficult to focus on it, will it. Her head was pounding, her mind frazzled by this development. She had begun calling it again easily enough back in Haven so-

Her fist clenched tight and she was rushing over then, the development of searing flames holding to the hand she had previously used to try and summon her key. Instead, she was finding herself rashly taking to the pile of rubble. If there wasn't a way, she would make one. Fire spell after fire spell. Of course, she wasn't minding the matter of the bottom of it probably wasn't the best place to start. Nor the fact that it would probably take weeks for someone to do it with their bare hands. But that didn't seem like it was going to stop her anytime son.

Edited 2011-04-14 17:42 (UTC)

There was that sinking feeling he was nursing in his gut as he watched her, still wordless for the time being as she went through the motions of summoning her Keyblade. At first, part of him was wondering why she suddenly shifted to spells, but those would be questions he'd worry about later. Right now, his primary concern was just figuring out what to do as he watched her try to blast the rubble away with Fire-type spells.

It was a strange sensation that was settling with him as he gave the situation some thought. Usually he'd be the one insisting that there was a way -honestly, he was certain there was. But as he watched her struggle with clearing the debris, it just seemed to set the notion more solidly into his thoughts that wherever the way back to Haven was, it wasn't going to be through the same way they came in.

After the forth or fifth cast on Xion's part, he finally willed himself into action, setting his case down as he walked next to her and reached out to take her wrist in a firm grasp. It wouldn't be hard for her to pull away from him again if she wanted, but right now he figured she needed a reminder that he was at least there with her.

"Easy, easy." His voice was calm as he did his best to put his own worries aside and sound as reassuring as he could. Giving a moment to let her react appropriately, he speaks up again. "I know we need to get back, but I really don't think it'll be the same way we got in. I mean, look around -nothing's been active down here for at least years. We should look elsewhere for a way back home."

Blame some optimism on his part, but at this point he was starting to hope that maybe they were still on the same world, just a different place. While the city outside looked like a wreck, he'd been reading in books that there were plenty of places in underdeveloped parts of Europe that possibly could be wherever they were. And if that was the case, maybe home was just a few miles and a plane ride away.

Edited 2011-04-15 04:51 (UTC)

Xion had been in the middle of conjuring another spell despite how whatever she did seemed to bear little results when she felt that hand grab hold of her wrist. She whirled around to look at him with panic-filled eyes and a strain written all over her face at how useless her attempts had been, how weak her spells had felt. It seemed like she had done nothing to the pile of rubble before them, try as she had. It had all been a pointless attempt.

And his words didn't seem help despite the calm he tried to bring to the situation. The implication made her tug out the PDA she had stuffed away in her jacket pocket. She wasted no time shoving it practically in his face. Not intending to be so abrupt but her fear wasn't exactly helping. Her hand was shaking as she spoken up finally, her voice cracking slightly.

"Haven doesn't exist here!"

On the screen, a map had been pulled up as had a search menu. Seemed that Xion had gotten clever with the devices back in Haven. At least clever enough to have searched for the city... with not even one hit. Nothing. There was nothing.

"So, how can we find any other way? This has to be it!"

Edited 2011-04-15 05:31 (UTC)

He could feel the blood draining from his face when she shoved the display close -almost too close to his face for him to read. Yet there it all was, plain as day. Wherever they were now, that world just didn't seem to have a Haven to it at all. Of course, at that moment, he found it odd that he was the one coming up with answers. Granted, they were about as far fetched as they could be at this point.

Maybe the PDA's map software wasn't updated? The whole place did seem old. If sci-fi movies had given him any crazy ideas, it was that they could be in the future somehow. As far as a movie plots went, that was a pretty high possibility. Or there were things like that parallel universe stuff that showed up in some comic books. And if either were accurate, then they'd need to find some kind of weird machine or magic circle of stones somewhere to get back... but what were the odds that movies or comics were right this time?

For now, just following her implication that somehow, they were just some place else entirely where Haven didn't exist, he couldn't help but to let his expression fall a little. It was almost impossible to come up with something reassuring to say and that worried feeling that he was feeling wasn't going away on his end.

"I don't know, I don't know..." Roxas' hand neatly came up and gently settled on Xion's PDA, moving to gently push it down for the moment. "But look for yourself." He gives the rubble a sideways glance, "It's been that way for so long and I don't think we'll find anything but tunnel past it."

He pauses for a moment, doing his best to try and make eye contact with her, "If you really believe that we can get home by getting through that rubble... I'll help you clear it out."

While Roxas drew other considerations, Xion was falling all that faster into her conclusion. But with how the tables had always seemed to turn on her in the past, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination that something like this would happen to them. And the very fact that they had already been through a lot as it was certainly didn't help. Made her queasy and stock scared and a myriad of emotions all at once at the forefront. And Roxas' calm might have further fueled her- came damn near close anyway.

Because the way he pushed her hand down as he did and how his first share of words... They sent such a cold chill down her spine. So much so that all she could do was stare at him with those terrified eyes and her hand starting to clutch the PDA tighter only to stop because as afraid as she was, if it was a lifeline, no sense breaking it. If it was a way out, then she would have fizzled out that possibility right there. But all the same, she remained as she was, watching him as he finally looked her in the eyes and...

Xion gulped visibly. Her hand finally lowering the rest of the way to her side. A shaky breath and another gulp and she was nodding. At first a weak one. But then with another gulp of air, she gave a second one. Firmer that time around. Her eyes still looking straight into his before she finally coaxed herself to direct her gaze back at the debris. Standing up straight, hand falling away from his, she moved back towards it, examining the pile with a measured gaze this time. The spells had done next to nothing. Weak. Useless. Just as they had been back when she was first using her powers again. But it only took her a second to make up her mind on what to do then. Xion begin climbing it, pocketing her PDA on the way up. Slipping and sliding here and there but otherwise making good progress where soon enough, she found herself at the top. And there? She began the taxing task of removing the rubble. Best to start from there, right?

Frankly, he was at a loss of what to do at this point. Seeing Xion panicked like this was doing exceptionally little for his own sense of self-assuredness and while he was doing his best to try and stay calm -to be something solid for her to depend on, he was getting the distinct impression that such a notion was doing more harm than good. While she was proving to be frantic, trying any and everything to open up the tunnel she was convinced would lead out, he just wanted heave an exhausted sigh and sit back for a little while. It wasn't a matter of actually being tired, it was trying to find something solid that he, personally, could lean on.

This whole situation was just so overwhelming and while he was struggling to keep calm, the effort of doing so was exceptionally difficult. Roxas was easily certain that she'd seen the brave and determined face he tried to wear for her crack over the past few minutes. Though at this rate, he was inclined to suspect that she was too-wrapped up in her own singled-minded rush to find a way back to have noticed it at all.

That gulp was the only audible response he seemed to get from her and as she began scaling the rubble, he realized that her choice was to keep trying.

The once-Nobody found their role reversal almost sickeningly ironic; to see her so entirely determined while he was the skeptic was upsetting. It was especially difficult to deal with when his own intuition, his gut and every feeling that operated in absence of logic or deductive evidence was telling him that this was not going to get them home.

Still, he'd promised her and good to that promise, he set down the guitar case and scaled up after her. Finding some steady footing near the top of the pile with her, he studied the rubble carefully for a moment before starting to dislodge some of the debris from where it was loosest, shoveling down the mound that spilled out of the tunnel and toward the base of the train.

If he was right, the truth was going to jar her worse than anything he could say he consciously remembered. But now, like in those long-forgotten memories, he found that all he could really bring himself to do was to go with the flow.

What Roxas had chalked it up to wasn't exactly off target considering how she was acting. Near completely focused on getting back, she had almost floundered in picking up his own feelings on the situation even as they were written clear as day on his face. Almost. But what she had realized... That only made her all the more determined. Because honestly? Roxas had seemed pretty happy in Haven. And although that wasn't at the complete forefront of her mind at the moment, it was a consideration, regardless, that drew her to press forward the way she did.

She continued quickly in her progress. Starting with the smaller pieces around first. And then doing her best to yank the bigger ones out. Sometimes pieces wouldn't move and she would have to give up on that venue but other times, luck would have it that she would dislodge one and a half dozen would tumble on after it. All the same, she worked quickly. Proficiently. Even settling a bit into the rhythm of things because she was at least doing something and Roxas was there. Had she been alone, who knew how much more brash she would have been?

But still, as time wore on and she felt her hands beginning to ache, her handle on things becoming more delicate. Sometimes dropping pieces by accident. The pieces themselves becoming harder and harder to rid of. More and more condensed. Until finally, she was met with a wall of it. Her weariness returned. A weariness that started to rise as she began to dig a little off to one side of it, finding the debris that way in the same state. Starting for the other side then. Her prior panic beginning to couple the forlorn feelings of dread.

On his end, Roxas wasn't having much better luck. As he pried bits and pieces of jagged stone and debris from the pile, he found that it was oddly therapeutic -having something to focus on. Rather than overwhelming dread that felt like some beast in the dark, looming over him; he merely felt bothered and worried. He was bothered that he found himself in a position where he wanted to say something, but he just couldn't bring himself to upset Xion any further than she already was. But the more he thought about it while pawing through the rubble, the more he realized that really it was one of those things that was going to happen whether or not he said it himself. Compounding this concern was that he was getting the notion into his head that if he didn't say something, she would merely keep at this until something severely injured her.

Considering that he still suspected that they both had loaner bodies, he really didn't want to bang them up any more than he absolutely had to.

It didn't take long before he hit the same wall of immovable, tightly fitted debris. Showing that their thoughts really didn't fall too far from each other, his initial response as well was to try checking to the sides and like her own results, he found himself at a loss as he began to think that now was going to be as good a time as any to try and talk her out of this again. But then a particular stone caught his attention -something large, thinner then the rest. It looked like it might give if he pulled hard enough.

Curious now, he grasped it by the edges and then strained, pulling back with what might his tired frame could muster.

He was then met with several sensations all at once. Roxas blinked as he felt the whole world slip into slow motion for him. The piece of rubble very audibly cracked and broke into a hail of pieces, a painful stinging sensation on his fingers informing him that he'd just stopped himself from playing the guitar for at least a week -maybe longer. Momentum carried him back as he felt his lungs draw in, but not release as he felt his feet lose their purchase on the pile, that sensation of free fall taking him as he flailed while drifting in the air off the pile, his face a mask of shock and terror as he realized he was about to slam rather hard against the remains of the train and his head was slowly guiding the rest of his body back.

Having watched enough movies, he had a horrific notion of where this was going. With how he was able to guess he was falling, he could almost see it as the impact slammed his head into the train car with easily enough force to snap Lucen's neck. It'd be quick, painless and then he'd find out first hand if there was a way out of this new world after all. But it wasn't on any of the terms he would've wanted.

Then it surged within him; that will to survive. It tugged at something in that back of his brain that prompted him to call on his Aerial Recovery ability. In a moment, the world returned to speed. Like a surge of electricity, his nerves and something else within him fired. In a neat flip, he rights himself in mid-air. Though still flying backward, his position changes as he lands in a neat crouch, sliding back until he hits the ruined train with an audible thunk and flops back in a heap.

Edited 2011-04-17 11:07 (UTC)

Xion being concentrated on the task at hand, she didn't notice his struggle with that certain piece. She was far too gone delving into the current situation and perhaps part of it was just trust in Roxas himself. They had both been through a lot, worked through a lot of their own obstacles by themselves. At least that was something she tried to hold to, but all the same, she hadn't exactly been lying when she had told him that she always worried about him, too.

And that worry took root when she heard the loud crackle only a few feet off from her, caught a shift of abrupt motion. And she turned her attention to Roxas just as he began to fall away. For a second, she just stared- but then her body was going on auto-pilot, prompting her to scramble to her feet. Then, she was running a few paces, sliding the rest, and launching herself when her feet found the right timing. By then, he at least had seemed to recall old habits, flipping through the air while most would still be stuck in a free fall. But that hadn't stopped the way he landed rather roughly.

The train rang with a hollow wail as Xion planted her own weight on its hood, falling to a knee momentarily. Her body still just not quite used to that kind of movement and abuse that she had always gotten away with before, being what she had been. But Xion soon recovered and took quick steps to break the distance between her and her friend, in the last moment sliding onto her knees the rest of the way. Her hand outstretched but it seemed as if she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Trying to get a good look over him. He seemed alright. Or was he?

"Roxas! Are you okay?"

For a few moments, he just laid there, body propped up at an awkward angle as he just waited for the sharp pain to die down to a dull throbbing. It was easy enough to tell that he was still breathing and the look on his face clearly did not reflect that the impact had knocked him out. But at the same time, it clearly really, really hurt.

Hearing her voice, he knew that he'd need to response swiftly to keep her from worrying too much. So while he just wanted to lay there and recover for a moment, he forced himself to speak up, "I'll be fine."

That said, he just laid there for a moment before arching his back, feeling his spine re-align itself with an audible crack. If nothing, the feedback his body was giving him so far informing him that astoundingly, nothing had been broken. His breathing however, is labored as he relaxes again, shifting to lay about as flat as he could on his back. By now, the pain that remains is at a significantly more tolerable level as he rolls onto his side and begins the process of clamoring to his feet. A stinging sensation from his finger tips remind him of the cuts that had proven to him that he was still in Lucen's body. Carefully, he puts his weight on his palm, rather than the entire hand as he keeps his unused hand loosely balled into a fist -trying to keep it so only the backside was used to support any of his weight.

With a grunt, Roxas finally stood again, shaking his head as he found the world seemed to wobble with him. Still not entirely confident enough to try climbing back out and onto the platform, he leans his left shoulder against the derelict train car, taking a few moments to study the injuries to his fingers.

What a day to be without a first-aid kit.

Despite the way he tried glance off her worrying too much with his words, that crack was pretty distinct, Roxas. And the way he breathed only further encouraged her to finally draw her hand to rest on his shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze as she let her head hang slightly. Exasperated. Her feelings inside her coiling with a sickness that was easily making her somewhat nauseous from how distressed she was from the situation at hand.

When he finally took to recover back to his feet, Xion followed along with him. Her hand removed from his shoulder, she instead extended her arm to come about his torso, clamping down on the adjacent shoulder instead until he found purchase up against the train car itself. She leaned with him there, slipping her arm out from behind him then but sticking close as she quickly caught on to the peculiar attention he was giving to his own hand and wincing at the sight.

Blood. Not darkness but blood. Xion felt a shudder trail down her spine at the very proof itself. That he still remained in Lucen's body... Part of her perhaps had quietly hoped that at least he had been given his own... but then fate was far too cruel with them. Shakily, she directed her hand over above his injured fingers and tried her hardest to concentrate. Really concentrate on the spell she was about to cast. A soft green glow touching the injuries lightly. But it cut itself short before she could do any justice to much of anything. She was just too rattled, her emotions getting in the way. And so she did the next best thing, pulling the sleeve of her jacket up over her one palm, clutching it with her fingers. And then placing that palm over his injured fingers. Only after she was certain that the sleeve would remain there then did she curl her fingers around him, applying a cautious pressure.

"I'm sorry." The all too familiar phrase left her lips as she looked up at him.

Frankly? This was modestly annoying, if he'd just spoken up instead of trying to protect her, this wouldn't have happened. But really, he was wondering what he'd been trying to protect her from. Just like a combination of both her and Axel's efforts couldn't protect him from their reality back then, his efforts to try and play along with her own notions about the situation they were in couldn't protect her from their reality now.

When she spoke up after doing her best to tend to his injuries, he found he really couldn't blame her. Xion was frightened -probably a lot more than he was. To him this was just another bind to figure out, something that his feelings told him he could surely overcome with time and some hard work on his part. But to her, he was willing to bet that with the outlook his friend often nursed, this was a potentially inescapable fate that rode atop the fact that she still often seemed to express discontent over having someone else's body. That combined with how she seemed so certain that their ultimate fate was to return to who they once came from just struck him as one of those less appreciably nihilistic traits she had.

"Don't apologize." Roxas' statement was blunt, though the undertone seemed sincere enough, "I got a little careless up there." The exercise wasn't without its upsides though. He now had enough indisputable proof to believe that their more active abilities were restricted here; magic, probably Keyblades... he'd still need to test if he could Glide, but most of his acrobatics seemed to work. Just they were a little rusty again.

Giving her a glance sided with a tired smile, he opted to see if he could get some kind of straight answer from his friend, "How about you? If you saw what I saw up there, it's probably at least a little jarring."

Don't apologize, he said. But with how she had just acted- So focused was she on the matter that was now at the forefront, that of which had been proven further true by his bleeding fingers, Xion hadn't really thought of what had been on Roxas' own mind. Had just been so caught up trying to get back, fighting a losing battle of a belief that there even was one. And now her reckless behavior had prompted this to happen and with her spells flimsy as they were, what help she could give him was limited.

But yet, there he was, asking that question instead. That that same old smile from before. Roxas, why did he...? Xion lowered her head, nearly pressing her forehead against his shoulder in the process. Just standing there for a minute, quiet. But then her free hand was timidly reaching up to her chest to rest where she could feel Anne's heart beating recklessly in her chest from all the strain of the situation. She felt sick. Really sick. Worse than she had ever felt before save the day she had forced Roxas to put an end to her. In those times, she wondered why she had ever wanted a heart in the first place.

"It's... I don't know." Her head sunk a little further, her bangs brushing up against his sleeve. It didn't matter how she felt right then. Her mind was ping ponging between the situation at hand and Roxas.

"But it doesn't seem like we'll be... Let's just..." She paused before taking in a careful breath. "We should do some recon." Or rather find some place that might have something that would ease the pain that she was pretty certain Roxas was it. That loud crack from before pronounced it pretty well. And she remembered how he brushed off his tiredness before back in Agrabah a long time back during the Organization. This time, he wasn't getting off so easily.

It was a strange mood-breaker as the way she seemed to droop into what wasn't exactly his embrace at the moment. Were the situation different, if things weren't quite as serious, if they didn't seem so grim or maybe even if he felt like it would help their collective mood, he would consider trying to hug her. But while some part of him wanted to reach out and literally seize the closeness he'd been looking for, something he couldn't quite place just took away his drive to do so.

No. While he wouldn't lie to himself that he wanted just a simple little gesture to remind them both of how close he'd dreamed that they once were, he wanted to earn that reminder, that feeling. So for now, he just listened as Xion seemed to struggle with making sense of what was going on. Honestly, he didn't have any better of an idea, but finding some shelter and living supplies were matters at least a little more pressing to him right now.

Which made him feel all the better when he heard her suggest doing a recon. He remembered what that meant, Roxas had seen how the whole deal worked in the dreams of his memory and really, he'd come to learn that normal people did that a lot too. They just didn't call it 'recon'. To the people that Lucen lived around, it was getting a feel for a place or something like that -apparently people on vacation in unfamiliar places did that a lot.

So he nodded at first, most of his pain dulling to an ignorable throbbing sensation. It wasn't a nice feeling by any stretch, but it was merely a discomfort rather than something that would slow him down too much. "Yeah, I know we've snacked today, but we'll need to find something decent to eat and some water."

Soda would've been nice, but he'd gotten a look at the state of things top side. He wasn't going to expect to find a can or vending machine anywhere here.

A lot of things would have been nice then, but preference was the last thing on Xion's mind at the moment. Although she couldn't ignore the thirst now that Roxas had mentioned it. Eating probably wasn't something smart to do with her stomach twisted in knots as it was, but to at least quench her parched throat. It was still a little weird to her to consume as frequently as they did now, but it was something she had become accustom to as months went by. Nodding carefully, she finally took a step back, raising her head. Her hand still linked over his for now. Whether it was because she wasn't quite ready to look that reality in the face once more or the matter that she was still worried over his bleeding she wouldn't say. Most likely a bit of both. But she was holding onto him at least for a little longer, regardless.

"...Come on then."

Taking the initiative was hard. But staying there as it was- It was harder. Facing the reality. That they couldn't go back. She took uncertain steps away from it, heading back towards the way they came. Ever attentive of Roxas, watching him out of the corner of her eye. She had been the idiot that had run off so focused on the impossible, after all, and in the end, that had cost him rather than her. So, she would look out for him. And make sure to at least set that right.

Wordlessly as he let his own train of thoughts wander, he seemed to content himself to letting Xion lead their way out of the abandoned subway station, nonchalantly grabbing the handle of his guitar case as they passed where he'd left it. Thinking about it, the way the matter of her getting the point he'd wanted to make himself through his own injuries was something that Challo would've called 'passive-aggressive' and that was normally a term she didn't tend to use in good context. At least for now, it was a lesson to bear in mind and just hope that in the future, he'll be able to make a stand and at least get his own thoughts and feelings out.

It didn't take too long before their path took them back up the stairs she'd descended, his line of sight slowly sweeping about as he once more took in their new surroundings. Honestly, it was off-putting to say the least; to go from a city so full of life to one so almost senselessly desolate was an exceptional shock. And while the thought of giving Lucen back his life was concerning, more immediate worries came in the form of the basic essentials. They'd need to find food, water and shelter on a reliable basis if they were going to stay alive long enough to get to the bottom of this and hopefully, find a way to their new home... where yet more troubles awaited. But that was something he'd concern himself with later.

As their steps settled to a stop, he gave another quick study of their area before he speaks up again, "So where should we check out first? It's a whole city and I doubt we'll be able to cover it in one day."

She considering carrying the guitar case for a moment when Roxas took to picking it up himself only to reconsider shortly afterward. She was worrying too much about him. A worry that he might feel a little alien to yet even if he was slowly regaining his memories. And even though they had been through a fair bit back at Haven. She didn't want to smother him. Which might have been the only reason in the end that as they came to a stop, the first thing she did was finally relieve the pressure she had put on his hand and see if she had quelled the bleeding.

Seeing as it had eased, she left up the rest of her hold. But that didn't stop her from looking around, trying to find some place near by that might hint towards what she was looking for. A little more focused on that than the conversation at hand, it took her a second to really hear what he had just asked and another couple to actually process it. But finally, a dumb blink and then a nod. "-Yeah. ...Yeah, I know. ...We probably won't be able to, but..." ...She finally glanced at the building that seemed to be the least damaged of the ones in the surrounding area. "...Let's start there maybe?"

Some part of him admittedly felt a little disappointed when she let go, but thinking about it practically -it just probably wasn't the best of ideas to go around hand-in-hand with the two of them in such a strange new place. Plus no small amount of the obstacles presented to them seemed to require both hands to climb over properly. So he didn't make any comment, just spared a glance to the hand she'd been tending to and feeling modestly content that the bleeding had eased up. His other hand hadn't been injured nearly as badly, so while it stung, he didn't think it was too important to have it tended to.

When Xion points out a particular building, he nods and takes the lead. Old habits kicked in as a study of the area and comparing it to what he knew of started allowing him to draw conclusions. Though heavily damaged and overgrown in some places with untended greenery, he was willing to hedge a bet that with all the taller buildings that they were in some kind of business district. From what he could tell of the structural remnants, they stood in the intersection near an office park.

Roxas watches his step as he approaches the shattered glass doors, nothing but metal frames outlining where the panes had been and stepping through the opening carefully. The lobby he'd entered seemed as devoid of power as the rest of the city, so he was willing to bet that they'd need some proper flashlights or at least a torch to see what the deeper parts of the building had.

"Watch your step." He warned, sounding somewhat distracted as he was busy trying to think of where they'd be able to procure the supplies he knew that they would need.

If he was that insistent on keeping lead, she'd let it be. But all the same, she scuttled close to him at least. While their hands were no longer joined, she was still within arm's reach just behind him. So, if anything happened, she was right behind him. Literally. This time, she would keep better tabs on him. Alert, she saw the glass before the warning had even left his mouth. Keeping her steps careful and measured, she managed to cross through the door after him with little trouble though bar she was a few paces behind than she had initially planned.

Her eyes trailed what could be seen so far of the building. Fortunately, there were enough windows at the front entrance that the lobby could be made out clearly, but as the main hallway stretched out before them, it was finally swallowed by darkness. A darkness that made her uncomfortable without any manner of light to manage. She tried for a moment to contain a fire spell in her palm, but it was useless. With a quiet sigh and a shake of her head, she studied the rest of the layout, noticing two doors, both located on opposing sides and still likely on the outer perimeter of the structure. And that meant more windows.

She headed over wordlessly to one of them, assuming he'd follow, and tried the knob. It gave easily... but then when she made to push it open... "It's stuck. I think something's blocking the way." She frowned as she rattled the door.

It felt awkward between them -after making as much progress as they had back in Haven, whatever circumstance had led them to this place also seemed to have set back any particular comfort they'd established by no small amount. But then, with the memories he did have, Xion didn't seem like an overtly talkative or open person. What he could recall always had her being quiet and as she was now, always thinking of something. Not like their sudden uproot didn't give them enough to think about, just the silence between them wasn't giving him much of a distraction from his own worries and concerns.

When she started toward the door, he followed without saying anything further, observing as she was met with little success in getting the thing open. Taking a moment to run a few of his own thoughts through his head, an idea finally came to mind.

"Do you think this place could take it if we used a Firaga to blast through?"

Roxas knew she'd bring up the potency of their spells, but the grim smirk on his face said that he already had an idea of how they'd circumvent that obstacle.

Awkward was one way to put it. Distant. Uncertain. Uneasy. Vexed. Torn. Second-guessing. All those and more. But all the same, she wouldn't abandon him. And her determination to mind that had only grown ten fold. It was just... that at the moment, her focus was so divided, too. Between the stress of the new situation, what it meant, it was... It was stretching her pretty thin. Not that she would outright admit it to him. Instead, she'd channel it. The door was one of those- an obstacle she could focus on removing, something she could do right. Or so had been part of her thought process among her worries in his regard.

She had been in the middle of shaking it a bit more when Roxas offered up that suggestion. She looked back to him, skepticism undoubtedly clouding her expression for a moment. Hadn't he seen what little her spells had done back on the subway platform? But as she studied him, she slowly collected that look to him. That perhaps her first thoughts weren't exactly what he was hinting at. And that made her raise a brow. "I'm not sure, but... What do you have in mind?"

It would've taken some significant lapse in his observations for him to have missed Xion having difficulties with her magic, but that combined with perhaps a livelier imagination than he needed was what put the idea he had in his head. Setting the guitar case off to the side, he approaches the door and gives it a careful inspection. With any due fortune, if his idea ended up working and not blowing them both to kingdom come, whatever was blocking the door on the other side also wouldn't spill out and bury them.

"You remember how not long before we came here, I remembered how we were linked?" At this point, he's expecting an odd look or some question as to the relevance of that to their current fix, but whenever the look or comment comes, he'll explain as soon as he sees or hears it.

"It's a stretch, but I was thinking that if I just kind of relaxed, started that part of a spell where I'm gathering power for it while holding your hand and you did the whole motion of casting, you might be able to channel both our power and that just might work."

That suggestion... For a moment, all she could do was stare at him. Just letting it click that he had actually offered it in the first place. And then she stirred. Her footing shifting from one to the other. Finally pausing in her motions, Xion took to just staring at the floor. Just how much of a good idea would that be? What if it set off the same inevitable path from before where one or the other would have to be destroyed? It had been a fear slowly quelled over her time in Haven- It wasn't like it was something that seemed to be on the replay after spending months there with no sign of imbalance on either end -but it wasn't something someone could just easily forget and wave off.

So, she stood there. Simply biting her lip and letting a minute pass. But she knew the more time she relented on the idea, the more suspicious Roxas would become. And so, finally, with an air of reluctance, "Let's... Let's try it." Her voice came out soft, but the hand had that came out to grip his less injured one was firm as if she were grounding herself to this idea. Her glance falling back on the door.

Day 01 - Fish Out Of Water

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OH GAWD THESE EDITS.

Bloody LJ's subject line thing...

It adores you like that~

It's tough being popular

Someone's ego is showing~

Only when it's fun

Let me know if I'm moving too fast.

Well, that came out longer than planned

It happens, man. ...Ffff. More often than not.

Re: It happens, man. ...Ffff. More often than not.

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