evulsed | IC INBOX

( one day upon waking, vanitas will find a box of stuff outside his door. there's a note on it with his name that gene definitely did not write himself, thanks! just so there's no doubt about who it's meant for.

inside the box is half a bag of m&ms, a little carving that looks like one of vanitas' shadow pets and, you know, a pair of knitted socks. why not. gene's secretly a grandma. better find it before the rats do! )

"Sora!"

Lashed by wind and rain, a trio united by a common cause struggled through the unsteady terrain in the dark, slogging through stony paths choked with tangling undergrowth. Riku's shout smothered by the rain lashing the tree branches, "Answer me!"

The only sound that came back to greet them was the occasional threatening growl of thunder as the ground became ever more treacherous. Stones and brush gave way to soil softened and soggy with rain. It quickly became a sticky slurry of mud that tried to pull the boots from their feet.

They're cold, drenched, and facing the prospect of wading through shin-deep flows as the flash flooding begins. They are no closer to locating Sora or Kairi than when they started. Riku stops, taking a long look at Dawn, at the heavy slope of his shoulders, his own fists curled at his sides.

"Let's stop a minute," he says.

Riku was probably one of the least likely to request a break, present company excluded. Maybe he does it because he knows Dawn won't request it. Because Vanitas is driven like a man possessed (or obsessed), and the three of them are already ragged.

[It's a decision he's made. Doing this, coming here. It's a decision the same way going into the woods had been, the same way following Kairi had been, the same way choosing to meet Xehanort had been. Sora isn't sure if he's ever been the kind of person who runs. He doesn't think things through that way so the way forward is always the path right infront of him, not the one at his back. And that's okay. He's been called naive before- he's been reminded time and again of his own insignificance, of his lack of individual strength or cleverness or power. It's like he'd told Riku, in the end. Every step forward will bring him closer to home.

He has faith, in that.

Of everyone that had found there way here, it's strange to have only Riku and Vanitas left. To have only these two to say goodbye to. As far back as he could remember he's never been just 'Sora,' he's always been just one part: 'Sora and Riku.' If he was going to explain it to anyone, to be sure that he'd be heard, then that made sense. Riku isn't just a friend, he's a partner. They understand each other in a way he's never felt with anyone else- not even Donald and Goofy. But Vanitas is something else- a dark mirror that never throws the right reflection back.

He's been to this room once before, in the very beginning. When he helped Vanitas repair one of the legs of the bedframe. He wonders if it's still there, his little patch job.

One hand raises and Sora knocks, three short raps.]

do you feel cool because of your edgy username or has someone pointed out how lame that actually makes you

Do you have any plans?

Can your little rats communicate complex ideas with you?

For some reason, an old cigar box is sitting on a bench in the Museum. It's tied shut with a dark red and slightly wrinkled ribbon, with a piece of folded paper tucked into it. The side facing up reads "Vanitas".

Inside the box, something is taped to the inside so that its chain doesn't get all tangled up.

It's a dark chain, long enough to hang from a belt or even around one's neck, though worn that way it would mean its single adornment would rest just below the dip of one's collarbone. Its pendant is five black metal petals linked to each other by a single blackened metal ring, together forming a roughly uniform five-pointed star. Securing the center of the star are two criss-crossing coils of silver wire, a bright x against the black.

The pieces might look familiar, considering the stuff he's been working on lately.

Written inside the folded up bit of paper are the words:
"I don't know if protective charms really work, but I wanted you to have this. Something that's only yours.
-Riku"

Hey. I get it, cabin fever.
I feel restless, too. Rather than follow that other guy around, let's have a little fun.

Hi! I'm Daylight. Giant guy. Winglets.

So I know we haven't met proper-proper since we first got here but I was talking to Riku about an important thing. He mentioned you during the conversation and if he trusts you than I trust you too.

Can we meet somewhere private? I really, really, really need to talk to you about something.

[ Oh, yes, Vanitas. This is happening.

There's a small paper packet waiting inside. It has three heart shaped chocolates tucked in there, each with its own filling. The packaging reads, "I think you deserve nice things. Happy Valentine's Day! From, Sora."

No other explanation than that. Enjoy your chocolates, Vanitas! Sora does not love you, but he's trying! ]

Where are you right now?

I received a package and letter from our doctor friend. I won't transcribe it word for word, but I wanted to make you all aware of some information that I think needs to be known NOW.

1. Confirmation of the amusement park. The coaster we saw a flier for does exist and does do what we hypothesized it would...it's a "humane method of suicide." If any of you go exploring and happen across the amusement park DO NOT LET ANYONE ON THE COASTER.

2. She thinks it will soon be time to connect to the network. She didn't give a day, but it sounded like it would be soon. I don't know if we're to wait to reveal her presence then or if you all think we should finally call another town hall to inform everyone else about this.

If you're curious about reading the letter for yourself, let me know.

He doesn't know what to expect, entirely. Vanitas has always been a little taciturn with matters of support and empathy. It isn't an unknown quantity because enough details have been disclosed over the last few months for Bruce to have an approximation to the cause. He has yet to meet a person that was born this way; pain like this is cultivated, it's nourished. There have been other moments where the truth of Vanitas's experiences betray him. In the widening of his eyes when Bruce came through the cell to reach for him. In the way he would seek out company for meals, that he needed someone to guide him through his fear of the water.

It's here too, in the green luminescence of his gaze as Bruce finds him downstairs- not in the kitchen, not near his bed. Just here, like an island all his own.

Bruce stands beside the stairs, quiet and watchful. And then he says his name.
"Vanitas."

They stand in the lobby of the Museum, filthy, exhausted, and in Riku's case, stunned they made it back in one piece. Neither of them are strangers to the horrors of battle, they've weathered their own personal torments. That's not to say what they experienced, what they just returned from doesn't leave a mark.

It doesn't feel real.
Some things Riku just can't say, like it might shatter this beautiful illusion and he'll wake up from another of those green eyed bastards' hallucinations.

There's a hand in his, that he'd insisted on holding during the last part of their walk, when he felt he didn't need to keep them both free to fight with. His fingers tighten a little. Instead Riku swallows, looks over at Vanitas, and tells him to get some spare clothing from Riku's room.

Since the blizzard, Riku has built up to a whole six changes of clothing, basic stuff. T-shirts and button downs and jeans, even a pair of sweatpants with a drawstring at the waist. In the meantime, there's a bath to draw, and it's not like Vanitas won't know there's more water in it than he's comfortable with, but he puts soap in it like the bubbles that foam up on its surface might make all the difference.

He isn't thinking rationally, washing off the evidence doesn't mean the thing didn't happen.

But it can't hurt, he thinks. No - it has to be the first thing. Vanitas has that fear of water, this won't be easy, but Bruce and he have been helping build Vanitas up to this, with damp washcloths, then cups of water, then showers and pots of water left to boil on the stove.

And... he's here. Riku's here to prove it can't get any worse than it already was for them both, the spirits, for now, are gone.

Edited 2020-04-01 02:31 (UTC)

-> gifts; check me assuming gene's figured out where he lives (backdated before the raining begins)

9 - 10-ish August, sometime during the thunderstorm and flash flooding.

post lighthouse mission

@regina

@wayne

@wayne | private

no subject

hello bad influence coming through

( text; jan 17, friday.) | @daylit.

02/14; in his post-office box

@riku

Feb 24 | text | @m.hughes

25th| evening