When destiny calls you, you must be strong

[a-total-sap.livejournal.com]

Who: Sora and whoever wants to cheer him up
What: You can only be cheerful for so long, and Sora may be reaching the end of his rope.
Where: The Maw. Everything happens in the Maw. :\
When: Friday morning

It was starting to get warmer outside, but it was still early enough in the year for him to be wearing a coat. It was also really windy - he had pulled up the hood to his coat and sat on a boulder nearly twice his size, swinging his legs back and forth. In his hands, he held the Oathkeeper keychain, quietly running his thumb along the smooth petals that made up Kairi's charm.

He took the others' words to heart - he knew that he couldn't focus too much on the stuff that was going wrong, but instead on getting Kairi back. But...

He sighed, falling back on the rock and tucking his hands behind his head to act as a pillow. He stared up at the bright blue sky, and couldn't help but feel that he really had messed up somehow.

Comments

[rikugasmic.livejournal.com]

At first, Riku didn't know how to respond. He stared out at the empty expanse of the Maw in silence, a pause long enough for Roxas to approach.

"I'm not so sure that it got bigger." he finally replied. "But the puzzles seem to have gotten more complicated." Funny, he never thought he'd be saying that after everything that's happened. But if there was one thing he could say about the years after the Islands were destroyed (The first time. he thought, suppressing a cringe) - and he now considered it a redeeming quality, though not by much - was that he had never found himself at a total standstill. He understood where Sora was coming from; how were they supposed to push forward if there was no place for them to push towards?

Still, he had to remember why he was here - he needed to make Sora feel better, not worse. "But if there's a puzzle, there has to be an answer."

[a-total-sap.livejournal.com]

Sora watched Roxas approach out of the corner of his eyes, while listening to Riku. He didn't know what to think about complicated puzzles or anything. He just didn't know if he was strong enough to save all of the worlds again. He thought they had done the right thing before, that the worlds were at peace, safe.

He bent on knee, resting his arm across it as he sighed. "Yeah, but I'm no good at puzzles. Too hard, you know?" He fell silent for a moment or two before adding, "I know we don't have a prophecy or anything. And I guess it would be kinda selfish to want one. I just don't know what to do anymore."

He laughed quietly. "Guess I'm a pretty lousy keybearer, if I can't even find the road to the right answer."

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas wasn't going to tell them he'd heard most of their conversation so far, not so much because he hadn't intended to eavesdrop but because he wasn't entirely comfortable with the fact that he could hear them from as far away as he had. It was a leftover from the Star Market curse and while it was somewhat useful, he still wasn't used to it. Well, at least he hadn't been saddled with an irresistible craving for fish or milk. That would just suck.

Not that he needed to hear part of their conversation to know Sora was troubled. He could feel it. That last remark especially bothered him. To the point where he had to break his silence.

"You're not," he said softly, "Just because the answer isn't coming easily doesn't mean you're a bad Keybearer."

[rikugasmic.livejournal.com]

Though he didn't look up when Roxas approached, Riku nodded once to the boy's response, turning to look at Sora directly.

"He's right. You aren't a lousy keybearer. That is..." he said, again staring out at the Maw, "Unless you plan on giving up." His words weren't harsh - rather they were a challenge, almost the tone he used to taunt his friend back when they were kids on the Islands, playing games. There was less enthusiasm, however, replaced with a few shades of seriousness and importance.

Maybe it wasn't the best way to comfort him, he realized, but it was the best way Riku knew how. Simply telling Sora that he was anything but a bad Keybearer wouldn't be enough. His friend needed a shove in the right direction. They didn't need a prophecy, or a guide. They just needed to keep going.

[a-total-sap.livejournal.com]

Sora frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. He knew that technically, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He was still fighting, still looking, still hoping. But he had done that the first time too, had thought that everything was going to be okay after Xemnas had been defeated.

"I'm not gonna give up," Sora replied almost immediately, looking down at the ground and wrinkling his nose. "That'd be stupid. I just want everyone to be safe."

You saw nothing <.<

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas wasn't really the best choice for cheering someone up. Honestly, that was Sora's job. Which made things very awkward when Sora was the one who needed cheering up. It also didn't help that the two of them still had things they needed to discuss. Still, maybe improving Sora's mood first was a good idea.

Unfortunately, he didn't really know what else to say. Anything he could think of sounded either unnecessarily sappy or unnecessarily callous. Then again, Sora was a sap. Maybe sappy was the way to go.

"Hey, it'll be okay. It might seem a little... bad... right now. But I'm sure it'll turn out okay." Why did it feel like he was sticking his foot in his mouth?