driftfleet | walking in a winter wonderland. (MINGLE)

[ a slow nod. ]

It means, someone without a heart. Not a real heart--emotions. Nobodies can't feel. [ a pause, and he looks away. ] ... kind of. They can grow their hearts back, too, but... it takes time. Right now, if his heart is starting to grow at all, it's not obvious.

Is that so...

[He considers this for a moment, slowly crossing his arms]

...If that's true, then he's gotta be the most expressive emotionless person I've ever met. And I've met a fair number.

[ he makes a noise, nodding his head. ]

That's what I thought, too. But they still remember their past lives, with their hearts--so they can remember what it's like to feel, or... at least, that's what they kept telling me.

[He turns to remove the kettle off the heat before it starts whistling. He pulls down two cups to pour the water into]

Whose the 'they' that kept telling you, exactly? The Nobodies?

Mmhm. [ he gives a short nod. ] Though, it wasn't just them--the guy I was working for did, too.

It's why I didn't really believe it. When I found out that they could grow their hearts back... when do they grow them back? And how?

I never found out, but I think I can tell--the Axel here, and now? I don't think his heart's been growing. If he's acting differently from what you remember... that probably means you knew him when his heart was growing back.

[Tea bags in the cups, he sets the cup of tea in front of Riku before taking his own, he snorts]

Wow, you didn't believe something because your boss said it? Talk about trust in authority figures.

[Though he can get it. He sure never trusted anything Yggdrasil said]

How and when a heart grows is easy enough...I mean, becoming a Nobody just takes the heart away- it doesn't continuously suppress it like a Cruxis Crystal does, right? [Nevermind he's never bothered to explain a Cruxis Crystal] I mean...assuming what they say is true about the whole no emotions thing.

[He's definitely questioning it a little. Axel just...he didn't act anything like the angels he's seen]

As for Axel...I dunno- are you sure he hasn't started growing one back? I mean, there is a difference between no heart and a just plain old asshole, you know.

[ riku shrugs. ]

I say he was my 'boss', but... [ he's not sure how to describe it. saying that he was a pawn seemed like he was handing off the blame, and he was solely the guilty party in so many things. he shakes his head. ] Nevermind--it's not important.

What's a Cruxis Crystal? You've never said anything about it before.

[Just say it Riku: DiZ was an asshole. You can say it]

I haven't? [Of course you haven't]

It's a type of Exsphere- a sort of gem like thing that when you wear it, it can enhance your natural abilities. But if you don't wear a keycrest with it, it'll slowly suck the lifeforce out of you until you die.

Cruxis Crystals? They're much more powerful than the average Exsphere. They give you a lot more power, but...if you don't have a good keycrest on you- it'll turn you into a soulless, emotionless husk.

[ riku's eyebrows arch sharply at this new information, a knuckle pressed to his lips. ]

So instead of it happening all at once... [ he lets that trail off. instead of a heart being ripped out, it's slowly drained? that's kind of alarming. ]

I don't think you could stop a growing heart, but... I wouldn't know. But I know, the difference, I've... I've known him for a little while, now. [ it felt weird to say that. he shakes his head again. ]

Not face-to-face. Like I said, we were on opposite sides, so we kept an eye on each other, and...

[ ... okay, no, it's bothering him. ]

Who can get a Cruxis Crystal? Just anyone?

...Well, I guess you'd know better than me what he was like. I knew Lea, but we weren't really that close. More like a friend of a friend sorta deal.

[Even if he wonders if it's so much of a growth of a heart as a change in heart...eh, schematics.]

[And yeah, he's not surprised it bothers him. He shakes his head]

Nah. Not just anyone. Too rare for that. Among humans, only a Chosen One has a Cruxis Crystal. It's sort of like a proof of identity.

Among others...well, Cruxis had more, but from what I heard they got taken out. [Thank the goddess for that]

[ oh. that's a relief--he exhales. ]

So it's kind of like the Keyblade... [ kind of. either way, he shrugs his shoulders. ] As far as I know, he changed when Roxas was around. He's from before then, so... I guess that was what changed.

Do you or Lloyd have one? One of the crystals, I mean.

Sure. Though for your sake, I hope there's a lot more differences than similarities. [Cruxis Crystals suuuck. And he frowns. The name sounds...very vaguely familiar, like maybe it was someone in the Initiative too. But. Never one he spoke to personally] Roxas, huh? A friend of his, I take it?

We...both do, apparently. [He frowns a little] How he got one though, I'm still not clear on.

[ he briefly nods. ] One of his best... [ riku grimaces suddenly, pressing a hand against his head like a sudden ache came on. with a shaky breath, he blinks, and shakes his head. ] His best friend, I mean.

[ ow, that hurt. he takes a sip of his tea, trying to shake it off. ]

But... both of you have a--keystone, you said?

[He raises an eyebrow to that] You...okay? It can't be that hard to think of Axel making friends.

[Yep, definitely concerned here, enough that he sounds distracted as he answers the next part, his eyes on Riku]

Keycrest, yeah. We're fine.

[ riku frowns. ]

I'm fine. [ he shakes his head, holding his forehead with a hand. ] It's not that weird--Lea's friends with me and Sora. Maybe it's because of the cold.

[ kaneis is concerned, but riku just shrugs it off. it can't be anything important. why would it be, it's just a headache. ... it's a little worrying that he feels like he's missed something, but... it's probably nothing. ]

Good to hear. [ he relaxes a little--and then blinks, his brows furrowing. ] Wait, you said... only Chosen Ones...

Cold, right... [He's not sure if cold causes head pain, but alright...] Well, drink some tea. Warm yourself up.

[Annnd there's a beat when Riku points that out. He had gotten so caught up with the Nobody talk, it had honestly slipped his mind NOT to say that]

Oh. [another beat] Did I?

[ riku gives him a patient stare, raising an eyebrow slowly. ]

Yeah. You did. What were you guys chosen for?

[He gives a sigh and rubs the back of his neck]

For something I'd rather forget, if I could.

[ he's ... understanding of that, and he doesn't want to push him too far, so he quiets for a good moment. after a moment or so, he shakes his head. ]

Sorry about asking.

No, it's-

[He shakes his head and looks down at his mug. Riku's told him...all sorts of thing he's probably not comfortable people knowing about. So after a pause, he'll reluctantly explain]

Most people believed the Chosen One was someone who could save the world. Child of angels, bringer of world regeneration and salvation- there's a whole lots of stories and legends about it. Everything from the believable to the insanely farfetched.

But...the reality? There was some guy with too much power who was willing to stop at nothing to bring back his dead sister. Went so far to twist the whole world apart to do it. [Mithos...was it too much to hope that someone put his head on a pike? Probably, how depressing.] Chosens were only chosen because our mana signature's close enough to hers to serve as a vessel.

[ he blinks, startled when kaneis actually elects to share this information. is that a first? it feels like a first, where he didn't actually put anything on the table about himself before this happened.

surprise turns to horror and he stares down at his mug. well, he can understand why kaneis would rather forget it, now. ]

A vessel, huh? [ he says it weakly, feeling sick. that's... horrible. goosebumps crawl up his arm. ] How'd the whole world get behind that?

[He's...not exactly surprised to see that look of horror. It's a sobering tale alright. One that only gets worse and worse the more you learn]

I...don't know how he pulled it off, exactly. [There were speculations, but-] The system's been going on for thousands of years. Records of what happened that long ago are either very scarce, or very edited.

By my time...well, it's been going on for so long, almost everyone accepted it as the truth of things.

[ riku opens his mouth to ask about thousands of years, before he silences himself. he doesn't really know how old xehanort is. it's perfectly feasible. he exhales, pressing a hand against a closed eye. ]

So what were you supposed to do? How did you... [ ... can he even finish that sentence? ]

[Wow that's so rude Riku, Master Xehanort does not look in his thousands take that back. ]

Life on our world requires a type of energy called mana to survive. Thanks to an ancient war that nearly destroyed the world, mana's in limited supply. So Yggdrassil split the world into two worlds connected to one another through mana links. It works like an hourglass, one world would always be receiving mana and flourishing - while the other would be declining. He claimed it was prevent technology from getting advanced enough to start another war like the Ancient Kharlan War...but if that's the truth, I don't know. Maybe it was a long time ago.

[He shakes his head]

Anyway- if a Chosen is in the declining world- it's their job to go on a journey that reverses the mana flow so their world can become the flourishing one. Along the way, the rituals cause them to go through- well, the condition I mentioned to you before. But unlike me, they don't have a proper keycrest...so each time the condition worsens, they lose more and more of their humanity until there's nothing left and they're fit to be a vessel.

If they're from the flourishing world, like I was - well, you're pretty much expected to sit in a gilded cage until your world starts to go into decline, or you produce an heir that's got a good enough mana signature to be the next Chosen. Maybe Cruxis snatches any Chosen that's very likely to be a successful vessel- I don't know. They only really contacted me for spy work, so I guess I didn't meet those qualifications.

And if you had, you'd just...

[ ... ugh, that's horrifying to imagine. ]

I'm--I'm sorry, I didn't know. A cage, a prison... I think I kind of understand.

walking in a winter wonderland. (MINGLE)

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and now for a little backtracking 8|; THIS IS DEPRESSING

JUST A LITTLE

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