driftfleet | (no subject)

Okay. Well...

[he remains where he is, stretched out. having to put his thoughts into coherent sentences is good, grounding. he eases up as he goes.]

This all happened before I was even born, but... According to the myths, my world was created by the Gods, who also created all of the plants, animals, and humans. The Gods are infinite and ineffable--literally impossible for humans to understand, so... To bridge the gap between themselves and humans, they picked nine special people to become avatars and speak on their behalf. Each one of those nine was transformed and opened up to the universe, and given dominion over an aspect of human existence.

[he counts them off on his fingers.]

There was one for knowledge, invention, creativity, perception, courage, suffering, comfort, life and death, and the human soul. They became known as the Nine Kings, because each ruled their subjects and kept "children", people who came to them whom they deemed worthy of their gifts and blessings.

[ riku nods his head lightly as he goes along, taking sips of his tea. ]

That is pretty cool. [ the religions kept on destiny islands were much more... restrictive. ] Were you one of the children?

[...wow, way to skip ahead in the story, Riku. he looks surprised, for a moment, before deciding to continue.]

Not quite. I... [man, now his groove is thrown off. he thinks for a moment, ruffling a hand through his hair. while still upside-down.] Well, there was a big war where all of them fought each other. Eventually, humans rose up and killed them to stop the fighting. But...

[a vague... spinning gesture.] They reincarnated into new bodies. That's what I am. One of them born anew.

[ when he looks surprised, riku just raises his brows.

robin, come on. have you not noticed how perceptive he is? but when he keeps going, his expression evens out.

and then, he just looks baffled. ]

Wait--what?

... Just what I said. Surprise.

[he waves his hands a little. jazz hands. surpriiise.]

So you're the reincarnation of one of the children?

The Kings.

[he... is a little nervous to talk about it, but it's nothing compared to his anxiety earlier. if anything, he's very calm about it compared to how it usually makes him feel.]

I'm one of the Nine Kings, straight connection to the Gods, dominion over a part of humanity, the whole deal.

O-oh.

[ um.

uhhhhhhhhh. the stare riku gives him is definitely surprised. ... he struggles to come to terms with it, and finally just frowns, thinking. ]

Am I supposed to call you King Robin? I don't know if Captain King Robin would be easy to say...

[--he laughs. but it's kind of sudden and he's upside-down; it gets stuck in his sinuses, which leads to an unfortunately timed little choke, that gets him coughing--until he's sitting up again, laughing as he tries to clear out his lungs at the same time.]

Ow, shit-- [ungraceful--but at least he's got a smile on his face?] No, no, Gods, don't do that. I like my normal name.

[ eh?

he's just confused at first, wondering what part of that was so funny... before he just relaxes, and smiles a little despite himself. well, at least he doesn't have that gloomy, anxious expression on anymore. that's a relief. ]

If you say so, captain. [ ... huh. wait. ] So there were Nine Kings... which one were you?

Oh... [he sniffs, finally relaxing... he hesitates before giving his answer, but only because he's trying to decide whether making him guess which one he is would be better or worse.] ...The scary-sounding one. I am Riem, the King of Suffering, with dominion over pain.

... oh.

[ ... he scratches his cheek. ]

That's weird. Why did you fix my wrist, then? Wouldn't you like pain?

[there's a definite pause where he does not say the words, "oh, it was delicious."

good job, Robin. you're really a pro. he swivels his captain's chair towards Riku instead, bringing his legs up to sit on them.]

Yes, kind of... But there's more to it than that. My realm isn't just pain, it's... the lack of it, too. Apathy, numbness. One can't understand pain until they have felt joy, and one doesn't know true comfort until they have suffered. Pain can make people strong, one's person's pain can benefit hundreds of others, but... Sometimes people suffer needlessly. That's what I'm alive for, to give and to take.

[he shrugs.] But if I'm being honest, I fixed your wrist because it was stupid and you should have seen someone about it ages ago. I'm Robin before I'm Riem, here.

[ what does robin probably not expect?

riku making an offended face. ]

There were more important things to do, like save worlds.

[ but! he calms. ]

But... I think I get it. It's balance.

[he raises an eyebrow, just a bit, to that first part... but he'll save the argument for another day. the... main point is that Riku is being very calm about something that usually freaks people out. a lot.]

That's right. It's hard to do out here... I don't even know if there's a place for a creature such as myself out here. The void doesn't call out for me like my world did...

[his gaze goes out the window, of course, out into the black of night...]

I understand.

[ he frowns at him, and then looks down. ]

As a Keyblade Master, I'm not really... like you--I'm not like a force of nature. I guess... I'm more like a counterweight. But I can't do that here, either. I guess you just have to look at details instead of the big picture for now, since you can't do much about it.

What does a "Keyblade Master" do, if I might ask?

[it sounds pretty cool... but it could be anything. he'd been meaning to ask since Riku first mentioned it to him months ago.]

[ his shoulders scrunch before he just sighs; brushing his hair back, he shakes his head.

he's not supposed to talk about it. he was supposed to protect world order!

... but...

at the same time. what world order is there to protect, he suddenly wonders. everyone knows they're from different worlds... so what can he really protect but the people themselves? and isn't knowledge the best form of protection? he muddles on this, curling into himself a little tighter.

robin's given his story. he should give his. ]

A Keyblade wielder protects all worlds.

[ he starts there, quiet. ]

We're supposed to keep the balance between Light and Darkness, keep the worlds safe, and make sure the people of all worlds can live in peace. Masters do that, too, but you're supposed to pass a special test. If you pass, you get the title of 'Master' and you can explore the world for yourself, or you can teach... I'm pretty sure you can do both if you want.

Right now, I'm trying to learn everything I can, so I can help stop a war before it starts. At least, I was, before I was pulled here.

[he considers all of this for a moment, in that quiet way of his... but, whatever he's thinking, only one conclusion leaves him:]

That's a lot of responsibility.

[ riku mulls on his response to that.

he hasn't even told sora yet that he didn't really want this. the whole purpose of taking the test was to find out if he was worthy of wielding, not worthy of mastership. he'd never intended to pass the test with flying colors! when he'd passed and sora hadn't, it'd been a big shock.

yet, it's childish. it's so childish, and of all things, riku is terrified of letting others down. so, he stares at his cup, keeps his posture, and mumbles; ]

I guess.

[ he knows it is. part of him doesn't even want this responsibility, but he can't reject it. he knows he can't. he has to do what's expected of him. ]

[he admits that he doesn't know an awful lot about Riku. his world (or worlds) seem very strange to him. he has magic, but he hasn't seen him use it. he keeps to himself, even when he's around other people. like him, he'd probably prefer to pass through life as a ghost. never hurt anyone, never be hurt. never miss anyone, never be missed.

and never dream, because good dreams are for people who have futures and potential.]

...You know, when I was your age, I was quite enamored with my older brother, Crow. He isn't--wasn't my real brother, but we all called each other brother and sisters back then, all nine of us. We were just starting to realize that we had a grand destiny ahead of us, and he was always so... Confident, and so cunning. Strong, too. He blew me away when it came to spell-casting, hunting, everything.

He acted like I didn't exist, of course. Liked to keep me at the bottom of the rank so that I'd do anything to win his favor... But I adored him. I wanted to be him, believe in him. I would have followed him to the end of the world, once.

[he sighs, looking down at the hands in his lap. it's funny how his knuckles are shaped against the rest of his hands, how veins seem to split right under them. he designed these hands himself, with another's hands in mind.]

Something was always wrong with him. I think I knew from the day I met him that one day, something terrible would happen. He killed the others, and would have killed me, too, if Finch hadn't gotten in the way of it. I still remember what it felt like, thousands of years ago, to reach out with magic and break all of his bones.

[he... hasn't realized how quiet he's gotten. but it's a quiet bridge. everyone else is still asleep.]

I have terrible nightmares about him, even still. He never grows any older, but I still cower before him like a child. It seems foolish, but I still think... Perhaps, if I had said something sooner, it never would have happened. If I'd gotten there earlier, my siblings would not be dead. If I'd stood up to him, then, my world would still be whole.

Perhaps it is good that I'm not there. [a beat.] I don't know.

[ he sounds like sora, and riku feels like he's too far away and robin's lost in a fog. he's too far away and his chest clenches hard out of guilt. ]

I know the feeling.

[ it's soft, but heavy, like knees dropping out from underneath you.

he parts his lips to speak, a secret ready to be divulged, and just as easily, he withers and pulls back. no. robin's the one who had a nightmare. sure, he had one too, but this isn't about him. it's about robin. he needs to stop being selfish.

what good is a heart when all it does is want to reach out to people, when you can't and know it? ]

But I think your world--any world, could benefit from you, you know? I saw how you were when we first met... and I know you've been changing, little by little. So, I believe in you.

[ and he smiles, gentle. ]

If you keep thinking of 'what if', though, you'll never get anywhere. You'll be stuck in the past. You've gotta move forward.

[...he's never really talked about this with anyone. he's never been close enough, or when he was, he was in no state to explain. his mind is free, here. Crow is far away, so long as he's awake. Riku's words have room to sink in, nestle deep in his chest.

it's comforting. he looks up at Riku. his posture is hunched, but not guarded. he looks a little like he did in his true form, bent over to stay small.]

Tell me about your dream. [he says it with a small smile himself.] I want to hear about it.

Wh--

[ riku stares at him with wide eyes, and then sharply shakes his head. ]

My nightmare, you mean? I... [ don't know how you'll react. and how can he come clean that it's three seperate nightmares that run altogether in his head, repeating themselves? which will he say? the one that's most frequent is his possession. ]

... I'm used to it, don't worry.

[he continues smiling. so much for the mutual rule of giving each other space...]

Dominion of pain, remember?