birth by sleep. ( open )

[restlesswaters.livejournal.com]

Characters: Aqua and OPEN
Date: 22nd January, afternoon.
Summary: Aqua's escaped her cage, and has come tumbling into the Gardens.
Warnings: Spoilers for Blank Points.

Aqua wondered, from time to time, if the Realm of Darkness had a name before she arrived there. Perhaps it was something she had heard of from Master Eraqus, all those years ago, or maybe she conjured it up after endless hours spent wandering dark paths. It was hard to think back that far—did she know what she was getting into when she sacrificed herself for Terra? Did she know that she'd end up in a world that sapped every last drop of light from her bones and the air all around, all so that she could save Terra, so he could save Ven, and then at least they'd have each other? Surely she wouldn't have willingly abandoned them like that, left them alone while she spent what was either a decade or a hundred years in a world so full of nothing that it didn't even deserve a name.

When Aqua woke up, she felt as if she'd been beaten from all sides. She'd actually woken up, and that was too much for her to comprehend at first. In the Realm of Darkness, there was nothing she could do to waste away her hours. She didn't eat, she didn't drink, she didn't sleep, and she certainly didn't dream. And yet there she was, face-down in wild grass, each and every sense so utterly overwhelmed that she believed she might never move again.

Her first thought was to work out where she could possibly be, what world she'd crash-landed on, but soon learnt that she just didn't care. There was light, if only in name alone, in the Realm of Darkness, but that had only served to make the shadows starker and the dark shapes on the horizon deeper; the sunlight, so unfamiliar to Aqua, stung her eyes, making them water. It was so much warmer there, made her feel so wonderfully alive, and it was as if Aqua was only just realising that she'd been freezing all along. For a brief moment – and it was only the most hollow, fleeting of moments, one that Aqua would desperately cling to and try to recall at least a jot of in the weeks and months to come – she felt that nothing in the Realm of Darkness mattered, and that it had been another life altogether.

Sprawled out against the dirt in clothes that weren't her own, Aqua kept her eyes screwed shut to protect them from the light, and reached blindly for her Keyblade, though she knew it was bound to appear at even her subconscious behest. The sound of light cutting into the air like diamonds rang in her ears, and there it was, Rainfell firm in her hand. It was all she needed.

She was out. She may no longer have had a home to return to, but there were people she could save, and that was enough. She was free.

Comments

wb!

[restlesswaters.livejournal.com]

Always been a girl? Aqua could've raised a dozen objections to that, but for now, she simply didn't care. It'd been so long since she'd last seen Ven that Aqua was starting believe that an eternity would pass before she got to do so again, and yet here he – she – was, in one piece, coherent and awake. She took a deep breath, squeezing her tighter, knowing that nothing but apologies would tumble from her lips the moment she started speaking.

“Ven, I'm—I'm so sorry. For leaving you and Terra alone for so long. All this time, I've wanted nothing more to get back to you, but... but you're alright. You're safe. Please, forgive me,” she said, voice wavering.

Thank you. :D

[princessofwind.livejournal.com]

Ven had no clue what she was talking about, honestly, but she felt that she would ask later. She held the other a bit tighter, resting her chin on Aqua's shoulder. The blond listened to the apologies, but she knew that even if she had an inkling of what had happened to her, she would forgive the other woman. No matter what Aqua did, she would always give her forgiveness, even if there was nothing to forgive in her mind.

"It's okay, Aqua. I'm here, and I forgive you. I always will," she told her softly. Her questions could wait until Aqua was better, especially emotionally so.

[restlesswaters.livejournal.com]

Finally putting Ven back down on the ground, Aqua felt herself breathe out a sigh of relief. Reaching forward, she ruffled her hair, not yet ready to break the contact. Something in her chest tightened at Ven's words, but she was unable to tell if they did anything to ease her fears, or simply make her feel infinitely more guilty.

“Is Terra with you... ?” she asked cautiously, not certain of just how far into the Darkness he'd fallen, unaware of the lengths she'd have to go to, to pull him back out. There was a brief spat of respite from that horrible, crippling thought, however, when she found herself wondering if Terra, broad shoulders and all, was a girl in this world as well.

[princessofwind.livejournal.com]

She didn't mind the hair ruffle, missing it after all that's happened from her timeline. At the mention of Terra, she shook her head, a little crestfallen.

"No, he's not," but then she giggled, "Though, it'd be really, um, different to meet him if he was a girl."

Perhaps not as different as a female Eraqus, but she was shying away from all thoughts relating to their father-figure. She wasn't ready to face that quite yet.

[restlesswaters.livejournal.com]

At that, Aqua couldn't help but laugh under her breath. In spite of everything, Ven's laughter was still infections, and she felt a great weight being lifted from her shoulders, if only momentarily. She'd missed this all so much.

“It really would, wouldn't it?” she said, focusing on the issue of girl-Terra, for the time being. “I don't think he'd be too happy about it.”

[princessofwind.livejournal.com]

Hearing the other woman laugh made her spirits rise, and she grinned. She couldn't shake the image from her mind. A buff girl-Terra. Oh, man, it was so weird to think about that!

"Probably not," Ven agreed, "It'd be interesting to see him--her, I guess--in a dress."