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( He's gone.

It's just like Ven all over again - Sora could be in serious danger, or worse - he could be dead. No matter what happened, Aqua needed to find him quickly. The longer he goes without being rescued, the worse it's likely to get.

Who could it have been this time? There haven't been other cases of kidnappings. Not that has been talked about or reported, anyways. Perhaps it was someone who was specifically after the kind of monster that Sora was. Either way, Aqua doesn't hesitate to do whatever she can to find Sora.

For a while, Aqua can be seen in the sky, looking out for anything that might be suspicious - anything that could be a lead in finding Sora. )

[ Even on days when Zack doesn't have much going on, it's rare for him to just hang around in the cottage that he shares with Cloud and Nier. Better to wander the city and get some fresh air, especially since he feels as if there's still so much more of Aefenglom that he needs to experience.

So he's walking along, glancing at storefronts and trying to figure out how he wants to spend his afternoon, when something above him blots out the sun for just a moment. He sees a winged shadow slide across the cobblestone and looks up to see a humanoid figure soaring overhead.

The figure banks and that allows Zack to get a better look at them, realizing that he recognizes that blue hair and those icy wings. ]

Aqua?

[ While he's taken on a few permanent changes after going feral earlier in the month, he doesn't have wings (yet), which means that he has to chase after her on foot. Thankfully, Zack is good at being loud when he needs to be, so he's hopeful she'll hear him. ]

Hey! Aqua!! Down here!

( The sound of Zack's voice is enough to make her stop mid-flight, wings stopping as she looks down. If he can see her expression from where he's standing, there's no denying that look of worry - of focus. She feels like she's already looked everywhere for any sign of Sora, but there's been nothing to go by. No other kidnappings (thankfully) or suspicious activity.

She makes her way downwards shortly after he calls for her, landing on her feet. She crosses her arms, avoiding his gaze. )

I'm sorry, Zack. I can't stay and talk.

( The more that Aqua looks, the more troubled she feels. She can't fail Sora, not like she had failed Ven once before. Ven had gone through so much pain before. His kidnappers had been cruel, inhumane.

She should have never let her guard down. She knew that this world was dangerous. Had she failed in her training? And... why was it that she continued to fail to save the people who were so important to her? Had she not trained enough?

Despite how controlled Aqua usually was - despite how she knew that had to focus on finding Sora, it feels like every passing moment only further intensifies the inner turmoil that she felt.

Those who are bonded with her may or may not be able to feel the emotions that she's experiencing now - but more than that, they may feel something shift, something changed before it feels as though their connection with Aqua only fades before becoming all the stronger.

And that's when she changes - shifts. Aqua's transformation comes much faster than others, and a dragon can be seen flying in the sky. However, any trace of Aqua is gone - anger and desperation taking hold of her. Every so often, she'll fire ice towards any one who may be close to where she's flying - loud roars echoing through that sky every-so-often.

At one point or another, she'll fly on top of one of the buildings in the city, easily damaging the roof as she growls, icey blue eyes looking around intently. )

[It's brutally ironic. The second Sora vanished, Kairi knew what to do. She put her Divination spells to work, finding him almost immediately because this group of kidnappers didn't know how to block her (or just hadn't planned on a scryer) and tried to find the rest of their little group to run out and get him back.

But she hadn't been able to find most of them or get in touch with them, and now she found herself rushing out to try to track them down so they could actually save him when she already knew where he was.

Which wouldn't have been so terrible (they'd only had him for a short time, and she knew thanks to the bond that they hadn't actually started doing to him what he'd done to Ven) but then, into the mix, one of her other bonds flared up.

And she knew what this reaction meant.]

Oh no, no, Aqua, no... [Panicking to a not-insignificant extent, Kairi opens herself up perhaps more than is really wise to the furious dragon, desperately trying to project reassurance and surety at her, to basically yell at her with emotions: "Hey! Hey, Aqua, I know where he is! Please stop freaking out and come help me get him!"

Unfortunately, emotions are rarely that clear. And her panic over what's happening to Aqua herself, mixed with her worry for Sora, is bound to leak over. So this probably won't end well.]

( Indeed, the panic from Kairi only makes Aqua feel that way all the more, another roar echoing from the sky as she release shards of ice and aims them for the ground. Unfortunately for Kairi, what she feels might feel may only grow intense with Aqua's feelings also shifting.

She gives another strong flap of her wings, further damaging the building she had landed on. )

[This was a very bad idea. She really should have tried, oh, anything else. Aqua's emotions are like a hurricane pounding at her heart, and Kairi shudders at the rage and violence she's feeling. There's so much. How can she hold on?]

Aqua, please! Please stop! This isn't helping!

[How can she stop her? None of her spells seem designed for this sort of thing.]

( It's the sound of Kairi's voice that causes Aqua to stop for a moment, an icey chill leaving her in warning. It won't take much to set her off right now, but at the least - she's giving Kairi a chance. )

[Oh thank the Light, she's listening. Breathing deep, Kairi does her best to calm herself, hoping that'll leak over to Aqua since trying to project anything at her is clearly not going to work right now.]

I know where he is. [She holds up her mirror.] I know Divination spells, remember? I've already scryed for him. I can get us to him faster than anyone else.

[And everyone seems to have just forgotten she can do that... though in Aqua's case, she can't blame her much. After all, her powers were blocked back when this happened to Ven.]

( For a moment, Aqua seems to continue to listen, low growls escaping her in impatience. Unfortunately for Kairi, understanding her is beyond her right now.

Her gaze hardens before she gives her wings another flap, a pained cry escaping her as she begins to make her way back into the air. )

Aqua!

[Dammit. Talking didn't work. The bond didn't work. What is she supposed to do now?

She considers her options, and ends up doing the only thing she can think to do. She runs, in the direction her scrying tells her Sora is. Maybe, if she looks like she knows where she's going, Aqua will follow her.

It's about all she's got to work with at this point.]

[Roxas isn't bonded with Sora, but he's just as on edge as everyone else is. Enough so that his fur has grown a little wild, and it's all he can do to keep himself from growling at every small noise.]

[What he doesn't count on, however, is the sudden roar that echoed in the area, nor the giant literal dragon that perches on the roof of the building Roxas is across from. His anger at Sora's kidnappers is momentarily halted by the shock of Aqua's altered form.]

Aqua??

( It's the sound of Roxas's voice - the smell of Sora's scent on him that has her stopping in her tracks, blue-colored eyes looking to Roxas intently. A growl escapes her before she gives her wings a strong flap - taking off into the air for a moment before swooping downwards, landing on the ground in front of Roxas. )

[That gust of wind pushes Roxas back, and he has to throw up his arms to shield his face from the gusts and dirt kicked up. He looks up at Aqua, his ears lowering as a jolt of fear shoots through him.]

A-Aqua..?

[He's been on the receiving end of Aqua's ice magic, but he's never seen Aqua transformed like this before.]

( A low growl leaves her, eyes looking over to Roxas before she leans down - inspecting him more closely.

And then, she sniffs at him, as if judging how to respond to him. )

[What anger Roxas felt at Sora's kidnappers evaporates into tenseness and fear as Aqua sniffs him over. He holds as still as he can, watching her carefully before speaking.]

Aqua... we have to find Sora. He's going to get hurt if we don't.

( Hearing the name is more than enough to make her tense up once more, stomping a clawed foot into the ground before she roars loudly, shaking her head before her wing flap once more. She rises with every intention to take off into the sky. )

[Roxas winces at the roar, before looking up at Aqua. Oh crap, no, this isn't good... she could cause a lot more damage and then they might lose Sora!]

[He takes a few steps forward, waving his arms to get her attention.]

Aqua, wait!

( Aqua doesn't look behind her, even when Roxas calls for her. She doesn't fly too quickly, luckily - it won't be difficult to keep up with her. )

[Roxas is definitely going to chase after her, because a rampaging dragon is never a good thing. He's able to keep up with her, waving and yelling to her as he does.]

Aqua! Aqua, wait!

( The sound of his voice causes her to turn her head only for a moment before she roars once more, giving a strong flap of her wings, if only to create an icy gust strong enough below to spread ice to the ground. )

[Roxas flinches at her roar, but the sudden gust of strong wind stops him in his tracks. He winces and throws his arms up to defend himself, and he feels the build-up of frost and ice on his arms.]

[When the roar dies down, Roxas tries to move again, but one look down at his feet makes him realize that his feet have been frozen to the ground.]

Oh no..!

[He grunts, trying to pull his feet from the ice, but also looking up at Aqua. He's kind of trapped like this...]

( For a moment, Aqua stops - looking at Roxas. She doesn't move - as if contemplating to help him or not. A quiet whine escapes her. )

[When Aqua stops, Roxas blinks up at her, then briefly looks between her and the ice surrounding his feet. He tries to move again; no luck. He looks back at her.]

Aqua, I want to find Sora too. But I can't do that if I'm stuck like this.

( A quiet whine escapes her before she turns, slowly landing in front of Roxas - only to use her claws to break the ice that he was trapped inside. )

( Eventually, Aqua finds herself stopping at a rather familiar scent. It's almost as if she's drawn to it -as if the scent of someone important to her is calling her forward. She makes her way to the forest, eyes scanning the forest before she makes her way downwards.

And that's when she lands in front of both Killua and Gon, resting on her hind legs before folding her wings against her back. She looks at Gon intentently, a longing in her eyes.

( Mine. ) )

[Gon's surprised when their path is suddenly superseded by—a large dragon. it's not the first time that Gon's had his path blocked by a dragon since coming to Aefenglom, actually, and reflexively, Gon reaches a hand backwards to grab at Killua as his own posture lurches with surprise.

there's something familiar about the twinkling of the scales, and though it's different, there's a similarity in the scent of the dragon as well—and Gon blinks. his touch on Killua relaxes, inadvertently indicating that he no longer feels on edge.]

Aqua?

[ It's a good thing Gon reacted as quickly as he did and grabbed Killua -- because Gon isn't the only one who felt threatened, and Killua very nearly reacted aggressively. Instead of following the instinct to step in front of Gon, he waits, eyes intently fixed on the huge dragon. He knows there are dragon people here, but it's a little hard not to be on edge when it's staring at them like that.

Staring at... Gon, specifically?

Killua feels him relax. He blinks, glancing over at Gon in confusion, and then back to the dragon.

Aqua?!

But he trusts Gon's senses. Even before his transformation, he was good at this sort of thing.

Killua relaxes too, slightly. He doesn't interfere. ]

( Finding Sora hadn't been difficult once she had been track his scent. She had quickly flown to where he currently was, eyes scanning the ground below before she finds that familiar, messy-brown colored hair. She moves almost instantly, flying downwards and scooping him up before roaring rather loudly.

She was satisfied with finally achieving her goal.

She flies into the air quickly, wings giving strong flaps as she moves towards her destination. There was a clifftop overlooking the forest not too far from where she was now. From there, she could take him to a cave.

He'd be safe. He'd be hers. )

Edited 2020-08-19 00:49 (UTC)

[Sora was already one tired bunny boy. The kidnapping had been hard on his body and while he's happy to be home and safe he's not happy about the circumstances of it all. But the others had saved him. And he was recovering.

That was until one giant dragon-shaped Aqua came and plucked him right up like a berry off a bush.]

Aqua?!

[Sora yelps loudly and he does try to struggle in her strong dragon grip but he's no match right now! He's still recovering!]

Where are we going?!

( Unfortunately for Sora, speaking is beyond her right now. When he speaks, a rumble escapes her instead, purring softly. She's just glad that she was able to find him - to finally be able to protect her.

They begin to eventually near the cliff top, a cave coming into view. It isn't the first time she's been here. It was where she had brought both Kairi and Ventus at one time, after all. )

Aahhh!!

[Gosh, they sure are high up. Sora can't help but let out a yelp for that. He's not afraid of heights or anything but this is really a sight to see.

And oddly enough Aqua's rumble doesn't really scare him either. This is Aqua, after all. And even if she's in her dragon form there is something comforting to being around her. It feels kind of safe? Even way up here!

So he just holds on tight and when they reach the cliff he wobbles a little.]

Aqua, why did you bring me up here?

( Aqua doesn't respond right away, making herself comfortable on the clifftop before spreading a wing out. Pushing it over Sora, she uses it to pull him closer.

Unfortunately for Sora, the wings are cold to the touch. There's really no denying that she's a dragon well-versed with all things ice. Though, more fortunately - the expression Aqua has right now is... gentle. Kind. )

[That is a bit chilly. Sora shivers but he doesn't try to fight her once they touch down. Instead, he just looks up at her with a confused expression. His ears twitch and he pats Aqua's large icey wing.]

Did you take me here because you're worried about me?

[That makes sense. He was just recently kidnapped by a bunch of thugs.]

( A quiet whimper escapes her then, as if to answer Sora before she curls around him.

Even in her feral state, there's no denying the gentle look in her eyes when she looks to Sora. Leaning down, she sniffs the top of his head before licking at his hair gently. )

( He was gone.

Right now, she's too enraged to think. Someone unwelcome had stolen her human. He could be in danger. He could be hurt. He was supposed to be under her supervision.

Taking through the air, she could be heard roaring once more, ice shooting to the ground in anger and desperation. She lands from building to building, searching for any trace of Sora. Eventually, she makes her way to their home, landing in front of it before she once again releases ice, covering the ground in her tracks. )

Edited 2020-08-19 01:37 (UTC)

_{[As soon as he hears the roaring, Demyx is outside in a flash. He'd been hearing it off and on throughout the day, but he couldn't pinpoint the source until he'd spotted Aqua flying across the city. But, he didn't pursue - there was no chance he'd be able to catch up, so he did the only logical thing and waited.

And boy, it paid off.

He lifts an arm to shield his face from the gust of cold wind from the ice impacting against the ground, and he barely manages to suppress a full-body shiver. The cold doesn't bother him nearly as much as it used to, but it's still freezing. And then he books it across the yard, one hand up in the air in an attempt to get her attention.]}

Aqua! Aqua, hey, c'mere--

_{[Both hands now, and Demyx stretches up to his tiptoes with furrowed brows. Every instinct in his body is telling him to back off, that this is dangerous, but for the first time in his life he ignores it. He doesn't have the full story about what happened yet, but he knows it's bad.]}

Look at me.

( The sound of Demyx's voice is enough for her to draw pause, freezing in her steps before she tenses up once more, blue-colored eyes staring on intently.

She knows him. But, what does he want? Does he have Sora?

Claws dig into the ground, beginning to crack the ice below her legs. She doesn't have the patience to listen for a long - but, there's something soothing about his voice, something she can't even begin to fathom why right now. )

_{[Run. Get away. Do not touch. Terrible, awful, no good very bad idea.

That's what his instincts are screaming into his ears, yet he continues to ignore them and does his best to quash the slight shake of his hands. He takes a deep breath, his gills flaring, and on the exhale Demyx takes a half step closer. Slow and steady, now...]}

That's it... It's just me, see? S'Demyx.

_{[His eyes dart from Aqua's own to the ice below her feet, and that's another step. He turns his hands over, palms up, and casts a quick look over his shoulder towards the house just to make sure it's all clear.]}

It's okay.

( It's the calmness of his voice that causes her to stop, Aqua studying him closely for a moment. There's no denying the rage in her eyes - but, beyond that there's hurt, too.

She feels like she failed not only Ven, but Sora now as well. She couldn't save him, and just when she thought she did, he had been taken again.

She then makes a loud sound of disapproval, feet digging into the ground below her before she turns - ice flying towards one of the nearby trees. )

_{[This close, and he feels like he's standing on the mountains in Land of Dragons. The ice flies past so quickly that he'd swear he could feel the bite of the cold deep under his scales. Not only that, but the rumble resonates deep within his bones, and all Demyx can do is offer a weak smile.]}

I... yeah, I guess it's not, huh?

_{[Ah, fuck it. Fuck caution. Fuck his instincts. Without uttering so much as a peep, Demyx ducks as close as he can in one fluid motion. She's so much bigger, but that doesn't mean he can't chill, right? It's just a little size difference. ...Okay, a lot of it. But still.

And this way it's easier to reach up and lightly press his fingertips against those frigid scales of hers. If Demyx doesn't watch it, he might end up frozen to the ground too.]}

But, ah... Look, you won't do him any favors if you're out there running yourself ragged. I know I'm supposed to be holding down the fort, but if it'll help? We can look around the harbor together. I can go under, see if any other Merrow've heard or seen anything.

( Aqua is cold to the touch. There's no denying the fact that she's an ice elemental dragon right now. The touches seem to calm her, but her expression remains unchanged. Her mind of racing right now, and all she can focus right on right now is finding Sora.

Still, his voice seems to calm her, and light whimper escaping her as she moves into the touch. She closes her eyes, wings folding against her back.

At the least, she seems more calm now. )

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