middaeg | not too far from home

[ a - post execution & trials ]

[the trials were hard enough on ven to endure through, but he pushed himself to make it to the end of the last sentencing. justice for others, but not for himself. somehow it was worse for ventus knowing others had suffered so much even if he was counted among them as well. at least some of the others there, victims from what he could remember, seemed pleased with the outcomes.

ven couldn't stomach the news about the executions. that was what upset him the most, a death to make amends for what happened to him. nothing about it felt right, but at the same time he didn't have another solution. in the end ventus was silent and left the courthouse in a mild fog.

coming back home he'd almost forgotten there were more people living with them now. none that ventus remembered, but they seemed to know him well enough.

ven can be found outside in one of the snow-covered gardens idly making snow bunnies with leftover leaves.]

[ b - zoomies ]

[there's a dog running around both inside and outside of the house, suffering some serious zoomies at the moment. despite a rather ugly looking scar on his hind leg he seems to be happy to run around causing chaos and-

is that something in his mouth? could be a pillow, a t-shirt, someone's shoe your shoe... maybe he sneaked something off your person and when you finally notice he's already running off with it.

oops.]

[ c - learn to bake the easy way ]

Is any of this actually possible...?

[ven may not be able to use magic now, but baking seems like something he might be able to learn if he puts some effort into it.

unfortunately the cook book he has only seems to be raising more questions than anything and he looks a little frustrated at some of the directions.]

How do I fold egg whites into a mixture? Isn't that kinda impossible?

[ d - wild card ]

[got something you wanna do? hmu! ven's usual form looks like this]

[Roxas is new to the city, but even he ended up hearing about the trials. Though he didn't understand what was going on, he ended up watching them just to see what was going on. And when he heard just what sort of things happened...]

[Well. Ven's scars suddenly made a whole lot of sense.]

[He didn't stay around for the executions, even though deep down a small part of him wanted to see those who harmed all those innocent people brought to justice. What sort of people resorted to such measures..? Those were the real monsters.]

[But no, despite the disgust and horror he felt during the trials, Roxas is overcome with a new feeling. One that feels familiar to when he first met Ven here, when he first saw those scars; an unexplainable desire to check in on Ven, make sure he was okay. So he makes his way back to the house, and almost immediately walks through the house, looking for Ven.]

[When he finds him out back, he lets out a sigh of relief at seeing him okay. He walks over slowly, though his shoes still crunch in the snow as he peers over at what Ven is doing.]

[the trial had been hard and knowing what would come after was even harder, but ven wanted to forget about that for the time being.

at least there was plenty of things to distract himself with.

ven's ears perk up when he hears the sound of someone's boots crunching in the snow and he turns around to see roxas standing there. his tail wags slowly, some bits of snow clinging to the tips of his fur and he smiles.]

Hey, Roxas! What's up?

[Considering the intensity of the trials and the stress he felt afterwards, this quiet little moment is enough to make Roxas smile softly.]

Not much. I just got back.

[Just got back from the trials, he would say. But he doesn't. He would rather not remember them right now.]

What are you doing?

Making snow bunnies!

[he holds one of the creations out for roxas to see. two leaves for ears and holly berries for eyes.]

I was thinking about just making a bunch around the house... not for any reason except it seems like fun? Heh...

[Roxas chuckles a bit at the little snow critter, nodding in approval.]

Yeah, they look pretty cute.

[Honestly, this is his first time even coming in contact with snow, so seeing Ven use it to make tiny sculptures is pretty cute.]

Need a hand?

I'd appreciate it.

[he crouches down again to set the snow bunny down before picking up a handful of snow between both hands and holding it out to roxas.]

It didn't snow much back in the Land of Departure so I guess I'm making up for lost time.

[Roxas, meanwhile, walks over and kneels down next to Ventus, taking some of that snow.]

Oh yeah? I haven't seen much snow in Twilight Town either. I still have to go visit your world sometime.

[Maybe when they get back.]

[Today, Ventus isn't alone. As he tears up the grass, he'll find a considerably larger dog- he appears to be something like a more primal, wolfish greyhound- bound up beside him with an equally enormous stick. There's nothing particularly aggressive in his body language and, with a gruff bark, he drops it in front of it, clearly hoping to trade it for whatever his stolen goods are.]

Coill! Come here, boy!

[A few moments later, Diarmuid jogs into sight- only to find that his dog has somehow managed to find himself a golden brown furred friend. Well, now. Smiling, the Lancer drops down onto one knee and, slowly and carefully so as not to startle him, holds out a hand for Ventus to sniff.]

Ah... who are you then, coileán?

[the arrival of another dog (and one definitely bigger than him) surprises ven a little, but his tail still wags slowly in curiosity. the trade for a large stick for the shoe in his mouth seems pretty tempting...

then the second arrival of a person has ven focusing on him instead. tail wagging he walks over to dia and instead of sniffing his hand he holds out a paw to land on dia's palm.]

Twilight Town? Is that where you're from?

[ven's never heard of that place before, just another world unfamiliar to him.]

Land of Departure is really nice. I never got to explore much of the land around the castle before... everything started happening, but when I go back I'd like to change that.

[He nods.]

Yeah, that's my home. It's a quiet world, but it has a great sunset.

[It's a little weird, hearing Ven talk about going back and experiencing things he hasn't done yet. It's not a bad thing, the gap in their time, but it does take some getting used to.]

[Roxas spends some time trying to mold the snow in his hand into the proper shape for a bunny. As he does, he speaks.]

Hey, Ven? How are you doing?

[he nods to that as he works on another snow bunny, careful to mold the snow between his hands.] Maybe that's where it got the name?

[twilight... sunset...

ven's movements slow briefly before he can answer.]

I'm doing okay. The last few days have been exhausting.

Yeah, definitely.

[He notices Ven slow down, and is careful with how he says his next few words.]

That's good.

...I went to see the trials, by the way.

[he goes back to packing the snow, not looking up at roxas when he continues.]

Did you stay until the end?

[for the executions]

No. I didn’t need to see that.

[Roxas keeps his own gaze down as well, but casts a few glances at Ven as he talks.]

...is that where you got those scars?

[ven is quiet for a few minutes, swallowing around the tightness in his throat.]

... Yeah.

[he raises a hand up, two fingers tracing along the scars that decorated his jaw and cheek.]

Silver burns turnskins. The scars are from wearing silver for almost a week.

[With a little laugh, Diarmuid takes the paw and shakes it, following it up by bopping him lightly on the nose with one finger.]

What a courteous little thing you are. Pleased to meet you.

[This time, he uses both hands to ruffle the dog's ears, giving them a good scritch before burying his hands in the fluffy ruff of fur around his neck. There's no collar to be found but it's not as though Coill wears one either so it's not that unusual.]

Where's your master?

..!

[Roxas's eyes widen, and he gasps softly as Ven explains. Silver burns turnskins... and Ven had to wear silver for so long? He's visibly stunned by this news.]

Ven...

[After a couple of seconds, the shock, surprisingly, gives way to anger. It's a familiar emotion for Roxas, but it's more prominent and burns stronger than normal, paired with a strong desire to make sure this doesn't happen again. He knows that the culprits were caught and would face judgment, but this sudden flare of protectiveness makes him wonder if that's enough of a punishment.]

That's not going to happen again.

[His voice is low, steady, and dangerous. The snow in his hand, which had been formed into a lump like Ven's, gets crushed under his grip.]

[there's no collar, but there is a collar shaped burn scar that wraps around his neck and cuts through his fluffy fur.

but the pets feel wonderful and ven wags his tail, butt wagging with it. he drops the shoe at dia's feet, preferring this attention over the stolen goods.

a part of him wonders if he should answer properly...

maybe later.]

[he's not unfamiliar with that reaction, having seen it in both aqua and kairi when he first woke up in the hospital. but seeing it in roxas twists something tight inside him. something warm that spreads across his cheeks like a blush and he looks up to see roxas crushing the snow in his hand.]

Roxas...

[his eyes burn a little, but he does a great job of keeping himself from crying like some wimp.]

It's okay now. Everything's all healed now.

It's not okay.

[He turns to look at Ven, and something in the way Ven looks at him dispels some of that anger. Enough to make him realize that he had felt such an unusual urge of protectiveness. He blinks in visible confusion, looking down at the snow in his hands.]

[Roxas was upset, sure, but... why did he react so strongly?]

[He shakes his head, wiping his hands on his pants before looking at Ven.]

I mean... no one should have to go through what you did. What you all did. And if I can help stop it from happening again, I want to.

[Almost as soon as he drops the shoe, Coill ducks under Diarmuid's arms and snaps it up so that he can give it a good nose and chew. He'd scold him but his attention is quickly diverted by the strangely rough, hard skin he finds beneath his fingertips the more he scratches at Ven's neck.]

What happened here...?

[Frowning slightly, he edges closer and parts the fur. Though he has no frame of reference for what it might have been from, he's still incredibly gentle as he tries to get a better look at the scarring. Maybe it's a good thing he hasn't bumped into this dog's owner yet; he'd have more than a few words for them.

Diarmuid sits back on his heels with a discontented hum.]

Really, though... you're far too well trained for a stray.

[Kor was new to this world, and yet he attended the trial proceedings. He understood little of what was going on there, frequently asking people around what they were talking about. And when he finally had enough information that he could form a general idea of what transpired to lead to all this...

...Well, it took an extraordinary amount of self-control on his part to not make an outburst of his own at the trial. The gravity of the atrocities these people committed, their utter disregard for others... It was honestly too much for him to stomach. And yet despite how much the crimes upset and angered him, the "punishment" for these crimes somehow seemed even worse.

A life for a life was never the answer. If you are dead, you can't make amends, you can't repent, you can't fix things or try to do better. Those criminals left the world as they were, with no chance or means to move forward. And to Kor, that was the most heart-rending fact to come out of this whole thing.

He wandered town for a good while after that, mind in a fog, unsure what to think or do or feel. Should he be glad justice was served for the victims? Upset over the pain and suffering others endured because of it? Angry at the outcome over it all? He didn't even know where to start.

But his aimless wandering eventually brought him to Ventus' house, where he spots the boy outside, making snow bunnies. It was enough to take Kor by surprise. He had no clue what Ventus was doing.]

Are you making something?

Ah, damn it...

[ Alex mutters under her breath when she sees the reason behind the sudden tug. Her skirt had gotten caught amongst the bushes, her daze probably kept her distracted from seeing just how close she was getting to the side of the road. That was probably better than walking into something hard and painful, but still a pain. This brain fog was starting to irritate her, but ever since returning, she's found it difficult to be completely present.

Putting down her basket of groceries, Alex tries to untangle the lace of her skirt from the bramble, not wanting to rip up or damage her clothing. Having lived with only a few articles of clothing gave a better appreciation for being able to buy new ones. Her focus on the task at hand had her almost miss the sound of something shuffling right by her. She turns her head just in time to catch...a little black nose, and a pair of little eyes, staring right at her.

Her hands stop, as if any sudden movement would cause something disastrous. The dog has it's mouth open and over the handle of her basket, caught right in the act of possibly taking it. But it wouldn't...would it? ]

Don't--No---Good...good, doggy. Stay..staaaay...I'm just..I'm just going to take this...

[ Slowly, she reaches out, her fingers extending as much as they can to try and take a hold of the handle. But before she makes it, the dog snaps its jaws around the handle and takes off in the opposite direction. ]

No--H-hey! Come back--!

[ Alex forgets for a moment about her skirt until she hears the rip of fabric. She winces, like a wound had just been opened. ]

Aw, man...

[ But that could be deal with later. Right now, her food for the week was in danger! And so the merrow takes off, hiking her skirt up and chasing after the thief. ]

Come back! Here, doggy! Here, boy!

not too far from home | open

ventus | ota | feb 4-12

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