テラ | terra

“You weren’t to know, and it is not your fault that you look like him either. Being what I am, I have learned that there are many possibilities and many time lines in which events take place.”

#earthaegis #transient-sorceress

"I guess that's true. It's strange knowing that there are other versions of yourself, but I can promise you that he and I are not the same."

the-blue-mage-blog

Aqua leaned back on her heels, crossing her arms with a pensive expression painted on her face. Terra brought up a good point. The both of them were fiercely protective over Ventus, and were most comfortable when he was safe at home or right next to them. Admittedly, not knowing where the blond youth was gave her a weird sort of feeling inside. Like he was in danger, and she wasn’t there to defend him.

It had been her responsibility to bring him home, and she had let him slip through her fingers like it was nothing. Shirking her duties, one of the two favors that her Master asked of her, and one that she had no problem doing. It was actually finding him that was the difficult part.

The bluenette instantly felt a rush of sympathy for her friend; with Ven leaving home to track him down, of coarse he’d feel guilty. “He’s usually not this clingy.” She tried, “I don’t know why he was so bent on finding you. When I talked to him, it was like…he thought something was going to happen to you.”

Why he had come up with such a ludicrous outlook was beyond her understanding. Perhaps her own endless worrying over her friends was rubbing off on Ven.

Or maybe he was just trying to protect them, instead of the other way around.

All the endless possibilities were weighing her down. Maybe he was jealous of her and Terra being able to take their Mark of Mastery exam, and wanted to show Eraqus that he was old enough to as well. Or he could have just been going through a rebellious phase and wanted to hang around the ‘cool older brother’ rather than the ‘fussy big sister’ and ‘overprotective dad.’

But maybe was the crucial word here. None of those ideas had been proven, and honestly, they didn’t sound like the Ventus she knew. Whatever his motives were, he had done a good job of hiding them.

“Do you have any idea why he would develop that…opinion?”

#earthaegis #the-blue-mage #encounters

Terra's shoulders sag, and he's unsure again. There's nothing about Ventus that's developing to him, nothing that he doesn't think he already knows. The gender division that exists between he and Aqua had always given him an advantage in empathizing with Ventus, but it gave him no edge at all in circumstances like these.

This is novelty; Ven's disappearance and his own loss of words.

He's devoid of anything intellectual to offer, and realizes that sharing insights and sentiment are Aqua's usual harvests.

He tries to think in Ventus's perspective and finds it unwittingly difficult in this context, for he'd always assumed that Ven trusted him with everything which included the basics of taking care of himself. It wasn't as if he, Terra, could ever fall victim, but this type of thinking is no longer applicable to him. He'd succumbed to darkness, but he's skeptical if Ven is knowledgeable of this or not.

"No." Terra tersely replies. "He's not usually like that. Did you say something to him?"

adreamsofboy

#gallery

It had been some time since she had allowed herself to think of Terra fully, to think of the time they had spent together. Eyes of liquid gold lowered as she took a steady intake of breath before speaking. “Terra was…he was good and kind. Though he had been tainted by darkness, his was the purest heart I had ever known…” To speak of a love lost was almost too much for the transient to bear.

#earthaegis #transient-sorceress

"I see...I will not ask of him again. I guess I won't be searching for him then, either, but, I'm still willing to help if you need it, though."

“Ventus? Terra had gone in search of him, and a young girl named Aqua also. I assumed he found them and did not wish to return to me. I thank you for the offer of help, it is truly kind of you to do so.”

"Wh-What...! Aqua...Aqua is one of the friends that I mentioned, and Ventus is the other. I'm sure that I have never met before until now. The Terra that you mentioned, what was he like?"

“You wish to help me? Why would you…? The first of those of whom I cherished is buried in the grounds of my home, his name was Cid. The second….Terra, he did not return to me, I know not of his fate.”

"What's wrong with helping people that could use it? I'm sorry about what happened to Cid, but I could help you look for your lost friend. One of my friends is also lost, and I'm looking for him too. His name is Ventus."

“The one that enslaved me has been defeated. It is Hyne who punishes me. I deserves the punishment I receive, though it hurts that two my heart cherished most have been taken from me.”

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear that. Is there any way that I can help? I understand your pain, since the two that I care about the most are also in danger."

somnusintenebris-deactivated201

Thanks for following!

“Hello, Terra. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance once more young Keyblade master.” He could tell that this is the Terra from before his older self had taken control of him.

“Keeping control of the darkness inside you, are we?”

#earthaegis #ooc: thank you!

Terra, taken aback, holds his keyblade in an offensive stance, and is skeptical about the man's alignment.There's something about the stranger that's offsetting, and something else about him that feels disturbingly familiar, and Terra can identify neither of them.

He narrows his eyes, and his voice gains an edge.

"Who are you, and what do you know about me?"

Finding My Way Home

thespellweaver

Aqua let her own shoulder sag, the accusation of why Master Eraqus sent her after Terra had been hanging over the trio since they’d met up again in Radiant Garden.

“He never sent me to spy on you,” Aqua told him, “He sent me to help keep you safe because he was worried about you. His fears… weren’t unwarranted, and given all that’s happened I feel… like I failed all of you.”

His keyblade caught a small portion of her attention as well. It was almost deceptive how destructive the object near them could possibly be.

“I want to believe in you, Terra,” She added, “But… for it to turn out the way we hope… it’s something I want to see with my own eyes. If you’ll let me.”

Like him, she quickly summoned her keyblade. The possibility of Ven being out there alone and injured was enough to get her blood flowing.

“Let’s both look for him. Please, Terra.”

#thespellweaver #earthaegis #encounters #dw you are doin fine!!

"It's fine," Terra says with strong, genuine charisma. It's normal for him to accuse himself, but if his own self-conflict is the reason that Aqua is blaming herself, he would never be able to forgive his actions, which, to this point, he still considers to be foolhardy. He nears his friend, and places a hand on her shoulder.

He tightens his grip.

Since they were small, Aqua had always been the one that didn't cause the Master mental pains. If anything, her judgement is golden, but Terra knows well why he never approached her for aid.

She worried too much.

"It's not your fault. I understand the Master's concerns," he breaks in. "...I share them."

Her offer stirs something within him, something that he would have shot down did he not end the life of his Master nor cared enough for Ventus's well-being. There's always been something mystical about Aqua aside from her magic, and it bests him again.

His voice rises a half-octave, and he's speaking directly to her now, and he hopes that this resolution would be better than his last one.

"Alright," Terra agrees, "Whatever you think would help find Ven."

He looks distant again, but his smile is a hopeful one.

At least one of us is free from darkness.

It's a good thought.

"Thanks, Aqua."

the-blue-mage-blog

Her smile instantly faded.

A look of raw betrayal passed over her face like a storm cloud, before it was seamlessly masked with blue skies of impassivity. She wouldn’t let him know how deeply his reaction had hurt her. “Oh…ah, no I haven’t, actually…” The bluenette bit her lip and rubbed the back of her neck.

Aqua wished that all the things she had said before could be erased. It had been foolish of her to even bring up the topic, not to mention the painfully callous way she had gone about it made it all the more worse. She had never meant to hurt him…only caution him. But that caution was innocently mistaken for mistrust, which brought them to the strained stand-still they both stood at now.

With a slight shake of her head, she dismissed the nervous jitters to her words and looked up at her friend. “Have you? I told him to go home, but he probably didn’t listen to me…” And again the uncomfortable silence took its hold, rendering Aqua at a frustrating lack of words.

This was going to be fun.

#earthaegis #the-blue-mage #encounters

Terra shakes his head, frowning still, and glances past his friend's shoulder.

"I haven't. That's why I asked you."

He thinks about all the times in the past when Ventus went missing and how searching all of the boy's favorite spots in the Land of Departure usually fixed that. It's different now, for the worlds are vast, and Ven is but a small speck in the gestalt vision of the universe. It's rare, however, for both Terra and Aqua to be uninformed on where the youngest keyblade warrior could be hiding, for both were sensitive to Ventus's nuances in different ways. The atmosphere is thick with frustration, and Terra finally takes notice of Aqua's damper tone in her reply. It doesn't suit her, and he doesn't want to be the reason for her anxiety. Judging from the fact that she was, after all, here, her journey could not have been a simple one.

"That's not...that's not to say that I'm not relieved to see you," he quickly musters, lightening his own voice. His keyblade touches the ground, and he looks into Aqua's eyes to search them for a common understanding.

"It's just not like us to both not know where Ven is. Usually one of us knows." Terra finishes quietly, gritting his teeth.

He's quiet again, but when he speaks, his voice sounds forced, but the words easily slip through.

"He shouldn't have followed me."

“Free from it? I suppose that I am, but I am still punished for the crimes I committed whilst under the control of another.”

"Then why don't you try defeating the one that controls you? Prove that you're stronger than what enslaved you, and that you aren't a pawn of darkness. Maybe then, people will understand."

Finding My Way Home

thespellweaver

For a moment, Aqua wanted to wish this all away. She wanted this all to not exist and she wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare. This had to be a nightmare, it just had to! She just wanted to wake up in her bed, in her home, and fine that everything was alright with the world… She wanted it all to go away.

But it wasn’t going to change back, was it? She’d already seen her home in ruins and she knew people she cared for were gone, but until now she hadn’t known that it was Terra who’d had a hand in it all. She’d somehow been able to cope with it more when she could place the blame on some nameless, evil entity.

And while she was slowly beginning to accept the truth told to her, (she’d yet to really move after he’s let go of her) she found the idea of him throwing himself into the fray once more.

“No…” Aqua said, reaching for him, “Terra, I don’t know if you really do. What else is the darkness but hatred and rage? If you use the darkness, who is to say that it won’t use you in return? How do we know you won’t go astray… and lose you again?”

Terra was smiling, so happy for her company and confident in himself. It made Aqua ache worse than any wound to not be able to share in that feeling.

“Throwing yourself into the same dangers… doing all this to yourself, do you think that would make the Master happy?”