✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* a dream is a wish @revoeu's heart makes ! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
when the fairy godmother had first showed up at the restoration committee's door - or, rather, in a sparkle of her usual glimmering magic - to announce to them all that she believed riku's dreams, of all things, could be the key to finding sora----
well ; needless to say, nobody had been more speechless than riku himself.
so speechless, in fact, he hadn't been able to say anything - & there's embarrassment in remembering the moment, how clear the disbelief in his voice had been even to his own ears, & how it must have been obvious to everyone else, too.
he was once a bit of a pessimist, that was true, from his time dealing with the dark - but with sora by his side, he'd been thinking more evenly, if not more optimistically.
lately, though, with sora's absence, he found his optimism fading, his confidence wavering - to the point that he was barely holding himself together, anxiety & paranoia making him wonder if others could tell.
they probably could - especially those like aqua, & terra, who told him they understood he was struggling, but they were proud of him anyway, for all he'd done, & how far he'd come.
& with that pride came a little bit of expectation, pressure, or so riku felt. maybe that was part of why he'd found his way here, besides the fairy godmother's recommendation to seek out cinderella ; to have some space away from those who knew him, to have time to think, to feel, to breathe, even though that was all he seemed to be doing lately.
thinking, searching, none of it coming any closer to finding sora, all while kairi slept.
never did he think he'd end up finding refuge with one of the princesses he'd harmed so long ago -- granted, the harm to cinderella had not been directly done by his hands, but he'd helped in Maleficent's schemes, willingly or otherwise.
he---- still hadn't gotten around to apologising to them ; at least, not all of them. it just---- hadn't felt right, to visit most of the worlds without sora there by his side.
that had been one of their dreams ; their biggest one, really, besides simply being able to stay together for more than five seconds.
that snaps him out of his reflection - & staring at his reflection ( tired, miserably, lonely, trying to be strong ) in the cup of tea he'd been offered upon entering the Castle Of Dreams - at least, to an extent. the cup, the colour, the fragrance, remind him of the ones the fairy godmother had been offering him, the occasional times she had visited for them to talk.
maybe cinderella had learned of this kind of tea from the fairy godmother, too - or maybe the other way around. or, most likely, a coincidence.
❝ i'm not sure how much you know of sora - from what i've heard, he hasn't had the chance to visit here, ❞
hasn't, because riku has to at least believe he'll still get the chance - has to cling to some hope of him coming home, whether by his, sora's own, or somebody else's hand,
❝ but maybe you got to speak with him, in--- hollow bastion, or after. or maybe you heard of him from kairi.
fairy godmother also told me to visit you. she---- said you knew a lot about dreams, & making the heart's wishes come true. ❞
if his dreams were the way to finding sora, saving sora, then maybe she could help - or, at the very least, maybe she could be someone good, different, to talk to.
