We'll Be Counting Stars!

My name's Ventus, but call me Ven. Terra and Aqua do. Have you seen them anywhere? Independent Ventus from Kingdom Hearts.

[thewindywielder]

Sora is nowhere in sight, so he’s here to bother Ven. From a safe distance, Riku began throwing candy corn into Ven’s hair as if it were bird seed for a bird’s nest .

The boy was walking along, minding his own business, completely oblivious to someone watching him a distance away. The sun was shining. Ventus was in such a wonderful mood. Nothing could bring the boy down today!

Until he felt something start to pelt his hair.

"Wh..." He stopped for a moment to yank out what was landing in his hair. He blinked for a moment. Candy corn? Where did this come from? He looked around until he finally saw Riku, behind a tree with a handful of the colourful treats.

"Hey!" He said with a small pout as he pulled a few more out of his hair and began tossing them back, hoping to land a few in those silver strands, "I'm not a candy bag!"

[thewindywielder]

Did you know, in it's natural state, chocolate is about as bitter as coffee?

"But...chocolate is so sweet..."

[multif0rmed]

A little smile wiggled out sadly onto his face. At least he could afford to have some peace while next to the other, and them to have this moment of stillness in between. His expression, however, fell when the orange-haired boy had asked him that. ''It is ... the first time since everything had happened,'' he whispered, his yellow hues falling onto the keyblade. His fingers reached out, and slowly traced it.

''I had been busy .. or perhaps that is an excuse." He held back a laugh from tumbling out of him.

[thewindywielder]

Eventually, the pair reached the resting place of Master Eraqus. Ventus quickly gave it a scan as they approached the Keyblade. All seemed to be well. Nothing was out of place. He'd made a habit of taking some time to go on his own to check on things in case Eraqus had any other visitors. It wouldn't be proper to have this place in anything other than perfect condition.

And so the boy watched quietly as Xehanort began to pay his respects, wanting to allow him to examine the Keyblade on his own. Ventus just looked at the weapon in the ground and took a shaky breath. He'd done his best when Terra, Aqua and himself came to visit together not to cry. He didn't know why, but he almost felt like it would take attention away from the other two being able to pay respects to their Master. But when he was on his own, he couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face. He would become so full of emotions looking at the Keyblade that he couldn't keep the tears back.

And now was no exception.

He bit back any kind of cry or sob as best he could, wanting Xehanort to be able to have the quiet and the peace he'd expect when visiting. He swallowed and stared on, letting the tears fall freely down his face.

[multif0rmed]

''Sure ..'' he finally stated after a few moments of silence in between them. His boots crunched against the ground, as he led the way. He .. wouldn't mind the company, at very least, to have a way to keep his emotions in check as he visited Eraqus' grave.

''You see, not everything is about me causing the worlds harm,'' he muttered, just a hint of vulnerability appearing within his otherwise icy tone.

[thewindywielder]

In an effort to keep the peace, Ventus allowed his old Master to take the lead and walk them to their destination. He was sure that if Terra or Aqua were here that things would play out very differently. Weapons would likely have been drawn and there may have been a fight that broke out. But Ventus didn't want that. Not where they were heading.

"...Not here, please," He said quietly. He didn't want this place to be anything other than peaceful or quiet. Master Eraqus deserved that much, "...Is this...your first time coming to see him?"

[thewindywielder]

"Hey, are you new around here?""

[thewindywielder]

"...Oh..."

[thewindywielder]

"It's strange," He smiled, "When I was sleeping, I could feel everyone Sora's heart touched. You seemed farther away, but you were always there," He placed hand over his chest for a moment, "It's nice to finally meet you properly, Xion."

[x-whiskeylullaby-x-deactivated2]

"Good. Because I made you another one of these to represent that we're together again. I mean, there's more than one meaning of course. I have one for Terra, too."

[thewindywielder]

"You made us a new set?" He smiled, "Aqua, you're really something special. Does it match my old one too?"

[thewindywielder]

"So... you're ventus. Everyone talks about you, you know?"

(My keykid Marxiia @ Ven Ven)

"Uh-oh...And who exactly is everybody?"

[thewindywielder]

A napping Ventus would unexpectedly have a calico cat laying on his chest purring. The cat would probably wake him accidentally with ticklish whiskers as she sniffed Ven's face.

The sleeping wielder made no move as the cat moved onto his chest and began to purr. The feline would rise and fall slightly with every breath Ventus took. A small smile crept onto his face as the whiskers tickled his skin, and the boy couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

[futiledark]

There's a more obvious flinch this time, as if he's afraid of it. It pisses him off, that he can't stop himself from reacting, that for some reason, his body is scared of being touched by the light. An unversed peels from his shadow, and he doesn't pay it much mind - but then it cries out. It sounds as scared as he is, and he stares at it before looking back to Ventus. " - I don't - I don't deserve that." Is all he manages to say through ground teeth, swallowing thickly. Part of him wants to run, but he can't move.

[thewindywielder]

This time, there was no hiding for Vanitas, even underneath that mask of his. It made sense that he would be afraid of anything to do with the light, given who he was and everything that had happened with the two of them. He looked down at the Unversed that appeared from the masked boy's shadow, and Ventus couldn't help but make a face as it cried out. He didn't want it to be afraid. He didn't want either of them to be afraid.

"...We both know that isn't true," He said, putting that gentle smile back on his face, "I'll be right here with you. I won't let anything bad happen to you, or anything hurt you." He kept his hand outstretched for the other boy to take.

"I promise."

[futiledark]

He's not sure why but - the mere mention of it makes him flinch. Ventus can't see it, but he feels it all through his body. The light feels so foreign to him, the concept of it being given to him feels. He looks away, huffing in annoyance. Why is he acting like this? Like he cares? "Is fixing me really a priority for you?" There's a twinge of anger, the resentment building before he even realizes it. He's prone to it, forever. Just getting angry and reacting. He knows he's gonna start another fight like this, but he doesn't care. "Shouldn't you just be happy that you got your happy ending?"

[thewindywielder]

The blond pursed his lips a little as the masked boy turned away from him. He could feel the anger in Vanitas' voice. It stung, but he was sure that was the point.

"I'm not trying to fix you, Vanitas," He said as he took a step forward, "You don't need fixing. Neither of us do. But you can't just be forced to go on, feeling the way you do. That isn't fair to you at all. Besides," He put a hand to his heart.

"I don't get a happy ending if you don't get a happy ending."

He slowly reached the hand over his chest out to the other boy, "I'd be careful. I promise. I wouldn't try to push too much light towards you...But you deserve to be happy. You deserve everything that I have. You deserve everything that I could have. It isn't fair that it was ever taken from either of us in the first place, but I'd like to try and give some of it back to you, if I can."

"Would you please let me try?"

[thewindywielder]

Writes "Meeting me is good luck!" on Ven's forehead in blue facepaint. It's backwards so he'd be able to read it clearly from a mirror.

"Hey!" He yelped as he felt the paint swipe across his forehead. He looked in the mirror and sighed, "Someone is feeling playful today..."

[thewindywielder]

Aside from Terra and Aqua, which of the Guardians of Light are you friendliest with?

"Probably Sora. It's impossible to not want to be close friends with someone like him."

[thewindywielder]

Do you think your bond with Aqua and Terra would have become as strong as it is if the three of you were only able to meet via gummiphone chat? If the physical distance was too great to meet without use of the Lanes Between?

"That's...sort of a hard one to answer. I wasn't really myself when I first met Terra and Aqua. I didn't really start to recover from my heart being split like that until I was brought to the Land of Departure. I definitely wasn't in any condition to use something like a Gummiphone back then. I wasn't really in any condition to do anything, if I'm being honest."

"If they weren't around when I was starting to heal, I might not have been friends with them at all. I might not have ever met them if I wasn't taken there in the first place..."

"...I hope that answers your question."

[queen-of-disney-castle]

"Goodness! Look at all these cobwebs! Well, I better get cleaning. You never know who might pop up at the castle!"

[thewindywielder]

A Shadow bites Ven's ankle.

"OW!" The boy yelped as he lifted his foot away from the Shadow, "What was that for?" He looked down at his ankle, "That hurt!"