brave / heart

all jokes and memes aside, it’s always a sad day to see a group go, and it’s very bittersweet to be writing this up! as horribly inconsistant as my presence here was, i did enjoy my time here with everyone and getting to see the creativity sparked by the group. i can’t thank the mods enough for their efforts in running this group and making this such a memorable experience. 

i haven’t exactly decided what i’ll be doing with riku ( because i’m the most indecisive person you’ll ever meet ); i’ll probably archive him away because i’m a sentimental sap, but perhaps i’ll throw him into another group or indie in the future!

   The poor guy was absolutely clueless — it almost wasn’t fun with how easy it was to pull a fast one on him. ‘Almost’ being the key word here, because it had been a while since Zidane had let himself just be a thief; even with such an easy target, the thrill of pulling off a successful job gave him a much-needed boost.

   But he wasn’t cruel, and he dropped to sit on the branch beneath him, plainly in view of the other. The bag in question dangled in front of him, being held only by its straps, all closed up and not a stitch out of place or item missing. A prankster he may be, but he hadn’t nicked the bag for actual want of its contents or to start a fight. He was just after a little mischief, and the moment the guy calls out to him is the moment he knows he’s succeeded — and the moment he knows he should probably give it up before real trouble starts.

   ❛ Hey, lighten up! ❜ Zidane leans forward and the bag dangles ever closer to both the boy and the ground. ❛ I’m just keeping an eye on it for you. It’s dangerous to leave your stuff lying around, you know. ❜ Yeah, that’s exactly what he was doing.

He makes a quick scan of the bag; everything appears to be in place, but he won’t rule it out quite yet, given that he doesn’t have any idea of the exact kind of person he’s dealing with. Arms cross, not making a grab for his bag quite yet— gaze watches the other warily ( he doesn’t seem entirely of the bad sort, he’d just rather not make a lunge for the bag only to have it pulled out of reach ). Instead, he settles for waiting, lips pursed— no ‘lightening up’ here.

     ─ even when he accepts her offer and takes the clothes, weiss gets the sense that he would really rather not and that his compliance appears only out of the desire to avoid confrontation. she’s aware her assumption could be totally wrong, but, if she’s right that he’s anything like she is, weiss is pretty sure she’s relatively close. she purses her lips as he only briefly checks over his wounds but bites back any comments she has. if his acceptance is only meager, it won’t do either of them any good to further press the topic, so she refrains from trying. at the very least, she accepts his half-hearted gratitude with a small nod.

   ❝ perhaps not, ❞ she replies as he begins to walk. weiss follows, keeping pace with him as they trek through the snow, ❝ but what’s the harm in traveling in pairs? ❞ she brings up, raising a brow. she figures that perhaps she’d be the same way long ago; not wanting help from a stranger and preferring independence. so she tries to avoid letting it bother her too much. and, when he refuses to supply why he was around here in the first place, she simply responds with a shrug.

   ❝ that’s fair. ❞ she agrees - it really isn’t her business and she’s not about to be bothered to pry reasoning from him, ❝ well, either way, pardon me for… butting in. ❞ she says with sincerity, ❝ while it appears you’re a skilled fighter who knows what he’s doing, ❞ her eyes steal a quick glance at his weapon ─ nobody untrained is going to carry something like that around ─, ❝ but i simply can’t bring myself to dismiss someone in a worn out state, especially out here. if i were to leave and something happened, it wouldn’t be able to call myself a huntress. ❞ she explains even if unprompted, hoping to mediate things, ❝ i assume you wouldn’t leave someone out here in such a state? correct me if i’m wrong. ❞

There is a scrunch of his nose when he recognizes blood that is not his on the cloth ( and all right, begrudgingly, if that’s how bad he looks, some concern is probably warranted ). Given that he has nothing to use to properly care for what injuries he does have, however, he cannot help but feel like cleaning up is still rather pointless. But if it gets her to stop staring after him— it’s whatever at this point, what has been done is done; annoyance leaves with what little fight is left in him.

As expected, she follows; his pace is not one that is very quick, but checks himself to be sure that it is one that can be met with enough ease ( again, she appears capable enough, but no need to make this purposefully tiring ). “There’s no harm, just simply making a point. Can it really be called that if we were both just going to head back anyhow?” He’s probably being a little ( more than a little ) petty, but that is in his nature— wary, evasive, careful when dealing with people he is unfamiliar with and still trying to judge motives.

There’s a grunt to acknowledge her words, an apology is ( mostly ) unnecessary, but not entirely unwelcome either. “Skill is subjective. As are standards for what people can handle.” Expression indifferent, he tucks his thumbs into his pockets. Huntress— he can guess what that probably is, given the name; though the way she regards the title makes him think it might be akin to a master. “I don’t know about your hunter rules, but that sounds like personal morals. I’d consider myself the fool for coming out so far all alone, regardless.” Then again, Riku hasn’t really held himself to the same standards of other people for a while now, so perhaps he should reconsider the kind of answers he’s giving.

( Would you abandon a person? Stand aside and watch as they were struck down? How selfish are you willing to be? He knows these are not questions she asks, but the questions his mind supplies. He didn’t— he wouldn’t— his fists clench slightly and breathes in. Easy now, this isn’t the time for this ).

a boy out on his own in the snow? a slight twinge of protective instincts kicked in for Blake, maybe it was just the duties of a Huntress instilled into her acting after all this time. - he actually does a really good job of remaining stoic, and she equally matches it. communication in soft nods and the simplest of hand signals as they both make their way through the thick of it; snows, trees, fog you name it - they were pushing through it.

    “ mm, i did. “ ears perk up and she glances through their surroundings “ someone got them … or they got someone. stick close? “ she’s off again, watching Riku’s back like a hawk, they’re no use to each other if they’re injured.

“ i’m Blake, by the way. “ a little late for introductions. “ it’s dangerous to go alone so. here i am. “ that’s her way of saying ‘ i care about your wellbeing don’t pull the loner card on me’

He can sense the way her eyes watch him— he’s not entirely sure if it is in part due to distrust, or if she’s simply making sure he won’t disappear on her; either way, Riku can’t really fault her. He’ll accept her presence regardless, even if his stubbornness insists he’d prefer being on his own, he’s ( probably ) not that foolish to run into trouble on his own.

“Both seem equally likely.” Well, his cynicism leans more towards the later, but he’ll keep that to himself and hope otherwise. He makes no other comment, just the slightest nod in response as they continue onward; vaguely aware of the other in his peripherals, but opts to focus more on the land around them.

       ❝ i don’t really know the area, but that’s why reconnaissance is important, ❞ she says offhandedly, friendly sass in her tone as she smiles up at him. she can’t exactly break habits she’s known all her life, but xion thinks ‘looking around’ counts as reconnaissance no matter if one is part of an evil organization or not. perhaps that was part of everyone’s daily lives? she isn’t entirely sure, but she realizes with occupations such as ‘scout’ available in eidolon, she likes to think it is. 

    of course, for these two having traveled through different worlds, wrapped in plots that revolve around ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ and almost tangible things different than organic ‘hearts,’ what is normal and abnormal is separated by a near blurred line. regardless, their knowledge is different. but, ah, her memories easily mix together with sora’s, no matter how distant they seem now. glimpses of the brunet’s experiences still remain in her mind, as if she’s there but not truly. complications like that make what she actually knows a mess in itself.

    except that is what xion is: a being full of complications no one can truly wrap their heads around. before she had been deemed a “special nobody” like roxas, but she’s come to realize confusing is a better explanation. to exist and not at the same time… to slowly fill gaps in memories until she truly can say she exists… it’s a lengthy process xion never really thought could occur, but she’s innocent enough to have belief meetings can come again. after all, here she is speaking to riku again. 

    it’s not as though she had a desire to be saved, but thinking of the possibility of futures where she could be with her beloved friends again wasn’t a sin either. after becoming an existence in people’s minds and hearts, she became able to possess the will to have desires. it was just… naminé and riku gave her the ability to exercise it, no matter the paths they lead her to take. one was to be bent to the will of xemnas and the other was to help her friends. riku can feel guilty all he wants, but he helped her see there was more than one option ( and even now, she’s thankful for it ).

    “acting spontaneously isn’t too bad,” she hums, and perhaps this is her simply attempting to ease both their hearts. they have no plans to actually follow anymore. no duties to being a master and none tied to being a puppet. at the moment, in this cold world where wishes are allowed to be wished, they’re both their own people. however, undeniably, it’s a comment like that that may remind him so much of his two closest friends. though, maybe this is just xion herself, cut off from all monopolization.

    “but i see your point…” a pause, and then she’s nodding to herself, strides becoming confident. “right! planning ahead is important, but for now, let’s follow whatever that thing was… oh, but i heard from the villagers there could be some bears… apparently they’re dangerous, but i don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem…” 

    she looks up at the sky, a smile in her voice. “roxas beat up heartless with a stick before, so i think we’ll be fine.”

“I suppose so.” He concedes, if only because he cannot completely disagree with her logic ( besides, it means she shows an awareness of her surroundings, a trait that should not be discouraged ). “Although I think most would not refer to it as such. You might want to sound more...casual about it.” Then again, at this point, she probably doesn’t care too much about standing out in that sense, does she? He knows he would like to avoid such attention, but then again— what does he know?  Nothing, nothing at all; he will go along doing things in the manner he pleases, and she shall do the same. How things were meant to be.

( She is here and she exists; there is nothing ever simplistic about that, but that is the way things are and it will only do him good to accept that as fact. There is a chock full of past things he needs to acknowledge, eventually, but not now. He’s not ready to tackle that weight on his shoulders just yet, nor should he bother her with his concerns at the moment. Maybe he’ll be able to finally follow his heart, his own selfish desires once again, in this place. )

And of course, there are echoes of both of them in her; a fact he does his best to disregard. It is not fair to her, who she is now— who she has always been. He envies that when he has not been his own person in so long; he almost cannot recall when he used to belong to himself. “Not always, no. Benefits and disadvantages to it, depending on how you chose to look at things. Although Sora’s always been the more spontaneous one, if you ask me.” Impulsiveness, however, that is a trait that he is equally guilty of— heck, all three of them ( Kairi included ) were probably fairly bad in that regard. He really should be thankful that their plans with the raft had never worked out, a prime example of choices made without enough forethought.

Relief courses through him, hands resting at his sides as he meets her stride with ease. “Exactly. Consider it a lesson to apply in the future.” A thoughtful hum, a moment of consideration over what was said. “Well, yes, animal attacks can be dangerous, but...usually they won’t attack unless we seem like a threat to them. So as long as we respect its boundaries and back off if it seems provoked, we shouldn’t have any worries.”

          {♠} —; She contemplates over their predicament for a moment, truly thinking about how they’d approach getting out after. Her sword drags along the ground, before she lifts it up to stop the noise. She didn’t have a solution to that, but she knew her memory was pretty good. Needed to be after all, especially since she had studied magic.

          {♠} —; “Normally I’d be able to score marks on the walls with fire, or something like that—but as a cruel twist of fate those kinds of abilities were….taken upon my arrival.”

          {♠} —; When he takes a pause to determine the source of the whistles, she raises a brow. What, did he have some sort of built-in detector for this kind of thing? Very amusing. She followed the lead though, beginning onwards to the left. It wouldn’t take too long until they caught up.

          {♠} —; “Look, there it is.” she says quietly, her head peaking around the entrance. “I only see one, I think it’s trying to recuperate. I’ll go left, you go right, we strike as one?” her sword slips into its sheathe, hand reaching behind her for the metal rod. “Unless you’ve another suggestion?”

Luck has never exactly been on his side, but he’ll hope that things turn out for the best, as far as managing to track their way back goes ( there’s only so much cave that they’d probably find their way back, right? Well, he supposes they’ll have to figure it out when they get to that point ).

A nod at her words— unsurprising, he had assumed they were all more or less weakened here; even if such a plan would have not occurred to him initially. “As is the case for many of us, I would garner. As it stands, I would offer to leave a marking of my own, but I currently lack the ability to do so as well.”

Just the casual mentioning of the raft reminds the spiky haired boy just how long it’s already been since he, Riku and Kairi had made plans to build a raft to take them to to other worlds. Or rather, it’s at least felt like a long time since then. In some ways, he misses when life was that simple, not having a care in the world. But then again, he wouldn’t change a thing for the worlds. All the journeys he’s been on thus far, all the people he’s connected with, make him who he is, and those are things he’ll never give up.

“Well, it is kinda hard not to get lost when everything kind of looks the same, but you know what, I’ll take that as a compliment!” he responded a small but smug smile on his face as he places his hands on his hips for emphasis. “Still though, it’s a good thing you found me! Don’t wanna give myself too much credit.” Inside he knows he’s done basically nothing, but he always tries his best to look good in front of his best friend.

Though Riku often struggled with his emotions, it’s still as clear as day to him how much Riku cares. He may not be the best at expressing it physically or in words, but nonetheless, Sora knows him better than anyone, and is willing to do anything to make him happy. “Heh, right. Now that we’re together, I think we’ll be okay.” he says reassuringly, nodding slightly as he places a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

It’s almost as though whenever they talk, Sora tends to forget that he’s in a harshly cold environment. It feels nice having a friend who can take the pressure off like that. “Well…okay. If you’re sure. But don’t worry though, if you catch a cold, I’ll be here to take care of you, and that’s a promise!” he exclaims, giving another nod of acknowledgment to Riku. “A few weeks, huh? That’s still longer than I’ve been here.”

As the two of them continue walking, almost out of nowhere, Sora finds himself struck with thoughts about his other friends. What if they’re in trouble? He knows that they can handle themselves, but still. And what of Kairi? He hates the thought of her being left behind time and time again while he and Riku are away from home. “Hey Riku, do you think that Kairi is okay? I know how strong she is, I just… it feels like we’ve lost her again, even if there’s nothing we could have done.”

A raft— just how far would a raft have really gotten them? Would they have really succeeded at leaving the tiny island that he had once called home? These days, he is not certain it would have been as easy as them as children would believe ( Riku is certain of one thing, and that is how selfish his desire had been— what a risk he had put upon two others who had only been to willing to blindly follow his lead. How selfish, how foolish, that had been, and he was the one who was supposed to know better ). “Everything looks the same? I suppose you aren’t completely wrong about that, but I think your observational skills might need some work.” Of course Sora would take that as a compliment— finding positives in the negative, that’s always how he’s been, for as long as he can remember. It’s hard to scorn him over a trait that he envies, to an extent.

A pause, averting his gaze; an indifferent sort of  shrug of his shoulders. “I didn’t do much. You would’ve found your way, eventually. Give yourself some credit, just because everyone might act like you’re a bit hopeless, it’s not like you to go down without a fight.” Once, he might have puffed up his chest and bragged about how dependable he was, but— he’s done enough of that today, he’s not done that much worth of praise ( and sometimes, Riku thinks he needs the reminder too, that he is not worth that praise— that Sora is plenty capable himself ). He’d always be there to find him, he hopes, but Riku has faith that if he was not there, that he would be able to handle himself just fine.

He’s not exactly reassured— placated, at best; Sora’s right, but he’s not one to accept things simply, these days. Even if he can’t completely express it, it is a comfort to have him here ( and a comfort to have him try and comfort him, irregardless ). Will they really be okay here? Their future here feels a little bit like that raft of theirs, lost at sea, close to capsizing, fate uncertain. He can’t be certain of much these days, he thinks, but he is right in thinking they are at least better off together ( alone— hah, he is the one that cannot do anything alone, as much as he might act otherwise ). “Mm. Well, we’ll manage. Don’t have much choice, anyhow.” Survive— at this point, it is all he really knows. Live, just for the sake of seeing the next day, if nothing else.

He snorts at the exclamation he makes, raising a brow at him. “Not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, but maybe focus on taking care of yourself, first. I’ll hold you to that promise, though I don’t think you’ll need to.” If only because Sora won’t let him do much otherwise— Riku doesn’t like having people worry over him, but that is probably unavoidable, now. Worst comes to worst, he just has to make sure he doesn’t seem too outwardly ill. “Sure, but I don’t think it amounts to much. You’ll probably catch up before you know it.”

“I know, but… I have to do something! I don’t want these things hurting people if there’s something I’m able to help stop them!” he exclaims, feeling very tense, but ultimately manages to calm himself down at the sound of Riku’s words. He’s right. After all, his friends are his power, right? 

“Okay, okay…you’re right, sorry… Honestly, I’d forgotten that we lost the majority of our power here. Feels like I’m back to square one, but I hope we can still help. I can still use my keyblade, after all.” he says, trying his best to look a little more cheerful. 

Taking the cue from Riku to begin walking, Sora immediately begins the march beside his friend, pumping his fist outward, feeling a little more confident now. “Right! I promise, the two of us, we’re stronger together. I really believe that I’m capable of anything when I have you with me, Riku.” Nothing is more truthful to him than that statement. He thinks the world of Riku, and isn’t afraid to say how he feels. “Anyway, I think we’ll be able to figure it out. This isn’t our first time taking on a bunch of monsters, right? We may not be at full strength, but I just know that we can help!”

“I know. You’ll get your chance as soon enough.” A small wince at the exclamation— he’s going to hope that they don’t attract the attention of anything else out here, they’ve got enough on their minds as it is. He’s thankful that his words have had the placating effect that he was hoping it would ( again, he feels a bit guilty, but this is going to be rough enough without them having any injuries beforehand... ) And of course, he can’t be completely surprised Sora’s forgotten— nothing against him, of course, he’s sure he hasn’t really had to fight before now, so this is probably his first reminder of that fact. “That’s not exactly new for you though, is it? But you’ll be fine, I don’t think you need to worry. You might not have access to the same strengths, but you still know how to fight. It doesn’t make you useless, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Magic— missing their magic was an inconvenience, but one they could work around. They’d have to adapt to it, anyways, if they wanted to put up a good fight.

          {♠} —; Sonya nods her head once he gives her an okay, and begins to lead the way immediately. She kneels down, placing a hand to help balance her as she jumps down into the small entrance to Mourner’s Grotto. The fall’s not far, but the cold definitely didn’t make the jump feel any better. She shudders.

          {♠} —; “I hate caves.” she says flatly, one hand placed on a wall. “This system is pretty big from what I read, let’s try to remember how which ways we turn.” 

          {♠} —; There’s not much wait between entering the cave, and hearing the first anguishing cry. Deep from within the enclosure the cries came, and Sonya immediately puts her ear up to the wall. Which direction…left, or right?

          {♠} —; “It’s tough to distinguish with how the echoes go—I believe that it went left judging with how the walls vibrate, but that could be the cave system tricking my senses. I don’t suppose you have a stronger sense than mine, or something like that? Those things did smell like corpses.”

He has no problems with following her lead— she does seem to have a better idea of their situation than he does, and is perfectly content to focus more on being aware of their surroundings while they walk instead. He judges the jump with a slight scrunching of his face before jumping in after her; a muffled grunt before straightening back up. So far so good.

He’s never been claustrophobic, and he certainly hopes that doesn’t start now, but he can’t help a murmur of agreement at her statement ( perhaps it is not caves, simply something about this one in particular that fills him with a sense of dread— he shakes that feeling off, when he think about the fact that this is surely not as bad as what he has faced before ). “A shame we have nothing to mark our way back...we’ll have to remember, then.”

“Stay still. I warned you about running off with how slippery the snow is.” A grumble, holding up his arm for closer inspection, releasing it moments later. “It’s just a bruise...thankfully. I know you want to go help already, but you’re not going to be of help if you get hurt. We can’t just cast a curaga to heal up now, remember?” For the sake of his sanity, he certainly hopes Sora hadn’t forgotten about that. Rationalizing with him is complicated, because Riku can only sympathize; he too is itching for a fight ( thankfully, he has the advantage in the fact that Sora tends to believe in him— hates taking advantage of that fact, but if it keeps him safe, then...)

That’s... weird. He falters for a moment, staring at the now empty spot with brows furrowed; he had definitely left his bag there, against the trees. Sure, resources might be a bit more precious right now, but stealing— he would’ve noticed someone else present, surely. No notable footprints present either, human or otherwise ( that really puts a hamper on the possible explanations, as if this wasn’t frustrating as it is ); glancing about his surroundings as to try and see if he could figure out what might’ve happened.

Something vibrant catches his eye; a splash of color among the pallid winter landscape is quick to garner his attention at a time like this. A pause, he recognizes the other— in that it is hard not to recognize someone who vaguely shares the same living space with you, even if he admittedly doesn’t bother to keep track of names ( he has the feeling that he’s not entirely alone in that sentiment, so he doesn’t feel too guilty in that regard ).

Though he does good to hide it, she startles him; the way she almost seems to emerge from the shadows, despite the sharp contrast of black against stark white snow (  it does not bother him as much as it should, perhaps ). They seem to come to an agreement, silently— she does not seem like a person of many words, and quite honestly, that is fine with him; he does not need companionship that is too talkative, at a time like this less talk is better. Nothing that could possibly distract them from focusing on their surroundings, or attracted any unwanted attention from anything else lingering in the woods.

coalesced anxiety. // dawndreamt.

event starter for @dawndreamt​

          {♠} —; Sonya swears that fighting these things puts a chill down her spine. It’s not even the cold like it usually is. She’s gotten this feeling from the Terrors, and she knows the feeling well. The whistles are the same breed of undead that the terrors were. How disgusting.

          {♠} —; She’s watching the group as they advance, turning her head. Oh…she better get that one wandering off—not alone though. She tells Frederika, and she’s given the permission to go with one other person. Sonya scans everyone before she calls over to the nearest person, pointing off in the direction.

          {♠} —; “There’s a few headed off in that direction. It’s the Mourner’s Grotto, mostly the source of where they’re coming from. I think they’re running back where they came from. Everyone’s dealing with the ones out here, let’s go clear out some in there. Perhaps we can even close off where they’re coming from.”

It is unsettling, these things— monsters, one might say. He’d laugh at such, monsters ( well, he supposes, demons take shape differently to everyone... that is not here and now ). They are wretched things, nothing more, nothing less; it is easiest to think of them as such when considering striking them down. Ignore the eerily human-esque qualities of them, he has done such before, think of your own survival first.

He is busy watching and contemplating if he should head out to help— head jerks up a little upon hearing someone beckon to him. He moves closer as a narrowed gaze follows the direction she points to, acknowledgement of her with a small nod. He can certainly handle that much.

Riku’s sense of humor has always been sort of a comforting feeling to him. While some others may not always completely understand it, it’s always been something Sora’s come to expect. Having his best friend here with him is already making this whole freezing cold thing a whole lot more bearable. Keeping his mind on other things seemed to be doing the trick in distracting himself from the fact that he has no business being out in the tundra with his current attire on. Then again, it seems like Riku’s in the same boat.

He frowns for a slight second but immediately finds himself chuckling. He wouldn’t expect to hear anything less from him. He immediately swings his arm around Riku’s neck.

“Hey! I tried my best, but I guess I’ve never really had much of a sense of direction, have I?” he says sheepishly. “Well, whatever it is that brought us here, I’m glad we were able to find each other. I definitely didn’t expect to find you here, but… I feel a little more confident when you’re by my side.”

Sora immediately shakes his head waving his hands in front of himself! “Hey, no it’s okay, really! Besides, talking to you at least distracted me from the cold, at least for a little bit…” he utters, shivering a little before he finds himself a little bit warmer, with RIku’s jacket now draped around him. Is he really okay with giving up some of his warmth for my sake?

“Hey are you sure about this? I don’t want you to be cold, too.” he pauses for a moment, but decides not to protest any further. “But…thanks, Riku. This already feels a lot better.”

On top of the extra jacket Riku has provided him with, his friend’s hand on his shoulder feels very comforting in a way he can’t describe. He can’t help but continue smiling. “Yeah, that sounds good. Any place that’s warmer sounds better than being way out here. Anyway, how long have you been here, Riku? You at least seem to know a little bit about this world, right?”

Again, if it is not for the fact that he is used to the way Sora throws himself around, he might have recoiled at such a gesture— instead, he ignores any urge to shake off his arm, and instead shakes his head at him, amused. “I know. Why else do you think we wouldn’t have allowed you to be in charge of directing the raft? You would’ve gotten the three of us lost at sea, somehow.” He snarks, hesitant in letting his arm loop over his shoulder in turn. “I suppose you did manage pretty decent, all things considered. You’re not as lost as you could have been.”

He’s quiet for a moment; for all he would like to, he cannot follow his heart as easily as he, cannot speak his emotions as readily as he would have liked. “Thanks.” A mumble, ducks his head, bashfully— ah, he wishes Sora wasn’t always so honest like this; he feels like he can’t be anything less than honest with him. Feels guilty for not being honest with him. “I’m...glad to have you here.” Albeit, that may be because it assures him that at least one of his friends is safe ( or that he is capable of protecting, it might be all the same, really ).

“That’s not nearly as reassuring as you think it is. The shivering doesn’t help your argument.” He frowns, making sure that his jacket is firmly draped over him ( really, it’s not much, he thinks; but it’s better than nothing, gives him some peace of mind ). Worry about yourself instead of me, he wants to say— as if Sora would ever be that selfish. He’s too selfless for that. “I’ll be fine, Sora. It’s not like we’re going to stay out here any longer than we need to. Besides, you’d probably catch a cold without it.” Might be a little late for that, really, but that’s besides the point. A little bit of coldness is nothing, anyways—Riku knows there is little he wouldn’t do for Sora’s sake ( a little cold is nothing compared to what he has done, before ).