got it memorized?

He groaned once more when he opened the door to find that he was back to where he started. This maze of a place was hard to go through, and he was having an even harder time focusing because he paid too much attention to the sounds coming from each door, hoping that maybe he had found the right room at last.

He didn’t even realize that he wasn’t following all the instructions on the ticket. He was too… distracted.

Sigh.

Though he'd memorized the proper route, Axel had made a point of deliberately choosing the wrong doors - sometimes taking hours to accomplish what should have been a relatively simple excursion. But as annoying as it could be, Axel saw only the advantage of knowing the place as well as anyone could possibly know it.

(If his intentions to use this knowledge were somewhat questionable - well, when were they not?)

However, for all of the exploring he has done, there was one thing that Axel had yet to encounter in the maze. He stopped, dead, eyes wide and mouth suddenly dry.

Hey there! Just wanted to let you all know that as a heads up end of the month is always busiest for me with work because I have to input all of my hours for the month into a tracking database which is just a bunch of tedious reports but I’ve done approximately 1/4 of what I need to do for the month and it needs to be done by Wednesday morning so I will probably be scarce with replies until then. I might try and do one or two more across all accounts but please please if you see me around tomorrow posting TELL ME TO BUZZ OFF TIL MY WORK IS DONE.

Also October is National Disability Employment Awareness month which you can read about here!

Uta was confined within an amusement park of all places.  The lack of control over his situation was bothersome, like an itch that wouldn’t go away no matter how many times scratched but for now he would have to make do.  On the bright side, it might be fun seeing everyone struggle to escape; others’ misfortunes never ceased to be entertaining.

Everyone was provided rooms within the hotel but no say in who they would be sleeping a mere few feet from.  Some of the arrangements would work out fine, but what about those that had been paired with say, someone that took pleasure in devouring humans?  Luckily, Uta had good self control when he saw fit to use it and so far the male he had been paired with seemed worthy enough of refraining from nibbling on.  He didn’t appear overly energetic at least and that was all Uta could hope for considering the circumstances.  Talkative people could be tiresome after awhile…

He allowed his new roommate to take the paper with the instructions on how to get to where they would be staying, content just to observe for the time being and see what details he could pick up on along the way.  He had always had a knack for noticing what others usually overlooked, or might notice if only they closed their mouths for a few seconds.

But Axel has always been a rapacious sort - not entirely unlike a rat. He grabs, greedily, at the mere pittances and scraps thrown his way, gaping jaws locked tight upon life's jugular. When your very existence is an abomination, you make the most of what little you get. And Axel, contrary to history might suggest, is a survivor.

This is one gift horse whose mouth he intends not to examine.

He examines his new roommate (cellmate, his mind whispers) with a steady eye, his face and posture doing little to belie emotions that simply do not exist. He recognizes Uta, as one predator to another, and Axel's lips curl up as he ducks his head to read the instructions outlined on the paper.

There's certainly more to his new associate than meets the eye and Axel intends to get to the bottom of it - sooner rather than later.

(He didn't die just to go through it all again.)

So his fist curls into a ball, crumpling the instructions along the way, which he tosses over his shoulder with haphazard care. The grin upon his face has never boded well for anyone, which is only further enforced when he speaks - tone lilting and exaggerated for dramatic effect. "We could follow the rules like good little boys, but something tells me you're not exactly opposed to toeing the line a little bit."

He almost doesn't notice her at first. There's something creeping at the corners of his vision - shifting, turbulent - and he might have very well run her over if not for the voice, sudden and clear (familiar).

"It’s you," she finally says, even though she doesn’t have to. The expression on her face shows enough of her realization. Instead of letting that stick around, however, she soon leans towards him (although it doesn’t do much good— he’s just too tall) then settles back on her heels, her previous unsure look fading away completely as her lips pull up into a smile.

"You," she repeats. “I remember something. Sora told me— he told me you said sorry.” Kairi isn’t one to hold grudges, which probably seems obvious by her general disposition, but she holds up a finger anyway, closing one eye to give him a halfassed wink. “I’m not sure if I can forgive you yet, though. Not unless you give up some of your time to explore with me. You know— it’s like a special reunion after all of… that.”

It's rather hard to be upset about it when he lacks the necessary equipment.

(Then again, he's always been a special case.)

He rolls one shoulder in a shrug, eyes her out of the corner of his eye and asks, "Who says I want to be forgiven?" He taps a hand to his chest. "No heart, remember?"

He eyes her, expression stern, but as the moments creep longer his lips begin to curl upwards in a grin - looser, this time, less predatory. "I guess, after everything, I do owe you a bit." His tone sounds put upon, but there's a certain softness at the edge of his eye that might almost be fond on anyone else. "Have you tried the ice cream here? It's pretty good."