Dwarf Woodlands

[Bloodedge]

[Apollymi]

A young raven-haired lass with her locks dangling in two fluffy pig-tails bounded out of a portal she'd walked into second. When she landed she found herself standing in a clearing looking out in the distance at a large castle and down in the opposite direction towards a set of woods complete with a deep mineshaft. Her green and purple attire clung to her form in the shape of a single bodysuit with long sleeves, but it was ripped in various places exposing her midsection and lower back as well as her hands. She held a hand below her right eye, her index finger resting atop a beauty mark as she took in her view of this place, thinking up a plan of action. The Keyblade presently in her hand was that of the 'Eternal Flame' which was one she'd been using for the sake of keeping Master Invi out of the know about her true Keyblade a simple switch of Keychain would have her real thorny black Keyblade back in her hands. The glowing heart at the tip of it seeming to thump in response to the change as she did this. 'I missed you too...' she whispered mentally to the Keyblade. Though many found it unsettling, she had no problems with her Keyblade, she loved it, and she was presently learning to love and accept her own darkness as well. "So, we're collecting Lux today, but it's just the two of us~" she chimed seemingly happy about the prospect. If she was being honest, she was quite happy with the day as a whole, but she'd be much happier if Yuri returned to his usual self as well. Though she was willing to give that more time considering the day he'd had yesterday. But her own mood had been greatly improved by some ideas given to her the previous day, in conversation and adventuring with Master Luxu. Or rather it would be more accurate to say she was returning to her old self... the self she was before her Keyblade, her darkness, and the lingering gazes of others... changed her disposition.

[Bloodedge]

A second individual was fated to emerge from this portal. This one was a male figure sporting a purple waistcoat, pink cravat, a two-part cape of red and purple, a purple abbreviated coat with thick cuffs and gold shoulder bands with an amber-colored setting, fastened at the collar bone, and light blue pants tucked into silver-tinted leather boots. He had very short, thick, pink eyebrows and purple eyes. His hair was two-toned, uniformly violet with pink underneath and fringes extending to frame his face, with two pointing upwards. He stepped forth in time to witness the appearance of his associate's true Keyblade. It had been some time since he'd seen this tool last, but he supposed Kairos had legitimate reasons to keep it under wraps in recent times. Now though, they were indeed alone. He hadn't even been in contact with their master this day, so there was reason to believe Kairos was due for not restraining herself. "Just us, huh? I guess that's for the best," he stated. He wasn't fond of being watched over by the Foreteller Invi either, though the man's abilities would be of use, and it was worth the adventure in the end. "So which way? Weird castle or weird forest?"

'Just the two, she says. Well that's just not fair,' thought a certain hooded observer who remained obscured from view by the trees of the nearby forest. 'I wonder how far they'll go...'

[Apollymi]

The young man who stepped through the portal seemed to also be on the same page as Kairos about currently being without a watcher. Though she'd admit to the strength of one such as Hiro, him in her presence was something more hindering than she'd care to admit. Beyond all of this, she felt free in the company of her friend... well probably now friends, though she supposed much like Yuri hadn't initially seen everything about her, the other person she now considered her friend hadn't yet seen everything either. Though, given how he tended to operate that may have not held any truth at all... "Definitely for the best," she said about it being just the two of them. She had no intention of spending her day with any besides her friends and as such she would not be doing anything that involved anyone else. She began to spin in a circle when asked about the direction they'd be taking. Around and around in this circle she went for quite a few seconds, clutching her Keyblade between both her hands, a jolly giggle escaping her as she came to a stop, pointing her Keyblade surprisingly enough towards the forest. "Forest!~ Normally I'd have said castle, but... I'm trying something new today," she mused, as she banished the weapon. She'd take the time to perform several back-flips and other minor feats of acrobatics, almost as if she was re-acclimating herself to her own physical abilities. This sort of display was one she'd given this lad before, and her jolly disposition was normal to those she called friend.

[Bloodedge]

Following his query as to where they would be going, the boy named Yuri witnessed the spinning of Kairos until she settled on the direction her Keyblade pointed to. He raised a brow, but chuckled away whatever thoughts he had on the matter. The acrobatics of Kairos which followed her seemingly random choice would be commented on as he followed suit, using more... normal methods of moving forward. "Of course you'd pick the weird place! You seem happy though, so I guess it's fine. Who pulled you off the right side of the bed?" he asked, partially in rhetoric as he gazed upon the forest ahead of them.

[Apollymi]

It was commented upon that Kairos had chosen the 'weird place'. Upon hearing this, a grin broke across the girl's face as she righted herself from one of her flips, she'd pause only briefly sticking her tongue out at the lad in a manner most playful. "Weird? Nah!~" she mused. "I've been thinking about it and walking the road less traveled might not be a bad thing. You'll get to see new things that way~" she chimed finding everything to be in good fun as they approached the woods, as she thought about the other half of the lad's question and in doing so after a few forward steps on her hands flipped so that she'd land right beside and in-step with him as he trudged along at his more normal pace. "Master Luxu, I guess," she mentioned about her current good mood. Though it was likely strange she'd always give credit where it was due, and talking with that particular young man the previous day had given her the type of information she needed to feel more like her old self. "Something he said yesterday helped me out. I think... I was in a bit of a rut before and it made my heart heavy," she mentioned. "But now... I feel like its not heavy anymore... and I can breathe again~" she chimed seemingly happy. It was true that her conversations with the Master known as Luxu had helped her out quite a bit and as such she was capable of showcasing a mood likely unseen from her in quite a while.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah... weird yeah! This whole place is weird!" was Yuri's retort. In all fairness, this world seemed to be a bit on the plain side of things, yet there was something certainly strange about how well put-together it was while suffering from the influence of darkness. Speaking of darkness, it seemed Kairos had come to terms with hers in a way that didn't even register to Yuri. Whatever he thought she meant though, it did wonders for her demeanor, as she now showcased a persona Yuri hadn't witnessed for what felt like ages. This apparently had something to do with an interaction she had the previous day with the master named Luxu. "Master Luxu, huh? Still going after that whole apprentice thing? Ya can't just leave me behind with Master Invi, y'know? It's not cool."

[Apollymi]

If Yuri thought this place was properly weird, Kairos couldn't really disagree. Even so, she wasn't sure what it was about this place that made it seem odd to her. She supposed it was very neat, and even as they walked into this darkened forest, it seemed that there were clear paths to take and trees cleared through them in a natural way. Her playful demeanor was indeed the one she naturally possessed. As such, it wasn't very hard for Kairos in this moment to maintain something of a jovial air. "I was never going after it to start with..." she mentioned. Truly Kairos wasn't thinking much about being Luxu's apprentice, she had other direct concerns. Like the boy currently with her, one she knew had similar feelings to her own, not that they dealt with those feelings in the same way. "Leaving you alone with Master Invi, was never a thought that crossed my mind," she said, knowing that with the sort of abilities that Yuri showed leanings towards being alone with Master Invi might leave him in a worse way than she'd been in the days prior to this one. She looked to the lad at her side, her pace ever steady with a skip in her step, "Don't worry, Yuri. You're stuck with me!~" She offered the lad this short reply, and though there wasn't much to it, there was a depth to the statement she meant to convey.

[Bloodedge]

As they moved into the forest, the darkness around them grew. The atmosphere became one which better fit a world plagued by darkness, though the lack of disparity to the area itself remained bothersome. It seemed Kairos hadn't even been considering taking the position of Luxu's apprentice, and had no current intentions of abandoning the Anguis Union at all. "Really? You're really gonna pass on being the direct understudy of a master? I guess I'll take the flattery, but... that's pretty dumb for you," he said, and considering his closeness to Kairos after her return to a normal pace, he took the existing moment to nudge at her with his elbow. "It's cool though. So, know anything about this world?" When he'd agreed to this location, Yuri had given it no real thought. He'd simply decided to come along since Kairos had made the suggestion, and now that he was remembering the reason, he perked up and thought to let something be known. "Oh! I meant to tell you, I covered you when you disappeared yesterday. Master Invi thinks you just had sand in weird places."

[Apollymi]

It seemed what Kairos had to say about Master Luxu and whether or not she considered being his apprentice properly would cause a strange reaction in the lad known as Yuri. He apparently thought it was dumb of her to turn it down, but the gentle nudge against her side and prodding of is words belayed a hint of his pleasure knowing it wasn't her intention to leave him behind. "Hm... probably pretty dumb of me. I haven't gotten a chance to pick his mind about magic... oh and a bunch of other stuff too," she said seemingly distressed if only for a moment before a huge grin passed her face. "Just kidding!~" she said with a chuckle. "Actually I could probably do all of that even if I don't become his apprentice, and I've never been as about the Masters as everyone else..." she said, and this was also true. A lot of the other Keyblade Wielders were very much into the Masters of Master's apprentices, and wanted to know what they knew, but Kairos had different thoughts and didn't like the sorts of short-sighted people she came in contact with who were stuck on the other Masters. Regardless, she was asked about this place and she gave a gentle shrug.

"Dwarf Woodlands. So I expect some little people... apparently there is a mine where gems are found and a Kingdom..." she mused... as they walked further into the darkness, the shadows began to shift in a more obvious way keeping them from approaching the start of a more open area within these woods. But more important than this was the cover that Yuri apparently gave Master Invi about her disappearance yesterday. "YURI!" she exclaimed seemingly distraught, him saying such a thing to Hiro was a bit gross, but a grin spread across her face a few seconds after. "Thanks... I guess. We definitely have to work on your cover stories though..." she said, though she was truly grateful the lad had covered for her. "That Keychain I was using yesterday... I got from Master Luxu. He said I'd enjoy it. He gave it to me before I met up with you guys yesterday morning. He helped me hide my Keyblade from Master Invi," she explained of their previous situation as she summoned her Keyblade to her hand, those ever shifting shadows soon began to grow into little creatures with yellow eyes and small red noses. She'd never seen this form of Heartless before, but she supposed variety was good.

[Bloodedge]

"You mean like the places he tries not to get sand in?" Yuri replied when Kairos joked about prodding the master Luxu's mind about matters not involving magic. If she was going to kid around about the situation, he'd certainly do the same. With that alone though, he was content to continue traveling the world until they reached whatever destination was upon them. It seemed they were en route to the mines mentioned by Kairos in her explanation, but they were fated to be interrupted by the arrival of Darkness beginning to take form. Yuri halted all movement, summoning his Keyblade while addressing the matter of Kairos' new fire-based Keychain and the fact that his cover story hadn't been the best. "You're the one who was talking about the sand before, so I went with what made sense. Besides, you could have made the whole thing easier by admitting that you were cheating on Master Invi with one of his peers!" he said as one final joke before the Heartless appeared properly around them. With his Keyblade raised, Yuri took the initiative in assaulting this group of Heartless. "Zero Gravira!" All around Yuri, excluding Kairos, from the effect, his spell removed the hold gravity held on all things physical. As such, the Heartless beginning to surround them would begin to float and effectively be rendered incapable of approaching them directly by any normal means.

[Apollymi]

"Oh sure, and the best food, and what kind of music he listens to when he falls asleep... totally all things I need to know~" the girl mused. Of course, she couldn't say she had much interest in things like that. She was more interested in why his face looked so familiar to her, how he came to appreciate the darkness and the kinds of things he thought about while he was busy watching the rest of the world. As the darkness took form around them, Yuri summoned his Keyblade, but not without giving one final jab to the girl about her 'cheating' on her Union Leader with the unaffiliated Master Luxu. A melodic giggle escaped the girl as she watched every piece of living darkness float up into the air around them unable to make their proper approach. "Magnera!" this would cause every single piece of darkness to float together above the point of Kairos' Keyblade. "FIRAGA!" this strangely wouldn't create the standard form of this spell but instead the darkness enhanced version, which would burn each and every individual into nothingness, this would allow the darkness to clear their path. "I am not cheating, by the way... I just don't want to play twenty-one questions with Master Invi. He's a bit suspicious of me to start with, well-meaning though, apparently. You should have heard him asking about that Keychain I am passing off as my Keyblade~" she explained, knowing she'd left the lad in an awkward situation.

[Bloodedge]

"Yeah, all that good stuff!" Yuri agreed, even knowing there was a certain lack of seriousness in everything spoken by Kairos. The Heartless he'd sent into the air were brought toward Kairos by her own magnetic spell's use, and while Yuri was wondering how they were to be dealt with, she exemplified her control over Darkness by infusing an otherwise normal fire spell with it. Yuri looked at the blackened flames and thought this to be an application of Darkness he hadn't even considered until this moment. Other wielders of the Keyblade considered Darkness to be something awful, even if for reasons which differed from person to person. Yuri himself harbored Darkness within him and knew it, but he couldn't have brought himself to even attempt such a thing as what he'd seen here for fear of becoming like the creatures they defeated in their endeavors. He really never understood how one such as Kairos could embrace Darkness and have no obvious negative consequences. In spite of the thoughts he had regarding these developments, Yuri could only bring himself to speak regarding Kairos' relations with Invi. "Well... I guess he would have a lot more to be suspicious of if he saw anything else you did. Why wouldn't Master Luxu be just as bad though? I figured they were all the same; I can't see one of them helping you hide something dark from the others."

[Apollymi]

Kairos' good humor seemed to be working towards bringing Yuri back to himself. Her use of magic though was likely a bit strange, though she'd never properly hidden her use of Darkness from Yuri, she hadn't actually had a real conversation with him about it either. To be fair, he was one of now two people, who appreciated the look of her Keyblade, and as such she'd accepted that he likely had a bit of darkness in him as well. His use of it, showed in his spells too. When he commented though, it wasn't about this use of Darkness, it was simply his understanding of the Masters and his lack of comprehension as to why one of them would help her in such a way. "I'm not entirely sure why he chose to help me in particular. He said, that me falling to my darkness would be a waste..." she said about Master Luxu, which didn't sound that different from what people normally said about darkness. She knew this too, so she went on. "But they definitely aren't all the same. Apparently different things made them all Masters, but beyond all that Master Luxu, is using Darkness... more than I do even," she said a hint of excitement in her eyes. "He doesn't judge it, and it hasn't consumed him or extinguished his light," she said thinking about it more. The words he'd shared with her the previous day still made her heart thump, and at the point in her day, where she'd fully accepted the darkness and called upon it, she had a better understanding of it. "He said... if my heart has darkness, then its supposed to. He said..." she commented as her Keyblade disappeared from her hand again. "May your heart be your guiding key." Even saying that sentence again brought a strange warmth to her heart, made it thump within her chest and fill with that jolly, happiness she'd felt before. Her attitude about her own darkness had changed drastically when she paused to think that the way she was, wasn't necessarily wrong. And seeing a Master with darkness let her know her own abilities didn't need to be shunned, even if she was fine with hiding them from the masses. Walking a different path, didn't make her wrong... and one day, everyone else might see it.

[Bloodedge]

"Of course he said that!" Yuri said without hesitation, not even waiting to hear further explanation about why Luxu had said such a thing to Kairos. "It would be a waste; you're probably one of the strongest people around besides the masters!" he continued. However, it then became apparent that Master Luxu was even more prone to utilizing Darkness than Kairos herself. Suddenly, the entire situation made a lot more sense, and this revelation made Yuri take pause right away. "What..." he said. The statement 'may your heart be your guiding key' was one Yuri himself heard from Invi on the previous day while recovering from what befell him in Agrabah, but it couldn't be taken in the same way as he would have when hearing it from someone who used Darkness freely. What's more, someone strong enough to be a master being willing and able to use Darkness... meant there was more to think about than Yuri could have otherwise imagined. "I... I don't know what to say about that. It just seems so different."