7th dawn → video

[resipiscent]

[Riku's face, when he appears on the network today, is a little exasperated, and a little apologetic. Behind him, something tiny and black moves, and he picks his hair up and away from it, pulling it over his shoulder for lack of anything else to do with it. A sharp-eyed observer will note that the black thing is a wing. It's small, but it's clearly a pointy, leathery bat wing. Presumably, there's a matching one.]

So... I guess I was ported out.

[His very first port-out after a year and a half. What a strange experience. Riku pauses. He's pretty sure he... owes some people an apology.]

Uh -- sorry. From what I can tell it hasn't been very long, though...? A day or so tops, I think. I saw Kagami made a post, so I thought I should clear things up.

[He's surprised you all panicked, honestly...]

I guess I should thank you all for worrying, though.

Comments

[resipiscent]

No, that's okay.

[Riku shakes his head, frowning gently. This is the complete opposite of normal.]

I didn't have these at home. This is -- I'm a Dream Eater now, so... I guess it's to match.

[23wishes]

Dream Eater? What does that mean?

[Could he really not be human anymore? They might actually both be nonhuman? She'd like that... Kanaya's support group has connected her with tons of new people but none of them are as close as she is with Riku.]

[resipiscent]

Basically -- there's two types. Nightmares spread bad dreams, and Spirits banish them. I'm on the second team. Mostly they look like animals. Except for me, I guess. So -- [he wiggles the wings] -- I guess they're so I fit in?

[23wishes]

[That answers Nothing for her.]

So... Are you still human, or...?

[resipiscent]

[...]

... I don't know.

[That's a good question.]

Maybe half...?

[23wishes]

[Predictably her eyes light up.]

Me too! Now you can come to Kanaya's group meetings with me!

[Remember very long ago when she said she was "different"? Well, there you go. The anticlimactic conclusion to that. She's told so many people now in so many dramatic ways because it's hard for her to admit, but evidently Kanaya's support group has done her a lot of good.]

[resipiscent]

What, you want me to?

[He feels like, as someone who was previously all human, it's a little bit presumptuous of him to go. But if she'd be more comfortable with him there, then...]

[23wishes]

I'm sure Kanaya wouldn't mind!

[Well, and also--]

There's not many people there I'm very close to. Kanaya is probably the one I know best. But... I really trust you.

[resipiscent]

Do you?

[He sounds surprised. Why?]

[23wishes]

[A very slow blink.]

... Because. You and Kel and my best friends here.

[Was that not obvious?]

[resipiscent]

[what

He looks a little startled -- not averse to it, just surprised. It's weird to think of someone feeling like that about him, despite the fact that he knows logically he's probably considered that by a few people. He certainly considers her that close, but he doesn't like to get his hopes up about mutual feelings.]

Oh...

[A pause.]

Really? I'm glad.

[23wishes]

["Oh?"

"OH?"

What the hell, Riku?]

Why did you think I was so upset?! Obviously I like you!

[resipiscent]

Sure, but...

[How does he say this in a way that doesn't sound rude? He wonders about this for a moment, then decides that he'll probably put his foot in his mouth no matter what, so he'll just go ahead.]

... I didn't realize it was that much. I guess I don't hear it often, is all.

[23wishes]

[He's kind of an idiot, isn't he? Though there's probably a sad story back there somewhere. There's a lot of personal things they haven't shared yet and so she wouldn't be surprised if she eventually gets some explanation for that.]

Well... I care a lot about you. Without you here, I wouldn't have settled in anywhere near as well.

[resipiscent]

[It's just his self-esteem issues at work. There are less of them now -- he's come to terms with some things, even in just the short amount of time he was in the dream, but he still has things to work through, things that might take hundreds of weeks as opposed to just one or two.]

Really? I think you're not giving yourself enough credit, though... you're tough.

[23wishes]

Well, you're right. [She knows she's a tough cookie.] But it would have been very lonely without friends.

[resipiscent]

Ah, you'd have found someone to fill the gap, I'm sure. But -- [he grins] -- I'm pleased to be the one taking up the space.

[23wishes]

I guess so. You're not that special, anyway.

[Punctuated with Aerith pressing her head to his chest.]

[resipiscent]

Nope, definitely not.

[Riku grins down at the top of her head, then pulls back again, opening his arms.]

I'm expecting a slap or something anyway, though.

[23wishes]

I think I'll save that for later. I may need to some other time.

[resipiscent]

Yeah, maybe hang onto that.

[He steps away, reaches for her hand, to drag her to sit down.]

Did I miss anything important?

[23wishes]

In a day? Nope.

[She sits down with him without any complaints, though she suddenly wishes she'd brought ice cream or something to share with him.]

Just a bunch of silly people freaking out over a missing friend.

[resipiscent]

Ah, well. I can't really blame them.

[Riku leans back slowly, putting his weight on the wings evenly enough not to hurt them. He's still not sure how strong they are.]

That's all right.

[23wishes]

I wonder... Can you fly now?

[She's seen less functional wings in her world, anyway.]

[resipiscent]

Uh -- I doubt it. They're pretty small. I think -- if I had Haen make them bigger, maybe, I could. They know how, they're just... too small.