Re: Uninvited Guest [Val]

[Val Noria]

Night had fallen and the Nobodies retreated to their own dwellings for the night to replenish the energies they expended in the day. While it looked somewhat symbolic, Nobodies still needed their rest. They can go for a long time being active with no repercussions to their health, their bodies would still ache. They weren't immortal, not like the Heartless anyway. So they needed to be at their top condition whenever they were attacked. Val was left in the throne room, although she wasn't reading a book still. She had another guest. This one was an old acquaintance.

"Valerie!" came a voice from the portal that had opened in the middle of the room. A woman came out before the portal disappeared to the abyss. She was wearing a white and gold, long-sleeved top of multiple layers. Black gloves, boots and pants were the rest of her attire. Her eyes and hair were a light touch of violet, the latter being tied into a pony tail, giving the two similar hairdos, though Lorencia had noticeably longer hair. And while Val had a gentle smile on her face, Lorencia had a happy, wide grin. To the same degree, the other one was much more lively. At first glance, it'd be difficult to tell that she was actually a Nobody much like the queen.

Val produced a set of chairs from glass, as she did when she was entertaining Edis, and the two sat down. Lorencia sat there, hugging her key-shaped staff, that on more than one occasion had been mistaken for a keyblade. She swayed from side to side, using the staff as her pivot. "How are the other worlds?" Val asked, her hands clasped at her lap.

"Heartless. Heartless everywhere!" Lorencia reported, using one hand to emphasize just how many there were. "They're getting worse on the other worlds as well. Fighting them off was hard work, and people keep throwing me in front of them because I got the Keystaff." She then slumped down with exhaustion, using said Keystaff to support herself as she leaned forward slightly to Val. "What about here? Something interesting happen yet?"

As if the gods were tempted, there was a loud screaming from the guest rooms. "What was that?" the staff-bearer asked, not at all bothered.

"Edis."

"Who is that?"

"A guest who wanted to acquire a Keyblade."

"... Can we trust him?"

"For now. He hasn't shown any ill intentions."

"Should we check up on him?"

"He doesn't want to be disturbed."

"Harsh."

The two of them stayed in the center of the throne room. Lorencia relayed information she got from her travels, whether rumors or factual. While she hasn't been to many worlds yet after she departed, there was much to be said.

[Edis Rehtona]

During the night, while he was screaming about his pain, Edis decided he couldn't take it anymore and got out of his bed, drenched in sweat as he dressed himself in trousers and a shirt that he didn't bother to button, leaving it open with his toned chest visible to all, not that anyone was up at this time. It was probably close to midnight, and Edis just could not bear to see his brother die again. That was the problem with a recurring nightmare: no matter how many times you lived a single moment, it never got easier, in fact, it was the opposite. It was like being forced to watch a scary movie that you've seen a hundred times already. He knew exactly what was going to happen and when, but it didn't make it any less scary, or any less painful to witness and know that he couldn't do anything. It was that feeling of helplessness that Edis couldn't deal with, which was why he was currently walking down towards the Archives Room, a place he felt safe, his sanctuary of sorts.

He only knew one way to get there, through the throne room, so there he travelled, his burden lightened as he had left the jar in his room, doubting anyone would enter as he had specifically asked the Queen to order them against it. They would leave Edis alone, and respects his wishes, no matter how painful his screams became. As he reached the throne room, he noticed two chairs, very similar to the ones created earlier for Edis and Valerie to converse, but it was not the young man currently sitting across from the Queen, it was another girl, one who seemed to know her well, as their words were lost to Edis who didn't pay much attention. They were discussing other worlds, which meant little to the man. From what he had gathered, there were heartless everywhere, in every world, and it would be Edis' job to rid the world of those Heartless, and to destroy the darkness that plagued the worlds. How ironic that he himself possessed the power to summon those same heartless to fight for him. He would use his own Heartless to destroy the evil one's. His obeyed his command, and he was pure, willing to use whatever means necessary to destroy the Heartless.

Seeing this other girl on the chair, Edis decided to walk over and greet them, after all, she had no doubt heard the screams that had been echoing, and even if she hadn't, the Queen would most definitely have heard.

"Good evening ma'am, Your Majesty. I'd like to apologise if I have in any way stopped you from being able to sleep. It was not intended, and I also apologise for not mentioning my sleeping 'complexities' before you offered me a room."

Looking at the girl he didn't know, Edis bowed his head in greeting.

"I am Edis Rehtona, current explorer of world and guest in this fine castle. And may I enquire as to who you are?"

[Val Noria]

After the heartless topic had been exhausted, Lorencia spoke of some other things that she picked up in her travels. One of them being the locations of the other Nobodies who went through what they did. None of them had yet to regrow their hearts, but they should be given time for it to happen naturally. Then Val thought of something. If the Nobody Edis entrapped in that jar grew a heart, would he still be able to restore his brother? Or would he need to extract it? Maybe the archives could provide an answer, but now wasn't the time for such research.

The rest was idle conversation. If it could be called that. Lorencia was talking on and on, and Val was content with listening to her every word. Though when she needed to, she contributed to the so-called conversation, but those times were few and far between.

Lorencia briefly settled down when Edis entered, apologizing to Val for his 'sleep complexities' and then proceeded to introduce himself to the new girl. "It's quite all right. I was entertaining Lorencia when night fell, so you didn't keep me from resting."

"Hiya!" Lorencia said, quite lively as usual. "You're kinda cute. Right, Val?" she giggled before she stood up to return the bow. "Nice to meet you, Edis. My name's Lorencia! I'm a friend of Val's, and I guess the closest thing to a court wizard around. Though I'm not officially part of her court. Well anyway, I heard you were trying to get a Keyblade?"

[Edis Rehtona]

Thankfully Valerie had not actually gone to her own chambers that night at that time. She had stayed in the throne room, conversing with the new arrival to the castle, and seemingly close friend of the Queen's: Lorencia. Looking at her, she seemed a very upbeat and happy person to an unsuspecting watcher. She seemed almost childlike in that she didn't seemed to be the kind of girl that would have a conversation with you, rather at you. Regardless of the first impression, Edis had to admit that she was beautiful, with features similar to Valerie with minor differences. If someone didn't know them, they could easily be mistaken for sisters. It was only when Lorecia met Edis' gaze that Edis eyes flcikered for a second, as a piece of knowledge settled itself in his mind. Lorecia would no doubt just see his flicker as potentially a natural reaction Edis had, but it was not that at all. As he looked into her eyes, Edis saw that same emptiness that Valerie herself possessed. There was a sliver of life in them, revealing her to be a Nobody with a growing heart, but it also shared the pain hidden away within Valerie. Whether it was the same origins, at this time Edis did not know, but they had both been through something horrible. Edis wondered if his eye's held that same sadness, that same diminished look that theirs did, even if he was a Somebody.

There was a blur of sound as Lorencia spoke from her chair, before standing up to return the bow awarded her by Edis. Apparently Edis was cute, and Lorencia asked whether or not Valerie agreed, something Edis couldn't help but laugh at. They were clearly good friends, and now this new arrival was completely trying her best to embarrass the Queen, and it could be working, depending on Valerie's reaction. She introduced herself as a friend, but also a court wizard, despite not belonging to the actual court, before mentioning the fact that Edis wanted a Keyblade, causing the man to raise an eyebrow. So, Valerie had already told her friend all about Edis, that was quick, he'd only been here for a single day after all, but it didn't matter that much. Despite being clearly one of those people who spoke before thinking about their words, Lorencia hadn't given Edis any reason not to trust her, and Valerie seemed to trust her, which was definitely a boon on her side.

"That is good to hear, Your Majesty, I thank you. A pleasure to meet you Lorencia. It seems that you have been told much of me already, and yet I know so little of you. But yes, I am indeed trying to acquire the power of the Keyblade, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say that your weapon looks very much like a Keyblade. It's a good thing I do know better. Regardless, if there is any information you have on the Keyblade, or even if you know where I could find someone in possession of one, anything would be of great use to me."

[Val Noria]

"Nah, she only told me you wanted to get one. I didn't bother asking why. So long as she trusts you, I'll trust you." A mischievous look painted itself on Lorencia's features, one that could be seen as an equal to the cat in Wonderland. "Of course, that's another story if you plan to romance your way into her arms." She giggled and shot a look at Val, who simply stared back.

"Don't mind her. She likes teasing people," she said simply with her trademark gentle smile. Romance wasn't something that clicked with her, no matter how many people Lorencia had set up for inevitable rejections. While it might not have filled the mage with joy, seeing people get rejected outright and without fail, it must be a hobby she chose to fill the void of her heart like how Val retreated to reading books when her duties have been taken care of.

Lorencia looked back to Edis and nodded to his acknowledgement of her Keystaff. "Glad you could tell the difference. You wouldn't know how many people pushed me towards the Heartless because they thought I had a Keyblade. I mean, yeah, it does look like one, but it's quite obviously a staff. She spun it around with a single hand, showing her skills with it's handling. Just try doing this with anything bladed, heehee. Funny thing though, it does kinda act like a Keyblade sometimes."

"Lorencia."

"Hmm?"

"The ruby is glowing."

"Huh? Oh, whoopsie." The staff's gem started to glow, having been accidentally fed some magical energy from the Nobody. She stopped spinning the staff around and set it down. "Sometimes it does that when I get too excited. That would have left another scorch mark on the walls... Anyway, you wanted to know if we knew any Keyblade users, right? Well, we knew one personally, but we had to put him down. However, I seem to recall someone mention that a certain world had two of them. I can't exactly remember which one though. It's just a fragment of an old memory it seems. Sorry."

[Edis Rehtona]

It seemed that Valerie had not in fact told her friend everything about Edis, and that Lorencia only knew that Edis was currently searching for one, but it mattered little to the man. Just like with Lorencia, he had gained her third party trust, before obviously having to make a quick remark about how things would change if Edis tried anything romantic to woo the Queen, receiving a smile from the man. A cocky smile from Edis that revealed how little he cared about such things as love. It wasn't necessarily that he didn't love, or didn't want to love, but he simply didn't have the time. Valerie Noria, she had settled down in her Castle, governing over her world while merely keeping up to date with the others. Her priority would always be the Castle Of Dreams, to her subjects, and that wasn't something Edis could afford to do. He was going to acquire the Keyblade, but he couldn't be picky with who used him. He knew that he would be required to fight the Heartless in every world, and he had to stay neutral to all the worlds. Once every world was free of Heartless, maybe then Edis would relax and settle down himself and rule a world with someone, but that day was certainly not soon.

The Queen herself didn't actually contribute much to their conversation, choosing rather to sit on her glass chair and watch everything unfold, as Lorencia seemed glad that Edis had noticed her weapon not being a Keyblade. It was in fact, as she introduced it, a staff more than a blade, but the similarities made many worlds want her fighting in the front lines to save them from Heartless with her 'Keyblade', something that probably got old very quickly. But, if nothing else, it spoke of her battle prowess, how she was able to still fight against the Heartless on the front lines, which was impressive in itself. That being said, Edis had thought for a brief moment that it had been a Keyblade, but after talking with her for a few seconds he knew that it would not be. This woman, Lorencia, had been told that Edis sought the Keyblade. If she herself was in possession of one, she would have most certainly made that knowledge known to Edis within her first sentence. It wasn't a piece of knowledge she would be able to contain.

The ruby on her staff glowed for a brief moment, before Valerie made everyone aware of it and Lorencia shut it off, having probably charged it with energy without realising. But then they got back on topic, looking to answer Edis' question on Keyblade wielders. They had once known one, but he was now dead, killed by the two girls standing before Edis, potentially with help, potentially alone, but it was a start at least. Then she spoke of a world somewhere that was housing two such wielders, which very much got Edis excited. He was always calm and collected, but right now he couldn't hold it in himself, the sight of Lorencia had made him reveal his true nature.

"Wait wait wait, if you knew a Keyblade wielder, even if you killed him, could you show me the body, or better yet, his own Keyblade. Surely it'd still be with him. But then again, if there are people that are living with the Keyblade in other worlds, maybe I could find them and get one of them to train me. I wonder if they're brothers, maybe they are good friends, or maybe one is the light Keyblade wielder and one the dark one. Sounds like a really bad good vs evil story so probably not. You sure you can't remember what world it is? Or even where the one you knew is buried?"

[Val Noria]

Neither the body nor the Keyblade could be shown, though each had their own reasons. Lorencia wasn't aware what had happened to the Keyblade, which was for the best. It wasn't her choice to not let her friend in on the secret, but the stranger that helped them break the cycle told her that only she could know where it was. If it was for the best, then she couldn't argue with that. It was either for the best, or for some bigger picture that she was never shown. But she stood by her choices, and was going to see it through to the end, which was why she couldn't be nervous even if she could be when the topic popped up.

"Aren't you the eager beaver? But... Yeaaaahhh... About that..." Lorencia swung her staff behind her neck and let her arms rest on it like she were imitating a scare crow. "The Keyblade disappeared, and the guy's body is probably floating somewhere in the Realm of Darkness. After we lost our hearts again, some things just... faded away from our memories. But I could still remember that a Corridor of Darkness opened just as someone finished off the wielder, and then threw him in. Of course, the Heartless swarmed through, but we somehow won and closed the corridor before they swarmed us again. I think there were... six of us mages who closed it. And boy, was that a lot of work! The whole thing was so different from the Corridors we always used, but one smart cookie found a way to force it close. I... can't remember their name though..."

Lorencia drifted in thought, trying to remember something that was no longer part of her memory. It was apparent from her long silence and staring at the ceiling that she was a little too deep in thought. "Nearly all of us collapsed after the battle, and when we woke up, the Keyblade wasn't there. We were sure the wielder was dead, so he couldn't have called it back to him." Val had to pick up the conversation, as she didn't want Edis to feel like he was left hanging. And she didn't have to lie either, someone did take the Keyblade before Val or any of the other Nobodies awoke. She stood up from her chair and nudged the mage, who almost immediately snapped out of her trance. "Didn't you mention something about the two Keyblade wielders?"

"Oh yeah! Well, it's not recent knowledge, so it must be a fragment of a memory I had in my past life... buuuut the two Keybladers... They're from the same world, that's what I could remember. I can't really remember where they're from... but there's this place... a cafe, I think? Maybe that's where I heard it... I wonder if visiting the place again would jog my memory. Hey, how about it, Val? Want to go on an adventure?!"

Val shook her head. "I can't leave the castle so freely, unfortunately."

"Well I guess I'd be going solo again. At least I could spend some time here for the time being. The beds are definitely better than anywhere else! I mean, compared to here, all the other hotels, inns, and taverns' beds are shoddy! Don't you think so too, Edis?" she asked, switching her gaze to him.

[Edis Rehtona]

As excited as Edis was, he wasn't stupid, and he didn't need to hear the entire history of the Keyblade wielder that Valerie and Lorencia had known. But alas, the bubbling girl decided to tell what she knew. All Edis managed to pick up is that the Keyblade wielder was killed, they all became nobodies and lost their memories, there was a big fight that they won by closing a corridor of Darkness that was allowing Heartless to swarm out. It apparently took six mages to finally close this portal and stop the flow of Heartless, and it was all thanks to one mage's brilliance, as it had been their idea. But of course, the name of that person eluded Lorencia, and she couldn't not give Edis all the information he desired. She was trying at least, as Edis watched her face go blank as she was lost in thought, trying to grasp at a memory that was no longer her own. Edis had heard of this phenomena, and witnesed it first hand too. When a Somebody split and became a heartless and a Nobody, the Nobody regained very few of the memories they had once held. A lot of it is stored in the heart, and so most of it goes to the Heartless. Klaixem, the Nobody of Mikael, had mentioned a similar effect on himself, when he wasn't berating or trying to beat Edis that was. It seemed that very few Nobodies were capable of remembering things from their lives, but right now the best chance Edis had were a couple of already cold trails he was going to have to pick up.

The conversation was then picked up itself by Valerie, who was acutely aware of her friend zoning out and the conversation slowly diminshing, but it was saved by the Queen, who spoke of the battle, her tone one of remembrance and possibly also loss. The Keyblade wielder was dead and gone when they all awoke after the fight, and his weapon had been taken from him, but by who neither of them had any idea. At least hearing this would stop Edis from trying to find a dead man's Keyblade, he could now focus his efforts solely on his second lead which, as if on cue, Valerie mentioned to Lorencia for the girl to divulge more of what she knew.

It was another memory from a past she no longer had any connection too, which meant there was very little she could actually tell Edis regarding the two Keyblade wielders. What Lorencia did know was that they were both from the same world, whichever world it actually was, but then there was a mention of a cafe. Lorencia seemed to think going to this cafe where she first heard of the two men and their world would help start her memory, and recover some of her lost knowledge. She offered for Valerie to accompany her in this, but naturally the Queen had to refuse. Just as Edis had predicted, she was bound to this place, and her subjects had to come before anything else. Edis, on the other hand, lived for adventure, and his eyes lit up for a second at the mention of one. Lorencia seemed to be under the impression that she would be travelling solo, but that was not going to be the case. Before she departed however, she wished to spend more time with her friend, and maybe sleep in the cosy beds of the castle, as life on the road had not been the kindest to her sleeping pattern. It was then her gaze fell on Edis, wanting to know his own opinion, to which he spoke.

"I wouldn't be able to comment. This is the first place I have lived that has not belonged to me. The other two places were my parent's house: the house I grew up in, and my own place in Port Royal: the place I trained in. I'll admit, the beds did indeed seem comfy when I first got into my own, but the beds aren't important right now, Lorencia, may I join you on your quest to find this cafe and regain any memories you may have on these Keyblade wielders. I need to find them, and it seems to do that I'm going to need your assistance. I can only offer my services in aiding you in the fight against the Heartless should any appear in our travels. I am a competent enough fighter and can take down any heartless we encounter. This I promise you."

[Val Noria]

That was the first piece of personal information they got out of him. He had lived with his parents, which wasn't surprising since that's where people usually live in before they're ready to go out into the world. But was it in Port Royal where Edis owned his own home, or a completely different world from it? Whatever it may be, Val saw no reason to ask for clarification at that moment. While Edis did confirm that the beds were indeed comfortable, he was quick to set it to the side to ask Lorencia if she could allow him to join her in her search for the elusive cafe.

Lorencia tilted her head playfully at him, raising an eyebrow. He really wanted to meet those people, didn't he? It almost seemed like he was close to begging. Well she always did feel a little lonely going around by herself, and it be a great convenience for her if she wasn't the only one thrown into the wildfire of the Heartless swarm, that is if he was as capable of taking care of himself as he said he was. And as a bonus, she could introduce him to the girls they met along the way. Since he was a Somebody, she was bound to get some sort of reaction from him.

"Okay!" she said in a child-like tone. "Just be prepared to earn your keep by my side. Don't worry, there's plenty of opportunities for you to prove your skills as a warrior because... this Keystaff may give us more trouble than it's worth."

From what tales Val had heard from Lorencia, she could only agree. But the staff may have taken its traits from its owner, as Lorencia was more than capable of giving herself trouble without the staff's help. "It seems the two of you will have a long journey ahead. Please rest for tonight. None of us know what might happen, and you both need to keep your strength up."

"Yeah, alright. I guess I'll be off to bed then. How about you, Edis? Gonna stay up a little longer?"

[Edis Rehtona]

Valerie said nothing, but Lorencia gave Edis a curious look, tilting her head as if to think she'd never considered having him join her on this venture. She was weighing up the possibility in her head, as well as probably trying to work out whether or not Edis would be worth having, if he could fight against the swarms of Heartless they would face on their journey. Of course, neither Lorencia or Valerie had ever seen Edis in combat, so they had nothing to go on but his word. Unfortunately, he couldn't even show them many of his abilities as he was still working on many of them. He had shown Valerie his unique skill of becoming someone else and utilising their elements and powers, but right now that ability was still in cooldown, he couldn't access it again for another few minutes, but there was one thing he could do. The other option he had had when he had changed into Valerie. he had attacked the chair and caused himself to bleed, before changing and healing the wound, but there were more things he could do, so he thought it'd be best to show Lorencia what he could offer her.

She told him he better be prepared to fight, as the Keystaff she held would prove more trouble than its worth, which wasn't an issue. Edis hated Heartless almost as much as he loved adventure, and he would be more than happy to kill a few while he searched for answers. Besides, if he got a Keyblade out of it, he'd be able to completely destroy the Heartless, leaving Lorencia with less to worry about. But first he had to showcase what he had to offer. He walked over to Lorencia's now vacant chair, smiled at them both and punches it with enough force to cause a sizable dent in, puncturing his own skin for the second time that day and lodging yet more glass into his right fist, causing him to start bleeding pretty badly. There was now quite a lot of blood on the floor, both from earlier and from this attack, which left enough for Edis to play with. Snapping his fingers, he watched as the blood started to move, flowing up from the ground to form an orb in Edis' outstretched open palm, an orb that he could fashion into anything he wished, but for now he was content to simple hold the orb to let them ask him to shape it, he could do anything he wished with it, it was his own creation now.

Valerie asked if they both wanted to rest for the night and depart in the morning, to gain their strength back and have a good night's rest, which sounded like a great idea, and one they could all get behind, as Lorencia asked if Edis was heading back to his room or if he was going to stay up for longer before sleeping. To this, Edis had already decidied on his course of action.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna stay here for a while longer, maybe head to the Archive room to see if I can learn anything that may aid us for tomorrow's journey. I'll get the sleep I need don't worry, I'll be ready when the time comes."

That was something of a lie. Edis did intend on going back to to the Archive room to learn anything he could, but he was not overly keen on going back to sleep, unless it was in the Archives themselves, where nobody entered and was far enough out of the way that no one would be able to hear his night terrors. Lorencia and Valerie both needed their sleep, and Edis would not let his screams stop them from receiving it. He could go a couple of nights without sleeping, it wouldn't do him too much damage. After all, he had his orb to keep him occupied, and he had already gone quite a while without sleep. An extra day wouldn't kill him.

[Val Noria]

Both nobodies remained unflinching as Edis walked towards the chair Lorencia vacated from prior, and proceeded to punch it, letting himself bleed. The glass chair was easily repaired, however the blood had pooled. Val remembered that time when Edis turned into a duplicate of herself. His wounds healed during the transformation, and so, she didn't offer him her handkerchief, thinking that he would do that again.

"That has got to hurt," Lorencia deadpanned resuming that scarecrow posture with her staff behind her neck and hands resting on the shaft.

Valerie was about to use the glass to enclose the blood into one spot, then roll it into a ball so it could be disposed of, but Edis seemed to have a trick under his sleeve. The blood came alive, or it looked like it, before turning into a sphere hovering above his hand. This was not something the glass queen could do, so it must be his own powers. It looked interesting. So he could use his own blood as a weapon? While useful in most situations, it's also undeniably fatal unless he could live without blood running through his veins. That was highly unlikely though.

That was Val's observation. Lorencia on the other hand immediately wanted to put that ability to the test. "Can you make it sharp? How far can you throw it? How far CAN it go from you? Could you accidentally drain your own blood f you had a really bad nightmare and your wounds opened up?" She was too good of an actress. Without looking for the spark in her eyes, one couldn't tell whether she was just acting or genuinely excited. She had to be given props for her dedication to the role she chose however. Even without having them per se, she could convey any emotion she sets her mind to as if it was heartfelt. Not even Val ever saw her break character..

[Edis Rehtona]

Lorencia seemed to think that punching the chair caused Edis pain, which wasn't untrue, but he had naturally adpated to pain and was more used to it now than others. After all, it was pretty pathetic if he controlled blood and yet was knocked out with one punch. However, he was still human, and punching glass and having it lodged in your hand was an annoyance certainly, but it was not enough to ruin his combat ability. That was the true power of his skills. He could manipulate the blood around him. In other words, the more he was damaged, the stronger he could retaliate, and the more he damaged his opponent, the more he was able to grow in strength. No matter how the battle was going, in favour or against him, Edis had the power to become stronger, making defeating him a nuisance and not easily accomplished.

It seemed Lorencia was very impressed with Edis' use of the blood, asking if he could make it sharp, along with a blur of many other questions. For now, and to show off a bit, Edis formed the orb into a hand, using said hand to take out the glass lodged in his hand, before then reforming the blood into a blood red greatsword, which he held in one hand over his shoulder by the handle. But Edis wasn't basking in the glory he was receiving from Lorencia. This awe, this emotion that she was giving to Edis was beyond her. She was a Nobody, Edis wasn't stupid enough to forget facts like that, and in her eyes Edis read a completely different story to her mouth, but he said nothing on the matter. She was free to make her own choices, and if she wished to feign excitement, she would not be stopped. As for her question.

"It's a good thing I'm not prone to really bad nightmares then, but this is one of my powers. The weaker you think I become, the stronger I truly am, just a shame Heartless don't bleed. Either way, I look forward to our adventures together, Lorencia, and hope you get a good sleep beforehand to be ready."

[Val Noria]

The orb turned into a hand which removed the shards of glass from Edis' hands, then turned into a rather large weapon. Definitely morbid, yet useful. Though the practicality of such an ability could be put up for debate. "That's a nifty trick!" Lorencia said enthusiastically. "Blood manipulation... hmm... that's under the Lunar Discipline if I remember correctly. That's a powerful elemental alignment. Dangerous too. Anyway, I'm sure I don't need to tell you not to use too much of your blood. Heh, when you've taken care of the Heartless, you could shift your profession towards something that could help people with their high blood pressure."

Lorencia nodded in agreement to Edis' musings on Heartless and how it was a shame they didn't bleed. It could have given him a morbid advantage during the fights. Edis wished her a good night, and had told her that he was looking forward to their adventures together. "Mhm. Just hope you find what you're looking for before long. Well anyway, I still owe some of my familiars some TLC, so I'll have to retire for now. Rest well Edis. Val."

With a nod of dismissal from Val, Lorencia tapped the end of her staff on the floor, and a closed gate emerged from the ground behind her. It looked to be made of stone, and there was a keyhole in the center. She tapped the floor again, and the doors opened inward, and a cold air blew out, as well as some unidentifiable sounds of creatures from within. The area behind the gate was gray and bare, with only few features in the landscape. However, there were multitude of creatures, all of different colors and shapes, roaming within. All their attention shot to the opening, and some had snarled. "Well, take care, you two!" she said before walking in. Shortly after that, the gate closed and vanished.

"So she finally tamed them enough to not rush through the gate once it opened," Val commented before turning towards Edis. "I'll not hold you any longer than necessary. Have a good rest. You may need it." If Edis didn't have anything to ask or say to her, Val would return to the throne to grab her books, then would head to the archives herself to return them.

[Edis Rehtona]

Lorencia seemed more insightful than Edis had initially thought, as she was able to conclude that Blood Manipulation was a sub class of the element of Moon, a powerful element that was dangerous in the right hands. Edis knew all this, it was his power, he knew how to use it, as well as why he shouldn't use all of his blood at once, which was obvious. And then the girl suggested he use his abilities for the sick and needy once all the business with the Heartless had concluded, to which Edis smiled. It was certainly a useful ability both in and out of combat, but that was not why he smiled. Lorencia, Edis may have misjudged her. It was still clear that she was not acting true to herself and feigning most of who she was pretending to be, but she seemed like she could handle herself in a fight, and Edis felt like he could trust her.

Wishing Edis the best of luck for their travels, Lorencia then decided to depart, and summoned what must have been similar in purpose to a corridor, but what looked like a door, with very strange looking creatures, some friendly looking, others not so. Through the door Lorencia went, and before a moment had passed the door had dispersed. Valerie mused a little about Lorencia's taming of the creatures, before focussing her attention once more on her guest, bidding him a good night. Edis had nothing left to do himself, and so he smiled, bowed his head in respect, and departed towards the Archives Room. He hadn't been lying to the two when he had said he was going to go back to this room, it was secluded enough that no one would be kept up by his screams. As Edis journeyed back to the room he began to collected a multitude of books on Heartless species and types, gathering up as much information on the foes he would come across in his travels, as well as teaching himself a few new tricks regarding his ability to summon the Heartless. Piles of books laid around the man, as he read throughout the night, only taking short naps so as not to disturb anyone's slumber.

[Lorencia]

While Val retreated to her chambers, sealed so no one could get in without forcing their way in, Lorencia had tended to her familiars. Her upbeat attitude dimmed a little. She took great care of her familiars, and they took care of her in turn. But there was more to it than a simple back and forth relation to the mage and her pets. The familiars were from her Somebody, and although she wasn't the woman she was, they all came to accept her. No, they all came to support her. It was touching in a way. She wasn't sure if they saw what happened to her, or they just felt the fragment of her heart inside her, but they seemed to be trying to pull her up. Whoever she used to be, she must have taken such good care of them if they cared for her this much. It was touching in a way.

"I'll see you guys later," she said to them, picking herself up. "Got a trip planned out, so I need some rest! Take care of yourselves now." She opened the gate again, but instead of leading back to the throne room where she summoned it, the gate opened into an empty guest room. It wasn't on the same wing as Edis' but everything was identical. She threw herself on the bed and stared at the ceiling until her body registered that she was trying to sleep and shut down. However she wouldn't be sleeping for long.

She woke up as the sun's rays were starting to shine from the horizon. With a little stretch and a yawn, she picked up her staff and left towards the dining room where two sets of meals were already set, one for her and one for Edis. They were set on opposite sides, and had the complete set of utensils. They were covered, so she didn't know what they had prepared for them. If it were any other day, she would have already eaten her meal, but since she was leaving with another person, she decided to wait. One of the maids or butlers would have directed Edis towards the dining room as well, informing him of the meal that was prepared for the two of them.

There was no risk of the food losing its warmth as magical flames would have kept them heated. While waiting for Edis to awaken, Lorencia sat back and closed her eyes, letting herself drift into a state of meditation.

[Edis Rehtona]

"1...2....3....4......5......6......." All the way up to 100 the man went, then back to 1 again, panting as it got more and more difficult to do. 100 push ups weren't that difficult, but 200, 300, 400? It took its toll on anyone, but it made him stronger, kept him awake, and made him prepared for what was to come. Edis had given up on trying to get any form of sleep a long time ago, and had read all the books he could on the heartless and how he could destroy them, so he had taken to excercising, doing as many push ups as he could before the sun rose from the horizon. He had left the Archive room after 500 of them, going for a walk to give himself a break and leave the warm and stuffy room that the Archives had become. His main plan had been to revisit his room and continue his excercising there, but instead he found himself exploring the castle, visiting places he probably would not have been allowed to visit without permission. He didn't enter any rooms, rather he simply walked as far as he could to see all that he could before returning to his room to rest.

He sat up until the sun rose, not once wanting to fall asleep, before going for a shower and a wash, freshing himself up to make it look like he had had a long restful sleep, there were no bags under his eyes or anything of the like, as he was escorted by the maid who had delivered his food to him the previous night to the dining room, where his breakfast was waiting for him, so too was Lorencia, who had taken her seat at the other end of the table from Edis, as they both sat, Edis sending her a smile of good will and hoping she had a restful sleep as he sat down. As if on cue, two butlers walked over to the two covered meals in front of the guests, placed their hands on the dishes, and revealed the meals to get the two started for their long journey.

[Lorencia]

She was pulled out of her meditation from the sound of foot prints. Slowly turning her head as her mind returned to the real world, she saw the man who she was going to be traveling with, and her bright smile returned. "You seem well rested, though your eyes say differently." She'd say the last part on a lower volume. It shouldn't be surprising for anyone who knew Lorencia for a long time that she was much sharper than she let on. Without emotions to muddy the waters, she could see things some people wouldn't immediately catch on. Though that same thing may also make her sound disrespectful when the wrong words were chosen, but that was universal to Nobodies. Most of the time at least.

As the butlers uncovered the food for them, the flames disappeared, having fulfilled their purpose. Picking up her utensils, she dug into the food gracefully. They had the same thing, though she couldn't identify the name of the dish, though it had fish and meat cradled in lettuce leaves, covered in garnished, creamy sauce that looked as fancy as one would expect from the chefs of a royal kitchen. "Where would you want to go to first?" Lorencia asked before taking her first bite.

"I just remember a cafe, not really sure where it was. But that's okay, right? The journey's half the fun after all!" And part of that fun would be figuring out how many cafes there are in each world. But right now there was no need to rush. They had to keep their physical strength up in preparation for their journey, whether it would be long or short.

[Edis Rehtona]

There was a pause as Edis entered, and Lorencia noted his presence. The girl spoke, commenting on how well rested Edis looked, but then her voice got quieter and she continue with words Edis normally wouldn't have heard. Unfortunately, in this big empty dining room, noise carried, and her words reached Edis' ears without an issue, causing the man to simply smile to himself. It was worth a shot I guess. Lorencia was a lot more perceptive than she made out to be, which meant very little was going to get past her, but it mattered little to Edis, if anything it made him more exciting to discover new worlds with her, and gain her thoughts on various things, as well as her opinions on the people and places they would meet and visit.

As they tucked into their meal, which was a strange meal consisting of meat, fish and various finery to make ti look, and taste, as fancy as the place deserved. It was very nice, as Edis ate it without pausing, only taking a drink of water at the end to keep it all down, as Lorencia asked him where their first destination should be, as they were looking for one singular cafe that could be literally anywhere in any world, as Lorencia herself had no idea where to start, but she was seemingly excited for the journey ahead, possibly more so than the actual destination, and Edis couldn't fault her for that, despite feeling very differently. He wanted to reach his destination as soon as possible. And with that, he picked a random world he had never been to and decided it would be their first stop, and he wiped his mouth of food with his napkin, and spoke.

"Atlantica?"

[Lorencia]

It was a shame she couldn't truly appreciate how good the food tasted. The chefs keep outdoing themselves like this for every Nobody, but never got any compliments in return, not that they needed or could even appreciate one. She knew the locations of every world, so whichever one Edis picked, she could take them there in the blink of an eye through her gates. "Atlantica? Hmm. Alright." The underwater world didn't seem like a good choice, since she doubted there were any cafes they would have gone to while she and Val were still traveling. In fact she couldn't recall ever going underwater, but that might just be because she lost her heart just after growing one.

But wasn't there a castle and a town above the surface as well? It was out of the bounds of Atlantica's borders, sure, but it was there. What was the name of that kingdom? Well, she guessed it didn't matter. They could ask people when they get there. Though where should they start out though? She looked to Edis and asked, "Do you want to start on the surface, or go directly underwater? The latter might be a problem if we don't have anything to let use breathe underwater. You wouldn't have the ability to give us some gills, would you?"

That kind of thing was definitely something the Lunar discipline could do. With enough work and knowledge that is, and Edis looked to be a smart guy. But did he have enough mastery over the element to pull off the task?

[Edis Rehtona]

Honestly, there wasn't much logic to Edis' decision to journey to Atlantica, he had just picked a random world that seemed like it could have a café inside its borders somewhere. After all, Atlantica had two kingdoms: the one above the water and the one below. Even if Lorencia had never ventured beneath the surface of the water, she may have visited the actual kingdom above ground and visited a cafe there. It was worth a shot after all, and still a better choice than the Pride Lands. Lorencia seemed to have no qualms with the choice, or if she did she didn't show them, and their first destination was decided, or at least the world was. Lorencia wasn't sure if Edis wished to see the kingdom above or below, and honestly, neither did Edis himself, but he thought for a moment before speaking.

"I say we start on the surface kingdom, visit any and all cafes we find there before going under the water. Who knows, we might not need to go under, the underwater kingdom of Atlantica might not house any cafes that could aid us, we may only require the surface kingdom. And if we don't, if we do in fact need to go the water, I can't promise you gills, but I won't let you drown if that's what you're asking, don't worry. Moon is all about manipulation of the body, and with it I can shapeshift my form, don't see why I wouldn't be able to change you as well, and if not there will surely be a way in the kingdom. The two areas of the world won't stay separate, they will have way to communicate or travel between each other if the desire I'm sure. "

Having finished his meal, Edis stood up, put on his suit jacket, lit a cigarette, smiled and spoke.

"Well now, shall we?"

[Lorencia]

As Edis spoke on which kingdom they would tackle first, Lorencia had steadily consumed her meal until it all ended inside her stomach. When it came to going underwater however, it was nice to hear that he wouldn't let her drown, however when he mentioned about his shape-shifting abilities, and how he couldn't see why he couldn't change her form as well, that's when her opinion dropped slightly, but that was of no consequence. Hinging on a 'Maybe' went against all her teachings. Luckily, all that was erased as well.

"All right, that sounds good. If I were to open the gate straight to the underwater kingdom, I'm pretty sure this castle would get flooded." She stood up and took her staff, tapping the bottom end on the floor to summon another gate. It was fairly similar to the one that she opened when she went to feed and bond with her familiars, however, there was only a light gray of nothingness beyond the gate. "Marcel!" she called out to the maid who was standing by near the kitchen door. "Tell the chefs the food was awesome as always! And tell Valerie when she wakes up that we already headed out to Atlantica," with a bow, the maid went into the kitchen.

"After you, Edis. Don't worry, my darlings are still sleeping at this hour," she reassured him. She could have opened a gate straight for the other world, but that was always risky for a number of reasons. Once Edis entered, she'd follow and close the gate before opening it again to reveal the sandy beach which was overlooked by the castle.

[Edis Rehtona]

With their destination set, Lorencia thanked the maid, and asked her to in turn thank the chefs for the amazing food, and to pass on a message to the Queen that they had left, but also to let her know where it was they ended up going, in case she required either of them for anything. Lorencia then opened a gate, similar to the one she had escaped into last time she had left, but this time Edis could not see anything but a kind of grey dull substance, which the man deduced must have been the element of Nothingness he had heard so much about. The 'heart element' used by the Nobodies, who could neither wield Light or Darkness. As Edis stepped in, he felt himself drifting in the worlds between for a brief second before Lorencia entered, closed one gate and opened another. Stepping through, Edis and Lorencia landed on the sandy beaches of Atlantica, their quest now beginning.

-Exit-

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