nysalogs | Catch-All

[The still rampaging dragons may or may not be half the reason why their shack is still more or less in shambles, Riku thinks as he makes his way into the Undergrowth. No matter what effort they makes in the evening into repairing it before leaving in the morning to get some silver into their household… by the next evening it usually looks worse than before – usually because a dragon has swept its tail into a wall… (or so Riku tells himself. It might have just been an unlucky gust of wind too… their home is not the most stable of buildings after all).

All the more reason to finally do something about this, or at least help out. And earn some money while they are at it. Since it's not related to temple work, he can even drag Sora along… though Sora doesn't really need much dragging when he proposes the idea.

He turns around for a second to make sure that Sora hasn't gotten stuck in any of the vines… or otherwise tangled with the wildlife of this place. Still, he can't help but poke a little fun at his best friend.]

Better keep up, slow poke! I don't want to leave you behind on accident.

[The second part is only half a joke. Riku knows what kind of creatures live on this World; running into one of the bigger ones alone isn't really how he's picturing spending his day.]

[Sora's not nearly as helpless as Riku might think he is! ~~He does, after all, have very large feet and it's easy to trip over them, let's be honest.~~ But trudging through the Undergrowth, watching for exposed roots and sturdy vines growing across the path is a full time job as they get deeper and darker in.

Still, he pulls off an exaggerated, offended scowl at Riku's suggestion that he's the slowpoke and resists the urge to poke out his tongue.]

Hey! Who are you calling slow poke, huh?

[And with that, he picks up the pace and starts running towards him, laughing a little as he overtakes.]

Who's leaving who behind now?!

[Riku smiles to himself as he follows after Sora, chuckling lightly. Without Kairi to egg them on, he's more than content to follow Sora with his pace unchanged though when the other passes him. Not everything is a race after all.]

Just keep your eyes up front, you dork.

[Even though he's sworn to himself to try and follow his heart more than his head, he is unable to throw all caution in the wind the way Sora seems to.]

And don't let your guard down either. The beasts in these woods can be tricky to fight.

[Sora laughs and glances back over his shoulder at his best friend, shooting him a toothy grin.]

C'mon Riku, what do you take me for? I can handle a few beasts in the woah-

[He staggers a little as one of his aforementioned overly large feet stubs against a divot in the path. He wobbles as he tries to regain his balance, reaching out to stabilise himself on a handy vine.

He does at least have the good grace to look sheepish as Riku catches up to him.]

... I meant to do that.

Suuure.

[Riku drawls out the word as he passes by and paired with the half-amused, half-long-suffering glance that Sora gets, it should be obvious just how much Riku believes that.

As for that question… Riku knows it's rhetorical, but he's going to answer anyway.]

And, I take you for too carefree for your own good… sometimes. But I guess, that's why I'm here with you.

[Because honestly… Sora always works better when he has someone around to watch his back, be it Riku or be it Donald and Goofy.]

[Sora pouts just a little at that. He wants to refute it, but there isn't much point. Riku's right, he does work better with someone else around, especially when that someone's a person he trusts as much s his best friend.

His friends are his power, after all.

And they both remember what happened the last time Sora didn't take something seriously enough...]

I thought we were out here catching dragons.

[Sora claps his hand on Riku's shoulder as he draws level to him and keeps pace. Maybe it's better not to go running headlong into the brush without any sense of self preservation.]

Y'think we're gonna have any luck tracking them down?

[Indeed they do… and it‘s probably best they don‘t linger on that thought for now. They do have a mission after all, and Riku is more than ready to correct Sora on the objective of it.]

Well, first of all, we are out here to find the Dragonflower.

[Not to find Dragons, not yet anyway. That will come later maybe.]

Let‘s focus on that for now. We‘ll deal with the dragons once we are actually equipped for that.

[Or at least have the proper lure to draw the dragons to them.]

Right, right.

[Sora rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. Of course. Dragonflower first and then tracking down the actual dragons when they've boiled down the flowers into perfume, provided they can actually find the flowers first and get past the strange and dangerous creatures that might be guarding them.]

I mean, as long as the dragons aren't anything like the big guy, it shouldn't be that tough to handle them? Maybe we could use Stopga on them...

[He's an optimistic one, that Sora.]

[Riku honestly doubts that Stopga will do much more than buy them a few seconds time… but for now he can let Sora stay the optimistic one, on that. And well who knows… the last time he'd faced dragons here he hadn't known Stop or any other status magic, so maybe Sora is onto something here after all.

Anyway.]

Worry about the things hiding in here for now.

[The dragons are going to enter the picture soon enough... but first things first.

The jungle around them is slowly growing darker at least, indicating that they are getting somewhere… and for a moment, Riku stops when he spots a patch of faintly glowing glass-like flowers that grow at the side of a tree. Lumenweed… now there's a sign that they are getting into the deeper regions of the Undergrowth.]

Keep your eyes open. I think we are getting closer.

[Which means that the dangerous creatures are also close. Riku's right hand clenches a little at the thought – he isn't calling for Way to the Dawn, but he can feel the itch under his skin, the longing for the warm weight of his weapon, even if there isn't any need for it yet.]

Mm, right.

[If Riku's looking more serious then Sora's going to take this seriously too. The last thing either of them want is to be ambushed by something creepy from deep within the Undergrowth.

He takes a moment to pause and look around them, stopping to pay closer attention as the leaves overhead rustle in the breeze. Nope, no ambush coming from there at least.]

What does the Dragonflower look like again?

[There are so many weird and wonderful flowers and plants growing in here, Sora doesn't want to pick something accidentally and get sprayed in the face with acid or poison spores or anything like that.]

[Riku ducks under a vine, careful not to touch it or the bark of the tree it's hanging from – even with his special sense it's sometimes hard to tell what trees are harmless and which are harmful in this area of the undergrowth. His gaze flickers to the ground for a second when he notices a couple if Spiky Beetles that have burrowed halfway into the ground and goes out of his way not to step on them.

The boots he's wearing aren't that worn that the couldn't take it, but he'd rather not risk them piercing the soles either. As for the Dragonflower…]

Thali said to look for a flower that blooms in the bright red of a dragon's flames. Knowing this place it might look like it's on fire too.

[Whether it truly is… well Riku doesn't know that either. He might have gotten them this job, but that doesn't mean he knows all the facts either. They'll probably recognize it when they see it, Riku figures.]

[Finding Rasyc's followers? Well, Riku might not be part of the Ryders but he sure is interested in getting that particular brand of people off the streets, especially since he can't be sure which of them still have connection to the Altar. (He hasn't felt safe there in months, to be honest, not since-)

In any case, Master Riku is on the trail now, and more than ready to take down those remnants of Rasyc's network; but that doesn't mean he's about to be stupid about it. So really, why not start out in one of the bars in the seedier part of town… in the local garb and with a hood concealing the silver strands of his hair, it's not like someone is going to recognize him anyway… though he does get a bit of a strange look from the barkeeper when he orders just water.

Then he leans casually against the bar and waits… listening in on the conversations around. Sooner or later the people here are going to forget all about his presence if he keeps to himself… and that will be his chance to find out something of note. He hopes.]

[It's not like someone's going to recognize Master Riku in some tavern tucked away in a shady corner of the Old City. Well, you know, unless someone else stopping by that tavern happens to be familiar with Riku's unique heart signature and knows about the young man's penchant for skulking about in dark, hooded outfits.

Still, Terra looks twice when his eyes and heart catch on the familiar, cloaked figure standing by the bar.

Huh.

Terra takes his leave of the other two Knightryders he came in with and heads over to the bar. He's not trying to sneak up on his successful successor, but there's no helping that all the conversation and commotion in the small building masks his footsteps.

Without so much as offering a quick greeting, he steps up alongside Riku and settles on a stool there.

Terra's wearing the hood of his newest Wyver-style outfit up, too, though a thin strip of the material is cut away on top, making room for the part of his Knightryder's headpiece that reaches up above his head a bit in the same general shape and style of his helmet's 'horns'. The rest of the headpiece gleams in sharp lines down one side of his face and vanishes into the shadows cast by his hood and bangs.]

I know you're not here for the food or the company, so... business?

[He keeps his voice down and doesn't look Riku's way, instead focusing on the bartender to order his own glass of water (and that guy can make all the skeptical faces and shake his head all he wants, as far as Terra's concerned).]

[Sneaking up on Riku? Now, that has never been an easy task even before he left the Islands, and he's only grown more perceptive as a result of his journeys… but well, with his focus honed on the conversations around him, he doesn't pick up on Terra until about a second before the other speaks up and covers his tension neatly by reaching for his mug with water.

A sharp grin tugs at his lips as he replies quietly, eyes kept up front.]

Hey, I could be here for the charming music.

[He sends a small nod at the bard, who is doing a just barely good enough job on the sitar to provide a not entirely cringe worthy background sound. He's clearly no Demyx.

A second later Riku grows serious again though, because Terra is right of course. He is here on business.]

I caught wind that there are still some of Rasyc's people on the loose. I figured, if there's any place I'm likely to find out more on how to find them, it'd be here.

[Terra hides a little smirk by taking a long drink from the tankard of water the bartender brings him. Yeah, no comment about the noise... ah, the music... the bard over there is making with that instrument. For all Terra knows, the guy's songs might be popular around these parts. A 'to each their own' situation. Or maybe he's just new to music composing? Everyone has to start somewhere, learning different skills.

Setting the tankard back down and wiping a couple beads of water off the bar top with his thumb, he considers Riku's answer about trying to track down the rest of Rasyc's followers. News of the Ryder initiative sure seems to be getting around. Good.]

Smart, thinking to look in a place like this.

[No wonder Riku was named a Master. A clever mind to go with all that heart and strength. Terra allows himself a brief smile, but then he joins Riku in adopting a more stern expression. It's work that's brought him here, too, after all.]

Any leads yet?

[Everyone has to start somewhere, sure, but maybe somewhere shouldn't be the middle of the public? At least that's what Riku thinks, but well… he isn't about to start a fuss over it. Gotta keep low profile and all!

But anyway, business. He shrugs at that first comment – isn't looking in places like this just common sense really? – then turns his head slightly to glance at a table situated about right behind Terra's back.]

Well, the group just behind you has been debating hiring some guy called Reyn to clean up a mess they made.

[Whether that's one of Rasyc's people, Riku can't say yet, but he's hopeful.]

I was going to wait until they leave and then follow, but they've started to act shifty just before you got here... so that's probably out.

[Something's got them spooked, probably. Maybe the arrival of a certain group of Ryders? Not that Riku is blaming anyone here, but well… he's pretty sure that his original plan isn't going to lead anywhere.]

I just don't want to start anything here, if I have the choice.

[Too much attention, and too many probably uninvolved people.]

Catch-All

For Sora

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For Terra

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