thevoidsdarkhorse | Heart Game (Continued)

[LOOK HE WAS TRYING]

[. . . he ssssssssstops tho. puts the rest of the clothing back in their boxes, and closes them up]

What! No laundry?

[Have to be self reliant, have to be strong, have to be strong, have to be strong-]

[. . .]

[he can't believe he's saying this, because that mantra is also familiar to him, but--]

You can rely on other people, Roxy. They can help you be strong, too.

[Mantra continues.]

[A MOMENT IN WHICH HE MISSES HIS HEART POWERS. raising his voice a bit. . .]

Roxy! Listen to me! I know it's hard, but you don't have to do everything by yourself!

[Mantra goes and goes and goes.]

[It's what the universe decided, after all.]

[You have to do it yourself.]

[hrrrf. . .]

[he holds out one hand and tilts his head back thoughtfully, an idea churning around in his mind. he focuses, really focuses, on the Ratatoskr uniforms-- team is the ultimate sign that you don't have to do something alone, right?-- and tries his best to steal the nothingness away from it and produce one into thin air]

[. . . it's harder than the flowers and cards were, though. uniforms are bigger and unfamiliar]

[but he tries! he puts his all into trying]

[There is]

[Meaning there. Great meaning. Teams and family and friends. Colors and what they mean, what they represent, because a color doesn't have to be your favorite to still Be Yours. All the things tied into very existence itself, at least for her.]

[A uniform appears.]

[And faintly...there is crying.]

[he breathes out in relief when he manages to yank the uniform out of thin air. drapes it reverently over some of the boxes-- see, look. . . you're not alone, you don't have to do it alone-- and then he tunes his ears into the crying]

Roxy?

[following that noise now!]

[Upstairs, towards pumpkin observatory.]

[heading back to the observatory!]

Roxy. . .?

[There is still that pile of pumpkins.]

[And crying on the other side of them.]

[ccccarefully stepping over the pumpkins to peek at the other side of the pile]

[Don't give too much, they don't have self control, you're the only one who can watch the moderation. There's only so much you can get at once, but always have a reserve for the bad times. Careful, careful, careful, you're the only one who can do this, you're all alone in this effort.]

[And on the other side of the pumpkins is Roxy.]

[Who looks to be only about five years old, crying into her knees.]

[o-oh]

[bitty Roxy]

[he pulls up a small smile, and takes a step towards her. hesitant, not wanting to scare her off]

Hey there. . .

[Her head snaps up at the voice and]

[Just looks so startled.]

[he holds up both hands and stops his approach]

Hey. . . sorry about that.

[sheepish, apologetic, earnest]

I heard you crying. I wanted to make sure you were okay.

[She frowns a bit, looking him over. She's...trying to keep up, but his voice is different. She's not used to it.]

[What's strange is Kaito might get that, from how she's twitching, moving her head. That whole Carapacian translate thing.]

[. . . aaaah yes. verbal communication has got to be difficult for someone not used to it]

[he crouches down on her level, hold a hand out slowly, snaps his fingers and tugs a yellow rose out of thin air for her. he tilts it towards her, smile warm and reassuring]

[it's okay. I'm a friend. I just want to help]

[Yes. She's not used to need to instantly respond from shows, and her mothers tapes are, well, exposure there. It's a learning process.]

[She jumps and...stares at the flower.]

[Is...is that a real flower?]

[he nods, tilting the flower towards her for her to take. go on. . . take it. it's for you]

[it's real, though probably cloaked in void, but you know]

[Honestly that makes it EVEN BETTER, she doesn't get her void thing yet.]

[Taking the flower. She smells it, because they do that in the movies right, and it's...it smell good, and feels soft, and alive, and oh, it's AMAZING.]

[so she likes flowers, huh. . .]

[he snaps his fingers and conjures another one from the void, this one white, a daisy instead of a rose. he hands it to her, urging her to take that one as well. see? they come in different types and colors, too]

[Yes. Yes she does.]

[Especially Roses. '-']

[But eeeee! She's taking that and smelling and FLOWERS.]

[hmmm, what other things might she like. . .]

[oh! cards! he conjures up a deck of those as well, shuffling them in his hands, before he fans them out and extends them for her to take]

[pick one!!]

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