misrecalled_tdms | Misrecalled TDM 5

Auradon

Take It or Leaf It

Autumn had begun to set in in Auradon. Normally, for the residents of Auradon Prep it would be a time for bonfire parties, drinking mulled cider, certain dances, festivals, and other seasonal events; as well as chatting about the latest fashion trends in jackets and scarves. But with the current situation and the lack of groundskeepers, Autumn meant that it was time for something else: raking leaves. There were quite a few trees on the grounds and most of them had been turning a variety of bright, fiery colors over the past two weeks. And as was usual for the season, those leaves were rapidly beginning to cover the ground. Which for better or worse meant that it was time for the Misrecalled to grab some rakes and get to work. At least there'd be one - or more - awesome leaf piles for anyone inclined to jump into one at the end of it.

Going Nuts

It wasn't all bad news though. Because while none of the trees on the grounds bore any seasonal fruit, a few of them did bear nuts. And with the coming of cooler weather, those nuts were ripe for the harvesting, many of them beginning to drop off the trees. So those not up to raking could grab a basket and go out to do their best impression of a squirrel, gathering nuts to store away for later. The results would both be tasty and a welcome addition to the school's food supply.

Isle

Holding On the Line

Most of the Isle's food supply these days came from the sea. Which, for many of its residents, meant that their days were often spent staring at a line in the water, waiting and hoping for a nibble. This was dull enough at the best of times assuming one wasn't an avid fisherman, but even more so when the fish were being uncooperative. And the latter was definitely the case today, with most of those fishing having not had a bite in hours. Did that prompt complaints? The desire to give up and go take a nap? Pointed critiques of each other's fishing technique? Or were you one of the lucky buggers who actually caught something and you're in the mood to gloat about it to the others to annoy them?

Heck for Leather

If there was one staple of Isle fashion aside form its general raggedness, it was the inclusion of leather. And why not? After all, leather was sturdy, hard wearing, and a must for pirates and punks alike. It made one look cool and tough and totally not like they had escaped from the set of a made for TV movie aimed at teens and tweens. But with access only to what was left in the lockers, it was in somewhat limited supply. There was, however, a solution to this; making their own. The recent killing of party-crashing alligator had provided not only meat but a tough, scaly hide ripe for leather making. With a bit of help from Yen Sid's chemistry supplies and some good old fashioned elbow grease of course.

Or if leather wasn't one's style, there was also the bones and teeth. After all, nothing said 'heck yeah, I'm a villain' quite like a few skeletal accessories. And they would also make for some very handy tools if one knew how to shape them. So many possibilities, so few alligator bits...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

nobodys_puppet

Her Keyblade vanished as her eyes went huge behind her hood.

"Roxas?" she asked, in a gasp. A single tear ran down her face as she sprinted towards him. "Roxas! You're here!"

For someone so sure she had emotions, that sure sounded like relief and joy in how she said his name that second time.

From:

rexien

Something in his chest, suspiciously near where his heart would be, jumped at the girl's shout. He didn't understand. He retreated until his heel hit the tree behind him, leveling Oblivion at her before she could get close. "Stop! I don't know who you are. What's going on? You said you know Axel. Where is he?"

From:

nobodys_puppet

She stumbled back, staring at him a moment before her knees gave out under her. A tear hit the ground at the same time her glove did. "You... don't remember me.." she whispered. She looked up at him from her crouch, desperate. "Do... do you remember Diatu? The Train?" she asked, desperate.

From:

rexien

"I don't... I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what that is." Figuring she wasn't a threat at the moment, Roxas let his keyblades dissipate. This wasn't the way he'd expected this day to go. His head hurt. The girl blurred in and out of focus. He felt like something was just on the tip of his tongue. Or, like something was missing. He felt that pang of familiarity in his chest again, but it was frustratingly meaningless. There was no name, or face, or connection to what she was saying. The feeling was there, like this girl should mean something to him, but it was hollow. A broken fragment of nothing.

He shook his head to try and clear the static. "Do you know Axel or not?"

From:

nobodys_puppet

Her tears fell faster as she nodded. "Of... of c...course I d...do... Roxas..." A sob shuddered through her.

Why?

Why was it always a different Roxas? Why did she have to do this again and again and again?

From:

rexien

Roxas took a faltering step toward her huddled form. He hadn't expected her to be so upset. He didn't know what to do. "Xion..." The name slipped out before he'd even thought it. He didn't know what it meant, if it was her name or... He shook his head once more. "I'm sorry I don't remember whatever it is you want me to remember. Please don't cry." He didn't know this girl, but somewhere deep where his heart should be he knew he didn't want her to cry.

From:

nobodys_puppet

She looked up when he said her name, eyes wide. "Roxas..." she whispered, one gloved hand reaching for him. It was trembling. "I'm sorry, Roxas..." Her head and hand dropped again.

From:

rexien

"Are- are you Xion? And, you're friends with Axel. And, with... Me?" He remembered how angry Axel had gotten when Roxas had pretended to remember him in the fake Twilight Town. "I still don't remember I'm just... That's right, isn't it? How come I remember everything else, but I can't remember you?" He took another step forward. Her form was still fuzzy around the edges, like his brain was trying to see something that wasn't there. His head really hurt.

Edited Date: 3 Jan 2024 23:14 (UTC)

From:

nobodys_puppet

She nodded, looking up again. "I'm Xion. You and Axel are my best friends," she said, quietly but desperately. "I had to be taken apart to wake Sora us," she whispered. "We both did. But for me... I was never real to start. Just... a Replica. Less than a Nobody," her whisper got even quieter as she shuddered. "So to wake Sora... they had to make everyone... forget me..." She hunched in on herself, tightly, hood still hiding her face.

From:

rexien

Roxas blinked long against the pounding in his head. The backs of his eyelids played a fuzzy image of three figures atop the clock tower in Twilight Town. It was faded and out of focus, but he could just make out Axel's red porcupine head of hair, his own blonde spikes reflecting the setting sun, and even fuzzier, a black blur of cloak and what could be a hood or hair. He forced his eyes open as he knelt beside Xion's crumpled form. "That isn't very fair. You look real to me."

From:

nobodys_puppet

""I...I have a heart now... but... I'm scared... Roxas..." she whispered.

From:

rexien

"Xion..." He frowned. "You, me, and Axel, we're best friends right? So it's gonna be okay. We can figure it out as long as we're together." He didn't know why he felt so certain, but he knew he believed those words with every fibre of his being.

From:

nobodys_puppet

She gave a small trembling nod. "We are..." she whispered. "We... we can find a place to have ice cream here... I... I have... OH! I have my freezer! I'm sorry all the ice cream I saved for you didn't show up here too! But I was trying to save them for you. One for every time me and Axel had that you weren't there, so you were there too kinda..." she mumbled, babbling now. "And I've been saving shells for you. I tried to count, cause you'd want to know, but I'm not as good at counting as you are..."

From:

rexien

"Sounds like I've really missed a lot..." Every time Roxas blinked the image became a little clearer. Number xiv... They were going to go to the beach together, weren't they? The three of them. "Maybe... you could help me try to remember? We could count them together..." Xion's figure was really starting to blur now. He wasn't quite sure which blinks his eyes were open, and which they were closed. His head really, really hurt.

From:

nobodys_puppet

She nodded. "Axel will help too," she said. She winced seeing something familiar in him though. "Does your head hurt so much that you need to run away....?"

From:

rexien

"M'not going to run away, again. I'm fine." He shook his head and stood. Maybe. When he blinked he was on his knees again. Or still.

From:

nobodys_puppet

She scooted closer and pulled something out of her pocket. She set it down by Roxas' glove. A sea shell. "It's okay if you have to sleep," she whispered. "I won't use magic till we're sure I'm not draining you here."

From:

rexien

The last thing Roxas remembered was the sound of waves on a beach, and Xion's blue eyes peering at him from beneath her hood.

From:

nobodys_puppet

Xion shifted position so she was sitting next to him instead of hunched over. She grabbed his hand with hers, so that he couldn't just vanish and then... she waited. Eventually he'd wake up or Axel would find them. Until then, since she wasn't big and strong like Axel to carry him she'd just sit here, wait with him.

And wonder what was going to go wrong.

Because something bad always happened after something good.... Right?

From under a bush a small kitten watched intently.

From:

rexien

-- Luckily, Roxas was not asleep for several weeks this time, just an hour or so. --

Roxas blinked his eyes open slowly. The pressure in his head seemed to have dissipated thankfully.

Someone was squeezing his hand, and when he turned his head to look, Xion's cloaked figure was still beside him. He hoped he hadn't kept her waiting long. He felt like he still had a lot of missing pieces, but now when he looked at her some memories floated to the surface; the three of them eating sea salt ice cream on the clocktower, laughing, Xion's very blue eyes and choppy black hair and smiling face. Fighting together. Xion turning to crystal in his arms. A tear rolled down his cheek. "Sorry. I'm ready to count those sea shells with you now."

Edited Date: 4 Jan 2024 16:18 (UTC)

From:

nobodys_puppet

"You're awake!" she said, smiling down at him. That weird warmth in her chest again that she didn't understand and didn't know how to ask about.

"We should get you a bed in our room, so you can stay with us."

She didn't want to sleep separate like they had to in Diatu. She didn't argue with Axel much, but that had been a pretty bad one. Well, lots of stuff about where they were told to sleep there.