Riku gave Sora and Kairi some time to get their own food. He stood on watch on the edge of town munching on his own rations he had brought with him. It didn't have the most pleasant taste, but it filled his stomach at least. There was someone or something out there. There was the unnerving feeling of being watched that he just couldn't shake. His eyes scanned the horizon, but even with his enhanced vision, he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. He bit the inside of his cheek in concentration, ears twitching at every sound. Sora and Kairi found him like this still as they walked up. His posture was completely upright and rigid, the hairs on his neck standing on end much like a cat scanning an area for danger. He only acknowledged them with a nod, continuing his search.

"What's up, Riku? Do you see something?" Sora asked. He walked over to stand by his side, peering in the same direction Riku was so fixated on. He supposed without the same sharp vision Riku had, he probably wasn't going to see much.

"We're being watched. I can feel it, but I can't find any trace of them. It's not much of a problem for now, but I can't have someone spying on us while I open the gate to the Elven realm. It's a well kept secret that I don't want the enemy to know about." Riku already had an inkling on what their next plan of attack was. There was no way he was unwittingly letting the enemy into his kingdom.

"Well, maybe they'll come out eventually if they're after us. I'm sure we'll run into them eventually. I mean, you have like super senses. They can't hide forever," Sora said, hoping to put him at ease at least a little bit.

"I can't afford to relax or let up my guard. Not until we make it there."

"Sounds like someone needs a dip in a hot spring or something. Loosen your tight ass up a bit," Kairi chimed in with a slap on his back. "Come on, we're not going to get anywhere if we keep worrying. We'll deal with it when it comes up."

Looks of shock were plastered on both Riku and Sora.

"Wow. I didn't think you were capable of language like that." Riku let out a chuckle, relaxing his shoulders some.

"Please, someone has to keep you boys in line."

The three of them turned their heads at the sound of hoofbeats getting extremely close. They were off the road, so they shouldn't be in the way of any horses. On an immaculately white horse, an elf with blue hair was riding towards them. The horse slowed to a trot before stopping right by them. At this being only the second elf Sora and Kairi had seen, they both stared wide eyed at her. With style and grace, she dismounted, smiling softly at both of them.

"Prince Riku," she finally said with a bow, turning to him.

"Aqua," Riku said back, returning the bow.

Sora and Kairi glanced between them multiple times, still lost in amazement.

"Wow, she's so pretty!" Kairi whispered to Sora. She watched as Aqua walked up to Riku so they could converse in a more quiet, personal manner.

"You think he was lying about being single?"

"I think they just have important stuff to discuss. Besides, I have my own suspicions on Riku." Kairi wore a devious smirk.

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you later." It probably wasn't best to gossip about him when he was literally standing right there.

"Por o aelylaes si aelaestia or?"

"Or, Vanitas. Maes si'vi mor tylol thysas shor saes val."

"Pai si cyrn?" Aqua gestured to Sora and Kairi.

"Bai, ail pia sosti. Si shor."

The two of them conversed quietly in Elvish, leaving the two humans quite confused when Aqua gestured towards them. Sora vowed to himself he'd learn their language some way, some how. He hated being out of the loop.

"Shi mari, tia voli. Shi eirdar o eir cysti." Aqua reached out to grasp onto Riku's forearm with him doing the same: a traditional customary gesture between elves.

"I apologize. You both probably didn't understand a word, but we mostly converse in Elvish so messages aren't overheard by the enemy. I'm Aqua." She took the time to walk over and shake their hands. "The king is excited to meet you both. I trust the prince has treated you well." She shot Riku a look which he met with a stare of his own.

"He can be a bit much sometimes, but he's kept us safe, or I guess it's more like the three of us protecting each other," Kairi said since Sora was too flustered at the moment.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll see you in the Elven realm, then. Be safe all of you." She turned back to Riku and pointed to the other horse she had along with the white one. "Ai shyl ei cysi, mai iari air."

"Or, tas," Riku said with a sigh. They waved goodbye as she hopped back on her horse, giving a wave before riding off.

"Geez, I couldn't even say a word," Sora whined, getting back to his senses.

"Don't get any ideas. She's like way older than you." Riku teasingly elbowed him as he passed by.

"It's not like that, jerk! I just get starstruck around beautiful people, plus she's only the second elf I've met."

"You seem rather comfortable around me."

"That's beside the point! It's..different with you..I guess." Sora knew he definitely couldn't hide the slight blush on his face, instantly covering his cheeks with his hands.

"Well, whatever. Kairi's right. We'll deal with the spy when the time is right. We should get going." Riku took note of the blush, going over towards the horse. She was a beautiful mare with a gray speckled coat, definitely from his home. He helped the two of them up onto the saddle first. Sora squirmed around like nothing else when Riku's hands grabbed onto his waist, but he managed to get him up there.

"Geez, do you ever stop moving around?"

"Nope, never."

Riku took the reins at the front of the saddle, adjusting himself. Kairi had no problems with hanging onto Sora. Sora, on the other hand, felt his hands becoming sweaty at the mere thought of having to hang onto Riku. Riku glanced back at him, not really phased by this sort of thing since it was needed to keep them from falling off.

"We're going to be riding fast, so you need to hang onto something." There was just the slightest smirk on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just give me a second." With a deep breath, he finally mustered up the courage to wrap his arms around Riku's waist, thankful that Riku was at least turned around and couldn't see him. It really didn't help that as soon as Riku had the horse move forward, Sora could feel his abs tighten.

Once they were well out of town, Riku eased the horse into a gallop. Riding on a horse was the closest he could get to flying, and he had missed this feeling. He smiled at the feeling of the wind on his hair, pushing down any feelings of Sora squeezing his waist just to stay on. The scenery flew by them at the rapid pace. The green fields and lake in the distance looked more like blurry oil painting. If he was riding by himself, he'd have stretched his arms out and enjoyed the rush, but it was probably best to keep his hands on the reins. To be honest, his plan had been to get a horse somehow, but Aqua made that step even easier, always being a step ahead.

By the time he finally stopped the horse for a little break, all of their hair was wild and windswept. The horse automatically went to a small nearby pond as the three of them got their bearings of being back on the ground again, fixing their hair. The clearing was filled with varieties of wildflowers that painted the ground with all kinds of colors. Near the pond, a chorus of frogs sang along with other ambient sounds of nature.

"That was so fun! I've never been on a horse before, but it's such a thrill," Kairi said, fixing her skirt. She had no idea they could go that fast.

"Y-yeah, it was great," Sora stammered, still feeling his heart beating rapidly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. She should get us to our destination a lot faster, and we can hopefully avoid most of the heartless. With that being the case, I think this break would be a good time for some more training." Riku fanned himself in the heat of the sun, deciding to slip his jacket off after unlatching his scabbard, giving them both a view at being in just his tank top again.

"Aw, are you serious? Can't we just rest for once?" Sora sighed, though the view was nice.

"Our enemies won't rest. I can guarantee that. Besides, don't you want the satisfaction of finally being able to beat me?" Riku wagged a finger for him to come at him before going into a fighting stance. "I gotta get you stronger. I already know Kairi can kick my ass."

"I'll show you what I can do..pes sher!" Sora grinned triumphantly at remembering Riku calling him that.

"You need to work on your Elvish pronunciations," Riku chided but with a playful smirk as he suddenly rushed at Sora. It was an intimidating image to say the least: seeing a buff elf come running at him with fists balled up. He noticed that Riku kept one hand open and the other in a fist. Maybe the open hand was for guarding? In any case, Sora mirrored it and immediately stepped back to keep his distance. Kairi nonchalantly walked over to a nearby tree, sitting beneath it to watch them. In terms of brute strength, Riku had the upper hand, but Sora had uncanny agility if he learned how to utilize it. For a while, he was doing quite well for a while, mostly jumping around Riku and his attacks until he slipped up as his foot caught on a rock. It allowed Riku to grab one of his arms and effectively pin him to the ground with his weight. Riku had this in the bag now, until he looked right at Sora and felt a rush of embarrassment as they both stared at each other. He loosened his grip without realizing it. Sora, on the other hand, took full advantage of the moment of weakness, freeing his leg and landing a kick right into his crotch since it was the closest weak point. A gargled whine escaped his throat. The pain was paralyzing, and he was soon off of Sora and curled up on the ground.

"Ugh, how could you?" he groaned, glaring right at Sora for a moment.

"What can I say? You left yourself wide open. I did what I had to do," Sora chuckled with made up sympathy in his voice.

"Fine, good job." It took Riku a few moments to finally stand up again, though he stood a bit awkwardly. "I guess if we run into an enemy, I can count on you to simply defeat them by kicking them in the crotch."

"You can count on me!"

"Great. Now, to make up for kicking me there, you can jump on those rocks in the pond without falling into the water." Sora looked between said rocks which were slightly submerged and Riku.

"Whaaat? You can't be serious?"

"Please. With your agility, you should be just fine." With a pout, Sora begrudgingly did as he asked. Riku sat down under the tree where Kairi was, still feeling rather sore down there. Still, that smile of Sora's was contagious. Riku found it plastered on his own face as he watched him hop around the rocks, trying his best not to fall into the water. The movements resulted in ripples cascading out along the smooth surface, disturbing the still reflections.