Cosmic Hearts
Chapter Eleven
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts
"You have to keep your arms out, like this," Peter explained to me. Then he did a perfect flip in mid-air. "See?"
I stood- well, floated, I guess- there in front of him, my arms crossed, with a half annoyed, half bored expression on my face. We had done this stupid little trick twelve times now, and I had yet to see the reason for doing so.
Kairi, Sora, and Riku, were sitting on the ground below us, watching as I did flip, after flip, after flip, only to have Master Peter Pan tell me what was wrong with each of them. First I had done it too slow, then too fast. I ended up facing a different way from when I started on one of them. And this time, I had forgotten to keep my arms straight out. So yes, I was a little annoyed.
I knew I shouldn't have been, though. After all, he was just trying to help.
At least, he was now.
I spent the first twenty minutes trying to summarize everything that had happened up to when we landed here to him. It only took that long because as it turned out, there was someone who got distracted more easily than me. Peter would zone out every couple minutes, and I'd have to catch him up on what he'd missed. Then when I finally got my point across, he tried to take the Starlite right off my neck to "examine it". I slapped him away, not because of how up-in-my-face he was- which he was- but because, well, it was important to me. Until I found Ciro, it was the only thing that I really had left of him.
Anyway, we started flipping practice shortly after that.
"How long are we going to do this?" I asked.
"Until I say stop," was Peter's sarcastic answer.
Oh yes, I was annoyed. But I did his little flip anyway, this time with my arms out. I made sure not to go too slow or too fast, and I finished looking exactly the same way. There, perfect. I smiled.
He waited a moment before saying, "You didn't keep your knees in."
I just looked at him incredulously. He couldn't be serious.
Peter burst but laughing, holding his stomach as he did so.
"Is something funny?" I asked, irritated.
"Y-your face," he struggled to get out.
That was it. That was what finally made me lose my temper.
"Are you going to help me or not?" I demanded. "For the half an hour that I've been here, all you've done is made me mad! If you don't remember, my brother needs me! So I don't have time for your childish games!" And I turned away.
"Fine!" I heard him shout back.
I almost felt bad enough to apologize for being mean, but something inside me told me that stubbornness was a better answer.
"Hey guys, what's the problem?" Sora asked, running up to us.
Peter answered for us. "She doesn't appreciate my help."
I turned back around to face both of them. "That's because you're not helping! Why does it matter if I can do a perfect flip or not? It's not getting me any closer to figuring this thing out!" I held the Starlite out in front of me.
"Luna, calm down," Sora told me.
"Well how can I when this kid doesn't take anything seriously?"
"I was just trying to have fun!"
"Fun isn't going to save Ciro!"
We just stared at each other for a few seconds, both of us angry. Sora didn't look like he knew what to do, and just stood there.
Suddenly, I didn't feel mad anymore. All the energy just drained out of me, and I felt…tired. My face softened, and I fell to the ground, my head down.
Tears started to slip down my face. I didn't know where they were coming from, or why they were there- because I certainly didn't want to be crying right then. And yet, there I was, sitting awkwardly on my knees, eyes closed while the tears fell at their own will.
Sora knelt down beside me. "Luna," he said softly, as if not to disturb my crying.
I shifted so that my hair would fall and hide my face. I was too tired to do any more talking. But I thought there was at least one thing I should say.
I tilted my head up slowly. Peter was hovering in front of me. "I'm sorry," I told him. "I'm just a little stressed. I shouldn't have yelled like that."
His expression remained unchanged for a while, and when he finally opened his mouth to speak, I thought he was going to deny my apology. But then he started laughing again. "Aw, that's okay, no need to be sorry."
I sort of expected him to apologize for wasting my time, but seconds passed and I realized that he wasn't going to. I sighed.
I still felt very heavy, and honestly, I wanted nothing more than to take a nap. I probably could have too. All I'd have to do is close my eyes…
"Luna! Sora!"
My eyes snapped back open at the sound of Kairi's voice. I looked to the direction from which it came, as did Sora.
Kairi and Riku walked up to us, talking to each other as they did.
"What's going on? You said you'd be right back," she said to Sora.
"Nothing," I answered. "I just got a little tired." It wasn't a lie, because technically it was true.
"Oh," was all Kairi said.
Riku looked from her to me, and said, "Maybe you should take a break. It's been a long day."
I shook my head, which really only made me dizzy. "No, I don't have time for a break. I need to get back to work." And through my dizziness, I stood up. One good thing about the Starlite was that I wouldn't fall, even if my head was dizzy and my legs were tired.
"Riku's right. You look like you could use some rest," Sora said next.
What it couldn't do, however, was keep my eyes open and force back yawns. And neither could I.
"Fine. But only for a few minutes."
Hours later, I was sitting on the ground, watching my friends up in the air. Thanks to faith, trust, and some of Tinkerbell's pixie dust, as Peter had put it, they were able to fly, which I thought was pretty cool.
From the beginning, Kairi had been having a little trouble staying afloat. Sora had volunteered to help her, and at that moment was holding her hands and pulling her along. I smiled at them.
Riku was busy being chased by Peter. How that had started, I didn't know, but it was funny to watch anyway.
I fought back the urge to yawn, but failed. As tired as I had been- and still was- I never did fall asleep. Instead, I started a conversation with Tinkerbell, who had wandered over to me out of boredom. Of course I had really been the only one talking, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. And amongst all that, the hours had just passed.
About half an hour after that, we were all sitting in various positions on an imaginary circle. Except for Peter, who was always floating.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Kairi asked me. She was probably referring to the sad look I was wearing. I had been aware of it, and was just waiting for someone to ask.
"We didn't learn anything today. At least, nothing that will help Ciro. And now we only have six more days."
Night started to take over a while ago, which meant that the day was basically over.
"Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out soon. Don't worry," was her reply. Strangely enough, it didn't make me feel any better.
"So…what is it you guys are trying to do again?" Peter asked.
I let out an aggravated sigh, and fell backwards into the grass.
Stay calm; don't get mad, I told myself.
"We need to know if my necklace's power has anything to do with flying," I explained to him…for the fourth time.
"Of course. I knew that," he said. As if…
I sat back up, choosing to ignore Peter. "So any ideas how to go about this? Obviously flipping doesn't do anything."
…I couldn't help it. I was still a little upset about that.
"Well you could work on your agility," Riku suggested.
"And your speed. Either one of those could be improved," Sora offered.
And last, but not least, "I'd like it if you learned how to land better," Kairi said.
I blinked at them. I was sure there were times I had felt more stupid, but I really couldn't think of any.
"Right. And since we're thinking about it, how do you want me to do this?"
Silence this time.
"I have an idea," Peter said, breaking said silence.
Everyone turned to him. "Really? What is it?" I asked, curious.
"Be right back," he said. Then he flew away quickly.
"But-" He was gone before I could get anything else out.
"Should we wait?" Kairi asked, head turned the direction Peter left.
"I guess. He said he'd be right back," Sora answered.
She looked at him with an annoyed expression. "So did you."
And so we waited.
And waited.
And when an hour passed and he still hadn't come back, we all just decided to fall asleep. It was late anyway.
"Hey. Hey, wake up," someone called to me. I ignored them.
"I said wake up!" the same voice called.
Without bothering to open my eyes, I yawned and said, "Peter?"
"Yeah,"
I sat up, my eyes still closed, and stretched. "What took you so long? You…said you'd be right back," I said through another yawn.
"Look," he urged. He sounded like an excited little kid. Which I guess he was.
I slowly opened my eyes. "Look at wh-"
But I saw it. My mouth dropped open.
"What is that?"
Chapter Eleven complete. Please review, and I'll try to have the next chapter out as soon as possible. Thank you for reading :)
