Neo shields his eyes from the ever-setting fun to the west. "Where to now?"
Vanitas observes his reflection in a small puddle. He doesn't feel like a cat, and still the strange creature before him copies his every move. With the exception of his antennae and the odd new tail, it fits his proportions quite closely.
As to the one who's been to Twilight Town before, Naminé herds her sight-seeing friends down the trodden path through the small forest, ground hardened by the many people who dared visit the haunted mansion over the years. It doesn't take a lot to get them going, since forests aren't all that unusual or exciting.
What is unusual, however, is the wall at the end of the path.
"Naminé?" Vanitas asks, "I'm sure this wall is the most beautiful in all the worlds, but where are we going?"
Neo forms a picture frame with his hands before his eyes. He may be considering hardcore parkour.
"This is an issue," Naminé replies, because there should be a hole in the wall here, "there should be a hole in the wall here." When Neo mimics a throw, Vanitas tells him to screw off.
"I'm serious! I didn't expect the town to renovate that wall in, well, ever." She grandely gestures at the wholly intact red brick wall. The wall does not answer.
Vanitas does instead. "So we're stuck."
As Naminé crams for her phone to call help, Neo abandons casing the wall and turns to a nearby trapdoor. "Where does it go?" he wonders. He observes it from below, from above, reaches out to open it and immediately throws himself back, almost tripping over Vanitas.
"What is it this time," the stepping stone grumbles only to silence himself.
Naminé sighs in relief. "Oh we're saved."
The latch had swung open (almost on Neo's face) and three familiar faces popped out of the tunnel beneath.
"A little warning would've been nice." is how Neo greets Roxas, Xion and Axel. No, wait. Roxas, Xion and Lea.
"Think fast!" Roxas says instead of "hello" or "how are you" or "we're here to help you past this literal roadblock". No, Roxas flips out of the tunnel, lands on the ground in a crouch and leaps, a grey and yellow bullet flying at Neo.
A loud smack resounds through the forest and a flock of birds flutters out the nearby trees. It was… an epic high-five.
Both boys clutch at their now red hands.
"I should not have done that." Neo is so tempted to smack Roxas upside the head for that, but his bat wants it more than he does.
Like a person unhinged in a slightly different way, Lea offers a handshake to Naminé. "It's nice to see you again."
A bit hesitant, she accepts. "It's nice to see you too, Lea."
"Awww," Lea coos and clutches at his heart, "you've got it memorized!"
Xion finally catches up to the rest of the group. "I said I was sorry, Axel-" she slaps her own forehead,"-Lea. Also hello Naminé. How are you?"
She hasn't brought up the thing from last month. Thank the stars. "I'm fine, thank you."
"Good to hear. Also oh woah is that a cat? You guys have a cat?" Much like a cat about to pounce on prey, Xion's eyes widened.
Much like a cat that spotted a hawk, Vanitas' imaginary tail puffs up and nearly doubles his size.
"His name is Vanilla. He doesn't bite." Is Naminé implying the newcomers are free to pet him? Because they are Not.
Luckily, Neo adds "He might scratch instead." Neo does not add that Vanitas most likely can't bite, since it's dubious if he currently has any teeth. Though the mirth at his remark says he very much would've liked to.
Xion waves at him. Good choice. Vanitas blinks at her. Roxas merely quips "That's a cool cat," before hissing at his hand once again.
"So, what kind of cat is it?" Lea asks in a totally innocent way.
"He's an uhhhh...," Neo trails off in response, suddenly recalling that he's seen a maximum of three cats in his entire life, "stray cat we stole off the street."
Whether Lea feels in the mood to nitpick or cares about other world ecosystems, he nonetheless questions further, "Destiny Islands has feral cats?"
Vanilla does not have an answer to give to Neo's silent request for help in dealing with the former traitor-bloodhound.
Naminé, who exchanged more than sarcastic barbs with him in the past, steps forward next to Neo. "We found him Dwarf Woodlands!"
"You guys went to- hey what was that?"
"That" is Roxas lightly elbowing Lea in the gut. "Knock it off, Axel. This isn't an interrogation. We need to get going before the venue fills up. And you-," he points at Neo, "- race ya to the arena."
"Hey, wait up!" Before Neo can even question him, Roxas already disappeared down the trapdoor leading somewhere. Neo cannonballs after; the splish-splash of his steps grows more distant with a shout of "I don't know where the arena is, you prick!"
Dark depths peek at the equally dark Vanitas from beyond the trapdoor. The wood, once new and freshly varnished, shows first signs of wear and tear, namely luscious moss creeping out and around the hinges. After a cautionary sniff, the rank odor of stale water overwhelms his nose. Grime and dirt must be all that lies beneath.
Naminé wrinkels her nose. "Are those sewers?"
"We guarantee they're heartless free!" is how Xion reassures the concerned visitors.
"There were heartless in the sewers?"
"Focus being were," Lea waves her off, "I see you've got boots, so it's fine. Trust me, the smell doesn't last longer than an hour."
"Axel! You're not helping!"
Vanitas spies sturdy boots on everyone's feet, each equipped with soles high enough to withstand the tide of mud. He swivels to Naminé and cocks his head at the sewer. She quickly realizes, thankfully. Though Neo, already shooting ahead in a 'friendly' race with Roxas took his backpack with him, Naminé prepared her own bag for this purpose.
She zips it open and Vanitas jumps in. Over these last weeks, it's become a skill. Before he ducks inside, he whispers to Naminé, "No way am I stepping in that gunk."
"That's one well-trained cat!" Lea applauds the feat of non-verbal communication and climbs down into the stink-hole. "Everyone after me, please!"
