Chapter Three

Rivers and Children

In Which Xehanort Experiences the Outside World

And Meets a Good Many People

--

"Keep your eyes closed! I'm almost finished!"

"Okay, okay! Just stop tugging so hard, Terra!"

It was almost noon, and Terra sat next to Xehanort's bed, removing the bandages on his face; she had already finished with his upper arms and back, and all that remained was his head.

It was the day that Ansem declared Xehanort fully healed, and Terra announced that she was taking him to lunch with the apprentices once he got some clothes on. Xehanort was absolutely impatient with excitement, and when Terra entered his room in the morning with a fresh pair of pants and a shirt for him to wear, he began to laugh and clap his hands in glee at finally being able to wear proper clothes, which made her begin to laugh as well.

The past week had been rather nice; Cid, Elaeus, Dilan, and occasionally Ienzo visited frequently, often bringing Elaeus' mother's wonderful cooking with them to share for lunch or dinner, and Xehanort much enjoyed the food and the company, but he still looked forward to whenever Terra read to him. Even though his arms had finished healing long before, and he was capable of reading by himself, he really liked listening to her recite the words in her airy voice. He had been making a lot of progress with his healing, and had even gotten out of the bed several times to walk around in his bandages and blanket, which worried Terra at first, then merely embarrassed her (for he wasn't wearing a thing, besides a pair of short trousers, since the bandages were slowly becoming more and more sparce.)

"There! Open your eyes, I'll go get a mirror!" Terra said happily, shuffling away. Xehanort took a moment to observe the newly-healed skin on his chest and arms, and felt his face; it was smooth, hardly hinting at the burns that had so badly singed it in the very close past. His hands wandered to his scalp, which was covered with a fine fuzz of regrowth; he wondered what color it was. He hadn't seen a proper reflection of himself in such a long time that he was somewhat unaware of his current facial features, even the color of his hair; he wouldn't know what color his eyes were, either, but Terra was helpful enough to inform him of such a thing.

"Back!" Terra said, entering the room and clutching the mirror. "Here, take a look! I think you look great!"

She held up the mirror for him to see, and an oval-shaped face stared back, with dark skin and amber eyes, a pale-silver fuzz growing where his eyebrows and hairline should be.

"Oh!" he said, in spite of himself. "Is that what I really look like?"

Terra began to giggle, before snatching the mirror from him and throwing his new clothes in his face.

"I trust you know how to put this on by yourself?" she teased. "I'll be waiting outside the door."

With a slight smile, Xehanort put the shirt and pants on and joined Terra in the hallway, where she began to lead him through the castle. They talked with each other on the way out, and she taunted him gently about his hair (or lack thereof.)

"I thought it was going to be black or something," she said fondly, feeling the fuzzy top of his scalp, and he pulled away with a laugh. "Somehow, though, I'm not too surprised."

"Mm...I just want eyebrows again," Xehanort laughed.

"You know, I think long hair would suit you, Xehanort," Terra said, turning around a corner with him and beginning down a flight of stairs, "like my father, maybe? Your face looks like it would look nice with it."

"You think so?" he said, as they exited the stairway and into a large hall. "Mm, we'll just have to wait until it grows a little more! If it doesn't, I can always cut it."

The two of them laughed and left the castle through the large wooden doors, and strolled among the beautiful plantlife of the front court in the warm sunlight. A small series of pebble-bottomed canals ran through the walkways of the garden, with bridges over them, and Terra directed that he follow her.

"The canals run all throughout the castle and town," she explained. "If you ever got lost, in the future, just follow them back to the castle; it's easy."

"Ah, simple enough," Xehanort replied, and found himself gazing into the water more than his surroundings as he walked along. Small fish and strange little creatures swam in it among the various water plants and odd large stone; strange green things that weren't quite fish, with leathery flaps and brown shells that seemed vaguely familiar.

"What are those in the water?" he asked.

"Oh! Those are the baby turtles, they like to swim in the smaller canals near the castle," she said, stopping for a moment to bend by the water's edge and dip her finger in. A few of the turtles congregated around it and swam about in a merry way, and Xehanort laughed.

"Turtles?" he said. "Ahh...that word sounds familiar."

"Mm, maybe where you're from, there's turtles, too," she said, not looking at him. Xehanort nodded.

"Are they all that small?" he asked. "I wouldn't think they were..."

"Of course not!" Terra said, standing up again. "You should see the grown ones in the river! They're enormous! You can practically ride on them!"

"No kidding!" Xehanort exclaimed. "I can't wait to see!"

Terra smiled and laughed; his face held a trace of his "I love to learn" expression.

"We'll be there soon!" she said, and began on her way again. "Come on, or we'll never make it there in time for lunch!"

They exited the palace gates together and made their way through a small garden that led to a bridge, and Xehanort took a moment to observe the beautiful woven fence around them, of which the foliage wound about.

"By the way, where are we going for lunch? That bakery?" he asked her, taking a moment to bring some conversation to the silence.

Terra shook her head. "There's a really good bistro that we're meeting everyone at; pastries are for breakfast, unless you're having bread, like a sandwich. Though, maybe we could get something for desert."

"That sounds like a fine idea," Xehanort smiled. "How much longer?"

"Not much longer, we'll reach the bridge soon enough; look over there," Terra smiled, pointing in that direction. "Do you see it?"

As they neared the large, goldenrod-colored bridge, linking castle with city, Xehanort's eyes were met with a veritable oasis of a place.

The city consisted of dusky golden buildings with lavender-red roofs, canals flowing throughout and tumbling over themselves in a soft murmur, feeding numerous gardens and countless trees, so seamlessly incorporated with the architecture, it appeared as if the buildings had slowly grown alongside the plantlife.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Terra noted, who had stopped when Xehanort stood with his jaw slightly open.

"It's marvelous," he said softly.

"Well, it's even more beautiful up-close! Come on!" she urged, grabbing his hand and briskly beginning on their way again.

"Hey, slow down!" Xehanort called, but Terra giggled merrily and went even faster, practically dragging him along behind her as they went through the streets.

"We'll get there faster, just go with it!" she laughed, and it wasn't much longer when they reached a small square, centering around a rather large fountain. People walked around, going about their lives with smiles and laughter in their conversations, and the smell of flowers wafted in the air.

"What a beautiful place," Xehanort said, marveling at the building and gorgeous layout of the place. "Was it always like this?"

"Since before I was born, yes. But always? Not really," Terra said. "My father's responsible for much of this; originally, this place was just normal land, but my father had a vision. A paradise, utopia, a world of eternal spring."

"And he did all this?" Xehanort said.

"Not without help, of course! But he did design almost everything here, personally, with every citizen," she said. "Every store and home in perfect co-existance, it's remarkable. And my mother..."

She stopped slowly and peered at her feet.

"My mother, well..."

"What about your mother?" Xehanort asked, suddenly worried by her behavior.

"...she's the one that is responsible for all these beautiful flowers," she said softly, looking up with a smile. "She tended to them all, personally, so that none of them would ever wither. On the night that she died, the canals just showed up the next morning, so they would never have to be tended to again. It's almost like she wanted for them to always be cared-for."

"Ahh..." Xehanort replied, somewhat taken aback by this sad report. "When did she-"

"I was five," Terra interrupted, in reply. "She just got sick one day, and didn't get better. Every day, her hands grew colder, and she said less and less, until she didn't talk at all. Father and all his assistants...they tried everything they could, but..."

She glanced somewhat annoyedly in Xehanort's direction.

"Well, it's none of your business," she said nastily. "Why did I go blab off about Mother, anyways? It must be the flowers."

Taking a deep breath, she began to march off. Surprised and perplexed, Xehanort followed behind.

"Wait! What was that all about?" he asked, catching up with her.

"If we don't hurry, we'll be late for lunch, that's what!" she replied, her tone noticeably cheerier. "Come on, slowpoke, let's go!"

Xehanort reluctantly went along with her urgings, although the sadness in her face upon mentioning her mother was downright haunting to him, and he was lost in his own thoughts until Terra's voice brought him to the bistro where they were to eat lunch.

"Xehanort! Over here!" she called. "Hey, everyone!"

Elaeus and Dilan sat at a narrow table within the cafe's gates with Ienzo, Cid standing nearby, leaning against the wall of the establishment.

"Hi, Miss Terra," Elaeus said, although he was interrupted rather rudely mid-sentence by Dilan.

"What took you guys so long?" he said annoyedly.

"I was-" Terra began, but Xehanort cut her off, a somewhat surprising fact.

"She was helping take off my bandages, if you didn't notice," he said pleasantly. "You can see my face now, see?"

"Ah...not quite sure I noticed that at first," Dilan said sheepishly, for he had completely overlooked the fact.

"It's an improvement," Ienzo stated, with a small laugh. "But, where are your eyebrows?"

"Er..." Xehanort mumbled, unable to come up with a suitable answer, causing laughs around the table.

"Well, y'were burned all over, werntcha?" Cid said, thinking things over a bit. "That got rid of all your hair, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Xehanort replied. "So, I suppose that's where my eyebrows are, Ienzo."

"I knew that, stupid," Ienzo said teasingly. "It's called a joke?"

"Bratty kid," Dilan sniffed, crossing his arms and scowling. "Remind me again why we're letting you have lunch with us? Don't you have friends your own age to bother?"

"Idiot, I can't stand any of the other kids," the child replied, and puffed a rogue bang out of his face. "You guys are the only ones worth talkin' to about anythin'. Besides..."

He gave a saucy glance in Dilan's direction.

"...Elaeus said I could," he stated.

"Since when was Elaeus the boss of anything?" Dilan said, glaring at the gentle boy, who was trying his hardest not to get involved.

"I'm sorry, Dilan, but I don't think he's that intrusive," he said softly. Dilan cast an annoyed glare in his direction, while Xehanort and Terra just watched in mild interest.

"Well!" Terra finally said, changing the subject. "Is anyone else joining us this afternoon?"

"Even and Braig said they were gonna try and show up after they completed an experiment," Dilan reported, scratching the back of his head and stretching his shoulders a little. "As for the ladies, well...they weren't so interested, although they want to meet Xehanort; 'suppose they might show up at some point. The adults are all too busy to even show, I suppose."

"What about Locke? Have you seen him today?" Terra asked, joining them at the table.

"He said he was gonna meet us here," Dilan replied.

"Ah, that's good, then," said Terra.

"Just curious, does Ansem have female apprentices?" Xehanort asked, taking a seat himself.

"Yes, two," Elaeus explained. "Miss Edea and Miss Quistis, they're older than us and both very smart."

"So I see! I hope I can meet them soon," Xehanort smiled.

"Oh, I bet you will," said Elaeus.

"Cid's got a thing for Edea," Dilan snickered.

"Eh?" Xehanort said, at this somewhat random comment.

"It's not just a 'thing'!" Cid replied, almost unnaturally angry. "I love her!"

"Wow, unusual that you'd be so open about it," Xehanort observed; only a few moments before, however, he thought the "thing" that Cid had for Edea was a gift of some sort.

"Not really," Terra replied. "Cid's liked her since you were little, haven't you?"

Cid nodded and chuckled. "Long as I can remember! She sure loves playin' hard-to-get!"

"Does she like you too?" Xehanort said.

"I bet she does," said Cid, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall, a wistful look in his eye. "She's just stubborn, is all."

"Sounds more like she doesn't like you, if you don't mind me saying," Xehanort said.

Cid looked at him, a somewhat unreadable expression on his face.

"Heh, you'll just have to see her," he said after a bit, donning a smirk and leaning confidently against the wall. "Edea Kramer, you're gonna be mine, someday."

"I can hear you, you know," a smooth female voice said from nearby in reply, causing Cid to fall over.

Two women in their late teens had entered the bistro; one was a blonde with glasses, wearing a vest and skirt in varying shades of pink over her blouse, the other in somber black and purple, her coal-colored hair pulled into a sleek bun at the nape of her neck.

"Speak of the devil," Dilan laughed, and Elaeus joined them. Ienzo sighed in mild annoyance and sunk further into his chair; the strange relationships of teenagers were mind-numbingly dull to his 9-year-old mind.

"Hello Edea, Quistis," Terra said pleasantly. "How are you?"

"Well enough, heard you're having some sort of get-together," the blonde replied. "Is that Xehanort boy with you? I want to see him."

"I'm Xehanort," the boy in question said. "And you are?"

"Quistis Trepe, it's nice to finally see you," the woman said, adjusting her glasses a little, smiling ever so slightly. "I see you're well? Have you finished healing?"

"Yes," Xehanort replied. "Now all I have to do is grow my hair back!"

He began to laugh, and Quistis chuckled a little with him.

"And I'm guessing you're Edea?" Xehanort asked the other woman, and she nodded.

"Yes, and I suppose your impression of me is that I'm cold and stubborn, isn't that right?" she said, her acid-green eyes unfazed and penetrating.

"Er...I didn't say anything like that..." Xehanort said sheepishly.

"Edea, don't be so mean," Terra said disapprovingly. "You just met the poor guy, give him some slack."

"I'm sorry," Edea said, smiling; it suited her face, which had been a picture of solemnity beforehand. "It's nice to finally meet you. I hope Cid hasn't been boring you with his useless chatter."

"Um, not really," Xehanort replied.

"Where are the others?" Dilan asked her, changing the subject.

"On their way, from what I heard," Quistis reported. "Even was getting uppity over something, I should go see what it is and work with him on it in the afternoon."

"That sounds like a good idea," noted Elaeus. "It seemed something had him annoyed today."

"Even's always annoyed by something," Edea replied casually. "It's practically chronic."

Terra and the rest of the apprentices laughed, although Xehanort and Ienzo refrained; Xehanort had no idea what they were talking about, while Ienzo simply had no interest in the subject.

"Anyways, Cid, stop with that act of yours, it's really quite pathetic. Just because there's people around doesn't mean you should make a complete fool of yourself," Edea said unexpectedly, looking in Cid's direction; he had regained his footing and was trying to look as unruffled as possible. "Don't get your hopes up, silly fool. You're not winning any points with me with that strange act of yours, or whatever it is."

"Just you wait; you're gonna be mine," Cid replied, looking into the distance, attempting to mimic a heroic persona. "The day'll come when I'll come up to you and-"

"Not until you're at least 18," Edea interrupted, turning to leave. "At least, then, it would be moral. Hmph, let's go, Quistis; I've got some reading to do."

"Goodbye, then! It was nice to see you all," Quistis said cheerfully, waving and strolling in the opposite direction of Edea as both of them exited the gate. She seemed to spot something down the road as she went along.

"Suppose that's me cue," Cid said jovially, hopping to a more vertical position and adjusting his goggles for a more debonaire look. "Catch you later, guys?"

"You're not eating with us?" Xehanort said.

"Already ate," Cid replied. "Bye!"

Waves of farewell were exchanged and Cid went on his way, when a voice was heard down the road.

"Even and Braig are on their way, by the way! I think I can see them!" Quistis announced from further off, her voice fading with distance.

Shortly after, the two men in question appeared. Both of them had black hair; one well-kept and in a short ponytail, the other somewhat greasy and long, hanging raggedly to frame a shrewd, obviously annoyed face. Judging from his sour expression, Xehanort assumed the grease-haired one was Even. He was proven correct not long after, when Terra began to speak.

"Even, might you share with us what's bothering you?" she asked, her face a picture of geniune concern.

"Children," was Even's reply, as he hastily took a seat at the table.

"Children?" came the multitude of echoes.

"Annoying. Pestering. Noisy. Children," he said tersely, each word sounding like a separate statement, brimming with resentment.

"Braig, translation?" Dilan asked.

"Even's had some miniature followers today," Braig, the other man, responded, with a slight chuckle.

"This is no laughing manner!" Even snapped, his shoulders rising to around his earlobes and his hair sliding into his face; he wove his fingers together on the table and held them about his mouth. "Those buggering kids are going to be the death of me, I swear!"

"Even, loosen up a bit!" Braig said merrily, slapping Even on the back as he sat next to him, which prompted a very venomous glare.
"Hello, what's this?"

Braig's gaze came to rest on Xehanort, who was sitting with his hands politely on his lap, quietly observing things. His light brown eyes sparkled with curiousity as he looked the boy over.

"Well, it's nice to see the man behind the legend, finally!" he said cheerfully, grinning; his cheekbones were very well-defined. "Guess I should introduce myself more formally, eh? The name's Braig, 'sa pleasure t'meetya."

"You as well," Xehanort replied. "And you, I suppose, are Even?"

"How do you do," Even said monotonously, his olive-green eyes concentrated deeply on the wood of the table.

"Umm, well enough, thank you," said Xehanort. "Terra, if you don't mind me asking, aren't we here for lunch? We should order soon."

"Ah! That's right! I should flag down the waiter..." said Terra, looking around for someone to help serve.

"What should I get?" Ienzo asked Elaeus, leaning over as the boy opened a menu found on the table.

"Well, what do you feel like, Ienzo?" he replied, smiling a little. "I think the onion soup would taste good. I'll share it with you, if you'd like."

Ienzo wrinkled his nose a little as he thought of the option, while Braig began conversation.

"The mysterious castaway, eh?" he said to Xehanort, "or whatever it is they're calling you. Heard you got amnesia."

"So it seems," Xehanort replied. "It's..."

"Bothersome, I bet," Even interrupted, not moving the spot from which his eyes were fixed. "Perhaps it's because of your heart."

Braig sighed. "Even, don't go off about work at lunch, I'm hungry and not in the mood for thinking..." he whined. Even blew a strand of hair out of his eyes, and Terra successfully managed to get the waiter to the table.

After several minutes of debate, the orders were placed, and conversation resumed.

"Heard you want to be an apprentice," Braig said, propping his head up with his hand on the table.

"Yes! As soon as possible!" Xehanort said enthusiastically. "Where should I go to ask? When can I begin? Should I ask Ansem?"

"Woah, slow down, there!" Braig said. "Live wire, ain'tcha?"

"You haven't seen the beginning of it," Dilan added, glancing in Braig's direction. "Wait until he gets to the library; he'll go insane, I swear."

"Dilan..." Terra said disapprovingly.

"Oh, I'm really looking forward to that," Xehanort said, as if oblivious. "Lots of books, I bet?"

"You can't possibly imagine," Even stated, again without emotion.

"I suppose I could ask Master Ansem about you joining," said Braig, clearing his throat and attempting to return the conversation to a more linear nature. "He has told me that Terra says you enjoy learning, that's a good start."

Xehanort nodded enthusiastically, and Dilan sniggered a little.

"I suppose he'll get you started on cleaning up the lab, right, Even?" he asked.

"It's how those two dunderheads began; how they became apprentices is beyond me," Even replied, and proceeded to fold his arms on the table and lay his head on them.

"Hey!" Dilan protested, but Even was too tired to care (although he wouldn't have, anyways). Elaeus glanced in their direction for a moment, but went back to playing a small game of rock-paper-scissors he was having with Ienzo.

"Here's your food, sorry for the wait!" the waiter said, coming by with the plates of meal.

"Finally! About time!" Dilan protested, and the waiter smiled nervously. Even raised his head and sniffed at the plain fish sandwich he had ordered, while Braig began to heartily slice into his roast beef sandwich.

"Thanks," Terra said, and the waiter exited with a slight bow in their direction. About to begin on her soup, a large bag of something small and crunchy was dropped in the center of the table, rather abruptly.

"Can't have lunch without dessert, am I right?" a friendly voice from above stated, and all eyes rolled in its direction (save Even's, which were preoccupied with his sandwich). A crafty-looking boy with dirty blonde hair covered hastily by a dark grey cap, clad in a white shirt and dark vest was hanging over the fence of the bistro. Instantly, Terra's face lit up.

"Locke! So you made it!" she said, delightedly. "What took you?"

"Had to pick that up," he replied, pointing to the bag on the table and leaping over the fence.

"You stole it," Even stated, glancing in his direction with a sour expression.

"Er, no, I-" Locke began, but stopped and rubbed the back of his head. "Damn, you got me."

"Locke! You didn't take this from the Kisaragi shop, did you?" Terra said, sighing somewhat and examining the contents of the bag; small, individually-wrapped sticky-sweets were within, in various flavors.

"Umm...I helped out in the shop, and I took it as payment!" he retorted, attempting to defend himself. "I didn't steal it."

"Stuff it," Dilan said. "Locke, we know you better than that, y'idjit."

Defeated, Locke sat down at the table.

"Didn't bother to order me anything?" he complained, leaning back in his seat and gazing hungrily at the various meals.

"I'm sorry, Locke, but you were too late," Elaeus said. "Maybe someone can share with you?"

"I'm not giving you any," Dilan said indignantly, shielding his pasta from Locke's eyes.

"You could have some of my soup, I don't really mind," offered Xehanort, stirring the green mixture around with his spoon. Locke stared at him for a good long while, his eyebrows dancing up and down in suspicion.

"And you are...?" he finally said.

"Locke! This is Xehanort!" Terra said, pointing at him with her fork.

"Ooh! Xehanort, Mr. Crispy!" Locke said, a grin on his lips. Braig nearly sent his milk flying through his nostrils, laughing. Even continued on with his sandwich.

"Mr. Crispy?" Xehanort said, confusedly.

"Locke!" Terra laughed, attempting to sound stern.

"What! You were burnt to a crisp, 'swhat I heard," Locke explained. "So, you're Crispy! It makes sense."

Xehanort began to chuckle. "I don't believe anyone's ever called me that," he said, dipping his spoon in and out of his soup. "Sounds pretty funny."

Locke nodded in agreement. "You really don't mind if I have some of that?" he asked, gesturing towards Xehanort's bowl. Xehanort pushed it in his direction with a smile.

"I'm not that hungry, go ahead and finish it," he said.

"Xehanort, you hardly ate any," Terra said, somewhat concernedly.

"It's okay, I'm really not that hungry," he said reassuringly. "Locke should have it."

With a grin, Locke began to hungrily eat the soup, and Terra rolled her eyes, although she was smiling.

"Can we still have the candy?" Ienzo inquired, eyeing the bag.

"Well..." Terra said, thinking. "We should return it..."

"Aww, come on!" Dilan and Braig protested.

"It's fair game! Let's eat it!" Dilan continued.

"You may not!" Terra retorted, snatching away the candy. "I'll be returning this."

"No fair!" came the popular reply.

"Miss Terra, I could bring back the candy for you!" a small, young voice rang from beneath the table. Instantly, Even cringed, and judging from Braig's complaints, he had lifted his feet rather abruptly to his chair.

Crawling out from under the table came a very small girl and boy, perhaps no older than 3 or 4 years old; the girl in a pink dress, her brown hair done up in a matching ribbon; the boy was blonde, and in his eyes was a look one would find in a frightened animal in a cage, and he was holding the girl's hand very tightly.

"You two!" Even said disgustedly. "Can't you leave a man in peace?"

"You're hardly a man; you're only 16," Ienzo said matter-of-factly, ignoring the situation at hand.

"Sorry, Mr. Even!" the girl said, giving him a look of childish apology. "Me an' Cloud got nothin' else to do, an' my mama said I can't be in the bakery right now!"

The small boy nodded in agreement, and briefly looked at Xehanort, before turning his eyes towards the ground and holding his companion's hand even tighter.

"Now, now, you two," Terra said, smiling in spite of herself at the mischief the two children had caused. "Why were you bothering Even today?"

"We weren' botherin' him!" the girl said strongly, her hands on her hips, thrusting her stomach forward in a gesture of rebellion. "We were playin' spyaround, right, Cloud?"

The boy nodded yet again, although he was heard to say something.

"An' I...I was...lookin'...for my daddy..." he said softly.

"Oh?" Terra said, in mild surprise, and turned towards Braig. "Where is Professor Hojo?"

"Didn't see him," Braig reported. "Cloud, if you were lookin' for him, he wasn't in the lab today."

"Oh..." the small boy said, his voice fading with mild disappointment. "Then I should...jus' wait at home for him...but I don' like bein' alone in the house...cos there's monsters'n..."

"Cloud, don't be scared," the girl said comfortingly. "The scary monsters won' hurt you, I know!"

The boy, whom Xehanort now identified as Cloud, looked at the girl thankfully.

"I know," he said, and turned to face the table, sheepishly. "Sorry...Mr. Even, for botherin' you..."

Even sniffed in distaste. "Just don't bother me again, even if you are looking for your father."

Cloud nodded bashfully, and tugged the girl's hand.

"We gotta go now," she said. "'msorry!"

"It's okay, run along, now," Terra said, smiling. "I'll play with you tomorrow, if you want."

The girl grinned, showing a few gaps in her teeth.

"Okay!" she called. "G'bye!"

The two children ran off together, Cloud gripping the hand of the brown-haired girl as tightly as he could, until they were out of sight.

"It's okay for children that age just to run about, freely?" Xehanort asked after a while.

"Of course! It's perfectly safe, and practically everybody knows each other," Terra said.

"It's almost like the town is one big family," Elaeus said contentedly.

"Yes, exactly!" Terra agreed, smiling. She hardly noticed that Ienzo had snuck beneath the table and had snatched the bag of candy from her, and was now quietly bickering over it with Dilan. However, Xehanort did.

"Umm, Terra, it seems you've lost the candy," he announced, and upon discovering this, Terra and Dilan began another bout of bickering,which caused everyone at the table to enjoy some laughter by the end of the meal.


Later in the afternoon, Terra and Xehanort walked back to the castle together; she had promised to show him to the library earlier in the day, and fully intended on fufilling her word. However, when they approached the bridge over the river, she realized something and ran down the grassy sides of the bank to the shore, and Xehanort followed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Here, there's someone I want you to meet," she said, kneeling at the river's edge. "Crush! Crush, you there! Come on up!"

"Crush?" Xehanort echoed. "Who's Crush?"

"A turtle," Terra replied brightly.

"A turtle? One of those big ones?" said Xehanort, and Terra nodded.

"Yes, you'll see soon," she said. "Crush!"

A large, mottled brown shell began to come their way through the clear waters, and surely, a large turtle that one could practically ride on came to shore.

"Xehanort, this is Crush," she said, gesturing towards the animal. "Crush, this is Xehanort."

"Ah, right-on," the turtle said, and Xehanort nearly fell over in astonishment.

"Did it...did it just talk?" he said, completely blown away.

"Chyeah," the turtle replied. "Lotsa animals talk, you just gotta know how to know, you know?"

"Indeed..." Xehanort said, mildly confused.

"Crush is one of the oldest turtles of the castle," Terra explained. "Ever since my father was a boy, and before that, even."

"Wooow...do turtles live long?" Xehanort asked.

"Wouldn't you know it!" Crush said, a pleased expression on his reptillian face. "So, word 'round the canals is that you want to be one of the apprentices."

"Yeah! How'd you know?" said Xehanort.

"When it comes to water, word travels faster than you would believe, man," Crush said. "Good luck to you on that. You're a special one, I think."

"You really think so, Crush?" Terra asked, and the turtle nodded serenely.

"On my honor," he replied. "Known a lotta people destined for awesome things. I got this feelin', y'know?"

Xehanort flushed in humility.

"Just wanted you two to meet," Terra said brightly, filling the silence. "Xehanort, on to the library?"

"Oh! Yes!" Xehanort said. "Crush, it was a pleasure meeting you."

"You as well, dude," the turtle replied. "Peace out!"

The two youths walked up the hill together, and Crush watched them leave, his head bobbing against the gentle waves of the river.

"Floating through time, through the worlds...hearts like that don't show up every day," he said to himself, nodding slightly. "Let's just see where this ends up..."

Dipping beneath the waves, the wise old turtle returned to his natural realm, to drift and dream as he loved to do.

--

Wow, this is the longest chapter I've ever written...wow!

More are introduced! Catch any interesting cameos?

Cloud has two very significant brown-haired women in his life...which one is it? Tifa or Aerith?
That's up for you to decide. And why so shy?

Oh, the title of the previous chapter is different than what I posted last chapter. XD These are tenative names, like in Dragonball...oh, nevermind.

Next
- Trials