Riku sat on a lone hillside overlooking the small palace. His eyes followed along the rolling hills of the landscape. It seemed that it was mostly made of the forest with the area around the palace being one of the only clearings. Being midday, the sun shone down harshly from high in the sky. He found himself having to squint if he looked up a bit too high. He was still panting slightly from his own practice earlier. This place really was like a little slice of paradise, like an island in the middle of the ocean far away from everything else. His own heartache, everything he had witnessed thus far, seemed to almost disappear, but there was no way he could ever forget the turmoil out there. Sooner or later, he'd have to venture out again. From his spot on the hill, he could see Kairi wandering through the gardens. He couldn't seem to spot Sora, sighing as that meant he most likely followed him. It would be nice to have those two with him out there, but..were they really ready? As far as Riku knew, they had no idea what was going on besides Sora having dreams.

"His dreams..he must be connected to someone or something, but who could it be?" Riku thought to himself.

A sudden pressure on his shoulder caused him to practically whip around, his hands quickly balling up into fists. His eyes were wild and ready for a fight at being suddenly broken off from his trance. However, his guard instantly lowered when he saw familiar ocean blue eyes and bronze toned skin.

"Oh, it's just you," he sighed, turning back around to his original position. Damn, maybe he had been on the run for too long.

"Sorry if I startled you." Sora bowed apologetically, carefully sitting down next to Riku. For a moment, he studied the elf's side profile: the way the gentle breeze tousled his hair, his pointed ears that twitched at nearby sounds every now and then, that jaw line.. In the light, his skin glistened with a sheen of sweat the sparring and practice earlier. He tore his eyes away when they focused on his biceps, knowing the look of disdain he received when he was caught staring. "I, um, I forgot how rough you've had it out there. I guess Kairi and I have been pretty lucky being in here."

"Are you sure you want to go out there with me? You know, I'm perfectly fine with a 'no.' I'll just continue my mission by myself." Being alone was something he was very much used to. For a long time, he had thought of it as a weakness, but now, he knew his true strength. Could he even trust them with the truth?

"I can't just ignore my dreams. There's something out there that's calling me, and I have to find out what," Sora said without even thinking. Riku nearly laughed out loud at that confident smirk on his face, having to cover his mouth. Sora's face soon scrunched up into a pout. "And you're not taking me seriously, are you?"

"I swear I am," Riku finally said once he calmed himself down, though he couldn't help the smile that had spread on his face. "I just didn't expect such an immediate response." It looked like there was no way of him leaving this place by himself. He could at least count on Kairi for magical strength.

Silence took over for a little while between the two. Riku stared off in the distance, thinking through a tentative plan. He was going to have to take greater precautions with these two tagging along. Sora twiddled his thumbs, taking little peeks at Riku every now and then. It would help if he knew some of his interests so they could talk about something. He really did want to know more about him.

"Oh! You're an elf!"

"Yeah, last time I checked I was," Riku said, rolling his eyes before glancing at Sora with an "are you serious" look.

"Hey, I wasn't done, okay? You're an elf, so I'm guessing you speak Elvish, right? I know there are probably different dialects, but you're the first elf I've met." It was a start at least.

"I am the Elven Prince. I would hope I could speak my native tongue." Riku sighed as he saw the big eyes Sora was giving him. "Yes, yes, I do speak it."

"Wow! That's so cool! Maybe you could teach me a few words sometime." Sora smiled brightly, simply excited to learn something new about Riku.

" Eithad adel," Riku said after some thought, not able to hold back a snicker. Sora, on the other hand, felt like he had heard a chorus of the gods. The way the foreign words effortlessly rolled off Riku's tongue..well, he could listen to that all day.

"Oh, right, what does that mean?" He cleared his throat, hoping he hadn't been off in a daze for too long.

"I called you a dumb butt," Riku laughed, playfully poking Sora's forehead.

"I feel like I should be insulted, but you said it so beautifully." Sora puffed up his cheeks at the remark but couldn't seem to stop smiling. He decided to test their boundaries a bit, ever so slowly scooching closer to Riku. He regarded Sora's movements with a side glance but made no attempt to protest. From their short time together so far, he had learned that there wasn't much that was going to stop Sora once he put his mind to something.

"You might not want to get too close to me. I'm pretty sweaty." Riku was thankful for the gentle breeze that blew past every now and then. He tilted his head forward whenever it passed by, sighing softly as it cooled the back of his neck. The sweat along his arms only defined his muscles even more so, glistening in the sun.

"Oh, uh, I don't mind. I train too, and the climate is pretty much the same all the time here, so I'm used to it," he said quickly, darting his eyes away. He shifted his focus on the rolling hills in the distance that Riku was looking at.

"There's something I've been wondering about.." Riku said after the quiet moment. "You're both avid keyblade fighters, yet you reside in a peaceful place like this. Normally, in a place like this, you wouldn't be at the fighting level you're at."

"Hmm, it's a mystery to me too. I just..kind of know I guess. I hold my keyblade, and I just know how to fight like they're abilties from a time that I've forgotten. So, I can't really explain much to you unfortunately." Sora looked down at the grass beneath him. He absentmindingly picked at blades of grass, tossing them into the wind.

"Does this have to do with your dreams and lapse in memory?"

"Yeah, I just wish I could remember everything before I went to sleep, but I'm hopeful that travelling with you and venturing out will help." In a rare moment, Sora's smile disappeared replaced with a forlorn look. Riku moved to face Sora, taking a deep breath and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll remember, and I'll be happy to help, okay?"

Riku felt his heart practically flutter as Sora's grin came back, nodding enthustically. He turned his head off to the side as he felt a heat overtaking his face.

"Hey, Riku?"

"Y-yeah?" Riku still looked away, knowing his face was probably beet red by now.

"What's the Elvish word for friend?"

"I-it's 'mellon.'"

"Well, you're my mellon, then!"

Sora and Kairi seemed more enthusastic about heading out on the journey more so than Riku. He had repeatedly stressed they didn't have to leave until they felt ready, but it was a mere few days later, and they were packed up and ready to go. He would miss this place even though he had only been here for a short while. There was a familiarity about it that he just couldn't shake. Oases like this were hard to come by, but there was a slight chance they may encounter another. His kingdom was one, but that was far, far away. Around twilight of the final day, the three of them stood by the border in the forest. The sky above was ablaze in orange and tones of red. Massive clouds loomed in the distance, looking like grand mountains of a calderra. For a moment, there was absolute peace, but they were only seconds away from entering a world where danger lurked around every corner.