Theme 503 - Storytelling

Sora blinked once, twice, and then seemed to settle on staring in confusion. One hand on the branch he was sitting on while the other was placed on the trunk of the tree. He was leaning forward slightly, his feet already dangling in front of him in preparation to jump down to the ground.

Kairi bit her lip, eyes downcast as she leaned against her windowsill, feeling uncomfortable with the way Sora was just staring at her. It didn't help that Riku, who was sitting on another branch, this one a little lower than Sora's and on the other side of the tree, was also gazing at her, but his held a quiet intensity that made something shift in the bottom of her stomach.

It was Sora who finally broke the silence, in a careful tone that was meant to keep the tension from overwhelming them. "You… want me to tell you… about my adventures?"

Kairi twisted her hands together, still very aware of Riku's stare, but gave a small nod in answer. Sora tilted his head down at this, contemplating, and then turned to the right to glance at Riku. The silver-haired boy in question met his gaze, a silent conversation filled with questions, worries, and answers passing between them, until Riku simply shrugs at him, a small smile playing across his mouth.

He can handle it.

Sora smiles at that - not a full blow grin, for there is still the underlying worry that comes with what he is about to do - and turns back to Kairi. "Sure, we can do that."

Kairi finally glances up, also smiling, though hers is filled with relief more than anything else. Sora nods behind her. "Now go ask your dad if you can go out. We still need to head over to Play Island before it gets too hot out." With that, he lifts himself off the branch and jumps down.

-X-

Sora plops down on the sand, folding his legs Indian-style and placing his hands on his knees, grinning at them sheepishly. "So… I really don't know where to start."

Kairi shifts from her position of leaning against Riku's side, lifting her head off his shoulder to glance up at him in question. Riku purses his lips, noting that Sora is also staring at him, and knows that this is really a question that he must answer.

There is the true beginning of the story, in which the three of them decided to build a raft and travel to other worlds. But no one really wants to talk about that, least of all him. It's not because Sora and Kairi blame him for what happened - something he really doesn't understand - but because it is something that has already been forgiven and no longer needs to be talked about.

Making a decision, Riku meets Sora's gaze, bringing a hand up to pat Kairi on the head. "You said the first world you went to was Traverse Town, right? Start there."

It all becomes easy from there.

Sora launches into his stories, animatedly using his hands to sometimes get his point across, and Kairi and Riku and Kairi smile at the brunette's exuberance. There are some points where Sora falters, not knowing how to get around a dark point in the story, like when something he says uncovers a bad memory that casts a shadow over Riku's face, or when Kairi stiffens and clutches her hands together when she realizes where one of his scars came from, but the three of them are able to work together and get through it, and Sora continues the story.

They don't realize how late it is until Sora, who was in the middle of describing how nasty the inside of Monstro's mouth smelled, stopped and looked over to the setting sun. "It's sunset already?" There is a kind of wonderment in his voice, as if he really didn't realize how late it was getting, and looks a little crestfallen that he can't continue.

Kairi reaches over, placing her hand on his knee and keeping it there until Sora looks back at her, and then smiles at him. "We can continue the story tomorrow, Sora. Don't worry about it."

Sora grins, nodding at her, excited that he will get the chance to continue. Riku smiles as well, reaching down to grab Kairi's hand and extending the other out to Sora. "Of course, the way Sora's telling it, we'll need more than just tomorrow to finish the story."

Sora smiles sheepishly, grabbing Riku's hand and completing the circle. "We have all the time in the world."