"Come on, Sora!"
As the Keyblade Master ran after the huntress urging him on, he couldn't help noticing a change in her. Ruby seemed far more chipper and carefree than usual, and she was a big ball of optimism already. But here? It was like what happened back in Traverse Town didn't happen at all. Now here she was, running through the woods, urging him to follow after her now that they found themselves walking down another path to another restored section of the 100 Acre Wood.
When they finally stopped for a break, Sora sat down beside her, catching his breath. "Wow, Ruby. I don't think I've seen you this happy since you reunited with your whole team." The sheer amount of cheer and joy she was expressing, one would think she hadn't broken down crying earlier today. Not that it wasn't a joy to behold, of course.
Ruby let out a cheerful sigh as she took to time to catch her breath as well. "I think this world is growing on me." she said as she looked between Sora and the trees surrounding them. "We hardly had places like this where I come from. Even if there were peaceful forests or grasslands, Grimm would always invade at least once. Here though I can enjoy the warm sun and the serenity of nature without any danger. It's so...wholesome." she explained as she flopped down onto the soft grass.
Smiling at her earnest and...honestly adorable joy, Sora couldn't deny that he felt a great warmth within his chest the more they went through this place. "Yeah, I know what you mean. This place...it honestly kinda reminds me of home in some ways. Just with less beaches and oceans and more trees, you know?" Sora said as he looked up at the canopy above their heads. Even if the worlds were different, Sora could faintly feel the similar sense of ease and simplicity in this peaceful world. The feeling that made him so attached to the islands. "Though you in particular...seem a lot more happy and relaxed than even me on my best days back home." he noted, looking back at Ruby.
That made Ruby hum as she looked up at the canopy as well. "You know I think you may be onto something. I've noticed every time we help Pooh and the others here, I feel more alive. Wonder why?" She wasn't sure what it was, but...it was a really nice feeling at least. Even if sshe couldn't put a name on it, it didn't make it any less wonderful. Especially getting to share it with Sora.
Her attention was drawn from the canopy when Ruby suddenly noticed something flash out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened when she looked at Sora and saw..."Sora, your Keyblade!"
Sora quickly looked to his right hand and blanched with surprise when he saw that suddenly, the Keyblade was in his hands. Bright, shining rings with roman numerals emerged around the blade, surrounding it with a silhouette akin to a clock. "Hey, didn't something like this happen when we were inside Monstro?" he wondered.
"Yeah...I think you used a spell that stopped time, or...stopped something in time or...something like that?" Ruby said, rubbing her chin in contemplation. Donald would probably be able to better explain the mechanics. "And your other spells got stronger after we survived harrowing fights too. Sooo, I guess this spell of yours got stronger now?"
"But... we haven't been involved with any fights since we got here." Sora pointed out with confusion. This place was as peaceful as they came. Like Ruby said, the Keyblade was supposed to unlock new powers whenever he went through a harrowing fight, right? Or were there some other potential triggers for it to gain power? It was odd that they seemed to gaining strength by simple chance. There had to be a reason for it. But what? What were they not realizing here?
Before they could think on it further, the pair perked back up as they heard a familiar voice further in the trees, cheering, "Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoooo!"
Both Ruby and Sora blurted out, "Tigger?" at the sound of the irrepressibly cheerful laugh. A laugh that was able to stick in one's memory upon the first time hearing it.
Sora and Ruby hopped to their feet and immediately trotted around the corner where the laugh came from. Sure enough, they saw Tigger bouncing on a log formed like a see-saw with what looked to be a brown, baby kangaroo wearing a blue turtleneck jumping on the other end. "Hey there! This is my bouncin' spot! We can bounce around here all day! You wanna bounce too, Sora? How 'bout you, Ruby? It's lotsa fun!" "Lotsa fun!" the little kangaroo parroted cheerfully.
Ruby couldn't help giggling at the pair. "Sure!" Both she and Sora said, drawing a cheer from the two bouncy friends. When they stopped, Ruby walked over to the see-saw and bent down to look at their newest friend. "Hi there. I'm Ruby." she introduced herself happily. "And I'm Sora." Sora piped up with a wave. "Hiya! I'm Roo!" the little aptly named Kangaroo introduced. "Roo lives with his mama, Kanga. She's a real sweet lady. It's good to have the lil nipper back. He's one of the best non-Tigger bouncers in the Wood!" Tigger said enthusiastically. Roo lets out a small giggle at Tigger's praise, and says, "Heheh. Thanks. I've missed you too, Tigger."
As Sora and Ruby climbed onto the nearest stump, Tigger whirled around and said, "Now that you're both here, I think it's time I told ya just why Tiggers are the best bouncers ever to bounce a bounce!" Tigger took a dramatic pause before leading the group in a bounce along the tree stumps.
His movements around all the stumps were fast and energized that Sora and Ruby almost had difficulty keeping up. "Whew. Even Nora would have her work cut out for her if she met Tigger." Ruby whispered, earning a snicker from Sora. It seemed they both were on the same page, including the imagery that went with it. But there would be time to imagine such another time. For now, Sora turned back to their bouncing friend, saying, "You sure seem more excited than ever, Tigger."
"Sure am!" Tigger answered as he bounced over to them again, riding on the seesaw with Roo. "My favorite bouncing ground has come back! It was the strangest thing. After I was spending some time with Rabbit, I felt like going for a bounce through the Hundred Acre Wood. The trail I took to get there had a new one I thought was gone. So I followed it and here I came, to my old bouncin' ground. Roo was here, too! It was a double delight of a surprise!"
"Noth'n beats bouncin'!" Roo exclaimed, still bouncing with perfect sync with Tigger. One would think that Roo was a tinier, younger version of him, were it not for the fact that Roo very clearly wasn't a Tigger. Just the sight of them them together, so cheery and carefree, made Sora and Ruby smile all the more. Pooh really did have some wonderful friends.
"You two wanna bounce, too? It's lotsa fun!" Tiggers offer had an immediate response from Sora and Ruby. Both were filled with delight at the idea, in no small part thanks to the warmhearted levity the two bouncing fanatics brought them. "Sure!" "Yeah!"
Their acceptance was a thrill to the professional bouncers. A mutual cheer that a certain old, regal bird took the opportunity to make an entrance in the wake of. "To bounce with the finest, you'll need some pointers from the finest." said Owl as he floated down onto the middle of the seesaw. Tigger and Roo stopped their bouncing so he could have a stable ground to set his taloned feet on, and explain things to the human pair.
"But, Owl, you don't bounce around like we do!" Roo pointed out with amusement. The young marsupial's words caused Owl to pause and think a moment before realizing the truth of the youth's words. "I'm afraid you're right. I can't master everything, I suppose." Owl responded with resignation as he flew off off into the edge of the bouncing ground.
"Well nothin' to worry about there! You got the best bouncers in the Hundred Acre Wood here to show ya how it's done! Bounce this way, please!" Tigger proclaimed proudly, hopping along the curiously placed tree stumps. It was easy to see why he referred to this place as his bouncing ground. It was almost like it was specifically made in the wood for him. But then again, Sora and Ruby had seen weirder things. And on the bright side, like they discussed mere moments ago, this was undeniably wholesome. How could anyone possibly question such fun things when there was bouncing to be done?
"You're both doin fantastical!" Tigger encouraged as round and round across the stumps the pair bounced, following Tigger and Roo's patterns up to the cliff on the opposite end of where they started, around what looked to be a giant honey pot. Sora and Ruby by now couldn't help but notice that such pots seemed to be rather common in the wood. But such details could wait. As mentioned, there was bouncing to be had!
"You've gotten mighty good at bouncin', Sora! You too, Ruby! Right Roo?" By now, both of them were quite winded, but also happy to be so enthusiastically encouraged by Tigger. "Aww, thanks Tigger." Ruby said as she and Sora evened out her breathing. Bouncing was definitely tiring, but at least it was a lot more relaxing than fighting for their lives against Heartless and Grimm. It was then, as Roo nodded in agreement, that the two would find out what that pot in the center of the stumps was for. "Hey, Tigger! I think they're ready for the big one!" Tigger's eyes seemed to light up at Roo's suggestion, while Sora and Ruby's were alight with confusion yet also curiosity. "Well, there's only one way to find out!" Tigger said enthusiastically before bouncing up high and landing in the giant pot. "Tigger?" Sora said, sharing a look with Ruby. "Alright Sora, Ruby! Time to see just how good at bouncin' you really are! Stand on two opposin' tree stumps and we can begin the big one!"
Neither Sora nor Ruby seemed to understand what was going on but they did as Tigger instructed, each standing over a stump across the huge honey pot at the middle of the bouncing ground. "Here's what we're gonna do. Roo and I are gonna toss this nuts into the air. You two gotta smack em before they hit the ground and try hitt'n them into that huge old honey pot, but make sure ya don't fall off the stumps. Can ya bounce but stay high up with some fall'n targets?"
The idea sounded like a game and that brought light to Sora and Ruby's thoughts about what their friends had planned as much as a smile. "Sounds like a challenge." Sora said confidently. Equally into the idea, Ruby raised a fist to the sky, cheering, "Bring it on!"
"That's the spirit!" Tigger said as he and Roo hopped near the two higher risen friends. Each had ten nuts tossed in the air above them. The challenge was to get them to fly back up into the honey pot. Once or twice, one of them stumbled near the edge of their stumps but maintained balance while continuing the game until finally, they'd run out of nuts to strike. Tigger and Roo bounced up to Sora and Ruby with congratulatory grins. "You got seven outta ten of them. Not bad, Sora." Tigger said, bouncing up to give Sora a cheerful smack on the back.
"Ruby, you got nine of them! That's almost a perfect score!" Roo said in an equally congratulatory way. Sora looked over at Ruby hearing that she beat him by two points. "Wow, Ruby. You only missed one?" he asked, genuinely impressed. "I guess it's cause I've got a bit more experience with my weapon than you do with yours. Uh...not to brag or anything" Ruby said with an awkward expression. Fortunately, Sora didn't seem bothered at all as he smiled. "Well it was fun competing. Let's do it again, sometime."
"Yeah! Tigger cheered with an exuberant nod before bouncing back with Roo. "Roo? Let's go back to the seesaw!" With a cheer from the little marsupial, the two bouncers went back and forth, carrying just as much energy as before. It made Sora and Ruby smile as they figured now was a good time to move on with...Pooh?
"Uhh, Sora? Where's Pooh?" It was only after Ruby asked that that Sora noticed that the entire time they'd been bouncing with Tigger and Roo, the little red shirt wearing bear was nowhere in sight! "He must have walked somewhere else into the woods." Sora said, not feeling too worried. After all, there wasn't anything dangerous in this book, so Pooh was surely alright. "Well, we'd better go and find him. We can't let him get lost here." Ruby said as she led the way through the woods. Hopefully the silly old bear wasn't far. As much as they enjoyed their time here, they did have to return to the others eventually.
