An impolite question
Walking up the stairs Riku came to a terrace. He saw Urd seated at a table right next to the railing, admiring the view.
"This is my favorite spot in the whole city. On off duty days I could spend hours here, just watching the view. So much life and light. A world full of thriving people. And there is a nice view of a park close by that I also like. This might be the first time I've seen it during the night, but I have to say with all the city lights… its kinda cool too." She said to him, not turning her eyes from the view.
"So, how did it go? Good talk? Got everything you need?" She asked.
"More or less, I think. But when I decided to come here I had no idea what I was getting into. I'm a bit overwhelmed to be honest." Riku replied.
"I'll bet." She replied with a smile. Then she frowned, turning to look at him. "Decided to come? You're saying you didn't disappear in the real world?"
"No. I came here to look for a friend of mine. I came to get him home." Riku answered.
A flicker of curiosity in her eyes, a faint smile tugging the corner of her mouth. "Just… just like that? Huh. And the trend of you being unusually interesting continues."
He shrugged. "Not quite as interesting as this place is turning out to be. And I'm starting to realize this might be even trickier than I thought."
"Anyway, the reason I came up here is because Ephemer and Brain have something they wish to discuss with you." He added.
"Right. I better not keep them waiting then." She said, standing up. At the door she stopped. "You said your name was Riku?" She asked.
"Yeah? Why?" He asked.
A momentary pause. "…It's nothing really. It just had a familiar ring, that's all. Like I had heard it somewhere before. But I guess I must be imagining it."
"I'll come back for you once I've found out what those two want from me. Sit tight in the meantime. And please, enjoy the view." She motioned, then left down the stairs.
As suggested Riku sat down to take in the view. Like Urd had said it was a beautiful sight, but he was feeling too restless to really enjoy it. Somewhere among this mess of skyscrapers was Sora. Of that much he was certain. But the more he saw of the city the more he realized finding Sora might be a challenge to say the least. And based on what he had been told getting back home with him could prove to be an even bigger problem. He hoped that a way back could be found somewhere out there. And that no one would follow after him until the solution was revealed. He knew Kairi would be on her way once her training was complete. But neither he nor Sora would want her trapped here on their account. So either he needed to find an answer, or he needed to find a way to warn her to stay away.
He could definitely use the help he had been offered now. And luckily these people seemed nice enough. Still, given they had known of him coming here beforehand made him wonder if there was more to it than an earnest desire to help. He would need to find out their angle, assuming they had one to speak of.
Half an hour later Urd came back. "So… I'm told my usual duties are suspended for now. Ephemer and Brain asked me to assist you. You know, help you get to know the city, making use of my contacts in looking for your friend."
A surprised pause from Riku. "And I suppose that is okay with you? Just like that?"
She shrugged. "I don't see why I shouldn't. It's more or less what I'm supposed to do. You might be just about the strangest Arrived I've ever heard about, but I'm still supposed to help people like you along. And based on how Ephemer and Brain are talking about it this sounds like something important. So I'll make time for it. In short: No, I don't have a problem with it."
"First I suggest we go back to my place and get some rest. We can get to work in the morning." She added.
"Thanks, but… I'd rather get started right away." He replied.
"I get that. And I suppose you aren't feeling tired since you just got here. But even so it's nighttime currently. Nothing is open yet, and the people who might help us are more than likely asleep at this hour. And… you're better off letting Brain and Ephemer work first. They'll get us info that ought to narrow down our efforts considerably. Might even be able to point you straight at your friend. Right now patience is the better virtue. Trust me on that." She said.
Riku pursed his lips, then sighed heavily. "Alright, fine."
"Good. Then let's get moving. It won't be a long ride." She said.
She led him back downstairs, where they said a quick goodbye to Ephemer (Brain was still working in the back room). Then they went outside, and off they went again into the night on Urd's motorcycle.
"So this is where I live. Make yourself right at home." Urd said as she opened the door for Riku.
"Nice looking place. Clean and cozy." Riku complimented.
"Thanks. I like to keep things tidy, because a lot of the Arrived I help spend their first few nights here until we can find them a place of their own. So I've gotten quite used to having guests here."
"The couch in the living room can be converted to a bed for you. My room is right over there. And there is the kitchen. A bit bare at the moment, but I can fix that in a hot second. There is a twenty four seven store around the corner I can go to, get us whatever we need. And the bathroom and shower are behind that door." She detailed, motioning with her hand.
"Uh, hope you don't mind a few cats." She added hesitantly.
"Not at all. How many?" Riku asked.
"Three. There's Shadow, Mist, and Helga. Shadow and Mist are kinda shy, so you probably won't be seeing them unless you stay for more than one night. But as for Helga…" Urd said before a calico cat came out from one of the rooms and meowed at her.
"Helga! There you are, sweetie! Come here, you…" She cooed, scooping up the can on her arms. Helga purred, rubbing her face on Urd's hand.
"Aww! She's a cutie isn't she?" Urd asked.
"Um… y-yeah, sure. Nice cat." Riku said hesitantly.
That earned a chuckle from Urd. "… You know, I'm starting to get the impression you're not terribly good with social interactions."
"Uh…" Riku stammered.
"It's ok. There's nothing wrong with that. I've seen all sorts of people come through here. And you are far from the most hopeless case I've seen, trust me." She said.
She let her cat down and went to a set of cupboards in the kitchen. "Please, sit. Can I get you anything? Some tea perhaps?"
"No, no, I'm good." Riku replied as he sat down on one of the chairs around a table in the kitchen.
"You sure? I've got a nice selection." She asked, rummaging in the cupboard.
"I'm sure." He confirmed.
"Alright then. I hope you don't mind in that case…" She said, taking a few tea bags out of the cupboard and putting a kettle on the stove. After that she returned to the table, sitting down opposite to Riku.
"So what happens now?" Riku asked.
"Now Brain is going to crunch some numbers for us, trying to get a better idea on when your friend might have arrived. Time doesn't work exactly the same way here as it does back in reality, so he has to do the math to figure out the approximate date. Once we have that we can compare it to the locations of those who arrived at that time. And assuming his name doesn't show up in Ephemer's listing we can start asking other patrollers like myself who were receiving arrived on the day in question. If they can't point us straight to him then at least we might be able to get started on finding out what happened.
"I thought you said you keep tabs on all the Arrived?" He asked, frowning.
A momentary pause. "What I meant was that we keep tabs on all that we know of. Which is most of them, I promise. But are admittedly a small number that manage to vanish before we can get to them. Hopefully your buddy won't be among those. But if he is then we'll keep on looking. We were serious when we said we wanted to help you."
"I'm starting to get that impression, yeah." Riku said.
"So… how do the Heartless fit into all this? Back when you found me you seemed surprised to find them. Kind of frightened actually." He asked.
Her expression darkened a little. "That's because I was. That fight was the first time I've seen any since I came here. There aren't supposed to be any here. This is supposed to be the one place the Darkness can't reach."
"I see..." Riku said with a contemplative tone.
"Well, hopefully it was a one-time thing. Some freak occurrence that won't ever happen again. Otherwise…" She said, suppressing a shudder.
"In any event that's just one more thing we'll learn more about tomorrow. So we have a bit of waiting ahead until then." She added, with a lighter tone.
"And seeing as we're going to be working together I think we could stand to know a bit more about each other." She added.
"I'll even let you start. So ask away, and I'll do my best to answer." She said with a smile, spreading her arms.
Riku paused, then shrugged. "Alright, I'll bite. Let's see… where are you from? Originally I mean?"
"I'm from Scala. Uh, Scala ad Caelum is the full name. Do you know of it? A big white city built into several island towns." She detailed.
"I think I've visited. But… no one lives there as far as I know." He said.
Urd's expression turned a bit sadder. "Ah. I… I had heard as much from other Arrived. It's kind of a shame really. It was a good place to live. A good home. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Even when I was living there it wasn't fully inhabited. In truth only one of the town still had people on it. And even then… you could sometimes get a feeling like… like the people were spread out too sparsely, you know what I mean. So many abandoned buildings, with the inhabited ones sprinkled amongst them. I'm no expert on cities, but I suppose in a healthy city that is supposed to be the other way around."
"I was too young to really pay attention to it though. Too busy spending time with my friends and studying to become a Keyblade Master. And I suppose matters ended for me before I could become really invested in figuring out what was wrong."
"So… you're really…?" He asked hesitantly.
"Am I what?" She asked, narrowing her eyes in puzzlement. "Am I dead?" She then guessed.
"I suppose I am, back where you came from. But don't worry. I'm not a ghost or zombie or anything like that. Here I'm just a normal, living, breathing girl. Exactly as you see me. But yeah, that… did stop being the case back in reality." She answered, made slightly uncomfortable by the question.
"So… what happened? How did you… disappear?" Riku nevertheless continued.
Riku saw Urd wince. Her hand rose to briefly rub her neck, covered by the high collar of her jacket.
She bit her lip. "It… it's not usually considered polite to ask that question of an Arrived. Most of us prefer not to think about that. It's often not a happy story. And almost always it's a very personal one. When we want to tell you, we'll tell you. And most of us… most of us would much rather live this new life we have been gifted than dwell in the past."
Riku's eyes widened. "Oh. I-I'm sorry. I didn't realize." He apologized.
"It's alright. You're new here. You don't know these things yet." Urd said, though Riku's question had obviously unsettled her.
"Uh… I'd best go get us those supplies." She said, hurriedly standing up and going to the door.
"Urd…" Riku tried.
"Really, it's fine. I was planning to go buy food today anyway. And I won't be gone long! You just… sit tight for a bit, ok? I'll be back soon. And, uh, watch the kettle on the stove in the meantime, would you?" She said. Then she was just gone, leaving a bewildered and slightly regretful Riku in her apartment. He rubbed the back of his head, cursing himself for his lack of tact.
With a bit more haste than she intended Urd went outside and walked around the corner. The lights of the store were before her eyes, but she didn't enter. Instead she leaned against the wall, sighing heavily. Her hand involuntarily sneaked up to rub her neck again. She stayed there for some time, thinking, wrangling with herself over something. She then went to take her phone out of her pocket, dialing a number.
"Hi. It's me." She said as soon as she heard the call was answered.
"Yeah, sure. Sorry to wake you up in the middle of the night like this. But I'm pretty sure you'd want to hear this straight away. Because you wouldn't believe who I just ran into on patrol tonight…" She continued.