The Arena
Having dried off after their match in the basin of the Rising Falls, Riku had escorted Raven back up to the castle. She had many questions about what lay down various hallways and through closed doors. Maleficent had said the basement levels and the southern tower were off limits to them, but the young hunter was eager to explore the rest of the castle. Riku had explained to her that the easiest way to avoid the basement was to avoid going any lower than the Entrance Hall, and that the Southern Tower was on the other side of the Chapel where Maleficent held her Council, though the way was barred with magic. The remainder of the castle and grounds was theirs to roam. Having only been there a few weeks himself, Riku didn't know much beyond the route connecting his room and the Entrance Hall and the adjoining locations such as the Library, which he was in the process of showing to Raven.
"Wow! I've never seen so many books in one place!" She was awestruck, taking in the mahogany bookshelves gilded with gold and the carved green tiling on the floor. Moving forwards, she saw a beautiful staircase curving up alongside giant windows that reached the ceiling, the light of day flooding the cavernous room, reflecting off of a crystal chandelier, and underneath this staircase was an ornate desk and matching chair, complete with an oil lamp and a stack of books.
"I've spent a lot of free time here." Riku said, walking over to the desk and absent-mindedly flipping through the one book that lay open. "Trying to learn what I can about this place and the worlds outside. I can't believe how ignorant and sheltered the islands were from all this."
Raven came over to the table and perused the titles he'd stacked. "The False Stars: A Growing Compendium of Known Outer Worlds. Huh." The author's name was too faded to decipher but she opened up the top book at the table of contents and saw that over half of this very thick volume was empty. Evidently whoever had begun writing it hadn't managed to voyage very far at all. Looking at the smattering of worlds listed, Raven recognised very few, but it did include her world. "Hey, my home is in here!" She flipped through the pages, Riku came around to her side of the table to look over her shoulder, both curious as to what this writer had to say about Whitehollow Vale.
"Ahem. 'One of few worlds known to us that also have knowledge of worlds other than itself, Whitehollow Vale has a total population similar to ourselves, though its rural landscape means the populace is distributed across several farming hamlets, a coastal village with an economy based on fishing, and a fortress high up in the valley rather than concentrated in a singular settlement as we do here. This fortress is home to a guild of bounty hunters and mercenaries known as the Astral Hunters, who use their network of known worlds to provide their services, most notably that of monster hunting. Their heraldry is that of a golden sword and four-pointed star on a field of red.'"
Riku nudged her. "You didn't say you grew up in a fortress!"
She shrugged. "It's not some fancy place like this. It's what I've always known so I guess it didn't seem that interesting." Raven continued reading aloud.
"Many members of this guild are drifters from other worlds and as such, their knowledge of other worlds continues to grow. However, to my disappointment, I found that they do not pursue the scientific, cultural, nor economic possibilities of this further, insisting the World Order must not be disregarded lightly. See introduction, sub-heading: World Order'. Well, that's a bit unfair, it's not like we're equipped to do that kind of stuff, we're just hunters for hire. This guy's just left it there, like we weren't worth the paper. No details about the scenery or the culture or anything. I was hoping this could be like a guidebook. What a let down!" She sighed, snapping the book shut and dropping it on the desk. "Obviously this guy had a bad habit of not finishing his projects."
"Are you offended they didn't write pages and pages about your home in a catalogue?" Riku mused, folding his arms as he leant on the tabletop.
"A little, yeah. It's just… Strange to see the only place I've ever known be summed up in a paragraph, that's all."
"Hey, at least it was in there. The islands would be lucky to have two words. Sand and sea."
"You're really not a fan of your own home are you?"
"My home is with Sora and Kairi." He said flatly, tightening his folded arms. She knew he was likely just blocking out the pain of losing his world.
"They're your best friends, right? The ones Maleficent is helping you look for?" He grunted in affirmation. "What are they like? I remember you said you sparred with Sora and he's clumsy, but what else?" His folded arms loosened slightly as he relaxed again and smiled fondly.
"Heh, yeah. We've been friends our whole lives. He's a goofball, never takes anything seriously. Constantly slacking off and taking naps on the beach. No wonder we never finished the raft. But he's always there if I need him. He's so carefree I don't know how he keeps up." He shook his head gently.
"He sounds like a lot of fun. Just the type of person a grump like you needs."
"I'm a grump?" He raised his eyebrow.
"I've known you for less than a day and most of that time you've had your arms folded and a scowl on your face."
"That's just how I stand!" he shrugged but she chuckled.
"See? Total grump." He rolled his eyes and forced his hands onto the tabletop, his ears a slight pink. "What about your other friend?" His expression softened considerably.
"Kairi. She's not as much of a goofball as Sora, but she's fun to be around. Not much of a fighter so she likes to start competitions and referee. She's been with us for almost ten years. Appeared one day out of nowhere, no memories or anything except her name. The mayor took her in. She's kinda the reason I became so interested in the outside world. It's like she was a sign. I promised her that once we were off the islands, we would find out what happened to her, find her original world. She acts like it doesn't bother her, but I can tell she wants to know just as badly as the rest of us. I just want to make that dream come true for her."
"Wow sounds like she's someone really special. I'm looking forward to meeting both of them!" Riku looked at her, confused. "Well, I'm gonna help look for them too, of course! Maleficent's gonna have us paired up a lot of the time anyway, right? Might as well make use of my tracking skills!" She beamed with pride and excitement. The idea of travelling around new worlds was making her giddy again. "With my brain and- well my brawn but your brawn too, we'll find them in no time!"
"How modest of you." He said sarcastically, folding his arms again. She pointed at his crossed arms, grinning.
"Grump."
He rolled his eyes again and shook his head as she returned her attention to the vast collection of books around her, running up the stairs to explore the second level. He couldn't help but smile just a little though.
XXXXX
A few hours had passed, Riku had told his new companion to stay in the library while he attended to something quickly and she had no desire to leave the haven of books and scrolls anytime soon. She had found a second desk and chair set up on the higher level and had been running around the place finding book titles that interested her, making an ever-growing pile. It had to have been nearing noon and Raven hadn't eaten anything since the night before. Her stomach growled in the empty silence of the library. Mika had packed her some leftovers, but could she be sure she could find her way to her room? And Riku had told her to stay put, she didn't want to get on his bad side after they'd been getting along. Another loud rumble from her belly urged her to venture back to her room and distracted her from the book she had been examining. Unable to ignore it, she set the book down and headed for the Library's exit. No sooner had she put her hand on the handle and opened the door, than Riku was stood on the other side, looking very surprised to see her right there, holding two bowls of bread, cheese, and grapes. The two companions jumped back from each other, the food nearly spilling if it hadn't been for Riku's quick balance.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
Riku eyed her suspiciously. "Where were you going? I told you to stay put."
"I know, I know, I was just really hungry and thought I might go get some food I have in my room." He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly not buying it. "What? I didn't know you were getting us food. Thought it was an errand for Maleficent or something." She folded her arms and walked back into the library. Riku sighed and followed, handing her one of the bowls of food as he passed her and sat at the desk under the stairs.
"Whatever. Eat up. Maleficent wants to see us in the Chapel for training." He bit into the bread and tore a piece off, chewing for a bit before taking a bite out of the cheese. Rather than make her way back up to her desk, Raven opted to sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the towering bookshelves to eat her food. There wasn't an awful lot and when she bit into the bread she found it was stale and hard to chew and the grapes were sour. She thought a sorceress would at least have better food for her students.
"Riku, um… Is this a normal lunch around here?" She asked timidly, not wanting to sound ungrateful but hoping this was just because the kitchen needed restocking.
"Pretty much." He shrugged, grimacing at the sour grapes. "No cooks here that I've seen. There's always scraps in the kitchen though. What's wrong? Not living up to the fancy feasts you're used to?" He said bitterly. Raven felt bad that she was complaining but Riku's tone just rubbed her the wrong way.
"As a matter of fact; No." She nibbled at the cheese, which was bland and dry, coughing violently as the crumbling pieces got caught in her throat. A wooden bottle was handed to her, and she gratefully drank the clear water it held, the dry debris finally begin dislodged. Gasping with relief, she looked up at Riku standing above her looking down with mild concern.
"That should teach you not to talk with food in your mouth." He jested, walking back to the desk, and leaning on it while he finished his last few sour grapes. With the water's aid, Raven scarfed down the rest of her food, deeming it was better the less time it spent with her tastebuds. She tossed the bottle to Riku, who caught it casually, and started stretching. She was at least no longer hungry, and the thought of training soon put the bad meal out of her mind.
Stacking their bowls to collect later, the pair made their way out of the library and across the entrance hall to the central doorway which led to the chapel. It was a dingy as it had been the night before, despite being the middle of the day. Thankfully, it was far less crowded than it had been the last time Raven had been there, only Pete and Maleficent awaiting them. There was no alter in the centre of the room this time either, but Raven couldn't help but think it was a strange place to train. Far too dark and cramped. Stopping but a few paces from their mistress, Raven bowed her head in greeting, but noticed Riku didn't. Maleficent was evidently not impressed by this but said nothing about it.
"I trust the two of you are getting along?" She asked a small, slightly forced smile on her face. Before they could respond more than a nod, she continued. "Splendid. Now to business." She gestured with her staff at the sizable fireplace and a glowing pink portal of some kind manifested there.
"Well go on now, the two of yous got work to do!" Pete exclaimed, pointing to the portal. Riku went first, stepping up to it and disappearing through it. Raven was fascinated, yet apprehensive. She hadn't like Maleficent's teleportation magic and was wary of what a portal might feel like. But Riku had shown no fear, and neither would she, almost running through the swirling pink light. Strangely it didn't feel very different, only a breeze washing over her as she stepped through and almost immediately came out on the other side, which was a cavernous tower, stretching so high she could barely see the ceiling and mixed with the pipes that weaved in and out of the walls, were gigantic, black, thorny vines, twisting through the brickwork. She stared in awe of the sheer scale of the space. This was much more suitable for training. Maleficent soon exited the portal with Pete following closely, and Riku was stood waiting a little way off.
"Welcome to my little arena. Here is where I shall teach you to understand the mysteries of the arcane and wield the power they grant." She made a very grandiose gesture at the large expanse and over half of the flagstone flooring glowed. "We shall first see how you each fair in single combat. Dear, Raven, you shall go first, step forward." Eager to showcase her skills, Raven stepped onto the glowing slabs without hesitation. Immediately, a hexagonal barrier went up behind her, sealing her in. About twelve feet in front of her, a black puddle started growing and up from it raised an entirely black creature, hunched over and twitching, vaguely humanoid in shape but barely coming up to her hip. Spindly antenna protruded from its featureless head and haunting, empty yellow eyes stared at nothing.
"What is that?" She asked, grabbing the handles of her claws, and taking up her stance. Right leg forward, side facing, right arm up in front, left guarding the centre of mass.
"A Heartless, my dear. The lowliest kind, known as a Shadow. Slay it." Maleficent commanded. At once, the Shadow changed its demeanour, twitching violently and crouching lower to the ground as it advanced towards Raven, those lamp-like eyes focused solely on her. She rushed in to meet it, taking a swipe at it with her claws, surprised when it shifted into the ground and snuck under her. She leapt back just in time as it burst out claws first, moving aside quickly as it made a leap for her and raking her blades across it. She watched as it dispersed into motes of black. The barrier did not go down though.
"Let us see how you fare against greater numbers." The horned sorceress waved her arm and three more Shadows appeared.
The one on her right wasting no time before launching itself at her. She blocked the attack and flung the creature away from her, but her left side was expose to the other two. She managed to knock one back but the other latched onto her leg. Even through the leather of her boots, she could feel the sharpness of those little black hands and she kicked it off of her just as the first one came back for more, jumping at her face. She ducked, raising her arm to where her head had been and impaling the Shadow. Again, it dissolved into nothingness. These things didn't bleed. They weren't of flesh and bone. It unnerved her. Distracted by these thoughts, one of the two remaining Heartless had gotten underneath her and sprung forth from the ground, knocking her into the air. She thankfully had time to reorient herself enough to fall safely, rolling back onto her feet in time to guard against another leaping attack, the writhing fingers and nails scrambling between the blades of her claws, cutting into the creature but leaving no marks. It didn't seem phased by the pain, too desperate for her heart. These things were entirely animalistic in their approach, nothing behind the lamp-like glow except instinct. She rent its top from its bottom as she forced her arms outwards and shredded the pitiful entity. One left. This one she attacked before it could, sprinting at it and striking once, twice, three times, sending it into oblivion with an uppercut slash. Still the barrier did not lower.
"Let's up the ante a little more, eh?!" Pete thrust his palm out in front of him and five shadows appeared around her. Not good.
She couldn't get stuck on the defensive, needed to break out of the circle before- The group of enemies lunged at her simultaneously and she had no choice but to dive and roll out of the way, the creatures colliding where she had been moments before. Using their dazed lapse to her advantage, Raven swiped her claws in a cross motion, dispatching two of the monsters in one strike, but leaving herself open for the other three to sink into the ground and burst out underneath her one after the other, knocking her to the edge of the arena. Her breathing was laboured now, having been hit in the gut and winded slightly but thankfully no more than a scrape. Going on the offensive, she swung her leg around on the ground, knocking the left-most Shadow into its allies with a wide circular sweep, swinging the leg up and launching all three into the air where she then leapt up and using the same triage of slashes, left, right and uppercut, she dispatched the final three. Landing on the flagstone, the barrier finally went down, allowing her to step out.
"Bravo, child." Maleficent praised, lightly clapping her hands together. "I see your previous master did not exaggerate your skill."
Panting slightly, Raven bowed her head. "Thank you, Milady." Looking up, Raven saw Pete was looking flabbergasted then shook his head and started clapping enthusiastically. She beamed, feeling proud she had impressed her new teacher. Riku was stood with his arms folded again, but his sullen expression was instead replaced by a smirk of approval. Until Maleficent called to him.
"Riku, dear boy, step forward."
Raven crossed paths with him as he went to take his spot in the arena and he handed her the water bottle as they passed, which she drank from gratefully. She was eager to watch his fighting from an outside perspective this time.
The trial played out in the same way, first one lone Shadow, then three the next round and then five in the final round. Raven watched as Riku ducked and leapt out of the way of the creatures, having the advantage of being familiar with their patterns from watching Raven's trial. But she noticed there was a distinct lack of clarity. He was acting on instinct just as much as the Heartless were, not like when they had duelled. When she had faced him, he was careful to watch her and took care with each strike. Although that might have been because he wasn't intending to hurt her. Against these creatures of the Dark, he showed no quarter and was on a fierce offensive from start to finish, destroying each before they had a chance to mount proper attacks. His main struggle was when they would sink into the ground, making them impossible to hit, but he would immediately turn his attacks on another, though he avoided many of their ambushes by sheer luck more than skill or perceptiveness. Timewise, he completed his trial quicker than Raven had, but she could see the lack of discipline and it was something she knew would cause him more trouble than good against stronger foes or greater numbers.
Riku allowed his demonic sword to vanish once more into the ether as the barrier went down and he exited the area, breathing heavier than before. Raven could tell he hadn't paced himself at all. Pete was once again clapping enthusiastically and Raven too applauded her fellow apprentice for his efforts, however Maleficent remained still.
"An admirable display, you certainly have strength, yet I can see you were driven by emotion and not in control of yourself." He gritted his teeth and his fists clenched at his sides indignantly. "Wouldn't you agree, young Raven?" The sorceress turned to the hunter, who was taken aback at being asked.
"Um, well-" Riku glared at her, daring her to criticise him too. She looked at her new mistress.
"You are to help Riku train, does that not encompass giving your thoughts on his performance, child? Speak freely."
"Yes, Ma'am. Well, we had a duel earlier you see, and Riku was far more methodical in his strikes." She turned her gaze from Maleficent back to Riku, who was still frowning. "But I have to agree that just now, you were acting on instinct alone and I sensed an anger that was driving you. Instinct isn't a bad thing, but you can't let it navigate a fight, or you'll lose sooner or later. You didn't pace yourself and burned through a lot of your energy. Another round or two and you might've been overwhelmed. I know you can fight with more clarity, and you probably haven't faced real enemies before so it's natural to default into our survival mode. It'll just take some practice is all." She smiled reassuringly but the silver haired boy was sulking with his arms folded as he stood a small distance away from her.
"Well said. I expect you and Riku to work together to iron out these oversights." Raven was about to speak up, feeling it wasn't fair that Riku was criticised, and she wasn't, but Maleficent continued speaking before she could. "Now, while the two of you shall improve your physical prowess under your own volition, I shall bestow upon the two of you the first of the combative magics you are to master." She swept her staff in front of the two of them and before each of them appeared a floating ball of fire, green when she conjured them, but soon fluctuating through all colours of the rainbow. Raven stared at it, mesmerised but also unsure of what Maleficent wanted her to do with it.
"Well go on then! Pick 'em up! Maleficent's given ya both a present so yous should be grateful!" Pete hollered, pointing at the two of them with narrowed eyes. Riku stuck his hand out and grabbed his fire, the flames turning indigo and licking up his arm, disappearing into his chest but leaving no burns. Seeing this, Raven extended her hand, cupping the fire from underneath. It flickered down and then flared with bright blue flames that separated into seven streams of fire that swirled around her briefly before disappearing into her chest, filling her with a burning warmth that spread throughout her core out to her fingertips.
"There now. You have the ability to conjure Fire in its most base form, but it will require practice and diligence if you are to evolve its power into stronger spells." She made another grandiose wave of her staff and in the arena appeared some gargoyles on plinths.
"Hop to!" Pete snapped, prompting the pair to step into the arena. A barrier went up between them, making some kind of lanes with the gargoyles at the end.
"Now then, concentrate on the heat. Feel the embers that reside within you and coax them into being." Maleficent instructed. Raven looked at her hands, trying to remember that warmth she'd just experienced, positioning her hands as if holding an orb and willing that warmth to manifest. She felt it in her stomach, bring her hands close and drawing out that heat, embers starting to fizzle into being. The heat swelled between her fingers and instinct took over, telling her to push. So, she thrust her arms forward, palms up, and a ball of fire shot out and hit the gargoyle, scorching the stone. She grinned in amazement, beaming at her own hands. Magic. She had just cast magic. It was a shame it hadn't been blue like the flames that had gone into her, but it felt wonderful to be able to generate that kind of power and warmth. Next to her, she saw Riku holding his right hand to his chest and then thrusting it ahead of him and shooting a smaller fireball at his target. The impact was a lot stronger than hers, and the stone blackened beneath the flames. His foul mood seemed to melt away with the fire, his eyes widening and a smirk returning to his face. Raven clapped supportively but upon glancing at her, his triumphant smirk turned into a derisive sneer. How childish, she thought to herself. The barrier behind them dropped as Maleficent addressed them once again.
"Bravo. It seems the two of you have an aptitude for magic. Continue to practice in here until the sun sets but be aware of your mana reserves. You cannot cast spells without cost." She gestured to the patches of sky visible through the large cracks in the tower walls. "I must attend to my council. Pete, come along." She swept her long robes around as she proceeded through the pink portal, Pete following behind her quickly.
"She sure has a lot of meetings with that council, huh." Raven said. But Riku evidently wasn't interested in chatting, returning to his spell practice. He shot off another small fireball and upon impact, the statue moved backwards a foot or so. Seeing he was still sulking, Raven decided to get on with her spell work as well. It took her longer to charge up the spell than Riku, and after knocking her statue back a few times, she found his range was further than hers too, his gargoyle moving to about ten feet ahead of hers before he couldn't knock it back anymore. She noticed he needed to take more breaks between every two to three shots though, whereas she needed a break every five or so. This must have been the mana reserves that Maleficent had mentioned drying up and regenerating. During one such rest, Raven tried once more to ease the tension between herself and Riku.
"Hey, um, I just wanted to say I thought you did really well. And I don't think it's right that Maleficent made me call out your areas for improvement without doing it to me too. So, I just wanted to ask if you thought I could work on anything?"
"Why are you asking me? You're the teacher." He said sarcastically, not even glancing at her. She rolled her eyes.
"I won't get any better without constructive criticism either. C'mon, I want us both to benefit from this. That means we give each other feedback to work on and we don't go sulking about it afterwards like little children." She said pointedly. He looked like he wanted to argue, challenge that insult but he took a moment to think and resolved not to prove her right.
"Fine." He turned away from his gargoyle and the two sat outside the arena's boundaries, sharing the remainder of the water. "You looked like you were hesitating. Like you were thinking too much about what you were up against, and it got the better of you a couple of times when they snuck a hit or ganged up. I guess being in really close quarters isn't great for groups, but you need to keep track of all your enemies, or you'll keep getting snuck up on until they get a good hit and leave you wide open. Focus on your enemy and remember, it's kill or be killed. Heartless aren't going to show you mercy because you feel sorry for them."
"You caught onto that?" He nodded. "I know Maleficent said they're lost hearts, but I can't help but wonder if there's a chance a person is still in there somewhere." She sighed and rubbed her neck. "But if Maleficent says they're beyond saving, I guess a quick end is the best way. And I can't say it's a fate I want to share."
"Exactly."
They continued to exchange further notes and practice casting Fire until the tower became dark, by which point they were both fatigued and hungry. They exited the pink portal to an empty chapel and two bowls of a greyish soup waiting for them, that was lukewarm and smelled strongly of cabbage. They both wrinkled their noses, but Riku had seemingly gotten used to the poor cuisine of Hollow Bastion and downed his bowl and a few gulps. Raven attempted this but the unexpectedly thick, chunky consistency combined with the awful taste made her gag and she suddenly lost her appetite.
"You get used to it." Riku said with some sympathy as he gingerly patted her shoulder. The two walked through the corridors of the castle, Raven recognising the path to her room a lot easier now that it was the third trip, although it was much darker. They stopped at a pair of double doors, but Raven was sure her room was a few more down, until she realised this must be where Riku stayed. It was nice to know he was nearby if she needed to call on him for anything. "Well, night." He muttered before entering.
"Goodnight." Raven replied and started down the hallway to where her room was.
Closing the door behind her, she felt sweaty and smelt burnt. A perfect opportunity to test out her new bathtub. The water was warm, and the tub was big enough that she could stretch out fully. The soaps that had been provided smelt like lavender which made her drowsy as she soaked and scrubbed the day's grime off. But after she had laid in bed for what must have been a couple of hours, hunger returned, her stomach growling loudly. Thankfully, she had Mika's leftovers stashed in her backpack. There was quite a lot there she realised, and it was bound to go bad if she left it much longer. In fact, though she was fine eating cold leftovers, she thought it might be safer if it were heated up. Riku had mentioned a kitchen, it couldn't be too hard to find, and while she had just learned the Fire spell, she wasn't confident enough to use it to cook anything just yet. Clad in her sleepwear and clutching the package of meats, veggies and pastries her master's wife had given her, Raven wandered the ever-darkening corridors of the castle. It was the first time she had roamed alone, and the bizarre architecture cast strange shadows that moved irregularly, and the pipes would occasionally and suddenly make sounds that caused her to jump. She wasn't normally one to frighten easily, but this was unfamiliar territory. She also knew of the existence of ghosts and the supernatural, though she was not equipped to deal with such things. She wasn't an exorcist or a priestess. Creatures of flesh and blood were her area. She descended the staircase at the end of her corridor and let out a yelp of fright, only for the cause to be an especially ugly gargoyle in an inopportune place. Nevertheless, she picked up the pace, even more so when she heard a creak echo off the walls and the sound of footsteps. Maleficent hadn't told her she couldn't wander the castle at night, but she somehow doubted her mistress would be pleased if she was caught, either by her or one of her council members. She was near the entrance hall when she spotted another downward staircase. Hearing something down the corridor and around the corner, she quickly made her way downwards. Kitchens were usually down, right? She could feel the icy Darkness of the castle chill her bare toes down here. There was only one door, large but not as ornate as the rest of the castle seemed to be. Seemed to fit a kitchen. She approached the heavy doors and was about to pull on the cast iron handle when a hand reached out from behind her and grabbed her wrist. She screamed and kicked out, whirling around, but the hand kept hold of her wrist and she could see a humanoid shadow stood in front of her.
"Hey! Shh!" Her racing heart started to slow down as she recognised Riku's voice, though she had to squint to make out his face. His hair seemed to catch what little light there was down there. He wasn't wearing his gloves she realised.
"Oh, it's just you. Hey, don't go scaring me like that!" She smacked his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"
"Me? What are you doing wandering around? Don't you realise you were about to go down to the basement?" He hissed. "It's off limits."
"The basement? No, I was looking for the kitchen." She whispered back, now glad he had found her when he did.
"Never mind, we need to go before someone sees us." He took her by the wrist again and led her back up the stairs. "Why were you looking for the kitchen?"
"I'm hungry. And I have some leftover food from home, I was going to heat it up."
"You couldn't just eat it cold?"
"It's been in my bag since yesterday evening, I didn't want to risk it." He started leading her back up to their rooms, but she stopped in her tracks. "Wait! Show me where the kitchen is!"
"Seriously?"
"There's plenty here, I'm more than happy to share it with you if you do." He looked at her then the large package in her arms and sighed, his own stomach growling lowly.
"Fine, fine. This way." He changed course and pulled her through a few more corridors and down a half-flight of stairs to a smaller, rustic door. He peeked inside first and when he saw the coast was clear, her opened the door fully for her to go in and flipped a switch on the wall, making the lighting in the room hum to life. She could now see that he too wasn't wearing shoes and was surprised to see his feet weren't anywhere near as large as his shoes, and he wasn't wearing his waders, only the jeans underneath. "The cooker's there." He pointed at the large stove, and she immediately set about finding a pan. Within a few minutes, the smell of hearty food filled the room.
"How did you find me anyway?" Raven asked as she stirred the vegetables and meat around the frying pan.
"Huh? I heard you cry out at something and woke up; I thought you might be hurt so I went out to see if you were okay, but you kept speeding off, and it's so dark around here at night I couldn't just run after you. I didn't wanna call out in case Maleficent or her cohorts were around and by the time I did catch up to you, you nearly got into the basement. That would've been trouble for both of us."
"What does Maleficent keep down there?" She asked, checking on the pastries that were in the oven.
"Who knows? I don't care. Just want to get back to bed." He did look very tired.
"You must be a light sleeper if you heard me from that distance."
"I don't sleep well." He said flatly.
"Hm. Well, I can promise you'll sleep like a baby after tasting this." She said, plating up the leftovers and handing him his portion and a glass of water while she finished tidying up.
"Do you cook often?" He asked, smelling the delicious food, salivating, but waiting politely for her to sit.
"I did my fair share of kitchen duty. You pick up a few things. Eat!" She urged, scrubbing the pan clean in the sink. He heeded her and took the first bite, the shock of flavour dancing over his tongue removed all inhibitions as he began wolfing down the meal. "Wow, when did you last have any meat?" She asked, sitting down to eat her portion.
"Probably a week, no, more." He explained between mouthfuls. "What is this, it's delicious!"
"It's boar. You don't have boar on your islands?"
"We mostly eat fish on the islands. Only got one farm. What's boar?"
"What's boar? Well… It's a type of wild pig. Hairier and bigger and really foul tempered. With tusks." She explained, using her fingers to demonstrate what tusks were. "But we really need to get some kind of meat here if we're going to be training. There's no way we can be sustained on soup and bread. Maybe on our first outing I can hunt something?" Riku grunted in agreement, dipping his pastry in the leftover juices from the food. She couldn't help but smile as he enjoyed his meal for the first time in a while. "Food always tastes better with friends." She muttered.
"Hm?"
"Something we say back home. Food always seems to taste better when you're with friends, don't you think?"
"Then you and I are gonna be good friends because that tasted amazing." He laughed and it was relieving to see him smile, the animosity he'd displayed during training a mere memory now. Raven laughed too as she continued to eat, finishing shortly after Riku, who insisted he would finish washing up. Once the kitchen was as they found it, Riku led Raven back to the corridor where their rooms were located, feeling full, and drowsy.