At Journey's End

[alreadyhuman]

A.

[ What alerts certain people to Vivi's absence is not Vivi himself, but a gangly chocobo chick that has been doing a great deal of growing thanks to his care in the last few months. It 'kwehs' its way around campus in great distress, without its owner anywhere to be seen. ]

B.

[ Catching up with Vivi, even with his head start, isn't a difficult task. With the amount of energy he has left, even in the Outlands where Mist is abundant, the journey he's making is draining on more than one level.

Mostly because the place he's walking through, dragging himself step by step to some unknown destination, is alien even by Outlands standards.

Memories shimmer around the strange crystal structures that protrude from as if they're being reflected from him. The friends who have gotten him this far, the fights that have burned themselves into his memory, the simple things that brought him happiness...

Most of them - almost all of them - involve other people. Rare are the ones that are by himself.

He's not trying to hide himself, or his slow progress. He hums tunelessly at times, some kind of exhausted dirge born of forcing himself to keep moving. ]

C.

[ Wildcard! If you want to have threads with Vivi acting noticeably weird/drained/nervous I am down for that, just let me know. ]

Comments

a

[stavros]

Vivi's bird...?

[Kokoro approaches it slowly, looking around.]

Are you looking for him? Come to think of it, I haven't seen him all day...

[alreadyhuman]

Kweh! Kweh!

[ The chocobo taps its feet anxiously, unsure how to convey the information it has. Maybe it's better if it shows her, somehow? ]

Kweh..!

[ It firmly takes hold of her scarf and gently tugs at it, willing her to understand that it's trying to go somewhere. ]

[stavros]

[She blinks and steps toward it.] Ah, so you... wish to show me something? Very well. Lead me there, then.

[Most likely it just wanted food, but you never know...]

[alreadyhuman]

[ It settles down a little as Kokoro seems to understand what it wants. It's quick to lead her not to any kind of food source, but to Vivi's room, where...

Well, he isn't there. But there's a journal, and a map of the outlands to be found.

What will Kokoro look at first? ]

[stavros]

[The implications are obvious. With a quick apology to no one here, she goes for the journal just in case there's something there.]

B, also I'm cool w/ anyone accompanying Desi popping up in thread if Ruka's cool w/ it too

[unlogic]

[What little difficulty there had been was the matter of figuring out where Vivi was trying to go, taking into account the map and the things that had been written into that journal.

As she walks along with anyone who decided to accompany her to this place, eventually, Desidera catches sight of what looks like him, a bit farther ahead.]

Vivi!

[She starts to break into a run.]

i'm totally cool with this being a multithread o7

[alreadyhuman]

[ He stops, for the first time in what feels like forever. At first, he thinks it's just an echo of his own memories, but...

No, the footsteps are all wrong for that too. They echo through the crystal like his does, so she must be here. ]

Desi...

How come you're here? [ He sounds hazy, confused. ]

[shockingblue]

[Where his friends go, Gunvolt often follows. Vivi up and vanishing from campus was a red flag, and given his continuing drain of power, GV had feared something might've happened. So without a second thought he went with the others to go look for their friend, and support him however they could.

His footsteps thud along the alien ground not far behind Desidera, who took off ahead of him.]

We could ask you the same question, Vivi. ...You look exhausted. Do you need a hand with walking?

[alreadyhuman]

I'm okay. I can keep going. [ He seems confused at the implied question of 'why are you here'. It seems obvious, to him. ]

There's a castle up there. [ He points ahead; sure enough, the bulky silhouette of a castle looms in the multicoloured mists that drift through this crystalline landscape. ] Someone's calling me, so I have to go.

[unlogic]

Who...is that someone? Do you know? [It'll be rather concerning if he doesn't.]

And why would you just leave without a word?

[buddinghopes]

[Lia finally catches up, just in time to hear Vivi's words, and Desidera's response.

Lia looks to the castle up ahead and frowns.]

Just because you can keep going doesn't mean you should, especially without help... Anyway, you could've asked us to come with you, you know?

[alreadyhuman]

[ Who is it? At first, it seems as if Vivi doesn't know, but... ]

It's in the contracts. Others took us and used us, but only one person made made us. [ Not concerning at all. ]

...It's a long way. And I don't know what happens...you know, at the end. So I didn't want to bring everyone here...

[ He doesn't complete the sentence, but I didn't want you to come to see me die is written large in the silence. ]

[shockingblue]

[Vivi's distance and lack of focus is indeed concerning. Even more concerning is what he doesn't say. He's quiet for a moment as he too gazes off to the castle. Gunvolt's face remained stony and impassive, but the look in his eyes betrayed his reticence and melancholy.

After a moment he finds a resolve.]

Your maker, huh...

...Vivi, man. We've stuck with each other through so much. Through the good and the bad. No matter what happens at the end of this... you don't have to bear it alone.

[Part of him is angry and hurt that Vivi would've just up and left to face what might be his end alone, without a word. But another part of him understands that the boy just didn't want his friends to be upset or hurt too. But that ship sailed already.

He thought back to the energy tank he tried to perfect, when all those efforts came unraveled at once. When he lost his composure and cried on Lia's shoulder. Sorrow like that might be just around the corner all over again, made worse by potentially being helpless. But such as it might be, he figured... maybe at the end, it might give some sense of closure. Maybe for everyone.

He managed a small smile, though there wasn't much joy to be found in it.]

And you won't bear it alone. You're in too deep with us for that now. We'll get you there, even if we have to carry you there on our backs.

[unlogic]

[They all know where this might be headed, and as much as it'll hurt them, it would be a thousand times worse for everyone involved if he continued to go alone; Desi's not sure if any of them would be able to forgive themselves for not being by his side.

After Gunvolt's done speaking, she crouches down a bit, bringing herself to Vivi's level.]

You...should probably save what energy you have left for whatever you need to do when we get there, so come on, get on and then tell me which way to go.

[alreadyhuman]

[ No matter what he does, he'll hurt someone. Maybe that's just what life is.

He looks at Gunvolt's expression and then looks away, his own bleak and sad. He understands, maybe a little too well by now. ]

Sorry.

[ That's all he can muster the energy for. He doesn't have any more room for tears; they seem to be buried under that pervasive weariness.

He doesn't have enough energy to argue with Desi, either. He simply nods and clambers onto Desi's back (he's always been lightweight, but he seems even lighter now). ]

The castle, up there. I don't think it's too far.

C, b? multithead okay

[improbablenotimpossible]

[Tutoring students, checking on them, especially Vivi has taken much of his time with the longer winter nights, nights he notice has been getting shorter - it's during one of these times he visits Vivi to check on him]

Vivi...? It's me, might I come in?

[alreadyhuman]

[ Vivi is spending a lot more of his time studying in his room. Being tired all the time isn't very conductive to socialising, as much as he'd wish otherwise, so Sherlock helping to tutor him anyway is nice of him. ]

Uh huh! The door's open.

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He steps inside, taking a look around the room, taking the book from under his arm, a maths book, now where were they...?]

Been getting any rest?

[alreadyhuman]

I'm getting lots and lots of rest! Don't worry!

[ Then, Vivi sighs a little. His cheerfulness becomes a little more brittle. ]

I feel like I want to sleep a lot, but that means I can't do other things, so I have to stay awake sometimes. [ He kicks his feet. ] But it's hard.

[improbablenotimpossible]

[That's not good... not at all]

Do you recall when it started, or any other sensation when you start to nod off?

B?

[hattersgonnahat]

[He might not have gotten far yet, but there was still the challenge of actually finding what direction he went in first. Which is exactly why Puella had started scanning the skies. Hopefully catching him before venturing into a different plane entirely. Bird eyes can see a lot but other dimensions sadly was not one of them.]

[alreadyhuman]

[ He's had something of a large head start, but if Puella focuses, she might be able to see the trail he's left behind. His latest fight in Hades had injured him in a way that he hadn't quite been able to heal; the direction he went in is made more obvious through the small amounts of distinct magic he left as he departed.

It leads out of campus, and into the mountains. ]

[hattersgonnahat]

[It's faint, Puella was not very good at picking up magical energies naturally, let alone over long distances, but there was one thing she had learned how to track best of all...Mist. There was a path of it leading up a mountain which she followed.]

[There was still some uncertainly that it would lead to Vivi, but it was something unusual to check out anyway. It was only a matter of time that she's at least find something. ...Like right there.]

Vivi!! [Is all he gets before there was a tiny bird divebombing towards him. ...Ideally without crashing into him, but, no promises. Flight is tricky.] Where are you going?!

[alreadyhuman]

[ He thinks it's Toby, at first, but the voice is different. The flight pattern is so strange, he lifts his arms on reflex to try and catch her, thinking there's something wrong. ]

I have to go somewhere, so I'm going. [ Isn't it simple? It seems simple to him. ] Someone's calling me.

[hattersgonnahat]

[She managed to slow down just enough to land on one of Vivi's arms, rather than flying into it. At the same time having to remember about...sharp claws, even if they are small. But had to hold on somehow.]

...Is that a good idea? [What if it was another Herald doing it?]