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Aqua had told him to go home but Ven doesn't want to, at least not yet. Not when the masked boy’s warnings about Terra still ring in his head and not when he's finally got his first taste of freedom in years. There's still so many worlds out there he wants to explore. No, he's not leaving just yet.
So Ven wanders around the gardens. It calms down the storm in his heart and makes him forget his worries, at least for a little bit. He crouches down among the red and purple and yellow petals. They are all pretty but it's the dandelion weeds that grow between the cracks of the stone that have stolen his heart. You don't really get them in the Land of Departure and he knows a legend from the books he's read - that if you close your eyes and make a wish then blow all the seeds away, your wish will come true.
He's not quite sure what to wish for. Maybe for all of his friends to be back together again? Ven snaps its stem with simple precision and brings it to his lips but before he can make a wish, its seeds get taken away by the breeze. He sighs. Just his luck.
“They're such a pretty flower, I've always thought so. Don't you agree, kiddo?” a voice says, startling him.
Ven jumps to his feet, the dandelion slipping from his fingertips. The person saying that is a man, leaning against the wall, with dark slicked back hair and dressed in the white and blue colors of the guards uniform, and a tattered red scarf around his neck. He must work at the castle. He has a fresh bandage on his cheek and one covering his right eye.
“You're not from around here, are you?” the man wonders.
“How'd you know that?” Ventus asks, his curiosity outweighing his wariness, and temporarily forgetting the rules of world order that his master taught him.
The man shrugs. “I just do. I know all sorts of things, me. Everyone that passes through the gardens is on my radar. So, do you have a name kiddo?”
He hesitates, “I'd rather not give you my name.” Ven normally is very open and friendly but something is telling him to be more reserved this time. Adults he tends to be wary of anyway.
“Nah, I get it. There's a lot of power in names. You don't want to reveal it to any old dude. Mine's Braig, in case you were wondering.”
A beat of silence follows. Ven shifts on the spot, feeling slightly awkward. He can't deny that the way he's been looked at sends a slight cold chill in his heart. It’s not like it's malicious or anything but it's like the man, Braig, is not really looking at him but seeing someone else entirely. A fragment of the past or a ghost or something. Ven's not entirely sure. Maybe he reminds him of someone.
“Um,” he says, because silence is something he's never been very good at, “Do you want something?”
“You wield a Keyblade, don't you kiddo?” Braig asks so casually.
Ventus stiffens at the question but tries to hide his reaction. He has the power, yes, but it shouldn't be common knowledge. There are rules about such things. Did Ven break them unknowingly? The master won't be happy.
“Let's say that I did, then how would you know that?” he says eventually.
“Doesn't everyone?” Braig's smile didn't move, but something behind his eyes did but it's gone before Ven could be sure he'd seen it at all. “Nah. It's a lucky guess. Could you do me a favor and heal my injuries? It's driving me crazy and I've heard that people with those key shaped swords have crazy magic. I'd very much appreciate it.”
Ven looks at him for a moment. Then, “Sure,” he says, because that’s what Keyblades are for, isn't it? To help people. He can't ignore someone in pain.
Braig removes his bandages. Ven can’t help but wince. It's like darkness has carved chunks into his flesh. There's no way that his eyesight remains after that. It must really hurt.
“How did it happen?” Ven asks.
“Just some idiot messing with powers he doesn't understand and my boss getting me caught up in it all,” he explains with an dismissive air, “You stay away from darkness, you hear me? Nasty stuff. Kids like you shouldn't be involved in its plans.”
“That's awful. You shouldn't stand for that,” Ven tells him, his brows scrunched up in a serious expression, “He shouldn't use you and put you in danger like that.”
“Is that so?” Braig murmurs.
Ven summons Wayward Wind into his hand. He can cast magic without it but it's a stronger effect if he does. He feels a bit self conscious on the way that Braig’s gaze settles on the screws on the teeth attaching it to the frame of the blade. His Keyblade isn't as sleek as Terra's or Aqua's or the master’s but so what? It's not perfect but it's his.
“You're not from here, we've established. Where is home then?” Braig says offhandly.
Ven raises his eyebrow. “You ask a lot of questions,” he states, suspicious.
He throws up his hands. “Just making conversation. You don't see visitors often and then a whole bunch of them show up at once. One might get the idea that something's going on.”
“I ran away from home if you must know,” Ven finds himself admitting to.
“Hey, I'm not going to tell. I'm always doing things, I'm not supposed to,” Braig winks with his good eye which makes Ven smile. The only adult he knows is very stern and composed so it's nice to know that not everyone is like that.
Ven casts a cure spell that settles on Braig and sinks down into his skin. He can't bring back his eye or repair his flesh but at the very least he can stop the wounds from hurting.
“Sorry I couldn't do better,” Ven scratches his head sheepishly.
“You got rid of the pain. That’s good enough,” Braig covers his injuries back up. “Thanks, kiddo.”
“No sweat.”
Braig shrugs. “You better run along now. You have friends to find, don't you? Or is the time not right yet?”
“Huh? Ven tilts his head. Does he still have friends? After what happened earlier, he isn't so sure. Friends aren't supposed to be or keep secrets from each other.
“Once you find them again, keep a hold of them. Never let them out of your sight,” Braig says, his voice more serious than it ever was previously, “I have friends that I'm searching for, myself. Four friends in fact,” he pauses as if it’s waiting for a certain reaction but Ven isn’t sure what it is and just stares back at him blankly.
He sighs loudly. “Nothing I can do yet, it seems. Still got to watch and wait. Well, I’ve got to head off. Little miss and the big guy are still unaccounted for.”
“Uh,...okay?” Ven says in confusion but the man is already walking away.
What was that about? It was almost like Ven was expected to follow the conversation but he had no idea what he was talking about.
Wait.
Ven never mentioned that he was looking for his friends so how did he know? And he knew the Keyblade by name. Ordinary people shouldn't know that. Something strange is going on but Ven isn't what or who even to tell it to.
The remnants of the dandelion lies crumpled on the ground, crushed by a boot and its seeds taken far and wide.